“I didn’t have those details,” Aleka said. Her voice came muffled through the skin being pulled over her head. “I’d just seen reports of tracers planted in people or animals for study purposes, and Lilisaire’s agent warned me it can be done clandestinely.”
Yes, passed through Kenmuir. Lilisaire would think of that possibility. It was a trick she’d gladly play herself. “The, the thing can’t radiate … enough for pickup at a distance … across background noise,” he protested.
“No, no,” Iscah replied. “What it does is to detectan ordinary transmission line nearby—which means almost anywhere on Earth, you know—and tap in with a microsignal, an imposed modulation. Special equipment is necessary to recover, amplify, and interpret that weak an effect; but the cybercosm does not lack for special equipment. Hence it tracks your movements—through the air, too, since every vehicle must always be in contact with Traffic Control. And it conveys your speech. To listen in on what you hear, it has run a line up to the auditory canal—a submicro-scopic thread, I assure you. Interruptions of the surveillance will be accidental and transitory, unless deliberately arranged as we have done for you.”
Rage exploded in Kenmuir. Suddenly he believed he understood what it meant to be raped. Not that he’d said or done anything intimate these past days. Nevertheless!
Vaguely, he heard Iscah muse aloud: “I wonder whether the spy was able to eavesdrop on you inside Guthrie House. I have heard that that place is well screened, and you mentioned being lent a secure line when you called for further instructions. Presumably the number you called activated a shuntaround program as well. Still, I suggest you bear in mind the possibility that that agent of Lilisaire’s is now compromised.”
“It’s a, a violation of my Covenant rights,” Kenmuir choked. “I never consented. I’m going straight to the nearest ombud and—“ He strangled on his words.
“And what?” asked Iscah sardonically. “Do you expect the miscreants will be found and punished? They are agents of the government, remember.”
“Why? Why?”
“The secret’s got to be that important,” Aleka said. “Which means Lilisaire is right about the size of it.”
Unmasked, she came over to the men. Kenmuir stared. She had doffed her poncho too, revealing a body hard-muscled beneath spectacular curves, clad in plain tunic and slacks. The features were nearly as arresting. It was as if every bloodline on Earth had flowed together, harmoniously and vibrantly. Anyone who paid for biosculp could have any face desired, of course, but he felt sure hers was natural. Only nature had the originality to create all the little irregularities and uniquenesses that brought it so alive.
“What are you going to do to get justice?” she challenged him.
Energy drained away. His shoulders stooped. “What can I do?” he mumbled. “I’m marked. A medic will have to dissect this thing out of me.”
“That would take at least a day, probably more, in a clinic where they have healing enhancements,” Iscah said. “I don’t, and to go there would defeat the purpose. Fortunately, I can set up a resonator that will burn out the circuit by overloading it. No significant damage to you, as low as the power levels are. Any discomfort will be slight and brief. Later, when it is convenient, you can have your surgery. I do not think I would take the trouble. The remnants will be inert and unnoticeable.”
Heartened, Kenmuir drew himself erect. “What then?”
“We’ll talk about that,” Aleka said. “You two will help us, won’t you?”
Soraya rejoined them. “We certainly will,” sounded above their heads like summer thunder.
“Why?” Kenmuir floundered.
Iscah gave a parched chuckle. “In due course I shall present the lady Lilisaire with a substantial bill.”
“No, I mean—the risk—”
“We live with’risk all our lives, here,” Soraya said quietly. “I have a feeling this is a gamble more worth taking than most.”
“Is it?” Kenmuir wondered. “What can you, your people, gain?”
“Maybe nothing. Maybe much. We’ll see.”
He looked from eyes to eyes. The fury had left him, unless as a coldness deep inside. He was confused, and a peaceable man, and the doubts were swarming
afresh. “You can’t have any notion of … overthrowing the Federation. You aren’t dement. And I, I wouldn’t go along. There may after all be a, an excellent reason to keep the secret.”