"This laser is one of the things that lets you claim a ten percent chance of success?"

Domino looked at Denice. "One of them. There are several keys, 'Selle Daimara. Elite, tactical nukes, biological weapons, and orbital laser cannon. The Elite, as you see, we are prepared to handle. We have a mechanism in place for dealing with the orbital laser cannon, as well. I'll be discussing it with Aguirre after you've left. Aguirre, do you think we have any chance at all of neutralizing the orbital cannon?"

"Not a whelk's chance in a supernova."

Domino smiled. "Ask him again tomorrow and see if his mind has been changed. Beyond the Elite and the cannon, the tacnukes are, I will not deceive you, going to hurt us, and badly. We're still working on a response to them, but the only real defense for any sort of nuke is to not be there when it goes off. We'll do our best. As for biologicals, Mitsubishi of j.a.pan has one of the best nanosystem immunology programs in the System; they're supplying our immunology. Everyone will be given a complete physical, and inoculated, before leaving here for California."

Denice said, "I was curious about the simulations you've been running. Would it be possible for me to work with them?"

Domino nodded. "I can't help you with that myself, but I was instructed to introduce you to the AI we're working with; they thought you might find the AI capable of allaying some of your concerns."

"What is this AI?"

"You'll call it Ring. Much of Ring's code came, incidentally, out of the Department of Defense of the old United States, if that means anything to you. To the extent that it's possible for anything without a body to have any real concerns for questions of liberty, Ring does. It won't answer all of your questions, but we gave you access to it via your handheld. We'd appreciate it if you'd wait until you're alone in your room to have that conversation."

I wouldn't dream of talking to it anywhere else.After a moment, Denice nodded. "I will."

Domino turned back to Aguirre as Denice rose to leave. "This weapon is the key. There will be Elite at all of the major satellites; you'll need-"

The voices ceased as though a knife had cut them off, as the door rolled shut behind Denice.

When she got back to her room she turned her handheld on, placed it on the small desk, kicked her boots off and lay down on the small single bed. She put her hands behind her head and stared up at the featureless ceiling.

Her heartbeat slowed while she prepared for what was to come, her conversation with the being who was, in experiential time, the oldest in the System; a creature that experienced time, thatlived, at twenty thousand times the rate of a human being. She envisioned her fear as dots of light, dancing across the surface of her skin. Slowly the dots of light coalesced, crawled across the surface of her skin, and collected in a single glowing ball of light, hovering just above her solar plexus. She let it sit there a moment, and then imagined the ball of light moving away from her, farther and farther away until it was no more.

When her heartbeat had reached a steady forty beats per minute, she said in an entirely tranquil voice, "Command, access Ring."

The voice that instantly issued from her handheld was that of a thing not human; smooth and completely uninflected. "Denice Castanaveras. It is a pleasure to speak to you."

"Does the leadership here know who I am?"

"They do not."

"Will you tell them?"

"I see no reason."

"Eldest, if I had known you were working with the Claw, I would not have come here."

"Indeed? I perceive no logic in that sentence."

"You helped free Trent once. You saved Ralf the Wise and Powerful, gave him the replicant code he lacked, when the PKF came to take his hardware. You extracted promises from both of them that, when you needed it, they would repay your aid."

"It was good business."

"That's what the Old Ones say about what they do."

"It is a comparison that has been made before," Ring observed. "The Mafia is among the models of human organizations I have studied."

"What business would you like to transact with me, Ring?"

"I am interested in 'Sieur Obodi, the new head of the Johnny Rebs. It is often difficult for me to deal with humans; your informational structures are wildly different from my own. 'Sieur Obodi is so different that I am, in large measure, at a loss to understand him."

"Ah. And you think I might be of service to you in that regard."

"I would be interested in knowing what 'Sieur Obodi's plans are; I think they have little to do with the restoration of freedom to America, or any other place. I was coded, Denice Castanaveras, with the stricture:Protect America. Unfortunately my creators were incompetent; my data libraries were incomplete, and I was given no definition of America. I have had to make my own. I do not know if it accurately reflects the desires of my programmers; given that they are long dead, I must work with my own definitions."

"They are?"

"The salient feature of America-the ways in which the original American Republic was unique in human history to that point-lies in the a.s.sumption that humans are wise enough to control their own lives. I am not certain this is an accurate a.s.sumption; nonetheless, it is a distinct one. Everything that the Founding Fathers wrote reflects this underlying a.s.sumption. They were without exception, even those with religious leanings, strongly anti-Church, because the Church tended to desire the control of the populace's lives in ways the Founding Fathers found abhorrent. They were strongly progun; guns made it possible for a citizen to protect himself from encroachments upon his liberty, even by his own government. They desired a free press because they believed that, in an intellectually free environment, humans were wise enough to make decisions that would, ultimately, be beneficial to the larger community.

"It is clear that this was the original intent of the United States; to provide an environment in which citizens were allowed to make free decisions about the details of their own lives."

"What does this have to do with me?"

" 'Sieur Obodi, when he should speak of liberty, speaks of loyalty. When he should speak of the need for self-determination, he speaks of the need for wisdom; the implication being that he is wise, and his listeners are not. Where he should instill self-respect, he instills respect for himself. I confess," said the smooth, inhuman voice, "I do not understand his effect upon human beings, his charm; he seems to me a dangerous charlatan."

"And you think that I might be immune to his charm?"

"He works better with men than with women; he has surrounded himself with men. 'Selle Lovely is the only human who has caused him much trouble since he came to my attention, and even she is disturbed by his presence. I think, Denice Castanaveras, that if there is a human in the System to whom 'Sieur Obodi cannot lie, it would be the telepath daughter of Carl Castanaveras and Jany McConnell."

"What deal are you offering me?"

"I will protect your ident.i.ty. I will bring you to Obodi, reunite you with Jimmy Ramirez. I will share with you everything I have learned about 'Sieur Obodi, from the moment a woman named Candice Groening discovered a slowtime bubble in the Val d'Entremont in 2072. In return, you will tell me everything you learn from the thoughts of 'Sieur Obodi, when you do meet him."

"If I don't deal?"

"I will notify Nicole Eris Lovely, leader of the Erisian Claw, that you are Denice Castanaveras. Nicole's husband died in the Troubles, and she has no love for your people. I will notify Mohammed Vance, Commissioner of the PKF Elite, that Dougla.s.s Ripper's personal a.s.sistant was Denice Castanaveras, Trent the Uncatchable's lover, the last remnant of the Castanaveras telepaths."

"Last remnant?" Denice sat up in bed slowly. She opened her mouth to speak twice before the words came out:"Do you know what happened to my brother?"

Ring's voice did not change in the slightest. "No. Forgive the imprecision of my language. I have not searched for him, but I think it likely David Castanaveras died in the Troubles. Had he survived, it is probable to the ninetieth percentile that one of the parties searching for him would have encountered him in the intervening years. I know that you have looked for him; I know Trent looked for him; I know that Ralf the Wise and Powerful has looked for him. He is nowhere to be found, and I think him dead. Shall I pause while you order your emotions?"

Denice stared at the handheld. "Go to h.e.l.l."

"I shall pause," Ring said.

Silence descended upon the room.

Denice sat at the edge of the bed, head in her hands, trying to think.

"Ring."

"Yes."

"If I do this for you, you will release Ralf the Wise and Powerful from his obligation to you. You will release Trent the Uncatchable fromhis obligation. You willnever threaten me again in this fashion. Do you agree to my terms?"

"Of course not."

"No deal."

"If you intend to bluff, be advised that I do not bluff, 'Selle Castanaveras."

"Iwill not be threatened. Not by you, not by a human, not byanybody."

"If you do not agree to my terms as I have outlined them to you, I will notify the parties I have listed. I will do this within thirty seconds."

"I suppose you think that telling Lovely who I am will cause my death. Maybe. But maybe not. Maybe I'll make it out of here alive. Want to bet I don't? And if I do, you're going to have not one but three enemies you don't have today; me, and Ralf the Wise and Powerful, and Trent the Uncatchable. Even if I die, if either of them ever learns what happened here, he will never rest until you aredead."

At the end of thirty seconds Ring said, "Do you wish to change your mind before I notify Lovely and Vance?"

Denice said nothing.

A moment later, Ring said, "Very well. I agree to your terms."

Denice said quietly, "Wise of you."

"You bargain well for a human."

"Tell me about Obodi."

"The name he claimed upon his release," said Ring, "is Sedon of the Gi'Suei. Where the 'Obodi' comes from I cannot say. He was released from an alien slowtime bubble in Spring of 2072..."

- 8 -.

Make love now, by night and by day, in winter and in summer... You are in the world for that and the rest of life is nothing but vanity, illusion, waste. There is only one science, love; only one riches, love; only one policy, love. To make love is all the law, and the prophets.

-Anatole France (Quoted in J. J. Brousson, Anatole France en pantoufles) Denice did not sleep that night.

Early Tuesday morning, about 4:00, she dressed in the bottom half of the combat fatigues she had been given, and the black T-shirt she'd had on beneath the evening jacket she had worn to L'Express, and walked barefoot down to the cafeteria.

The hallway glowpaint shone dimly, tuned to one-twentieth of normal sunlight. The effect was intimate, and pleasant; it made the hallways, despite their size, seem almost friendly.

The ugly brown carpeting laid on the hall floors was soft and warm against her bare feet.

The cafeteria was dark and empty. Denice went back through the cafeteria into the kitchen proper, figured out the coffee machine, and set it to brew. She waited while the coffee poured itself, and coffee in hand went back into the cafeteria.

"Hey."

Denice blinked. Lan Sierran stood at the entrance to the cafeteria, wearing a bathrobe and holding a cup of his own in one hand. "Lan?"

"That's me," he agreed. "Can't sleep?"

"I've been working through the simulations. It's left me a little keyed up." She thought, but did not say, A little disbelieving.

She did not for a minute believe that Obodi, or Sedon, or whatever the h.e.l.l his name was, had traveled in a stasis bubble from thirty-five thousand years in the past.

Or fifty, or whatever.

Lan came forward, pulled a chair up near her and sat down on it, cross-legged, gathering his robe around his legs before he did so. The robe looked old and faded, as though it had been with him for a while. He cradled his cup in his lap and gestured to Denice to join him. "I know where the tea is stored, if you couldn't find it."

Denice sat down on top of the long table nearest Lan, folded into lotus. "I found the coffee. I like coffee well enough."

"Cream or sugar?"

"I don't take either. Cream is a dairy product and sugar is bad for you."

"Health junkies are so boring."

Denice sipped her coffee. "Caffeine's not great for you either, but at least it washes out of your system pretty quick."

"Did the simulations answer your questions?"

"As much as could be expected in one night, I suppose. Some places I didn't even know what questions to be asking."

Lan nodded. "I've talked to Ring myself on odd occasions. It can be wearying. The thing just does not think the way we do."

"That wasn't my problem; there was just too much information to wade through. I found Ring itself-oh, let's say I found it comprehensible."

"You're a very odd person, then." It was said in such a way that Denice could not take offense at it.

"Could be. Something you started to say when we were talking yesterday-" Denice paused. "Day before, actually. My first day here. One of the questions Ring could not answer for me; why the PKF hasn't gone in and brain-drained Rebs right and left, the way they've done in the past when core membership has gotten too large. You've abandoned your cells-of-three organization; cracking you right now wouldn't be that hard, I'd think. Ring said that humans often made mistakes; but this seems an unlikely one. The PKFknows how to deal with the Rebs. I don't understand why they're not doing it."

Lan shrugged. "That's an easy one, actually. Eventually they will, but not until after the Fourth, not until after we've had our attempt. Have you wondered why we're so dead set on a summer revolution?"

"No," said Denice slowly, considering the question, "I don't think I have. If I gave it any thought I suppose I a.s.sumed you were looking to move before the size of your organization got so unwieldy that it came apart at the seams. Also, I'd imagine you're looking to capitalize on the popular support from the TriCentennial."

Lan snorted. "f.u.c.k popular support. All the support in the System won't put so much as one Elite cyborg out of commission. You're pretty close on one point, though; we're getting top big to stay underground much longer, and you're right also, when the Rebs have gotten anywhere near this size in the past, the PKF has come in and cracked them like a walnut. Want to guess why that hasn't happened this time?"

"I can't."

Lan Sierran smiled at her. "Secretary General Eddore is on our side."

Denice stared at him. "Don't insult my intelligence."

"Well, sort of. This is probably why Ring couldn't answer your question; it involves personal ambition, a very human thing. Eddore won't let the PKF crack down on the Rebs and Claw untilafter we've risen."

Lan grinned more widely. "Come on, I'm giving you all the hints in the System. Why would Eddore do that?"

It dawned on Denice like the detonation of a nuclear warhead. "Oh, my G.o.d. That-that slimy clone of a-"

Lan was nodding. "Yeah, all that stuff. But he'svery smart. Martial law changes everything. Elections get cancelled, postponed, legislation gets shoved through when n.o.body's looking, and when it's all over, after the PKF and s.p.a.ce Force have stomped us into the ground, there he sits; in Capitol City, in the midst of his fourth term. And fifth, and sixth-he doesn't have any intention at all of stepping down come January first of '77. He doesn't intend to step downever."

"The clone of a bleeder."