"It is the curse of one who wears the ring that he cannot exhibit inordinate curiosity about it," Chen told him. "Part of the master program compels the computers to ensure that all five are always in human hands. If one is destroyed, they must make another-it is quite ironic, in fact. No one is exactly compelled to be told the meaning and use of the rings, but if someone finds out, as you have, it becomes dangerous to you and to me. Any attempt to search out the owners of the other four baubles is, of course, dealt with. I have no desire to be 'dealt with,' as I'm sure you will understand."

Hawks nodded. "You have subjected it to testing, though?"

"I have. Inside its beautiful exterior, under the jade and bonded to the ring in a way we can but guess upon, there is in effect an incredibly tiny computer.

Unfortunately, someone conveniently lost the operating manual. It became the signet of the Chairman of the Presidium, the rank that I currently hold. It has long been suspected of being more than symbolic."

Hawks couldn't keep his eyes off the ring. "It is beautiful," he sighed.

"Yes, indeed it is, and that is fitting. I suspect our ancestors who designed the things had something of a sense of myth, or at least a sense of humor. The magic rings of power that will unlock the secrets of the universe. Myths and stories of such things are as old as man himself. In those days a Jason or a Sinbad would set out on an expedition to get the magic things from the evil rulers and creatures who possessed them, battling every obstacle of man, nature, and the supernatural. Now, thanks to the diaspora, the baubles are scattered amongst the stars, although by the terms of our magic spell-or program, as we crudely know it today-they all still exist, and all exist in the hands of human beings who can use them. We have all the makings here of a modern myth, and it would be a tragedy if (he objects did not look as grand as they were reputed to be. They are important enough to be forbidden knowledge. You tell me why."

"The builders of the Master System knew that what they did was unprecedented and unpredictable. They could not create it without a means to turn it off or at least to subjugate it to human will. Master System is compelled by its very core program to retain the rings, and in the hands of human authority. Humans with power and position, like yourself, my lord. It must also preserve the interface and make it possible for the humans, all five, to activate the override. The rings themselves are only parts of the code. They must all be present and inserted in a proper order. If that is done, Master System will submit to the orders and control of the five."

"I have suspected something of the sort through other sources, but this is absolute confirmation. I shall want all the details you can remember from the old documents. Naturally, this is all being recorded."

Carefully, sparing no detail, the Hyiakutt complied. He was surprised at how much he remembered and how easily it came to him, then guessed that some sort of enhancement had been given him along with the restoration program. Finally he was through, and Chen sat and thought for a while in silence. Then the Emperor said, very quietly, "I know the location of three of the other four."

Hawks stared at him. "Then you have the makings of a dangerous bargain, my lord."

"I do not bargain, particularly over something such as this. The rings must belong to humans of power and influence, you say. The fact is, almost anyone who could somehow acquire one, even steal it, would be a human of power and influence by the very act. On the scant evidence that it was something akin to what you now tell me it is, I have begun preparing. It is not an easy task to do so; one little slip can mean discovery and death even for one such as myself."

"You mean to get the rings, then. All of them."

"Indeed. I actually leaked the scant legends and clues to the rings around this whole world. Perhaps a tenth of all those pitifully few who are literate have heard the rumors. I cast lines randomly into the lake, and now I have pulled in the big fish. The group who amassed that documentation did not do so at my behest, but I was looking all over this world for signs that the bait was taken.

One achieves greatness with great risks or one remains a sheep and deserves to."

Hawks's heart sank. "I'm no trout at the end of your line."

"Oh, but you are. Why did you read it when you knew it was forbidden knowledge sure to cause you agony? Why did you then decide to try and reach me with that knowledge? Self-preservation? Nonsense! You might have convinced yourself of that, but the fact is, if you were that sort of a man, you would never have read it in the first place. So why did you set out? Do you really know yourself as well as I know you?"

Hawks remained silent.

"You came," Chen said, "because you needed to believe that there was some way out of this mess. Way in the back of your mind, perhaps deep in your subconscious, you want those five rings united. You want the rule of the computer, the stifling of humanity, to end. You want to believe that it can end.

The others-the ones who could come and did not-are sheep. They are either satisfied with things as they are, or they fear the consequences of any changes, any real freedom. They are complacent-or afraid. You feared you would find the tale a lie. They fear discovering that it is the truth."

Hawks's emotions were in turmoil, but he knew just where he stood and why. It was one thing to challenge the grip of the almighty Master Program, one thing to pray for, even work for, a crack in that system, but even in the incredibly unlikely event that it was possible both to gather the rings and to discover how to use them, it was now for what? For Lazlo Chen, who dreamed of empire? Who dreamed, in fact, of godhood? He had been this route before and answered yes.

Now he was not so certain of his logic.

"The system is stagnant," he told the Director. "This is not a healthy long-term condition for humanity to be in, and the longer it goes on, the less able anyone will be to stop it. It might already have gone too far. Still, there is some merit in the system. Without the computer revolt there would be no humanity.

We are held back to a degree, but we are free within our own worlds and the limitations placed upon us. There are no prying eyes here governing our going to the bathroom or even monitoring this conversation. It is irrelevant to the computers. We are in a rut, but we have been in ruts before. I admit I am dissatisfied with the situation, but as a historian I must also weigh the alternatives."

Chen got up and slowly paced in front of the throne. He was an imposing figure, and the act did more to enhance his superior position than being seated had.

"It is true that we are not slaves," Chen admitted. "Do you know what we are?

Pets. Pets and experimental animals. We have long lives with ourselves as the primary cause of death. Set us back many centuries, remove vast parts of our populations to the stars, and then wind us up and see what we can make-just so long as we don't try and gain control of the old technology. We are the interstellar empire our ancestors dreamed of, yet we are not the emperors of it.

We are interstellar traders whose product is people and skills and ideas, and here we are, you and I, sitting in a tent in the middle of a godforsaken steppe surrounded by camels, illuminated by torchlight, and drowning in a sea of faces that daily grows more joyously ignorant, more stupid, and more complacent. I rule an area larger than any empire in human history, yet I rule garbage!"

"What you say may be true," Hawks admitted. "Yet you must pardon me, mighty ruler, if I point out that the alternative you offer is yourself. I think it is irrelevant how wise and kind and good you might be or how wondrous your vision-I wonder now if any human being is capable of assuming such power without being driven mad by it. I once believed, not long ago, that any human rule was preferable, but I forgot that the absolute rulers of the past had limits. There can be only one Master System. There will never be two to compete. The power is beyond challenge."

"Indeed? And what would you have done if you'd had all five rings and the secret of their use?"

"Mankind is primitive once more, but also self-reliant and in a broad sense not ignorant at all. We have our histories, our cultures, and we are a self-sufficient lot these days. I would shut the master computers down and let things proceed on their own, without limits or chains, after that, even if it took thousands of years to rise once more and unite our people."

"You are wrong on many counts, my friend," Lazlo Chen responded. "First and foremost you are wrong that there can ever be only one Master System. We here in the Centers, and out in the other worlds as well, are getting away with a great deal under Master System's collective nose at the moment because it is preoccupied. For centuries it has spread and spread its rule and its system with it, but it has now run into something it cannot break. Far beyond us, Master System is preoccupied in a protracted war. It does not involve living beings, I don't think, but it is stalemated and continues on because neither side can yield or gain. The systems here have started to loosen, to become even more lightly controlled than before. Many have taken advantage of this, and there is now an awareness by the Master System that it has been neglecting its back. The easiest way to protect itself is to tighten our leashes. Eliminate the Centers.

Eliminate all of the technical class. Revert us all to total, primitive barbarism and buy thousands of years of freedom from worry. A prototype experiment of this sort is already under way out there in space."

"Once I thought in cosmic terms and with cosmic ambitions, my lord," Hawks responded carefully. "Then this circumstance forced me to the other extreme and down to a level as basic as you describe. I am not like you. Your position, ambitions, and reach are your personal as well as professional goals. I, who am on a far lower level, find that I must choose between the personal-the spiritual, if you will-and cosmic aims and ambitions. My role in this is done."

Lazlo Chen's sharp eyebrows rose. "Indeed? The primitive life? The romance of nature? For how long? A week? A month? Five years? What is that?"

"Enough," Hawks answered.

"A waste. You have allowed your romanticism to blind you. You are a technological man, a scholar of intense training and excellent abilities. An analytical mind whose study is human behavior. Yet you are a risk taker, a man who in a primitive land could wind up literally naked and defenseless and yet survive and beat the odds. There are precious few such men. Such men are dangerous, even to the system. Few such men are ever in the position that you are, where they reveal themselves to others and to their own inner selves. I need such men myself. What you need is a sense of reality combined with a broader romantic vision. I cannot let you go, you know. They will never stop hunting for you, and no matter what tricks I played with your mind, they could reach in and perhaps find me there. I could reorient you to my service, but again not without pointing a strong finger right back at me. So, if you will not accept my vision, what would you have me do with you?"

"You mean to kill me, then."

"I hope not. Again, it would be such a waste. Friend Raven has been most convincing that no threat of death, no hostages, would turn you, not even temporarily and certainly not for the long haul. Securing the rings will be no easy task. So what do I do with you?"

Hawks had an uneasy feeling. "My lord-where are my wives?"

"We must find a way to turn you to our advantage," Chen continued. "First, we must store you until we can get you away. Second, we must put you in a secure spot where we can examine the best things to do without a lot of messy interference. Very well, I will send you now to your women and show you what primitive really means. It will keep you all secure until I can arrange transit to Melchior. You've heard of Melchior?"

"Only that it is a security prison, my lord. Somewhere in space."

"It is a private research facility run by highly creative people, and it is not under Master System because no one ever leaves there. The Presidium controls it, and I control the Presidium. I will set them a task and see if they can be as creative as they are supposed to be. Very well. You are dismissed for now. They will take you to your holding point and your women. Go. But in all cases, remember this: I will have those rings!"

Hawks bowed, feeling totally dejected, then turned and walked out to the waiting guard. Chen watched him go, then gestured. Two figures emerged from behind the curtains in back of his throne. "You saw and heard?"

"What will you do with him, my lord?" Manka Warlock asked.

"First he is going to get a lesson in vulnerability. He is being taken to my private base, well below ground and far to the south, where I had his wives sent. There he will be reunited with them in my extensive underground garden, sealed off from all else by a forcefield. That will be his first educational step. Then we will send them all to Melchior as quickly as it can be arranged.

It will be difficult, since Master System must not be permitted an identifier or even to know that they are there instead of somewhere in the North American wilds playing house. Both of you have been detached from your various details and placed in the service of the Presidium. You will go along."

Raven, in particular, was upset. "But-my lord! Up there!"

"Indeed. I want you both to have expanded training. This will be-delicate."

Warlock seemed as pleased as Raven was not. The Presidium!

"And just what's supposed to happen after Melchior?" Raven asked him, forgetting all the formalities.

Chen didn't notice. "There they will be put through the works, but nothing permanent, while they broaden their view of the universe and get a better orientation on their own attitudes. They will also be introduced to any others useful to them. Finally, they will be given a way out. The first successful escape in the history of Melchior. They will be given a place to go, although they won't realize this. Finally, they will be forced into a quest for the other four rings, although they won't believe that it is for me. Hawks will suspect, but it will be irrelevant. Master System will set Vals to stalk him. He will always be hunted and afraid. He will have to get the rings or commit suicide in despair. His romantic vision cannot be realized without the rings taking the heat off, as it were. He wishes to run from responsibility, become a child again, but he will not. It is not within him. Precautions will be taken, of course, so that nothing will be traced back to me."

"You seem very sure of this," Warlock noted. "How can you be certain that you will be able to control him through this?"

"I can't and won't. Perhaps I can help here and there, but that's about all.

Most, perhaps he, will die in the quest, anyway, but there will be more all the time. You see, I don't have to control him. No matter what happens, he knows I have this ring. In the end, he must come for it. He or his successors, once started on this quest, will do whatever it takes for as long as it takes. It might well be years. Still, no matter what, in the end they will have to bring the other four rings back to me while I sit here the innocent potential victim, not the instigator. I don't even know if it's possible to assemble the rings. I intend to find out. I must find out. And the two of you will help me." Raven looked past Chen to Manka Warlock and wondered. If all five rings were in one spot, it would be up for grabs to anyone, from Master System to Chen to- well, him and Warlock. He didn't much like the terms and conditions, but this damned thing had real long-term possibilities.

11. FORTRESS MELCHOIR.

THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE EYES OF SONG Ching except that she who thought of herself as Chu Li received no messages from them. It was a devastating blow to her, but she knew she had to cope and put on a brave front for the other two.

She could not afford self-pity.

"I think there probably are no traps in there, after all," she told them. "1 think, though, that there are ones like this, used to subdue the worst and render them helpless or impotent. This can be restored with a mindprinter. It is simply an order to my brain not to process or pass the images it receives."

"But what can we do?" Chow Dai asked. Chu Li thought it was Chow Dai, anyway: The two sounded exactly alike. "You are the one who knows the magic of these things."

"We continue," she told them. "And I continue, since I have already paid a price. Do not blame yourselves. There is no way to know in advance about these things.

Get me back to the chair. We are almost half done, and we must hit a key one soon."

They helped her, and she was right. The next one, in fact, was the one she had been hunting for all along. She knew it the moment she awoke, and she knew, too, just how it worked. She could talk to the ship, the pilot- anything. The language the ship used was English. She had suspected something like that; most of the computer controls from the old designs were in English, French, or Russian. The problem had been finding the right cartridge for communications.

She immediately called a halt to further experimentation, although she insisted that the Chow sisters also take both the English program and the basics of the ship. They wouldn't be very proficient no matter what, but at least she would have some backup.

She was ready to communicate. She knew the language, and she knew what to ask.

She put the headset back on. Now was the time to risk it all.

"Captain to pilot," she said in her adjusted male voice, this time in English.

"Go ahead," the computer responded in a monotone.

"Number of human life forms aboard vessel at this time. Monitor."

"Monitoring. Four life forms."

Four! That meant that Sabatini was still alive somewhere, although if he hadn't shown himself by now, it was probable that he was indeed trapped. "Location of human life forms."

"Three in central compartment. Fourth is in emergency module."

Just as she had thought. "Sealed orders have been opened that necessitate emergency change of operational plan."

"Go ahead."

"Captain Sabatini has fallen under suspicion of treason and has been relieved of his command. I am assuming command of this vessel."

"Identifier code?"

She swallowed hard, but she had thought this out. This was a Presidium ship making China calls. It was unlikely that Song Ching's father would have overlooked it. "Code Lotus, black, green, seven two three one one."

There was a nervous pause, then the computer responded, "Code acknowledged.

Reason for interrupt?"

"Pawn takes king."

"Details?" the pilot requested.

She decided that it was requesting a rationale since there was obviously no king aboard.

"I am Song Ching, daughter of the chief administrator, China District. Enemies of my father altered my voice and tried to alter more of me, as well as doctoring my security records, to abduct me and thereby gain leverage with my father. I was being shipped to Melchior as a common prisoner, there to be handed over to confederates. As I am registered as a male named Chu Li, who was disposed of, nothing appears in the records, nor will it."

"Identification of enemies?"

"Unknown, but to do this and to use Melchior they must certainly be on the Presidium."

"Shall your father be notified?"

"Impossible. He is on Leave, which is why this was done now. Extent of plotters unknown, but some must be in the China Directorate."

"Desired course of action?"

"I am assuming complete and total command of this vessel from this point on.

Captain Sabatini is relieved and will be confined where he is until he can be properly interrogated. In the meantime, I and my servant girls must get beyond the reach of Presidium authority and Master System must not be notified, as I am currently classified as prisoner Chu Li and will be returned. Recommendations?"

"I am a system vessel. I cannot remove you to any place where you would not be traced here. I could forge documentation that would pass an interstellar pilot's muster, but you would be easy to trace. There is a clandestine network of interstellar traders, but it is, like this ship, loosely affiliated with the galactic presidiums. These people are quite rough and loyal only to themselves in the end. If they knew who you were, they would turn you over for reward to the highest bidder. If they do not know and do not find out, then you might wish you were on Melchior. They are men and women of the same sort of mind-set as Captain Sabatini."

She well understood what that meant, particularly now that she was blind.

Sabatini had broken her without drugs or computers in a matter of days, and although she didn't feel like she was one, she was in fact a very desirable young woman. There was no question now where Sabatini's sex cartridges had come from.

"There are no other alternatives?"

"None available. The only habitats fit for you without severe and permanent alterations, which themselves would have to be done under the aegis of Master System, are Earth, shipboard, and Melchior. All others are under a Directorate.

Mars, for example, would require both Master System's direct contact and also artificial atmospheres, as you are not modified for the Martian environment.

Remaining with this ship for long is also not an alternative. Once we miss traffic control at the Outer-belt Marker, an alarm will be given and search initiated. Short of my destruction, there is no way to avoid detection and apprehension for long periods."

She broke contact and decided to discuss things with the sisters.