The panel closed. The flyer jerked aloft. They clung to each other to shield themselves from the buffeting.
"You can change form," Lysander murmured in her ear. "Fly away. You"ve done all you could."
"They know my ident.i.ty," she reminded him. "They"d only search me out, and punish anyone who helped me."
He was silent. It was true. She was probably in for it, because she had tried to help him escape, and Alyc wouldn"t like that.
"I should have agreed to serve the Hectare," he said. "And walked out when I had a chance."
"I"m glad you didn"t." She leaned forward and kissed him.
"We"ll both pay for this break, as Belle did, but at least we tried."
He kissed her back. "As romances go, this has been extremely brief. But if both of us should later find ourselves free..."
"Agreed," she said. "Maybe this is just a temporary occupation, and the invaders will move on to another planet."
"Somehow I fear not." And such was his identification with his role that he felt real regret. He knew that the occupation was to be permanent. The Hectare needed the planet"s supply of Protonite, which was the finest known compact energy source, and they regarded the game setup as ideal for relaxation. They would desert the planet only when there was nothing remaining to make it worthwhile to exploit.
But his private requirement was clear: he had to escape the captivity of the Hectare and seek sanctuary with the native resistance movement. Once he had fathomed its nature and had identified all the key personnel, he would betray it to the authorities, and the planet would be secure. He was sure that there was such a movement; there always was. If the Citizens had known that Alyc was a Hectare agent and left her alone, it could only have been because they were hiding their true effort. Jod"e might have led him there, but they had been intercepted too soon.
That was surely Alyc"s fault. It was another irony that she had unwittingly allowed her personal desire to interfere with the larger plan of her true employer, the Hectare. If the resistance movement made mischief because the counteragent was nullified by a superficial agent-but it was his job to see that that did not happen. He had special training which would enable him to escape, but he would avoid drawing on that as long as he could, to maintain the semblance of untrained loyalty to the native culture.
Meanwhile he was truly regretful that he would be unable to have a fling with Jod"e. Alyc had been entertaining, in the human fashion, but Jod"e would have been delightful.
"I think I have fallen in love with you, this past hour," Jod"e said.
"If you have, banish the notion!" he said, alarmed. "They could use it against you by threatening me!"
"Yes, that would be the way of the despot," she agreed.
"But had things been otherwise, I think I could have returned the sentiment," he said, kissing her again. That was probably true, if some very large allowances were made.
The flyer landed at the dome. A disciplinary robot was waiting for them. It herded them to a cell in the holding section adjacent to the s.p.a.ceport, where fired serfs were normally held until deportation was arranged. There was a bunk and shower and video screen, and that was all.
"They left us together?" Jod"e said, surprised. "This is a cell for one."
"Three conjectures," Lysander said. "One: this is only temporary, until they dispose of us shortly. Two: no one told the machine otherwise, so it dumped its load in the nearest cell. Three: they are so crowded with new detainees that they have to jam us in double."
"Four," she said. "They want to give us a chance to talk together, so they can listen and learn what we were doing out there. Five: the thing you said."
He nodded. He had warned her how one of them could be made to do what the captors wanted, if the other was threatened. Both her conjectures seemed good. Still, he was glad to be with her.
How should they play it? The moment Alyc received news of their capture, she would act. She knew the situation. So was there any point in pretending indifference to each other? Maybe a romantic motive would be better than a political one, as far as the Hectare were concerned.
He sat on the bed. "I think they don"t care about us, other than to ascertain whether there is any political significance to our attempted flight," he said. "Since our a.s.sociation is romantic rather than political, we have no need to hide it."
Her lips pursed appreciatively. "And we may not have much time together."
She took three steps and plumped down on his lap, evidently intending to make their time count. He embraced her, finding her body just as intriguing as he had found Alyc"s. The nakedness of serfdom was as.e.xual; it was the expression of s.e.xual interest that made a woman appealing. He knew that Jod"e was a bat, in one of her aspects, but it didn"t matter; he had seen how genuine the mixedbreed folk of this society were. Had Jod"e been a full android, she would have been stupid; it was her vampire aspect that lent her both wit and s.e.x appeal. He himself was a type of crossbreed, with his superior brain in an android body.
She grabbed his head and bent hers down to kiss him fiercely. His hands roamed as they had during the game of Fox and Geese, but this time there was no question about the nature of her body. "I wish we had understood each other better before," he said, his pulse racing.
She lifted her head, then brought his face into her bosom. That was a move Alyc had lacked, and it electrified him. He no longer cared what other types of creatures they both might be; body to body was what counted at the moment.
The cell door opened. "Sure enough."
Both Jod"e and Lysander jumped. It was Alyc!
Well, did it matter? He had broken with Alyc when she revealed herself as a traitor to the planet. Jod"e was next in line.
"I don"t suppose I could trust you anyway now," Alyc said to him.
"I was true to you, until you were false to Proton," Lysander replied. "If Jod"e had sided with the invaders, I"d have dropped her too. But she declared herself before I did."
Alyc considered. "Very well. Have your fling. I shall see what can be done to make you both useful to the new order." She stepped out of the cell, and the door slid closed.
"I don"t like the sound of that," Jod"e said.
"She"s jealous," he agreed. "She can probably have me gelded and you put on permanent scullery duty."
"But will the invaders support her, if it"s too much trouble?"
"Probably not. Her job is done. She has betrayed those who befriended her. But if she should find a way to continue being useful to the invaders, they might humor her."
"So this may remain our only opportunity," she said. "But if it"s all the same to you, the joy seems to have been deflated."
"Yes." He released her, and she got off his lap.
She turned on the video and tuned it to the news channel. They were abruptly locked into ongoing developments.
In the course of the rest of the day, and into the night, they absorbed reports of the landing and takeover by the Hectare. The investment of the planet, as they called it. There were human agents throughout, and these were handling the reorganization. Any Citizens who had not promptly reported to the concourse had been quickly hunted down by robots. The Hectare had evidently concentrated on the robot centers, and taken them over at the outset. But the real reason it was so easy was that the alien s.p.a.ceships...o...b..ted the planet, and periodically blasted small craters out of the landscape, just to show how readily it could be done. Any such blast at a dome would burn thousands. Open resistance was pointless.
One item disgusted them both: the freeing of the two renegade Adepts, Purple and Tan. Lysander had not seen either directly, but had learned their history. They had been part of the Adverse Adept group that had tried to seize power from Citizen Blue (or the Adept Stile), and then they had betrayed even their own side and tried to become dictators. They had deserved execution, but Citizen Blue had been lenient. Now they were free and the loyal Brown Adept was prisoner, under house arrest in her castle. So the evil were being uplifted, and the good cast down. Lysander was a hidden agent for the Hectare, but this was hard to stomach.
What had happened to Tania, the beautiful woman Lysander had met, and her husband Clef? There was no report on them. Probably they had been driven into hiding. Lysander hoped that when he penetrated the heart of the resistance movement that they were not there; he did not want to have to be the one to betray them.
Finally, tiring of the dreary news, Lysander and Jod"e lay on the bunk. They had considered taking turns on it, but decided that if they were to be punished for being lovers, they might as well act like lovers. So they stretched out together, intending to sleep, but got interested so decided to make love-and then fell asleep before getting to it.
All next day they remained confined, with only each other and the video screen for company. A portable food dispensing machine was brought periodically so that they could select their meals, but they saw no living person or even a humanoid robot. They did hear faint sounds in adjacent chambers, and realized that the premises were indeed crowded. Any new regime had many enemies to contend with, and prison or the equivalent was about the only resort until they were all sorted out.
"If they get too crowded, they may have to let us go," Lysander said. "After all, we haven"t done anything, and we"re hardly a threat to them."
"Let"s hope," she agreed. Then, curious, she a.s.sumed bat form and flitted out when the mealbot came, flying back unnoticed before it finished serving. "Jammed," she reported. "They"re going to have to move us out soon."
But it wasn"t until the following day that they were taken out. A guard machine escorted them to the main hall, where a small cargo transport waited. They climbed in and a sliding panel sealed them in. Then they suffered a fast, rough ride through the city transport system.
When the transporter stopped, they were at the entrance to an attractive estate. In fact, it was that of Citizen Tan; Lysander saw the marking at the entrance.
Indeed, Citizen Tan was there: Tania"s brother, not only freed from confinement but restored to his former status. No need to inquire what had happened to Tania; she must have been interned with the other true Citizens. The Hectare had acted with startling precision and speed to secure their base. The capture of Lysander himself had probably been just one of hundreds of such missions proceeding simultaneously. The Hectare were old hands at planetary subjugation; they allowed no leeway for problems.
They entered the main chamber-and Jod"e"s breath hissed in with shock. A monster stood there.
Lysander blinked and reconsidered. Monster? That was a Hectare! It stood somewhat above the height of a human being, with monstrous multifaceted eyes at the top, many stout little caterpillar feet at the base, and a hairlike greenish mantle covering much of the torso. A perfect specimen of its species. He, Lysander, had become so acclimatized to the human state that he had seen the creature through human perception.
It was probably well that he had done so, for his muted reaction would have been noted. A Hectare saw everything in its vicinity; that was the ability of the eyes. Each facet was individually lensed and controlled, an entire separate eye, and any several could focus on a particular object and perceive it with complete acuity. He had reacted normally, and so had not given himself away. For it was as important that the local Hectare not know his nature and mission as that the natives not know. That way, nothing could give him away.
The man stepped forward. He wore a headdress that looked like nothing so much as a squirming ma.s.s of little tentacles. "Serfs, meet your master," he said. "This is the representative of the Hectare, whose private ident.i.ty is irrelevant for you. You will henceforth obey any creature of this type as you would a Citizen, implicitly. However, the Hectare will normally work through intermediaries such as myself, identified by Hectare caps, whom you will also obey without question. Early examples will be made of any who cause difficulty."
He frowned. "Indeed, the two of you, together with an errant unicorn, did cause minor mischief. The male is desired by one of our collaborators, and the female aided him in an attempted break. Examples shall therefore be made of you-but not unpleasant ones, for you. Each of you shall become the love slave of a collaborator. Do you find that appealing?"
There was no answer. Tan made a signal, and rays lanced down to sting both Lysander"s and Jod"e"s bare feet. Both jumped back with exclamations of pain.
"When questioned, you will answer," Tan said.
"I find that appalling," Lysander said quickly. His mind was racing. If Tan had the same power of the Evil Eye that Tania had, that meant he could look into the face of a person and compel that person to do anything he wished. Lysander was probably proof against such suasion, because he had been well prepared as a counter resistance agent, but if he showed that, Tan would know his nature, and his secret would be compromised. He had to avoid Tan"s effort.
"So do I," Jod"e said.
Tan looked at her, his eyes narrowing appreciatively. "You have the vamp aspect, and you are extremely comely. You could have an excellent situation, if you cared to serve the Hectare."
"I am loyal to the old order," she said.
"And you, Lysander," Tan said. "You are an expert games-man, and you have training in computer feedback circuitry. You too could have an excellent situation."
"I prefer not," Lysander said.
"The two of you are lovers?"
"Yes," Lysander answered. They had not actually made love, but they would have soon enough, and wanted to. The cell"s spy lens would have recorded their start in that direction, before Alyc interrupted it.
"Let me make something plain to you both. The Hectare power is absolute. It will remain here indefinitely, until the planet has been exploited to the point that it is no longer worthwhile. You can not change that. But you can affect your own lives. If you join the Hectare, and give loyal service, you will be rewarded with an excellent life. If you do not, you will serve the Hectare anyway, but your position will be less advantageous for yourselves. You may make your choice now."
Both shook their heads no.
"You are lovers," Tan said. "Agree to serve, and you may remain so. You will work together, and your free time will be your own. You will work in your specialties, and not be asked to do anything against your consciences. This is a good offer."
Lysander looked at Jod"e. "I think you should accept. I believe it is as he says."
She turned to him. "Are you going to accept?"
"No."
"Then I could not be your lover, because they would not grant you your wish."
"This is true," Tan said. "The reward for the cooperation of the two of you is yourselves. If one does not join, you will have lovers, but not each other."
"I did not intend to accept anyway," Jod"e said. "The most I could agree to is not to work against the bug-eyes if I am released. But I would never collaborate with them against the true culture of this world."
"There will be a penalty for the pejorative term," Tan said.
"Then I might as well make it clear that they will always be bug-eyed monsters to me. BEMs, exactly as in the old stories."
The Hectare made no reaction.
"This has gone far enough," Tan said. "Your penalty for failing to cooperate is to be compelled to be the love slave of a collaborator, as I mentioned before. Your penalty for the cra.s.s remark is to become my personal love slave. Does this appeal to you?"
"The prospect revolts me," she said.
Tan"s aspect changed subtly. Lysander realized that the man had shifted to his Phaze ident.i.ty. "Do thou look at me, vamp."
She turned her face away from him.
A stun beam came down from the ceiling, evidently set at partial intensity. Jod"e slumped but did not fall.
Tan reached out and turned her head toward him. She was unable to resist. He stared into her eyes. "Thou dost be mine," he murmured.
The beam shut off. Jod"e recovered. "Aye," she said.
"Thou mayst kiss me."
Lysander had expected either extreme reluctance, or a carefully faked effort. He was dismayed at what actually happened.
Jod"e flung her arms around Tan and kissed him pa.s.sionately. "O thank thee, beloved!" she breathed.
Tan did not respond in kind. "Now kiss Lysander," he said.
Jod"e froze. Then her head turned toward Lysander. "Needs must I?"
"I wish to demonstrate that thy orientation be completely changed. Kiss him."
She grimaced. "An I must, I must," she said with resignation. "I hate him not, but it be thee, sir, I long for." She stepped up to Lysander and kissed him fleetingly on the cheek.
"That be not sufficient," Tan said sternly. "Yield to him." He looked directly at Lysander, and his eyes seemed huge. "And thou, Lysan-I compel thee not, yet. But take her in thine arms and do with her as thou wouldst. Make her respond to thee."
It was a challenge Lysander was glad to accept. He enfolded Jod"e and held her close for the kiss.
Her body was stiff, and her lips mushy. Either she was a consummate actress, or she had no interest in his attention. She gave him no private signal. She merely tolerated his touch. As soon as he released her, she stepped back toward Tan, her stiffness fading.
"She be thine no longer," Tan said to Lysander. "I can use my power but once on a gi"en person, but it be permanent. I would spare myself the effort on thee. Thou hast lost thy love, but canst still achieve a worthwhile position an thou accept allegiance now."
Lysander was impressed. He didn"t think Jod"e was pretending. But his mission prevented him from collaborating with the puppet government the Hectare was setting up. "No."
"Then needs must I prepare thee for Alyc, as she asked," Tan said. "Face me."
Lysander had delayed as long as he could. He had to act. He turned his face slowly toward Tan-then leaped for the Hectare.
He pa.s.sed right through the creature-as he had expected. It was a holo image, not a physical presence. The Hectare were careful about personal exposure; only when they were quite sure of their company did they risk it.