She took it from him and tucked it carefully into the breast pocket of her jumpsuit so that the fuzzy asterism formed a decoration. "My award for valour," she remarked. "If we succeed tonight, I may cherish it for ever."
He lifted his gla.s.s to her and drank.
"In the Milieu," she said after a time, "the edelweiss plant grew wild only in high mountains. In the Alps."
"It"s the same in the Pliocene." He drained his gla.s.s and poured another. "And a somewhat perilous memento, as it turned out. Fortunately for me, young Jasmin Wylie is a wretched shot with a Matsu carbine."
"You found the Monte Rosa expedition!"
"It wasn"t difficult. I tried to be circ.u.mspect in my observations, but it"s obvious that I was expected-and unwelcome. I confess that I decamped without attempting to probe the markswoman"s motivation. Did the shoot-to-kill order come from Aiken Drum?"
"I-I"m afraid it was Hagen"s decision. The King concurred, however. He"s determined to have the aircraft."
"Let him have them."
She was surprised. "Don"t you intend to oppose the salvage operation?"
"Why should I? You must rea.s.sure Hagen and the King, tell them that I don"t intend to revisit Monte Rosa in the foreseeable future." His shadowed eyes held an enigmatic glint. "Nevertheless, I"m glad to have been able to bring you the flower."
The realization was upon her with spine-chilling suddenness.
"You brought it back with you on the d-jump."
"My first effort. Completely enclosed in my gloved hand, of course, which is almost cheating. But one must begin somewhere. Perhaps you"ll pa.s.s the information along to my son."
Harderharderharder MORE thrust MORE energy Od.a.m.n/ d.a.m.n ...
Elizabethlinkcreative/coerciveafferentQUICKLY!
IseeyesNOW ... okaythankG.o.dalmostlosthim ... Bring up the brainstem input again. He"s all right for moment with bypa.s.s.
(Sleepbabysleep).
JesusG.o.d let"s get out ...
They looked down at the small body, pale now against the white white coverlet, the chest rising and falling almost imperceptibly. "There"s no more pain," Elizabeth whispered. "But he almost slipped away from us, Marc. We went too far, pushed too hard."
"But it worked."
"Yes," she said dully. They rested for a long time, not speaking.
He said, "There"s still the torc-circuitry cutoff-the moment of truth. And then the boost to operancy."
She covered her face with her hands, deep in self-redaction.
When she lifted her head the lines of strain about her mouth and brow were erased but desolation looked from her eyes. Her voice was calm. "Marc, I can handle the abscission-but not the boost. Your energies exceed my capacity in this conformation.
I"m too finely tuned in the redactive mode, and Brendan needs brute thrust to break free of the latency."
"Let me take the executive, and we can do it."
Stark terror blended with rage fountained from her mind. "I knew it! This is what you"ve been waiting for all along, isn"t it?
The chance to take control of me!" Youwon"tyoucan"td.a.m.nyou neveragaincontrolGrandMastersprogrammedterminateultimate violationprevented"No, Elizabeth. I would not take advantage of you. Please trust me."
Her control rea.s.serted itself. "I can"t risk it. Brendan will be a normal person without the torc, even though he remains latent.
We must settle for that."
Marc leaned over the basket. The long, perfect fingers of his right hand caressed the top of the child"s skull, palpating the anterior fontanelle where the brain was protected only by fragile skin, the bones not yet fully knit together. "He could have so much more if you could only bring yourself to trust me."
"Aiken trusted you," she said. "You gave him a metaconcert program to use against Felice, intending that it should kill both of them."
"Nonsense."
"Do you know what frustrated your scheme? Let me show you!" She projected the events that climaxed the fight at the Rio Genii. "It was Felice herself who saved Aiken, in spite of the cost to herself, so that her beloved Culluket wouldn"t be annihilated together with the King. When it was all over and Aiken had recovered, he a.n.a.lysed your metaconcert program and removed the mental b.o.o.by trap. He can use it against you now without danger to himself-and he will, if you try to stop the reopening of the time-gate."
"My children must not pa.s.s into the Milieu. They don"t realize what they"re doing."
"If you"re concerned about your personal safety and that of the other ex-rebels, we can give a.s.surance that if you behave peaceably-"
"There can be no a.s.surance if my son leaves here-but that"s beside the point."
Elizabeth cried out, "All this is beside the point! The only thing that matters here and now is this child. Will you work with me in the coercer-inferior conformation to complete the redaction, or won"t you?"
He inclined his head slowly. One side of his mouth lifted in that smile of peculiar sweetness. Compelling trust, offering to light and rule.
"Follow me," she said, and they began again.
ComebabycomeBrendan. Let go. Come this way not that.
AFRAID.
Let go baby. Try the new way steep but better leading to good things soon to be easy very easy.
NO. AFRAID.
(Now Marc push.) NO [anguish] NO!
(HarderMarcharder burn behind him so he must use the NewWay.) Seebabysee yes O yes come along now Brendan.
(Almost ready ... ) Just try baby try once only then (CUT OFF!) yes.
[ W O N D E R . ] I told you it would be good.
[WONDER.] Yes baby yes.
[Joy. Release. Growth.] Yes. (Wrap up the premotor cortex Marc while I hold. Ah.