“You’ve seen these before, but do you know how they work?” Hammer flipped the thing over, revealing a long, thick needle. “Once this is inserted it can never be removed. It controls electrical impulses in the brain. I can command it to block sensations of fear or pain. Or to take away the desire to think for yourself, turn you into something mindless, a drone that only follows commands. In other words, it can take away your free will.”
Jeth stared at the thing. It looked more like a spider than ever, one that fed on souls instead of blood. And Hammer commands it. Jeth examined Hammer’s appearance, realizing for the first time that he wasn’t wearing his red implant.
“I use this particular device on the Guard because they are unworthy to be Brethren,” said Hammer. “They might have committed a crime against me or they might lack the necessary intelligence, or their psychological profile suggests they are prone to cowardice. Or, more likely, betrayal.”
Like me, Jeth thought, catching the subtext in Hammer’s words. A cold sensation slid over his skin, seeming to absorb inward, chilling his heart. He pictured Danforth, remembering how he once had been and how he was now. The comparison made him shudder.
Hammer turned over his right hand, revealing another spider-like object, this one black. “This device is for the people whose loyalty I wish to have willingly and not by force. It can be safely removed, and while it does enhance key cognitive abilities, it does not remove the ability or desire for self will. On the contrary, I want my Brethren to think and act on their own. There are too many situations that require reasoning and ingenuity, as I’m sure you can imagine.”
Oh, Jeth could imagine it all right. It was the difference between sentience and machinery. Between life and a pale mockery of it.
“Oh, I almost forgot to mention,” Hammer said, his tone perversely casual. “This one”—he held up the clear-colored device—“can also shut down brain functionality entirely from a single command, or at the detection of a foolish attempt to remove it.”
Jeth smacked his lips, which had swollen to the size of his index fingers. “You mean it can kill you from the inside.”
Hammer bared his teeth. They were small in his fat face, white and sharp. “Precisely. Now, let’s get down to it. One of these is destined for you. It’s been in your future from the moment your uncle sat down at that gaming table and gambled first your ship and then your life away.”
The world seemed to lurch sideways as the full meaning of Hammer’s words struck Jeth. “He gambled me?”
“Oh, not so literally. He’d already lost Avalon and was desperate to get the ship back, but he had no collateral for the game. Instead I offered him a deal. If he won, he got Avalon back. If he lost, he would stay and become a permanent resident of Peltraz and do freelance doctoring when I needed it. At the time, I didn’t realize what a valuable asset his young wards would turn out to be. Not that it took long.”
No, it didn’t. Jeth had started working for Hammer mere months after Milton lost Avalon. It had never occurred to him to wonder why Milton hadn’t just found some other way out of Peltraz, taking Jeth and Sierra somewhere planet-side. A place where Jeth wouldn’t have drawn the interest of a crime lord and where Lizzie could’ve gone to school and been a normal kid.
“So, you see,” Hammer continued, “I decided years ago that you would become a member of my personal security force. I’ve been molding you for it ever since.”
Jeth glowered. “You haven’t molded me into anything. I’m nothing like you.”
Hammer gave him a patient look. “Then why don’t you ask yourself why you’re so good at being bad.”
Jeth managed a scowl despite the injuries on his face. “Fine, if you’re so certain about me, why didn’t you just implant the damn thing already and be done with it. I know you don’t have a problem forcing people into your service.”
“Not at all, although I prefer willing members instead of conscripted ones. The Guard have their uses, of course, but they could hardly be considered sufficient manpower for the kind of interplanetary organization I run. That’s why I have the Brethren. And only the willing ever join the Brethren.” He pulled out his personal comm and checked it briefly. “Now, there’s one little hitch. You were born on Therin, which is a Confederated planet.”
“So what?”
“These implants were designed by the ITA. They’re legal, Jeth, and I’m not the only one to use them. There are many governments across the galaxy that do. The black ones are normally for soldiers, the clear ones for prisoners—or slaves. The ITA carefully monitors each device, and they cannot be activated on anyone registered with the Confederation who is under eighteen. Like you.” Hammer paused. “Except you will be eighteen very soon.”
Just a few days. Jeth closed his eyes, willing himself to be unconscious again, willing himself to somehow enter metaspace without a drive or gate and be gone from here. Gone so far that no one could ever reach him again. But it was a child’s fantasy.
Jeth summoned what remained of his courage and said in an even voice, “What exactly are you threatening?”
“Oh, it’s not a threat, merely a statement of fact.”
Hammer returned the two implants to the compartment on the wall. Then he faced Jeth again and slipped a hand inside the front of his jacket, withdrawing a small, rectangular case. Hammer opened it, revealing the red brain implant he normally wore. Except for its color, the thing looked no different from the other two implants. He pulled it out, flipped it over in his hand, and then raised the sharp point to the back of his head. Then, with a sickeningly wet sound, Hammer pushed the thing into his skull. The flaccid red tentacles surged to life, stretching up and outward, wrapping themselves around the base of Hammer’s head and neck.
Jeth flinched and looked away, his stomach churning.
“In a moment,” Hammer said, “I will summon Sergei to take you to a private medical facility where my physicians will insert into your brain and spine the architecture necessary to support an implant. It’s a relatively simple procedure, all things considered, and when you wake up you won’t have much more than a headache. Then, when you turn eighteen in a little over a week from now, you will receive one of the implants I showed you. All of this will happen, whether you like it or not. Which implant you receive, however—now, that will be up to you.”
Hammer took a deep breath and then leaned toward Jeth, his expression menacing. “Betray me again, continue to defy me, or make any attempt to escape my service, and you will receive the clear one, the one for the Guard. I will have it inserted in you and, when the rest of your crew comes of age, in them as well. Shady and Flynn will become members of the Guard along with you, while Celeste and your sister will be placed in one of my brothels.” A slow, icy smile formed on Hammer’s face. “And the beautiful thing about this arrangement is that you won’t even care.”
If Jeth had anything left in his stomach he might have vomited. As it was, he could only sit there, frozen in place by terror and dread. And that suffocating hopeless feeling.
“If, in the time you have left, however,” Hammer continued, “you can find some way to earn my trust, to convince me that your loyalty is certain and that you will never again attempt to betray me, I will give you the second implant. Things will stay just as they are now. You and your crew will continue to do jobs as appropriate, and you will slowly rise through my ranks of Brethren, perhaps even becoming general yourself someday. You will never want for work or food or purpose.”