Imp had apparently set up a command of some sort under the name “Code green,” but Bredon could only guess what it was, or even what system her link was connected to.
Geste, sprawled across a motionless Imp, was in a light trance, communicating with his machines.
The Skyler demanded, “What's going on?” Bredon looked at her, and realized she was on the verge of hysteria.
“Damn!” Geste spat, coming out of his trance. “She's aborted every major weapon system we had! I let her take care of coordinating everything, so our weapons wouldn't get in each other's way, and she had saboteur systems built into everything she could get at, all set to shut down on that command!"
“I didn't trust you,” Imp whispered. “I had to be ready."
“Now what do we do?” the Skyler wailed.
Geste sat up and looked at her with disgust. She paid no attention, and his expression altered to a more contemplative one. “We still have the Skyland,” he said. “We can drop it on Fortress Holding if we have to. We'll need to sabotage his protective fields, though."
“Drop the Skyland? Oh, no, Geste. No, you don't.” The Skyler was suddenly calm, shocked back from the edge of hysteria by the threat to her hold. “Not my home you don't. Drop Arcade on him if you like!"
“Arcade doesn't fly, Skyler, and by the time I could make it fly-without Aulden's help-it would be too late to do any good. The Skyland is the only one of its kind, the only real weapon we have left, because Thaddeus would never think we would use it as a weapon."
“And he's right, damn him, and damn you, too, Geste! Nobody is going to do anything with the Skyland!"
“That's right,” Imp said from where she lay. “If you smash the Fortress you'll kill Aulden and the others."
“But…"
“No buts, Geste!” The Skyler's tone had softened somewhat.
Imp said, “I know you mean well, Geste, and maybe you're right, in the abstract, but we can't do it. We can't kill our friends and smash the Skyler's home. We can't."
Geste looked up at the Skyler, and then down at Imp, who still lay sprawled before him.
“You want to surrender?” he asked.
“We don't want to,” Imp replied, lifting herself up on one elbow. “We have to. If Thaddeus has those seven people, we can't let him kill them."
“Would you say that if Aulden weren't one of them?"
“I don't know,” Imp admitted, “I really don't. But it doesn't matter, because he is one of them."
“If he is,” Bredon said, breaking into the conversation for the first time. He had been very carefully thinking over what he had seen, in the light of his new understanding of Terran technology. “Why did Thaddeus only show those images for quick flashes like that? Maybe he faked them, or used old recordings."
Startled, the other three all looked at him. “But Mother said…” Imp began.
“If he faked the pictures, couldn't he have faked that transmission, too?” the Skyler asked her.
Geste stared at Bredon, but said nothing. The corners of his mouth twitched, however, and Bredon knew he was thinking hard, and was pleased with the results.
The two women, after staring at each other speechlessly for a few seconds, turned to stare at Geste, waiting for his response.
“Could he be faking it?” Imp demanded.
“I think,” the Trickster said at last, “that we had better check for ourselves that Thaddeus does have captives, that he hasn't killed them already, before we agree to anything."
“How can we do that, if Thaddeus is faking all the transmissions out of Fortress Holding?"
“We'll demand to see the captives in person, in the flesh."
“He won't allow that,” the Skyler said derisively.
“Why not?” Geste asked. “If he doesn't, what is he afraid of?"
The Skyler hesitated, then answered, “He won't trust us inside his fortress. We might sabotage the place, somehow."
“He can take precautions. Or he can bring the prisoners out."
“He won't bring them out; we might rescue them."
“Then he'll have to let us in. If he doesn't, then we'll fight him. All we want is proof that they're still alive."
The Skyler studied the Trickster's face. “You're up to something, Geste,” she said. “I know you are, and Thaddeus will know it, too."
“My reputation,” he said with a mock sigh, addressing himself to Bredon. “No one ever trusts me!"
“That's right, and Thaddeus won't, either,” the Skyler said.
“But he'll let us in anyway,” Geste said with a smile, “because he's absolutely certain that he's smarter than I am, and able to counter whatever scheme I might have."
“Then you do have a scheme!” Imp exclaimed.
Geste smiled again, wryly. “Not really,” he said.
After a pause he added, “At least, not yet."
Chapter Twenty-One
“'…I, Hsin of the River, will grant you a wish. Anything you desire shall be yours!’ And he gestured grandly at the surrounding magnificence.
"Thedor blinked in surprise.
"'I want to go home,’ he said uncertainly.
"'Of course,’ said Hsin. ‘My creatures will carry you from this house, and from this island, and see you safely home. That is not enough; I had intended to do that much in any case. What else would you have?'
"Thedor thought for a moment, and then he said, ‘My friends will not believe me when I tell this tale. Can you give me some token to show that I do not lie?'
"'Again, you ask too little,’ Hsin said. ‘I tell you that my creatures will escort you to your village, in plain sight of all. Furthermore, if you return here, you will always be welcome in the House of Fifty Peacocks, and although you may not see me, my familiar spirits will always be ready to speak to you, and to testify to whoever may accompany you as to the truth of what you say. Now, what more would you have of me?'
"Overwhelmed, Thedor thought long and hard, and then said, ‘My grandfather, whom I loved, died last year. Could you bring his spirit to speak to me, so that I might thank him for the wisdom he taught me, and tell him how much I miss him?'
"At this, Hsin was overcome with emotion. When he could speak again, he said, ‘Death is hard, is it not, little one? Alas, even I cannot bring back the dead, unless I have studied their souls while they still lived. Is there nothing you would have for yourself?'
"'I can think of nothing,’ Thedor said.
"'Then go in peace,’ Hsin replied, ‘and I will have spirits watch over you and keep you safe from all harm, for as long as you shall live…"
– from the tales of Atheron the Storyteller
The image of Thaddeus, bright against the gathering dusk, stared at Geste in outraged disbelief. “You want what?” it demanded.
“Look, Thaddeus,” Geste answered calmly, “we know that you've had Aulden there for wakes now. You could be showing us recordings, or simulations, or androids, or pseudoclones, or even the original bodies with the brains rebuilt. We need to know that these are really who you say they are, and there is nothing you can transmit that can't be faked. We need to see these people, talk to them, feel them, maybe run gene scans and neuropattern tests with our own equipment.” Geste shrugged. “I don't think we're being unreasonable at all. You're asking us to surrender ourselves to you in exchange for the lives of our friends; well, we want to check your credit, so to speak, and make certain that you actually have those lives and haven't already destroyed them. You couldn't buy a ship back on Terra without a credit check, and you can't here, either."
“If you think I'm bringing them out where you can get at them with one of your sleight-of-hand maneuvers, Geste, you've gone mad."