“Peruge’s friends have the bicycle,” Hellstrom said.
She looked at him, not understanding.
“The bicycle you took when you sneaked into town,” Hellstrom explained.
“Ohhh! The workers who picked me up were so insistent they made me forget all about it.”
“By taking that bicycle, you’ve created a crisis,” Hellstrom said.
“How could that be?”
“Don’t you recall where we got that bicycle?”
She put a hand over her mouth in sudden comprehension. All she’d been thinking about when she’d borrowed the machine was a quick way to get into town. There’d been a certain amount of pride in the action, too. She was one of the few workers who’d learned how to manage a bicycle. She’d demonstrated her ability for the engineers during the preceding week, even taught one of them to ride it. Her ingrained Hive-protective sense was fully aroused now, though. If that bicycle could be traced to the couple they’d thrown into the vats . . .
“What can I do to get it back?” she asked.
This is the Fancy I can work with and admire, Hellstrom thought, responding to her sudden alertness. “I don’t know yet,” he said.
“Peruge is coming to see you today,” she said. “Can I demand that he return it to me?”
“Too late for that. They’ve sent it away in an airplane. That must mean they suspect.”
She nodded. Fingerprints—serial numbers. She knew about such things.
“Our best move may be to deny that we ever had that bicycle,” she said.
“No telling who may’ve seen you on it,” Hellstrom said.
And he thought sadly: Our best move may be to deny that Fancy exists. We have others with a close enough resemblance to her face and body. Were her fingerprints likely to be on any of the documents she’d signed as Fancy Kalotermi? Not likely after this length of time.
“I’ve done wrong, haven’t I?” Fancy asked, beginning to grasp the extent of the problem she had created.
“It was wrong for you and other females to take Hive stores Outside. It was wrong to take that bicycle.”
“The bicycle—I see that now,” she admitted. “But the breeding hypes only insured fertilization.”
Even as she spoke, Hive honesty forced Fancy to admit to herself that this didn’t explain fully why she and the others used Hive stores this way. It had been an experiment at first, then a delightful discovery of how susceptible Outsider males were. She’d shared the discovery with a few sisters. They’d made up their own stories to explain to Outsider males who became curious. This was a very expensive new drug they had stolen. They might not be able to get more of it. Better to use it while they had it.
“You must name all of the females who shared your little trick,” Hellstrom said.
“Oh, Nils!”
“You must and you know it. All of you will give us detailed accounts concerning the reactions of Outsider males, how curious any of them may have been, who they were, how many times you’ve raided Hive stores this way—everything.”
She nodded dejectedly. It would have to be done, of course. The fun was ended.
“On the basis of our review, we may conduct some experiments Outside, fully controlled and observed,” Hellstrom said. “For that reason, be explicitly detailed in your account. Anything you recall could be valuable.”
“Yes, Nils.” She felt contrite now, but secretly elated. Perhaps the fun wasn’t ended. Controlled experiments meant further use of Hive methods on Outsiders. Who better qualified for such a project than those experienced in such tactics?
“Fancy, Fancy,” Hellstrom said, shaking his head. “The Hive has never been in greater peril and you continue to play your games.”
She clasped her arms around her body, hugging herself.
“Why?” he asked. “Why?”
She remained wordless.
“We could even be forced to send you to the vats,” Hellstrom said.
Her eyes went wide in alarm. She slipped off the desk, stood facing Hellstrom. The vats! But she was still young. She had many years of breeding service ahead of her. They needed her talents with the insects, too. Nobody was better than she was with the insects! She began to voice these arguments, but Hellstrom cut her short.
“Fancy! The Hive comes first!”
His words shocked her and she recalled suddenly the thing she had reminded herself to tell Hellstrom. Certainly, the Hive came first! Did he think her a moral reject?
“I have something else to report,” she said. “It may be important.”
“Oh?”
“The hype hit Peruge very hard. He thought I was asking him questions at one point. I wasn’t, but when I recognized what he was doing, I did ask questions. He wasn’t fully awake, just reacting. I think he spoke the truth.”
“What did he say? Out with it!”
“He said he’d come to make a deal with you. He said their study of the papers they’d found—about Project 40, you understand—led them to believe you were developing a new way to shape metals. Steel, that sort of metal. He said a metallurgical breakthrough could be worth billions. It didn’t always make sense, what he said, but that’s the gist of it.”
Hellstrom felt such elation at her words he wanted to get up and hug her. The Hive had been working through her!
Saldo came into the room as these feelings coursed through Hellstrom, and Hellstrom almost called the young male over to explain. Fancy’s discovery gave them a way out. It was a commercial invasion! This confirmed his deepest instincts about Hive learning. The lab would have to be told immediately. This might even help them in their own research. The wild Outsiders sometimes came up with rare insights.
“Have I helped?” Fancy asked.
“Indeed you have!”
Saldo, who had stopped for a few words with one of the observers at the banks of instruments, glanced across at Hellstrom and shook his head. Peruge was not yet on his way, then. Saldo had been instructed to give word at the first sign.
Hellstrom wanted Peruge to come now.
Metallurgy! Inventions! All those mysterious allusions now made sense, a remarkable degree of sense.
Fancy still stood at the desk watching Hellstrom.
“Did Peruge say anything else?” Hellstrom asked.
“No.” She shook her head.
“Nothing about the agency that sent him, the government agency?”
“Well, he did say something about somebody named Chief. He hates Chief. He cursed horribly.”
“You have helped enormously,” Hellstrom said, “but you must go into hiding now.”
“Hiding?”
“Yes. You’ve helped in many ways. I don’t even mind it any longer that you stole Hive stores. You’ve reminded us that we share the same body chemistry with Outsiders. We’ve changed somewhat in three hundred years, of course, because we’ve bred for that, but—” He gave her a brilliant smile. “Fancy, you must do nothing else now without consulting us.”
“I won’t. I really won’t.”
“Very good. Was Mimeca one of the breeder females you shared this little trick with?”
“Yes.”
“Excellent. I want you—” He hesitated, taking in her pale face, the expectant expression. “Is there any chance that last night’s escapade was successful, that you’re impregnated?”
“A very good chance.” She brightened. “I’m right at peak fertility. I’ve become pretty good at judging it.”
“See if the gestation lab can confirm that,” he said. “If it’s positive, your period of hiding should be pleasant enough. If you’ve been impregnated, turn yourself in at Worker Gestation Prime. Tell them it’s at my instructions. Don’t go on dormancy, though, until we’ve sent someone down to interrogate you on your use of the breeding hype with Outsiders.”