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noticed movement from behind the trash can, I should remain unseen.
The source of the light proved to be-as I had deduced- a makeshift window cut
into the prefab material. The scrap had been skillfully shaped into a shutter
that would cover the hole, but it was propped open now. I lowered myself
slowly prone, both so I would be less visible and to get my ears closer to the
opening.
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Conversation, lazy and sporadic, accompanied by rather interesting thuds and
clanks came to me. I lay there in the dirt, wishing I d brought along some
peepers, hoping that someone inside would speak up. I didn t dare sneak a look
until I had a better sense of where the occupants were in relation to the
hole.
Tired as I was from my long day, the ground seemed quite comfortable and the
warm night air made my watch almost relaxing. I believe I was close to
drowsing when a new voice, male and commanding, addressed the group in the
basement.
Almost done?
Almost, Your Absoluteness, replied one, bolder than the rest. These could
only manage mutters of agreement. I could almost hear the bowing and scraping.
Very good, the first voice replied. We shall ship out in the morning. You
may as well get some sleep. A mis-take at this point would be fatal to our
Cause-and we must be alert for our meeting with our new allies.
I could hear the capitalization in his tones. Nor was I in the least sleepy
any longer. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, adrenaline with a chaser of
pure terror.
The Absolute! Here, separated from me by just a few meters of prefab and dirt
stood the monomaniacal, charismatic leader who had galvanized his followers
into what had become the Bath War. Just a dozen standards or so past it had
been reported that he had vanished following the bombing of his headquarters.
His opposition claimed he was dead, but his followers proclaimed him alive and
fought on as if he was still at their head.
Apparently, he was. Equally apparently, he didn t want anyone to know
precisely where he was or he would have been enthroned in some public palace,
defying anything short of a planet-splitter to kill him.
I remained outside the window while the Absolute took his leave. Then I dared
a peek through the window. I glimpsed a small room, roughly dug out of the
heavy, clay soil. There was no evidence that power tools had been used, so it
must have been dug by hand-a considerable task.
Inside, by the light of battery-powered lights, four Batherites were stacking
crates near the foot of a ladder that ended below a trapdoor-closed now,
though it must have been through that square that the Absolute had addressed
his followers. Even as I watched, the workers finished their task and began to
ready themselves for rest.
They were sweaty from their labors, yet their only comforts were a plastic
cooler of water, some ration bars, and a covered bucket that served as a
chamber pot. When the four had finished their sparse meal and limited
ablutions, they lay down on the floor, pillowed their heads on their arms and
dropped off to sleep. The last to lay himself down extinguished the light.
Until the ragged note of an exhausted snore convinced me that they had settled
in, I waited. Then, still shaken by what I had learned, I made my stealthy
escape.
I wondered what Spike would think of my report.
I picked Spike up at our planned rendezvous several hours after my return from
Gilbert City. I d insisted on launching into my report as soon as he was
aboard, talking as I inserted the Mercury into a parking orbit on the dark
side of one of the lesser moons of Gilbert. In my excitement, I didn t give
him a chance to get a word in edgewise or to tell me his own plans-something
I d regret later.
I don t think we re dealing with pirates here, I said, concluding my tale,
or not just pirates. Those were Absolutist fanatics I saw.
Spike nodded. He looked particularly goony today, clad in coveralls like those
worn by most shippers instead of his usual suit. As he listened, he kept his
hands in his pockets, playing with some junk he d stuffed into them.
So, I concluded, there s no way that this is just an insurance matter
anymore. We need to notify the authorities. There s time before morning
reaches Gilbert City. They might be able to catch the Absolute.
Endpoint system, Spike said, quite mildly for someone who had been forced to
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endure a monologue, is neutral regarding the Batherite conflict.
But the Absolute is a mass murderer! I said aghast.
Technically, he is the leader of a political group-the legitimate elected
ruler of a large portion of Bath.
Technically, I snarled.
Allie, Spike said, still mildly , I didn t know you were so political.
I m not, I replied, more calmly, but you and I both know that the Absolute
is a fiend-that the votes of those who elected him were meaningless.
So his opponents say.
So the chemists say, I retorted. Then I calmed down, realizing that I was
being unfair to Spike. Chemists who have analyzed the blood of some of his
deceased followers. The fanatics are so pumped up they d shoot their own
sweethearts if the Absolute gave the command.
The Absolutists say that their soldiers are chemically enhanced to make them
strong and faithful, Spike said, in-furiatingly insisting on playing the
devil s advocate. And there seems to be some evidence to support that
position.
You re not, I growled stubbornly, on his side, are you?
No, Spike assured me. Personally, I can t stand the Absolute and what he
advocates, but going after him isn t my job. That wouldn t stop me if I
thought we could actually do anything about him, but without Endpoint s
support, we can t touch him groundside. I m more interested in the contents of
those crates you saw. Those might fall within the range of my job.
Stolen goods? I asked.
Maybe, Spike rubbed his chin. Most of the ships carrying refugees don t
carry just refugees. It wouldn t pay. Nor do they make a one system trip. It
would be easy to make a trade for passage, to use some of the refugees as
mules for stolen goods.
The pirates would give them some identification code, I said, nodding, for
Spike s picture matched the one I d been working out while I staked out the
building. Then when the refugees get here, they hand over whatever they ve
been carrying. It s repacked and sold. The plan s a bit elaborate, though, and
it doesn t account for larger shipments like crates of wine.
Spike shook his head. I don t agree-you haven t been elaborate enough-and you
haven t accounted for the presence of the Absolute. Absolutist holdings in the
Bath system have suffered serious assaults. Their troops move
constantly-buoyed, doubtless, by some of those chemical stimulants you
mentioned earlier. Their ships gnaw, bite, and snap-winning battles but rarely
holding ground. Even so, the Loyalists are hard pressed.
That s what the news services say, I agreed. Now, tell me, what elaboration
am I missing?
Those very chemicals you mentioned, Spike said, take time and high-tech
facilities to synthesize. Their formulas are highly guarded secrets, known
only to the Absolute and a few trusted minions. One of the first things the
Loyalists did was pinpoint and destroy as many of the Absolutist factories as
they could and so limit the supply.
And you think, I cut in eagerly, that what I saw in those crates were the
Absolute s potions? Those, at least, we could get Endpoint s authorities to
seize. The killer drug in particular has been outlawed universally-no one
wants their local troublemakers both hopped up and suggestible.
Spike held up a hand. No, Allie, I don t think it s killer drug-not exactly.
I think what you saw were the ingredients for the drug, smuggled in piecemeal
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| Cytat |
Dobre pomysły nie mają przeszłości, mają tylko przyszłość. Robert Mallet
De minimis - o najmniejszych rzeczach.
Dobroć jest ważniejsza niż mądrość, a uznanie tej prawdy to pierwszy krok do mądrości. Theodore Isaac Rubin
Dobro to tylko to, co szlachetne, zło to tylko to, co haniebne.
Dla człowieka nie tylko świat otaczający jest zagadką; jest on nią sam dla siebie. I z obu tajemnic bardziej dręczącą wydaje się ta druga. Antoni Kępiński (1918-1972)
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