03. Gods at the Well of Souls (8 page)

"True," another agreed, "but neither can we leave them out, unless we want them  disposed of." 

The Dillian ambassador objected. "That is out of the question! Only if the  future of the Well World and our authority were clearly at risk would we permit  that! Besides, if Chang now looks nothing like she did, they may well be the  only ones who could establish that a suspected being is Mavra Chang. Remember,  two were taken, and we have no way of telling if we capture one just which one  we have. We agree, however, that this is no job for amateurs alone. Who do we  have in the region?" 

"The Agonese authorities are compromised," another pointed out. "That leaves  only that immigrant Leeming and the renegade Dahir in the area, both trying to  find Brazil. The Leeming has proved reliable and has some feel for this sort of  work-" 

"But he lost Brazil!" the first councillor pointed out. "He enjoys the work but  clearly isn't all that competent at it!" 

"And we are, I suppose?" the Dillian retorted. "We've managed to lose both of  the immortals while we engaged in endless debate and delay. Still, I agree that  a native, one of us who is beyond reproach, must be in charge. Preferably  someone who knows the area and has familiarity with the drug cartel. Any  candidates?" 

The problem was fed to the Zone computers, and after a process of elimination,  one name, and only one, stood out. "Now the only trick is to prepare a cover  story for going after Chang," the Dillian ambassador said, nodding. 'That and  convincing the Agonese government to give him full authority in this matter  without their corrupt elements tipping off the cartel." 

"That," said another, "will be far easier than what we are asking this fellow to  do!" 

Anne Marie, however, had finally galvanized the council into action. The long  wait was about to end. 

* * * 

For their part, the Dillians, knowing nothing of this, waited to see what the  disreputable clinic might have done to poor Alowi. 

The answer, at least from their point of view, seemed to be nothing more than  what had been claimed. Alowi seemed more content with herself and more confident  and no longer seemed troubled by runaway inner drives. 

No one, of course, was more nervous about this than Alowi herself. Becoming a  guinea pig possibly at the hands of one's enemy was an act of desperation but  reasoned action nonetheless. 

At first she simply felt, well, normal, and for a while that was enough. Those  inner urges, those bouts of losing control, of nearly sick cravings, seemed to  vanish while leaving little in their place. This was not, of course, normal to  an Erdomese, but it seemed normal in almost any other context. She felt, well,  much like Tony and Anne Marie seemed to feel, or Mavra. She was simply herself,  but in complete control, not needing anything just to remain sane. Free. Free to study, free to learn, free of any thought of returning to Erdom. Yet when she looked at herself in the mirror, she liked what she saw. If  anything, she liked it more than she had, felt more comfortable about the person  who stared back at her. Although those urges and emotions had at times been  overwhelming and omnipresent for what had seemed forever, it now was difficult,  even impossible, to remember what that had felt like. She felt every bit a  female, no less than before; certainly she didn't feel sexless or frigid or an  "it." And yet, well, those things she'd gathered around or made or picked up in  the markets that were so obviously phallic now seemed pretty silly. She wasn't  quite sure just what sort of change other than allowing her independence the  doctors had wrought, but if this was the extent of it, well, it was something  she could surely live with and might have died without. 

Tony came back from the city with what she hoped was an answer to Anne Marie's  report of only a few days before. Anne Marie, at least, was excited. "This is  the first time they ever sent a reply to one of our reports! And so quickly,  too! Perhaps they've found something out! Play it!" 

Tony removed the cube and pressed her thumb firmly on the one side that had an  inlaid red surface. The cube took a few cells of skin, compared them with the  genetic code it carried, seemed satisfied, then said in a voice that came  through as a soft and pleasant woman's voice, "Please do not play the rest of  this inside your home. Take it to an open area well away from any others,  particularly natives, and repeat the process. The cube contains a small zonal  scrambling device that will cover an area about three meters square, so be close  to it. The message will play only once, erasing itself as it plays, so pay close  attention. When done, burn the cube in any open fire. The message will now pause  until you take these precautions, and you will not hear this preamble again." "My goodness!" Anne Marie exclaimed. "Sounds rather serious, doesn't it?" "It certainly sounds as if something, at least, is going to happen," Tony  agreed. "Let's take the precautions and go down to the jetty and see what they  have to say." She paused a moment and had a puzzled look. "I wonder why that  many precautions. Surely they do not think that even this tent is bugged-could  they? I mean, who would bug us?" 

"Someone who is certainly near death from boredom," Anne Marie responded.  "Still, let's do this cloak and dagger business by the rules, dear." They all left the tent and went down perhaps two hundred meters to the jetty,  where the gentle ocean water, softened by far-off undersea reefs, lapped against  the sides. It was a nice, bright day, warmer than usual and with a gentle wind.  There was nobody else around close enough to observe them. The three gathered  close, and Tony took out the cube and pressed again on the red area. "This is Ambassador Aliva speaking for the Special Committee," said the female  voice in Dillian, which the two centauresses understood directly and made an  extra authenticity check possible as well. "We have evaluated our report on this  clinic and its specialists, which coincides with intelligence from other  sources, and we believe that you have stumbled on the key to the disappearances  and also to why action is now mandated. As a result, we have arranged for an  Agonite whose character is beyond question and who has both knowledge and  authority in combating this criminal syndicate to assume command of a special  unit that will follow up this lead. 

"His name is Janwah Kurdon, and he is an officer in the Agonese Secret Police.  Please do not be put off by this; Kurdon has been in something like an exile  since mounting a campaign against the syndicate and being blocked by corrupt  higher-ups. We have arranged for his restoration of rank and position, and it is  understood that any Agonite official who gets in the way of the special unit  will be placed under suspicion by the Zone Council of aiding and abetting  interhex criminal activities. It is very likely that they will do their best to  stay out of your way to avoid even the slightest hint of corruption, but it is  inevitable that they will use their own people to try to anticipate your actions  and report them to the criminal gang. Agon itself has become too industrialized  to be self-sufficient in food; it is also clearly understood that anything less  than government cooperation could mean a blockade and embargo. We have already  notified the government of this and have heard the protests, but we have the  votes here on our side." 

"Goodness!" Anne Marie said. "They can certainly knock heads if they decide they  want to!" 

"You may, if you wish, become part of this special unit, but understand that the  personal danger is very great, that this cartel is totally ruthless, and that  while we can act against officials and the nation if need be, we cannot protect  you individually. Also, you must accept Agent Kurdon's complete authority and  act only under his orders. Otherwise, you will have to leave the country and  return home or go elsewhere. You may also not travel to Liliblod or Clopta  without being under the unit's authority; the former does not consider what the  gang does a criminal act and operates under a different and not altogether  scrutable logic, while the latter is at least as corrupt as the government of  Agon and far less competent. As we cannot protect you and as you must suspect  Kurdon is less than excited about being saddled with those he considers both  aliens and amateurs, nothing will reflect on you if you choose not to continue,  and you will be informed of any results. However, if you do accept the terms,  complete what business you might have yet to do and meet the special unit in  Subar, the northern city where you first made contact with us, in precisely four  days. Go to the Central Prefecture there and simply ask for Agent Kurdon. He  will then brief you on what will be happening next." 

"One more thing," the message concluded. "Do not return to that clinic or  contact the staff there again even if something is scheduled or they call and  ask to see any of you. Make any excuse, but do not go. Operations are already  under way as regards them that you might only jeopardize or, worse, alert the  staff about. For the record, the cover story is that we believe genetic  reengineering is being employed to possibly replace or enslave existing  officials or whole populations and we are going after the proof of that. Under  no circumstances is anyone, least of all the gang, to suspect that we are after  more than that. We have also planted information that your two missing comrades  have vital information for the council and that if they are located, in any  form, and the reengineering stopped, we will not act further against the  organization. We can only hope that this will buy them their lives, or at least  enough time to locate them. 

"May the blessings of all the gods be with you in this endeavor. This message is  at an end. Please bum this cube and do not attempt a replay. The message in it  is already gone, but another attempt will produce nasty consequences. Farewell." "I'm not sure I liked the last of that," Tony commented. "It really sounded like  a rather formal kiss-off. Like she never really expected to hear from us again." "Well, we will just have to surprise her, won't we, dear?" Anne Marie responded,  then looked over at Alowi. "Well! Why so glum? This is what you wanted, isn't  it?" 

Alowi nodded, but slowly and hesitantly. This was what she'd wanted all along,  of course. So why did she feel so little like following up on it? Lori, after all, had saved her life at the start of all this and for a very long  time had been her only friend. 

"I am glad something is happening, of course," she answered lamely, "but, well,  I am just concerned. Concerned about what we might find, where this is all  leading. I will be all right." 

But it was more than that. After the Dillians began their preparations to shut  down their trade operation, leaving her to begin the packing-up process, she  tried to put her finger on it. She really did know at least a part of her  problem, and it was tough trying to get around that. Lori wasn't just a friend,  he was her husband, and the last thing she wanted right now was a husband, now  or ever again. Memories of long conversations, the sharing of intimacy down to  her very soul with him, now seemed distant and colored with an unpleasant veneer  that seemed somehow impossible to remove. 

She certainly wanted Lori liberated, but their relationship couldn't be like it  had been even if by some miracle he was unchanged or could be restored to his  previous form. Particularly not in that case ... A whole litany of things that  had attracted her and turned her on to him in the past now seemed in retrospect  to be the opposite. Even his personality, mannerisms, the way he interacted with  her and with others seemed distant, alien at best, and in some ways downright  repugnant to her. 

Finding him a malformed invalid seemed at least less threatening to her, and she  felt awful for thinking that thought. Even so, she felt no duty toward him, no  real attraction at all. 

She had been happiest right here, with Tony and Anne Marie, free to explore her  own potential without any feelings of repression or any demands she didn't like.  Tony and Anne Marie had remained for her sake, and she loved them for it, and  while she knew deep down that this arrangement could never be permanent, she  didn't want it to end. 

One had to have been on both sides of the sexual boundary to know just how  defining the roles were, how they shaped and misshaped people. Seen from Alowi's  perspective, she hated, despised Julian Beard. He'd been swaggering, loutish,  and self-centered to a fault, committed to his own goals but seeing no  commitment toward others-it was no wonder he couldn't stay married to anybody.  Yet she saw the essence of all that was wrong in him in just about every male  she'd met or could think of, regardless of race. It was almost as if every  quality she valued seemed lacking in every male yet present in the vast majority  of females. Lord-Lori by the end had been no more a former woman than Alowi had  been a former man. Instead he'd become more and more like ... Julian Beard. Here, during this period, she'd also discovered something else. She liked  herself now. First she had struggled to expunge all that was Julian from inside  her, then she'd become someone else, a creature with no ego or sense of  self-worth unless it was defined by what she could do for Lori. That creature,  too, was gone, and for the first time she was an individual again with the  qualities and capabilities she desired. She didn't want to be anyone else. Here  the heavy weights placed upon her by her past and by the Well World and Erdomese  culture and biology had been lifted, revealing a real person. Now it seemed as  if some of that weight was being forced back upon her, and there was nobody else  who could understand her problem. 

It had to be done, of course, but it seemed as if freeing Lori was the worst  thing that could happen to her. 

If everyone elsewhere noted that the Dillians were genetic twins, it was harder  for them to tell one Agonite from another. That meant that the creature who  showed up at the police station in Subar where they'd been instructed to check  in looked very much like all the other natives, except that he wore a yellow  sleeveless shirt and a pair of baggy denimlike trousers. It was clear from the  reaction of the police in the station, though, that he was far more important  than he looked.