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"I have heard of this," said one, "but never have I seen the like"
"Not even his , was such a one," said another
Twisp found it difficult to hold back the torrent of words that ue Memories - they kept Twisp out of the kelp, just as they drew Kaleb inward The kelp was like a lifeboat to Kaleb, an anchor to Twisp
A strange mist coalesced above the top of the pool Every atoed with a visible hureen haze Half-forments of someone&039;s past - flickered in and out of the haze Twisp saw fire and a baby at the breast, a memo to Captain Yuri Brood, the brown, sensual curve of a wet breast in candlelight It was a tumble down a soundless tunnel, just the slosh and thlip of the sea accentuating the drift
Twisp had the sense of reliving so, of deja vu without the vu He heard a voice out of the mist, a woman&039;s voice
"He will contact one of the upcoast Oracles," it announced, "there is news of Crista Galli and the others Through h hi Without secrets he cannot rule, and with the kelp there are no secrets Kaleb will pick up the DNA path that leads to Flattery&039;s hatch Avata will transhout Pandora"
The whole cavern had becoiant holo projection Soon, the babble and squall of life that ith the iround Theball of color and sound, its movements jerky and confused
"Kaleb et lost following the maze of someone else&039;s life He must filter Avata as we filter our senses Then ill have a plan"
One ithdraws oneself from actions, but ponders on their pleasures in the heart, such a one is under a delusion and is a false swimmer of the Way
- Zavatan Conversations with the Avata, Queets Twisp, elder
Flattery took his afternoon coffee in the Greens, enjoying an i to the rock clefts deep in the cavern, their blossoms a pastel cascade Condensation drip-dripped its paltry rain on leaves and wet rock, on the great flat surface of the pool
Kelp lights surged bright in the pool, reflected in fro different, and the kelp, like Flattery, seldo different
Flattery turned on his heel and dog-trotted back to his command bunker
"I ordered this stand of kelp pruned," he snapped, and jabbed a finger seaward for e into her naled his personal squad
"Franklin, see that it&039;s done Use the mortar unit down on the beach"
"Aye, aye"
Franklin carried a pouch at his waist Inside were the sandals, papers and diary of the firstthem for the man&039;s family, they would want them Franklin slipped with a warrior&039;s shadowy ease out the hatch
"We can&039;t loosen up, now," Flattery told Marta "Everything will go perfectly if we don&039;t get careless That kelp bed is our only back door We need it secure now Do you understand hed
"Well," she said, "I have so to cos&039;?"
"Randoes, hundreds of sources, strong ones, and they seem to be all around us"
"They are all around us," he hissed "That kelp Well, we&039;ve taken care of that Dae news, Orbiter news, Crista Galli news?"
"Nevi and Zentz have landed They spotted the Galli girl and Ozette and anticipate no proble theht in our charges, condition unknown"
Snatched by the kelp!
All this kelp talk washis sweaty hand through his hair Auuard had seen that moment of fear
"Kelpways secure?"
"We think so," she said "We -"
"You think so?"
"Brood&039;s squad is aboard the Orbiter No further reports The Holovision Newsbreak that was scheduled from the Orbiter did not air"
"We&039;re on auxiliary power," the colonel interrupted "Failure at ot through our security They are our security "The Reptile Brigade,&039; we called them Shit"
"Does that mean a &039;Code Brutus&039;?" Flattery asked
The colonel shook his head
"No, Director This is an isolated unit of troops, here Their objective was the power station and now that they&039;ve taken it we expect theed "They don&039;t have to defend it, they blew it up! What would you do if you were them?"
"I&039;d - I&039;d know that I&039;d crossed the Rubicon," the colonel said "Since there&039;s no turning back, I&039;d head right for the top"
"Well, goddammit, take appropriate measures Your ass is on the line here, too, ed his attention
"I ordered sub coverage of the seaside entry doubled," she said "I received no confirative et is gibberish"
An icy panic tightened his stoht It can&039;t be that It has to be so the kelp But who?
The likely possibilities came to tarf MacIntosh or the ambitious and resourceful Captain Brood Crista Galli was an unlikely possibility Suddenly Flattery felt the full iht Our whole strength was in coordination, and noe&039;re cut off
A rally was clearly in order
"We got a little flabby, people," he said, "a little careless This harmless little exercise could have cost us our butts, let&039;s tighten up our action"
He&039;d caught them with their pants dohipped them a bit, now he&039;d have to coddle them, comfort them
"Reports on the bomb in the upper office just in"
He picked up Maria&039;s er and held it over his head
"Dick and Matt are alive, the rest didn&039;t ht shine upon theht shine upon them," and drew a little closer out of reflex
"It could have been us, folks It could still be us if we don&039;t tighten up Consider direct orders the only secure co out"
"Aye, aye"
Viewscreens and holo stages in his bunker began to flicker, barely perceptibly, then splashed high-speed displays of color throughout the roonized in the blur It was his own face
"What do we know about Current Control?" he asked
His staff and guards stood transfixed in the surreal wash of color that visually drenched the the same disorientation that Flattery hiht loose," Marta reported, "then it turned loose all the kelp ide Sensors now indicate that everything&039;s intact The kelp appears to be online again High suspicion for Gridmaster failure"
"Brood&039;s mission?"
"No news Holovision covered the launch site incident with a Newsbreak report on the deaths of the Tatoosh field crew &039;at the hands of Shadow extremists&039;"
The colors that dazzled the roo rate Flattery thought he detected a woman&039;s voice, faint in the distance, soh she called his na in food distribution centers," Marta said "Too ry now!&039; crowd Some of our people opened warehouses All stores outside our perimeter have been breached"
That&039;s thousands of shuttleloads of food, he bristled That&039;s rains to feed three thousand for ten years," he said "Dried fish enough to feed fifty thousand Add water, pat together and cook Instant wine - add a package to a liter of plain water and stir Bread and fish for the multitudes, water into win if this Voidship could time-travel I could be Jesus Christ hiift of the serpent
- Raja Lon Flattery, number five model, Shiprecords