Read Online 02. Empires of Flux and Anchor by Jack L. Chalker - Free Book Online
Authors: Jack L. Chalker
Ads: Link
my wife would be if she'd lived than my daughter. Flux sure did nothing for her."
"But she can disguise herself from me."
He nodded. "And only for that, she says. She's got all that power, and she's witched so she can't use any of it for herself. She's allowed to change for here only because you need it to protect you."
"Protect me from whom? What? "
"From her enemies. She's got a million of 'em, some right here in Anchor Logh. They'd hurt you just because they know it'd hurt her."
It was Spirit's turn to sigh. "So I'm as stuck as she is. More, because they can't really touch her. I'm not powerful. They could do anything they want with me."
He nodded. "You're stuck, I agree, but not so bad. You don't have to sleep in straw and eat slop. You stay here in Anchor Logh and live the rest of your life. Thought about what you're going to do?"
She shrugged. "Thought about it, yeah—but not much more. I'm sure not ready to settle down, get married, have kids. Not now. I don't have the smarts or the patience for university, but I don't have the talent for a trade with any future. I'm just not ready yet."
"Ready for what? To grow up? You already did, no matter what. Nobody ever wants to grow up, and nobody's ever ready. In the old days you had no choice at all. You became what they told you or they threw you into slavery. You have more choice now, and slavery's only for criminals, but it's still the same. If you don't pick, they'll do the picking. What are you good at that you really like?"
She thought a moment. "Sports. Dancing. Not much else."
"Well, think about teaching gym maybe. Or maybe dancing—no, I guess that's out. You'd have to travel in Flux to be with dancers that make any money. The only kind of job like that here is on Main Street, and that kind of dancing is no good life."
She grinned. "It sure would give my mother fits, though, wouldn't it? Both of 'em."
"You'd never get anywhere in the joints. Every time somebody made a play for you, your grandfather would be beside 'em with a shotgun."
As much as it was irritating, the comment nonetheless warmed her. She suddenly had a real family now, and at least one who cared.
"There's no question," the woman agent told her boss. "In fact, once you find her, everything just falls logically into place. Even the name— Spirit. And on the same farm, in the same family! She's not much at concealment, is she?"
The man facing her took a swallow of beer and shrugged. "No need. You've been too deep in cover too long. The records were well doctored, so there was no clue there. The people involved all had their minds voluntarily meddled in to back up the phony story. After that, why not put her where you can keep an eye on her and have people around you can trust? I mean, even if we suspected that our enemy's child lived, which we always did— that kid's stillbirth was just too convenient to believe—we still had a world to search and thousands of suspects that right age. She's physically matched to the family she's with and with a convincing cover. There are hundreds more with stories just like hers."
"Yes, but—"
"Hey!" he cut her off. "Look, remember—it took us all these years. That's pretty good. These things always look easier in hindsight. That's no longer the problem. Tell me—how did you do it?"
"It was the Janise disguise. She was never there. Never. But when Sister Kasdi went on retreat, suddenly Janise was packing her bags to leave—and always here. It was simple to follow her from that point."
"Well, we might be suspicious of Sister Janise, but she also could be any one of a lot of other unpleasant folks needing a cover. We just timed it perfectly, though, dropping that story that we were on the trail of Kasdi's daughter through that sidebar stringer stopping at Globbus just before ordination. We set the trap and watched her get the news, then were ready because she had to go through ordination, so the time was known. Then she did the
"But she can disguise herself from me."
He nodded. "And only for that, she says. She's got all that power, and she's witched so she can't use any of it for herself. She's allowed to change for here only because you need it to protect you."
"Protect me from whom? What? "
"From her enemies. She's got a million of 'em, some right here in Anchor Logh. They'd hurt you just because they know it'd hurt her."
It was Spirit's turn to sigh. "So I'm as stuck as she is. More, because they can't really touch her. I'm not powerful. They could do anything they want with me."
He nodded. "You're stuck, I agree, but not so bad. You don't have to sleep in straw and eat slop. You stay here in Anchor Logh and live the rest of your life. Thought about what you're going to do?"
She shrugged. "Thought about it, yeah—but not much more. I'm sure not ready to settle down, get married, have kids. Not now. I don't have the smarts or the patience for university, but I don't have the talent for a trade with any future. I'm just not ready yet."
"Ready for what? To grow up? You already did, no matter what. Nobody ever wants to grow up, and nobody's ever ready. In the old days you had no choice at all. You became what they told you or they threw you into slavery. You have more choice now, and slavery's only for criminals, but it's still the same. If you don't pick, they'll do the picking. What are you good at that you really like?"
She thought a moment. "Sports. Dancing. Not much else."
"Well, think about teaching gym maybe. Or maybe dancing—no, I guess that's out. You'd have to travel in Flux to be with dancers that make any money. The only kind of job like that here is on Main Street, and that kind of dancing is no good life."
She grinned. "It sure would give my mother fits, though, wouldn't it? Both of 'em."
"You'd never get anywhere in the joints. Every time somebody made a play for you, your grandfather would be beside 'em with a shotgun."
As much as it was irritating, the comment nonetheless warmed her. She suddenly had a real family now, and at least one who cared.
"There's no question," the woman agent told her boss. "In fact, once you find her, everything just falls logically into place. Even the name— Spirit. And on the same farm, in the same family! She's not much at concealment, is she?"
The man facing her took a swallow of beer and shrugged. "No need. You've been too deep in cover too long. The records were well doctored, so there was no clue there. The people involved all had their minds voluntarily meddled in to back up the phony story. After that, why not put her where you can keep an eye on her and have people around you can trust? I mean, even if we suspected that our enemy's child lived, which we always did— that kid's stillbirth was just too convenient to believe—we still had a world to search and thousands of suspects that right age. She's physically matched to the family she's with and with a convincing cover. There are hundreds more with stories just like hers."
"Yes, but—"
"Hey!" he cut her off. "Look, remember—it took us all these years. That's pretty good. These things always look easier in hindsight. That's no longer the problem. Tell me—how did you do it?"
"It was the Janise disguise. She was never there. Never. But when Sister Kasdi went on retreat, suddenly Janise was packing her bags to leave—and always here. It was simple to follow her from that point."
"Well, we might be suspicious of Sister Janise, but she also could be any one of a lot of other unpleasant folks needing a cover. We just timed it perfectly, though, dropping that story that we were on the trail of Kasdi's daughter through that sidebar stringer stopping at Globbus just before ordination. We set the trap and watched her get the news, then were ready because she had to go through ordination, so the time was known. Then she did the
Similar Books
