Read Online The Power of Gnaris by Les Bill Gates - Free Book Online Page B

“masquerading as a slave. He’s carrying a bag. I wonder
what’s inside. Now, you must follow him, Elena.”
    “Me? Why should I be
the one to follow him?”
    “There are two
reasons. The first is that if I followed him, then I would be
conspicuous. I am an alien, and, remember that I have already had
one attempt on my life. On the other hand, no one will take heed of
a Karavec woman in the crowd. The second reason is that I have no
knowledge of your language, whereas you will better understand what
is said at the meeting.”
    “I can’t do that. The
Council is a secret group. No Karavec outside the group knows their
identity, and no one has ever witnessed one of their meetings. What
if I am caught? I will be sacrificed.”
    “You will not be
caught if you are careful. They will not be expecting anyone to spy
on their meeting, and Barrow doesn’t suspect that he is being
followed. You must trail him at a distance, never letting him out
of your sight; if he should stop and turn in your direction, then
you must quickly stop also and divert your attention to something  anything that catches your eye. He will
not notice you in the crowd unless you draw attention to
yourself.”
    “Very well, I will do
it. But what is to be gained from spying on the Council?”
    “One of the Karavec
has committed the abominable crime of killing the embryos and
stealing the blood. That person is also in league with the beings
on Ziemia. He or she must wield some power, and may be one of those
chosen by the Council to go to Ziemia, or even one of the Council
itself. We do not know who we can trust, and we will gain an
advantage if we know exactly what’s going on.”
    “But . . .”
    “Go now, Elena. Look,
the guard at the gate has already read the note Barrow carries, and
has let him through. Go quickly, before he is out of sight.”
    Elena followed the
Great Savant through the streets of the capital. She kept a
respectable distance behind him, and mingled with the crowd. There
was little chance of anyone recognising her, or her intentions. On
one occasion Barrow slowed his pace and looked back over his
shoulder as if he suspected that someone might be following him.
Elena ducked behind a portly Karavec, then stopped and started
browsing through some clothes being sold by a street vendor, while
keeping one eye on Barrow. When the Great Savant continued on his
journey, Elena followed.
    Barrow arrived
before the others at the venue. Over the centuries, the Council had
met before on a few occasions, and every member knew the meeting
place. They did not meet in the palace of the Great Savant, which
obviously posed a threat to their security and the secrecy of their
identities. Instead they met in an obscure building on the
outskirts of the Hikon capital, a disused building that had once
been a factory producing parts for the Karavec fleet of ferry
ships. Now derelict and overgrown with vegetation, the former
factory provided the perfect place for the clandestine meeting.
    Lolena arrived
next, followed by Saivrow, Chief Statistician in the Statistics
Department of the Great Savant’s government, then Velena, an author
of many Karavec books, and finally Henrow, a university professor
of anatomy.
    Together
Henrow, Saivrow, Barrow, Lolena and Velena made up the Council.
    The group had
not met for three centuries, and in the intervening years they had
seldom interacted with each other as individuals either. They all
knew the unwritten rule of strictest confidentiality and anonymity.
If their paths crossed in carrying out the business of their
everyday lives, then they had trained themselves not to betray any
signs of recognition of each other.
    Yet, despite
their efforts to maintain secrecy, it had been Barrow himself who
had compromised the anonymity of the group by allowing himself to
be followed. When the meeting was about to begin, Elena positioned
herself outside, and peered through a shattered window.
    The room in
which the Council