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friend.." of Jim's?"
She heard the subtext and shrugged. "Maybe. If he says away from this. Bad
mistake. His freaking mother?.
Jim still had that goofy, puzzled expression on his face. younger than he
looks, she thought. And his mama looks Doesn't like me at all...
"Just stopped by to say hi, Jimmy. I'll see you later, maybe." She didn't
wait for him to answer, just turned and walked away. She was surprised at how
upset she felt. Mother? What crap was that?
Tabitha took a delicate sip of her beer. "Who was that?"
"A girl..."
"I saw that. Is she the reason you've been coming here so
His eyebrows rose. "Char? I just met her last night." He hadn't
Tabitha the rest of it, and didn't plan to. It would only worry her He was
tired of people worrying about him. At least Char didn't about him.
And she'd come over to the table. He turned and looked shoulder. She was at
the bar, her back to him, hunched, drink. It was hard to tell, but she looked
pissed.
Women.
"I don't like her, Jim."
"Huh? Why not?" He paused. "You don't even know her." "Yes, I do.
I know the type." "You sound like a mother now." "I am your mother."
"Mom..."
She shook her head. "I know it doesn't matter. And sometimes like an idiot,
saying things like that. After what you've been know you think you can take
care of yourself, but--" "Mom, I can take care of myself."
She sighed. "Forget I said anything." "Don't be that way."
An uncomfortable puddle of silence grew between them. He that
Tabitha's gaze kept sliding toward the bar, and he was where to go with that
when the front door crashed open. He turned saw the man he'd whipped the
night before at the pool table.
The man cradled a shatter-blaster in his arms. "Where's the punk?"
bawled, spit gleaming on yellow teeth. "Where's the frig-ass punk the big
gun?"
His gaze raked across the bar, paused, focused. "I see you, assholeI"
people began to dive under the tables.
Dutsider had nearly a billion links now, but for this task he folded only a
tenth of them into a new array. As always, the feeling of power was immense,
inhuman. Of course, he wasn't human, and that made a difference. But he
remembered being human.
It took him only nanoseconds to discover how the Hunzzan boy had been smuggled
onto Terra. The trail was interesting. Some people high up in the
Confederation weren't as trustworthy as they seemed. He allowed himself a
moment of humor over that. People were often not trustworthy. He'd used that
before. And he would again. Humans were
-so vulnerable.
But he passed over that quickly. What was even more interesting was the web
that led away from Terra. The boy had come through that web from Hunzzan
space, but not really from Hunzza. Not from the empire.
That had been his first concern.
He didn't have Jim's amazing pattern-recognition abilities, but he was close.
He recognized the tangle of false trails, sorted them out, followed them back.
It took him longer than he'd expected, even with the extraordinary access he
was able to achieve into the Hunzzan databases. A master had fuzzed those
data flows. But one name kept recurring, and finally he focused on it.
A'Kasha? The Pit of Souls?
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What was that?
For some reason, the more he focused on it, the less he was able to see it.
He stepped away from the. specifics to examine the larger patterns more
closely. A'Kasha. It didn't seem to exist, at least not officially. Not in
the Hunzzan databases. But it was there, and from it extended a shifting web
of connections. Of influence.
He tried to manipulate those patterns and failed. That in itself was
a data point, an important one. Nothing the Hunzza had should pre he was
three years old, he vent him from doing what he wished with their data
patterns. They he sometimes thought, the had nothing that could compare with
the power of the mind arrays.
At least today he did, But something was stopping him. And whatever it was,
it was achieved struck him all somehow associated with this A'kasha. This Pit
of
Souls. He gathered wonder a baby experienced, himself and launched another
probe. Again he failed. It was like trying
Tan. came so close to gather mist with a club. The more force he applied,
the less he was nearly shivered in the able to see. To analyze. The patterns
shifted, drifted, vanished, high in the
Himalayas, in
More power?
Tibet. Nearly shivered, He was entirely concentrated on the Hunzza now, on
their data over his autonomic bases and, more important, their data flows.
The pathways were moment's thought to roads, and all roads led to Rome. To
Hunzza
Prime.
He sat cross-legged
Except some roads didn't. Those roads were like underground tun dozen of his
followers tunnels, hidden, tangled, seeming to go nowhere, to exist without
pursaffron robes, and all pose. Trying to travel them was like pushing one
end of a strand of feature of both the limp spaghetti.
Every head bowed
The existence of such a data net frightened him. He ought to be made the deep
able to touch it, but he couldn't. The Hunzza should have no technolmore
obvious. A
ogy capable of defeating him, but they did. Something did. regarded such
Maybe not the Hunzza? material world for
Yet it was connected with the Hunzzan boy. And now the boy was knew that life
was a connected with Jim. helped
That frightened him most of all.
These were hashes
He needed Jim back in the arrays where he belonged, in order to rather nalTOW
destroy the Albagens and their treacherous Packlord. He hadn't at least--to
them.
thought the Hunzza would be a threat, not after their recent defeat.
He had joined
He'd thought he was manipulating events: Char, Dr. Lindsay, certainly not
from, assorted thugs. But now a colder fear began to seep into his immortal
would it be like to consciousness.
He'd been
Was something manipulating him? others like
Terror thrilled through him. Kill them all, kill them all.
satellites, where
Jim! I need you of golden light, Of what?
There had he thought through the shaped and
And he'd ally recall.
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ong Seng Tan was seventy-six years old, though because of his beyond
vegetarian diet and the various physical exercises he'd practiced since
reaches of
Nothing the Hunzza had should pre he was three years old, he had the body of a
thirty-year-old man. And, [shed with their data patterns, he sometimes
thought, the mind of a newborn infant.
with the power of the mind arrays.
At least today he did, as the full beauty of the integration he'd
' him. And whatever it was, it was achieved struck him all over again.
It really was something like the asha. This Pit of Souls. He gathered wonder
a baby experienced, seeing things for the first time.
abe. Again he failed. It was like trying
Tan came so close to excitement as he considered this that he lore force he
applied, the less he was nearly shivered in the sharp, thin breezes that cut
through his ashram ms shifted, drifted, vanished, high in the Himalayas, in
the region that had once been known as
Tibet. Nearly shivered, but not quite; he'd gained complete control on the
Hunzza now, on their data over his autonomic reflexes many years before, and
it took only a their data flows. The pathways were moment's thought to bring
his rebellious body to heel.
To Hunzza Prime.
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