Kaleidocide (2 page)

“A little more than a year ago,” the narrator of the bio piece said, “Michael Ares was virtually unknown outside the city-state of San Francisco, except in his home country of England, where as a young man he had been knighted by King Noel I for his distinguished military service in the Taiwan Crisis…”

“H
ē
i sè … hóng sè … bì … bái … huáng,”
Sun continued to whisper, but more forcefully now
. “Jìn … ji
ǒ
ng … zh
ǎ
n … lún … r
ǎ
ng.”

“But Michael Ares has now ascended to what is arguably one of the most prominent positions in the new world order of our fast-approaching future. As the new CEO of the Bay Area Security Service, known more popularly as BASS, he now controls not only the government of that young city-state, but the exclusive rights to the most coveted scientific and technological breakthrough of our generation: the Sabon antigravity system, which was developed by a Silicon Valley firm under contract with BASS.”

The screen now showed footage of the BASS “aerocars” floating above landmarks like Alcatraz Island, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Bay Bridges, the last of which had been destroyed by the big earthquake and then rebuilt bigger and better. Sun grimaced a bit at this reminder of the prized technology that his country would probably not have anytime soon, because of what he was about to do to Michael Ares. But the Chinese leader knew that he had the power to procure it eventually, even despite whatever recriminations might occur. And the postponement was a minor inconvenience compared to the gratification he was already beginning to experience.

“H
ē
i sè … hóng sè … bì … bái … huáng.”
His voice rose higher.
“Jìn … ji
ǒ
ng … zh
ǎ
n … lún … r
ǎ
ng.”

“So far Michael Ares has kept his scientific secrets to himself, continuing the miserly policy of his predecessor Saul Rabin, who had become the dictator of the Bay Area after the devastating earthquake, when he was the only one able to restore order to the crippled city. The former chief of police did so by handpicking a trusted and skilled force of cops and soldiers who were given a license to kill and came to be known as ‘peacers,' probably because of Rabin's most famous saying, ‘We
will
keep the peace.' British war hero Ares was brought in a few years later by the aging mayor to command the peacer corps, along with his son Paul and former star athlete Darien Anthony. These three executive peacers ended up as key players in the succession drama that became headline news just over a year ago…”

“H
ē
i sè … hóng sè … bì … bái … huáng. Jìn … ji
ǒ
ng … zh
ǎ
n … lún … r
ǎ
ng.”

At the other times when Sun had performed this rite, he had pulled the drug out of his bag at this point. But he hadn't brought it along this time because he wanted to see the spirits do more than they had ever done before, and to rely on them alone to provide the ecstatic confirmation of the
xing lu cai se.
So he grasped the only other object in the bag, a very special one, and waited for the right moment to open it.

“When Darien Anthony, Darien's young son, and Michael's own young daughter Lynette were brutally murdered, Michael barely survived a plot to frame him, which was perpetrated by Paul Rabin. He was cleared by the intervention of the older Rabin, who sacrificed his own life to save Michael and recorded his son's confession in a dramatic scene that was released to the public and certified as genuine by Reality G. From the parts of the confrontation that are decipherable to those not involved, it appears that the senior Rabin was already dying, and that the gauntlet Michael had to endure in his final days was a test of his qualifications to inherit the throne of BASS. In some of his last words, Saul referred cryptically to Michael as ‘the true peacer,' hinting at some mysterious destiny for the man.”

Michael Ares has but one destiny,
thought Sun as he repeated the chant louder,
and it has nothing to do with peace.
As he did this, he lifted the ecotube in his hand and moved his finger toward the button on the side. The vidclip was now over, and a picture of his enemy's face was frozen on the screen, the colors from the projector alternating on it with increasing frequency.

“H
ē
i sè … hóng sè … bì … bái … huáng!”
He was shouting now.
“Jìn … ji
ǒ
ng … zh
ǎ
n … lún … r
ǎ
ng!”

Sun pressed the button on the ecotube and one end of it slid out on two thin rods, separating from the rest and providing an escape route for what was inside. As he waited for it to discover this and emerge, he felt his heart beating hard and broke into a cold sweat, probably more from excitement than fear of being injured. He shouted the chant again, to draw the little dragon forth, and sure enough its darting tongue, and then its head, soon poked cautiously through the hole. Then part of its small body appeared, and on it the many colors that matched the ones playing on the walls and ceiling.

Sun's heart beat even faster as he slowly lifted his left hand to a spot just below the snake's head and tried not to flinch in fear—he must have faith the spirits would protect him. The serpent proceeded down his arm and half-coiled its body around it. Soon its tail was out of the tube and its whole body was resting on him completely. He raised his arm slightly so that the creature's head was near his face, and gazed at it with wonder. The colors were impressive, but what really amazed him was that he could have asked for no better accoutrement for the rite. A fellow devotee of the
ban lan jiao,
one of the few souls privy to this practice, had given it to him as a gift and explained that it was not only native to the area where his enemy lived, but it actually bore the name of his city. On top of that, its species was almost extinct. Yet this one lived and allowed him to handle it without harm.

“H
ē
i sè … hóng sè … bì … bái … huáng! H
ē
i sè … hóng sè … bì … bái … huáng!”
Sun was now chanting only the names of the colors, so that they would be all in all, with the elements themselves being consumed by their power.

“H
ē
i sè … hóng sè … bì … bái … huáng! Xing … lu … cai … se … Michael Ares!”

He speared the image on the wall with a hateful stare, focusing all his spiritual energy in its direction, and then he felt the confirmation, as he knew he would. Without any chemical assistance, and with only the spirits themselves to thank, his whole body shuddered with an ecstatic rush that was something like a sexual climax, and just as rapturous.

Zhang Sun was convinced that his faith in the
ban lan jiao
had brought him to the throne in China, through circumstances that not even the most hardened skeptics could deny, if only they had experienced it. Every time he had performed this ritual and invoked
xing lu cai se
in the past
,
his enemies had died in prompt fashion, long before all the contingencies had been exhausted. So he was already a sincere believer, but the confirmation experience was so overwhelming that now, more than ever, he knew that his faith was real and that the multiple murder methods could not possibly fail. The
ban lan
spirits had made this clear in so many ways already, through the shared fall season, the snake, and the unprecedented feeling he had during the ceremony. Beyond that, the traitor in his employ had already borne the marks of the
ban lan
long before being enlisted, and would be close enough to the target to succeed even without the many other means unleashed upon him.

This was all too much to be mere coincidence, so Sun was confident beyond all doubt that in a matter of weeks, all future net bios of Michael Ares would be in memoriam.

 

2

SAUSALITO

It was a memorable calm before the storm. Lynn and I were enjoying each other more than any time in recent memory, as if we somehow knew that we would soon be torn apart. This little getaway must have happened at just the right time, because for once she wanted to make love as much as I did, if not more. During those afternoon hours of alternating tenderness and passion, even the slightest touch never failed to make my heart race, and it felt so good that I wondered why we didn't do this more often.

Now happily exhausted, we were enjoying the sunset from the divan, which had slid from inside the room to the deck outside it. We lay intertwined, as comfortably as we could manage with Lynn's pregnant swell. She was six months along—a factor that had contributed to the recent infrequency of our intimacy, but also had made this day all the more enjoyable. During her first pregnancy, I had found it hard to be attracted to her physically, because I was still so heavily influenced by the assumption that a woman had to be shaped like a model to be beautiful. But somewhere along the line, perhaps because we lost our first child, my perspective changed completely. I now loved her body like this, and I was telling her so as I moved my hand across the soft skin of her belly.

“I don't believe it,” she said, as usual.

“How many times do I have to tell you?” I said playfully. “Or do I have to show you again?” I nuzzled her ear, through the streaked blond-and-brown hair that always smelled so good.

“There are so many young and thin women,” she continued. “Why would you want fat old me?”

I found myself wincing a bit, as the reference to women with nice bodies brought thoughts of Tara back into my mind again. I had been trying to keep them out during the trip, because I didn't want to let them ruin this good time with Lynn. So I focused on my wife again and made it seem like my expression was a result of what she had said about being fat.

“Don't talk like that,” I said. “I want you because you're the mother of my baby—my
babies.
Besides, you're only fat in the right places.” I spread my hand out and pressed slightly until I felt a little kick from the baby, and then moved it up to the other part of her body that had gotten bigger recently, and whispered into her ear. “You're beautiful everywhere.”

“I think you have a mental problem,” she said, “but I guess I won't complain.” Giving up the argument, she gazed out at the wisps of orange cloud that hung above the bay, colored that way by the sun that was setting in the west. “Now that
is
beautiful.”

I grunted in agreement, as the colors reminded me of Monet's painting
Impression, Sunrise.
The bright orange of the clouds was similar, of course, and so was the aqua blue of the deck of the house, which visually pulled the darker greens and blues of the bay beyond it in its direction. The only thing missing from Monet's vision was the sun itself, which was on the other side of the mountain from us. But the shining cityscape of San Francisco, in the distance to the right side of our view, provided an attractive alternative.

We had bought this hillside house for moments exactly like this. And we had bought six properties surrounding it, with my company's version of eminent domain, to create a cushion as a part of the obligatory security plan. I knew that my cyborg bodyguard was below us on the street in front of the house, probably worrying about our level of exposure on the open deck, and that there were seven other agents at various places around the perimeter of our little retreat. Wondering whether a machine-man like Min was capable of an emotion like worry, my focus drifted away from the sunset and my wife, and back to my job.

“What are you thinking about?” Lynn asked, pulling a light blanket over her.

“The same stuff, about BASS,” I said.

“How ruling the world is boring?” she asked with a twinkle in her eye.

“You know, meetings and hearing about what other people have been doing was okay for an old man like Saul, but I miss the action of being a peacer, even if it was only occasional.”

“Why don't you just go out and find someone to arrest, or shoot?” she asked.

“With my entourage of bodyguards and advisors, and half the world press stalking me?” I adjusted myself on the divan, so I could share some of the blanket. The sky had now turned darker, and the temperature was dropping. “I never asked for all this, you know. The old man brought me to BASS, and he cooked up the plan to leave me in charge. It's like I've been carried along to where I am today—it's not like I wanted it or chose it myself. Maybe that's why I'm not really that happy…”

We lay silent for a moment, then Lynn said, “Maybe you just need to find out why.”

“Pardon me?” I asked, beginning to notice her against me once again. I shifted a little, and it felt even better.

“Do you know what part you're supposed to play?” she continued. “I mean, Saul brought you here, left you his empire. Do you know why?”

“Hmmm,” I said, after thinking awhile. “I suppose I don't.” I put my hand on her belly again. “You may be onto something there, Mama.”

“If you find out what Saul had in mind for you,” she continued, “maybe you'll like it. Maybe you'll like the part you're supposed to play.”

“And then I'll be happy?” I asked.

“Maybe.”

“That's a lot of maybes,” I said, and tickled her side.