Pathspace: The Space of Paths (32 page)

“
Oh, he's alive all
right,” said the Governor. But she didn't look happy about
it.

Xander threw his tunic
back on. “Needless to say, I am pleased to be informed of this,” he
said. “But how can you be so sure?”
And why aren't you
happy about it?

“
We have spies close to
the Honcho,” She nodded to Daniels. “Thank you, Doctor,” she said.
“I see you're reluctantly agreeing that he's fit to travel. In that
case, we won't keep you from your other patients.”

Daniels took the hint and left. “I'm sure
you'll be back and bleeding in no time,” he grumbled, before the
door closed behind him.

Xander waited a few moments after it was
shut. “There's something you're not telling me,” he guessed. “Or
that you don't want everyone else to know. What is it?”

“
You remember those
Ancient war machines he found under Abilene?” she asked.

“
Yes. As I recall, we
worked out that his only problem was coming up with fuel for them.
It's been a long time since he or anyone else has found a storage
tank that wasn't drained dry after the Fall. Has he found
one?”

“
No. But it's become clear
his people developed a plan for making some, using his remaining
oil wells for raw material. The only way he could do that is to
re-engineer a refinery, and his fastest route to get there is to
use swizzles to pump it out and everflames to supply the
heat.”

“
Wouldn't that be
difficult for him? I thought the Church banned them as 'demonic'.
Besides, I don't see what his logistics problems have to do with my
rescuing Lester.”

“
They're connected,” she
told him. “The word is, he was going to trade your apprentice to
the Church for some of their confiscated artifacts. He'd get his
fuel and they'd get to hold a public execution.”

“
All the more reason why I
have to get him out of there.” he glanced around the room. “Where
are you keeping my staff these days? Is it still up on the
roof?”

“
The situation has
changed,” she told him. “He might not be handing Lester over right
away. In fact, he might try to hang onto him
permanently.”

He sat down on the cot. “Are you ready to
tell me yet?” he asked. “It's obvious you're building up to
something I won't like.”

She took a breath, “Lester's learned how to
make swizzles. That bought him some time. If he can manage to make
everflames too, the Honcho won't have to trade him for them.”

“
Good for him!” Then he
thought some more. “And bad for us. The Honcho might still get rid
of him, eventually, but in the meantime he'll get what he needs to
roll out his armored division.” He stood. “I need to get
going.”

“
It will be very bad if
the Honcho gets the fuel he needs.”

He just looked at her. “What are you
saying?”

“
Don't leave anything
behind the Honcho can use against us,” she said. “If you can't
rescue him, you'll have to eliminate him.”

He stared. “You can't be serious,” he said,
eventually. “He's the best apprentice I've found in years! I've
never had one who figured out how to make swizzles all by
himself.”

Her eyes were sad but determined. “All the
more reason why we can't let the Honcho keep him. The more valuable
he is to them, the more dangerous he is to us.”

“
No. I won't do that.
There has to be a better way.”

“
Then find one. Get out of
their clutches, one way or another, Before they get what they need
Because if you can't end this,” she said, “I have operative in
Dallas who will.”

The visit of His Holiness was as disruptive
as it was unexpected. It took slightly a minute for the news of his
arrival to travel from spotters on the roof the building down to
the Honcho. You could think of it as a wave phenomenon that
converted from radiant to visual in put, and from visual input into
a memory traveling in a body. The messenger body had to go down two
flights of stairs and knock on the door of his office. “Yes?”

“
His Holiness's coach is
pulling up in front of the building, sir!”

The Honcho mentally said a rude word. “Thank
you.” He turned to Jeffrey. “Show him into the study when he gets
here. If I'm not there I'll be right out.”

“
What do I tell
him?”

“
Nothing of importance.
Say as much as you can without saying anything at all.” While his
son digested that, Peter strode into another room and arranged for
some chilled wine and tried to think. What could this surprise
visit portend? For the pope to be this determined to see him, to
show up unannounced, it had to be either to ask a big favor or to
deliver some sort of ultimatum.

He could think of no favor the pope needed
from him at the moment. It would be nice if he could, but the more
he thought about it, the more it looked like the pope was tired of
waiting for the prisoner transfer and had decided to exert some
leverage.

The question was, what leverage did he think
he had and how could it be nullified? He did not have time to dance
with the Church at the moment, and if their captive apprentice
Lester managed to learn how to make everflames any time soon then
he would be too valuable to waste on a public execution.

By the time he stepped into the study he had
his game face on. He nodded to the papal bodyguards on his way into
the chamber. “Holiness, this is an unexpected pleasure. I do hope
you were not fatigued by the climb. My advisors keep asking me to
move to a shorter building but I always tell them anyone who
invades here will be exhausted by the time they reach my command
level. But forgive me, you must be parched, Would you like some
wine?”

Enrique sat on one of the chairs next to the
desk. “Do you have some? We had thought you were more partial to
your whiskey, Excellency.”

Peter moved to the side table and located a
bottle of Alaris and poured two glasses of the purple. “Ah,well,
you know we Texas men do like our firewater. But I thought perhaps
you might want to go easy on it here in the depths of secular
depravity that we call government.” He crossed the room and handed
a glass to the Pope.

“
I'll try not to notice
the spiritual dangers all around me,” Enrique said, smiling, as he
sipped the wine. “This is a rather nice one. It is simply amazing
sometimes how much something can increase in value just
sitting.”

“
Well on this imperfect
world value is usually a relative thing, Holiness. Many things do
not improve with age, but wine is fortunately one of
them.”

I can see your heir is another,” said
Enrique, nodding to Jeffrey. “While I waited for you, he was just
telling me of his recent escape from the savages of Rado.”

“
Oh, hardly savages,
Holiness,” Jeffrey protested. “They have language and
horses.”

“
So did the Huns,” the
Pontiff replied. “But they are gone while we remain.”

“
Sure, Holiness, there is
more to measure a civilization by than mere survival,” the Honcho
said. “Any socially coherent group of humans that still
exists
survived
the Fall of
civilization. But some have lost more than others. For example, the
Church, which Texas has and Rado does not. We have not lost
all
of the ways of the
Ancients.”

“
But Rado does have
churches,” Jeffrey objected. “I passed some on the way
out.”

“
I am sure,” said His
Holiness, “that they are considered houses of worship. But they are
not part of the Church, and neither are their
congregations...although they will be someday. It is a little like
saying that people still use silverware just because they eat with
their knives.”

“
They have forks, too,”
said Jeffrey. “But probably most don't have silver
ones.”

“
Still,” said the Pope,
“it is a relief that you escaped. There are not times for the
security of government – the succession of leadership – to be in
question.”

“
An ironic statement,
Holiness, considering the recent transition in your TCC that
brought you to power,” said Jeffrey. “Isn't everything temporary in
an imperfect world?”

“
Not at all,” said Enrique
smiling. “The cases are different for two reasons. We deal in
matters that are eternal, not temporal. First, the Church does not
concern itself with the defense of the Empire, so a change in Popes
poses no threat to anyone's life.”

Except to the previous Pope's
life
, Peter thought. “I hope not,” he
said.

“
Secondly, the Church has
had procedures in place for two thousand years to cover this sort
of thing. It need not reinvent itself with each change in
leadership, as governments often do in times of war or revolution.
We have no declarations or manifestos. Life goes on.”

“
Policies change, but I
take your point,” said the Honcho. “The Lone Star Empire has been
stable now for a hundred years. Sometimes we have to fight a war or
two to prevent greater instability, but we remain, as you
said.”

“
Indeed,” said His
Holiness. “We are concerned, actually, with the war you are
currently contemplating. It was Our understanding that you needed
certain resources for that effort, and that we could provide them.
But you have yet to arrange for the resolution of that.”

Jeffrey was trying not to scowl. Although he
applauded the effort, Peter wished his son were more successful in
concealing his reactions. It was clear he was not happy about the
suggestion that they'd end up trading Lester for the Gifts.

“
You are right, of
course,” said Peter. “Be assured, Holiness, I haven't forgotten.
There are, however, many details to attend to and so things always
take longer than expected, especially with government.”

Enrique sipped his wine. “Much longer,” he
said. “I do hope you understand, Excellency, that while We do have
some control within the Church proper, Our influence in the
population at large is less potent. Surely you must know that word
of your magician prisoner has leaked out by now. There may be an
outcry for his execution. There is only so much the Church can do
to restrain the passions of your citizenry.”

“
Particularly when you
preach that aliens are demons and magicians are evil,” said
Jeffrey.

He should be more silent
, thought Peter. But the point, he felt, was valid. Clearly
it was in the Church's interest to stir up anger against all
manifestations of Tourist technology. It gave them a visible focus
for their warnings. And here was the Pope claiming that the Church
was only concerned with eternal matters!

“
The harm they wrought
upon the Earth is undeniable,” said Enrique.

“
The Fall of civilization
hurt a lot of people,” said Peter. “What is not at all clear is
whether it was deliberately caused. Certainly we could have avoided
it by declining the Gifts and maintaining our own technology
without them.”

“
But we accepted them, to
our ruin,” said the Pope. “The people who understand what happened
will not look kindly on humans who aspire to be like the
Tourists.”

“
Surely you don't think
the people of Dallas will storm the prison and attempt a lynching?”
Peter asked him.
You really want to go down that road,
Ricky?

“
One would hope not, your
Excellency. But it is possible, We suppose.”

“
Everything is possible,”
said the Honcho. “But we only worry about the things that are
probable. Were the people to do such a thing, it is
probable
that many of them would have to
be killed to stop them. I'm sure we both agree that would be
regrettable.”

“
Quite,” said His
Holiness. “Regrettable...but perhaps not necessary. You could do
much to prevent such unrest by merely setting a date for the trial
and execution. Such a gesture might, We hope, consign such problems
to the realm of improbability.”

“
An interesting idea,
Holiness,” said the Honcho. “We shall take it under advisement.
Forgive me for changing the subject, but have you made any progress
on catching the assassin?”

“
The who?”

“
Holiness, we both know
Rodrigo's death was not an accident. It is the opinion of my
experts that he was killed with a swizzle. No need to point out
how...explosive...such a revelation might be for the Church.
Imagine how insecure your flock might feel, knowing that killers
are among them with silent weapons.”

“
It only underscores how
inappropriate it is for humans to have such things.”

“
All humans, Holiness? Or
only certain humans?”

“
What do you mean,
Excellency?”

“
Well, a crossbow is not
the work of demons, surely, but it is just as deadly at close
range. But we can't very well go about confiscating all weapons.
The defense of Texas depends on having weapons, so we must accept
the necessity of people having them.”

“
I do not see the
parallel,” said the pontiff. “It is impossible to prevent humans
from making human-made weapons. Alien weapons, however, fall into a
different category altogether. Since they cannot be made, they are
limited and can be removed without anyone making more.”