Radiant (47 page)

All the way down, Li screamed: a prolonged earsplitting wail, full of anger when it started ("How can you do this to me? To
me?")
but flooding with fear as the fall continued, then right at the end, transmuting to sorrow—regret? maybe even shame at how his life had turned out?—only to be cut off abruptly as he reached the middle of the heap, and spores swept in to cover him. An instant later, Ambassador Li Chin Ho was nothing but a fuzzed-over lump within the mound of gray.

The rest of us didn't react for several seconds. Ubatu's grip was tight around me. Finally, Festina let out her breath and checked the Bumbler's readout. "Li's fall was slowed by something the sensors couldn't analyze. The effect left residual heat, but beyond that the Bumbler says UNKNOWN EMISSION."

"The emission came from the spores?"

"No way to tell... but if you ask me, that gray heap used telekinesis to drag Li in, slowing his fall so he wouldn't crush any spores when he landed."

"That's encouraging," I said. "If the moss was afraid of Li falling full force, the spores must be fairly fragile."

"Mmph!" Ubatu agreed, making stomping gestures with her foot.

Festina put her hand on Ubatu's arm. "Crushing the bastards is certainly an option to consider... but if they can telekinetically grab prey and reel it in, let's consider that option from a safe distance. I propose a strategic retreat and then we debate tactics."

"Strategic retreat sounds good," I said, and nudged Ubatu toward the exit. While Festina grabbed her Bumbler and backpack, Ubatu carried me to the curtain of energy where we'd entered the room. She hit the black sheet at a pretty good speed—unluckily for me, because the energy field had turned as solid as a concrete wall. Held in Ubatu's arms, I thunked hard against the black surface, then was squashed in by Ubatu's body for a moment before she realized what had happened.

"Mmph!" she muttered as she backed away.

"Festina," I said. "It seems to be a one-way door."

"Shit!" Juggling her pack and the Bumbler, Festina hurried over. She reached gingerly toward the black barrier. Her fingers stopped on contact. "Shit!" she said again... then she slammed out her hand in a palm-heel strike, as if brute force might shatter the blockage. The sheet of black made no sound when hit, but I could see the jarring impact travel up Festina's arm, hard enough that the recoil made her step back.

"I believe you're right, Youn Suu. It appears to be a one-way door."

From behind us came a cackling laugh. We whipped around to see the source: Li's head protruding from the mass of gray, spores flecking his skin like pustules. The rest of his body lay submerged in moss, but at least his lungs were working—he had enough breath to laugh again.

Festina groaned. "Am I the only one on this planet who
isn't
possessed by something?"

"Give it time," I told her. "The morning's still young."

"Hah!" Li cried. "You're trapped."

"Is that Li speaking?" Festina asked me. "Or the moss just using his mouth?"

"Likely the moss," I said. "Got inside him... infiltrated his gray matter... took over the speech centers and the neurons that understand English." I shrugged. "Eat someone's brain, learn a new language."

"The planarian approach to linguistics."

"You'll go the same way as me," Li sneered. "Soon, you'll all be eaten."

Festina gave me a look. "Isn't he supposed to twirl his mustache when he says crap like that?"

"He probably can't," I said. "The spores swallowed his hands."

"Pity they didn't get his tongue." She raised her voice. "Lot of good eating in a tongue. Mmm, yeah, tasty. I'd eat Li's tongue myself, if that'd save us from one of those 'You unsuspecting fools!' speeches."

"You
are
unsuspecting fools!" Li said.

"Aww, jeez, here it comes," Festina muttered.

"Usually, we only eat vermin," Li gloated. "Scrawny lizards and meatless insects that wander in here to make nests. It's been a long time since we dined on anything larger."

"Dined?"
Festina said. "Who the hell uses words like
dined?
Not even a gasbag like Li would say
dined."

"We are not Li," the leering head replied. "We are the Glorious Ones. We are the Divine."

"For God's sake," said Festina, "if you have to possess the poor guy, would you please search his brain for the
normal
speech centers? Li wouldn't be caught dead saying 'Glorious' or 'Divine.' "

"We're content with the part of his brain we've claimed. Contact with this inferior creature's mind disgusts us. We don't intend to access more than necessary... but it's been a long time since we had visitors, and we would speak with you."

Festina rolled her eyes at the phrase "we would speak with you." Personally, I thought we were lucky the "Divine" considered themselves too lofty to rummage through Li's brain. Otherwise, they might learn things we preferred to keep secret. What would happen, for example, if the Divine discovered that my body contained Balrog spores? I might instantly become the next meal. Yes, they intended to eat me eventually—or as they might put it, they'd "feast on my succulent flesh"—but for the moment, the patchy gray spores appeared eager to inflate their egos at our expense.

I wondered if the Divine were naturally pompous, or if there was something in Li's body chemistry that induced self-aggrandizement. Buddhists have always known you should be careful what you eat.

"So what do you want to gloat about?" Festina asked the moss. "How clever you were to mess up Stage Two for the Fuentes?"

"What?" Li's spore-flecked head asked. "What do you mean?"

"My friend is implying," I said, "that you, the Divine, are responsible for this station's failure. She thinks your presence here indicates you sabotaged the Fuentes' attempt at transcendence." I glanced at Festina. "Alas, she views higher beings with suspicion. Magnificent ones such as you... she fears you may seek to prevent lesser creatures from achieving your own degree of perfection."

"Magnificent ones such as you?"
Festina said under her breath. "Guess we know who's chosen to be the ass-kissing suck-up."

"I prefer the term 'good cop,' " I whispered back.

"Silence!" the possessed head roared. "It is not for you to judge us. You know nothing of our plight."

"Then enlighten us, that we may benefit from your wisdom," I said.

"We
shall
enlighten you," the Divine replied through Li's mouth. "But any benefits therefrom will be short-lived. When we finish consuming this man's flesh, one of you will be next."

"Take Youn Suu," Festina said. "She's bioengineered... all kinds of yummy extra vitamins."

"Bitch," I murmured (with a smile).

"I prefer the term 'bad cop,' " Festina said.

"You're wrong thinking we sabotaged the Ascension." Li's head had composed itself into a smug expression—as smug as anyone could be while clumps of gray fuzz snacked on his cheeks. "We are the ultimate result of that process. We," said the Divine, "are what you would call Uplifted Fuentes."

"I've seen Uplifted Fuentes," Festina replied. "They look like purple jelly."

"Impostors!" the Divine howled. "Lying, deceitful frauds!"

"Why?"

"They claim we are not truly elevated!" Li's head made a snorting sound that might have been a laugh or a sniffle. "You saw what we can do—how we drew your companion to us. You'll experience the same power soon enough. Even if you run, we shall drag you back by force of will and munch with delight on your bones. But the Jelly Ones... they whisper... we shut them out, but they whisper... they say we are pitiful craven things who never really rose at all."

"Gee," said Festina, "how could they think that?"

I gave her a warning look. The Divine
were
craven things—whining snivelers without enlightenment—but like Bamar demons who could be fooled by Ugly Screaming Stink-names, the gray spores shouldn't be underestimated just because they seemed like buffoons. This moss had real powers: telekinesis and who knew what else. Their mentality might be deficient (perhaps just degraded with age), but they were still deadly. Just ask Ambassador Li.

"The Jelly Ones don't understand you," I said. "They're cruel to torment you with their whispering. Do they do it often?"

"They never stop. Never! When they get close enough, we destroy them... but mostly they stay out of range and plague us with taunts. They say they could help if only we'd let them. Liars! We don't need their help."

"I'll bet you hold others at bay too," I said. "Other creatures besides the Jelly Ones."

"Oh yes, many others. We have millions of enemies—millions and millions! All of them hateful and jealous. But we kill them if they get too close."

"What about the settlers?" Festina asked. "The Unity. The Greenstriders. They lived here for years, and you didn't eat them."

"We are the Divine!" they shrieked through Li's mouth. "Do we squander our strength on lesser beings when we must conserve power to fight greater enemies?"

"Ah," said Festina, under her breath. "The bastards have limited energy."

"Besides," the Divine continued, "why should we exert ourselves when microbes do the job for us? In time, the microbes turn all invaders to smoke. Then the newcomers cease to be annoyances."

"You're on good terms with the EMP clouds?" Festina asked.

"The clouds are beneath our contempt... but they know their place. At one time, they tried to steal our treasure, but—"

"Treasure?"
Festina and I repeated in unison.

"Our blessing. Our inheritance."

"O Splendid Ones," I said, "perhaps you should explain what that means. We wish to comprehend your true greatness."

"We're glad to do so," the Divine replied. "Too long have we been misunderstood. Listen, and be amazed."

As the Divine began to speak, Ubatu laid me on the floor. That might just have meant she was resting her arms—why hold me during a potentially lengthy diatribe, when she might need all her strength later?—but I was still troubled by her action. Ubatu hadn't been carrying me out of courtesy or compassion; it was something to do with Ifa-Vodun. She saw me as the vessel of a particularly powerful loa. I'd thought she wanted to keep her hands on me and perhaps win favor with the Balrog through displays of worshipful servitude.

But now Ubatu had met the Divine. And now she'd set me down. I couldn't help wondering if she'd decided the Divine would be more susceptible to her pandering than the Balrog had been. They certainly seemed better candidates for being manipulated: powerful, but not very bright. If Ubatu abased herself before the Divine—if she offered to be their priestess—they might be gullible enough to accept.

Especially if she could prove her loyalty. Perhaps by offering Festina and me as sacrifices. And betraying the secret that I harbored the Divine's enemies: Balrog spores. If Ubatu had been capable of speech, she might have already blurted out the truth. As it was, she'd have to bide her time: wait for some kind of opening that would let her catch the Divine's attention before Festina and I could stop her.

Or not. I might be inventing ulterior motives where none existed. Ubatu could simply be resting her arms. I wished I could still read her life force, but my sixth sense had lost its reach. I had to fall back on my natural five senses, keeping a close eye on Ubatu to make sure she did nothing treacherous while the Divine talked.

Meanwhile, Festina took up a position leaning directly on the curtain of blackness across the room's entrance. If the energy field lost its solidity for the slightest instant, she'd fall into the outer corridor and perhaps beyond the Divine's clutches. Putting her weight on the blackness might also force the Divine to expend energy maintaining the curtain's impenetrability. If the gray spores had limited resources of power, why not compel them to use as much energy as possible?

I found it difficult to believe the Divine were as mighty as they claimed. They reminded me of a grandiose jungle tribe, hiding from modern society, claiming to be masters of the world but living on lizards and insects. If we could make them overextend themselves, we might find a way to avoid being eaten like Li. But first, we had to listen to them pontificate.

"Long, long ago," the Divine said through Li's half-eaten lips, "we were technicians at this station. The ones who readied it for Stage Two of the Ascension. We did
exactly
what we were told. Exactly! We followed the scientists' directions to the letter."

"Fine, we got the message," Festina said. "You just followed orders, and you weren't the ones who screwed up. What happened?"

"The Ascension happened!" The Divine apparently liked to shriek. This particular yell sounded more breathy than those previous; I wondered if the spores had started snacking on Li's lungs. "It happened just as predicted. First, the microbes pulled apart our bodies. Then, the energy projectors in this station activated themselves. It was
glorious."

"What went wrong?"

"From our viewpoint, nothing. In the form of clouds, we gathered at the energy projectors. We felt ourselves change—growing more powerful. New strength flooded through us, and we used that strength to feed on the radiation. We gathered it to us; we drank it in; we
reveled
in it. All that power for ourselves."

"For yourselves?" I asked. "What about the people in Drill-Press? Weren't they supposed to get their share too?"

"There wasn't enough to go around! The scientists must have miscalculated. After we ascended, we drove the others away; otherwise, they would have stolen what was rightfully ours."

"You'd already ascended," Festina said, "but you kept sucking up the power pumped out by this station?"

"The power
belonged
to us. Our treasure. Our due."

"Oh boy," Festina muttered under her breath. Raising her voice, she said, "Let me get this straight. This station could produce enough energy to uplift everyone in this part of the planet, including the entire city of Drill-Press and God knows how far beyond. Instead, your team of grease monkeys, who happened to be closest to the source, were the first shoved up the evolutionary ladder. You acquired fancy new abilities and immediately used those abilities to grab the energy for yourself. For the past sixty-five hundred years, no one else has been able to ascend because you're hogging the juice... and you yourselves are getting a million times the intended dose of radiation, which means you're—"