Empire of Bones (29 page)

"I did not think she entirely resembled Jaya," he said doubtfully. "But I could have been mistaken. After all, we were responsible for some extensive modifications when Jaya visited the ship. I must say, I didn't know there was that level of advance here."

There has been some success with cloning over the last twenty years or so. I confess, I have
studied the progress reports closely, and my understanding was that Maying was still in its
infancy. But I fear
, Ir Yth remarked with some embarrassment,
that all the
desqusai
loo't alike to me
.

"I suppose that's natural," Sirru said, swallowing his irrita-tion. "But why then are the two bodies activated at the same time?"

Ir Yth said loftily, //
is clear that you have not understood that Tekjiei has different laws from our
own enlightened society. One frequently sees primitive violations of common practice in such
projects. Clearly it is permitted for both bodies to be extant simul-taneously
. She paused, then said with studied indifference,
Do you intend to visit the Second Body
?

"Why not? We should go soon; there are plans to leave the city tonight, to ensure our safety. It will be helpful, to have two Receivers. I wonder why they were not both activated at once… Maybe something retarded the other one's development."

Perhaps she might assist when the rescue skip arrives
, Ir Yth suggested helpfully.

"Perhaps so," Sirru said. He had taken to activating the scale armor whenever he was with Ir Yth, tuning it to a low setting so as not to betray its presence. He did not think the
raksasa
had noticed. It was fortunate that he had already taken steps to ensure that the communication system should be well under way, although the incident with the child had only in-creased his anxiety.

Something had gone deeply wrong with the Tekhein proj-ect over the course of its history. He thought with dismay of the viral indices eating away at the child's body; this should never have happened.

Something must had gone dreadfully amiss with the regeneratives, far back in the Tekhein past, for such mutations to occur now. And why hadn't the Core been informed long before this? Then they could have quietly shut down the project and spared its unfortunate inhabitants gen-erations of suffering. If there were two things that Sirru could not abide, they were misery and waste.

When should we visit the Second Body
? Ir Yth persisted. The
rakjasa
was up to something, Sirru was sure.

"Later this afternoon, perhaps?" he suggested, innocently. The
raksasa
agreed, with what Sirru perceived to be a faint trace of relief. Surreptitiously, and under the guise of scratch-ing, he turned the scale to a higher setting.

"Well," he added. "I wish to rest. Shall we meet in the courtyard, in a couple of hours or so, and visit her together?"

Sirru returned to his small chamber, which overlooked the courtyard, and waited. A half hour or so later, not to his sur-prise, he saw a short bundled figure heading hastily across the courtyard. He slid over the sill and down the wall of the tem-ple, sensitive fingers easily finding handholds. The guard at the gate was not the fierce black-hairy person, but a younger man barely more than a boy. He was alert over the gun in his lap, but Sirru slipped easily past him. The shadowy shape of Ir Yth was heading across the square to where the white pavilion stood. Sirru followed, skirting the rows of army vehicles and picking his unseen way through the makeshift tents and hud-dled bodies that filled the square.

The
raksasa
hurried to the entrance of the pavilion, which was illuminated from within like a great glowing sail, and relin-quished her disguise. There was a flurry of movement from within; Ir Yth disappeared. Sirru hastened to die side of the pavilion. Its walls were secured by ropes, and there were plenty of cracks dirough which one might watch suspicious goings-on.

Jaya's Second Body was sitting on a long couch arranged with cushions. She was wearing a length of golden material edged with red, and the light flashed and melted from the jewels at her throat. A small group of acolytes sat before the couch, talking in low voices. At Ir Yth's entrance, Jaya's Second Body gasped. One hand went to her throat, clutching the necklaces as one might when faced with a robber. Ir Yth bowed with frosty politeness, as befitted the greeting of god-dess to mortal. The Second Body opened her mouth and stam-mered something. Then, recovering herself, she motioned to a place on the couch beside her. Tea and fruit and sweets were brought, which Ir Yth ignored. The Second Body radiated surprise, excitement, and alarm. Softly, looking nowhere but into die woman's dark eyes, Ir Yth began to talk.

Sirru could not understand what she was saying, since it was directed purely at the Second Body, but the expressives that were emanating from Ir Yth to lend weight to her words were very clear. She was warning the Second Body. She was talking about terrible things, frightening things, and over and over again he heard his own name. Gradually an expressive coalesced and took shape.

The project could not be allowed to succeed. Failure must be engineered, otherwise destruction of the Tekhein
desqusai
would result, but the administrator—Sirru himself—must not know. Ir Yth could not go to the authorities directly, because the administrator might find out and exact a terrible revenge.

Sirru, alarmed, listened intently. Even after the events on the ship, he could not control his outrage at Ir Yth's treachery. It was unheard of for a member of a project to undermine it in this manner; a violation of all manner of codes. The Core itself had ordered the project, stating explicitly that the Tekhein
desqusai
were to be brought into line with the rest of their kin, to have all the advantages and advances of the rest of the irRas worlds. Sirru thought, with sorrow, of everything he had seen or heard of so far on this world: die dreadful poverty, the primitive forms of speech which seemed to lead to so much confusion and strife, the wars and revolts mentioned by Jaya. The child's illness: so horrible and unnecessary. Once the planet was brought under Rasasatran control, none of these things would be a problem anymore.

Yet here was Ir Yth telling the Second Body that Sirru was on Tekhei to cull and enslave the population, neither of which was true. Once full redevelopment had occurred, Tekhei would be left largely in peace, perhaps with a small adminis-trative presence to maintain the superstructure, but otherwise under its own jurisdiction. Sirru had ho intention of murder-ing anyone. Why would he?

But the conversation which he was now overhearing was final corroboration that Ir Yth, smug
kfiaith
that she was, had been placed here not as facilitator but as saboteur, to guarantee the crash of another project. Just like Arakrahali. Yet another failure might convince the Core back home that the
desqusai
should be phased out. If that happened, then not only this small world of Tekhei, but
desqusai
temeni and irTemeni everywhere would be integrated, their castes discontinued and their genes thrown back into the webs of the Core.

Genetic meltdown
, thought Sirru, and his cool skin flushed colder. He couldn't let the project collapse.

The future of his own caste was at stake, and he also had a duty to finish what he was assigned here to do. Tekhei might be a project gone awry, but he was damned if he was going to let it be eradicated in this way, especially not now that there was a chance of mending things.

Across the courtyard, the tethered beast raised its great head and cried, as if mourning what was to come. Within, Ir Yth was still whispering poison into the Second Body's ears, but Sirru had heard enough. Slipping from the wall of the pavilion, he went back across the square to the temple, mak-ing plans with every step.

19.
't4ranasi

Kneeling before a little statue of Durga, Kharishma Kharim bowed her head with as much humility as she could manage and prayed. She thanked the goddess for her guidance, for her wisdom, and most of all for her beneficence in granting the mandate of Heaven, albeit in the rather improbable form of Ir Yth, to Kharishma herself.

There was a movement at the door. Kharishma glanced up and saw the face of Amir Anand reflected in the gilt of the statue, and her heart leaped. She felt a sudden rush of gratitude to the goddess. After all, Jaya Nihalani had no prince to wor-ship her; just some mountain boy, some peasant-turned-terrorist who was in any case dead. Unbidden, the image of Jaya as she had last seen her swam into Kharishma's mind: lean and lithe, silver-haired and golden-eyed. Why, she'd looked almost younger than Kharishma herself—ruthlessly, the actress sup-pressed this unwelcome thought. Forcing a smile, she rose gracefully to greet Amir. His face was an odd chalky gray. He said in a whisper, "What the hell is that thing?"

"Darling? What—?"

"That—that creature. Out tüere in the main tent. The
alien
."

Kharishma realized, with a heady rush of power, that Amir was actually afraid. Ir Yth was lending her authority in more areas than one, she thought. Graciously, reassuringly, she took Amir by the arm.

"Don't worry, darling," she said. "Everything's all right. The alien—Ir Yth—has explained everything to me. I'm go-ing to save the world."

2o.
't4ranasi/ lemple
o't
Durga

Twilight had just fallen, and Shiv was spanning down the walls of the Web, seeking secrets. Jaya, still shaky with shock, leaned over his shoulder and stared grimly at plans as they hatched. She had put the boy Halil to bed in the most comfort-able chamber; he seemed numb and drowsy, but she doubted he would sleep well.

"Where does this come from?" she murmured.

She pointed to the shifting uncertainties of the screen. Words stabbed out at her: "enslavement… A cull."

What have I done
? Jaya wondered with a cold flush of dread.
What demon have I conjured up now
?

Whatever it was, she was responsible. She had to finish what she'd started. Shiv murmured, "This has just come in through Reuters. Through a via-channel based in Singapore."

"Do you know where it originates?"

"It's very recent. The report mentions a source in Varanasi." Shiv shifted uncomfortably in his seat and would not meet her eyes.

"Does it give a name?" }aya asked, in a voice that could have reached all the way to Hell.

"Yes. Yours."

There was a long, electric silence. As if he had not spoken, Jaya said, "This claim that the aliens have come to enslave us. Do
you
think it's true?" She turned to Rakh, who gave an un-happy shrug.

"Who can say? It's as likely as anything else." He met her gaze without expression, trusting her, as always, to do what was right.
But then again, I never was a real oracle, was I
?

"If it's true, then the worst fears are the right fears. And yet—" And yet Sirru
had
healed the child. The dichotomy still obsessed Jaya:
healing and harvest
. If Sirru had come to murder and enslave, then why cure Halil ?

"No surprise there," Rakh said, in response to her last words. "You said it yourself—everyone comes to take. But to take what?"

As if on cue, Sirru appeared in the doorway. His usual in-souciance was gone; the pointed face looked drawn and tired. If he could hear emotions, Jaya thought, then he would have to feel as if he was being shouted at right now. His arms were wrapped around himself; she wondered whether he was cold.

"Sirru?" she said, quietly.

The alien murmured something that she could neither hear nor understand. Then he said a word that was entirely intelligible.

"Ir Yth."

Dipping a long finger in Shiv's tea and disregarding the lat-ter's protest, the alien drew a line along the tabletop, then a square with a circle at each corner. He gestured around him; after a moment, Jaya realized that this signified the temple. Sirru drew the square, tlien another circle, and a line that con-nected the two. He repeated the
rafyasa's
name.

"Ir Yth went to Kharishma today?" Jaya's eyes met Rakh's dark gaze. "And told her something?"

"Kharishma must be ripe for the plucking," Rakh mused. "The
rafyasa
doesn't seem to have had much luck in influenc-ing
you
."

"It makes a certain sense," Jaya said. "That's what that bitch wants to be, after all—Jaya Devi, out to save the world. But is she wrong to want that?" Stepping across, she placed her hands on Sirru's shoulders. They felt hard and bony be-neath her hands. He gazed down at her, his expression un-readable. Jaya turned to Rakh and Shiv Sakai.

"Go now. We've got things to discuss."

"But, Commander—" Rakh had to be upset, she thought, to resurrect that old title.

"Don't argue with me, Rakhi. Please. Just go."

Reluctantly, Rakh and Shiv Sakai left, closing the door be-hind them. Jaya rested her forehead against the alien's breast-bone. The skin at the back of her neck prickled; she did not like being so close to him, after the episode with the child.

"Sirru. I need the truth from you. Why are you here?"

She thought it with all the force she could manage, men-tally shouting, projecting out. And Sirru dutifully replied,
/duty/tired/miss-complexity-home-other selves/afraid/no harm/
. A pause.
/Harvest/

If she was to trust him, it would be a decision and not an instinct, for the latter could deceive. She sensed bewilderment and even affection; how easily could he lie, she wondered? And he had cured Halil.

/Danger/you/your people/
—"Ir Yth."
/Distress/betrayal/fear/

"Ir Yth?"

"Ir Yth."

"All right," Jaya said wearily. She thought of the voice of the ship, living in her mind for so many years and now silent, and then of Ir Yth, whom she neither liked nor trusted. And then, again, of the child: healed, but at what cost to his psyche?
At least you seem the lesser of many evils, Sirru, whatever your
methods
.