Proteus Unbound (28 page)

"Overconfident! Right, and with plenty to be overconfident about. We're in a mess. I don't know why you're looking so pleased with yourself."

"Because we finally have a chance to learn what's screwing up the Solar System." Aybee squatted down and wrapped his arms around his crossed legs. "I'll tell you one good thing your friend the Wolfman told me when we were on the space farm. He says you solve problems by getting into the
middle
of 'em. When we were out on the harvesters, we were sitting on the outside edge of things. We only felt Black Ransome's effect at third hand. Now we're right at the heart of his power."

"And we're totally powerless! Aybee, even if we got out of these rooms, I'm not sure we could do anything. Ransome controls everything. We couldn't get a message to Bey Wolf or Cinnabar Baker."

"We might get one to the Wolfman, but it wouldn't help. Last time I saw Ransome he told me Wolf is here, too. He pointed out how convenient it was, all three of us coming to him."

"Bey's in Ransome's Hole? However did he find his way?"

"Same as you and me, I'll bet—a little bad luck and a big lump of stupidity. He came here on one of the superfast ships, same as I did. Ransome is hoping to make Wolf a convert to his cause, like he's trying to convert me. You, too, if you let him."

"Then Baker's our only hope. Aybee, you're the smart one. You have to find a way to let her know where we are."

He was shaking his head. "Sorry, Sylv. It's worse than that. When you said Ransome controls everything, you were closer than you realized. He controls Cinnabar Baker."

"Never! The Cloud is her whole life. She'd never sell out to Ransome."

"That's what I'd have said two weeks ago. But Ransome
showed
me. When you get to meet with him he'll show you, too. He has direct transmissions of meetings from inside Baker's personal quarters. Secret papers and interviews, too, from the Opik and Marsden Harvesters. She must be running a portable recorder during her important meetings and transmitting 'em here by sealed hyperbeam."

"Aybee, I think you're crazy. But if you happen to be right it's an absolute disaster. You tell me that, and still you don't think that Ransome has everything under his control?"

"Maybe he does—for the moment. But he can't have corrupted every person in the Outer System. And he's been winning for too long. It's time for
our
run of luck."

"Aybee, if I said anything like that you'd tell me it's statistical gibberish. According to Paul Chu—damn that man—Ransome has been winning because he's a genius. Are you going to disagree with that, too?"

"Funny you should say that." Aybee stood up and stretched. "I do disagree. I came to Ransome's Hole in a hell of a ship, too advanced to be believed. New drive, new nav system, new technology all over it. First thing I asked when I got here: Who's the genius? Ransome, everybody says. All the ideas come from him. He's the one."

"But you think not?" Sylvia knew Aybee's weaknesses, and evaluating the abilities of others was not one of them.

"Hell, I
know
not. Ransome can snow most people here with physics, maybe all of them. He knows a lot, and he talks a great line. But he's not the real thing."

"How do you know that?"

Aybee gave her a sinister smile. "Because, Sylv, I
am
the real thing. Take it from one who knows; Black Ransome didn't invent that new drive and that new ship. He says he's the Negentropic Man, and something's sure feeding bad information to the Cloud's control system. But Ransome's not the genius who dreamed up the entropy reduction and signal-generation system. No way."

"Then who is the inventor? Are you saying Ransome has some supergenius working for him here? And how does the entropy reduction system work?"

"I was afraid you'd ask me that." Aybee smiled more horribly than ever. "You see, Sylv, I don't have the answers. But let me loose for a day or two in this place and I'll get 'em."

"Oh, Aybee." Sylvia slumped down on the chair. "I don't believe in giving up, but be a realist. We'll never get out of here. Black Ransome may not be your supergenius, but he's certainly smart enough not to trust us."

"Speak of the devil." Aybee gestured behind Sylvia. The door had opened, and standing there was Ransome himself, as cold-eyed and commanding as he had been when Sylvia saw that first video message for Paul Chu. He was unarmed and wearing a simple black tunic. His face was pale and showed signs of some unusual strain.

Ransome nodded to Aybee and Sylvia. Behind him stood two of the Roguards. For twenty seconds no one moved.

"You will come with me," Ransome said at last. And then, to the machines, he said, "These two people are now in my personal custody. You are relieved of guard duties until I return them here."

"Where are you taking us?" Sylvia did not like the tone in Ransome's voice. There was a strident edge to it that suggested a man under enormous pressure.

"Wait and see." Ransome lifted his arm and pointed to Aybee. "You first, in front of her. I'll be right behind you."

"Sure." Aybee stepped easily through the door, with a nod at the waiting machines. "Don't wait up for us, we might be back late. Where do you want me to walk, Ransome? You're the one who knows where we are going."

"Follow the gravity vector. Always up."

They started along the left-hand corridor, heading away from the nearest kernels. In forty yards they had reached the first branch and passed a group of armed humans. Everyone nodded respectfully at Ransome and moved to allow the trio to pass on to another segment of passageway. Aybee walked on until he came to a spherical chamber and another fork in the path.

He paused and turned again to Ransome. "I don't know which one of these leads outward. Take your pick."

"Left. Keep going." The voice was gruff, and Aybee could see beads of sweat on the man's face. They moved slowly forward, to a curved part of the corridor screened both ahead of and behind them. An open door leading to an empty maintenance chamber stood on the right-hand side.

"Through there." Ransome nodded his head. "Both of you."

Aybee tensed himself as he went through. Sylvia was between him and Ransome. If he turned to grapple with him, would she be able to get out of the way fast enough?

He had to try. He was spinning around, reaching out his long arms, when the man behind him groaned and sagged forward against the inner wall of the room.

"Aybee! Get him!" Aybee heard Sylvia's shout, but Ransome had fallen forward. His torso flexed itself, then straightened in a painful stretching movement that dropped it to the floor and jerked it two meters into the room.

"Close the door. Keep watch for people," an agonized voice said. "I can't hold any longer."

Then Ransome was twitching on the smooth floor while Aybee and Sylvia looked on in astonishment.

"Ransome. Are you all right?" Sylvia was crouching down next to him.

"Ransome may be fine." The voice was down to a whisper. "But I'm Bey Wolf. Help me, Sylvia. I need five minutes clear."

The body was jerking into violent spasm. The contorted face that looked up at Sylvia was still Black Ransome's, but at the back of the pained eyes she saw something else. "Bey! Is it really you? What's happening?"

The body had uncurled to full extension. It looked nine inches longer than before. The torso shivered. "I did what I told—my classes at Office of Form Control—never to do. Most stupid and dangerous thing in the world. Accelerated form-change, badly defined end-form—programmed from scratch—no chance to do parametric variations. I'm outside—region of stability. Size reduction through muscular contraction. Only have partial muscle control." Ransome's face worked to a twisted smile. "Five minutes more."

"Hey, Wolfman, take your time." Aybee looked out along the corridor, and then he slid the door closed. "We're safe here. I'll watch this. Sylv, see if you can help."

"Don't touch me. I'm getting there." An internal crisis had passed, and the twists and jerks in Wolf/Ransome's body were easing. "Aybee, you seem to know your way—around this place. How far—from the main communications center?"

"Half a kilometer. Back along the corridor, and then head out toward the periphery. The place will be guarded, though, and it's not far from Ransome's own quarters. Ransome might be there."

"I don't think so—I think he's been off-habitat. Anyway, we have to take the risk. I have maybe—one hour, before I have to get back to a tank. This form's a
disaster.
" Wolf was grunting with pain and effort, forcing his body back to the shorter, more compact shape of Black Ransome. "We should be able to get into the com center. No one here argues with Ransome—not even the Roguards. They told me how to find you without a question. Help me up, Sylvia."

"You look terrible. Take more time."

"We don't have time. We've got to get to the communications center and send a message to the Cloud, saying where we are, before Ransome shows up again. Or someone does a random chromosomal check on me. Or I fall apart. Once the coordinates of this place are known, it doesn't matter so much if we're captured again. Right. Any time."

The tics and twitches were subsiding, and the face had again smoothed to the pale, decisive countenance of Black Ransome. With Aybee leading the way and Sylvia ready to support Wolf if he needed it, they walked quietly on through the habitat and then made a turn outward. The twisting corridors were deserted, allowing Wolf to pause and rest along the way. During the final fifty yards Sylvia felt her face tighten with anticipation and tension and was sure she would be noticed. But the guards at the entrance to the communications facility merely stiffened to attention, stepped back a pace, and saluted as the three passed. Wolf/Ransome stood on the threshold and looked around. The center was empty. He nodded back casually to the guards and closed the door.

"That's the most dangerous part over, at least for the moment." Bey sighed and moved across to the hyperbeam unit. "I knew just what Ransome looked like, even how he moved and sounded—I saw more than enough of the Negentropic Man—but I didn't know his speech patterns or the way he greets people."

"Bey, we got troubles you don't even know about." Aybee held out a hand to prevent Wolf from touching the hyperbeam communication console. "It's not safe to send a message to the Cloud—Ransome has Cinnabar Baker in his pocket. I've seen messages from her."

Wolf shook his head and turned on the communications set. "It's not news to me; I suspected as much. I didn't like the idea when I had it myself, but I knew there was a leak—and I didn't see how it could be anybody but Baker."

"But if we can't trust her, who can we trust?" Sylvia asked, "We don't trust anyone. We send the message everywhere, spray it across the Inner and Outer Systems. Aybee, can you take over all the communications channels?"

"For a general broadcast?" Aybee glared at the panel for a few seconds, then slowly nodded. "Guess so. Takes a few minutes to set it up—and if I grab 'em all, we'll be noticed. I'll have to push a hundred other users right off the system. Everyone in Ransome's Hole will head this way."

"That's a different worry. Get the com system ready. Sylvia and I will work on the message."

"Give me five. Make me a formatted data set, all ready to send." Aybee bent over the panel and began to work. After a few minutes he swore and looked up. "Problem. System's not set up for general broadcast."

"Can't you jury-rig?" Bey could hear the sound of his own voice changing, and his hands were starting to tremble. He did not have long to get to a form-change tank.

"I can. But I'll have to sit here and baby it. It's a low data rate, too—I'm going to need half an hour's transmission. But as soon as we start, this whole habitat will start to buzz."

"Agreed." Bey stood up. "Sylvia, you can finish the message. We want everyone in the system to know that Ransome is the cause of control and communications breakdown. Tell them the location data for Ransome's Hole, what he's been doing, all you know about him. Ask help from anyone who can give it. Say we need a hundred ships or a thousand, from anywhere in the system, and while you're at it add a note saying that there's a leak in Cinnabar Baker's office. If it's Baker herself, that takes care of it. If not, she'll do something fast. And you, Aybee, as soon as you're ready, grab the outgoing circuits and send the message."

"What about you?" Sylvia had stood up when Bey did, supporting him as he swayed to his feet.

"I've got to guarantee Aybee his thirty minutes. Hold the fort here. Don't try to leave, even if you finish sending the message. Just he low until I get back."

"Bey, you look terrible." Sylvia could feel his arm trembling. "I ought to come with you."

"No. You couldn't help me, and sending that message is top priority. Get it ready, then help Aybee send it."

"What are you going to do?"

Bey gave her a wan smile. "I wish I knew. Don't worry, I'll think of something. Aybee, take a ten-second break and tell me how to get to Ransome's personal quarters. Maybe I can cut off our trouble there, right at the top."

Aybee nodded, paused for a moment, then rattled off a series of directions. Then he bent back to his control panel. It was Sylvia who watched unhappily as Bey blundered toward the door. He still resembled Ransome in general appearance, but his body language was subtly wrong. His movements had become jerky, with violent and random twitches of muscle in his arms and legs.

Sylvia kept silent and forced herself to watch him go. Bey thought he had another half hour before he was forced to find a form-change tank. She suspected that was irrelevant. Long before that, Bey would be unable to pass as Black Ransome to anyone with eyes or ears.

CHAPTER 27

"God does not play dice."
—Albert Einstein

"God not only plays dice, but also sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen."
—Stephen Hawking

"God knows what God does."
—Apollo Belvedere Smith

There was silence in the communications center for five minutes after Bey left. Sylvia quickly completed the formatted message and defined a directory reference for it, but then she was reluctant to speak and break Aybee's concentration. He was setting up the master sequence that would take over in one swoop every outgoing message circuit in Ransome's Hole, and it was important to provide no hint of that intention until the moment came for override.