Майкл Гир - Requiem for the Conqueror

comprehension of what those powers are.

He couldn't put off the inevitable any longer. Bruen grunted a sigh and settled himself in the velvet-contoured chair near the shimmering helmet. He wet his lips as he Closed his eyes. Once again he had to trust his cunning and control-place himself in jeopardy. The future of humanity would hang on his abilities to deceive.

"Easy. Patience, Bruen, old man," he mumbled to himself. I must control myself. Compose your thoughts, Bruen. Stifle that fear. Therey There, feel your mind gain control. Soothe yourself, Bruen, old man. Yes. You must be careful. As always. No failings, no slips of thought. So much is at stake. Careful. Careful. Careful.

Under his breath he began humming the mantra the Mag Comm had taught them. He had to will himself to resist, building strength, rehearsing an epistemological framework for his thoughts. The mantra became a form of self-hypnotism; he shut down portions of his mind, keeping his thoughts ordered. The machine must read only "right thoughts'-thoughts following the systemic framework of the "Teachings of Truth."

Through endless repetition, he invoked the dogma the Mag Comm had ordered them to adopt after the awakening. As an Initiate he had watched the changes in the Magisters. They had fallen completely under the spell of power and knowledge, reveling in communication with the Mag Comm. So much of his life had been dedicated to…

No! Stifle that, Bruen. Sing the Mantra. I am of the Mag Comm. The Mag Comm is the Way of Humanity. The Way…. The Way…. The Way…. The Teachings are of Truth. Through Right Thoughts come emancipation. The Way…. Right Thoughts…. The Way….

Falling deeply into his mind, he hardly felt himself reach for the helmet and lift it lightly over his head.

The Way…. Right Thoughts…. I am of the Mag

Comm. We are one. I practice the Teachings of Truth. am of the Way.

"Greetings, Magister Bruen." Jangling words rang through his mind.

Invasion! A rape of privacy

No, it is The Way. We are One. He allowed himself to submit, feeling self-induced pacifism flood his thoughts.

"Greetings, Mag Comm." Bruen's thoughts formed the ritual answer, exalting in Right Thoughts.

"You have progress to report?"

"Yes." He opened his mind, following the dogma of the Truth teaching mantra. "Myklene has fallen. The Lord Commander killed his patron, the Praetor. The Sassan Empire now controls Myklenian space and resources."

"So quickly? Our predictions indicated kar Therma would need longer to prepare." A pause. "This is most unfortunate. The permutations of this new data must be analyzed. Do you have any estimate of the Lord Commander's combat losses?"

"From preliminary reports, less than three percent."

Bruen waited for several moments before the reply came:

"It appears our assessment of Myklene's strength was grossly overestimated."

"I think not."

"Elaborate, please."

"We believe our assessment of Staffa kar Therma's military genius was grossly underestimated. Even our sources in the Sassan high command were caught by surprise by Staffa's speed. Special tactics teams infiltrated and threw the Myklenian defense into turmoil, sabotaged their computer defense net, and then Staffa hit them. Each strike increased the Myklenians' confusion until the Sassan regulars could arrive and deliver the crushing blow."

"Then we must act swiftly. Any other course is now denied us."

"Events are progressing with greater alacrity than we anticipated. Rega has begun to react, calling up their military reserves. The critical time has come."

"So, your civilization is about to fall." Haunting tones reverberated through Bruen's mind, echoing off the camouflaged was of his blocked thoughts.

"That is correct."

"And you have taken countermeasures?"

"We have. Everything has been done as you instructed. Your plans are ours."

"You followed my instructions exactly? Explain, please."

"Targa is poised for revolt. Given the rapidity of the Lord Commander's victory over Myklene, we can still incite the revolt and proceed as planned. The revolt will serve to keep Rega off balance. We also expect that the child will be tested to determine if our aspirations will be fulfilled. To date, our agents have been successful in manipulating the child's circumstances. We're dealing with remarkable brilliance, you know. The child may be the foundation for the new order. We have followed your directions, but there is a risk. Random events cannot be biased. To do so would skew the results of the test. The child will surviv — or die— depending on instinct and intelligence."

"Or through random chance?"

"Quantum functions cannot be predicted. Survival will depend on many random variables." Bruen agreed, calming himself, stifling his mind, careful of the control he exercised. The mantra rhymed to cover unorthodox thoughts.

"You know I find Seddi preoccupation with uncertainty principles to be a serious flaw. Such obsession left you impotent and too self-absorbed in the past to allow right action."

"Accidents — you must agree — do happen."

Silence!

Shying away from dangerous ground, Bruen let himself drift with the mantra.

"And the clone?"

Bruen winced. "I sometimes wish you exhibited less, sall we say, honesty, Mag Comm. The word 'clone' hardly reflects—"

"Does the taxonomic label not fit?" came a logical response. "Clone: a being created by artificial manipulation of the genetic material to produce a viable—"

"Yes, yes!" Bruen sighed. "Very well. Yes, the clone is progressing most satisfactorily. We are very pleased. The deep training seems to have implanted without the personality disorders we anticipated. We notice a distinct subliminal reaction to stimuli which exceeds our expectations. The clone carries all the survival skills we hoped to impart. In fact…"

He allowed his unease to eak and moved awkwardly to cover his reserve.

"You are concerned, Bruen?"

"A weapon of such devastating potential should always be viewed with concern. Only a fool sleeps soundly over a primed explosive."

"We are talking about a human, Bruen. Not a primed explosive."

"And which is more deadly?"

"The human with its imagination and intellect. I have no doubts." Mag Comm seemed to hesitate. "To make the point, I would refer you to recent history. You will recall the shambles the Seddi and all Free Space were in when I reestablished contact?"

"Yes, Lord Mag Comm," Bruen responded automatically, feeling the dogmatic epistemology unrolling in his subconscious mind.

"That was the unleashed, uncontrolled power of the human imagination, Bruen. Chaos. Wild. Undirected passion. Loose entropic waste! You had lost Right Thought and the ordered development that comes with it."

The violence of the pronouncement cowed Bruen. In defense, he slipped deeper into the mantra, surrendering his resistance, submitting further to the Mag Comm.

"Yes, I see you remember well. Your mind is open to me. I read the following of the Way. Right Thought is yours. That is good, Bruen. You have done well for your kind."

"Through your help Great One," Bruen intoned. "Blessed is your guidance. Blessed was the day you returned your Grace to mankind to give direction and build the new order. We, your lost children, thank you and worship you."

"You worship through your service, Bruen." A pause. "Is that not so?"

Did he detect a note of sarcasm? Bruen allowed his thoughts to flow, following the intricate logic provided by the Mag Comm so long ago. Within moments, he felt the approval of the huge machine, calming him, stroking his thoughts with positive reinforcement.

"Yes, you are acting according to the Teachings of Truth, Bruen." Another pause. "/ have manipulated the data you have provided concerning the Lord Commander and evalu-