The Enemy Papers Page 27

  Strength for myself, and for Mallik's unborn child ....

  Uhe was an ancient, alien creature. Hermaphrodite, superstition-ridden savage, and cannibal. Yet Nicole found Uhe touching something within her. She felt Uhe's desperation, its rage, its hope, its overwhelming guilt. But was Uhe driven by the plight of the Mavedah, or grief of the death of its child, Leuno? Did it matter?

  Uhe's guilt was inflicted by an antiquated sun god. Mine? I never did learn her ... or his name. Its name.

  "You look unhappy, Joanne Nicole." The voice belonged to Vencha Eban.

  "Vencha Eban, do you have any children?"

  "No."

  The Drac's voice reflected a sorrow of staggering depths. "After the birth of my only child,' Hiurod, my reproductive organs ... had to be removed. Hiurod died in the battle of Chadduk's Station."

  "I am very sorry."

  Vencha Eban was silent for a moment. "Joanne Nicole, do you have any children?"

  She turned on her side and closed her eyes. "I don't want to talk anymore."

  ...the cannibal of the Madah.

  Joanne Nicole was not aware of how many times she listened again to the Koda Ovida over the following days. But in her dreams she would see this Uhe and follow the ancient alien's bloody steps from the Madah through the lands that would be conquered and called Sindie.

  And she would see Uhe as it stared at the old masters of the Mavedah as they picked over and gnawed on Leuno's bones—

  —she would awaken; sometimes crying, sometimes screaming.

  Then she would listen again to the story. While she listened, she would close her eyes and wait for her dreams to bring her, again, the sight of Uhe's face.

  ...and the face was not strange to her.

  EIGHT

  And Maltak Di said to the student: "I have sixteen beads in my hand. If I give you six beads, how many beads will I have in my hand?"

  "You will have ten, Jetah."

  "Hold out your hand." And the student did so. Maltak Di then dropped six beads into the student's hand and opened its own hand to show that it was empty.

  "You lied, Jetah!"

  "Yes. Your response to my question should have been 'Jetah, open you hand and let me, first, see the sixteen beads.' Instead you answered from ignorance."

  "Jetah, that is not fair!"

  "Now you answer from stupidity."

  —The Story of Maltak Di, Koda Nushada, The Talman

  Nicole awakened but remained still, continuing to think upon the things she had seen in her dream. Uhe had denied the immortality of rules, had unleashed bloody war upon the Sindie to save the Mavedah, and had succeeded only to take its own life as payment in return for its guilt.

  Uhe had placed the god, Aakva, aside; had declared to itself that the god was wrong; and had placed a stamp on the Sindie that continued down through almost twelve thousand years to the present.

  V'Butaan on the planet Ditaar, named after the mountain city containing Uhe's tomb. The Tsien Denvedah, Uhe's front fighters of the same name, casting reluctant prisoners into the Madah. The terrorists on Amadeen taking on the venerable charge of the Mavedah, as well as its name.

  And Joanne Nicole spoke Uhe's last words out loud: "Aakva, in the name of your children, become a more perfect god."

  "A futile, but ancient, wish." The voice was deep, resonant, and just a touch amused.

  Nicole sat up. "Who are you?"

  There was a low chuckle. "Who am I? Who am I? Your question is profound, Joanne Nicole; and it would take me many hours to answer it. My name, however, is Tora Soam. I am the First Master of the Talman Kovah. It was my third child, Sin Vidak, that you saved from the fire on Ditaar."

  "You have finally come, then?"

  "Yes. Pur Sonaan told me that you had wondered at my absence; and for that I apologize. But you were near death for so long; and recently the demands upon my time have been heavy."

  The voice was enigmatic; difficult to read. "Tora Soam, what is to become of me?"

  "Ah, another profound question!" It paused for another chuckle. "But you refer to your immediate future, do you not?"

  "Yes."

  "The paths open to you would appear to be few. You are still vemadah, despite my protection." It paused for a moment. "There is a good argument, Joanne Nicole, that can be made supporting a claim to you being vehivida."

  Vehivida? Of the sixth. And Uhe said: "Their children will be sent to the Sixth Denve..."

  "I am not a child, Tora Soam."

  "No, but you are infirm."

  "I do not serve the Drac cause."

  "Joanne Nicole, you served the cause by providing the Tsien Denvedah with another soldier."

  She felt her face flush. "I saved a child; no more."

  "Emmmm. You divide motive, act, and responsibility. Had you not saved my child, the child would not have become a soldier. Does not that, then, make you responsible for the existence of the soldier?"

  Tora Soam's voice; it had an edge of humor in it. Tora Soam was playing games. "I saved a child. The child chose to become Tsien Denvedah."

  "I see. And if you knew that the child would grow to become Tsien Denvedah, would you have refused to save it?"

  "Drac, this game is getting quite tedious."

  "Answer the question, Joanne Nicole. Would you have saved it, or would you have let it burn?"

  Memories of that smoke-filled horror filled her mind. All of those dead children, the heat, the smell. She wiped her eyes as she shook her head. "I ... I don't know."

  "I think you do, Joanne Nicole."

  Nicole smacked her hand upon her thigh. "All right! I would have saved it! But I was saving a life, not a soldier for the Dracon Chamber!"

  Nicole heard the rustle of the Drac's robes as it stood up. "I apologize to you, Joanne Nicole. I did not mean to upset you. If you insist, you are vemadah."

  "I insist!"

  "Pur Sonaan has told me that, except for your vision, you will be well soon. As soon as you can leave the Chirn Kovah, I will have you brought to the Tora estate. The Madah is a social state, not a tract of land. You may stay at my home for as long as you wish—at least until you are fully recovered."

  Nicole laughed and held her hands to her face. "My eyes. When will they be well?"

  "Pur Sonaan is working hard on the problem—"

  "Tora Soam, there are a great many USEF soldiers in the Madah right now."

  "And?"

  "While you would put me up in security, they will still be vemadah. I would rather count on them than on the charity of a Drac."

  Tora Soam was silent for a moment, then Nicole felt it bend over the bed and pick up Pur Sonaan's player. A click, a whiz, then another click. The Drac played the player on her lap. "Learn an old lesson, Joanne Nicole."

  She heard its footsteps leaving as the voice from the player filled the room. It was the narration of Namndas, Shizumaat's senior at the Temple of Uhe.

  ... the days passed, and by the time two new classes were formed, and my charges occupied the south end of the Madah Wall, Ebneh stood before the class to hear their recitations of Aakva, Rhada, Daultha, and Uhe.

  When all had completed their recitations, Ebneh held out its hands. "We call the Story of Uhe the Koda Ovida; and what is the first truth?"

  There are, of course, many truths within the first Koda. The student's task is to draw from the story the greatest truth. The first student stood and spoke the accepted truth of the story: "That it is Aakva's law that the servants of Aakva will speak the true wishes of Aakva."

  Ebneh nodded, pleased. "And do you all agree?"

  All of the students nodded, except for Shizumaat. Shizumaat stared through the columns at Uhe's tomb until Ebneh called out. "Shizumaat, were you listening?"

  Shizumaat's eyes turned toward Ebneh. "I was listening."

  "Do you agree with this student's interpretation of the Koda Ovida?"

  "No." Shizumaat looked back toward Uhe's tomb.

  Ebneh stood next to Shizumaa
t. "You will stand!" Shizumaat stood and looked at Ebneh. "What truth do you see in the Koda Ovida?"

  "Ebneh, I see that a rule stood between the Mavedah and survival; I see that the rule was nothing sacred, but made by Sindie; and I see that Uhe saw this and cast the rule aside to save its people. The truth I see, then, is that rules are meant to serve the Sindie; the Sindie is not meant to serve rules."

  Ebneh stared at Shizumaat for a long moment; and then it asked: "Then, Shizumaat, should we, or should we not, obey the wishes of Aakva handed down by the servants?"

  "If the rule is good, it should be used; if it is not good, it should be cast aside."

  Ebneh's eyes narrowed, and those who sat near Shizumaat edged away. "Shizumaat, do you say that the laws of Aakva can be false?"

  I closed my eyes. Ebneh was forcing Shizumaat into blasphemy. Shizumaat was smart enough to know this; it was too stubborn, however, to bow to the pain the servants would inflict on its body upon the admission of the blasphemy.

  "Shizumaat spoke: "If the laws come from the servants, then the laws come from mortal, fallible creatures, and can be false."

  Ebneh stood upright. "But if the laws come from Aakva?"

  "Then Aakva can be and has been wrong. This I saw in the Story of Uhe."

  A terrible silence came down upon the temple. I rushed up to Shizumaat and grabbed it by the arm. "Think, Shizumaat! Think upon what you say!"

  Shizumaat pulled its arm away from my grasp. "I have thought upon it, Namndas. That is why I answered as I did."

  Ebneh pushed me away from the student. "Do you know what you will suffer because of your words?"

  Shizumaat smiled. "Yes, Ebneh. I know the rules."

  "You know them, yet you scorn them?"

  "I question them; I question their source; I question their validity. I know the servants will beat me for what I have said; but I ask you this: will beating me prove the existence of Aakva and the truth of its laws?"

  Ebneh did not answer.

  In the morning, with the Parent of All illuminating the eastern columns of the temple, I climbed the steps and found Shizumaat kneeling between the columns, facing Aakva.

  Shizumaat's face rested against the paving stones. The the stones were stained with the deep yellow of the student's blood. Shizumaat's eyes were closed, its chest heaving. Behind Shizumaat were two servants holding whipping rods. Ebneh stood to Shizumaat's side and spoke: "Look up, Shizumaat. Look up!"

  Shizumaat placed its hands upon the blood-stained stones and pushed until it sat back upon its heels, the morning light of Aakva showing the grey of Shizumaat's face.

  "I am looking."

  "What do you see?"

  Shizumaat teetered for a moment, its eyes squinted, then it took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I see the great morning light we call Aakva."

  Ebneh bent over and hissed into the student's ear. "And is that light a god?"

  "I do not know. When you say 'god' ... what do you mean?"

  "God! God is god!" Ebneh grabbed Shizumaat's shoulder with one hand and pointed at Aakva with the other. "Is that the Parent of All?"

  Shizumaat's shoulders slumped and it slowly shook its head. "I do not know."

  "What does your back tell you, Shizumaat?"

  "My back tells me many things, Ebneh. It tells me that you are displeased with me; it tells me that live meat whipped with sufficient enthusiasm will split and bleed; it tells me that the process is painful." Shizumaat looked up at Ebneh. "It does not tell me that Aakva is a god; it does not tell me that the laws of the servants are sacred truths."

  Ebneh pointed at the two rod-carrying servants. "Lay into this one until its back does speak truth to it!"

  One of the servants turned and walked into the temple. The other studied Shizumaat for a moment and then handed its rod to Ebneh. "Shizumaat's back has learned all that a rod can teach it. Perhaps you can think of a more persuasive argument." Then the second servant turned and went into the temple.

  Ebneh stared after the departing servant, then threw away the rod and looked down at Shizumaat. "Why do you defy Aakva?"

  "I do not. I only tell the truth that I see. Would you prefer that I lie to you? Would that serve your truth?"

  Ebneh shook its head. "You will shame your parent."

  "My parent's ignorance is not evidence of a god, Ebneh."

  Shizumaat bowed its head until Ebneh turned and walked into the temple. Then Shizumaat looked up at me. "Namndas, help me to your room. I cannot make it by myself."

  I pulled the student to its feet. "Do you not want me to take you to your own home?"

  Shizumaat laughed. "A beating in defense of my understanding of truth is one thing, Namndas. I am not up to my parent beating me because I was beaten. That seems somehow to be taking the gesture past integrity into foolishness."

  Shizumaat closed its eyes and slumped into my arms. I lifted it and carried the student from the temple to my room off the square—

  Nicole turned off the player.

  ...taking the gesture past integrity into foolishness.

  She thought to herself: Will I serve my purpose by not accepting Tora Soam's offer? Will I shorten the war? Will I do anything more than inflict an additional burden on vemadah such as Tokyo Rose? Am I being stubborn for the sake of some abstract—

  "Well?"

  Nicole jumped at the sound of the voice. It was Tora Soam's. "I thought ... you had gone."

  "Obviously you were in error. What is your decision?"

  Nicole thought for a moment, then nodded. "I will come to stay at your estate, Tora Soam."

  "Emmmm. There is a saying—no one knows the author's name. But it observes that telling a human that his clothing is on fire takes a sharp stick, a large mirror, and a loud voice." Tora Soam paused for a moment. "It is just possible that the stick is unnecessary. Until you are well, then, Joanne Nicole."

  Its footsteps left the doorway and faded down the corridor. Nicole sat silently for a moment, then punched at the player, continuing with a random portion of the Koda Nuvida.

  That night, first I noticed that the temple lights had not all been raised to the proper height. Then I saw young Shizumaat, its face upraised, dancing in slow whorls upon Uhe's Tomb!

  I rushed to the center of the temple and came to a stop with my hands upon the stone cover of the vault. "Shizumaat! Shizumaat, come down! Come down or I will execute you before the servants can get at you with their rods!"

  Shizumaat stopped its dance and looked down at me. "Namndas, come up here and join me. I have the most wonderful thing to show you."

  "You would have me dance upon Uhe's grave?"

  "Come up here, Namndas."

  Shizumaat returned to its whirling, and I grabbed the edge of the cover and pulled myself up, swearing to break Shizumaat into three hundred pieces. Once I stood, Shizumaat pointed toward the ceiling.

  "Look up, Namndas."

  The force in its words compelled me to look up, and what I saw was the disarray of temple lights. Their heights were arranged so that the lights were equally distant from a point just above the tomb, forming a hemisphere. And not all of the lamps were lit.

  "Shizumaat, we will both be driven from the temple for this night's work."

  "Don't you see it? Look up, Namndas! Don't you see it?"

  "See what?"

  "Dance, Namndas. Dance! Turn to your right."

  I turned, saw the lights whirl about me, then I stopped and faced my charge. "Shizumaat! This only makes my head swim! We must climb down from—"

  "Aaah!" Shizumaat jumped from the tomb and hit the stone floor. running toward the eastern wall. I jumped and ran after.

  When I reached the great stairs, Shizumaat was standing far into the dark center of the city square. I ran down the stairs, across the square, and stopped in the center as I angrily grabbed Shizumaat's left arm. "I shall gladly take a rod and do the servants' work for them, you crazy—"

  "Look up, Namndas! Curse your thick skull! Look up!"


  Still holding onto its arm, I looked up. What I saw were Aakva's children arranged in a pattern similar to the pattern of the temple's lights, but tilted toward the blue light of The Child That Never Moves.

  "You have reproduced the arrangement of the night sky."

  "Yes—"

  "But this will not save your skin, Shizu—"

  Shizumaat pointed toward the speck of blue light.

  "Turn your face toward The Child That Never Moves. Then, Namndas, turn slowly to your right."

  I did so. The implications of what I saw turned my legs to water, and I sat with a thump upon the packed soil of the square. I put out my hands and touched the unyielding soil. "It cannot be!"

  Shizumaat squatted next to me. "Then you have seen it, too!"

  I nodded. "Yes, I have seen it."

  With the morning's light, the servants of Aakva found both of us dancing upon Uhe's tomb ....

  NINE

  We stood there, the mortar drying upon our hands. and Shizumaat pointed at the column of rocks we had built.