Antagonist - Childe Cycle 11 (100 page)

"That's
just
what
I've
been
wondering,"
Dahno
said.
His
face
was,
once
more,
bleak;
and
Bleys
reminded
himself
that
his
brother was
a
consummate
actor.

"I
know
you
believe
in
your
plan—your
mission,''''
Dahno
went on,
speaking
before
Bleys
could
respond.
He
shook
his
head.

"But
I
don't
believe
in
it!
I
don't
believe
in
this
danger
you
see threatening
the
whole
race.
And
I
don't
want
to
die
for
some
theory I
don't
even
believe
in."

Bleys
looked
at
his
brother
for
a
long
moment,
before
replying.

"Is
this
because
you
got
hurt
on
Ceta?"

"No!"
Dahno
said.
He
paused.

"No,"
he
said
again,
more
quietly.
"Although
maybe
you
could say
that
injury
opened
my
eyes,
made
me
think
a
little
more.
But past
is
past,
and
doesn't
worry
me.
The
future,
though,
is
another matter."

"And
the
future
now
looks
different
to
you?
Different
from
how you
used
to
see
it?"

"Yes,"
Dahno
said.
"You
think
long-term—I
know
that.
And
I think
short-
and
medium-term—you've
always
known
that."

"But
you've
gotten
more
than
you
ever
thought
possible—you told
me
that
yourself—by
joining
me,"
Bleys
said.
"And
the
long-term
results
you
don't
believe
in
can
only
come
about
long
after we're
both
dead
and
forgotten....
It's
the
chance
of
war,
isn't
it?"

"In
a
way,"
Dahno
said.
"I'll
admit
that
when
you
first
estimated that
the
Exotics
would
hire
the
Dorsai
to
oppose
us,
it
frightened me.
But
I
began
to
realize
you
could
be
right—that
the
rest
of
the Younger
Worlds
could
successfully
oppose
the
Dorsai,
and
possibly Old
Earth
as
well."

"But?"

"But
even
victory
in
your
war
would
destroy
the
whole
structure of
the
Worlds
as
we
know
them,"
Dahno
said.
He
shook
his
head,
as if
trying
to
scatter
some
haze
obstructing
his
vision.

"I
know
you
probably
think
I've
always
been
motivated
only
by money
and
power,"
he
went
on—and
then,
unexpectedly,
he
chuckled.
"Even
I
believed
that,
until
I
was
forced
to
think
about
the
situation.
But
I
realized,
lying
there
recovering
in
Favored
of
God,
that I
wanted
more
than
that."

"So
what
else
do
you
want?"

"Do
you
know—I'm
still
not
sure,"
Dahno
said.
His
smile
became
somewhat
sheepish.
"Put
that
way,
I
guess
I
sound
pretty
confused.
But
I'm
starting
to
think
I
need
to
find
some
other
purpose
in life."

Bleys
looked
at
him
for
a
long
moment.

"And
my
purposes
aren't
good
enough
for
you?"
he
said
at
last. "I
just
said
I
don't
believe
in
them!"
Dahno
said,
his
smile
fading.

"All
right,
all
right,"
Bleys
said,
raising
a
hand
as
if
holding
his brother
off.
"I
can't
say
you
didn't
give
my
way
a
try.
So
what
do
you want
to
do?"

"I
want
out,"
Dahno
said.

"What
does
that
mean?"

"I
just
want
out
of
my
responsibilities
to
the
Others,"
Dahno said.
"I
want
to
just
be
able
to
go
off
and
do
whatever
strikes
me
as interesting."
He
smiled.
"And
I
want
to
take
enough
credit
to
let me
do
what
I
want."

His
expression
became
more
serious.

"I
brought
in
a
lot
of
that
credit,
after
all."

"Yes,
you
did,"
Bleys
said.
He
shook
his
head,
but
he
did
not mean
the
motion
as
a
negation.

"I
think
you're
making
a
mistake,"
he
said.
"But
if
that's
what you
want,
I'll
go
along
with
it—as
long
as
I
can
be
sure
you
won't
interfere
with
what
I'm
doing."

Dahno
laughed.

"What
could
I
ever
say
that
would
make
a
guarantee
you'd
believe?"
he
said.
"You
know
me
better
than
anyone,
after
all." Bleys
just
watched
his
face.

"But
because
you
know
me,"
Dahno
went
on,
"don't
you
know that
I
don't
want
to
play
in
your
league?"
Another
one
of
his
Old
Earth
expressions?

"But
my
'league,'
as
you
call
it,
includes
everything,
don't
you
see that?"
Bleys
said.
"I
can't
help
that.
It's
just
the
way
it
is."

"But
you
can
leave
me
alone,
can't
you?"
Dahno
asked.

"I
said
earlier
you're
no
threat
to
my
plans,"
Bleys
said.
He
shook his
head.
"I
think
even
if
you
were
trying
to
oppose
me,
it
wouldn't make
much
difference."