Man Who Used the Universe (32 page)

"Where's the ambassador?" Chaheel asked the subambassador.

"In conference with several members of the Board of Operators and with the first father and first mother recently arrived from Segren-al-faw." He turned an eye on the knot of technicians. "According to one of these bipeds, something peculiar is happening."

One of the techs overheard. He spoke a little Nuel and did his best to explain.

"There's been an interruption in normal news information services." He sounded as puzzled as he looked, Chaheel thought. "I didn't think the military and the government planned to release the information about the Tremovan assault for a couple of days yet."

"They have not," the subambassador assured him. He turned an eye on the screen.

A human stood before a globe twice his height. It was a three-dimensional map of this section of the galaxy. He wore simple white coveralls. Chaheel didn't recognize him but apparently several of the humans did. He heard one woman mention the well-known broadcaster's name several times.

". . . extraordinary occurrences," the human was saying. "All are advised to remain calm. There is no reason to panic. We bring you now the realtime feed from Soltech Research Vessel Tarsis on station somewhere in space between Restavon and the Galactic Center."

One of the technicians fiddled with the monitor's controls. "Feed's going direct to Restavon," he explained, "then being sent by relay to Terra and the other worlds."

"I thought the Tarsis was supposed to keep quiet about all this and let the government handle the formal release," commented another.

"Somebody's going to catch hell," said a third with confidence.

Suddenly the broadcaster and his globe vanished and there was a distorted, fuzzy face visible on the screen. Chaheel let out an inarticulate gurgle. The subambassador and one or two of the humans turned to stare at him, but most kept their attention on the screen.

"Greetings," said the face. It was smiling. Of the billions who must be watching the broadcast, only one knew how false or real that smile was likely to be, and he wasn't human.

"My name is Kees vaan Loo-Macklin. I'm speaking to you realtime delay from the bridge of the Solar Technological Institute's research vessel Tarsis."

"Frank, put this on all the screens," another technician mumbled softly. Another man nodded, touched controls. Suddenly the big screens dropped their columns of figures and their complex graphics and that enigmatic face dominated the entire chamber.

Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at that multiple portrait.

"Behind me," said the steady, measured voice which Chaheel knew so well, "is a viewscreen." He moved to his left. Human technicians came into view, scattered around a miniature of the massive screens, which filled the Operators' chamber.

"On that screen in graphic representation is the war fleet of a race none of you has heard of but are soon to be familiar with. They are called the Tremovan. There are approximately four thousand eight hundred and twenty warships in this armada of which the breakdown by type is as follows: fast pursuit vessels, three hundred forty. Heavier medium duty craft with landing capacity, four hundred eighty-six. Light high speed . . ."

Off to his right Chaheel overheard a Nuel officer whispering in crude terranglo to his human counterpart. "Are you recording all this, Wan-lee?" The diminutive human made a sign of assent, turned to check with several coworkers.

Loo-Macklin droned on until he'd finished reading his list, then turned full-faced to the pickup again, blocking out the screen behind him.

"Some twenty years ago," he began, "an exploration vessel employed by one of my companies accidentally made contact with a ship of the Temovan." There was a bright, violet flash and the image on the screen shook and blurred out for a moment. There was only white. The humans railed at their instruments but the reason for the interruption lay elsewhere.

"Excuse that, please," said Loo-Macklin, no longer smiling. "That was caused by a blast from one of the lead Tremovan ships. They've been aware of the Tarsis's presence among them but until now had no reason to worry about it. I'll make the reasons for their unconcern clear, if I'm given enough time."

Light flared in the background again but this time the image held steady. "As I was saying, all this began some time ago. Further contact revealed that the Tremovan occupy an impressive number of worlds toward Shapely Center.

"They are a powerful and technologically advanced race and have been expanding for hundreds of years, gobbling up all smaller systems and peoples within their circumfluence. They are, however, also extremely conservative and quite reluctant to go to war with any peoples they cannot mass an overwhelming strength of firepower against.

"Those of you within range of my voice will recall, and this may seem odd to my younger listeners, that twenty years ago this portion of the galaxy was combat ground for two other powerful peoples. Circumstance set a virulent mankind and its allied races such as the Orischians and the Athabascans against the worlds dominated by the Families of the Nuel. There was constant fighting, albeit usually on a small scale, between these two burgeoning spheres of influence. Such conflict diverted strength and energy away from expansion in science and other fields.

"My private studies of the Nuel mass mentality indicated that their racial shape-paranoia had made them adept and resourceful politically as well as technologically. It was clear to me how the Tremovan would proceed once they also became aware of these facts. They would ally themselves with the Nuel against humanity and the United Technologic Worlds. Racial antagonism would blind the opportunistic Nuel to the real intent of the Tremovan, who would eventually swallow up the worlds of the Families as well as the UTW.

"The converse was also possible: that the Tremovan would join with mankind against the Nuel." Another explosion shook the image. It went blank white again. When the picture finally recovered it was no longer clear and sharp. Loo-Macklin hauled himself into pickup range from the deck where he'd been thrown. The view wavered and broke unpredictably, giving the industrialist a surreal look. His voice was strained when he resumed speaking, whether from tension or injury the watchers could not tell, and he spoke faster.

"It was evident that should I present my knowledge of the Tremovan to either government, human or Nuel, both would scramble to be the first to ally with this new race against a traditional enemy." There were mutterings of dissent from both human and Nuel onlookers.

"Computer crisis mathematics clearly indicated that if either race was to retain any chance of keeping its independence, they would have to combine forces against the Tremovan. Given the Tremovan's adeptness at diplomacy and what I knew of those humans and Nuel then in power, I knew that any contact would kill that chance for independence through cooperation as surely as I'd squash an ant.

"I therefore constructed a dangerous scenario, but the only one which I believed had any chance of success. I have been playing out that scenario for twenty years of my life.

"I warned the Tremovan of the dangers they faced in an attempted takeover of either the UTW or the worlds of the Families. Both were on a constant war footing, impossible to surprise. I persuaded them to allow me enough time to weaken both sides from within, to make them less ready to fight. Perhaps a race like mankind or Nuel would not have agreed to that, but as I said, the Tremovan are excessively cautious. Their successes have reinforced that caution.

"I then promised the Families that in return for commercial considerations and eventual political power I would help them to subvert mankind, reducing the Board of Operators to impotence. I convinced the Board that I was working closely with the Nuel only in order to gain admittance to their Birthing-related industries so that I might slowly poison the minds of their young.

"While thus keeping both sides from engaging in anything more damaging than minor incidents, my true purpose was slowly being achieved. Both races were learning to live peacefully with one another, in expectation of eventual conquest of course, but peacefully nonetheless.

"Without realizing it, the past twenty years have seen a passing of the older, more inflexible and antagonistic rulers of both sides. A certain amount of trust has blossomed between human and Nuel, so much so that even as I speak, a joint Human-Nuel military network is being formed at the Board of Operators building in São Paulo, on Terra. A network, which is preparing to direct joint UTW-Family forces against the incoming Tremovan armada.

"I am hoping, praying, and willing to bet," Loo-Macklin continued as another explosion turned the image to jelly, "that, given the highly conservative nature of the Tremovan, who have come intending to strike a surprise alliance with one race or the other, finding a joint force of near equal strength waiting for them, they will immediately turn around and begin the long retreat back toward their own empire. They will expand in other directions and await a more propitious time to grab for this section of space.

"No such chance will occur, however. Having been presented with this threat, the Human-Nuel alliance should only grow stronger." The slight smile widened. "I assure you all that compared to the differences between human and Nuel, those between the Tremovan and any other sentient being are shocking and extreme."

He moved aside. The viewscreen behind him had a section missing, damaged during one of the recent near misses, but it still functioned, still displayed the massed vessels of the Tremovan armada.

"There is the threat. I managed to stall the Tremovan for more than twenty years. Their impatience finally outgrew their caution, but it's too late for them now. Reason has come to this part of the galaxy, and it will not be easily duped.

"Unfortunately," he added, "the Tremovan have intercepted and are decoding this message even as I send it. At such close range it is of course impossible to hide a long-range communication even by use of tightbeam. They know how and by whom they have been tricked. The Tarsis, however, is no ordinary research vessel and I am hopeful that with a little luck and careful maneuvering it will be possible for us to make . . ."

There was another bright flare accompanied by a roar of static. The screen went to white briefly, and then, for the first time, to black. You could hear a man breathe at the other end of the immense chamber.

A technician seated in the depression that marked Central Control said into the silence, a silence so deep even those on the upper catwalks could hear him clearly, "Transmission interruption. Signal not restored."

The officer he was addressing himself to nodded. Slowly, activity resumed in the newly christened war room. Nuel and human officers debated with grim determination as graphics on towering screens depicted the almost completed gathering of the joint UTW-Family forces.

Chaheel heard the subambassador murmuring. "A remarkable individual, even for a human being. I was told he'd been made an honorary member of the Si Family. Truly remarkable, think you not?" He got no response, reached out a tentacle and prodded a sensitive spot below Chaheel's mouth. "Think you not?"

"I suppose that's as good a word for what he was as anything," the psychologist responded noncommittally.

"How he fooled us all, human and Nuel alike," the assistant ambassador murmured, not without admiration. "What was that he was saying about a plan to poison our offspring?"

"A false plan designed to fool human intelligence services, as he said. It involved food additives."

"Spirals within spirals, plans within plans." The subambassador kept one eye focused on the nearest viewscreen as he spoke. "All these years when it was thought he was working on behalf of the Families, and when the humans believed he was working for them, he was in truth risking himself on behalf of both races. Not Nuel to conquer man nor man to conquer Nuel, but so that we might conquer our fears of one another in order to be able to face a greater threat from outside."

The psychologist remained strangely silent. He is overcome by the loss of one with whom he has been so closely associated for so long, the subambassador thought compassionately. Though he was suspicious of this Lewmaklin's motives, one does not devote so much of one's life to studying an individual solely out of fear.

Does one?

"It also explains," he continued, "why the lehl implant has not harmed its host. The lehl knew even when certain men or Nuel did not that its host was truly doing nothing against the best interests of the Nuel." His voice turned reverent.

"And truly has he given his own life by revealing these intricate plannings of his to us in such a way that we cannot but believe them. Will I regret forever upon my children that I was never to meet him and that so great a sentient should perish without being able to receive the acclaim due him for his efforts on our behalf."

"Oh truly," said Chaheel so softly the subambassador did not hear him. Oddly enough he found himself thinking about the human Oxford Swift and his mate. He hoped they had been decently treated and released. What must they be thinking now, if they had been returned to their riverine home? What must he think of Chaheel Riens and his hysterical, accusatory opinions concerning one Kees vaan Loo-Macklin?

The Nuel ambassador was gliding toward them. "You all saw, you all heard?"

They both made signs of assent.

"I have more news. This Solar Technological Institute ship, the Tarsis, departed Restavon several months ago. Before vanishing into deep space it made a short stop at Evenwaith. I think you both truly can guess the name of the passenger it picked up there.

"That is why we were unable to locate Lewmaklin. He has been on this Tarsis for some time. He planned everything from the beginning and everything has worked for him." He hesitated, made a multitentacular sign of distress. "Everything except his hopes for escape, that is.

"I only wish I had some way of expressing to him the gratitude of the Families. Not only has he enabled us to save ourselves from these marauding and voracious Tremovan, he managed to do it in such a way as to allow us to save ourselves from ourselves. The hate that existed between Nuel and human was ten times more dangerous to our survival than any alien invaders.