Chapter 11 #5
“Verix used to be a cartographer for the Ka’krin municipal government.
Meaning she traveled off-dimension charting things for them, which is why she had to take a name distinct from her profession.
We met in a bar on Fraith. I was following a guy who’d skipped bail in six different dimensions, she was trying to find someone who’d guide her through a nasty bit of local geography, and we figured out that we could help each other.
She was a nice lady. Reminded me of you, a bit.
” She looked over at Thomas, the ghost of a smile tugging at her lips.
“The whole ‘I come from an insular community that told me what was right and what was wrong and went out of their way to make sure I knew there were no other ways of doing things worth consideration, and then I got out into the world and started to see more and more evidence that sometimes other ways were better, or kinder, or whatever’ thing. It was nice, spending time with someone I thought might actually get it.”
“What happened?” he asked, more gently.
“What always happens to the Johrlac who leave home for whatever reason; she stayed gone long enough that she stopped dreaming the collective’s dreams in the way she’d been told was ideologically pure, and she went home before they could label her a cuckoo.
Now she’s back on Johrlar, and she’s never going to be allowed to leave again.
They let her keep the name she used when she was off-world, but the person I knew is gone.
She’s been subsumed and diluted. Every cartographer in this building has a homeopathic amount of Verix in them. ”
“That’s horrible,” I said, staring at her. “How is that not…”
“Murder?” Alice shrugged. “They do things differently here. If we want their hospitality, we just have to deal with it.” She crossed to the hex wall, sifting through the scrolls until she found something that suited her.
Pulling the scroll free, she walked it back to the table and unrolled it, revealing an elaborate map of some forested area.
“Where is this, dear?” asked Thomas.
“Mul,” said Alice. “It borders on Ithaca. The Johrlac have done a substantial amount of mapping there over the years; they have some fascinating coastal weather phenomena.”
“I see.” He moved to join her in studying the map.
I stared at them. “What are you doing?”
“They’ll be back to check on me soon enough,” said Alice.
“I’m buying myself a little time. If I play this right, I can get access for several days by saying the bounties I’m on are complicated enough to require it.
Mul is a good starting point, because it changes often enough that I would believably want a map even if I’d just been there. ”
The door slid open with a soft whispering sound, and another Johrlac in red and blue stepped inside, several scrolls in her arms. She stopped at the threshold, staring at Alice. “You,” she said.
Alice lifted her head. “I’m sorry. I’m Alice Price. I have the permission of the collective to be here,” she said.
“You,” repeated the Johrlac. Her eyes flashed white, and she stiffened, like she’d been jabbed by an electric prod.
When she spoke again, her voice was firmer, more level: “Alice Price, we are informed of something very interesting by our cartographer, whom you may remember. You knew her by the name Lybee.”
“Lybee,” said Alice, sounding horrified.
“We have been given a fascinating story by Lybee,” said the collective, tone remaining level.
“She informs us that her service to the Professor of Interdimensional Studies at the University of K’Larth was brought to an early end by the death of her employer, who had been controlling your assignments across known space.
Further, she states that you vanished in the wake of his death, and have not been known to be working since that time.
What are you doing here, Alice Price, who is clearly not on any bounty? ”
Alice opened her mouth, then froze, head snapping back and eyes going wide. She made a pained sound. Thomas lunged, looking like he was about to grab her, but pulled himself up at the last possible second, looking almost like he was about to be sick.
“Such fascinating thoughts in your mind, Alice Price,” said the collective, idly.
“Who do you think you would become if we removed a few of them? How many of these memories do you truly need to be content? Only tell us why you’re really here, and we won’t need to threaten you so.
Oh, rage, rage, little mammal. Yes, we know you view this as an assault and an offense, and we do apologize for the transgression.
But you are a threat to the hive, and threats to the hive cannot be allowed to stand unchallenged. ”
Alice’s mouth worked, but no sound came out.
“Oh, you’ve learned of the Kairos, have you?
Little coincidence-benders. We thought they could be domesticated, thought they could be tamed, but they refused the gifts we offered them, refused the greatness that could have been theirs in favor of living in the jungle like roaches, scurrying and scuttling and hiding under leaves to evade our eyes.
We always suspected you were of their messy kind, that it might explain your strange resistance to our desires.
Lybee, though … you let her in. You allowed her passage beyond your barriers.
She knows the pathways of your mind. Relax, Alice Price. Allow us to understand you.”
Thomas tensed, hands beginning to crackle with heat, and I knew he was only a moment away from grabbing her. I tensed in turn, ready to tackle both my grandparents to the floor.
The door slid open and a trio of Johrlac in red, black, and gold jumpsuits came storming through. “The cuckoo queen is gone,” reported one of them, in a loud voice.
Alice sagged for a moment, then collapsed to the ground in a puddle of limbs and harsh, heaving breaths. Thomas dropped to his knees beside her, gathering her into his arms as Lybee turned on the new arrivals.
“What?” she asked.
“The cuckoo,” repeated the Johrlac that had spoken before. “She is not located in the holding cells any longer. We can find no sign of her within the building. The cuckoo is gone.”
Lybee moved closer to the trio, her eyes blazing white.
In response, they lifted their chins, their own eyes mirroring hers.
The four of them were silent for a long time—more than thirty seconds, maybe more than a minute.
Then they broke apart, Lybee turning back to Alice, who was sitting up and panting.
A thin trickle of blood had run from her nostril to her upper lip, and the look she was giving the Johrlac was pure hatred.
“You are no longer of high concern,” said Lybee, dismissively. “You may go about your business. Once you leave this room, the right of research is rescinded, and you will not be allowed reentry. Leave this dimension. You are no longer welcome here, Alice Price.”
The four of them turned then, storming out of the room without looking back.