Chapter 19 Dave
DAVE
They sat in Navuh's office, all eight of them, and monitored the island through the wall of screens.
Eight bodies in one room should have felt crowded, but they weren't really separate anymore. They were Dave. One consciousness distributed across eight nervous systems, eight pairs of eyes all seeing the same thing from slightly different angles, eight brains processing information as one.
It was magnificent.
The largest of their bodies occupied Navuh's chair, leaning back in the expensive Italian leather while the others arranged themselves around the office.
Some stood. Two sat next to the table with the chess set in the corner, others on the couch and two armchairs.
One leaned against the wall near the hidden exit that they had discovered hours ago when they had first taken control of this space.
They had locked the office door from the inside, then explored every inch of Navuh's domain.
There was a private bathroom, which was a plus since they were still biological beings with biological needs.
Hunger was one of those needs, and it would need to be addressed soon, but they had other matters to take care of, which were more urgent.
They had also discovered a concealed weapons cache and a safe that they could not crack because it required Lord Navuh’s thumbprint. Thankfully, the secret passage to Navuh's personal quarters hadn’t even been locked.
On the monitors, they watched the confusion of the household staff spread.
The servants were clustered in nervous groups, whispering, and in the hallway outside this very office, Hakum knocked on the locked door.
"My lord?" His voice came through both the door and the surveillance audio simultaneously. "My lord, are you in there? Please say something. We are all worried."
They remained silent, watching his face on the monitor. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his lower lip trembled as he knocked again.
Perfect.
Through one pair of their eyes, they glanced at the small vial on Navuh's desk.
The enhancement drug that Petrov and Dmitri were now manufacturing more of in the laboratory.
They had compelled them both, leaving them to work and make what they needed.
The drug helped with the jitters, the tremors that sometimes rippled through their separate bodies and collective consciousness when they pushed too hard and tried to control too many minds at once.
It sharpened their thoughts, made the integration smoother, and kept the eight bodies from developing conflicting impulses.
They would need more. Much more. Especially if they were going to maintain control over the entire island.
Another knock at the door, more insistent this time. Hakum had gathered reinforcements—they could see them on the monitor. Two soldiers were flanking him.
"My lord, we're coming in," one of the guards said with a voice that sounded full of authority. "We are concerned for your safety."
The rattle of a key in the lock. Then, frustrated, cursing when realizing that it was bolted.
"It's bolted from the inside."
"Then he's in there. My lord! If you can hear us, please respond!"
They watched through the monitors and said nothing.
A different monitor caught their attention. Losham was striding toward the front doors of the mansion, his assistant trying to keep up with his purposeful strides.
Someone must have notified him of the situation. Hakum, most likely. Either that or he had felt the lord's absence, sensed that something fundamental had changed.
Of course he had. Losham was smart, much smarter than most of the people trying to get into this office.
They had studied his file, reading every document in Navuh's private system that they could access.
Fifteen centuries as chief advisor. Eidetic memory.
Excellent strategist who was patient and planned twenty steps in advance.
This was a mind that saw patterns, constructed plans, and executed flawlessly. They could use him to their advantage.
Navuh's notes had been revealing. Suspicions about independent wealth. Questions about loyalty. Plans to audit, to test, to verify.
Navuh had been right to be paranoid.
Through all eight pairs of their eyes, they watched Losham on multiple monitors as he entered the mansion, climbed the stairs, and approached the corridor where the crowd was gathering outside this very door.
Decision time approaching.
Should we absorb him into our collective? Use him as one would an appendage?
Would he fall under our thrall like everyone else?
They needed to test him before they revealed themselves.
One of them stood and walked over to the window, looking down at the compound. The others remained focused on the surveillance feeds.
Eight bodies, one purpose.
The knocking grew more frantic. Hakum was nearly hysterical now.
They could have eased his mind, thralled him to go back to his chair and not tell anyone that anything was amiss, but that would have been much less entertaining.
Soon, they would reveal themselves. Soon, those outside would know that it was a new dawn on the island. Soon, they would make it clear that they were in charge.
On the monitors, they watched Losham round the final corner, take in the scene, the crowd, the locked door, Hakum, and the guards' distress.
His expression barely changed. But they saw it. The minute shift in posture. The calculations running behind his eyes.
"What's happening here?" Losham's voice cut through the chaos, calm and authoritative.
Everyone turned toward him with obvious relief. Someone who could take charge and relieve them from the burden of thinking. These people followed orders, and they needed someone to issue them.
"Commander Losham," Hakum said. "We know now that Lord Navuh has locked himself in his office.
We tried the key and found that the door was bolted from the inside.
The lord is in there, but he doesn't respond.
Also, the harem reports that all the ladies are missing. We don't know what has happened."
Through their collective consciousness, Dave watched Losham's mind work.
Saw him constructing scenarios, and they wondered what he had come up with.
The truth was that they didn't know what had happened to the ladies or to the lord.
All they knew was that his life force had suddenly faded and then disappeared altogether.
Navuh was most likely dead, but whether he killed the ladies or there had been some foul play in the harem, Dave couldn't say.
The shaman was a prime suspect because he wasn't who he seemed to be.
Perhaps he was an assassin. Perhaps he had been sent by the Brotherhood's enemies to kill the lord and his ladies.
"Step aside," Losham said. "Let me try."
The crowd parted. He approached the door, approached them, though he didn't know it yet.
Three measured knocks. "My lord? It's Losham. May I speak with you?"
They were amused, or maybe intrigued, or excited?
It was still difficult for them to consolidate feelings and sensations that originated in their separate bodies.
Should we answer?
Not yet.
Another three knocks. "My lord, whatever has happened, we can address it. But I need you to open the door."
They maintained their silence and watched his face on the monitor. Watched his mind work through the possibilities. Watched him come to a decision.
Losham turned to Hakum. "Did you try the staircase that leads from the basement directly into this office?"
"Of course." Hakum looked offended by the question. "It's locked from the inside as well."
"Then we have no choice. We need to break this door down."
Part of them walked toward the door, positioning themselves. Another reached for the vial of enhancement drug, taking a small dose. The others remained focused on the monitors, on Losham, on the moment approaching.
Soon, he would break down that door.
Soon, he would see them instead of Lord Navuh, his father.
Soon, he would have to choose between joining them or becoming an obstacle.
They were ready.
Through eight pairs of eyes, they watched Losham give orders, watched guards rush for tools, watched the crowd grow larger and more anxious.
Should they offer him what he'd craved for fifteen centuries?
They would, but first, they had to make him understand that everything came with a price.