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derisive. Do you really think it'll be that easy? Well, it won't be! You may have power
over me now, but it can't last for ever. You have to sleep sometime, and when you do
When I do, Jake cut him short, nothing but nothing is going to happen. And
settling himself a little more comfortably on the rough concrete slab, he explained, You
see, Korath, it's an automatic thing. This new trick of mine is as instinctive as breathing.
I don't even have to think about it. From the moment I break off talking to you and close
this window, you're locked in, shut down, deaf, dumb and blind. And me, I can carry on
living my life as if you'd never existed in the first place. Why, I might even forget you're
there!
He let that sink in, waved a hand negligently in the direction of the morbid
conduit, and went on: You want to know something? You've no idea just how fortunate
you were in that pipe. You could always eavesdrop on the thoughts of the teeming
dead; you were never completely isolated; you were at least conscious of your own
loathsome self. But locked in my mind, out of touch with everything... how long do you
think you'd last before you lost even that degree of consciousness, self-awareness?
How was it for you, how did it feel these last few hours? You're locked in the smallest
isolation tank in the whole wide world, Korath, and it isn't about to get any bigger.
Not a pleasant prospect, said Korath, gloomily. But then he brightened. However,
we know it isn't going to happen. It's not what you're about, for if it was you would have
done it without recourse to me. No, you're not the type to bring me here simply to
threaten and torture me, Jake. Oh, yes, I can see the 'psychological edge' that this
hideous place gives you. But answer me this: why would you even require such an edge
if you're as powerful as you pretend? So then, enough of all this and let's cut to the
chase. Simply tell me what you want of me and what I'm to get in return.
Seeing his advantage slipping away, Jake gritted his teeth and said, When I'm
finally rid of you, I think I'll really miss these little sessions of ours. You're a truly
remarkable creature, and in certain ways I can't help admiring you. You haven't a
snowball's chance in hell but still you won't give in. Wamphyri? You came pretty damn
close, and I reckon Malinari knew it. You would have ascended soon enough.
It's true, the other readily agreed. I had outlived my usefulness and Malinari
feared I might usurp him. At least, he was aware of the possibility. Or so I pride myself.
In any case, he chose his moment of treachery perfectly and found a last-minute use for
me to boot. But there's more than mere flattery in what you just said. Indeed, by
introducing Malinari into the conversation you've revealed your real reason for speaking
to me.
Part of it, Jake answered. My entire reason for speaking to you is to make you an
offer, give you a choice. Isolation in my mind or freedom well, of sorts in this sump.
In return for which you'll tell me what Malinari and his invader friends will do next.
Hah! said Korath. And this is a choice? I remember Malinari gave just such a
'choice' to a slothful, noisy thrall: he could either leap from a high window or be
thrown!
For being idle and noisy?
Aye! Korath snapped. Thralls are for working, not for chattering, and definitely not
for thinking. Malinari loathes noise even the whispers of secretive, perhaps renegade
thoughts as much as he loves soft or plaintive music. In his great aerie in Starside he
was wont to use the one to drown the other, thus achieving a tolerable balance. But as
for his own balance: that was a very delicate thing.
You mean he's a madman, said Jake.
Of course he is, said Korath. As were most of the Wamphyri. I thought that was
understood?
Jake nodded. I remember your stories of Starside now, which you told to me and
Harry Keogh in this very spot. At that time, however, all of this was new to me and I
wasn't paying too much attention.
Your loss, said Korath, and too late now. You won't wheedle any more Starside
stories out of me! What? My very existence what little is left of it under threat, and
here's me giving away valuable information? You must have been practising, Jake; your
word games are much improved! But be that as it may, nothing has changed. Still I ask
you, what is this for a choice: to be locked in your mind or returned to this dreadful
sump? Bah!
You won't tell me what these invaders the selfsame creatures who murdered
you will do next?
Not even if I knew, said Korath. For my days of doing deals with such as you are
over. Our so-called 'partnership' which you have betrayed is as dead as I am.
Jake couldn't leave it at that, and said, Are you trying to tell me you don't know
what they'll do next? But can't you even guess?
Perhaps I could, said the other. But I won't. I've done you my last favour, Jake
Cutter.
And now Jake got angry. Favours? You've done me no favours, Korath. The only
reason you got into my mind in the first place was to usurp me as you would have
usurped Malinari. You planned to take over my mind, gradually squeezing me out until
you were all that was left: your filthy mind in my body! Well, it didn't work, and now
you're in an even tighter squeeze. So' we'll leave it at that for now. I'll let you think it
over and maybe just maybe give you another chance later.
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