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already started. He looked up, frowned at the clouds gathering overhead.
I m leaving for the Main less than an hour on. I probably won t be
back before the Culmination. You take care, you hear? He closed his
hand tight on Asteplikota s uninjured shoulder. Don t stay out too long. It s
going to rain, I don t want you catching pneumonia.
CELL 4
Late at night in the Nish mok s personal quarters on the fourth level of
the Kasta, a small sleek cat darted from behind a leather divan,
ran like black water along the wall and crouched by a cluttered
worktable, ears pricked, whiskers twitching. When she was satisfied the
silence was going to continue unbroken, she jumped lightly onto the
table and nosed through the papers, files, cassettes, and other items
scattered about on the polished wood until she found Makwahkik s keypac. She
batted it onto the carpet, then stalked tail-high to the board beside his
computer outlet. Her tail jerking side to side, she crouched and nosed at the
pad, then she raised on her toes and batted at the onswitch. When screen went
bright and the outlet started humming she jumped away, then dropped to her
stomach and crawled cautiously back; moving awkwardly because control was
being forced on her from outside, she hit other keys, entering the
Nish mok s password. When she was done with that, she licked vigorously
at her sides, looking up repeatedly at the screen until the run was finished.
Shaking her head angrily, the rider on her brain irritating her more and more,
she settled to work, tapping instructions into the outlet, shutting down the
security network over certain selected areas of the Kasta.
She stared at the screen until it flashed the endsignal, then she
exited the program, turned off the outlet, and leaped to the floor. For
several moments she raced wildly about the room, playing with ghosts, then she
bit at the keypac until she had it secure in her mouth and went trotting
around behind the divan. The POV slid after her, caught the tip of her tail as
she vanished into a heating duct whose loosened grill she d clawed aside.
Amazing what the girl is able to do with that peculiar Talent. Ginbiryol
Seyirshi scratched behind the simi s small round ears; the Pet sighed with
pleasure and flat-tened himself against his owner s chest.
One would think that its scope would be quite narrow.
Ajeri Kilavez crossed her legs and jiggled her foot. One would think, she
said Her voice was slow, slurred, and there were dark circles under her eyes.
She wasn t used to endphasing under this much pressure, especially without
Puk as balance, and it was undermining her confidence in herself. More
important, it was eroding her confidence in Ginbiryol.
He looked swiftly at her, as swiftly away, and seethed with hatred for that
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interfering girl. Voallts had insulted him and he was going to destroy them
for it, but there was none of this corrosive rage in that, it was prudence
more than anything else; he didn t leave enemies behind him. Her he wanted in
his hands, his own hands. Ur-gently, passionately, he WANTED her. He glared at
Cell 1; Shadith was stretched out on the top bunk osten-sibly asleep, her face
a map of her efforts, grimacing, twisting, continually shifting
expression. He was tempted to send the mercs after her, but he
resisted, it would throw everything into chaos; he might get some good
footage, but he couldn t control the outcome. Let the
Schema run its course, let her play the role he chose for her. That would have
to do him. He set the simi aside and swung the chair around to take a look
over other developing scenes.
CELL 14
They re turning against us....
No, that s not it, the Pakoseo helped us in the beginning, now it s
hurting. The Maka have no time for us, no thought for us, they re
getting ready to walk away. Tanak, they re worse. We re losing our
base.
No, that s not it, it s the Three, Ayawit s got his claws in them somehow,
I ve heard....
And I ve heard, and I ve heard and I ve heard, I m tired of hearing. .
Whose fault is that? If you DID something....
Do what? Makh Hen s agents are like fleas, they everywhere and you don t know
when they re going to light or who on.... The acrimonious exchanges
went on and on in the basement somewhere in the Maka Quarter where the
Five were meeting, waiting for a sixth to arrive the Council of the Five,
all of them with prices on their heads, the men who provided
whatever organization and leadership the chaotic rebellion possessed,
the reality where Kiscomaskin was the shining symbol, the grounding under his
feet.
Kiscomaskin came in quietly, no fanfare, no
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