Key to Survival

Chapter 29 Weapon

Opaline was out walking with Oak. He needed daily exercise, but wouldn't walk alone; his family had always kept him close, for safety. He would go anywhere with her.

A figure appeared before them. "Greeting, Oak. Greeting, Opaline."

It was Havoc's daughter Voila, the strongest Glamor! Opaline had hardly ever seen her, and never spoken with her, though she knew Fifth had had a month long affair with her. He had described it as like orbiting Void. She appreciated his nervousness. "Greeting, Voila," Opaline said carefully.

"May I speak with you?"

What could this be about? Opaline glanced at Oak. "Does this require privacy?"

"Negation. Only discretion."

That meant it was all right for Oak to listen. "We are exercising. May we talk while walking?"

"Affirmation." Voila fell in beside Opaline. "I was the one who required your mock murder. It was necessary to nullify the geis on Fifth. He had to do it, then try to kill himself. I regret putting you and Flame through such mischief, but the paths indicated that it was the only feasible way to nullify the machines' ploy."

"Acceptance," Opaline said. "I'm glad Fifth was saved, and that he returned to Flame."

"We need Flame fully functional. That means Fifth had to return to her. When the others were unable to move him sufficiently, I had to intervene personally."

"You?" Opaline asked, surprised. "I saw no sign of this."

"This is what I come to clarify, because you need to understand it."

"Confusion."

"I can see up to one hour in the near future, and up to a month when melded with Idyll, and farther yet when augmented by certain calculating plants, but I can't necessarily affect it. A given course may have been established in the past, and all I can do is see its continuation."

"But if it is something you are doing, can't you do something else and change it?"

"If I told you to leave Oak unattended, alone, would you do it?"

"Negation." There was no need to explain; everyone knew that Oak was simple and not competent to run his own life. Opaline would not betray that trust. It wasn't as if she didn't like Oak; he was a pleasant person who never argued.

"So though there are paths where this happens, I can't invoke them. It would have to be some disaster, not a matter of incidental choice."

Opaline saw how this might be. Voila couldn't be whimsical. Not where the future of the human culture was at stake. "There are choices you can't make," she agreed.

"But if it were necessary to make them anyway, without delay?"

"Question?"

"If Oak fell in a pit, and you could not get him out, you would have to leave him in order to fetch help."

"Then yes, I suppose," Opaline said reluctantly.

"It would be better if he never fell in the pit. But it happened before you realized, and you could not change it."

"Agreement." Opaline was distinctly uncomfortable with this dialogue, and not just because Oak was listening.

"Suppose you could change it, retroactively?" Voila asked. "You did not anticipate it, but the path is wide and there is a section where the pit may be avoided. In some realities you avoided it. If you could change to one of those, after the fact, would you do it?"

"Affirmation. But I couldn't."

"There is one who can."

"Someone who can make a thing unhappen? I never heard of that."

"We did it when you talked with Fifth on the brink of the Green Chroma volcano. On a number of paths, he jumped, and died. We were too late to prevent it. We could not go and try again to dissuade him; that was past. So we changed to a track where he changed his mind."

"When I told him of an Amazon crying!" Opaline exclaimed.

"That was the track," Voila agreed. "That Amazon was the woman he loved. Then he knew he couldn't bear to bring her such pain."

"I didn't mean to influence him. It was just something I remembered."

"It was because you were innocent in that respect that it worked. Shee, Voila, Warp, and Weft—all of us had agendas. We were trying to persuade him, and he knew it and resisted it. But you had accepted his decision. You were just commenting. He had no resistance."

Opaline shook her head. "I didn't mean to save him, but I'm glad I did."

"You were actually our agent, accomplishing our purpose, even though you were innocent. We selected the reality in which you did it."

"Amazement."

"Just as we could put Oak on another track if he fell in a pit. It is an extremely useful power."

"You say 'we.' But you see the future, not other presents. Who does this?"

"His name is Rafal. He roughly resembles a giant squid, with tentacles, and he lives on a distant planet in a star system many light years away. Fifth has met him; you have not. He is the one the machines want most to recruit, after me, because his talent is the most potent in opposing them."

"But how could he influence Fifth and me here? No talent reaches across light years."

"No talent except Oak's."

"Oh. Yes. But still—"

"I took an imprint of Rafal, and was able to borrow part of his power for this occasion. But more will be needed for the final battle with the machines."

"The final battle! Is it close?"

"Very close. Tomorrow."

"Oh! I had no idea." Voila smiled grimly. "It was not set until yesterday, when I notified the machines that I would not enlist with them. That precipitated the war."

"Haven't we been fighting them all along?"

"Negation. We have been negotiating with them, making displays of power, proffering deals, indulging in ploys and counter ploys, jockeying for advantage. Now the time is propitious, as we have secured Flame and Fifth, and we are at war."

"Propitious? We will win?"

"That is as yet undecided. The odds appear to be even, but we have strategies that we believe put us ahead."

"I must have Oak practice more. If I had known—"

"Needless. Oak is ready. So are you."

"Me? Question."

"You are also a nexus."

"Because I work with Oak."

Voila smiled obscurely. "That, too. You are integral to the denouement."

"But I'm from the machines! Everything I know, they will know."

"Which is why we did not enlighten you before. Now there is more we want the machines to know."

"More? Why?"

"It may persuade them to surrender."

Opaline had to laugh. "I don't think the machines know how to do that."

"Perhaps they will learn. Today we want you and Oak to meet Rafal, for you will be working together tomorrow."

"Together!" Then Opaline caught on. "So if something goes wrong, he can change it to where it went right. He's an oops button."

Voila smiled. "That is a neat way to put it. Yes, he can fix mistakes, if they are of recent origin. We are going to need that. When the machines discover that he and I are coordinated, they will know that the advantage has shifted, and may elect not to fight. They do not make emotional decisions, but rational ones, and that may be their rational course."

Opaline thought of something else. "I guess you can bring him here in a ship, through a wormhole. But if he's a squid, won't he have to have a big pool or something? And what language does he speak?"

"We can provide a pool. Translation will be automatic. But he will not come here physically. The machines have grounded him on his planet, and he can't escape."

"Question? If I am to meet him, but he can't come here, must we go to where he is? I don't think Oak could handle that."

"I will emulate him. But first you must explain to Oak's family, so they understand."

"Agreement," Opaline said, dazed.

"I will set up the pool," Voila said, and vanished.

"Oak," Opaline said. "We must return to the house now. You will have a visitor who will look strange."

"Squid," Oak agreed. So he had understood a bit of it, and oriented on what was familiar.

They walked quickly back. They entered the house. Opaline realized it had been more than an hour since they had had sex, so she took him to their room and did it efficiently, then went downstairs to talk to Pot and Kettle.

"The battle with the machines is tomorrow," she said. "A monster in a pool is coming to help. Oak will meet him today. The Glamors will set up a pool. The monster will not hurt Oak or me. You may come out to see. But please, do not protest; these are Glamors."

Both of them nodded. They now knew enough of her mission with Oak to trust her judgment.

She went outside. There was a large tub filled with water. Voila stood beside it. "It is important that Oak and Rafal get along," she said. Then she doffed her clothes and climbed into the pool.

"Hoo!" Pot murmured. Opaline realized that he and Kettle had followed her out, and gotten a good glimpse of the nude Glamor. Voila was not as stunningly shapely as Weft, but she was slender and well enough endowed, a remarkable sight for backwoods folk who seldom saw the equivalent. It was just as well that Oak hadn't come out yet; Opaline would have had to take him back inside for more sex despite the recency of the last episode.

Voila changed. Her fingers lengthened and expanded into gross tentacles. Her head shrank into her body, losing the neck. She was, indeed, a squid. "Fetch Oak," she said. Her voice had become masculine; she was now Rafal.

Opaline fetched Oak, who normally rested or napped for a while after sex. She made sure he was dressed and brought him down and out.

"Squid," he said, smiling with recognition. He walked to the pool.

"Greeting, Oak," Rafal said.

"Greeting."

"I am Rafal in imprint emulation. We will be working together tomorrow."

"Affirmation."

"Give me your hand."

Oak put out one hand. Rafal reached out with one tentacle and wrapped it around fingers, palm, and wrist. "I recognize you," he said, surprised.

"Question?"

"You are a failed Glamor. You never got a constituency or an ikon, so your power was stifled. You can do very little. But your range is infinite, like gravity." Rafal considered. "Which is not remarkable. Gravity is your power, not magic."

"Affirmation."

"This could be very good. I am presently an imprint utilizing a borrowed host. My powers are somewhat limited as such. But with your assistance I may be able to establish a direct connection to my own body. Please reach out to the planet in my mind."

"Oak does not have telepathy," Opaline said quickly.

An eye swiveled to orient on her. "He does now. He is sharing mine."

Opaline looked at Oak. "Affirmation," Oak said, smiling. "Rafal is much smarter than I am, and is able to share his intellect with me while we are in physical contact. At the moment I understand much that I never understood before, and will not understand hereafter." He paused, contemplating her. "And you, Opaline, are an angel. Suddenly I appreciate the full range of your service to me and to my family. I realize that this is a chore you were assigned, but you have done it well, and I applaud your effort."

Opaline felt her mouth hanging open. As were the mouths of Pot and Kettle. Oak had never spoken like this before. Obviously what he said was true: he now had access to the phenomenal mind of an alien Glamor. It made him a relative genius. "Welcome," she said somewhat inanely.

Oak smiled. "I will remember. I will not comprehend the whole of it, but I will remember your dedication. Now, however, I must establish the linkage to Rafal's real body. This is a thing I may be able to enable him to do, because I can sense distant objects without limit. It is of course the corollary to my ability to move them, however slightly. If we can broaden the channel to full telepathic rapport, it will magnify our effectiveness tomorrow. I love you, Opaline." He turned back to face the squid.

Opaline looked at Pot and Kettle. Both of them shrugged, not knowing any better than she did how they should react.

For some time there was nothing apparent. Rafal's eyes closed, and so did Oak's eyes. Both faces were expressionless. Neither moved.

Then suddenly both jumped. "Got it!" they exclaimed together.

Oak turned to face Opaline again. "Telepathic rapport has been established."

"I can now draw on the full resources of my body," Rafal said.

"However, it will require some practice to prepare for tomorrow," Oak said. "This is apt to be dull for you, as we will appear to be quite still, as before. I suggest that you retire to the house and relax. We will signal you when the session is completed."

"Confusion," Opaline said, speaking for the three of them. "What preparation is this?"

"The machines space fleet will attack on several fronts," Rafal said. "Their main fleet will approach the human culture in a broad array, utilizing hundreds of wormholes. But there will be a special preliminary attack by four ships whose objective is to blow apart this planet and Counter-Charm. This is the thrust that Oak and I will counter.

The other Glamors will attend to the larger fleet. We need to plan the specifics, because three of those ships will be immune to Oak's power."

"How—how can you know this?" Opaline asked.

"It is well within the intermediate future seeing range that Voila's imprint of Idyll Ifrit provides," Oak said.

"This ability to anticipate the specific ploys of the machines is our main tactical advantage. But that does not necessarily make them easy to counter. We must labor on the specifics. Apology, but we must focus exclusively on that now. Parting."

"Parting," Opaline agreed, though they obviously were not going anywhere physically.

Oak and Rafal went still again, linked by hand and tentacle. They were in their own realm.

Opaline and Oak's parents went back into the house. "Wonder," Kettle said.

They waited two hours, none of them able to relax. They remained amazed by the change in Oak, and the attention the Glamors were giving him. He really was important!

Then there was a knock on the door. Kettle answered it.

It was Voila, nude, dripping. "We are done for today. Apology. In my distraction I forgot to mask my body as I emerged, and Oak—"

"Wait here," Opaline said, and pushed by her to run outside.

Oak was staring into the pool, bemused. Opaline ripped off her clothing and clambered in with a splash. "Come in!" she told him. "Drop your clothing first."

He got his clothing off, exposing his standing member, and in a moment splashed into the pool with her. The water was chest high on her, making her breasts float. "Remember how we did it in the river last month? This is like that."

He remembered. He clasped her close, and she hoisted herself up to get on his member. Then she clung to him as he thrust, their bodies making ripples. He ejaculated almost immediately.

She lifted her face to kiss him. "What was it like, Oak? I mean, being linked to Rafal?"

"I was so smart, and I saw so much!" he exclaimed.

And that was about as much as he could tell her. The familiar Oak was back. But Rafal's comment that he was a failed Glamor—that was weird, but explained a lot.

In due course they returned to the house, clothed. The remaining day and night were relatively normal, because they labored to make them so, so as not to alarm Oak.

"I like Rafal," Oak said as they settled down to sleep. "He's going to marry Voila."

"That's nice," Opaline agreed. Apparently it didn't matter to Oak that Rafal was a tentacular monster. Voila obviously knew what she was doing.

In the morning she got Oak up, cleaned, dressed, fed, sexually tapped, and ready for the day.

"Should we stay in the house?" Kettle asked.

Opaline didn't even have to think about it. "Negation. You're Oak's parents. You raised him. If he saves the planet, it's because of you. He needs you with him for the finish. I'm sure the Glamors agree."

Kettle shook her head, not in negation. "Rafal is right. You are an angel."

"Negation," Opaline said, but she was flushing with pleasure.

Voila appeared as they approached the pool. "I will emulate Rafal, as before. This time the link to his body will be faster. But there will be certain adjustments. Walk with me, Opaline." Opaline did not question this until they were out of the hearing of the others. "Problem?" she asked, concerned.

"You are needed elsewhere."

"But Oak expects me to be with him."

"Weft will emulate you, again."

Opaline made a wry face. "Necessary?" she asked distastefully.

"Affirmation. You will work with Flame and Fifth."

"My presence would inhibit them. They want to be alone together, after—what happened."

"That is one reason you must join them. They must not yield to that distraction during the battle.

You will be traveling off-planet."

"Again? Confusion."

"Necessary. Because you are a nexus."

"I don't think Flame can carry two of us."

"Agreement. Father will take you."

"Havoc! Voila, he's your father, and I'm younger than you are, but when it comes to distractions, we would be worse than Flame and Fifth."

Voila smiled. "Known. He likes you better than any other mistress of the moment. You will have a bit of time before the onset of the engagement. I'm sure you will make it count."

"I would love to be with Havoc! But surely he has more important things to do in the hours of the crisis."

"Negation. As I make the turn, Weft will take your place and walk back with me in your semblance. You will join Havoc elsewhere. He will explain."

Opaline opened her mouth—and found herself in Havoc's arms. He kissed her open mouth. "Delight, Opaline."

She kissed him back, avidly. There was, as so many woman said, something about him. "Is there time?" she whispered.

"Affirmation."

He lowered himself to the ground by floating down, carrying her with him. Their clothes evaporated. Then he was firmly inside her, still kissing her. He jetted, and she followed immediately, hungrily sharing his orgasm.

"Oh, Havoc!" she exclaimed as they blissfully faded.

"Ditto, Opaline." He drew her up against him so that he could kiss her breasts.

"Question: Voila said I would go off-planet with you and Flame and Fifth. She said you would explain."

He paused. "How can I explain when my mouth is full?" He put it back on her left breast, taking in the nipple and much of the surrounding tissue.

"Havoc!"

He paused again. "You're worse than my old schoolmarm in Village Trifle," he complained.

"You ate her breasts?"

He laughed. "You still lock on to a subject like a bulldog. How can I savor your lovely body when you insist on my talking?"

"Savor it in a way that leaves your mouth free."

He sighed. Then he sat up, lifted her with that incredible strength, and set her on his lap with her back against him. His penis came up between her thighs like the stem of a cut sapling. His hands took hold of her breasts, kneading them expertly.

He kissed her left ear. "Rafal can shift between alternate realities, as Voila informed you."

Opaline reached down to grasp his penis; she couldn't help it. But it was true than this position allowed him to talk. "She did. But how does this relate to your taking me off-planet?"

"Some of the tracks will show the planet being blasted apart by machines bombs. Fifth will need to select better tracks for our purpose. You will confirm his judgment."

"But if it is destroyed, what of all the people on it? Oak, Weft, Voila, Pot, Kettle—what of them? Not all of them are invulnerable Glamors."

"Precisely. Proper selection is essential, and no one on-planet can do it if they have been nullified by the blast. So it will be up to you who watch from a safe distance. Fortunately Fifth has had some prior practice."

She was appalled. "But I haven't! I don't know anything about it! How could I second guess him? With the world at stake?"

"Necessary" he said. "Voila and Idyll have studied the situation in the intermediate future, and determined that you are the key nexus here. I'm sure you will do your best."

"This is crazy!" she said. "I am completely unqualified. You need a competent person, surely a Glamor."

"We need you. The paths have spoken."

Opaline realized that this was what Voila had meant when she said Opaline was a nexus. She had to help Fifth save Charm. She was not qualified, yet she knew that the future paths were to be trusted.

"Let me ponder," she said.

"You have three minutes remaining."

"Then I will make them count," she said, remembering Voila's remark about that. She spread her legs, took his member in both hands, bent it into a resilient U shape, and jammed it into her vagina. It sprang straight, thrusting inside her. She bounced, clenching, evoking its eruption. She climaxed again, pulsing around it, while he continued to squeeze her breasts.

"You will carry my ikon," he said. Now she saw the little tree figure lying on the ground beside them. She did not question how it had gotten there; she picked it up and held it tightly in her left hand.

Then they separated, cleaned up, dressed, and went to rendezvous with Flame and Fifth.

Who seemed to have been up to similar exercises, barely separated in time.

Opaline kissed Fifth. "It seems we are to work together."

"It seems," he agreed. "I discovered that there was after all reason to keep me alive."

"That too," Flame agreed, evidently familiar with Voila's words. They all laughed. It was clear that Flame and Fifth had made up and were a solid couple again. Opaline was pleased.

"Ready?" Havoc asked.

"Ready, Havoc," Flame replied.

Havoc put a hand on Opaline's arm, and Flame did the same for Fifth. Then they were floating in a chamber, weightless.

"Question?" Opaline asked, grabbing on to a bar set in the ceiling. She felt as if she were falling, and this made her stomach roil.

"Derelict space station," Flame explained. "Orbiting Vivid and Void, parallel to Charm and Counter Charm, which are seen from inside their orbits. We have pressurized this chamber. Regret that gravity is not feasible; we would have to accelerate it or spin it. Acceleration would move it away from where we want it, and call attention to it.

Spinning would make the view seem to turn around the ship. So we must float."

"I may need a bag," Opaline said.

Flame flicked her hand. A bag appeared. Opaline took it. So far her breakfast was staying in place, but she was glad to have another place for it if it come up and out.

"Situation," Havoc said. "We have two screens. This one is a straight window showing the planets Charm and Counter Charm. The other is an illusion replicating the scene by the farmhouse. Warp is broadcasting it for our information."

They looked. The two planets were showing in all their volcanic colors in the left window, seeming stationary but actually slowly shifting as they orbited each other.

In the right window was a picture of Oak's farmhouse, the raised pool, and the people around it. Pot and Kettle were recognizable, and Warp, and Rafal in the pool. And Opaline, as represented by Weft.

"I hate it when she emulates me," Opaline said.

None of the others commented. Opaline realized that each was in an awkward position. Flame had emulated her for the killing sequence, so neither she nor Fifth cared to comment. And Weft was Havoc's daughter. What if he had sex with Opaline, only to discover she was really his daughter?

"Withdrawn," Opaline said.

"Warp is projecting a map of the machines space fleet," Flame said. "They will be arriving via myriad wormholes the machines have surveyed in to put them in range of our worlds. The Coalition space fleet will engage them there. This will be inconclusive, because near-future seeing will counter the greater numbers of the machines.

There will be individual 'dogfights,' but defensive measures protect all ships, making 'kills' difficult."

"However," Havoc said, "this is where Oak comes in. Warp and Weft will give him coordinates to attack individual ships. Most are protected, but we are bypassing some of the protections and will take over some. This will be mischief for the machines."

"But this is merely background," Flame said. "The real attack will be by four ships wormholing in close to the planets, a suicide mission. They will seek to crash into the planets, setting off the explosives they carry, which will blow the planets apart. This is the attack we must stop."

"By the alternate tracks?" Opaline asked. "You do know how to handle them, Fifth?"

"Affirmation. We merely need to select the proper one and focus on it."

"Without undue delay," Havoc said.

"Wouldn't it be better for you two Glamors to do it?" Opaline asked plaintively. "You are both martial artists.

You know about battles and things."

"I am maintaining the privacy shield around this station," Havoc said. "So the machines will not suspect what we are doing."

"I am maintaining the connection with my brother," Flame said. "So we can see the scene he is sending."

"So the two of us are the only ones free to devote full attention to the choices," Fifth said.

"Nervousness," Opaline said.

"The paths indicate that this is the way it must be," Havoc said. "I admit to being a bit nervous myself. But we have to trust the expertise of Voila and Idyll."

Suddenly it was there in the right screen: a screen within the screen, showing near space with machines ships blinking into existence as they emerged from the wormholes. First there were a few, then scores, then hundreds, then thousands. It was an overwhelming number!

But then the Coalition ships appeared between the machines fleet and the planets. Opaline knew that the distances were enormous, light seconds, rather than the compact assembly shown on the screen. It was effective nonetheless.

The machines ships were trying to move on to the planets, but the Coalition ships intercepted them. A ship that maintained a straight course in normal space would be a target for destructive lasers and even solid projectiles. So no ship flew straight; they followed moderately random paths that seemed to wriggle like snakes. But some shots scored, as the Coalition forces used near future paths to orient. Randomness could not avoid the actual perception of the ship's path in the future few seconds.

Some ships blew up. Others went dead. But the numbers were so great that these casualties were not nearly enough to make a significant difference.

Then several machines ships did something different. They changed course not to avoid the enemy but to attack their neighbors. Machines ships were getting crippled by machines ships.

"Oak," Opaline said with satisfaction. He had found the key controls mentally, guided by the Glamors, and pressed the buttons to convert the ships to agents of the Coalition.

But even this was not enough, because too few ships were taken over. The sheer numbers were still prevailing.

"If—if the Coalition loses this battle," Fifth said. "Then will Voila change her mind? To save the human culture?"

"Negation," Flame said. "She has made her decision. But the battle is not yet over."

They watched as the machines massed in the center, forcing the Coalition ships to retreat lest they be destroyed. The retreat soon became a rout. The battle was over soon after it began.

"We didn't even put up a decent fight," Fifth said, disgusted.

"But doesn't that fleet have Glamors supervising?" Opaline asked. "How could they just let this happen?"

Then things changed. A new contingent appeared following the machines ships, firing at them from behind.

They were trapped, unable to escape or to fight back effectively. Their fleet was decimated.

"Ancient Mongol ploy," Flame said. "Pretense of rout, to lure the enemy into foolish pursuit. It seems the machines are not scholars of Earth history."

"But there are still more machines ships than Coalition ships," Opaline said.

"And a Glamor is on the scene," Havoc said. "There will be other strategies, as imagination takes on brute force."

"All of which is a diversion," Flame said. "Now it is your turn."

Suddenly four machines ships blinked into sight within range of Charm and Counter Charm.

"Our turn?" Opaline asked uncertainly.

"Watch."

One of the ships veered into another, hard, causing both ships to explode. "Oak took it over!"

Opaline said. "And got the other."

But two ships still flew directly toward Charm. "They are loaded with contra-terrene matter, their controls now locked," Flame said. "A similar ship attacked planet Earth not long ago."

A disk appeared before one of the ships. It was a giant lens, focusing the light of Vivid on the ship. The hull melted. Then the ship exploded with a remarkable ferocity.

"When the hull melted, the CT core came into contact with the regular matter," Flame said.

"Total conversion of matter to energy."

"Wouldn't that take out the last ship too?" Fifth asked.

"There's not enough regular matter in it to make a sufficient explosion," Flame said. "But if one impacts Charm, there will be enough to fragment the planet."

And the last ship was still moving toward Charm.

Then it vanished. "Question?" Opaline asked.

"Shee discovered another Glamor talent," Havoc said. "She can generate spot wormholes at just about any location, expanding the potential wormholes that riddle space. She has been practicing doing it at a distance. Evidently she succeeded. That ship is now somewhere far away."

"Question?" Fifth asked.

"The first time she did it," Flame said, "the craft went to Andromeda Galaxy."

Opaline had to laugh, though it was mostly relief. "The folk there may be annoyed."

"Now the bad one," Havoc said grimly. "The paths indicate that you and Fifth must decide. Only if you agree will the planet be saved."

Opaline felt a chill. "Question?"

Then she saw four more machines ships appear.

"These can't be stopped the same way the others were," Flame said. "The machines are watching, and have secured the avenue Oak exploited before. He can't take out any of these."

"And they have heat shields against the lens," Havoc said.

"Which leaves Shee's wormholes," Flame said. "They can't stop those. She can take out one ship, or two, or three, but has only one chance in four to get all four before the last one impacts Charm. Rafal will show the four tracks. You must select the one."

"We'll choose the one that saves the planet," Fifth said.

"That is our hope," Havoc said.

"Hope?" Opaline asked, nettled. "Fifth and I may be synthetics, sent by the machines, but we favor life! Why would you doubt us?"

"The paths indicate the odds are even," Flame said. "Havoc and I must not interfere, lest the odds worsen. We depend on you."

"To save the planet, and therefore the human culture and maybe the Living Cultures Coalition?" Opaline felt her knees giving way. She didn't fall, because she was floating in free fall, but she would have.

Then something strange happened. There was a powerful alien presence in her head. I am Rafal, guided to you by Oak. Do you accept my imprint?

Opaline needed no time to consider. "Yes!"

Then the tentacular alien Glamor was inside her body and mind. I need your assistance, because I will be unable to maintain the alternate tracks from Charm when I am destroyed on three of them. I must operate from my home planet.

"Understanding," Opaline said. Then, seeing the others looking at her: "Rafal is with me, an imprint."

They nodded, accepting it.

I am becoming you, enhancing you, Rafal thought. That is as much as I can do. I can't choose for you.

"Understanding," she repeated, though she really didn't understand. She gazed at the twin screens. The one with the scene on Charm suddenly became blank light: the bomb had destroyed the planet. The one showing the planets from space showed four scenes. Three were expanding novas. One was the untouched planet in all its lovely colors.

The one that survived.

"That one, of course," Fifth said, indicating the intact one.

But Opaline, with the preternatural acuity lent by the Glamor imprint, noticed something odd. "Negation!"

Fifth stared at her. "Question?"

"Charm is upside down!"

His mouth fell open. "You're right! I never noticed. The machines switched images. That's why it's hard to choose correctly. I would have blown it." He stared at the four scenes. "But which one is the one?"

Opaline focused, and saw a slight anomaly. One explosion was slightly out of place, like an imperfectly aligned picture. "That one," she said, pointing. "It's an image covering the real scene, and the machines are operating from so far away they couldn't get it quite right."

"Agreement! I hadn't noticed, again."

"But it's still a guess," Opaline said nervously. "If my conjecture is wrong—"

"It's the best we have. That's the one."

"Concurrence," she said uncertainly. They had agreed.

Then the scenes dissolved. There was Planet Charm, right side up, intact. They had gotten it right.

Good girl, Rafal thought, and faded.

Opaline fainted.

She woke shortly in Havoc's arms; he was kissing her awake. "Much as I would like to take this farther," he said, squeezing her bottom, "we have more pressing business at the moment."

"Question?" she inquired dazedly.

"We must go to tell the machines to stop the war. There is no sense letting the battle continue."

"Confusion!"

He smiled. "The battle of space ships was the decoy, the diversion. Oak's real mission was to change the machines' Prime Directive. He has accomplished that, so now it is time to implement it."

"Oak—changed—the Prime Directive?" she repeated, hardly grasping it.

"It was simply a matter of pressing the right buttons on the right machine. Once Shee located the Citadel, Oak was able to orient on it. But the machines had to be distracted so that the sequence could be accomplished without their awareness. They thought they had Oak stifled when they blocked his efforts on the ships. They did not realize the extent of his power."

She remained dazed. "But how—?"

"The Prime Directive says, in essence 'Serve the Makers.' Now it says 'Serve the Makers and/or Glamors.' But we do have to make our wishes known."

"Make them known," she agreed faintly.

"Are you ready to travel?"

She essayed a smile. "With you, anywhere."

"We go to the machines' Command Center. It is maintained with an environment compatible for Makers, which is close enough to our own. The machines don't need such touches, but they keep all key posts in readiness for the return of the Makers."

"But—but suppose it didn't work?" she asked. "Isn't it dangerous going to the heart of their power without being certain?"

"I will require confirmation," Havoc said, humoring her. "Parting, Flame, Fifth. You have done good work."

"Parting," the two answered almost together. They were already embraced and seemed eager for privacy.

Then they were in a pressurized chamber surrounded by screens showing the multiple activities of the machines.

Opaline fought to avoid cringing in fear. She had never before been this close to the enemy.

"I am Havoc, King of Planet Charm," Havoc said. There was no individual machine here, but of course the entire complex was a machine. "I am a Glamor. Have you verified my identity?"

"Verified," the chamber responded. Havoc was of course in their database.

"Stop the war against the Living Cultures Coalition. Cease all hostile activity immediately. Henceforth you will serve us to the best of your abilities. Acknowledge."

"Acknowledged, master."

"Glamors will pass among you in due course to issue directives," Havoc continued. "See that all units understand. Acknowledge."

"Acknowledged, master."

He glanced at Opaline. "Satisfied?"

"Acknowledged," she said faintly.

"Then our mission is done. We can dally a bit before returning." His hand found her breast.

"Not here," she protested, aware of the cynosure of the machines.

"Women," he muttered. Then they were back on Charm where she had rendezvoused with him.

Now she relaxed, giving herself to him completely, still amazed by the sudden ending of the war. So simple a solution, in the end—and all because of Oak. He really was their secret weapon. And she had helped. That gave her unimportant life meaning.

"You were never unimportant," Havoc said. "No nexus is."

She didn't try to argue.