Stackpole, Michael A - Dark Conspiracy 03 (7 page)
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Authors: Evil Triumphant
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"To hea
l her son," Jytte continued, "Agnes Hunt made him participate in flagellation, the wearin
g of a
crown o
f thorns and even bouts of mock crucifixion. True and elevated members of the cult often underwent full crucifixion, including the use of nails to hold them to the cross before they were taken
down and, through the use of hallucinogenic drugs and hypnosis, were led through the process of death
and rebirth. They
formed the Inner Circle and Agnes actually attained that rank."
"Nicholas rebelled secretly. While he attended services and participated in rituals, he grew to despise the God that refused him his cure. He began to experiment with things like magic and the Ouija board, but he
found that nothing provided him as much power as science."
Another voice, soft and low, slipped in as Jytte paused to take a breath. "This is not entirely true." Vetha, a pale shadow crouching to my left, bowed her head. "It is during his exploration of the paranormal that my master was able to make contact with Nicholas. The contact was neither strong nor manipulative, but
my master deflected Nicholas toward science."
Jytte stared at Fiddleback's representative, drinking in every word, then she nodded perfunctorily. "Thank you. That bridges a gap in my knowledge. Nicholas graduated from UCLA in 1975 with a Bachelor of
Science degree in Biology. He obtained his Master's degree in Neurophysiology in 1977 from Ohio State
University. From there he went to work with Dr. Parit Chandra. This brought him into top-secret research
that involved Rajani. According to her, Nicholas Hunt was fascinated by her psychomorphic abilities and
even began a study of
c'dithrta
in an effort to master that ability. For the last 26 years, since 1984, there are no records or reports about him."
Jytte looked over at Vetha. The alien creature bowed her head respectively. "The reason your records of Nicholas Hunt end in 1984 is because in that year Nicholas Hunt ceased to exist." Reaching forward and letting her tripartite claws rest on the dark table, she tapped lightly on the wood. "In that year, my master smiled, and in his beneficence, Pygmalion was born."
Dark Conspiracy 3-7.jpg
Vetha's dark eyes, all eight of them, had pinpoints of ivory light at their centers that seemed to whirl
around as if they were bursts of energy from a pulsar. "I know that to explain what I have said requires delving into more than just Pygmalion's background. I do not know how much he will allow me to
divulge. If I digress to an excess, please encourage a return to the point."
I nodded silently. "Anything you can tell us will help."
Her mandibles parted in a motion I chose to interpret as her equivalent of a smile. "Dark Lords, as you so quaintly label them, are either generated spontaneously or cultured. Those which arise without aid are
often eons in reaching their primacy and can be destroyed by a more powerful Dark Lord. This comes
from the necessity of their discovering their aspect before they can master it."
The Yidam leaned forward, all four of his hands pressed to the tabletop. "What mean you by aspect?"
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Vetha's
ivory head came up. "The Dark Lord's focus, his avenue to power and exercising power. For
exam
ple, my master has as his aspect synthesis. He takes from disparate
groups and welds them together
into a new creature. He can do this in a direct and forceful way, as he did with the
Myrangeikki,
or in a subtle way as he did in bringing your mother and father together, Coyote."
I ignored the reference to myself. "
Myrangeikki? "
"That is what I am. We are, rather Fiddleback is, a synthesis of a dimension's population. He brought us together and absorbed us, melding us into a physical and spiritual alloy that provides him with sufficient power to do as he will as a Dark Lord. I am but one part of him that was absorbed hundreds of thousands
of your years ago." She bowed her head. "1 am his servant, as I was in the beginning, am now, and will forever be. My power is his power, to wield in that way which pleases him."
As she spoke, the light in her eyes slowed its spinning. I felt a wave of malevolence pulse out from her.
Rajani winced and Jytte shivered, while Bat snarled and the Yidam echoed him. Everyone else shifted
uncomfortably in their seats, with the exception of Crowley.
A tremor shook Vetha, then her eyes returned to their normal state. "I have been warned about
digression."
"Tell us, then, about Pygmalion. What is his aspect?"
"Pygmalion is a builder. His desire for change in himself prompted his study and pursuit of the art of
c'dithrta.
In the meditations demanded by that philosophical discipline, he opened himself again, and my master noticed him. He recalled the sort of seeker Nicholas Hunt had been before, and my master adopted
him and trained him."
Vetha drew her forelimbs in and crossed her upper arms over her thorax. "It is almost a compulsion
among Dark Lords born to create powerful minions.
Those minions gather to themselves power, and a portion thereof is passed on to their master. The more
training and more abilities the master awakens in minion, the greater the potential for power to be
returned."
"And the greater the chance for rebellion." I nodded my head slowly. "Nicholas Hunt rebelled."
"Your concept is correct, Coyote, but it was Pygmalion that rebelled. My master did not think of, and therefore did not instill in him, the safeguards he has placed in you, for example. Against my master's
will, you cannot assume the power that would make you a Dark Lord in your own right."
I felt an uneasy tickle work its way up my spine. When my compatriots and I had opposed Fiddleback on
the GalBro grounds, 1 had been offered the unlimited power of a Dark Lord. To suggest the offer was
seductive is to suggest the sun's core is lukewarm. With the power I had been offered, nothing could have been denied me, yet I knew such power could not come without cost. I discovered the source in the
misery and suffering of the people 1 would oppress.
I realized that the vision of power 1 had been shown was a parallel of that which Vetha had described for
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Fidd
leback. In it, I had absorbed and taken into me all the hopeful fools who had come to worship
Fidd
leback. My success imitated his success, suggesting to me that my aspect must be that of a synthesizer. As I was now a synthesis of what Fiddleback had molded and Coyote had cast, perhaps all
that was necessary for me to assume my place among the Dark Lords was Fiddle-back's assent to my
standing by his side.
I shook my head. "It is my hope that your master never stops opposing my elevation."
The
Myrangeikki
nodded almost imperceptibly be-
fore her eyes slowed again. "Venomouz traitorz are not given power, Coyote. Your rejection of my gift, my pet, iz noted and final."
"Ah, then we
can
agree on more than the defeat of Pygmalion." 1 let a bit of anger into my voice, but mostly used sarcasm to carry my statement.
Vetha recovered herself. "Beneath my master's tutelage, Pygmalion learned to use power in many ways.
He rebuilt himself, providing that cosmetically correct image of what he should have been that you saw
when he came here. After he betrayed my master, he built himself a complex in which he could carry on
the sort of sculpting work he enjoys. Both Jytte and Mickey show he is quite skilled. It is this complex we will have to locate to defeat him."
1 nodded. "Okay, it strikes me that our drive to get Pygmalion has a number of obvious parts that have to be completed before we can succeed. The first is that we must find his headquarters complex. I already
know someone who can work on that back in Phoenix and if Colonel Asano can get us Prince Ryuhito's
electroencephalogram traces from his last physical, we can begin that work. Once we have that place
pinpointed, the Yidam and Crowley can scout the area for a nearby proto-dimension that is suitable as a
staging point."
The Japanese cybeminja nodded his agreement. The Yidam and Crowley accepted their roles silently, but
1 knew each of them would have a list of equipment needed to fulfill their missions. Everyone else
started to think about what their part of the battle against Pygmalion would be, and I started outlining the other things we would need so they could slot themselves in.
"We are going against a Dark Lord. Even though we will have a Dark Lord working with us, we need any edge we can get. 1 need a PsyOps section to prepare a
psychological profile of Pygmalion and suggest symbols, images, times, whatever, that might disrupt
him. Jytte, 1 want you to lead that group. Vetha and Rajani, 1 need you to work on it as well, because you have background information on Pygmalion. If you want, we can hire some hotshot mindbenders back in
Phoenix to toss their best guesses in on whatever you produce."
"Understood," Jytte reluctantly consented. She frowned for a moment, providing her doll-like face more animation than I had seen since I met her. She clearly felt uncomfortable, but she fought to force a victory over that discomfort. Rajani and Vetha nodded at me, then smiled reassuringly at Jytte, but 1 don't think Jytte even noticed.
"Sin, I'll need you to conduct negotiations with construction companies back in Phoenix, because we'll
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undou
btedly need equipment and trained workers to help created the dimensional gate that will bring
Fidd
leback in to our staging area. Fiddleback will be able to provide a great deal of raw muscle t
o do the
heavy work, but we'll need people for fine work."
The young man nodded. "Do you want me to get a bid from my father?"
"Mot unless you want to. Money is not an object here, and I'm willing to spend plenty if your father gets none of it." I glanced at Hal. "I'll need you to coordinate the recruiting of workers. You can do it through your Sunburst Foundation, if you wish. You should feel no compunction to hire any of the white
supremists who are on Darius MacNeal's payroll either."
Hal rubbed his hand over one of the healing gunshot wounds in his chest. "Don't worry about that. How many are we going to need?"
I shrugged. "A couple hundred, at least. Having worked construction before will count. It is likely to be dangerous, so unattached folks would be good. Figure out what the going rate is and triple it, plus add
substantial bonuses for signing and finishing the project. First thing you'll need is some screening staff."