Chapter 14 — War Path
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Volume 5 is in press.
This is Volume 6.
A Tale of Two Times continues in Volume 7, War and Peace
~ 1 ~ "The Preamble manuscript… Have you safely secured it, Miss Pettibone?” Miss Wilberforce and Miss Pettibone had exited the hearing room and had come outside into the fresh air along with all of the others.
“Yes, Miss Wilberforce; I locked it in the Foundation’s vault immediately upon receiving it from Dr. Chavez.”
“Very good. Will you please find Dr. Chavez for me and ask him to join me here on this bench? I should like to speak with him privately for a few minutes about our financial arrangements. You can assure him that our discussion will not be a long one.” Miss Wilberforce seated herself on the bench and looked around, enjoying the charming English village scene on this sunny day.
Ricardo was smiling as he walked briskly up to her, escorted by Miss Pettibone, who went off then to inform Dr. Chavez's driver that he would be delayed for a few minutes.
Rhoda, looking at Ricardo through her Miss Wilberforce Persona, asked, “Well, honey, can you confirm that the Preamble is not merely the beginning of the First Histories, but is in fact the First Arm of it?"
“It may be. When I returned the Preamble to its sleeve Device, I sensed that it’s an Arm. But… an Arm of itself? That doesn’t make much sense.”
“Ricardo, I think the body of the First Histories exists between this Arm that ‘your family’ is buying, and the other Arm, in the same way that the document conferring ownership of the First Histories existed in the tectonic offset between the two little wooden caskets.”
“Then, what’s the other Arm of the First Histories?”
“Ah! Finding it is our new problem.”
“I wonder, sweetheart, if maybe the Preamble’s sleeve is a clue to finding the other Arm.”
“I think it might be, because its ornamental design is similar to the design on our daggers—Thersa’s and mine.”
“We’ll have to investigate it more closely. Rhoda, what made you suspect that the Preamble is an Arm?”
“I’ve been wondering why so many variant versions of the Preamble exist."
"Ah! I see: They’re meant to mislead us into feeling that the original must contain little new information."
"Exactly, my dear. I’ve learned that the original Preamble has always been well-hidden and well-guarded by previous War Things—most recently in the Sheldrakes’ sacrifice of their lives. Thinking, therefore, that the Preamble must have great value in itself, I arranged—in case the manuscript in the vault was the Preamble—for the Foundation to sell it to ‘your family’.”
“I admire you for your sagacity and foresight, Miss Wilberforce.”
“Thank you, Dr. Chavez. Have you read, in the original Preamble, that which I’ve guessed is there after reading Fr. Sigurd’s translation of the diagonal script?”
“Sweetheart, what it says is that we must leave the Soma for our friend Sunderer at the Gate of the Spiral City, and that Sunderer must then come to our Court, vested in the Soma. There, he must accomplish what we command him to do with the Soma, or its ownership will revert to us.”
“Okay. I’ve known that—and we know things won’t happen so simply.” Rhoda’s eyes shone through Miss Wilberforce’s into Ricardo’s. She said, “Ricardo, Fr. Sigurd has never studied the Makers’ Goth used in contracts. Otherwise, he would have recognized that the Preamble contains the beginning of the Soma’s Design.”
“But Sunderer and his godly negotiator must have known for ages what the original Preamble says, Rhoda. And the knowledge of the Soma’s Design that we’ve inherited from those days must be close to the original, but, for our endgame, we’ve got to have the original Design.”
"Yes, honey; we’re of one mind. And I think Thersa may know the identity of the other Arm of the First Histories. Alice and I have resumed communication, at her initiative, but until she reveals to me that she is Thersa, it’s not safe for me to ask her about the First Histories.”
“I understand that you’ve given Alice and Giselle access to the Aeronauticas-New Sarxx air service.”
“Yes. Through that, and the construction of the Eyrie, I’m taking steps to build trust with Alice. In return, Alice has acted through Giselle to give Elise Handke access to some of Thersa’s correspondence from the days of Ottilie Krüger. Her correspondence files are located in Alice’s villa in Switzerland. On Alice’s authority, Giselle has also given permission for a number of us to use the villa for a Thing. You and I need to meet there in a few days."
“Okay. I’m leaving from here to meet with ‘claimant’ Leo in Germany, where we’ll revisit Greystone and its environs, in the location where he saw Herbert Schooner secretly at work. Leo and I can catch up with you in Switzerland in four days.”
“It’s a date. Honey, I have one thing more to tell you: We—in the person of Ingundis the Maker—long ago assured Herbert Schooner (who is known to Ingundis as Gesalec) that he, personally, would be the final fabricator of the Soma.”
“That means all of the previous fabrications and seemingly failed vestings were actually shaping the Facets of the Soma’s Niche.”
“So it seems. Ricardo, I learned about Ingundis’s assurance to Gesalec when I was studying one of Ingundis’s Maker’s journals. It had been Green, the first time I opened it, but its Greenness fell away on the day that I learned Leo and Isabel are the inheritors of the First Histories.”
“Sweetheart, it’s an interesting coincidence that I’ve just given Het some Makers’ instructions which—when he tells Herbert Schooner or Mortimer Kane about them—will appear to communicate our honoring of Ingundis’ commitment to Herbert Schooner. ...Maybe we should offer Schooner a Workshop in Ontario for the Soma’s fabrication.”
“That’s a crafty plan, dear. He’ll accept that offer—partly because he’ll expect to get a partition of my Workshop there and thus get a better opportunity to spy on us and try to learn the secrets of the Greased Lightning’s fabrication. In fact, the partition that he'll get is a partition of Ingundis’s Workshop, not mine.”
Ricardo nodded. He and Rhoda lovingly squeezed hands under the cover of Miss Wilberforce’s skirt. Then they both rose from the bench. Ricardo kissed Miss Wilberforce's graciously-offered hand and bowed with formal elegance before striding rapidly to his waiting car. Mr. Featherstone and Miss Pettibone, watching from a distance, admired their elegant leave-taking.
~ 2 ~ Four days later, the War Thing gathered at Alice’s villa in Switzerland.
"Rhoda, have you read Aretta's letter? Matthew, her former First Scribe, has told me that he gave it to you at your Head Thing.”
“Has it slipped my mind, Yohanna?" Rhoda was looking out at the small alpine lake, longing to strip off her clothes and dive in, washing away the cares of the War Thing in its waters.
Elise Handke, half-listening to their conversation, was thinking of the pain which her old bones would feel if she should enter those frigid waters. Years earlier, Elise had heard the story of Thersa's naked swim in that lake, in celebration of the Foe's failed attempt to vest himself in the Soma.
Thersa had not known then that the Foe’s setback had come at the cost of Ottilie's life and Ellie's; for each of the two young women, she had felt a fondness. The joy of her swim on that day had been spoiled, anyway, by the bloody death of her new handmaid, who had mishandled Thersa's dagger.
Elise became aware of the fact that the War Thing’s gathering place on the shore was the very location of that unfortunate woman’s fall into the lake, bloodying its clear waters. She looked at Martha, thinking that she was likely reflecting on the same event. Martha had inscribed that event into the Histories, using information supplied by Elise. Was that handmaid’s death an ‘echo’ of the death of Ellie Herder?
"Yes, Ricardo and I have discussed the issue of Walls to our perceptions, like Ottilie’s Wall and Green inscriptions…” Rhoda’s “Yes” startled Elise, as it seemed to answer her own unrelated question. Having lost the thread of the somewhat desultory conversation among those sitting around her, Elise tried to recall it. Ottilie’s Wall? Oh, yes. Rhoda has written to me about it. I am growing old; my mind wanders. Did Martin bring that up?
Rhoda was saying, “It was Leo’s discovery of Herbert Schooner’s secretive activity near Greystone Castle that led to my discussion with Ricardo about Walls. Walls channel our perception in such a way that we fail to see things which otherwise we would have seen, until times have become ripe in Meaning and Doing. However, the welter of Walls through which we move every day is part of the mystery of Providence. We can identify only a few Walls that have to do with our War Thing. One of them is Ottilie’s Wall—which kept Yohanna and me from perceiving Shades in the Keep. A Wall like that is caused by a Device, but we don’t yet know what Device caused Ottilie’s Wall; it may be located in the Keep. Not that its identity matters much now.”
Although most of the group gathered by the lake were listening to Rhoda’s rambling talk with only polite interest, Hans was truly fascinated. This was his first War Thing meeting. He had come with Elise. While the others were thinking that Rhoda’s rambling must be caused by some distraction, Hans’s mind was full of questions: Ottilie’s Wall? Providence in the War Thing? Ottilie’s Device in the Keep?
Martin, seeing the curiosity in Hans’s face, said to him, "We have always assumed that the Secrets of prior War Things are passed to us through Devices. Usually these are simply Green passages in journals.”
Elise heard the conversation continuing to ramble, and it seemed to her that the rambling was caused by the wait for Ricardo—by Rhoda's waiting for Ricardo. Then she saw Rhoda turn her head and look up toward Thersa's villa, her face brightening at the sight of Ricardo and Leo walking down the path toward them, at last.
They were bringing a report from the West German site near Greystone Castle, where Leo had recently observed Herbert Schooner directing the removal of machinery from an abandoned secret Nazi factory. The tunnel factory was now being restored as a material testimony against those dark days, and experts were debating the identity of the weaponry which the secret factory had been built to manufacture.
Rhoda was silently reproaching herself for unnecessary anxiety during the few days of her separation from Ricardo. After all, New City University and the Keep were a thousand times more dangerous for him than was West Germany. But she had acutely missed him after the Son's House hearing. Now, as she embraced him, she was filled by a delicious yearning. Ricardo motioned for Leo to sit between them on the bench. Ricardo has put a ‘Leo Wall’ between us. Miss Wilberforce is a Wall, too.
As Rhoda resumed her seat next to Leo, Yohanna, on her other side, whispered into her ear, "Does your mind wander off the War Thing from time to time, Rhoda dear?” Although they kept their entwined Living Memories under control, occasionally one would perceive intense feelings in the other when they were physically near each other. Rhoda responded to Yohanna’s question by opening her purse and commanding it silently to bring to hand what was needed for the War Thing. The purse presented to her Aretta's letter in its envelope. Yohanna smiled meaningfully, and Rhoda glared her, to which Yohanna responded by grinning at Rhoda in a way which reduced Rhoda to smothered giggles, hiding her mouth behind the letter. Hans wondered what was going on between the two women.
Regaining control of herself, Rhoda lay the letter on her lap and turned her full attention to Ricardo and Leo as they presented their lengthy report of discoveries in West Germany.
Leo concluded, "It appears that at least part of Schooner's aim was to make the factory appear to be designed for manufacturing jet turbines—not atomic bombs."
"There may be a use yet for the bomb-making equipment that he removed—especially in relation to the Separator," Martin commented. He glanced at Rhoda, who—looking down at the unopened envelope—missed the mild reproach in his face. Martin was not fully convinced that it was wise to resume support for the Circle’s efforts to make the Separator operational.
~ ~ ~
It was Elise's request, through Giselle, which had led Alice to allow this Clan gathering at her villa. Elise and Martha had been eager to obtain access to the villa in order to examine Thersa’s correspondence with Ottilie and clarify a few points about Ottilie's War Thing. Rhoda had shared their interest, and, with Giselle's help, the the three of them had studied Thersa's correspondence. Then, Rhoda had happened to scan the guest register.
“Oh, yes,” Giselle had replied to her question, “Count Oscar Nerzhin was occasionally a guest here before and during the war, and he has continued to be received here after the war, even during the time when my mistress, Alice, has not been in residence. As you have noted, Miss Knox, he was resident here for a week last year. Ottilie had requested that the Countess provide for him and for his brother, Vladimir, occasional accommodations at this villa, and Alice has continued to fulfill all of the Countess Thersa’s commitments. Vladimir, of course, does not use his given name, going by ‘Nikolai’. My mistress has said to me that if you are interested, you may access Oscar’s correspondence here. Oscar has regarded this as a secure location for his papers, and he has regularly added to his files."
With slightly raised eyebrows, Rhoda had asked, "Why did he regard Thersa's villa as secure for his private records?”
"He has said to me, ‘Like the Countess, I am neutral regarding both the Clan and the Friend's Circle.’ He clearly did not know that it was because of the ‘Sorceress’ whom he dreaded, that we accommodated him.”
"What do you think were his personal motives for that statement about neutrality, Giselle?”
"I believe he wanted to see if I agreed, Miss Knox. I responded by saying that there are many shades of neutrality, and I asked him which shade is his. He replied that his shade is the same as the Countess’s; I had told him that his files here would be as secure as the Countess’s own.”
“So his sense of probabilities is not perfect?” Martha had asked.
“High probabilities are not certitude,” Rhoda had pointed out, looking at Giselle. She had been introduced to Giselle that day by Elise, although—as Miss Wilberforce—she had met Giselle in Alice’s company. “We hardly ever act on true certainty. …Giselle, may I ask you a personal question concerning your service to Thersa?”
“You may ask; I will answer if I believe it prudent for me to do so, Miss Knox.”
“Giselle, it is said that people in Thersa’s service have aged very slowly; that’s a fact for which neither Thersa nor Ottilie had an adequate explanation.”
“I believe, Miss Knox, that you are asking me how long it is that I have been in Thersa’s service.”
“Yes, Miss Miller. That’s my question.”
Giselle had looked thoughtfully at Rhoda, and then at Martha and Elise. “I replaced Thersa’s previous first steward around seven-hundred years ago. He was a man who had become weary with his years; he instructed me in the performance of those duties, in which I have continued.” Alice told me to offer a little, if they asked. Have I offered too much? Well, I did lie a little about my age.
That discussion about Oscar’s files and Giselle’s age had occurred on the previous day. After the discussion, Giselle had left the villa, having instructed the staff to see to the needs of Elise Handke’s party, for their meeting. Rhoda had perused Oscar’s files while Elise and Martha had continued to study Thersa’s correspondence. Martin had arrived in the evening, and he had discussed with Rhoda, late into the night, both Home Ranch affairs and General Robert’s concerns regarding the secret international political situation, in which a stalemate was developing over the Soviet atomic bombs which were most likely located at Quinceañera Beach.
Rhoda looked up from the unopened envelope in her lap. “Martha and Elise, has it occurred to either of you that the Histories’ account of Thersa’s handmaid’s death, on this very spot, cannot be entirely true?”
Elise spoke up at once. “Rhoda, I have been thinking that her death must have occurred at the very hour of Ottilie Krüger’s and Ellie Herder’s deaths—in almost the same way. Surely, this is more than coincidence. In fact, it is the kind of coincidence in which Ottilie had taken an interest early in her War Thing. She even achieved a 'made coincidence' in my own living room by fabricating a Device of opportunity, making use of my daughter Karlie, as Martha has inscribed in the Histories.”
“Yes; I recall that event, Elise. I was thinking of something I read yesterday in Oscar Nerzhin’s correspondence.”
Elise explained to the others how Oscar’s correspondence had become available to Rhoda through Giselle Miller—the former Giselle Müller whom Ottilie had known.
Rhoda continued, “I doubt that Oscar gave Thersa a true account of his knowledge of the handmaid who was the dagger's victim. He said to Thersa that he sensed 'no odds' of a conspiracy against Thersa, in the unfortunate event. A sense of ‘no odds’ does not preclude a sense of certainty that such a conspiracy existed—in which the handmaid was no doubt involved, although it was not necessarily a conspiracy against Thersa’s life.”
“I’ve wondered about that account, too,” said Leo. “It seems to me that something was out of kilter, for the handmaid’s death to have resulted. So, Rhoda, you must have learned something new.”
“Yes, I have, Leo. First, let me say that Ricardo and I have been speculating about the wisdom of casting Nets and Things Living in order to gather intelligence about matters of the War Thing. It has been a Makers’ rule of thumb always, not to use such powers when normal fact-finding can uncover the information. The reason is that such cast Devices may become entangled in the Design of another Device which had been unknown to the caster, and another Device may well be a booby trap. We found such a Device anchored in a letter from Oscar’s file which I read yesterday. I had resisted the impulse to cast a Net around it.”
“We?” asked Leo.
“My Powers and I are the ‘we’ that I‘m speaking of, Leo. Ricardo was with you at the time.”
Leo was reminded that weirdness was to be expected in matters concerning Rhoda and Ricardo. He remembered his father-in-law, Kurt, telling him of the time when Martha had suggested to Kurt that he might not know what Rhoda truly looks like, although he had known her all of her life.
“The letter in which we found the Device was from Herbert Schooner, and it had been mailed to Oscar at this villa. In it, Herbert requested that Oscar resist the temptation to initiate an affair with the handmaid we’ve been talking about, who was secretly working for Schooner. Herbert’s letter was written in Old Goth.”
Elise was growing deeply interested. ”Vladimir has said that Oscar did not advance far in his Goth studies," she said.
Rhoda explained, “The Old Goth of the message is elementary, and it has the flavor of a taunt or a joke between two men who are familiar with each other.” To Yohanna, Rhoda said quietly, "Oscar is the source of the remote Circle influence in both Het Kerrigan and Winthy Kerrigan."
"Well, certainly we must keep an eye on Herbert Schooner, and an eye out for Oscar," said Martin. "When I was a young man, I met Oscar at a dinner hosted by Reyna's sister, but at that time I was coming to grips with Ottilie's fate as War Queen. …Are you still comfortable with having turned over the Wagon Workshop to Herbert Schooner?”
“Of course we’re not comfortable,” said Ricardo, looking at Rhoda, who nodded. “But Miss Wilberforce had stored the Wagon in Kirchemund, after Thersa had personally requested that she do so. Rhoda—as Miss Wilberforce—was told by Thersa that it was her will that the Wagon Workshop be released to Dr. Schooner.”
They all looked at Rhoda, who said, “As Miss Wilberforce, I’ve visited Alice’s residence in Santa Barbara. I’m certain now that Alice and Thersa are the same person, and that the Alice Persona was fabricated by Ottilie. Thersa, however, does not know me in Miss Wilberforce. As Rhoda, I have yet to win her complete confidence, despite our cooperation on her salon, and even though our improved relationship brings us here today. She’s waiting until she can completely rule out the possibility that I’m an Avatar of the Foe.”
“Could Alice be an Avatar?” asked Hans.
Ricardo turned his dark eyes seriously to him. “It’s not at all likely, Hans, but it’s certainly not impossible. We’re pitted against the arch-deceiver.”
~ 3 ~ “I don’t know if this is a matter for the War Thing’s counsels at this point,” said Leo, “but I’ve learned some more things about Herbert Schooner that may be new to you. Also, since you’ve brought up her name, I’ll tell you now that I’ve learned something about Giselle Miller, as well. I haven’t yet mentioned it to you, Ricardo, because I hadn’t made the connection in my mind until just now, when Rhoda told us what Giselle had said about her age. I hadn’t thought that Giselle was much older than I am—maybe because I haven’t taken seriously enough my Histories lessons about the life extension perk that comes with working for Thersa.” Leo smiled a little sheepishly at Yohanna and Martin. “I guess I forgot about Thersa’s steward, Leon, who came into an extra seventy years. But seven hundred is a lot more than seventy, to my mind. I think now that Giselle’s activity may be a continuation of what Theresa’s first steward had been doing seven-hundred years ago.”
Knowing Leo’s style, Martin smiled to himself as Leo began building toward his point:
“Well, I found my big clue when I was investigating the Battle of Greystone Castle. I looked again into the background of the Swiss officer who I thought had led the strike force, and who had died soon after in a skiing accident. I discovered that he was a professional treasure hunter and he might not have been after secrets about atomic bombs or jet planes. He might have been after the treasures in the unguarded Castle. This Swiss gentleman, named Cornell Anton, carried on a correspondence with Herbert Schooner, and he corresponded separately with…Guess who?” Leo looked around; he had everyone’s attention. Martha, smiling approvingly at her smart son-in-law, asked, “Fraulein Giselle Müller?”
Leo nodded. Then he looked at Rhoda and saw her mind’s wheels spinning as she looked at him. Becoming mesmerized by her intense gaze, he suddenly blushed and looked away. Wow! Kurt never did see her! I’ve got to tell him. Leo glanced again at Martha; she pursed her lips and subtly shook her head at him.
“Yohanna!” Rhoda knocked Aretta’s letter to the ground at her feet with the sudden motion in which she reached for Yohanna's hands. Holding each other’s hands, the two of them stared intently into each other’s rapidly-changing face, their silent, entwined conversation watched by all of the others.
Leo and Hans exchanged a look. Rhoda and Yohanna disengaged.
Rhoda said, “That’s very useful information, Leo. Had you concluded that Herbert was in the market for ancient Goth Devices and that Giselle was in the market for genuine relics and works of art?”
Leo nodded, feeling a little deflated, as if his punchline had been stolen. Martin smiled at him, shrugging his shoulders and recalling to Leo’s mind that Martin’s Headship of the Clan had been stolen by Rhoda’s use of Atawulf’s Counsel. How long did I work for that guy without having a clue about this Goth business?
Looking at Rhoda, Leo said, “Ancient art and old Goth Devices once filled the Foe’s Keep of Greystone Castle here in Europe; now they fill the new Keep in California. Speculation in objects of art is one of Arch’s lines in which Giselle takes a personal interest—and makes a lot of money. But the relic Goth Devices are bought by Herbert, and they are never sold. I think the art business is a cover for the acquisition of relic Devices. Hans helped me verify that there are a lot of relic Devices in the Keep, after I arranged for a tour of the scholars’ Institute. Hans had told me that he thought he could identify Devices if any were on display, and he found lots of them.”
Hans nodded, and Yohanna smiled at the two men’s audacity. Rhoda and Ricardo had drawn a “line in the sand” for themselves within the Keep to avoid appearing to be spying on the Circle. Yohanna knew that Rhoda had restricted them to only the areas which were a part of their daily routine. The truth was that Rhoda and Ricardo had not thought of simply looking for relic Goth Devices within the Keep’s holdings.
Leo explained that for their investigative tour, Leo had gotten from Cherokee two passes to the Institute for Ancient Art and Relics. Then, instead of taking Antonia, Leo had taken Hans on a tour of the galleries and archives. Because Lily Su had permanent access to the Institute, they had pressed her into service in their scheme, and she had toured with them, carrying, in her purse, a light pair of field Calipers for Hans to use whenever an opportunity presented itself for handling a possible relic Device. Relishing the excitement of espionage, Dr. Su had said to Leo and Hans, “Ricardo is so stodgy. He never asks me to do anything exciting.”
Rhoda asked, “When did you do this, Leo?”
“When you and Ricardo were in England recently.”
Yohanna interrupted abruptly, saying firmly, “We need not speak anymore of this now.”
Yohanna had arrived early that morning at the villa, after flying from Chile to Geneva, where she had spent several days with her mother, Edna, and with Matthew Mustafa, the Okubos’ First Scribe. Now she said, “In Chile, I briefed Walter on the War Thing, and I have come to know Reyna well enough to feel that I have aged fifty years in wisdom. Leo, you must soon visit Walter. With his considerable insight into Mexican and Caribbean politics, he has much to say about the stolen atomic weapons situation. Martin, your father would like you to come with Leo to visit him.”
A visit to Walter was agreeable to Leo and Martin, but they were a little taken aback by this abrupt change in the direction of the War Thing’s deliberations. And they were startled by the authority with which Yohanna was now speaking to them. Hans’s face took on a thoughtful look. Who’s in charge here?
Martha noted Rhoda’s smile of satisfaction; understanding was coming to her that secrets within secrets were being woven. She recalled Ottilie Krüger's comment to First Scribe James Quinn, “Wherever I am, there is the Battleground.” I think the Foe's Powers can't yet distinguish Rhoda from Yohanna—or even from Isabel—as a War Thing Head.
Martha knew that even if no god or Power of the Foe were personally eavesdropping on this meeting, it was likely that many of the Foe’s Powers were attempting to insinuate themselves into the Airs of the Thing.
Rhoda looked down at Aretta’s letter lying on the ground between her and Yohanna. Pointing at it, she said, “Dear sister, is this the letter from Aretta that Matthew gave me on the night of our Head Thing?”
Yohanna picked it up. “He inquired about it yesterday, Rhoda, asking if you had yet read it. He said that Aretta had told him that it would have its time and place for being read. I have never before seen it,” she said, holding the letter to her nose, “but sight, touch and smell tell me with certainty that it comes from her hand.”
“You know her hand best. Please open it and read it to yourself.”
While Yohanna began silently to read the letter, Rhoda explained, “Leo, my purse produces whatever is currently needed in the War Thing.” She glanced at Hans, who was sitting at the edge of the group, listening closely. “Just as you and Ricardo were arriving here, Leo, my purse delivered Aretta’s letter to my hand. Some items come to me from my purse by the choice of my ‘sisters’ who are all Denizens of the Commons who reside in the Province of the House of Women. Each of them is a Word Wise or Keen Maker who has served on a past War Thing and has died in Earth’s Province, but who has, in the Commons, a living presence that’s anchored in some brief interval of her life, at the Living Distance from us.”
“Beyond the Living Distance,” Ricardo explained, “a person can have social intercourse with a human Denizen, and that communication grows better as the Living Distance is approached, but an interaction within the Living Distance will cause the Denizen to pass out of the Commons, completing his or her death from Earth’s Province.”
Yohanna was still reading Aretta’s letter to herself while Rhoda and Ricardo were further instructing Leo and Hans in Goth matters.
After Yohanna had finished perusing her great-grandmother’s letter, she drew Martin, Martha and Elise into a huddle and pointed out to Martin certain passages for him to read. Martin read the passages silently, wondering what was going on. Why were Ricardo and Rhoda to be the last to read an important letter which communicated Secrets of pivotal importance to the War Thing? Then, looking up at Martha’s wise face, he found himself recalling the words of Sun-tzu: ‘When you are unified, let the enemy think that you are divided.’
~ 4 ~ While the letter from Aretta was being discussed by the four in the huddle, Rhoda slowly became aware of being drawn into a Net which had been cast long ages in the past. It seemed to her most likely that the Net was coming from the past Heads of War Things. Should she allow this Net to draw her in? Upon determining that the Net is genuine, she must receive this cast. If it is not genuine, she must command her Powers to turn it, while it can be turned. She heard Ricardo saying to Leo, “When Keen Makers walk with their Powers in the War Thing, they can converse with them directly to obtain intelligence about an immediate situation and, if necessary, fashion a Device of opportunity to effect some necessary action. Normally, this social intercourse between gods and humans can be carried on only in the Inner Sanctum.”
Rhoda broke in smoothly, “I will demonstrate.” Speaking in her rapid Old Goth to her Powers in the Airs, she explained to them—and to Ricardo, Yohanna and Martin—her unusual condition of having a beckoning cast of an ancient Net around her.
Leo felt a change in the atmosphere, as if a storm had gathered on this clear blue day and lightning bolts would soon strike around them. Hans understood that Rhoda was communicating something important, to those who were fluent in Old Goth. Yohanna rose from the bench where she had been sitting with the others, and Martin handed Aretta’s letter to her. Giving the letter to Rhoda, Yohanna said, “It is time to read your mail, dear.”
Rhoda quickly read the letter—which everyone else but Ricardo had already read—and Leo, sitting between Rhoda and Ricardo, felt the invisible storm pass. After Rhoda had finished reading, she folded the sheets of paper and put them back into the envelope. She gave the envelope to Leo, instructing him to, “Please give this to Ricardo to read, holding onto it tightly until he is holding it in his hands.”
Leo, upon receiving the letter, felt it struggling in his hand like a freshly-caught fish. When Ricardo touched it, however, the letter lost its fight.
Ricardo winked. “With Goth Devices, Leo, you can’t be too careful.” After he had read the letter, Ricardo looked at Leo and Hans. “Do you recall, from Yohanna’s reading of the Histories, the evolving Device of opportunity that Ottilie speculated had been initiated by Thiuderieks?”
Leo thought for a moment. “Do you mean what Ottilie called the ‘War Path’ when she was speaking to Elise?” He glanced at Elise, who nodded, acknowledged the accuracy of Leo’s recollection.
Elise looked questioningly at Ricardo.
Ricardo said, “Ottilie speculated that the War Path is an evolving Device which encompasses all War Things from the first to the last, so that, in the end, they all will have conformed to the aim of the War Thing. Elise, that’s why Ottilie said the War Path determines the coincidences in the War Things’ events. This letter tells us that our War Thing is the last War Thing in the War Path.” Looking at Rhoda he said, “Rhoda, because you’ve arranged for me to be the last to read Aretta’s letter, the original cast of the War Path’s Net, which was first felt by you, has now come to me.”
Rhoda nodded. “Right, honey.” She grinned. “Because you’re a man, it’s more suitable for you to reign over the War Thing’s coincident events. And I like surprises.”
Like the others, Leo looked at those around him dubiously. Whatever exactly they’re talking about, I think I’m authorized to follow my own nose in War Thing matters. No Goth Chants for me. Leo looked at his hands. I don’t need Calipers either.
Leo and Hans looked at each other then, feeling that the meeting was concluding. But Ricardo announced, “There is one more item that we have to disclose. Rhoda and I are offering to Herbert Schooner a Workshop in the Ontario hangar, where he will be able, with his assistants, to fabricate the ‘Miner’ part of the Soma. This will be in lieu of our doing the fabrication directly for him. Instead, we will provide to him any assistance for which he asks.”
“Have you already begun a conversation with him concerning this matter?” asked Martha. She looked then at Martin, who—like her—was not pleased by this announcement. They both understood, however, that it involved a rationale to which only Rhoda and Ricardo were privy.
“Yes we have, Martha,” Rhoda told her, “and Dr. Schooner is well-disposed to accept this arrangement."
"Will Het and Esther be his assistants?” asked Hans.
Rhoda said, "Yes, Hans.” Hans felt that the distance was growing even greater between himself and Het—the man whom he had once considered to be his trusted mentor.
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