It was an awful temptation, but Magrit bit her tongue. “So cross off Prosper Ligon. Who else?”

“There are two sisters who specialize in the seduction, drugging, and blackmail of important figures in Jovian government and commerce. However, since the involved parties are all far more interested in concealment than revelation, I see little leverage.”

“Rezel and Tanya? Those two beauties are the ones who wanted to meet with you today. You’re lucky. I guess I saved you from seduction and drugging and blackmail.”

“Indubitably you did. May I continue, or must we both descend to the level of facetious commentary? Next we have Hector Ligon, who seems capable of any manner of debased behavior provided that it requires no iota of sense or original thought. We could certainly trap him into any number of compromising or illegal activities. Sadly, no member of the family would lift a finger or pay a sou to save him. Even his father regards it as merely a matter of time until some act of folly on Hector’s part leads to his disgrace and dismissal from the bosom of the Ligon family.”

“Bat, I know you like to be thorough. But I have a Board of Supervisors meeting in half an hour, and if I go in unprepared there’s a couple of people who’ll love to chew on my ass. Could you stop listing the Ligon family we can’t pressure, and come to the ones we can?”

“A consummation devoutly to be wished, but one that I fear is at the moment impossible. Juliana appears to be as free from vices as her Uncle Prosper. The various aged aunts have been guilty of gross acts, but so long ago that no one today will care. The family members who have chosen to become Commensals offer potential, but I must investigate them further. For awhile I believed that our best hope was Karolus, a man blackened by sins numerous and dastardly; regrettably, I am convinced that he also lacks all shame. If we threaten to expose him, he will laugh at us and admit to everything.”

“Right. Am I being unfair if I summarize what you’ve told me by saying we have nothing?”

“If you are unfair, you are also accurate.”

“So I’m glad I did what I did, earlier today. But if this works out, you’ll have to consider an action you do not want to take.”

Bat finally opened his eyes, so that he could stare accusingly at Magrit. “The logical complement of the things that I want to do forms a near-infinite set. Do you propose to be specific, or merely to taunt me with vagueness?”

“You will have to meet with a Ligon. Now hold on.” She could see Bat beginning to bristle. “This isn’t just any Ligon. It’s a man who works for me. I’ve met him, and I suspect that the two of you may actually get on together.”

“Hmph.”

“I set the bait earlier today in my meeting with the sisters. If they take it, I’m going to suggest that Alex Ligon fly out to see you, there in the Bat Cave. After that it will be up to you. You want to remain on Pandora? Then the two of you have to cut a deal that satisfies the Ligon family.”

“And you, I presume, have no suggestions as to what such a scheme might be.”

“Of course I don’t. That’s your job. I mean, you’re the smart one, aren’t you?”

“Hmph.”

“That’s what I thought. So you’re going to prove it. Now, I have to run.”

She cut the connection, to avoid discussion.

From Bat’s point of view, however, the timing was perfect. Before the communication screen had time to become blank, an irresistible message from Mord had appeared on it.

14

Mord had been designed with great skill. Many times, the suite of programs developed by Mordecai Perlman would pass for a human rather than a high-level Fax.

Many times; but this was not one of them. The image on Bat’s display wavered in its outlines, and the voice that had called for immediate attention lacked Mord’s acerbic tone as it said, as soon as the channel was opened, “It’s everything that I thought it might be.”

The comment also lacked Mord’s usual clarity. Bat studied the wobbly image. “Might I ask what is all that you thought it might be?”

“The Seine, and its data banks. There are thousands of new ones, far more than you predicted. I’ve tasted hundreds, and I’m just getting started. Fascinating. But it’s” — Mord paused, as though scanning for the appropriate word — “scary out there in the Seine. I had the feeling that I could easily get lost. No, not lost. Swallowed up.”

“That was a danger I already predicted. The Seine has sets of programs designed to locate and eliminate blocks of code with no external pointers.”

“I don’t mean them.” Mord was not inside the Keep, but he was still within Bat’s protected environment. The display had begun to normalize, and his voice was contemptuous as he went on, “I know all about scavengers, I’ve avoided that kind of program for half a human lifetime. This is different.”

“I have experienced something of the same feeling. It is as though something new and very large is stirring within the System.”

“Maybe. But you’ve not experienced it the way I’ve experienced it. I mean, you’re sitting there, laughing and scratching, and I’m in the middle of this.”

“You feel in danger of your own destruction?”

“That’s not quite it, either. It’s not like I’m a parasite. It’s more like I might be absorbed into the Seine’s overall structure and become part of it. I don’t want that.”

“If this disturbs you, you could remain here and reside within the Keep. Its integrity and separation from Seine influence appear to be complete.”

“Nah.” The shake of Mord’s head was perfect human simulation. “It’s interesting out in the Seine, a whole new universe to play in even if you do have to watch your ass. I didn’t come here looking for protection, or to tell you I’m running a bit unstable and over my head. I’ve got a goodie for you. Do you remember asking me to keep a look out for anything that mentions the asteroid Mandrake?”

“I did so with good reason. Mandrake was the home of Nadeen Selassie. She was the legendary genius of the Belt, the weapons-maker who among other things designed the Seekers. She died on Mandrake at the end of the Great War, reputedly while developing some kind of ultimate device of which no details are known. It was reported, however, to be not a weapon for reprisals. Rather, it was designed for universal destruction.”

“Hey, I know all that. You told me, so I remember. I’m not some dumb-ass human. But did she? I mean, did she die? Are you sure?”

“The whole of Mandrake was heated to more than three thousand degrees by a direct hit from a teraton bomb. It became a ball of bubbling magma. I have myself seen those images.” Bat paused. “May I anticipate your next question? You are going to ask me, am I sure that Nadeen Selassie was on Mandrake at the time.”

“You got it.”

“I have no direct evidence for that fact. Nor, however, do I see reason to doubt it.”

“Well, sit tight, Fat Boy, because I’m going to give you a reason. I’ve been wandering the new data banks, the places nobody else bothers to go. There’s thousands of them, little stashes of information that were totally isolated before the Seine. I located a bank from one of the Amor class of asteroids, the ones that cross the orbits of both Earth and Mars. This asteroid was — and is — called Heraldic, and it had a little colony on it at the time of the Great War. Although it belonged to the Belt it wasn’t important enough for Earth to hit, so it wasn’t touched by any weapons at all. That didn’t do much for the people living there, because they weren’t self-supporting and afterwards the supply systems got totally screwed up. Everyone was starving to death. So they all took off.”

“To go where?”

“Not clear. According to the files left behind on Heraldic they were headed for the Callisto rehab camps, but I found no evidence they ever made it. If they did, they never wrote home. The Heraldic data bank sat abandoned and ignored until the Seine remotes went in a few months ago, set up the connectors, and hooked it into the general base.”