The Forgotten Faction

[OldCodger]

CHAPTER 15 - Was That Me I Just Passed in the Hallway?

Melvin Higgins was tired. Again. In fact, he couldn't remember a time when he wasn't tired. He was also getting homesick. The Higgins family hadn't been back to their original homestead in at least a couple of months. New Nashville was a nice town and everything, but it wasn't home. At least he had had enough sense to have Beauregard the Wonder Dog brought to New Nashville. Beauregard the Wonder Dog was a sorry excuse for a hound dog, but Melvin was rather fond of him anyway.

The month or so prior to the "battle" with the Usurpers had been extremely busy with the fundamental issue of survival. The month following the battle had been just as busy, only this time with the issues of organization, repatriation, repair, and more organization. It never seemed to end.

It would be easier and more productive to grab handfuls of air.

What Melvin wanted to do was to go home, sleep for six solid days, and then go fishing in the lake not far from his back door. What Melvin was going to do was stay right where he was and try to get this situation sorted out and get things put back the way they ought to be. It didn't help Melvin much to come to the profound realization that his own people were just about as ornery, opinionated, and downright uncooperative as Progenitors.

The Hillbillies decided to keep all the stuff they got from the Usurpers. Sending all that weaponry back would have been tantamount to committing suicide. What had worked once to stop them would likely never work again, especially now that the Progenitors had some idea of what had been done to them.

The Hillbillies also decided not to keep the Usurpers. That would have been tantamount to committing stupidity. The Usurpers were ugly, they smelled bad, and the Hillbillies couldn't afford to feed them had they decided to keep them. So they decided to send them back, but not all at once. The trust level with Conqueror Marr was not particularly high. Instead, they were sending Progenitors back in frequent, small bunches.

Of course, in deciding to keep all the Usurper weaponry, the Hillbillies were going to have to figure out how it worked. For this purpose, they were relying on the skills of the Mombassa twins, their assistant, Andrew Jasonian, and Wallace Higgins.

The Mombassa twins, Irene and Nathan, were the closest thing the Hillbillies had to scientific researchers. For Irene and Nathan, access to all this new technology was equivalent to a major gold strike. They were as happy as two bugs in a rug takin' a chug from a jug. However, they needed competent help; something in precipitously short supply in New Appalachia. This is where Andrew and Wallace came in.

Andrew Jasonian had considerable technical skill and an extreme amount of patience. Both were needed to survive in the same environment as the Mombassa twins. Wallace Higgins also had some innate technical ability and, on an almost instinctive level, seemed to have an understanding of how Progenitors thought. Working together, Andrew and Wallace were able to figure out how all sorts of different Progenitor systems worked. This was seen as the first step to figuring out what principles and physical laws were used in their construction. The latter part was the strength of the Mombassa twins.

Having spent a couple of months in close proximity to each other, Andrew Jasonian and Wallace Higgins had no choice but to either become good friends or really come to detest each other. They choose to become friends. Spending so much time working together, Wallace learned a few things about his new friend.

Andrew Jasonian was twenty-nine years old and the son of Free Drone refugees. He had been a small child when his family had fled Drone Central ahead of the Usurper invasion. He didn't remember much about it, but had no sympathy for the Usurpers. Andrew was slightly above average in height, a little on the slender side, fairly attractive, and definitely above average in intelligence. He was also painfully shy around women. This is how he managed to achieve his current state of old bachelorhood among a people that didn't have much problem with marryin' young. Andrew had actually had a crush on Irene Mombassa for quite a while, but Irene was either so wrapped up in her work that she either failed to notice or chose not to notice. This, coupled with Andrew's shyness, pretty much guaranteed that no relationship between the two was likely to develop in the near future.

Melvin and Sarah Higgins had an instinctive liking for Andrew Jasonian. In their opinion, he was a fine young man and a good choice for a friend for Wallace, even though he was more than ten years older than Wallace. There was, however, one aspect to the friendship between Andrew and Wallace that both Melvin and Sarah found annoying. Wallace and Andrew had learned to talk in that absolutely irritating mode of communication used by the Mombassa twins, "full-duplex communication".

A typical conversation between the two went something like this:

"…so, if we can trace that power cable…"

"…back to the coupler…"

"…we can tie in another actuator…"

"…and bypass the master control panel…"

"…and bring the sensor array…"

"…back online and then…"

"…cross-couple it to the weapons system…"

"…and increase accuracy and rate-of-fire…"

"…by at least 40 percent…"

"…and bring the stereo system online to boot!"

Worse, all of this was said at about 150 kilometers per hour. The unique language of techo-nerds was difficult enough to follow. When spoken at high rates of speed it was even worse. When one had no idea who said what to whom, it became impossible.

And they did this every night at dinner. Occasionally, Melvin and Sarah were able to slow the conversation down and steer it off to something they could understand. Once the conversation was moved to non-technical topics, Wallace and Andrew resumed more normal modes of communication.

The other thing that Melvin Higgins found interesting at first, and maybe somewhat suspicious shortly after, was the new-found popularity of the Hillbillies with other human factions. Not too long after the "battle" with the Usurpers, emissaries and representatives from the various factions began to show up bearing small gifts and trying to arrange a meeting between Melvin Higgins and the leader of their faction.

At first, Melvin was kind of flattered at all the attention. Then he started thinking about it and started getting more suspicious. One evening after dinner, the Higgins family and Andrew were sitting around relaxing a bit before going to bed--or "hittin' the rack" as they sometimes called it--and Melvin mentioned that he was a bit suspicious of all this sudden attention. Wallace asked him why.

Melvin thought for a moment and then replied, "Our folks have been on Planet since planetfall and have been right here in these hills for over 160 years, and nary a time has anyone wanted to have anything to do with us. We've had a few folks move into these hills from time to time--like them poor folks from the Hive or refugees from the Free Drones like Andrew's folks. But nobody ever knew we were here or never cared one way or the other. Then, we were simply in ever'body's way. The Spartans wanted to go whoop the Usurpers. The Usurpers wanted to go whoop the Spartans and everybody else. Both of 'em had to go through us to get to the others. Everybody pretty much figgered we was of no account anyway and they could do whatever they wanted whenever they wanted.

"Now, we got new industry and new stores comin' in and everybody wants to be our friend, and that bothers me considerably."

Wallace thought about that for a moment and then asked, "Why is that so bad? Don't you reckon we could use a few friends?"

Melvin looked back at his son and answered softly, "First, they're here because they all want somethin'. I reckon its that Usurper technology we captured. Being friends don't bother me none. It's the price they'll be wantin' us to pay that worries me."

* * * * *

A couple of days later, Melvin received a visit from a business representative of the University of Planet, offering to give the Hillbillies some sort of contraption called a "network node". Melvin Higgins had no idea was that was or what one actually did with a network node, so he made the critical error of asking. The representative went off onto some long-winded description of what a network node was, what wonderful things it could do, and how if they liked the one they were given, the Hillbillies would be able to buy three or four more at a reduced price.

Melvin Higgins wondered if this guy was somehow related to Uncle Willard.

When the sales geek mentioned something about "data storage" and "organizing research information", Melvin saw a way out of this obnoxious monologue short of simply killing this guy. He sent the salesman to see the Mombassa twins.

The Mombassa twins seem to have a better understanding of what a network node could do for them. The fact that such a powerful tool would be given to them for free was a powerful inducement. To sweeten the deal even more, the sales representative invited them to visit the manufacturing center where they would be instructed in the proper use and maintenance of the network node. The sales rep even invited Andrew and Wallace along. The deal was too sweet to pass up. Three weeks later, the first network node in New Appalachia was installed in New Nashville and the Mombassa twins were loading their research into the research database for further analysis. They were terribly excited and happy with the new network node.

At University Base, so was Proctor Zhakarov.

* * * * *

While Wallace, Andrew, and the Mombassa twins were away learning about the network node, Melvin Higgins received the strangest human emissary he had received up to this point. The emissary was a woman who claimed to be the Herald of the Prophet Cha Dawn.

In some ways the woman was not too unusual. She was of average height and weight and appeared to be in her mid-thirties. However, in many ways she was truly strange. She wore a pink tunic of some kind of fabric that Melvin Higgins had never seen before. It was beautiful and almost glowed when seen in natural sunlight. The woman's hair was arranged in an unusual fashion as well. The part of her scalp immediately above her forehead and her ears had been shaved. However, the rest of her hair was rather long and woven into a single "cable" that reached up above the top of her head for maybe 20 centimeters--about eight inches--and then sprayed out like a fountain of raven black water where it cascaded gently down to her shoulders and slightly below. The visual effect was unusual, but rather stunning.

As strange as her physical appearance had been, the woman's behavior was even stranger. The Herald refused to sit and radiated a cold arrogance. She announced that the Prophet Cha Dawn and the Advocate, along with various others, would be arriving in New Nashville in one month. Suitable accommodations were to be built according to rigorous specifications to be provided immediately after the meeting.

Melvin Higgins was genuinely surprised by her behavior. She was not asking, requesting, or suggesting anything. She was dictating and demanding this meeting and these accommodations. Melvin Higgins was a patient and peaceful man who really wanted to get along with most folks, but he wasn't going to take this kind of talk from anybody.

Melvin Higgins realized that the woman was standing so that she could speak from a position of strength and dominance, so he decided to stand also. He paused for a moment, looked down at the woman and said, "That ain't happenin'. We will not be building anything for anybody. Furthermore, I don't like your arrogant attitude. I don't know who you are or much care who you think you are, but you will treat us with respect or you will leave. The choice is yours."

Now it was the Herald's turn to be shocked. She was the representative of the Prophet, the Voice of Planet. To address her in this way was to address the one she represented in this way. Nobody addressed the Prophet in this way. Cha Dawn would not be pleased. Nevertheless, her instructions were to arrange this meeting at all costs. She had been explicitly told that pride and honor were secondary to the mission. She paused for a moment and then swallowed. Then she began to speak again.

"I apologize for the offense. I meant no disrespect. We are not skilled in matters of diplomacy and therefore are inclined to speak with great frankness, perhaps too frankly. Above all else, the Prophet Cha Dawn desires to meet with you. The Prophet believes that your people have a great destiny to fulfill and desires to help you fulfill it. If you are willing and able to meet with him in a month, he very much desires to do so. I will attempt to persuade him to accept whatever hospitality you can offer and arrange."

Now Melvin's disposition softened considerably. "I reckon that's okay. I'll meet with this feller in a month if'n that's what he wants. We'll try to arrange a place for him to stay. It won't be all that great cause we don't have all that much, but it will be clean and as comfortable as we can make it."

The Herald bowed her head slightly and said, "We are honored by your hospitality. I will contact the Prophet to arrange his arrival and will remain here to help you prepare. I am at your service until the Prophet arrives."

* * * * *

Later that evening, the Herald contacted Cha Dawn and made her report. She was somewhat surprised that the Prophet accepted the arrangement so willingly. He did not appear to be angered and, in fact, he seemed rather pleased. Once again, she thought that the Prophet was a most puzzling man.

After terminating communications with his Herald, Cha Dawn was in fact extremely pleased. He smiled slightly to himself. He probably should feel guilty for what he had done to the Herald. He had deliberately and subtly prepped her to be very confrontational and then to be completely dominant if the situation permitted, or apologetic if the situation required it. But he did not feel guilty, not in the slightest. Her obvious discomfort aside, the greater goal had been achieved; he had his meeting and on terms of his own dictation. Plus, he would be the first to meet with this new leader. It was the position of preeminence and would give him strength.

"So," thought Cha Dawn, "the leader of these people has some backbone. I had hoped he would. This will prove to be most useful."

The Prophet Cha Dawn was most pleased, most pleased indeed.

[OldCodger]

CHAPTER 16 - While You are Plannin', Plan on My Leavin'

Paula Forbes knew she had to get out of Morgan Industrial.

This was the governing focus of her existence and there were several good reasons why this was so. First, her job in the recycling tanks stank, both literally and metaphorically. Her boss was an incurable, festering boil on the hind-end of her existence. Her work crew wasn't much better. Paula had taken to watching the various business reports on Morgan News Network to look for information on what the Morganites were doing to the Hillbillies. Morganites loved profit and loss statements and projections. They also loved investing in the latest hot, trendy stocks. The weekly business report on MNN showed that J-Mart profit and growth was right on track. Morgan Mining was also doing quite well. Paula knew what the projections actually meant. They meant that CEO Morgan was right on track to enslave the population of New Appalachia. It would take two or three years to accomplish, but the outcome was inevitable.

It is said that if one puts a frog in a pan of hot water, it will make an effort to get out and save itself. However, if one places that same frog in a pan of cold water, and slowly increases the heat, the frog will allow itself to be slow-cooked to death. This is what the Morganites were doing to the Hillbillies. Paula knew this and also had some ideas on how to fight back.

This was the second reason Paula had to get out of Morgan Industrial. She felt morally compelled to warn the Hillbillies about what was being done to them. This had to be stopped.

The third reason Paula had to get out of town was because she was tired of training third-rate probe teams on the art of covert surveillance. These clowns were so bad they couldn't spy on a blind person without being seen.

Every couple of weeks or so, the probe team was changed. It was the exchange of one batch of incompetents for another batch. Worse, the so-called "veteran" probe team never actually got any better at covert surveillance. They were just as easy to identify at the end of their shift as they had been at the beginning.

Paula Forbes decided that what she needed was a predictable, repetitive pattern that offered an opportunity to escape surveillance for a brief period of time. She needed to do this pattern on a regular basis, but insure that surveillance was always resumed at the end of the period. She could then use this at some opportune time to skip out of town and use the time period to gain a head start on pursuit. She knew it would take a while for pursuit to get organized, but they would bring in the "big boys" to hunt her down.

She also needed a safe destination, someplace she could flee to that Morgan would have difficulty reaching her. Her best option for that was to head to New Appalachia, but that would be watched once she was identified as missing. It was still her best bet however.

Finally, she would need supplies. She would need some way to prepare supplies of some sort--at this point she had no idea what she really needed--and then stash them in places where she could quickly get to them on the way out of town. While she was doing all this, the probe teams would be watching. Even these idiots might eventually figure out that she was up to something if she was not very careful.

For now, Paula Forbes had a strategy. Next, she needed a plan.

* * * * *

Proctor Zhakarov was pleased by the initial results of his espionage research teams. The network node he had so graciously given to the Hillbillies was being put to good use. He was actually mildly impressed at how quickly the Hillbillies had learned to use the network node. Whoever was using the node had developed a couple of unique ways to store, correlate, and analyze information that he had never thought of doing. Proctor Zhakarov saw the opportunity to publish three or possibly four interesting papers on the subject.

Even more important, the research efforts of the University of Planet were making good use of the new information source. Of course, normal researchers were not aware of the actual source of the new information; to do so would have violated operational security. They were simply given access to "newly published" papers, and then left to use the information in whatever way they saw fit.

Information gathering efforts would be further improved if two additional things were accomplished. First, Zhakarov had to convince the Hillbillies to purchase three or four more network nodes. Perhaps he should reduce the price a bit more. Second, the covert link between University Base and New Nashville needed to be legitimized in some fashion so the bandwidth could be increased. This would allow them to absorb more information more quickly.

Proctor Zhakarov did not realize it yet, but his own greed for information and technology was about to become the source of his own undoing.

* * * * *

Prime Function Aki Zeta 5 was as pleased as a Cyborg could be, which really wasn't all that much by normal human standards, but was considerable by the cold, emotionless standards of the Consciousness. The Merging of the Consciousness had been efficient and productive. The analysis had been performed correctly, and logical conclusions had been reached. Based on these conclusions, a feasible plan had been developed.

Prime Function Aki Zeta 5 was going to New Appalachia.

Arrangements would be made for her and a large staff to journey to New Appalachia for the purposes of negotiating with the newly discovered and technically powerful faction that resided there. The current projection was that there was a 87.4356 percent chance that a Pact could be achieved. However, that would not be the sole focus of their efforts. Even more important, the Consciousness wanted to incorporate several members of the Hillbilly faction into the Algorithm; preferably very important members. The current projection was that there was a 56.7852 percent chance of success in this endeavor.

These were not the best odds, but were quite acceptable and worth the risk given the current projection that there was a 92.0735 percent chance that the Consciousness would fall to the Manifold Caretakers unless something significant was done to alter that outcome. A pact would help, but incorporation of the faction's leadership into the algorithm would be even better.

There was no projection to account for the fact that this was the worst possible outcome that the Consciousness could possibly hope for.

* * * * *

Guardian H'minee was very excited. A priority meeting had been arranged by the Lord of Intelligence and the Lord of Research to discuss recent findings. She anticipated that they had good news to report.

Getting these two Lords to work together had been enormously difficult. Progenitors tended to be rather territorial and had enormous egos. Each Lord regarded the other as a rival and thus it ran counter to their nature to try to cooperate. It had taken much cajoling and the direst of threats to overcome instinct. But it had been successful and now maybe it had paid off.

These two Lords were addressing the problem of what kind of mind control device had been used on the Usurpers and then would try to develop some sort of countermeasure. The reason Guardian H'minee needed them to work together is because neither of them possessed the skills to do the work alone. The Lord of Intelligence was needed to get concise information out of various contacts within the Usurpers about what exactly happened. The Lord of Research was needed to decipher the technology and then devise countermeasures if possible.

As the council gathered, Guardian H'minee could sense the excitement in the auras of the two Lords underneath the veneer of calm. This was very good; they had something favorable to report. The meeting was opened by the Lord of Intelligence.

"Summation: Good News. Problem: Mind Control Technique. Mechanism: Understood. Details: Follow."

The Lord of Intelligence then gave a detailed briefing of what form of mind control device had been used to subvert Usurper military forces. In human terms, he explained that a signal had been generated by the humans that had in turn been received by the communications consoles of each rover or other piece of equipment used by the Usurper Battlegroups. When the signal was altered out to the Progenitors, it contained a particular form of dissonance that the Progenitor ability to resonate was particularly sensitive to. At this point, the Lord of Intelligence handed the briefing over to the Lord of Research.

"Dissonant effect: Cerebral disassociation. Rational Capacity: Diminished. Basic Instincts: Increased. Immediate Result: Turmoil. Continued exposure: Unconsciousness."

Unlike the human hemispheric brain, the Progenitor brain was tri-spheric. The effect of the dissonance on the Progenitor brain was to disassociate the three major lobes, severely reducing the capacity for rational thought and behavioral controls and response. The net effect was that the affected Progenitor yielded to more instinctive personality traits that were no longer controlled or restrained. Since rational judgement was severely impaired and personality traits varied so widely, the net result was turmoil and chaos within the otherwise highly disciplined Usurper military forces. Continued exposure would eventually cause the affected Progenitor to become unconscious.

Guardian H'minee was getting excited. This was good news indeed. The Caretakers understood the mind control device. Only one thing could possibly make the news even better. So she asked.

"Query: Countermeasures?"

If countermeasures were possible, this would open up a range of strategic and tactical alternatives. The Lord of Research smiled, a thing that is difficult for Progenitors to do and looks rather gruesome.

"Response: Affirmative. Countermeasure: Filtration system. Cost: Negligible. Installation: Trivial."

Had Guardian H'minee been a human, the irony of the situation would have made her laugh. A filter could be added to the communications system to filter out the dissonance that had such a strange effect on Progenitors. The filter was cheap and easy to install. The Manifold Caretakers would not succumb to the mind control device used on the Usurpers.

One of the other council Lords seized on this and asked a general question.

"Usurpers: Subjugated. Query: Provide filtration?"

That was something to think about. The human faction in New Appalachia had subjugated the Usurpers. If the Usurpers were given the information about the mind control device, they might be able to rebel and throw off the human yoke. This would have a considerable impact on the balance of power on Chiron.

Guardian H'minee thought hard for a long moment about that possibility. Then she asked a question.

"Response: From Lord of Research. Query: Time frame for new technology. Technology: Subspace beacons."

The Lord of Research responded.

"Progress: Considerable. Completion: Estimate six months."

As far as Guardian H'minee was concerned, that was the deciding factor. The Usurpers may have been Progenitors and therefore their subjugation to humans was regrettable. However, in about six months the Caretakers would have the technology to begin the construction of subspace beacons. Once those were completed, they would be able to summon a Progenitor fleet to come to Manifold Six and deal with these humans that spread like a heat rash across the planet. It was imperative that the arriving Progenitor fleet be a Caretaker fleet and not a Usurper fleet. Otherwise, the Manifold experiment would be bent to their ignorant purposes. This could not be permitted. In their current situation, the Usurpers could do nothing. If freed, they could resume the vendetta with the Caretakers--which would be disruptive and bad--or they could obtain the technology for the subspace beacon themselves and use it to summon their own fleet--which would be even worse. Their warlike nature got them into the kettle; let the Usurpers stew in their own juices. Guardian H'minee made her decision.

"Beneficiary: Usurpers. Countermeasure: Not Shared. Result: Continued Subjugation."

Let the Usurpers rot in the cesspool of their own construction.

* * * * *

Melvin Higgins longed for the good ol' days when he could sit on his front porch in his rockin' chair with his faithful dog at his side, or maybe do a little huntin' or fishin'. Or just sit with Sarah and talk a bit.

Diplomacy and political intrigue were driving him nuts.

The truth is that Melvin Higgins was in over his head. The various factions had been at these kinds of games for decades and were quite skilled at the various forms of manipulation and inducement. He was just learning about all that. An outsider might be impressed at how quickly he was learning, but he was still far behind his peers.

Melvin Higgins was doing a lot of "reacting" and doing nothing of his own initiative, and it bothered him considerably. He was reasonably certain that the Herald of the Voice of Planet had manipulated him into doing something of the Prophet's own choosing and desire. That bothered him. The fact that Cha Dawn and his followers referred to Cha Dawn as The Prophet bothered him as well. It sounded arrogant and self-important to Melvin, and would mean that this Cha Dawn feller was going to be hard to deal with.

When he got done seeing Cha Dawn, Melvin was going to meet Prime Function Aki Zeta 5. Apparently, this was a young lady who was head of something called the Cybernetic Consciousness. Melvin had no idea what that was, but their ambassador looked awfully strange with all those metal parts attached his head. Melvin had no idea what a "Prime Function" was either. They were very polite, but Melvin could sense that they wanted something and he suspected he would end up being rather reluctant to give it to them.

As far as the Morganites were concerned, they were excessively preoccupied with business. They kept wanting to negotiate for new mining locations and new places to put up their J-Mart stores. Melvin had to admit that the J-Mart stores were pretty popular. They brought in a lot of things that folks had never seen or had before and made it real easy for folks to buy them. Sarah had recently redone their bedroom with a new bedspread, comforter, and matching curtains from J-Mart's Melba Stewart Collection. Melvin had to admit that the bedroom looked nice. Those new holovision contraptions were pretty nifty too, except Melvin never had time to actually sit and watch it very much.

Still, Melvin Higgins didn't trust those Morganites. He didn't exactly know why, but he thought they were up to something. They were way too pushy about things to suit him.

On the other hand, those folks from the University of Planet had him between the rock and the hard place. They were trying to sell him three or four more network nodes and wanted to tie the Hillbilly network directly to their network. They had even dropped the price quite a bit. Worse, they had allies in the Mombassa twins. Irene and Nathan Mombassa loved their network node and all of its many capabilities that Melvin couldn't understand. Even Wallace liked the network node real well. How was Melvin supposed to say "no" in the face of that kind of dual pressure? Of course, it would mean developing some kind of taxation structure to pay for it and Melvin knew that the Hillbillies would collectively hit the roof on that one. The Hillbillies didn't cotton to too much control to begin with, and taxes were not even seen as a "necessary evil". They didn't have much to begin with and things were only now starting to improve now that folks were getting jobs in Morganite mines.

The only ambassador that Melvin had actually warmed to was the ambassador from the Lord's Believers. This ambassador seemed to be very open about his faction and its leader, known as Sister Miriam Godwinson. As their name suggested, they were predominantly a religious faction. However, their ambassador suggested that the Believers and the Hillbillies had much in common. The ambassador proposed that the Believers and the Hillbillies get to know each other via a cultural exchange. It took a little bit for Melvin to understand what that meant, but basically it seemed to mean that artists, students, public speakers, etc., from the Believers would come to New Appalachia to discuss and demonstrate their culture while some folks from New Appalachia went to the Believer's territory and did the same for Hillbilly culture.

That certainly sounded easy enough and would allow Melvin Higgins to solve an annoying problem. Melvin Higgins, and many others who had been involved in dealing with them alien fellers, were thoroughly sick and tired of the Appalachian Sweethearts. Melvin knew it wasn't their fault, but all that continual exposure to their music in the month or so prior to the attempted invasion by the Usurpers had worn him out. Even the most recent release by the Appalachian Sweethearts had not done well, and it would have been an absolute "scorcher" six months ago. Melvin decided that if he could talk the Appalachian Sweethearts into going to New Jerusalem, it would do both them and the Hillbillies a world of good.

The only thing that bothered Melvin Higgins about this was that the ambassador for the Believers seemed way too pleased with the arrangement.

[OldCodger]

CHAPTER 17 -- How Much is That Weirdo in the Window?

Melvin and Sarah Higgins were as nervous and excited as they could be. The leader of one of Chiron's many human factions would be arriving later in the day. This would be their very first such visitor. Melvin still didn't know quite what to make of all this. The Herald of the Voice had started out arrogant and demanding, and then ended up being unusually cordial and cooperative. From what Melvin could figure, the Prophet of the Voice of Planet seemed to be somewhat pushy and demanding, and so Melvin was quite concerned about how to deal with this fellow.

Sarah Higgins was concerned that everything looked its best for the arrival of Cha Dawn. The Hillbillies didn't have much, but they wanted to offer their very best to this rather mysterious individual. She hoped it would be good enough and it would be well received.

The Herald would provide no descriptive information about the Prophet. They had no idea how tall or short he was, what his skin color was, what he liked or disliked, or any other detail about him other than the fact that he was male. Thus, one can imagine the Higgins' shock when they first encountered Cha Dawn.

* * * * *

The arrival of Cha Dawn had been scheduled for the middle of the afternoon. According to the schedule, there would be an official greeting ceremony, following which the Prophet and his entourage would be shown to their accommodations. Later that evening, there would be an official state dinner. Other discussions were to be held at various times over the course of the next week. The goal or outcome of these discussions was not stated, but apparently the Hillbillies and the Children of the Voice were supposed to wind up feeling good about each other or something like that.

The greeting ceremony was started on time; Cha Dawn believed that a lack of punctuality was the sign of an undisciplined character and refused to be late. Melvin and Sarah Higgins stood at the front of a small auditorium associated with a school in New Nashville. Several people who were either regarded as important functionaries or simply regarded themselves as such sat in the chairs in the auditorium. Everyone was pretty excited to meet such an important individual.

The Herald of the Voice of Planet entered the door at the other end of the auditorium. After their initial meeting with the Herald, the Herald had worn much plainer clothes for work. Now, she wore her radiant, pink robe made of mindworm silk, and had her hair done up in the "fountain" that she wore for official occasions. She was rather stunning looking. She walked up the center aisle about one fourth of distance to the front and then stopped. She paused for a moment and then began to speak.

"I am Herald for the Voice of Planet, the Prophet Cha Dawn. He arrives bringing you greetings from the Children of the Voice. He is accompanied by the Advocate of the People and born by the Sarim."

Earlier the Herald had explained that the Advocate of the People was a highly respected and honored role among the Children of the Voice, so Melvin was aware that this was an important individual. The Herald had been instructed to not tell Melvin the role the Advocate would play in these negotiations. The Herald had also told Melvin that the Prophet Cha Dawn would arrive sitting on a small platform that would in turn be carried by four individuals known as the Sarim, or special servants of the Prophet. Again, the fact that the Sarim were among the largest, strongest-looking, and most handsome males of the Cult of Planet was not mentioned.

The knowledge given and the knowledge withheld were both very deliberate. The intent had been to achieve advantage over the leader of Hillbillies through surprise and discomfort. It pretty much worked as planned.

Following the announcement by the Herald, the Advocate entered, followed by four large males bearing a sedan on two poles. The Prophet Cha Dawn sat in the lotus position on a pillow in the middle of the sedan, radiating a cold arrogance. This both looked impressive and placed the Prophet above everyone else--which happened to be the entire point of the entrance.

Had Melvin Higgins ever attended a meeting of the Planetary Council, he would have recognized this as the standard entrance of the Prophet Cha Dawn. Over time, he would have come to understand that this was simply the posturing of the leader of a faction that amounted to very little of importance. Like the other faction leaders, he would have smiled indulgently at the gesture and then gone on about business as usual. Unfortunately, Melvin Higgins did not have that luxury and so fell somewhat under the spell of Cha Dawn's entrance.

Melvin Higgins was not the only faction leader to be surprised however. Cha Dawn had anticipated a certain amount of surprise at his entrance, and that was certainly achieved. However, there was something else going through the minds of the audience, something Cha Dawn had never encountered. As Cha Dawn approached the front of the auditorium, he could see this emotion most strongly on the face of Sarah Higgins, though others were showing it as well, even that buffoon Melvin Higgins was showing it a little bit.

Over the years, Cha Dawn had learned to recognize the various types of reactions he typically received. From his own followers, there was a mixture of fear and reverence. CEO Morgan looked at him as if he were a minor irritant. Santiago looked at him like an annoying insect to be crushed, but one that she feared because of its sting (The Spartans were highly fearful of mindworms). Dierdre Skye had looked at him with mild disdain. Prime Function Aki Zeta 5 looked at him like a strange puzzle to be solved. Miriam Godwinson looked at him with complete loathing and contempt. Only Chairman Yang appeared impassive and unreadable. But Chairman Yang was long gone. Cha Dawn had encountered all of these before and none of these were what he was seeing on the faces of the Hillbillies. In fact, their reaction was so unexpected that it surprised Cha Dawn once he finally recognized it.

It was pity.

Of course, Cha Dawn did not show his own reaction in any visible way. Still, their reaction puzzled him greatly.

Cha Dawn's entourage slowly moved to the front of the auditorium, and then stopped just in front of Melvin and Sarah Higgins. The two Higgins were outnumbered and visibly surrounded by larger people. Again, this had been deliberately done by Cha Dawn. Melvin Higgins looked up at Cha Dawn and began to speak.

"On behalf of the folks of New Appalachia, we would like to..."

The Advocate quickly and rudely interrupted and said, "You do not speak directly to the Voice. You are not of the Children of the Voice and therefore are not permitted to address the Voice of Planet. You will address me instead."

Melvin Higgins was shocked both by the interruption and its rudeness. He paused for a moment and thought about it. Why hadn't the Herald told him about this? Obviously she should have known. Then he realized that he had been set up. They had deliberately done this to him. Obviously, these were folks who wanted to play games. Very well, thought Melvin. He would play too, but do it his way.

Cha Dawn saw the flash of surprise on the face of Melvin Higgins, followed by a moment of brief annoyance, and then a moment of reflection.

Melvin paused for a moment and then began to speak again, this time addressing the Advocate.

"Very well. On behalf of the folks of New Appalachia, we welcome the Prophet Cha Dawn to New Nashville. We hope that the discussions that will follow in the week to come will prove fruitful and beneficial to both our peoples."

Now it was the Advocate's turn to be annoyed. The Advocate responded.

"You have broken protocol, yet you do not apologize for the offense. How can the Prophet honor your welcome?"

Melvin responded. "Your Herald knew the appropriate means of address, but didn't tell me. The fault is either hers or you set me up. Therefore, she can apologize or you can apologize to yourselves; I don't care which. Now I will tell you--and notice that I said "tell"; this is not a discussion or request. Now I will tell you how things will be. You insisted on this meeting and I have granted the opportunity. And you have tried to provoke me on at least two occasions. I am tired of playin' your silly games. You can either enter into these discussions in honesty and good faith, or git yourselves on outta here an' git on back home."

The madder Melvin got, the thicker his native accent reasserted itself. He was now plenty mad and his accent was getting equally thick.

Melvin's response was not what they expected. They had attempted to gain the diplomatic "upper hand" by forcing an apology. Instead, they got the insult tossed right back in their faces, and in a way that made them look bad. The Advocate was not prepared to deal with this, so he turned and looked at Cha Dawn. Cha Dawn sat impassively as if he were completely unaware of what had just transpired. The Advocate turned to Melvin again and spoke.

"Very well. We accept your welcome. It is, of course, our intent to do as you requested and enter into these discussions in honesty and good faith. We believe we have something of benefit to offer you and that you in turn have things of benefit to offer us. You have a great destiny to fulfill on Planet. We desire to help you fulfill it."

The fact that the Advocate had not apologized and had used the word "requested" was not lost on Melvin. He thought for a moment about pressing the Advocate a bit harder, but then decided against it. He understood that the real root cause here was Cha Dawn. He also understood what made Cha Dawn behave that way. Even more, he knew exactly what to do about it. So, instead of making further issue out of things, he opted instead to be cordial. He would start fixin' things with the evening's state dinner.

Melvin said, "Your trip here has been long and tiring. Allow us to show you to your accommodations so that you can rest a bit. Then, you are all invited to join us for dinner at eight o'clock this evening."

Melvin had a sudden, inspired thought. He grinned a bit and then turned to Billy Joe Maynard and said, "Billy Joe, would you and your brothers care to escort these folks to their rooms?" Sarah Higgins knew immediately what her husband had done and she started grinnin'. Billy Joe Maynard and the other five Maynard boys grinned and stood up. They had been wantin' to see how they sized up next to those four fellers carryin' the little feller. The Sarim were impressive specimens, but the shortest Maynard boy stood at least half a head taller than the largest of the Sarim. Plus, there were six Maynard boys and only four Sarim.

Both Cha Dawn and the Advocate knew what had just been done to them, and they didn't like it very much. The Hillbillies were showing them that they had some pretty sizeable guys of their own. Judging from the number of scuff marks and scars the Maynard boys carried, it appeared that they might know a thing or two about fighting. The appearance was entirely correct.

Sarah Higgins now asked the Advocate a question.

"How long has Cha Dawn been the Voice of Planet?"

The Advocate was a bit put out by everything, but did manage to make a cordial response. "The Prophet has been the Voice of Planet for over 35 years."

This caused Sarah Higgins to feel even sorrier for Cha Dawn than she had before.

As Cha Dawn and his entourage left the auditorium to go to their accomodations, Melvin turned to Sarah and whispered, "Imagine livin' in his condition for over 35 years. No wonder that little feller is so mean."

Sarah replied, "Poor little feller. You reckon we ought to help him? It seems like the right thing to do."

Melvin responded, "I reckon we should. Maybe you could change the menu for dinner tonight and get the cure started. Do you reckon we ought to tell him what we're plannin' to do?"

Sarah thought about that for a moment and then said, "I reckon not. We've never seen a case go on near that long and the cure may not work. Ain't no use gettin' his hopes up until we know for sure whether or not we can cure him. But if the cure works, Cha Dawn is gonna go through a whole passel of food. I'll see to it that we gather up what we need and get ready just in case the cure takes hold."

Melvin nodded his head and said, "I reckon you're right. Let's just git him started tonight and then see what happens. We should know soon enough if its gonna work."

Sarah nodded back at her husband and then turned once more to look toward the door Cha Dawn had just gone through. Sarah's eyes misted up a bit and she said, "Poor little feller."

* * * * *

The state dinner began promptly at eight o'clock. It was held in the same auditorium that had been used earlier for the arrival ceremony. Several long tables consisting of mostly of sawhorses and sheets of plywood had been set up and then covered with tablecloths. Many different styles of chairs had been set at the tables and the tables were set with baskets of wild flowers. The whole scene looked surprisingly nice and "homey".

The décor wasn't the only thing different for Cha Dawn. When the meal was served, it was served "family style" in large bowls and platters instead of on individual plates. The food appeared to be somewhat plain and simple, but there was also plenty of it.

Cha Dawn, the Advocate, and the Herald were seated at the same table as Melvin, Sarah, and Wallace Higgins, and Andrew Jasonian. Melvin and Sarah had rearranged the table settings so that the four Sarim were sitting at the same table as the six Maynard boys. There were several betting pools among the Hillbillies as to how long the dinner would last before an altercation broke out at the table with the Maynards and the Sarim. There were no betting pools about who would be the winner of the fight; the Hillbillies were supremely confident in their Maynard boys.

Out of courtesy, the Hillbillies first passed the various plates and bowls of food to their guests. Many of the dishes were not familiar to the Children of the Voice, so they asked what they were. They were told about black-eyed peas, squash, and cornbread, but the Children of the Voice recognized mashed potatoes and gravy and a few other dishes. Melvin passed a plate that contained several medium sized, battered, fried things on it about the size of large chicken nuggets. As the Advocate received the plate, he did not recognize the contents, so he asked, "What is this delightful looking dish called?"

Melvin answered, "Those are mountain oysters."

The Advocate replied, "Ah, these look wonderful. The Prophet Cha Dawn has always been particularly fond of sea food."

Wallace Higgins started to snicker, which in turn drew a sharp, stern glance from his father. The snicker turned into a sputter and then a cough. Then Wallace said, "Sorry. I must've got somethin' stuck in my throat."

The Prophet Cha Dawn did indeed enjoy mountain oysters, so much so that he ate three helpings. Sarah smiled to herself. This was a good sign. Maybe they could help this little feller after all.

* * * * *

After the dinner was completed and the Children of the Voice had retired for the evening, Andrew Jasonian had several questions, so he began to ask them.

"What in the world are mountain oysters? Those things were really good, but I never heard of them before."

Melvin Higgins smiled slightly and then answered, "Fried bull testicles."

Having consumed several "mountain oysters", Andrew Jasonian's face blanched. Then he asked, "Why would you serve something like that to Cha Dawn and everyone else? I know that's not what was originally on the menu. Why the change?"

Melvin looked and Sarah and nodded his head slightly. Sarah responded, "When folks first landed on Chiron, the environment wasn't as adapted for humans as it is now. One of the things it did was have a bad effect on some boys. As these boys grew, they would get to around the age of 12 or 13 and then it seemed like their bodies got stuck in early puberty. They couldn't seem to get past it and they tended to get mean and ornery. Finally, somebody accidentally discovered that these boys could be jump-started back into normal development by eatin' mountain oysters. There's some kind of hormone or somethin' that their bodies can't produce until the body gets a good jolt of it from the mountain oysters. Once they git started, they can develop to manhood at a pretty rapid pace depending on how long they were stuck to begin with.

"We don't see many cases of this illness nowadays. I reckon Planet has changed some plus we now know what to look for and how to cure it, so it don't last as long. We figgered that Cha Dawn had the same problem, but nobody recognized it for what it was. Human compassion dictates that we ought to try to help him if we can. Of course, we've never had a case of this go on for 35 years or so, so I don't reckon anybody really knows what will happen. If this works, he may eat everything that's not nailed down and may grow to full manhood in a real short time. We just don't know. But we really ought to help him if we can."

Andrew Jasonian nodded slightly at the news. Secretly, he vowed never to touch another mountain oyster as long as he lived.

* * * * *

The next morning, Cha Dawn awoke early as was his custom. He felt odd and was feeling absolutely famished. He also had a hankerin' for some more of those mountain oysters. He decided to make himself ready and then wander down to the kitchen to see if he could catch an early breakfast.

He went to the bathroom and turned on the light. He decided to wash his face a bit and then see if he could find something to eat. He was really starved. As he looked at himself in the mirror, he noticed something odd.

There were several little tiny hairs growing out of his chin.

He had never seen even the remotest sign of facial hair on himself before. This was very odd. However, he was really feeling woozy. He needed something to eat and could deal with his newly discovered hair situation later.

Cha Dawn hurried down to the kitchen and walked in. Somebody he did not recognize was busy cooking eggs. Bacon and biscuits and several other things he did not recognize were already setting on the counter. He saw another platter of mountain oysters. He violated protocol and asked the cook if he might have something to eat. She smiled at him and started fixing him a large plate.

Over the course of the next two hours, Cha Dawn ate fourteen eggs, one pound of bacon, sixteen biscuits, and the entire platter of mountain oysters. About an hour later, he had several more eggs and biscuits. After that, he barely made it to lunch time without starving to death.

Later that day, during afternoon vespers, Cha Dawn's voice cracked.

* * * * *

The transformation of Cha Dawn to adulthood took most of the next month. Under the circumstances, negotiations between the Hillbillies and the Cult of Planet were simply impossible. Nothing could interfere with Cha Dawn's meal schedule.

The month had been hard on Cha Dawn. He was constantly hungry and in much discomfort. Growing over 16 inches in a single month is hard on the body. However, the end result was rather pleasing.

Cha Dawn's growth had slowed somewhat, leaving him at a height of five feet, ten inches. He would probably grow three or four inches more. There was not a lot of flesh on his bones, but his frame would fill out some over the next several months. He now spoke with a beautiful baritone voice. Most importantly, most of the arrogance and meanness was gone out of him.

Cha Dawn and his entourage were getting ready to return to their own homeland. The scheduled negotiations had not taken place, but it didn't seem as important as it had been one month earlier. As Cha Dawn was ready to depart, he spoke to Melvin and Sarah Higgins. This was a clear violation of custom and protocol, but Cha Dawn had decided that it needed to be changed anyway.

Cha Dawn spoke, "As you may have been aware, my original intent on coming here was to force you into submission or at least force you into a pact that would amount to the same thing. Instead, you have given me a gift; you have made whole in me that which was incomplete, and I was not even aware of my own imperfection. Your generosity can never be adequately repaid.

"You have given me a great gift, and now I will give you a gift in return. I will give you knowledge.

"The Planet on which we live is not like the planet from which we came. Planet is a living entity in itself. It desires that life continues on itself, and welcomes the presence of all life, even human life. It has even adapted itself that we might live here more easily. Planet gives great gifts, but there is price to pay for these gifts. Planet is also remarkably fragile and cannot tolerate excessive abuse. To live here requires that we live in harmony with Planet. If we fail to do so, Planet will be forced to cleanse itself of our presence. In the past, you have lived in harmony with Planet and Planet has in turn welcomed you and nurtured you. Now, you jeopardize Planet's good will toward you.

"In spite of all their smooth talk and wealthy ways, the Morganites are not your friends. They have something in mind that they seek and it is not your benefit. I cannot see clearly what their final objective is, but I suspect is it similar to my own objective as of one month ago, your submission. Only the tools they use are different.

"Even worse than what the Morganites plan to do to you is what they plan to cause you to do to yourselves. They mine the hills and valleys of New Appalachia leaving poisoned heaps and tailings everywhere they've been. There are mineral deposits within their own borders. Why not mine those closer to home? Mines can be made to operate more cleanly and efficiently with less waste and pollution. Why not do so here? The answer is that they intend to rape and pollute the land and thus incur the wrath of Planet as it is forced to cleanse itself. The Morganites have seen this cleansing within their own borders, the huge demon boils of mindworms that attack and destroy those who would poison the surface of Planet. They have seen it and they fear it, but they will not operate in harmony with it nonetheless.

"You must find a way to remove the Morganites from their mines. We do not have the ability to help you directly in this, but you must find a way. We can teach you how to run your mines more efficiency and how to walk in harmony with Planet. The Gaians also possess this knowledge as well.

"There is one other thing that we will teach you. This is a knowledge that only we possess, but may prove useful in your conflict with the Morganites. We will teach you the secret of making silk from the Shana-Kree, the mindworms. You in turn must guard this knowledge carefully and share it with no one else.

"Finally, as long as your people and our people exist, the Children of the Voice offer their deepest friendship to the people of New Appalachia. May you prosper and grow and may Planet continue to welcome and nurture you. If you ever need the aid of friends, we would be honored to be the first to come to your assistance.

"Planet has spoken."

[OldCodger]

CHAPTER 18 - Never Play Checkers With a Cheater

The bass player, the drummer, and one of the roadies of the Appalachian Sweethearts were holding the gasping, struggling form of Anna Maria Theresa Lopez, that they had just barely succeeded in prying off the body of the lead singer for the Appalachian Sweethearts, Barbie Mattel. The lead singer was being held by the two guitar players.

Barbie Mattel didn't look so good. She had several scratches on her face and what looked like a set of teeth marks on her left shoulder. There was a large welt on the bridge of her nose that was going to turn into a prominent bruise. She was also missing a large shank of her platinum blond hair. The missing shank of hair was firmly in the grasp of the right hand of Anna Maria Theresa Lopez.

For her part, Anna Maria Theresa Lopez didn't look all that good either. She had a blackened left eye and one of her favorite blouses was badly torn and ruined. Still, what made her the maddest was that the bass player, drummer, and one of the roadies had interrupted her "education" of Barbie Mattel. And she was winning to boot.

The Appalachian Sweethearts were in trouble, really big trouble.

Worse, the Appalachian Sweethearts knew they were trouble, but they had no idea why.

Things had been going really well for the Appalachian Sweethearts. Everybody loved their songs. Their songs were popular on the radio station and people who had record players were buying copies as fast as they could be printed. The Appalachian Sweethearts had been frequent and popular guests at the Grand Ol' Hee-Haw House in New Nashville.

That was then; this is now. Record sales and guest appearances all seemed to decline shortly after that fuss with them alien fellers, the Manifold Usurpers. Apparently, the music of the Appalachian Sweethearts had been involved in that somehow, but nobody was rightly sure how. However that had happened, a lot of folks didn't seem real inclined to want to hear any more from the Appalachian Sweethearts, and it was starting to have a "negative effect" on the group.

The Appalachian Sweethearts were each very different individuals, but none of them were stupid. They understood the formula for their success. When things had started to go bad, they went back to their formula and cranked out what should have been a sure-fire hit in about three days. They knew it would be a hit because it had all the right elements and especially because of the fiddle solo. The fiddle solo had been an absolute scorcher. Anna Maria's right hand had moved the bow so fast, that it was a blur of motion gliding across the strings of her violin. She was covered in sweat by the time she was finished. It was nearly the first case of spontaneous violin combustion ever recorded in human history.

They were excited. This song would fix everything and put them back on top. The radio station would play it, the records would sell, and they would be back on the stage at the Grand Ol' Hee-Haw House in no time flat.

The song had been received with all of the public acclaim and fanfare typically reserved for the plop of a large "cow patty" in the middle of a pasture.

The lack of enthusiastic reception for their latest artistic effort had caused a sort of self-examination process to occur within the ranks of the Appalachian Sweethearts. Specifically, Barbie Mattel--who had always been somewhat envious of Anna Maria Theresa Lopez's reputation--had suggested that perhaps the fiddle solo had been somewhat deficient in quality. For her part, Anna Maria suggested that the singing had not been up to par and perhaps Barbie had been consuming a large quantity of mountain oysters and this was having an adverse impact on the quality of her vocals. Barbie Mattel then suggested that it would be beneficial if Anna Maria placed the bow of her fiddle in a location that normally receives no sunlight, at which point Anna Maria broke the bow of her fiddle across the bridge of Barbie Mattel's nose. Things became considerably more animated after that.

Barbie Mattel and Anna Maria Theresa Lopez began to engage in a ritual as old as the hills of Appalachia back on earth. The formal name for this ritual among the people of New Appalachia was a "cat fight". This particular form of altercation didn't occur that often--probably because the Maynards tended to have lots more boys than girls--but it was always a vivid spectacle when it did happen.

When two big, strong country gals had at it, there was lots of cussin', scratchin', bitin', rasslin', and hair pullin'. This particular incident would be remembered for years to come as a particularly fine example of this ritual. Unfortunately, the longer the ceremony lasted, the more likely the participants were to incur serious injury. Since both Anna Maria and Barbie were essential to the group, several of the other members reluctantly decided to intervene before serious injury could occur.

It took a bit of effort to quell the altercation, but eventually the two combatants were separated and, after a bit, started to calm down some. Members of the band had had other incidences of "creative differences" in the past--though Anna Maria and Barbie had never had "creative differences" before. As long as the total amount of blood shed was kept to under a gallon (about four liters), things would get patched up pretty quickly. This particular incident was well within the parameters for reconciliation.

While the "cat fight" had a definite cathartic effect, it still didn't solve the root problem. The Appalachian Sweethearts were in big trouble and they didn't like it much.

After a couple of days of non-physical discussion and brain-storming, they finally decided on a plan. They would do a gospel album. As long as there has been that peculiar, mind-numbing form of entertainment known as country music, there has been a tradition among performers that at some point in their illustrious careers, they ought to do a gospel song or two. The Appalachian Sweethearts decided they would continue on in that same tradition.

Like their predecessors in this tradition, the actual beliefs and moral characters of the performers were irrelevant. Thus, the fact that two of the Appalachian Sweethearts were devoutly religious, three were of average character, and two of the Sweethearts had all of the moral character of a rabid alley cat was insignificant. A change of musical style might help them get back to the big time and correct their current nose-dive in the popularity polls of their fellow residents of New Appalachia.

Thus, one can easily imagine their complete and utter frustration two weeks later when they came to the profound and unpleasant conclusion that, as a gospel group, they stank. Profusely. Like "road pizza".

Something was missing. Their "sound" just wasn't right. They had no idea what to do next.

Thus, one can also easily imagine their complete excitement four days later when they received a letter from Melvin Higgins informing them that they had been invited to visit a group of people who called themselves "The Lord's Believers". Apparently something called a "cultural exchange program" had been agreed to with the Believers and the Appalachian Sweethearts had been invited to the city of New Jerusalem where they would meet the leader of the Believers, Sister Miriam Godwinson.

The letter also pointed out that the Believers were completely on the other side of Chiron, so the trip would be a little long since they would have to travel most of the way by transport foil. The other part of the good news was that the Believers had offered to pay for the trip and all of their accommodations once they arrived, and would arrange for several public performances by the Appalachian Sweethearts.

This was wonderful news! New audiences might enjoy their music and their fame and popularity would be spread across all of Chiron. Even better, hanging out with a bunch of religious folks might help them figger out what was missing from their "sound" for their planned gospel album. This was almost too good to be true! Of course they would go the New Jerusalem and perform!

It did not even occur to anybody to think that this might be a key step in saving the human race from extinction.

* * * * *

"The riot actually broke out around four o'clock that afternoon. We had seen signs of it coming and had extra police forces and military units available just in case. However, when the riot flashed, it rapidly reached critical mass. There were unmistakable signs that this had been planned and organized. The rioters quickly moved to the main shopping district, where they began looting. Security forces moved in and tried to isolate the rioters and minimize the damage, but apparently were not able to quell the disturbance. So, if we were going to curtail the riot, there was no other option. We brought the vans in and began nerve-stapling rioters. We didn't have to staple very many before word got out and the riot began to dissipate."

It was the weekly strategy session of the Morganite Economic Council. The individual making the report on the riot in Drone Central had been delegated the assignment several months earlier by Gayle Storm. The truth is, she had seen this incident coming. Production reports, etc., from the three cities Domai had given them before the Usurpers had destroyed his empire indicated that the former Free Drone citizens had never been real happy as Morganite citizens.

Given that this was going to happen, Gayle decided that the best thing to do was to get out of its way. So, she discussed her "excessive workload" with CEO Morgan and got one of her rivals assigned to oversee the three former Free Drone bases. It was important to get out of the way of this catastrophe after that unpleasant event involving her former aide, Paula Forbes. Being associated with two unpleasant events in such a short time would do her career little benefit.

It wasn't necessarily the riot that was the problem. Even CEO Morgan was not very surprised by that. It was what it would take to stop the riot.

CEO Morgan hated nerve stapling.

Many years ago, the Morganites had come close to going to war with the Pirates over that practice. Thus, the rather unpleasant look Nwabudike Morgan gave to Gayle Storm's rival was proof enough that she had made a wise choice in getting rid of that potential disaster. Although nobody outside this room would learn for certain that the rioters had been nerve-stapled, Gayle envisioned that CEO Morgan would make another entry in one of his Purple Files, and another one of her rivals would fall to disfavor as a result.

Gayle felt somewhat guilty about what she had done, but business was business.

CEO Morgan paused for a moment and then said, "I can't help but believe that there had to be a better way to deal with that situation. Nerve-stapling will cure the problem in the short term, but now those people will remember what WE did to them and, in the long run, we will have more difficulty with them."

CEO Morgan paused a little more. Those who knew him best knew that CEO Morgan had just delivered his version of a stinging rebuke. It would be remembered as such for a long time.

CEO Morgan looked at the other members of the council to make sure they got the point, and then said, "Let's move on to our next topic. Gayle, what's going on with intelligence?"

During the latest reorganization, Gayle had managed to retain control of the Morganite intelligence apparatus. Information was a key asset on Chiron. She began her report.

"Things are still quiet with the Spartans and the Usurpers. Both seem to be honoring their commitments to the New Appalachian faction. We still don't know for sure how the Hillbillies pacified the Usurpers, but it appears to have involved some key weakness in Progenitor physiology that they accidentally discovered. We aren't seeing much activity with the other Progenitor faction; they seem to be walling themselves in and focusing on something important to them, which means it will probably be bad for us. But we don't know what it is yet.

"Much more interesting things are happening elsewhere on Chiron and centered on our neighbors in New Appalachia. First, there has been a sudden and pronounced surge in research within the University. This surge suggests that the University has gained access to the Usurper technology possessed by the New Appalachian faction."

CEO Morgan interrupted her report with a question. "Do we have any idea how this was done?"

Gayle responded, "We're not certain, but it does not appear to be related to probe team activities. Our probe teams in New Appalachia have noted the presence of probe teams from several other factions, and have kept most of them under surveillance. The University probe teams have not been involved in any special activity; mostly they've simply been watching other probe teams. The fact that this sudden surge in research occurred after the University gave a top-of-the-line network node to the Hillbillies suggests that Zhakarov probably pre-infiltrated the node."

This caused Nwabudike Morgan to chuckle a little bit. "That old dog Zhakarov! Sometimes you can teach an old dog a new trick! I wish we had thought of that. Well, it won't matter that much anyway. Pretty soon we'll know what Zhakarov knows." CEO Morgan chuckled. He was of course referring to the fact that the Morganites had infiltrated the University datalinks a long time ago and that link was still intact.

Gayle continued her report. She had been saving the most interesting stuff for later in her report. It was time to start bringing it out.

"On another front, it appears that the Cybernetic Consciousness is planning to pay a visit to New Appalachia. As everyone knows, their faction is fairly small and situated in a poor position near the Caretakers. We believe that they are interested in reaching a pact or somehow dominating the Hillbilly faction, probably to secure their own position, which is rather precarious. Whatever their goal is, their leader, Prime Function Aki Zeta 5, will soon be arriving at New Nashville."

At this point, General Wannabee interrupted the briefing. "Should we take her out?"

"I'm sorry," replied Gail. "I don't understand the question."

"Should we take out Aki Zeta 5? Should we terminate her or attempt to capture her?" General Wannabee was tired of the Morganite's well-deserved reputation for military inferiority.

CEO Morgan looked at General Wannabee the way one might look at an idiot nephew. "What purpose would that serve?", he asked. "The Cyborgs are a long way off and no threat to us. Besides, we have an unspoken agreement between human factions that we will not assassinate other human faction leaders. Violating that agreement for something that has absolutely no tactical or strategic value would be supremely foolish."

General Wannabee was stubbornly unwilling to concede defeat. "What if the Cyborgs somehow gain control of the Hillbillies?"

CEO Morgan was starting to get annoyed with General Wannabee. The general was as persistent as he was obtuse, which was considerable. "So what if they do? We are still on track, or even slightly ahead of schedule, for becoming economically dominant in that region. The Cyborgs can't incorporate the whole faction. Even if they could, they still have their headquarters a long way away from New Appalachia, plus they have their own problems with the Progenitors. Under those circumstances, it would be even easier to seize control of New Appalachia than it will now and, right now, things are looking pretty good on that front. Besides, even if we did decide to take out Aki Zeta 5, we wouldn't do it with a military operation; we would use a probe team and shift the blame to somebody else."

CEO Morgan looked around the conference room to make sure that no further discussion on this topic would be forthcoming. Sometimes, Nwabudike Morgan wondered why he had appointed General Wannabee as head of Morganite armed forces. It must have been because General Wannabee looked good on a holovision camera. It certainly wasn't because of the General's keen intellect.

After a brief pause, Gayle resumed her briefing. "Next, we look at the Cult of Planet. There has been a considerable change in the leader of this faction, Cha Dawn. Apparently, the boy has become a man. By that I mean he has grow up physically. As everyone is aware, Cha Dawn almost kicked the front door in to get a summit meeting with the Hillbilly faction. His intent was clearly to dominate the Hillbillies in some way, but they have turned the tables on him somewhat. It would appear that Cha Dawn was suffering from some malady that we have not seen or experienced, but the Hillbillies immediately identified. They placed Cha Dawn on some sort of hormone therapy program and managed to cure Cha Dawn's ailment. The next time we see Cha Dawn, he will be about 30 centimeters taller, and probably of much more pleasant disposition. He also appears to have aligned himself with the Hillbillies. Because Cha Dawn's interests run strongly counter to our own, we assess the threat level here as considerably higher. Cha Dawn will likely try to interfere with our economic development in New Appalachia. However, location is in our favor. The Cult of Planet is a long way from New Appalachia, whereas we are right next to it. The Cult is not that large and will have difficulty influencing Hillbilly policy. Normally, we would classify the threat level as low, but the change in Cha Dawn means that our personality profiles and other information about him will have to be reevaluated. Thus, they represent a medium priority threat that will need to be watched carefully. Any questions thus far?"

There were no questions. Gayle continued her report.

"Finally, we move on to the Believers. Our current assessment is that the Believers represent the most significant threat to our control of New Appalachia. They are one of the largest factions on Chiron and have a well-developed economy. They could exert considerable influence in New Appalachia.

"There are three things about the Believers that concern me. First, their probe teams were in New Appalachia almost as fast as ours. This implies that they were aware of the situation in New Appalachia before we announced it to the rest of world. Second, we have not successfully infiltrated this faction, so our ability to develop intelligence about their goals or planning is severely handicapped. Third--and most significant, they have persuaded the Hillbillies to enter into a cultural exchange program."

That got everyone's attention. Many years earlier, the Morganites had gotten involved with the Believers in a "cultural exchange program" that had resulted in the Morganites being flooded with Believer missionary teams. They had caused considerable chaos to the Morganite economy before they were graceully but firmly removed. Nobody on the council saw this as a good thing.

CEO Morgan thought about this for a moment and then asked, "Are the Hillbillies sending anything to the Believers?"

Gayle replied, "Yes, they are planning to send a music group of some sort and possibly a few artisans."

They spent the rest of the meeting discussing counter-strategies for dealing with the Believers. Finally, they decided to step up their economic program for New Appalachia. They would offer other options for "conversion" besides those offered by the Believers' missionary teams.

* * * * *

Paula Forbes was starting to see a way out of Morgan Industries. It would require patience, stealth, and a little bit of luck, but it was beginning to look like a workable plan.

Paula was operating under a number of significant liabilities, primarily the fact that she had been under almost constant surveillance. Thus, anything that she did in preparation for fleeing could be observed. However, two factors were now working in her favor. First, the level of surveillance had decreased. Second, she was now in charge of purchasing for the recycling tanks.

When Paula was first assigned to the recycling tanks, she had been under constant, 24-hour-per-day scrutiny. The probe teams had been fairly incompetent, but they had been constant shadows of her existence. Paula still wondered why they hadn't terminated her. The cost of maintaining the surveillance had to be high. Probably the cost of killing her was even higher. Paula had no illusions that morality had played a significant part in their decision to let her live.

Now that everything had settled in to a safe, predictable pattern, the surveillance had begun to decrease. Paula actually had periods of time where she was no longer under observation and actually had a little privacy. The sense of relief was almost overwhelming. Even more important, it offered a window of opportunity if it could be used correctly.

The second factor working in her favor was the result of fortuitous circumstance. Trying to keep her recycling lines running was difficult due to equipment failures and lack of maintenance. Paula's boss--who Paula thought of as "The Queen of Darkness"--was in the process of yet again chewing Paula out for something Paula couldn't control, when Paula's temper finally exploded. The door to the office of the Queen of Darkness was closed and a "heart-to-heart discussion" was held.

The truth is that the Queen of Darkness could not really fire Paula Forbes. Paula was actually doing a pretty good job (though the Queen would never think of actually saying so) and she had been given rather specific orders that she could--and should--make Paula's life miserable, but she couldn't fire her. So, the Queen of Darkness decided to saddle Paula Forbes with more work. Purchasing equipment and maintenance services was at the heart of Paula Forbes' problem and the Queen hated doing the purchasing--its resemblance to actual work was too much for the Queen's tastes--so she gave that assignment to Paula as well.

This turned out to be a good thing for Paula Forbes in several ways. First, once she learned the assignment, she did a good job of it and it did in fact make her life better. The equipment and services she needed started showing up at regular intervals, the recycling lines ran smoother and the amount of yelling by the Queen of Darkness decreased. Second, the Queen of Darkness started leaving work early on Friday afternoons. Friday afternoons had been set aside for doing the purchasing, and now that time period was freed from that purpose. So the Queen simply left work early. Paula thought that could be used to her advantage as well.

Paula realized that being placed in charge of the purchasing for the recycling tanks was a potential windfall. She had been thinking about what she would need in the way of supplies when she bolted out of town and this would give her the opportunity to position those supplies at strategic locations.

Of course, this change would result in a period of increased surveillance. However, the behavior pattern of her observers strongly suggested that once they got used to the change, scrutiny would gradually decrease to less severe levels. Thus, Paula figured that, at first, every purchase order she wrote and every invoice payment she authorized would be analyzed by her observers to insure she wasn't up to anything funny. Once they were reasonably sure that Paula wasn't up to anything, they would settle down to routine spot-checking.

Paula Forbes had been a student and practitioner of the financial arts for several years now. She understood how the game was played and how to conduct transactions that were difficult to trace unless one had patience and really knew what to look for.

Opportunity wasn't knocking on Paula's door yet, but it was approaching. Paula would be ready when it finally arrived.

* * * * *

"Prime Function, it is time for your departure." The aide gently touched Aki's hand to get her attention.

Prime Function Aki Zeta 5 would have appeared to be napping to one outside the Consciousness, but in fact had been merged with the Algorithm. Final assessments and strategies had been discussed. Alternatives had been weighed.

The overall goals of the mission had remained the same. If the Consciousness were to survive, it would need to take appropriate steps. The incorporation of the Hillbillies into the Consciousness was imperative. There was no other viable alternative.

The distance between Alpha Prime and Cyborg territory was such that no further merging would be possible until Prime Function Aki Zeta 5 returned. She would miss it terribly. But her mission was clear and she was focused on her objectives. Nothing else mattered.

Prime Function Aki Zeta 5 was going to New Nashville.

[OldCodger]

CHAPTER 19 - Aki Claus is Coming to Town

Melvin Higgins was beginning to wonder if Chiron was capable of producing anything at all resembling normal, sentient life forms. First, it was them gun-totin', firebrand Spartans wanting to fight ever'thing that moved. Then it was them psycho alien fellers, wantin' to kill everybody that wasn't their kind. Next, it was those money-grubbin' Morganites. And that University feller, Zhakarov, still gave Melvin the creeps. That Cha Dawn feller had been a handful, but at least they understood what was wrong with him and were able to do somethin' about that. Even his own faction, now known throughout Chiron as the Hillbillies, wasn't exactly a real prize. But this one might just take the cake.

Melvin Higgins had just given an official welcome to Aki Zeta 5, Prime Function of the Cybernetic Consciousness. For her part, Prime Function Aki Zeta 5 had accepted his welcome and offered greetings of her own.

The cold, emotionless tone of her voice made the hair on the back of Melvin Higgins' neck stand straight up. From the looks of things, it had a similar effect on just about every other Hillbilly who happened to be there.

It was an odd thing actually. Aki Zeta 5 appeared to be a reasonably attractive, healthy young woman of the age of 25 to 30. But there was no spark or fire in her eyes. She almost looked like somebody made ancient before her time by attempting to bear unbearable burdens.

The names didn't help any. Melvin wondered what the heck a "Cybernetic Consciousness" was anyway. Maybe an excuse to use too many syllables and letters? What was a "Prime Function"? And what was the significance of the number five? What happened to numbers one through four? Were they planning on a number six? And what were those metal "knob" thingies doing on her head? They certainly weren't very attractive.

For her part, Prime Function Aki Zeta 5 was equally unimpressed and apprehensive. The man who had just welcomed her and whom she had in turn greeted was obviously governed by raw, undisciplined human emotion. Most of the other leaders of human factions were emotional, but they had learned to mask it somewhat. This individual had not learned that skill. Most of the other Hillbillies were just as bad or worse.

There were also signs of massive inefficiency everywhere. The layout of the room they were in was definitely non-optimal. Their building techniques appeared to be quite crude. Even worse, there were children everywhere; large numbers of noisy, undisciplined children playing at childish games instead of learning essential skills in a quite, efficient classroom specifically structured for maximal learning effectiveness. At least the children might eventually be useful if they could be incorporated into the Algorithm.

It was hard to believe that the fate of the Consciousness rested firmly on the shoulders of this faction. Nevertheless, the Hillbillies had what the Consciousness needed, so the mission would proceed.

Anyone watching the exchange of greetings between the Cyborgs and the Hillbillies could have easily seen that the leaders of both factions and their respective entourages were sizing each other up pretty intently. The Hillbillies were noticing that the Cyborgs appeared cold and lifeless and definitely lacked a certain spark or fire. Those things on some of their heads looked awfully peculiar as well. To a trained eye, the Cyborgs were about half-disgusted at the obvious inefficiency and excess emotion of the Hillbillies. One who did not know the Cyborgs well would not have seen that. The Maynard boys wondered if these Cyborg fellers were any good in a fight. It might be fun to find out.

In the midst of all this mutual sizing up, it would be terribly easy to miss the fact that there was a third, very unique kind of observation and sizing up going on. Andrew Jasonian was also sizing up Prime Function Aki Zeta 5 in an entirely different way than anyone else was. What Andrew Jasonian was seeing was the very picture of feminine perfection. Aki Zeta 5 was shy, reserved, intelligent, and almost ethereal in her loveliness. He did not know what those things were that were attached to her head, but to him they highlighted her features almost perfectly.

Andrew Jasonian was in extreme danger of falling in love.

* * * * *

It took about a week of social interaction (including several meals, none of which involved mountain oysters), meetings, and discussions for the Cyborgs and Hillbillies to start to get a good feel for each other. It was not a particularly good match. The strongest character traits of one faction tended to highly annoy the other faction. Still, some progress had been made. They exchanged some technical information and managed to find the occasional square centimeter of common ground.

It took about a week and a half for Prime Function Aki Zeta 5 to notice Andrew Jasonian. Of course, she had acknowledged his existence when she had been introduced to him at the initial greeting ceremony. And of course she had immediately memorized his name since he appeared to be important somehow in the Hillbilly governmental hierarchy. Now, however, she was beginning to notice him in a whole new way.

It began when she noticed that his behavior toward her was very different than that of other males. She could have easily dismissed that since Andrew was a Hillbilly and they all reacted differently toward her. However, she noticed a couple of other things as well. First, Andrew's behavior toward her was different from the way other Hillbilly males reacted toward her, and Andrew's reaction toward her was different than his reaction toward other females, whether Cyborg or Hillbilly.

This was most puzzling. Even more puzzling was the fact that she seemed to derive pleasure from these facts. She felt herself liking the way Andrew reacted to her. This was rather...odd, and most illogical. But it also appeared to be true. It was probably a good thing that she was in a place where merging with the Algorithm was impossible. She would have been most embarrassed to share such emotional thoughts while merged. While merged with the Algorithm, she had seen slight hints of emotion in others who were similarly merged, and it had been very displeasing to her and the others. There was no place for that sort of thing while merged.

* * * * *

Wallace Higgins was starting to get highly annoyed with his best friend, Andrew Jasonian. First, it was obvious that Andrew had taken a serious shinin' to Prime Function Aki Zeta 5. Second, it was starting to look like she was taken a bit of shinin' toward Andrew as well. The problem was that both of them were so danged shy that neither one of 'em would make any kind of move. Andrew was such a big "fraidy cat" that he wouldn't even just talk to her. What did he think she was going to do, rip his tongue out and beat him with it or somethin'?

Wallace was young and therefore inexperienced at the art of match-making, but even he could handle this one. All he needed was an excuse to get those two together and nature would take its course from there. Thus, he decided on a plan to get them together, get the ice between them broken, and then get himself out of the way. All he needed was a little help from a friend.

Wallace Higgins invited Aki Zeta 5 to join him for lunch. She accepted most politely, but seemed a little disappointed. This made Wallace grin. She had been hoping Andrew would speak to her. Precisely his plan...

* * * * *

Wallace arranged to meet Aki Zeta 5 in the dining room of the "hotel" where she was staying. As he and Andrew entered the dining room, Andrew noticed Aki Zeta 5 and she noticed Andrew. Both of them seemed to brighten up considerably. Wallace knew he had been right on target with his idea.

After Wallace got the conversation started and while he was mentally patting himself on the back, his accomplice entered the dining room. It was Irene Mombassa. Irene walked over to the table where Wallace, Andrew, and Aki were sitting and told Wallace she was having a difficult time with an important data upload into the network node and then asked if he could come and assist her before all of the data was irretrievably lost.

Wallace hadn't exactly told Irene why she was supposed to ask him to do this. When Irene looked at Andrew and then looked at Aki Zeta 5, she immediately deduced the purpose of this bit of deception. The really odd thing was that her dark eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared. Wallace then realized that his choice of accomplice had not been a very good selection.

Irene Mombassa was jealous and angry.

* * * * *

Left to their own devices, Prime Function Aki Zeta 5 and Andrew Jasonian were forced to actually speak to each other. This was rather clumsy and uncomfortable at first, but both of them warmed to the task and things began to improve rather quickly.

After a little while, formal forms of address, such as "Prime Function" or "Mr. Jasonian" seemed inappropriate and stifling.

Aki Zeta smiled slightly--very unusual for a Cyborg--and then asked Andrew to call her by her first name, Aki. Then she asked, "Do you have a particular way that you would like to be addressed?"

Andrew nodded his head. "My first name is Andrew, but my friends call me 'Ace'. I'd be much obliged if you would call me 'Ace' as well."

Aki replied, "Very well, 'Ace' it is."

* * * * *

Wallace Higgins had been absolutely correct in his assessment of the possibility of a relationship between his best friend, Ace Jasonian, and Aki Zeta 5. Once the ice was broken, they began to see each other on a regular basis.

The only thing he hadn't counted on was the way Irene Mombassa reacted. Before, she had not shown the slightest interest in Ace, and now she was perpetually miffed at both Wallace and Ace. Apparently she had been a little bit sweet on Andrew, but had never got around to doing anything about it. It was an education for both her and Wallace. Andrew was too giddy to notice.

* * * * *

As Andrew and Aki got to know each other more, it was obvious to both of them that they were well suited for each other. However, this put Prime Function Aki Zeta 5 in a major quandry.

Prime Function Aki Zeta 5 had been taught to avoid excessive emotions. This conflicted greatly with what she felt when she was around Andrew. She enjoyed the way things lit up whenever he was around. She enjoyed his warmth and sense of humor. She could see that among his own people, he was highly desirable as a mate. She even liked the thought of taking him for a mate and him taking her for a mate.

And that was the problem.

Unlike most other members of the Consciousness, the Prime Function was allowed to select his or her own mate, but only from among the Consciousness. Ace Jasonian was not a Cyborg. It was then that Prime Function saw a way out of her dilemma. It was perfectly obvious, logical, and fulfilled a major part of her mission to this region.

Ace Jasonian must be persuaded to become part of the Algorithm.

It had to be voluntary, however. If it were done covertly or against his will, the process of incorporation would definitely and permanently alter him. Ace would no longer be the Ace she was coming to love. It had the added benefit of incorporating a significant member of the Hillbilly faction into the Consciousness; one of the high priority objectives of this mission.

It was perfect. She would speak to him about this at once.

* * * * *

Aki Zeta 5 had never attempted to persuade an individual to voluntarily join the Consciousness. In fact, very few Cyborgs had tried this and, of those that did try, very few had actually succeeded. Thus, Aki Zeta 5 had no real frame of reference to work from. Still, the discussion seemed to be going well.

For one thing, Ace was gifted in understanding technical matters, so the explanation of the process, the technology involved, and other details were grasped fairly quickly. Second, Ace was motivated by his own passion. If being with Aki Zeta 5 meant being a Cyborg, then a Cyborg is what Ace would be.

As their discussion began to wind down, Ace asked about the attachments to Aki Zeta's head.

"Will I be getting attachments like yours? I've noticed that some of the others in your party have them, but others don't, and none are as large as yours."

She replied, "All Cyborgs are enhanced in some way, each according to his or her natural gifts. Note all enhancements are visible. As Prime Function of the Consciousness, I require special enhancements to assist in merging with the Algorithm. You may have special enhancements of your own."

Ace thought about that for a moment and then asked, "Would I be able to design my own special enhancements?"

Aki Zeta replied, "As consort to the Prime Function, I think that might be both possible and appropriate."

"Cool!" said Ace.

* * * * *

Not long after, Andrew Jasonian joined the Consciousness, got his "special enhancement", married Aki Zeta 5, and returned to Alpha Prime to dwell in a state of newly wedded bliss.

Andrew "Ace" Jasonian had been born a Free Drone, but he had been raised a country boy, with a country boy's interests and a country boy's needs. The "special enhancement" he had in mind--captured so crudely in a piece of graffiti written on the walls of a Spartan barracks--would have the most profound effect on the Cybernetic Consciousness.

The Consciousness had shied away from human emotions because they were not logical, efficient, and could be downright nasty at times. It was an accepted truth that emotion caused people to behave in ways that were perverse, demeaning, and atrocious. No student of human history could argue against the proposition that some of the most cruel and vile acts ever committed by human beings were spurred on by some form of emotion.

However, in rejecting all human emotion, they also rejected much that is noble and beneficial as well. Just as many cruel and vile acts had been instigated by emotion, even more acts of courage, greatness, or simple kindness had been instigated by emotion as well. The trick was to learn to channel and control one's emotion to embrace that which was good and useful and restrain that which was harmful.

Ace Jasonian's "special enhancement" blended one of the highest forms of human emotion, love, with technology. When coupled with the fact that this "special enhancment" involved a new and novel use of technology, this made this particular "special enhancement", and others like it, suddenly fashionable and popular among the Cyborgs.

Like many societies operating under a thin veneer of Victorian propriety, deep with the Consciousness were longings and desires public demeaned but privately embraced. "Special enhancements" added a technical "flavor" and legitimized these longings and the Cybernetic Consciousness degenerated for a while into a state of sensual debauchery. Their vaunted efficiency went straight down the gutter.

Once the force of their suppressed desire spent itself, their efficiency improved somewhat, but never achieved its former lofty standards. On the plus side, the Cybernetic Consciousness never again had problems with population growth.

Even more important, the Consciousness and Hillbillies had both acquired another ally.

[fluffy]

bumped - thought this deserved a chance of being discovered by a new audience...