Shadows of Golstar (63 page)

● ● ●

“He
is not presently in his assigned quarters,” the captain said. He stood before the
Guardian’s massive wooden desk. “The guards were removed this morning and by
direct order of the Grand Patriarch, the outsider was taken away. We conducted
a cursory search of his rooms and found that most of the clothing he was
provided remains in the wardrobe. So it would appear it is planned that he will
return. There is no official record of him leaving the grounds, and the extra
men you have stationed around the palace’s perimeter have confirmed no one has
left or entered the palace. The outsider must be somewhere else within the
palace, possibly in the company of the Grand Patriarch.”

Talin
leaned back in his chair. “As the man’s whereabouts has not been posted, can I
then assume the Outsider’s location is under the Grand Patriarch’s seal?”

“Yes Guardian.”

Talin
asked, “And what of the Grand Patriarch?”

“His
personal security will say only he is in conference and cannot be disturbed.
The Grand Patriarch’s present location is also under seal.”

The
Guardian of the Way nodded. So, he thought, the Grand Patriarch had invoked his
seal of privacy. The penalty for breaking that seal was death. Technically, all
of Golstar’s security forces reported to the Office of the Guardian of the Way.
However, in this case, Talin could not expect any of the inner palace’s
security forces to reveal Janus Owens’ or the Grand Patriarch’s location.

Had
the Grand Patriarch discovered his conversation with the Lauren and decided to
move the Outsider? No, he immediately dismissed the thought. If the Grand
Patriarch had suspected anything, Talin would now be sweating in a hot
interrogation room. He brought his thoughts back to the missing private
detective.

“Obviously
the Grand Patriarch’s conference involves the outsider,” Talin said. He
straightened in his chair. “No matter; I believe I can easily find out where he
is meeting with him.”

The
Grand Patriarch was not stupid, but he was long accustomed to his orders being
carried out without question. His merest word had the force of law, so here
within the palace he likely wouldn’t think to take the simplest of precautions.
He pressed a button on an antique com-box. “Jahnsen, what is the location of
the Grand Patriarch’s day duty guard?”

“They
are stationed just outside of the negotiation room,” the captain responded
immediately.

“It
is as I expected,” he said with some satisfaction. He looked up at the captain.
“Collin, you may return to your post. I trust you will continue the
preparations we discussed earlier?”

“Yes
Guardian, I leave here to complete the arrangements.”

“The
men you have chosen for this assignment, are you absolutely certain they can be
trusted?

“Yes,
Guardian, all of them have been with me for the last four years. Their
discretion and loyalty is without peer.

“Very
good, and remember Collin, as my most trusted adjunct, you have my complete
confidence in this matter. I look to you for a successful completion of the
mission.”

“I
will not fail you, Guardian.”

“Good.
I expect nothing less.”

The
captain smoothly about-faced and left the office.

Once
he was gone, Talin frowned. Why would the Grand Patriarch exclude him from the
discussion? Talin was supposed to play a role in pushing the plan forward. He
glanced down at the portfolio on his desk. In it contained the pictures of the
‘stolen’ statuette along with numerous investigation reports, all carefully
crafted to match the scenario Sharné had by now given to the outsider.

 From
the Grand Patriarch’s perspective, though the attack presented a serious
complication, he had remained convinced the plan could be salvaged. What had
changed? His frown deepened as he puzzled about what else may have gone wrong
with the precious plan he hadn’t been told about.

He
touched an area under the desk’s surface, unlocking one of its drawers and
pulled it open to reveal a small control panel studded with old-fashioned dials
and buttons. It controlled a number of listening devices he had personally
placed throughout the palace. He recalled his own anxiety when the Grand
Patriarch had revealed the devices he had discovered in the Reception Room.
Talin had experienced a moment of near panic, until he saw the devices were not
the same as the ones he had placed.

He
reached down, rotated one of the dials and pressed a switch.
 
Voices from a hidden speaker immediately
began to fill the air. “…understand that you slept poorly,” the Grand
Patriarch’s voice began. Talin lowered the volume and continued to listen.

Some
time went by as Talin concentrated on the words exchanged between the Grand
Patriarch and the Outsider. His agitation increased on hearing of Janus Owens’
experience on Selane. He listened until the Grand Patriarch said, “Secure
room.” From that point on, nothing further could be heard.

“By
the Light,” the Guardian of the Way muttered. Janus Owens had been exposed to
Golstar’s most important secret. With this latest unexpected turn, what would
the Grand Patriarch do now? Talin knew that in the past, the Grand Patriarch
only invoked that security measure when he went down into the Sanctum. Was he
thinking of actually taking the Outsider into the Sanctum? What could possibly
be the purpose? The thought of the Outsider being given access to another of
Golstar’s important secrets made Talin almost physically ill.

He
had to know what had happened. He switched off the listening device and thought
about what he must do. He had his own right of entry to the Founder’s Sanctum,
but he didn’t have access to all the areas. He needed to find out what the
Grand Patriarch was planning. He made a decision and said, “Secure Room.”

● ● ●

“You are
now in the Founder’s Sanctum, the master control annex,” there was a hint of
pride in the ruler’s voice. “Among other things, the Sanctum is designed to
serve as a gateway into the Prime Four complex, base-Controller Four, which
sprawls beneath where you are standing.”

Owens
dragged his eyes away from the fascinating alien construct. He asked, “Among
other things?”

“Follow
me and I will show you some of those things for which this facility was
intended.” The Grand Patriarch walked over to a nearby opening in the wall. As
he approached, the telltale flicker of a force-field winked out. He entered
with Sharné and Owens following close behind.

“This
series of chambers was constructed at the Founder’s direction. The Sanctuary
was not an original part of Prime Four. In addition to acting as a primary
interface to the Controllers, it was designed to perform independent functions
outside of those managed by the Controllers. It has its own isolated
transportation system, built using the Prime’s technology. There are five
similar gateway facilities scattered among the other planets.”

Owens
tried to follow the Grand Patriarch’s words but found that he was distracted.
While he was anxious to know more, with each revelation, his fate was
reconfirmed. He knew without a doubt he would not be allowed to leave the
Golstar system, ever. The only question was, how long would they allow him to
continue living? And right at the moment, with all of these supposed secrets
being so openly revealed, his prospect of surviving beyond the purpose they had
in mind for him was shrinking rapidly.

And
why
was
the Grand Patriarch showing him all of this? Was it simply
because he could, because he knew that Owens would not be in any position to
share such knowledge? But why reveal it at all? What was the need? Was he
attempting to justify his actions to Owens and perhaps more importantly to
Sharné?

He
looked over at her. She was staring at her father; her expression seemed
troubled as she followed his words. Much of what the Grand Patriarch was saying
was obviously as new to her as it was to Owens.

His
voiced hope of eventual escape was tempered by the knowledge that if he could
by some means get out of the palace undetected, where could he possibly go? He
was just one man surrounded by a planet-full of hostile inhabitants. With no
knowledge of the geography or customs, he doubted he could elude even a cursory
search.

He
absently rubbed his wrist-comp. They had allowed him to keep it, probably, he
thought, to show their complete disdain for any chance of his escape. Even if
he could secretly contact Hec, and the AI was able to find the means to break
away from its restraint, the
Holmes
couldn’t enter the planet’s
atmosphere without being easily detected.

His
attention was pulled back to present when they entered a smaller, though still
quite large, high-ceilinged room. Like the area they had just left, it also had
something of interest at its axis. At its center was a raised circular
platform. Suspended high above the platform, without visible means of support,
was a large flattened ring. The Grand Patriarch approached the platform, looked
back and said, “Join me.”
Sharné
and Owens followed him up onto
the platform.

They
could feel a subtle vibration as three mounds silently rose up from the
platform’s surface and quickly resolved into high-backed seats. The Grand
Patriarch chose one and sat down. Sharné and Owens followed his example. Owens
was surprised to find that the seats were slightly warm to the touch and
yielded comfortably to the contours of his body. With all three seated, the
ring began to descend. It stopped at desk level, the ring surrounding them
completely.

The
Grand Patriarch turned to Owens, “Bear with me; all will be made clear very
soon.” Then, he addressed his daughter. “Sharné, this will be your first
exposure to some of the inner workings of Golstar, part of the Mysteries I
mentioned to you yesterday.”

He
turned back, facing the area of the ring closest to him. He extended his hand
over its blank plane. The ring’s surface rippled. Once featureless, the ring
was now covered with flashing indicators, panels and touch-point switches. The
Grand Patriarch touched a small lit area.

Immediately,
they found themselves looking down the center aisle of what could only be a
church. The room had been overlaid with an incredibly detailed hologram
projection. If he hadn’t known better, Owens would have thought they were
actually in the church. The realism of the scene was truly astonishing.
“Impressive,” was all Owens could say.

“Yes,”
the Grand Patriarch responded. “The Trah-tang technology is quite impressive.
This master monitor is one of many. Unfortunately, it is the only one that
remains fully operational.” He grimaced, “As with much of the ancient race’s
technology, systems are failing across the globe.”

“While
this is all very interesting, my question remains, what does my being a genetic
match with the Founder mean for Golstar?”

The
Grand Patriarch was staring at the scene before him. He raised a hand
distractedly. “Indulge me just a little longer.” He made an adjustment to the
controls and they then seemed to float down the aisle. The image stopped before
a large, gray glassy orb. “This is…” the Grand Patriarch looked down at a
prominent readout, “…the Cathedral of the Light, sector nineteen in the Lowman
district. You are looking at its Sphere of Light, the symbol of Golstar’s
faith.”

“If
you’ll forgive my observation, it doesn’t look very inspirational at the
moment,” Owens commented.

The
Grand Patriarch sighed, gazing at the scene, “No. It does not. When operating
properly, its bright light fills the senses with hope, comfort and key
insights. However, it has malfunctioned. The cathedral is now closed to the
public.” Anticipating his daughter’s question, he said without turning, “Yes
Sharné, the Spheres of Light are indeed based on the same mechanism as the one
you and Janus Owens encountered on Selane.”

Owens
cursed himself for not seeing it sooner. In its darkened state, he had not made
the connection.

“Their
proper name should be Mind Controllers.” The bitterness in Sharné’s voice was
unmistakable.

The
Grand Patriarch turned and flashed his daughter an irritated look, but did not
reply.

Based
on his experience on Selane, Owens guessed the meaning behind her comment. The
subliminal sounds and radiations emitted by the spheres had some effect on the
minds of the worshipers. Was it, he wondered, deliberately used to mold and
control their emotions, even influence their thoughts?

The
Grand Patriarch touched another control. The scene abruptly changed to a large
room dominated by tall metallic cylinders, connected to coiled tubes, pumps and
other complicated-looking machinery. It appeared deserted. Carts laden with
what looked to be medical instruments were scattered haphazardly across the
floor. The shelves of glass-fronted cabinets lining the walls were empty; some
with their doors left gaping.

“This
is one of our birthing centers. Natural childbirth, though not illegal, is
actively discouraged in our society. The state provides much of the early
nurturing for our citizens. The centers are the first steps of integration into
the Way.”