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were sealed and frozen shut and lots of sidings were wiped out as if they
didn't exist. Some even said that the Company World had been sealed off and
left powerless, but she took that with a grain of salt.
That would mean, though, that whatever happened took place "left" of Zero,
since that was where the Company World was. That also suggested that this
world, Carlos' world, was "right" of Zero, since everything seemed to be
functioning okay here.
Certainly they weren't too sad about the "disaster," so maybe the Company
World had been zapped. There was a lot of raucous celebrating and talks of
when "they"
would take over, that was for sure. She longed to ask questions, to find out
details, but she could not. But, that night, they'd scheduled a big meeting in
the rec hall to explain all to the staff. She was excluded, but she knew that
area well. Hell, they'd have to use microphones or something, and if she just
sat in the bathroom near the pool she could hear what was said. It was bound
to be in many languages, but she would wait.
They sure all packed in there, anyway. It must have been hot as hell and
looked like a sardine can, even though they were having the meetings by shifts
and it was one shift at a time. Sitting on the toilet, though, she could make
out most of what was being said.
"Fellow rebels, comrades, friends and associates!" It was one of the big guys
here but not Carlos, and this guy was an English speaker. "Great news! I know
you have heard all the rumors and we want you to know the truth. What at first
looked like a horrible disaster to our cause has turned out to accomplish what
none of us in all our years of work, sweat, and planning could accomplish!
Most of you know of the grand project. Well, up line, left of Zero, one of our
stations blew up. We do not yet know why, but it sent a massive surge of its
own down and through the Labyrinth which set off others further along and
built into a powerful wave. Like lava through a tunnel, it melted and sealed
what it passed. When it struck the control regulators, they could not absorb
the impact and sent it back up line. The result was to short out and seal in
every single siding and bypass along the immediate route, although there is
still clear traffic on the walking path only from here to there. Comrades-it
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sealed the
Company World off and it severed their power connections by burning out their
own private regulators. Their backups can not last long in there; certainly
not long enough for them to punch back through. They are gone, but with much
repair the Labyrinth will hold up.
"Friends! We are the only remaining intact organization with Labyrinth access
and control!"
There were massive cheers and it sounded like they'd just won the World
Series.
It lasted for some time.
It was glorious news to them, but her own heart sank to the bottom. Not that
she really felt for those Company folks, who seemed to embody only the worst
attributes of Far Eastern culture with the sensitivity and caring of South
African Boers, but for what it meant. If the Company was destroyed, cut off,
then these bastards would begin openly taking over world after world, station
after station, network after network. Hell, there'd be noplace to run to,
noplace to hide, nobody out there strong enough to end a cesspool like this.
Nobody with any kind of connections to find this place and care about rescuing
her.
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%2...%203%20-%20The%20Maze%20in%20t
he%20Mirror.txt (135 of 150) [1/19/03 4:21:16 PM]
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%20Jack%20L%20-%20G.O.D.%20Inc%203%
20-%20The%20Maze%20in%20the%20Mirror.txt
And, hell, before they turned them worlds into new cesspools they'd go after
all the old Company folk they had grudges against. There'd be a lot more
"examples"
and revenge on folks like her, with nobody to stop them.
When they quieted down, the speaker continued, "No more hiding, no more
skulking around. Already we have seized the remnants of the Company's
communications and computer monitoring system. One by one we are going to take
every switch and then every station in this sector while preventing any
serious repairs on the other side. Then we will move there, and we will do our
own repairs, and we will take control of the power and regulators and the
entire network! Much work needs to be done, and much planning, and much
sacrifice will yet be demanded of you, but final victory is ours! There is no
one left large enough and organized enough to prevent us! Now we who worked so
long and hard in what often seemed a futile cause will be the leaders of a new
order among worlds, a new and glorious network of power, for we are now the
Company!"
More cheers and building-rocking reactions. The Company folks were ruthless
assholes on the whole but at least they did some good and left the worlds
alone and worked within their systems. Not now. These were guys with a cause,
and no matter how much their rhetoric sounded like well-intentioned
revolutionaries their way of thinking was strictly high-tech black shirts and
swastikas. The bad guys could lose a thousand times; the good guys could only
afford to lose once.
And for her? What was the use any more? Shit, she'd been kidding herself
anyway.
She was naked and under almost constant watch and she was blind as a bat to
boot, only able to see smeary colored light and dark. Even if she got Carlos
alone, what could she do? He was pretty good at fighting when he had to be,
she guessed, and he could see. He'd never be alone with her, unmonitored,
without strong boys close by. And now that psychotic druggist had Sam and her
and Dash and all the worlds in his pocket. Tears streamed down her face, and
she never felt so helpless and powerless in her life.
She got up, with a sudden urge to get away from that cheering mob, and went
towards the gardens. It was pitch dark but she no longer even thought about
that. She knew the way, every twist, turn, pathway and stone, so well she
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didn't even have to think about it.
She in fact preferred the darkness. It was the one element where she had some
superiority, and there was a lack of confusing blurs to get in the way. The
gardens smelled pretty, even at night, and there weren't any people around
this time, although as public area it was within her rules to be here. Sure,
they had the place monitored. Infrared, you name it. They knew just exactly
where she was. She knew she'd reached the point that Carlos had predicted,
and, thanks to events, sooner than even he had expected by a long shot.
She couldn't run away. There was no longer anyplace she could reasonably run
to or anybody who could help her. The old organization would still be around, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]