Last Stand of the DNA Cowboys

'You have one hour. If the metaphysicians are not delivered to me in that time, I will commence to destroy the city and its population.'

The Minstrel Boy looked around anxiously. 'Where the hell are the others? You think they're inside already?'

Reave did not answer. He was scanning the boulevard for any sign of Billy, Renatta, or Blaisdell. 'This is one sorry time for them to go missing.'

Gord the driver helped Baptiste down from the roof of the armored car and folded away the microphone. The raiders were drawn up in front of the city walls in four ranks. The only casualties they had suffered so far were the two delta pilots who had been lost to Jet Ace. The warriors sat hunched in their saddles as though they were quite ready to wait forever.

Inside the city, on the other hand, there was a considerable sense of urgency. The beloved Master had not missed Baptiste's implication that if he did not hand over the metaphysicians, there were plenty in the city who would, and that it was unlikely that he would survive such a transaction. It was not that Parshew-a-Thar had any objection to turning the metaphysicians over to Baptiste and what was undoubtedly their certain death. The problem that had him screaming hysterically at his retinue was that he was not sure if he was going to be able to deliver them.

'What about those brutes that they have protecting them, those bodyguards with the weapons? They're almost as bad as Baptiste's men. Am I supposed to face those animals myself?'

The first that Reave and the Minstrel Boy knew of all this was when General Zeum, followed by all that was left of his army, came striding down the boulevard toward them. The general had decided not to perish with the Grand Army. When he had finally realized that the situation was hopeless, he had hastily withdrawn inside the walls with his aides and a small personal guard.

'I think he's on his way to ask us for Showcross Gee and his gang.'

'Are you going to give them to him?'

Reave glanced back at the pyramid. 'Not unless they open up the door.'

The Minstrel Boy swatted at something with the flat of his hand. It was a thin silver cylinder about the size of a cigarette. 'Goddamn snooper.'

The snooper skittered away, easily avoiding the blow, flew off to a safe distance, and hung in the air, apparently watching the two of them.

'I figure that little sucker belongs to Showcross Gee.'

'At least he's still taking an interest in the outside world.'

'The outside world is getting a little radical for me. I wish he'd open that door.'

General Zeum and his band of men were two-thirds of the way along the boulevard. Reave and the Minstrel Boy were momentarily distracted as Billy Oblivion came around the corner of the pyramid. He looked out on his feet, but he did have the multiplex slung over his shoulder.

'Did the world end yet?'

'You vanished again.'

'I decided that I'd jag out during the slaughter.'

'You're fucked up, Billy.'

Billy glared at the two of them with hung-over belligerence. 'Oh, yeah? I suppose you two feel a whole lot better for watching it all happen?'

'Do you have any idea what's happened to Renatta or Blaisdell?'

Billy shook his head. 'I've been out for the last hour.'

'But you heard Baptiste?'

'Couldn't miss him.'

Reave pointed to Zeum. 'We think the generalissimo is coming for the metaphysicians.'

'Is he getting them'.'

'I don't think so. Not yet, at least.'

Zeum was only fifty yards away. The hoplites with him appeared to be armed only with spears, but it was hardly the moment to take chances. Reave drew one of his pistols.

'I think it's time to put the brakes on this.'

He held up a hand and called out to Zeum. 'That's quite far enough.'

Zeum ignored him. Reave drew his pistol, took quick aim, and sprayed the road surface a few paces in front of the general. Zeum and his men stopped dead.

Reave yelled again. 'Do you hear me, General Zeum?'

'I hear you.'

'If you have something you want to discuss with us, you'll have to come up here on your own.'

Zeum turned for a hurried discussion with his aides. Then he started walking alone toward the plaza in front of the pyramid. Even in the face of what had to be considerable stress, he still maintained his confident military stride.

Billy shook his head in wonder. 'Is he terminally stupid, or what?'

The general started up the steps to the plaza. Reave stopped him halfway up with a gesture of his pistol.

'You can say your piece from there.'

'You must be aware of the current situation.'

Reave nodded. 'We heard Baptiste's ultimatum.'

'All rules of toleration are suspended. We have to ask you to surrender the metaphysicians to our custody.'

'Baptiste will never keep his word.'

'We intend to preserve the city by any means open to us.'

The Minstrel Boy stepped into the conversation. 'It seems to me that you're between a rock and a hard place, General Zeum. Don't get me wrong, though. I'm not saying that we're the hard place. Although we're not about to hand over the metaphysicians, it's hardly up to us. They sealed themselves in the pyramid, and they don't show any sign of coming out.'

For the very first time Zeum's confidence deserted him. He had lived all his life and spent all his career operating according to a tailored fantasy. He had no patterns or guidelines with which to handle brutal, ragged reality. 'What can we do? Baptiste intends to destroy the city.'

Reave regarded the general with open contempt. 'There's nothing you can do. It's too late. About the only thing you could try would be to ask Baptiste for more time.'

Zeum looked at him with an almost childlike hope that someone would make it all right, after all. 'You think he might allow that?'

Reave closed his eyes. He could not stand looking at that idiot any longer. 'I don't think you've got a prayer.'

Zeum's temper suddenly exploded. Once again it was an infantile regression, a temper tantrum. 'I'll get weapons from Baptiste. First I'll deal with you, and then I'll get those damned metaphysicians out of there, even if I have to burn them out.'

Reave's patience was at an end. 'Yeah, sure. Do what you like.'

Zeum squared his shoulders and marched away.

Reave turned and stared at the blank surface of the pyramid with its black scar from the air attack. 'I don't know if you can hear us, Showcross Gee, but you better let us in there pretty goddamn soon. It's going to start coining unglued out here in a matter of minutes.'

Billy was looking in the opposite direction, across the city and beyond the gates, where Baptiste and his men were waiting out the ultimatum.

'There's something I'd really like to have explained to me,' he said.

'What's that?'

'What exactly does Baptiste have against the metaphysicians? I mean, how did all this get started?'

Reave looked at him in surprise. 'You mean you don't know?'

'How the hell should I know? I was never one of his boys.'

Reave shrugged. 'It's easy. He was one of them.'

'He was what?'

'He was one of them. He was a metaphysician once upon a time.'

Billy blinked. 'That lunatic?'

'They cut him off, drummed him out of the order.'

'Because he was crazy?'

'It was more specific than that. He was doing this series of experiments that involved tapping directly into the brain patterns of live humans. Rumors started going around about massive death tolls and how Baptiste was having hundreds of duplicates beamed in from Stuff Central. The College of Metaphysicians investigated, and they found that he had hundreds of human duplicates wired up to these kind of storage devices. He was literally draining off their life forces like some kind of high-tech vampire. The college outlawed the practice and expelled Baptiste in disgrace. He was lucky to escape with his life. It was only the fact that the College of Metaphysicians had never granted itself capital powers over its members that saved him from execution. Needless to say, Baptiste didn't see it that way. He swore that he'd get his revenge, and he's been doing exactly that ever since. I imagine he sees this as his crowning moment.'