The Descent

'Not  in  the  beginning,'  Thomas  conceded.  'In  the  beginning,  when  we  first  brought him  in,  he  was  more  like  an  orphan.  And  I  brought  him  into  our  people.  And  our reward?  He  brings  war  and  famine  and  disease.  We  gave  him  life  and  taught  him  the way.  And he brought soldiers, and guided colonists. Now he's  come  home  to  us.  But  as our prodigal son, or our mortal enemy?  Answer  me. Stand up.'

Ike  stood.

Thomas took  Ike's  left  hand  and  lifted  it  to  his  mouth.  Ali  thought  he  meant  to  kiss the  sinner's  hand,  to  reconcile,  and  she  felt  hope.  Instead  he  parted  Ike's  fingers  and put the  index  finger  into  his  mouth.  Then  he  sucked  it.  Ali  blinked  at  the  lewdness  of it. The  old  man  took  the  finger  in  all  the  way  to  the  bottom  knuckle  and  wrapped  his lips around the root.

Ike  looked over  at Ali, jaws bunching. Close your  eyes,  he signaled. She didn't.

Thomas bit.

His teeth  snapped through the bone. He yanked  Ike's  hand to one side.

Ike's  blood  slashed  across  Thomas's  jade  armor  and  into  Ali's  hair.  She  yelped.  His body shivered.  Otherwise  he gave  no reaction except  to lower his head in  supplication. His arm remained outstretched.  More fingers? Ali thought.

'What are you doing?' she cried out.

Thomas looked at her with bloody lips. He removed  the finger from his mouth as if it were  a  fishbone,  and  wrapped  it  in  Ike's  mutilated  hand,  which  he  then  released.

'What would you have  me do with this faithless lamb?' Now Ali saw. Here was the real Satan.

He'd misled her from  the  start.  She'd  misled  herself.  With  their  systematic  study  of her  maps,  and  their  promising  interpretation  of  the  hadal  alphabets,  glyphs,  and history, Ali had tricked herself into thinking she understood  the  terms  of  this  place.  It was the scholar's illusion, that words might be the world. But here was the legend  with a thousand faces. Kindly, then angry;  giving, then taking. Human, then hadal.

Ike  knelt, his head still bent. 'Spare this woman,' he asked. The  pain told in his voice. Thomas was cold. 'So gallant.'

'You have  uses for her.'

Ali  was  astonished,  less  by  Ike  trying  to  save  the  day  than  by  the  fact  her  day needed saving. Until a few minutes ago, her safety  had  seemed  a  reasonable  bet.  Now Ike's   blood   was   in   her   hair.   No   matter   how   deeply   she   penetrated   with   her scholarship, it seemed, the cruelty  of this place was adamant.

'I  do,'  said  Thomas.  'Many  uses.'  He  stroked  Ali's  hair,  and  the  armor  tinkled  like chandelier glass. She started  at the proprietary  gesture.

'She  will  restore  my  memory.  She'll  tell  me  a  thousand  stories.  Through  her,  I'll remember  all the things time has stolen from me. How to read the old writings, how to dream an empire, how to carry  a people to greatness.  So much has slid from  my  mind. What it was like in the beginning. The  face of God. His voice. His words.'

'God?' she murmured.

'Whatever  you  want  to  call  him.  The  shekinah  who  existed  before  me.  The  divine incarnate. Before history ever  began. At the farthest  edge of my  memory.'

'You saw him?'

'I am  him.  The  memory  of  him.  An  ugly  brute,  as  I  recall.  More  ape  than  Moses. But, you see, I've  forgotten. It's  like trying  to remember  the moment of my  own  birth. My  first birth as who I am.' His voice grew  as faint as dust.

First birth? The  voice of  God?  Ali  couldn't  fathom  his  tales,  and  suddenly  she  didn't want  to.  She  wanted  to  go  home,  to  leave  this  awful  place.  She  wanted  Ike.  But  fate had  sewn   her   into  the   planet's   belly.   A  lifetime  of  prayers,   and  here   she   was, surrounded by  monsters.

'Father  Thomas,'  she  said,  less  afraid  than  unable  to  use  his  other  name.  'Since  we first  met,  I've  been  faithful  to  your  desires.  I  left  behind  my  own  past  and  traveled here to restore  your  past. And I'll stay  here, just as we discussed. I'll help master  your dead language. That  won't change.'

'I  knew  I  could  count  on  you.'  But  her   devotion   was   simply   one  more   of  his possessions, she saw that now.

Ali folded her hands obediently, trying  not to see Ike's  blood  staining  his  beard.  'You can depend on me until the end of my  life. But in return,  you must not harm this man.'

'Is that a demand?'

'He  has  his  uses,  too.  Ike  can  clarify  my  maps.  Fill  in  my  blanks.  He  can  guide  you wherever  you want me to take  you.'

Ike's  head lifted slightly.

'No,'  Thomas  said,  'you  don't  understand.  Ike  doesn't  know  who  he  is  anymore.  Do you  realize  how  dangerous  that  is?  He's  become  an  animal  for  others  to  use.  The armies  use  him  to  kill  us.  The  corporations  use  him  to  lay  bare  our  territory  and  to guide  murderers  who  plant  it  with  disease.  With  plague.  And  he  hides  from  his  own evil by  leaping back and forth from one race to the other.'

Beside him, the monster Isaac smiled.

'Plague?' said Ali, in part  to digress from Thomas's  finality.  But  also  because  he  kept mentioning it, and she had no idea what he meant.

'You've  brought desolation onto my  people. It  follows you.'

'What plague?'

Thomas's eyes  flashed at her. 'No more deceptions,' he thundered. Ali shrank from him.

'My sentiments exactly,'  a reedy  voice piped out from the laptop computer.

Thomas  turned  his  head  as  if  hearing  a  fly  buzzing.  He  scowled  at  the  computer.

'What's this?' he hissed.

'A man called Shoat,' Ike  said. 'He wants to talk with you.'

'Montgomery Shoat?' Thomas spoke the  name  as  if  expelling  a  fetid  stench.  'I  know you.'

'I don't know how,' Shoat said. 'But we do have  mutual concerns.'

Thomas grabbed Ike's  arm and spun him face-out to the distant  cliffs.  'Where  is  this man? Is  he near? Is  he watching us?'

'Ah-ah,  careful,  Ike.  Not  a  word  more,'  Shoat  warned.  His  finger  wagged  at  them from the screen.

Thomas stood rooted behind Ike,  motionless except  for his head  switching  from  side to side, piercing the twilight. 'Join us, please, Mr Shoat,' he said.

'Thanks anyhow,' Shoat's image said on the screen. 'This is close enough for me.'

The  surreality  was breathtaking, a computer screen in this  underworld.  The  ancient speaking  to  the  modern.  Then  Ali  noticed  Ike's  eyes  darting  about.  He  was  gathering in the broken chamber, estimating it.

'You'll  be  down  soon  enough,  Mr  Shoat,'  Thomas  said  to  the  computer.  'Until  then, there's  something you wanted to talk about?'

'A piece of Helios property  has fallen into your  hands.'

'What does this fool want?' Thomas asked Ike.

'It's a locator. A homing device,' Ike  said. 'He claims it was taken  from him.'

'I'm lost without it,' Shoat said. 'Return it to me and I'll be out of your  hair.'

'That's all you want?' asked Thomas. Shoat considered. 'A head start?'

Thomas's face filled with rage, but he regulated his  voice.  'I  know  what  you've  done, Shoat. I know what Prion-9 is. You're  going to show me  where  you've  placed  it.  Every single location.'