‘Immediately Litz has fallen we will commence the programme of Population Rationale.’
The aide with a memo unit scurried to keep pace with A.A. Catto, at the same time juggling with the unit’s pick-up so it remained always focused on her. To miss one of her pearls of wisdom was to court instant death.
‘It seems to us that if we simply allow our captive peoples to go on much as before, the whole idea of conquest loses its essential beauty.’
The aides nodded frantically.
‘Yes, our leader.’
‘We feel that the captive population must be reorganized to fit in with our pattern of empire.’
Again the aides nodded and chorused. Nancy noted silently that A.A. Catto had begun to refer to herself in the plural. She took the responsibilities of an empress very seriously.
Without warning, A.A. Catto turned right down a side corridor. The aides collided with each other in their frantic efforts to keep pace with her.
‘This is basically the core of the Humanity Problem.’
One aide, bolder than the rest, smiled ingratiatingly at her.
‘You have a solution to this problem, our leader?’
A.A. Catto halted and looked at him menacingly.
‘Do you really think we might be seeking your advice on the matter?’
The aide made fluttering, bird-like motions.
‘Of course not, our leader. I would never presume.’
The other aides edged away from him, fearful they might fall into disfavour by association. A.A. Catto resumed her brisk march. She carried a short whip, which she rhythmically tapped against her leg.
‘We have decided that the most beneficial policy would be to clear all stable areas of random humanity. A single area will be allocated so they can be concentrated in one spot. Make a note. We require a brain analysis of the most suitable location. Once that has been decided we can start to move the population. It will make our empire so much more tidy. Human populations can be replaced by clones as and when needed.’
A.A. Catto’s expression became almost holy.
‘Once the human population has been concentrated in this one spot, a complex can be created to carry out experimental work on individuals and groups as to their suitability for either reprogramming or extermination.’
The aide who had incurred A.A. Catto’s wrath attempted to regain favour.
‘The plan has an elegant symmetry, our leader.’
The Presley replica glanced up and wondered if he ought to have said that. He decided it wasn’t his style, and therefore was not expected of him. He resumed staring at his legs, admiring the tightness of his gold pants. Nancy was struck by the innate absurdity that seemed to hover around absolute power. A.A. Catto simply nodded in curt acknowledgement.
‘The human population will, of course, be put to work on the construction of the experimental establishment.’
A.A. Catto looked thoughtful.
‘We have been considering a name for this place. We are torn between the Humanity Centre and the Catto Institute. We have been giving much thought to names lately. We consider them to be of paramount importance. We have been thinking about our own name.’
She glanced at Nancy.
‘How does Catto the First grab you, sweetie?’
Nancy forced a brittle smile. At least she was still sweetie, although the word had an acid bite to it.
‘It has a ring to it, my love.’
A.A. Catto nodded absently.
‘That’s what we thought. Very well, a number of problems still do remain. Take note. Firstly, it is safe to assume that a percentage of the human population will die in transit to the concentration area. We will require an accurate prediction of what this percentage will be. Second, we will need a profile of the survivors and those unable to survive. Third, we require a schematic brief of the precise operation of an establishment whose primary purpose is the elimination of free will and random action on the part of humans.’
Nancy was struck by the fact that A.A. Catto no longer considered herself human. A.A. Catto continued.
‘Lastly, we will need detailed plans for the design of buildings and hardware outlined in the answer to the previous request, and the logistics of their construction.’
She looked round at the aides.
‘Have we made ourself clear?’
The aides fell over themselves to show they understood.
‘Of course, our leader.’
‘Good.’
The boldest of the aides ventured another question.
‘Will there be anything else, our leader?’
A.A. Catto’s face darkened. She slapped the whip hard into her palm. The aide went white with terror. A.A. Catto regarded all the aides with an icy expression. Her voice went very quiet.
‘There is one more thing.’
There was a deathly hush. A.A. Catto’s voice rose hysterically.
‘We want Litz taken! Taken now, with no more delay! Now go!’
The aides scurried away, and she let out a deep breath. She snapped her fingers at Nancy and the Presley replica.
‘You two, Nancy and Elvis. You will come with us to our suite. If we don’t relax we are liable to become insane.’
***
Of all the towns and cities attacked by A.A. Catto’s legions Litz had the most warning. For many days before the first Quahal storm troopers reached its stable areas, thousands of refugees had been pouring into the city.
Not that Litz actually had days. The sections of its generators that controlled the climate and the passing of light and dark were set permanently at warm pleasant nighttime. Litz was completely a city of night. The bars, the clubs, the sex shows and the brothels made the soft blackness a world of adventure for those who had the credits to pay for it.
Litz had been designed as a sleazy, sensual wonderland. It was a tinsel city where anything could be had for a price. A million lights illuminated the sky. Skyscrapers towered in floodlit magnificence. Coloured searchlights lanced into the heavens. The street lamps and the lights of the hundreds of ground cars turned the wide streets into glittering rivers. Airships and ornithopters drifted between the tall buildings, adding their own spots and riding lights to the general radiance.
Not all was pleasure and light in Litz. It also had its sinister shadows. Behind the shining façades were the grim back alleys. These were the haunts of the winos, the muggers and the homicidal juve gangs. It was the territory of half starved human debris who competed with the huge rats, the wildcats and the semi-savage dogs that treated the maze of narrow alleys and claustrophobic yards as their personal hunting grounds.
Litz had changed. The looming war had put the city through more changes than ever before in its history. The first of these was the flood of refugees. The ones who had brought credit or acceptable goods out with them had installed themselves at the gleaming hotels. Those who hadn’t had swelled the ranks of the back alley dwellers.
Litz had adapted to war amazingly fast. Anywhere that was so corrupt must have that facility. Corruption always adapts.
Litz, after all, had its foundations in the highest principles of human greed and operated on a finely honed interlocking system of bribes and expediency.
Almost instantly an array of fanciful uniforms had appeared in the bars, the nightclubs and the foyers of the whorehouses. Patriotic posters had quickly appeared on the walls of the city. Stirring martial parades had snarled traffic on the main streets. A thriving black market had mushroomed into being. It was, however, largely unnecessary as all the material goods needed by the city continued to come in on the stuff beam. One thing A.A. Catto had been unable to achieve, despite threats and pleading, was to persuade Stuff Central to discontinue service to cities under attack.