"But the catch, you see, is that his fate is linked with mine. He's another part of my mind, so in your terms, I'm insane. It will destroy us all, eventually, the good with the bad.
"But he was on his best behavior until you came along. "I had planned to contact you a few days before you arrived here. It was my intention to pick you up with Hyperion's external grapples. I assure you I could have done it delicately, not breaking any glassware.
"Oceanus exploited my weakness. My radio transmission organs are on the rim. There were three of them, but one broke down ages ago. The others are in Oceanus and Crius. Crius is my ally, but Rhea and Tethys managed to destroy his transmitter. Suddenly all my communications were in the hands of Oceanus.
"I decided not to make the pick-up. Not having been in con- tact with me, you would surely have misinterpreted it.
"But Oceanus wanted you for himself."
The battle raged beneath the surfaces of Oceanus and Hyperion. It was fought in the great conduits that supplied the nutrient fluid known as Gaea's milk.
Each of the human captives was encapsulated in a protective jelly while their fates were decided. Their metabolic rates were slowed. Medically, they were comatose, unaware of their surroundings.
The weapons of the war were the pumps that impelled nutrients and coolants through the underworld. Great pressure imbalances were created by both combatants, so that at one point a geyser of milk broke through in Mnemosyne and spurted a hundred meters into the air, to fall on the sands and fuel a brief spring.
They battled for the better part of a year. Then at last, Oceanus knew he was losing. The prizes began to flow toward Hyperion under the staggering pressure Gaea built from lapetus, Cronus, and Mnemosyne.
Oceanus changed his tactics. He reached into the minds of his captives and woke them up.
"I had been afraid all along held do that," Gaea said, as the room lights threatened to gutter into oblivion. "He had a link into your brains. It became imperative for me to sever that link. I used tactics that I don't think you'd understand. in the process, I lost one of you. When I got her back, she had been changed.
"He was trying to destroy you all before I got you-your minds, not your bodies. That would have been easy enough. He flooded you with information. He implanted the whistle speech in one of you, the songs of the Titanides in two more. That any of you survived with your sanity is a source of amazement to me. "
"Not all of us did," Cirocco said.
"No, and I'm sorry. I'll try to make it up to you, somehow."
While Cirocco was wondering what could possibly be done to put things right, Gaby spoke up.
"I remember climbing a huge stairway," she said. "I passed through golden gates, and stood at the feet of God. Then a few hours ago it seemed like I was in the same place again. Can you explain that?"
"I talked to all of you," Gaea said. "In your condition, mentally pliable from days of sensory deprivation, you put your own interpretation on it."
"I don't recall that at all," Cirocco said.
"You blanked it. Your friend Bill went further, and blanked most of his memories.
"Interviewing you through Hyperion, I decided what must he done. April was too far indoctrinated with angel culture and customs. Trying to return her to what she had been would have destroyed her. I transported her to the spoke and let her emerge to find her own destiny.
"Gene was sick in his mind. I took him to Rhea, hoping that he would remain separated from the rest of you. I should have destroyed him."
Cirocco sighed.
"No. I let him live when I could have killed him, too."
"You make me feel better," Gaea said. "As for the rest of you, it was imperative that you be returned at once to full consciousness. There was not even time to bring you together. I hoped you would make your way up here, and in time, you did. And now you can go home."
Cirocco looked up quickly.
"Yes, the rescue ship is here. It's under the command of Captain Wally Svensen, and-"
"Wallyl " Gaby and Cirocco said it simultaneously.
"A friend? You'll see him soon. Your friend Bill has been talking to him for two weeks now." Gaea looked uncomfortable, and when she spoke again there was a hint of petulance in her voice. "It's a bit more than a rescue mission, actually. "
"I thought it might be. "
"Yes. Captain Svensen is equipped to wage a war with me. He has a large number of nuclear bombs, and his presence out there is making me nervous. That's one of the things I wanted to ask you. Could you put in a good word? I couldn't possibly be a threat to the Earth, you know."
Cirocco hesitated a moment, and it was Gaea's turn to look uncomfortable.
"Yes, I think I can straighten it out."
"Thanks so much. He didn't actually say he was going to bomb me, and when he discovered there were survivors from Ringmaster that possibility became more remote. I've picked up some of his scout ships, and they are in the process of constructing a base camp near Titantown. You can explain to him what happened, as I'm not sure he believes me."
Cirocco nodded, and said nothing for a long time, waiting for Gaea to continue. She did not, and eventually Cirocco had to speak.
"How do we know if we can believe all this?"
"I can give you no assurances. I can only ask you to believe the story as I told it."
Cirocco nodded again, and stood up. She tried to make it casual, but no one had been expecting it. Gaby looked confused, but got to her feet.
"It's been interesting," Cirocco said. "Thanks for the coke."
"Let's don't he hasty," Gaea said, after an astonished pause.
"Once I return you to the rim I won't be able to speak to you directly."
"You can send me a postcard."
"Do I detect a hint of anger?"
"I don't know. Do you?" Suddenly she was angry, and was not sure why. "You're the one in the position to know. I'm your captive, no matter what you call it."
"That's not quite true."
"I have only your word for that. Only your word for a number of things. You bring me to a room straight out of an old film, show yourself to me as a dumpy old woman, give me my only vice to indulge in. You bring down the lights and tell me a long and unlikely story. What am I supposed to believe?"
"I'm sorry you feel that way."
Cirocco shook her head tiredly. "Skip it," she said. "I'm feeling a little let down, that's all."
Gaby cocked one eyebrow at her, but said nothing. It irritated Cirocco, and it didn't help when Gaea seemed interested in the statement, too.
"'Let down'? I can't imagine why. You've done what you set out to do, against formidable odds. You've stopped a war. And now you're going home."
"The war bothers me," Cirocco said, slowly.
"In what way?"
"I didn't swallow your story. Not all of it, anyway. If you really want me to go to bat for you, tell me the real reason the Titanides fought the angels for so long, to so little purpose."
"Practice, " Gaea said, promptly.
"Say again?"
"Practice. I have no enemies, and nothing in my instinctive behavior to help me cope with war. I knew I would meet humans soon, and everything I learned about you underlined your aggressiveness. Your news, your films, your books: war, killing, predation, hostility."
"You were getting ready to fight a war with us."
"I was exploring the techniques, in case I had to."
"What did you learn?"
"That I was terrible at it. I can destroy your ships if they approach closely, but that's all. You could destroy me in the twinkling of an eye. I have no feel for strategy. My victory over Oceanus showed all the subtlety of arm-wrestling. As soon as you people, arrived, April revolutionized the angel attack and Gene was about to introduce new weapons to the Titanides. I could have given them those weapons, of course. I've seen enough cowboy movies to know how a bow and arrow functions."