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Power. And be destroyed yourself. You are not a fool, Blade. I could not use
you if you were."
Blade raised himself on an elbow, careful not to disturb Isma. "Then why did
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you suggest such a plan in the first place?"
The neuter blinked. "I had to test you. You, a stranger from a strange place I
did not know. You might have been a fool!"
"So now you know," said Blade. "I am not a fool. I am Mazda, or most of Urcit
thinks I am, and I rule with Isma."
Honcho nodded, as if to himself. "So I planned it. I had two plans, really.
First, if you were a fool, you would destroy the Power, and yourself, and my
Pethcines would easily overrun Tharn and Urcit. It was, and I now admit it,
really not such a good plan. I would have Tharn, but I would not have the
Power. It would have taken a long time to restore the Power, if I could have
done it at all, and I need the Power to control Org and the Pethcines. They
are savages, as perhaps you remember?"
"I remember. How is Totha?"
Honcho's smiled thinned. The green eyes narrowed. "As ever, Blade. But she has
changed. She used to hate me, hold me in contempt, now she seems to like me. I
think I know why, but I still find it pleasant.
She has, or very nearly, taught me to understand coi."
Blade's taunt was deliberate. "How can that be? You are not a man. You are a
neuter. A nothing!"
Honcho shrugged and spread his long fingered, nearly prehensile hands in a
knowing gesture. "Perhaps.
Perhaps not. Even that may be changed. Totha thinks it may be, and she is very
interested. All the miracles, Blade, are not performed here in Urcit."
Blade became very alert. "What does that mean?"
Honcho could not repress his gloating. "Many, many kronos ago, Blade, before
the system was perfected, and all things became static, there was a thing
called sickness in Tharn. And there were men, homids, called surgeons. I have
read of them. Some were very wise and skilled. Then they vanished, were ruled
extinct, because they were not needed. But a few survived. I have been
searching all Tharn for a long time, and I have found one. In a remote corner
of West Provo. I sent ceboids and had him secretly brought to my Tower. He
tells me that there is a thing, something called an operation, that will make
me a man. In body as I already am in brain. What do you say to that, Blade?"
Blade was amused but he did not let Honcho see it. It was a minor development
that had no bearing on the matter at hand yet it buttressed his judgement of
Honcho. The neuter was a tortured creature and sex was going to be the death
of him. He was reaching for the unattainable and that was nearly always fatal.
Gravely he said: "Your ambition is impressive, Honcho. It is overwhelming. Not
only do you wish to rule
Tharn, you also wish to be a man. I can only advise you to be careful. Do not
overreach."
Honcho stroked his sharp chin. "I thought you would say that. You have
changed, Blade. You have changed greatly since I destroyed Moyna and took you
prisoner. Is it possible that I made a mistake sending you here as I did? I
begin to think there is treachery in your heart, Blade. That you do not intend
to carry out our plan, to keep our bargain."
Coldness grew in Blade. The neuter's tone was soft, lacking in anger, and
laden with a mocking confidence that rattled the big man. He kept his face
impassive.
"That may be, Honcho. Why do I need you now? I am accepted as Mazda. I rule. I
have Isma. With every hour I learn more of Tharn and Urcit and the uses of the
Power. What can you offer me, Honcho, that I do not already have? I command
now, Honcho, not you! You are fortunate that I decided to forget your scheming
and let you live in peace in the North Provo. You will, of course, have
nothing more to do with the Pethcines. When I am ready I will destroy them."
This last was said on impulse, on the spur of the moment. Blade felt a strange
compulsion to keep talking, because as long as he talked Honcho would not, and
he did not want Honcho to speak because he knew what Honcho was going to say.
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Blade did
not want him to say it. Blade was trying to forget it. And her.
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