“All right. Lasai—I like it. It seems to fit you, somehow.” Six nodded. “Now that we have established a ‘nickname’ for you, let us finish getting dressed and go meet with Yipper.”
“I don’t understand, though,” Mei-Li said as she pulled on the red wrap dress she’d made for herself back on Z4. “If you’ve decided you don’t want another implant, why are we seeing Yipper at all?”
“Because I believe he can help us. We will need a third party if we are to get away and stay away without incident. If I am to go to your planet and live with you there…” He paused uncertainly. “You do want me to come with you, do you not?”
“Oh, of course I do,” Mei-Li said quickly. “That was exactly what I was thinking about before Yipper called. But…do you think you can trust him to keep our secret?”
“I would trust Yipper with my life,” Six said firmly. “He was against me getting the emotion blocker implant in the first place. He will not be sorry to hear that I am feeling again.”
“I think you’re right. Yipper’s a good guy.” Mei-Li smiled as she finished tying her dress on the side. “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go.”
Chapter Twenty-seven
“It is good to see you again, Six…Mei-Li. Yes it is, yes it is.” Yipper nodded eagerly as they walked into the large white room filled with implants and mechanical prostheses. “But what has happened to your ocular scanner? Well, never mind, I can fix it. Yes I can, yes I can.”
“Yipper,” Six began.
“No, no—” The little Tolleg held up one hairy hand. “Before you say a word, I must apologize. Yes, I must, yes I must. You were so concerned about your implant that after you left I began to do some investigating into the happenings down on Zeaga 4. What I found both amazed and greatly distressed me.” He leaned forward, hunching his hairy little shoulders. “Some of the other Dark Kindred organics, especially those with pure Kindred DNA like yours, their implants—”
“Are failing. And have been for quite some time now,” Mei-Li finished for him.
Yipper’s big brown eyes got even wider in apparent shock.
“Well, yes. But how did you know, how did you know?”
Mei-Li explained briefly about her encounter with the old warrior, Malak.
“He said that he and a lot of the older Kindred warriors had their implants fail years ago but they were afraid if they went up to the medical barges, they would be forced to get new ones,” she said.
Yipper frowned. “I would never force anyone who didn’t want one to have an implant. No I wouldn’t, no I wouldn’t. I hope you know that now, Mei-Li, despite our misunderstanding when you first came.”
“Yes, I know, Yipper,” she said gently. “But maybe the Collective might force you to give them new implants.”
“It is possible. Yes it is, yes it is.” The little Tolleg looked troubled. “On their orders I have been working on a new emotion damper—an injection that permanently blocks the emotion receptors in the brain. Yes I have, yes I have.” He held up a large clear syringe filled with thick blue fluid. It had a large, wickedly sharp looking needle which made Mei-Li shudder.
“Wow,” she said flatly. “So that stuff is a permanent fix? No more emotions ever after you get injected with it?”
“Exactly. Much more reliable than an implant—practically foolproof. But I thought I was developing it for those who wanted it. I had no idea the warriors would wish to keep feeling once they started having emotions. No I didn’t, no I didn’t.”
“It is…a difficult thing to give up. Especially if you have someone to feel for,” Six said quietly. He reached for Mei-Li’s hand and entwined their fingers.
Yipper’s eyes grew wide.
“So it is true, your implant is failing? But I was so certain you were fine, yes I was, yes I was.”
“I tried to convince myself of the same thing,” Six said. “But I am glad I was wrong.”
“So you…you feel for Mei-Li?” Yipper’s eyes flew between the two of them.
Six nodded. “Can we trust you to keep our secret? Our very lives would be in danger if it was known.”
“Of course they would! And of course I will keep your secret. Yes I will, yes I will!” Yipper’s big brown eyes were shining. “Six, I cannot tell you how happy I am for you. I never wanted you to give up your feelings in the first place. No I didn’t, no I didn’t.”
“We knew we could trust you, Yipper.” Mei-Li gave the little Tolleg a spontaneous hug which made him squirm with pleased embarrassment.
“Of course, of course,” he murmured.
“We were hoping you could help us,” Six said seriously. “I intend to take Mei-Li back to her home planet of Earth and then stay there with her. But first I will fake my own death—blow up my shuttle to make it appear that I was on my way home and had an equipment malfunction.”
“A wise idea.” Yipper nodded. “How can I help, how can I help?”
“Simply by saying that you did in fact replace my implant before I left,” Six said. “There must be no question of my loyalty to the Collective or they will send warriors to seek me out. They must believe that I left to take Mei-Li home in a completely emotionless state.”
“Of course, of course.” The little Tolleg nodded again emphatically. “A wise plan.”
“Thanks, Yipper.” Mei-Li looked up at Six in awe. She’d had no idea that his plan to get away was so elaborate. The Collective must be like the Mob or something—no way out except in a pine box. The thought made another shiver run down her back. “Are you sure you’ll be all right?” she asked the little Tolleg. “I mean, maybe you should come with us. This might not be a safe place to be much longer.”
“I can take care of myself—I have been doing so for over four hundred cycles. Yes I have, yes I have,” Yipper said gently. “Though I appreciate your concern. Yes I do, yes I do.”
“No, but seriously—what if Z4 is in a downward spiral?” Mei-Li persisted. “The old man I told you about—Malak—he got very excited because he said I was the harbinger of some old prophesy—something about the beginning of the end of the Collective. Do you know anything about that?”
Yipper shook his head. “No I don’t, no I don’t.”
“Small in stature, big in heart, one will come…” Six murmured.
“What?” Mei-Li turned to him. “What did you say?”
Six had a look of deep concentration on his face for a moment. Then he shook his head.
“I don’t know. Something that came to me suddenly. The same way your nickname, Lasai did.”
“Lasai means ‘dear one’ or ‘darling one’ in Tergish—the language of the Terga traders,” Yipper said. “But oh dear, oh dear!” He looked at Six, clearly upset. “If you are remembering little snippets of your past then your implant must be in dreadful shape. Yes it must, yes it must. Have the dreams started yet?”
“He had an awful one earlier tonight,” Mei-Li said quickly. “But he couldn’t remember it when he woke up.”
“Nor will he unless I completely remove the implant,” Yipper said. “But I cannot recommend that. No I can’t, no I can’t.”
“You can’t?” Mei-Li asked.
“No indeed, no indeed. With the implant still in, Six will be able to experience emotions without the memories of his past coming back completely. The dreams will continue—that is unavoidable. Yes it is, yes it is. The dreams are simply the memories trying to come forward. But the implant will block them, even if it is malfunctioning.”
“So the memories must be…pretty bad then, huh?” Mei-Li didn’t want to ask for details because she knew how strongly Six felt about not having to remember.
“It is not simply the bad memories of his past that Six would have to face,” Yipper said earnestly. “He would also have what I call the ‘three-fold effect.’ Which means that the emotions he was having at the time I put in his implant and trapped his memories in the cache would come back three times as strong. Yes they would, yes they would.”
> “Oh my…” Mei-Li bit her lip. She vaguely remembered Malak saying something similar to her but the implications simply hadn’t sunk in at the time. Now she understood. Whatever horrible trauma Six had gone through and whatever emotional pain he had been experiencing because of it would come back to him times three if the implant came out. No wonder he doesn’t want it taken out! I wouldn’t either in his place.
“So you see,” Yipper said. “Removing the implant completely is a bad idea. Yes it is, yes it is.”
“Yes.” Mei-Li nodded and looked up at Six. “As a trained social worker, I’m supposed to be all about facing your past and your feelings. But in this case, I don’t blame you. Keep the implant in and we’ll find some way to deal with the dreams. Maybe some kind of sleep medication or something.”
He shook his head. “I will endure them as they are. They are a small price to pay to be with you forever.”
“Oh, Six…” Mei-Li hugged him hard and he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back, squeezing so tightly that for a moment she could barely breathe. She didn’t mind. She whispered in his ear, “I love you.”
He released her. “I feel for you, too, Lasai but I am not exactly sure what love is. Is it the falling feeling we talked about earlier?”
“That’s part of it,” she assured him. “But there’s also the feeling of warmth and comfort and safety when the person you love wraps their arms around you and holds on tight. And the good feeling you get when you know they’ll stand by you no matter what.”
“That I can promise,” he rumbled. “No matter what may come, I will be by your side.”
She smiled. “In that case, I’d better go pack for the trip home.”
He nodded. “I will come with you.”
“No you won’t, no you won’t,” Yipper protested. “I want to do a complete exam on you before you go, Six. I cannot understand how I could have missed your implant malfunction before. There must be some fundamental flaw in the implant itself.”
“Very well if you can make it quick,” Six said. “We need to be gone soon.”
“Of course, of course. Just an exam.” The little Tolleg pushed the rolling metal tray which held the syringe filled with emotion blocker away. “I suppose I will not be needing this.”
“No you won’t.” Mei-Li said. “But there’s one thing I don’t understand—why are you using a syringe instead of injecting it with your tongue, like you do everything else?”
“Why because, I do not wish to lose my own emotions. No I don’t, no I don’t!” The little Tolleg shook his head emphatically, making his long ears flap. “It takes a little longer to work if it is ingested orally rather than injected but either way, the emotion blocker is completely permanent and irreversible.”
“Ugh!” Mei-Li shivered. “Well I’m glad you didn’t have it before or Six and I would never have gotten together.”
“Very true, very true,” Yipper said soberly. “And in light of all I have learned recently, I am beginning to believe I should destroy it and never make another batch.”
“That might be a good idea,” Mei-Li told him. She turned to Six. “Look, you stay here and let Yipper examine you. I can get to the room and back again by myself with no problem. It won’t take me long to pack.”
“Just be careful.”
“I’ll be fine.” She stood on tiptoes and gave him a quick peck on the lips. “See you in a minute or two.”
With a little wave to Yipper, she left his enhancement area, stepping past the sliding silver door and out into the corridor. She noticed as she went that for some reason the door was standing open.
Huh, that’s weird. Thought those things were automatic. Mei-Li gave it a passing glance as she walked down the long winding corridor towards their room. Better tell Yipper to get that fixed. He probably—
“Well, hello my dear.” The cold voice was horribly familiar.
Mei-Li looked up and saw Two standing there, dressed as always in the long black leather coat that seemed to cling like bat wings to his skeletal frame. Flanking him were two silver robotic sniffers, their metallic jaws wrinkling into silent snarls.
“Two…” She started to back away but one boney hand reached out as fast as a snake snatching its prey. Almost before she knew it, he had her by the arm.
“Let me go!” She tried yanking away but though he was thin, Two was incredibly strong. His long, skinny fingers were like steel pincers wrapped around her upper arm.
“I think not.” He smiled his horrible grin, bearing stainless steel teeth. “I think that this time I’ll have a little fun with you.”
“Leave me alone! Six is with me—he’ll tear you apart! You and your freaky robot dogs too!” Though she knew it was useless, Mei-Li couldn’t help tugging against his grip. The feel of his hand on her skin was loathsome—like having a cold, dead fish touching her. It filled her with equal parts panic and revulsion.
“Oh, will he?” Suddenly a cold metal muzzle was pressed against the side of her neck. “Will he really, even when I tell him I’m perfectly prepared to purge you right in front of him? To blow your lovely little head off?”
“Please…” Mei-Li swallowed hard. Her heart was pounding and her palms were suddenly damp with sweat. “Please, don’t!”
“I won’t…not right away, anyway.” Two grinned again. “Not until I can see the look on Six’s face while I do it. Come on.” He yanked her forward, back to Yipper’s lab. “Let’s go see him together, shall we?”
Chapter Twenty-eight
“I can find nothing outwardly wrong,” Yipper said and Six could almost hear the frown of concentration in the Tolleg’s voice.
“Mei-Li said that the old male who spoke to her told her the implants remained outwardly fine even while malfunctioning inwardly for quite a long time—many cycles in some cases.” Six shifted restlessly on the exam table. He was face down so that Yipper could examine the back of his neck—a position which made him feel uncomfortably vulnerable. “I do not think—”
“Well, hello there, Six. How very nice to see you here,” a cold voice interrupted him.
Six sat up at once, a feeling like ice in the pit of his stomach. Mei-Li—is she…?
His frantic question was almost immediately answered. Two was holding her by the arm with the muzzle of a vaporizer jammed under her slight jaw.
“So,” he said smiling at Six. “Isn’t this a nice reunion? I was hoping I might see you again before you left.”
“Let her go.” Six’s voice sounded hoarse and strange in his own ears. “Don’t hurt her or I swear to the Goddess I’ll—”
“You’ll what—go running to tell One on me again?” Two made a face. “Be my guest, Six. Only I doubt he’ll have much to say about the matter—I used this on him first.” He jammed the vaporizer hard under Mei-Li’s chin and she let out a small hurt cry that made Six’s stomach knot.
“You killed One?”
“Let’s just say I moved up in the Collective’s rubric.” Two tapped the side of his skull and now Six saw that part of it had been removed. The old sensor lights that had been One’s direct line of communication to the overlords of Z4 were now blinking and buzzing in Two’s pale gray brain matter. “I was able to remove the circuits One used to communicate with the Collective. Unfortunately the rest of his huge head was blown to red mist but that is neither here nor there.” Two laughed coldly.
Six felt a tightness in his chest. Though he had never admitted it before, he now knew that he had emotions about One as well. The older male had been a mentor—a paternal figure who had guided Six after he joined the Dark Kindred. To think that he was gone and Six would never see him again made him ache inside—but even worse was the sharp anxiety he felt for Mei-Li.
“You might as well let Mei-Li go and drop this pretense. The Collective will kill you,” he said. “As soon as they find out what you did to One.”
“My dear Six, they’re machines. They don’t have any sentimental attachment to organics like o
urselves. As long as someone is there to carry out their orders, they don’t care who it is.”
“So now that you’re the top of the rubric, you think you can do whatever you want—purge whoever you want?” Six demanded.
“Well essentially, yes.” Two grinned, showing off his metal teeth.
“That’s fine.” Six took a deep breath. “Then purge me and let Mei-Li go home.”
“What? No!” Mei-Li struggled against Two but his grip on her arm never loosened a bit.
“Best be still, my dear,” he purred. “It really would be dreadful if my finger should slip. Think how messy it would be—a sudden explosion of blood and brain matter all over this lovely white room… Why I dare say our friend Yipper would spend the better part of a cycle picking up splinters of your skull and trying to clean up all that wet… red…mess.”
Mei-Li went suddenly very still.
“Please,” she said softly. “You don’t have to do this—to either of us. We’re going to leave and you’ll never have to see us again. Please.”
“Ah yes, I heard all your little plan as I stood in the corridor.” Two smiled. “And I know your secret, Six. Strangely enough, it is my secret as well.”
“What do you mean?” Six’s mouth was suddenly dry.
“I mean, my dear Six, that I am feeling. I have been for ages now. It is quite exhilarating, is it not? Much too exciting to give up.”
“Your implant has failed too? Yes it has, yes it has?” Yipper, who had been standing quietly in the corner, stared at him with wide eyes.
“So it would seem,” Two said. “But don’t worry—with a bit of rewiring it’s been simple enough to keep my little feelings to myself. There’s no need the Collective ever has to find out.” He tapped the side of his head again, indicating the sensors. “Of course, I also had to tamper a bit with my pets, the sniffers.”