Chapter 8: The Selok
The Selok shifted more of its focus to the Bolon-body so it could watch the red-haired human. Was this was the one who had almost destroyed it? Yes, it remembered those green eyes. Most unusual on Shadriss. Also, he was larger than most of the humans on of this planet—almost as large as the Bolon-body. The man was lean, muscular, and he bore the Selok’s parting scar across his face. Yes, it was sure that this was the same man.
"What do you want done?" the man asked.
It picked the name from the mind of the Bolon body; Jak this one called himself. The Selok was almost certain that Jak thought he was talking to a human. In a way, he was correct. This body’s original genetic structure was human, and in the years since the Selok’s disastrous attempt to assimilate a fully developed adult, the Bolon-body had begun to develop a personality of its own. And that personality both hated and feared Jak. The Selok brought more of its identity into the Bolon-body, but it was a tight fit. The human child-mind at the core of the body had grown.
"Or did you just bring me here to chat?"
The Selok was amused, in its dry way. Did the man think that it couldn’t read the fear as well as the defiance in his body posture? The child mind in the Bolon-body had a plan, one that would torment two enemies at once, and the Selok decided to let the Bolon-body have its way. If this human remembered enough of what had happened, he could become a danger to all of its selves.
"I want you to kill a troublemaker."
"Bolon, I don’t do murder for hire. We’ve been over this before."
"Yes, and you weren’t listening, Jak of no clan. I made you a good offer then, but you threw it away. That crack on your head must really have scrambled your brains. Now, I’m not asking, I’m telling." He paused and looked directly at Jak for the first time. "And I’m telling you to get rid of that whore, Tessa."
The human tried to hide it, but it saw the look of dismay on Jak’s face. The Selok didn’t understand how humans could be together without one assimilating the other. This human had seemed so separate, so individual, and defenseless, that the Selok had ignored the old prohibitions against assimilating an adult mind. The encounter had nearly destroyed all of its selves.
"A friend of yours, isn’t she?" The Bolon-body smiled.
The child-mind had wanted the woman the way it wanted the pretty toys that it played with constantly. But her refusal had triggered something deeper, something far down in the Bolon-body’s hindbrain where infants and females bonded. Just thinking about that kind of link was repellent to the Selok.
"That should make it easier for you to get close to her."
"I told you, I’m not a murderer."
"Really?" The Bolon-body laughed; a small, nasty sound without humor. "If you’re too soft, I can get one of my regulars to do the job."
This was taking too long, the Selok thought. It didn’t have time to cater to the emotional needs of the child-brain. It pushed more of itself into the Bolon-body’s awareness—and it was pushed back! It paused, astonished. It had raised this body from an embryo, joined with it as soon as it was able to breathe on its own, and now the developing child-mind, a mind that should never have existed in the first place, was strong enough to push it away? The Selok pushed again, forcing its will on the child-mind. Resistance again! The child-mind’s rage and longing gave it strength. The Selok realized that it needed to return the mind to passive tranquility before it could assert complete control once again. The quickest way to do that was to give it what it wanted. But Jak was still defiant.
"You can kill me," Jak said, "or you can try." He looked at the men surrounding him, and they took a cautious step away. "But you can’t make me kill for you."
"Don’t be so sure," the Selok said through the Bolon-body. Now that they agreed on the course of action, it was easier to maintain control. "What if I offered something you wanted?"
"Even you don’t have enough credits to buy me," Jak said.
"You take too limited a view of what I have to offer. What about knowledge? I know who you are and where you came from. Kill the woman, and I can give that back to you."
The Selok watched Jak freeze. Yes, the human hadn’t expected that. It would give back what it knew of Jak’s past, and then it would kill him. The child-mind agreed. Then, it decided to up the ante.
"If you won’t do the job, I’m sure n’Tau will be happy to oblige."
Jak licked his lips, his tiny human mind obviously working furiously.
"Not n’Tau," Jak said, at last. "I’ll do it, but it will take a while to arrange. She’s with some High Lord now and won’t be back for a few days."
"You have until the end of the week. I don’t care how you do it, outlander. I just want the bitch dead. Remember, it’s her or you. I’m not going to put up with any more stalling. Now, get out," the Bolon-body ordered, picking up its puzzle. It looked like a small, brightly colored insect in his hands. Then as the Selok withdrew its attention, the big hands closed; the puzzle crumpled into broken shards and the lights died.
"You don’t have much time."