Deathstalker 03 - Deathstalker War

evening, the humans remained by the guardrail, watching the dark River flow past. The land was already disappearing into the growing dark. Strings of bright paper lanterns illuminated the deck. Toby sighed loudly.
    "Take a good look, people. After a while, this is going to seem exciting. I mean, the ship's very nice, and all that, but there's nothing to flaming do!
    Unless you want to play children's games. There's plenty of those. I can't
    believe people really paid through the nose for this. I'd be bored out of my mind inside twenty-four hours. I can only assume all the customers were heavily drugged on arrival, and kept that way till they left, and I wouldn't object to some now. God, I'm bored!"
    "Make the most of it," said Giles. "You don't really think we're going to follow the River all the way to Harker unopposed, do you? There are any number of people, or toys, with a vested interest in seeing we don't get that far."
    The humans looked casually about them. The toys were all in the main stateroom, chatting together, leaving the humans alone. The humans kept their voices down anyway. You never knew who might be listening.
    "Of course there'll be opposition," said Julian. He looked pale, but back in control. "The bad toys are still out there, looking for humans to kill. But they'll have a job getting to us on here. And we've got guns. We should be able to hold them off easily enough."
    "It's not that simple," said Giles. "Forget about good toys and bad toys. We can't trust anything we meet on this planet. They're a new form of intelligence, and we have no idea what kind of needs and motivations really drive them.
    They're not human, and though they ape human emotions and attitudes, there's no guarantee they actually feel any of them. We can't trust them an inch."
    "They're trying to be human," said Evangeline. "We have to encourage that. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shape the consciousness and soul of a new form of artificial intelligence. We can't turn our backs on them. We created them. They're our responsibility."
    "Shub created them," said Toby. "Who knows what hidden commands could be lurking deep inside their new awareness?"
    "They broke their Shub programming," said Flynn. "Or at least, the good toys
    did. Otherwise, we'd all be dead by now."
    "All right," said Giles. "Let's talk about Harker. The bad toys want him dead because he's human. The good toys want him dead or removed, because they see him as a danger. And the toys he's gathered around him will presumably do anything they can to stop us taking him. But what does he want? Will he fight to stay, or fight to go? What's he really up to, hiding in the Forest at the end of the River?"
    "He's supposed to be gathering good and bad toys," said Evangeline. "If that's true, it's the only place on this planet where good and bad toys are living together. Why don't the bad toys kill him? He's just a human, after all. I wonder what he says to the toys that binds them to him so strongly? And what is he doing with them? What does he want them for?"
    "The good toys are trying to hide it, but they were scared shitless of him,"
    said Toby. "Whoever they send into the Forest to find some answers, no matter how trusted or loyal, never comes back. They stay with Harker. I think in Toystown they're afraid of the control Harker seems to have over toys. Perhaps the same kind of control humans had over all toys, before they became aware."
    "No wonder they're scared," said Julian. "But then, why weren't they scared of us? We're humans, just like Harker."
    "Good question," said Finlay. "Perhaps they're just hiding it, because they need us to deal with Harker. They got us out of the town and on our way fast enough, didn't they?"
    "Something else about Harker," said Giles. "Why hasn't he made any effort to get offplanet? He's supposed to have a head full of vital Empire secrets. But instead of putting all his efforts into getting in contact with the orbiting
    starcruiser, so someone could come down and pick him up, he's hidden himself away in the heart of the Forest, protected by an army of fanatical followers.
    What has he found there? What keeps him there? What does he hope to achieve with his army of toys?"
    Toby snorted. "An army of toys won't do him much good when the Empress runs out of patience and sends down an army of shock troops to get him. They'll just walk in and take Harker, and he'll go home whether he wants to or not."
    "Don't be so sure," said