Deathstalker 04 - Deathstalker Honor

being deliberately limited by outside forces? Like the Mater Mundi? Diana stopped the train of thought with an effort, and took a deep calming swallow of lukewarm tea from the cup on the table before her. After all the files she’d dug up and examined, she wasn’t much better off than when she’d started. In fact, she had far more questions than answers. Damned disturbing questions too. Hardly surprising. Even after almost three centuries of investigation into the subject, the best Empire scientists still had no real understanding of what made espers work. They had been pressed into service almost as soon as they’d been created because they were so massively useful. And afterward…
    questions had been discouraged. Espers worked and espers were property, and that was all anyone needed to know. The Mater Mundi, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have been created by anyone.
    She or it had just appeared spontaneously, out of nowhere. One minute the universe made sense, and the next the Mater Mundi was right there in the middle of things. She didn’t seem tied to any one planet.
    Earlier manifests had taken place on worlds scattered across the Empire. Diana hadn’t been able to discover any link or common denominator between them. Wherever there were espers, there were opportunities for the Mater Mundi.
    But her actions had changed in recent times. Whereas originally she had manifested only through single espers, now she bound them together into gestalts capable of far more than any individual. And none of them suffered any ill effects afterward. At least nothing obvious. So far. It was as though the Mater Mundi grew stronger, and more capable, the more it did. Learning by doing. Diana leaned back in her chair, pursing her lips thoughtfully. Maybe she could discover something useful by comparing the end results of the Mater Mundi’s actions. Work out what it was trying to achieve. Or work toward… Diana scowled. And maybe she could give herself an even bigger headache than she already had. She’d been working in a vacuum too long. She needed to talk to someone. She turned away from her computer terminal and activated the viewscreen. There was usually a long waiting list for private interplanetary calls these days, but Diana had priority as a war hero and major pain in the ass, and she used her privilege mercilessly. Contact with Mistworld took less than a minute to arrange, and soon Investigator Topaz was staring out of the viewscreen at Diana, her face as always utterly cold and controlled. “This had better be
    important, Vertue. I’m busy.” “You’re always busy, Investigator. I need to talk to you, about the Mater Mundi.”
    “You’re not the first. Lots of people are interested in her, and what she did to me.”
    “What did she do to you?” said Diana, leaning forward. Topaz frowned. “She supercharged me. I can do things now. Powerful things. I’m not just a Siren anymore. Not just a projective telepath. I’m more than I was. A lot of people are scared of me now. Of course, on Mistworld that’s usually an advantage.
    But this is… different. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear it was religious awe. A couple of days back, people started bringing their sick children to me, asking me to cure them by a laying on of hands.”
    “And?” said Diana, intrigued.
    Topaz sniffed, almost embarrassed. “Well… I was curious. So I ran a few objective tests. Did the whole bit. No one picked up their bed and walked. Hasn’t stopped them coming, though. I have security people screen my callers these days. I can guard against my enemies, but God save me from wannabe disciples. One group actually built a church to me.” “What happened?”
    “I burned it down. They got the message. Why are you asking me these questions, Vertue?”
    “I wanted to see if you were going through the same changes as me. The Mater Mundi brought together a lot of people on Mistworld. Have any of them demonstrated any notable changes?”
    “Vertue, everyone here has been busy rebuilding Mistport. We work sixteen-hour days, and none of us are getting enough sleep. We’ve all been acting pretty cranky. But I can’t say I’ve noticed anything…
    unusual. I have to go. Don’t bother me again without a damned good reason.”
    The viewscreen went blank as Investigator Topaz broke the connection from her end. Diana turned back to her computer terminal, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. Topaz appeared to have