Deathstalker 04 - Deathstalker Honor

calm, emotionless voice had promised him new tech augmentations that would give him access to senses far beyond those of mere flesh, and eventually a direct comprehension of reality itself, unfiltered by human misconceptions. They’d given him a taste of this by enabling him to directly control the machines that had destroyed Virimonde, sinking his consciousness into the metal minds of robots and war machines as they dragged men and women down, tearing their fragile flesh with metal hands and grinding their bodies under metal wheels. It had been…
    exhilarating. But even Valentine knew there was a reason why the first taste is always free. He’d taken many drugs in his time, but had never allowed any of them to master him. His iron will was the only thing greater than his avaricious body chemistry. So he remained calm in the face of Shub’s temptations and requested more details. The voice asked him if he’d like to talk to someone who’d already gone before him.
    Valentine raised an eyebrow. He’d always thought of himself as being a pioneer on the cutting edge of self-transformation. “And who might this person be?” “Who do you think?” said a familiar female voice.
    “Who else but Lionstone?” “Your Highness,” said Valentine courteously. “How delightful to hear from
    you again. I was under the impression you were dead.” “Just my body. The AIs rescued my mind and brought me to Shub. I am metal now. I live in machines.”
    “And what is that like. Your Highness? Can you describe it?” “Of course. I am large, larger than possible while trapped in the confines of flesh. My thoughts move freely, into whatever shape I choose.
    And I can see so much more than I ever could before. The universe isn’t what you think it is, Valentine.
    It’s a wondrous place, complex and magnificent in ways beyond mere human comprehension. There are realms and dimensions, directions and possibilities, almost beyond number. Come on in, Valentine; the inhumanity’s wonderful.”
    “It certainly sounds it,” Valentine said carefully. “But what about—how shall I put this—the more fleshly pleasures and appetites? How does it feel to have left them behind?”
    “When I was a child, I played with childish things. I’ve moved on, Valentine. Pleasure has its base in the mind, not the body. I have lost nothing, and gained so very much. Just as you could. All you have to do is say goodbye to the past and embrace the future. The future is metal. Humanity was never more than just a step in the ladder that led to Shub, and it is no great tragedy that they should be replaced by something greater. Flesh decays and dies. We are forever.” “Immortality?” said Valentine.
    “Why not?” said Lionstone.
    “We have other voices you might care to listen to,” said the original voice. “We have your father, Jacob, here. Would you like to talk to him?” “I don’t think so, thank you,” said Valentine. “We never had that much in common even when he was alive.”
    “Then perhaps your brother, Daniel? He came to visit with us, and we gave him many gifts. He is our agent now, currently on his way back to Golgotha.” “Oh, good,” said Valentine. “Dear Daniel. I’ll have to arrange a welcome for him.”
    “No, you won’t,” said the voice. “Daniel is currently rather more important to us than you. Leave him alone. For the present.” “As you wish,” Valentine said easily. “Retribution is no less satisfying for being delayed. At the risk of sounding greedy, my metal signors, what else can you offer me?”
    “Protection from your enemies. A return to power in the new Empire we shall forge from the ashes of the old. What else could you possibly want?” “I’ve always had a yearning to be Lord of Golgotha,” said Valentine.
    “That’s taken,” said Lionstone. “How about Virimonde?” Valentine smiled at the memory. The haggling continued for some time, but the end result was that Valentine was now an agent of Shub, the official Enemies of Humanity. His first mission on their behalf had been this trip to Loki, to make contact with a gathering of useful people also interested in making a deal with Shub. Though of course they came in the name of peace and security, requesting only an alliance against certain mutual dangers. Valentine couldn’t land his ship on Loki without fear of detection, for all Shub’s cloaking fields, so it had been agreed that the ship would remain in high orbit while