Kinder des Schicksals 4 (Xeelee 9): Resplendent

responsible - and it had taken Poole to see
it, Poole, a Virtual designed by the Idealists themselves!
    But as he thought it over, he did see how alike the two Guilds
were. And, he couldn’t help wondering, if the Idealists were capable
of such deception, could it be that his own Ecclesia would not be
above such dirty tricks? It was all politics, as Poole would probably
say, politics and money, and a competition for the grubby trade of
refugees and pilgrims. Perhaps even now the Ecclesiasts were plotting
manoeuvres just as underhand and unscrupulous against their
rivals.
    An unwelcome seed of doubt and suspicion lodged in his mind. To
burn it out he took his data desk and began furiously to write out a
long report on the whole incident for his Hierocrat.
    But before he had completed the work he was disturbed again. This
time it wasn’t Mara who was causing trouble for the crew, but Poole -
who had gone missing.
     
    Tahget met Futurity in the observation lounge.
    Futurity said, ’I don’t see how you can lose a Virtual.’
    Tahget grunted. ’We know he’s being projected somewhere. We can
tell that from the energy drain. What we don’t know is where. He
isn’t on the monitors. We’ve checked out all the permitted zones by
eye. What’s he up to, acolyte?’
    Once again Futurity found himself flinching from Tahget’s glare.
’You know, Captain, the way you use your physical presence to
intimidate me - ’
    ’Answer the question!’
    ’I can’t! I’m on this voyage because of Poole - believe me, I wish
I wasn’t here at all - but I’m not his keeper.’
    ’Acolyte, if you’re hiding something…’
    Futurity was aware of a shadow passing over him. He turned.
    There was Poole.
    He was outside the hull, standing horizontally with his feet on
the window’s surface, casting a diffuse shadow into the lounge. He
was dressed in a skinsuit, and he looked down at Futurity with a
broad grin, easily visible through his visor. The Virtual rendition
was good enough for Futurity to see the pattern on the soles of
Poole’s boots. Behind him, entangled ships drifted like clouds.
    Futurity gaped. ’Michael Poole! Why - how - ?’
    ’I can tell you how,’ Tahget said. He walked up to the window,
huge fists clenched. ’You hacked into your own software, didn’t you?
You overrode the inhibiting protocols.’
    ’It was an interesting experience,’ Poole said. His voice sounded
muffled to Futurity, as if he was in another room. ’Not so much like
rewriting software as giving myself a nervous breakdown.’ He held up
a gloved hand. ’And you can see I didn’t do away with all the
inhibitions. I wasn’t sure how far I could go, what was safe.
Futurity, I think it’s possible that if I cracked this visor, the
vacuum would kill me just as quickly as it would kill you.’
    Futurity felt an urge to laugh at Poole’s antics. But at the same
time anger swirled within him. ’Poole, what are you doing out there?
You’re the only one Mara trusts. All you’re doing is destabilising a
dangerous situation, can’t you see that?’
    Poole looked mildly exasperated. ’Destabilising? I didn’t create
this mess, acolyte. And I certainly didn’t ask to be here, in this
muddled century of yours. But given that I am here - what do I want
out of it? To find out, that’s what. That’s all I ever wanted, I
sometimes think.’
    Tahget said, ’And what did you go spacewalking to find out,
Poole?’
    Poole grinned impishly. ’Why, Captain, I wanted to know about your
Hairy Folk.’
    Futurity frowned. ’What Hairy Folk?’
    Tahget just glared.
    Poole said, ’Shall I show him?’ He waved a hand. A new Virtual
materialised beside him, hanging in the vacuum. Its fragmentary
images showed shadowy figures scurrying through the ship’s corridors,
and along those translucent access tubes that snaked between the
intertwined ships.
    At first they looked like children to Futurity. They seemed to run
on all fours, and to be wearing some kind of dark clothing. But as he
looked closer he saw they didn’t so much crawl as scamper, climbing
along the tube using big hands and very flexible-looking feet to
clutch at handholds. There was something odd about the proportions of
their bodies too: they had big chests, narrow hips, and their arms
were long, their legs short, so that all four limbs were about the
same length.
    ’And,’ Futurity said with a shudder, ’that dark stuff isn’t
clothing, is it?’
    For answer, Poole froze the