Rook

Myfanwy with dignity. “And how do you know what route I took?”
    “This
is
London,” said Grantchester. “The ring of steel? We have enough cameras in the city that I could have put together a miniseries on your trip to the bank. We lost you after that, however. Our attention was on that team you left comatose.
    “We had never been certain of the extent to which you had lost your memory. Norman swore up and down that he had done the job thoroughly—that all vestiges of your identity had been denatured, leaving us with a blank slate. You would retain your skills and some of your education, but the thoughts and memories that made you Myfanwy Thomas were gone. He was positive.
    “However, he’d also been certain that after he was finished with you, you’d be completely incapacitated. And the corpses scattered liberally around London definitely disproved
that
assertion.”
    He sighed, seeming rather put out.
    “In any case, you turned up at work that Monday looking like you’d been through a war. And I’ll admit, I had a little bit of a panic. I immediately activated the listening devices in your office and had you monitored constantly. If you’d done anything that indicated you remembered—if you’d made any accusations—well, there arecontingency plans for seizing control of the Checquy ahead of schedule. It would have been messy, and risky, but I think we might have carried the day.
    “But you did your job and never brought up anything unfortunate. You seemed a bit confused by things, a little hesitant when it came to routine matters, but I thought that you might have lost only a few days of memory, or perhaps even hours. After all, you knew who you were and did your job competently. Gestalt, who did not know about your memory modification, had no idea anything was going on, although he noticed that you were more assertive than usual.”
    “You didn’t tell Gestalt?”
    “The fewer people who know secrets, the easier the secrets are to keep,” said Grantchester. “And besides, I wasn’t certain. But thanks to your little exposition this evening, I now know that Norman was right—you are not her. And whoever you may have grown to be—well, you have already proven that you know too much.” Myfanwy was again conscious of the long fingers on her neck. “It’s a pity, in a way. We should love to find out the whole story, but at this point, I’m inclined to cut my losses.”
    “You’re going to erase me?” Myfanwy asked shakily. “Just like you got rid of Thomas’s personality?”
    “Or lack thereof,” said Grantchester. “And yes, we shall. But obviously it’s not going to be done the same way. Before, we wanted a cooperative, malleable mind in your body. One that could communicate effectively and prove useful. Clearly, that’s a risk we cannot take again. This time, Norman will clear out your brain entirely. The next person to look out of those eyes will be a complete newborn. We’ll keep you alive for some tests—tracing some impulses, seeing you react in a laboratory setting. And then later, they’ll saw you up into pieces suitable for viewing through a microscope.”
    “Excuse me?” she said.
    “We were always going to make a thorough study of you,” said the Bishop expansively. “You terrify the Grafters. A woman who can control living matter. Their great advantage—the weapons withwhich they can smite the Checquy—are all biological. They wouldn’t be able to shoot their guns if you decided that you didn’t want them to. Any enhancements their agents possess could tear themselves out at your command. You, my dear, are their worst nightmare. And also their greatest possibility. You’re our uranium. If we can reverse-engineer you, there’s nothing we can’t achieve.”
    “The Estate scientists couldn’t,” pointed out Myfanwy tensely. Norman’s fingers were tracing their way down, inside her coveralls to her shoulders.
    “The Estate scientists are children with Legos compared to these people.” Grantchester snorted contemptuously. “The Grafters have been doing this for centuries. They mapped the human genome when Queen Victoria was still on the throne. They surveyed the territory of the human body and built skyscrapers!” His eyes looked beyond her. “Ah, perhaps you would like to speak with my other guests before we have you obliterated?” Out of the corner of her eye, Myfanwy saw two figures passing around the desk to flank Grantchester.
    Eliza and