mad? No, its actions during the rebellion had been straightforward enough. Just because Diana couldn't see a pattern yet, it didn't mean there wasn't one.
The truth about the previous manifests had been carefully hushed up, right from the beginning. The underground might not understand what the Mater Mundi was, but they knew that they needed her. Only the hidden files told how her previous chosen ones had all gone out in spectacular form, taking hundreds of innocent bystanders with them.
Apparently the underground had never made any attempt to investigate the nature of this… force that was taking over and destroying its own people. In any war, knowing the true nature of your enemy is useful, but knowing the true nature of your allies is vital. And yet there was nothing in the files, nothing at all, to suggest that the underground had asked any of even the most obvious questions. It was as though the idea simply hadn't occurred to them. Which raised the unnerving question of just how far the Mater Mundi's influence extended.
Jenny Psycho had survived the Mater Mundi's touch. So had Investigator Topaz. Two women both generally considered to be crazy. Perhaps being mentally walking wounded had left their minds adaptable enough to cope with being changed into something more, or at least other, than human. Certainly Diana's powers had been… transformed by the Mater Mundi's touch. She doubted there was a telepath on Golgotha who could match her if she put her mind to it. And she had other abilities too—psychokinesis and precognition, which was supposed to be impossible. The genetic engineers had proven through exhaustive and often tragic testing that the human brain could cope with only one power at a time. Anything else burned out the mind. Sometimes literally. That was why espers bred true, and children developed only the dominant trait.
And where was all her power coming from? Could the uber-esper have touched and awakened some unknown source of power inside Diana Vertue? Maybe something buried so deeply within the human psyche that only an inhuman touch could spark it into life. And if that was true, Diana thought just a little giddily, did that mean all espers could become like her, if they were only kicked awake hard enough? Or if they were crazy enough? Could she, Diana, or Jenny Psycho, touch others and make them like herself? Were all espers potentially superhuman, but were 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 survived her time as a manifest pretty much unscathed. Probably because she'd never been a picture of mental health. Was that the connection? Did it mean something? Did it mean anything apart from the fact that she'd been sitting in a room on her own for far too long, and she was ready to grab at anything that even looked as though it might make sense? Was it in fact time that she gave up, went home, had several large meals, and then slept for a week?
Diana sighed and pushed the tempting thought aside. There was an answer here somewhere. There had to be. If there was one thing she was sure of, it was that the Mater Mundi wasn't what most people thought it was. It had its own direction and agenda, and didn't hesitate to use whatever innocent tools it felt necessary to get the job done. Irrespective of the harm it did to its victims along the way. The Mater Mundi treated people exactly the way the Iron Bitch had.
Diana sat in her chair in her little room, and felt very small and very alone. This was too big for just one person, even her. But there was no one else she could take her questions and fears to. She couldn't go to the leaders of the esper underground. The Mater Mundi had founded the underground. She might still be involved in running things, on some deep, very secret level. Which meant Diana couldn't trust anyone. The Mater Mundi could manifest through anyone, strike at her through any friend or enemy or stranger. If it knew what she was doing…
Diana sat up sharply. Something was wrong. She could feel it. She looked quickly around her, suddenly convinced that someone had just come into the room, but the door was shut and she was alone. She shuddered suddenly. The room was icy cold. Her breath was steaming on the air before her. Hoarfrost was forming on the computer equipment. There was a feeling of pressure on the air, as though something impossibly large was coming, forcing its way through dimensional barriers and rattling the windows of reality. It was close now, looking for a way in. Diana surged to her feet, kicking the chair away to give herself room to move in. She pulled her power around her like a cloak. It didn't stop her teeth from chattering or her hands shaking. She didn't bother trying to call for help. She knew no one would be allowed to hear her. She knew what was coming.
Every piece of computer equipment in the room rose up and took new shape. Metal and plastic humped and cracked, splitting and reforming around the new thing that was creating itself through the transforming tech. It made a sort of human shape, towering over Diana, with a wide, blocky body and two arms of different length, ending in sharp metal claws. The head on top of the body had viewscreen glass for eyes and a jagged metal tear for
