Brain Plague

'It's good to see you again,' said Daeren, sitting down to face him. 'Your caryatids—I like the new look.'

'You noticed,' said Garnet. 'You always had an eye for beauty, Day.'

He smiled. 'Thanks for letting Chrys in on our session. Anything we need to know?'

'No,' he said. 'There never is, is there.' Garnet leaned back into the tall chair, stretching his legs in a relaxed manner.

Daeren leaned forward. 'Garnet, we're having a little trouble fixing on your eyes. Could you keep them steady?'

Garnet blinked a couple of times. 'Your irises somehow seem brighter than usual. Sorry, I must be tired; it's been a bad day on the market.'

Tendons shifted in Daeren's neck. 'Sorry to be slow,' he said softly, 'but we still can't quite connect.' Somehow Garnet's gaze kept veering just off center. 'Perhaps you might try Chrys.'

'My pleasure.' His gaze shifted to meet her eyes.'

'Rose,' Chrys summoned, 'it's time to test the God of Love.'

'Great Host,' flashed Rose, 'his people don't want to meet us today. They claim they're not ready.'

Chrys kept her gaze steady, hoping her face did not change. 'Were you polite?'

'Certainly; what do you take me for?'

'We're polite,' agreed Jonquil. 'The people of the God of Love just don't want to see us this year.'

Chrys swallowed. 'Should we come back later?'

'What's wrong?' Garnet asked.

'Well, they said—'

Abruptly Garnet rose from his seat. 'It's not working today, is it.' His breath came faster. 'I'm just not myself, that's all. Come back tomorrow; I'll make sure I get better rest.'

'I wish I could do that,' said Daeren very quietly.

'You don't have to report anything. Just come back tomorrow.'

'It's already been reported.'

Garnet shuddered, and his head twisted back and forth as if trapped. Like Pearl. 'Who do you think you are?' His voice was loud and unsteady. 'I've heard enough. The house will show you out.'

The conference room door peeled open wide. Chrys suddenly realized, they were in the hands of a very frightened man.

'You'll be okay,' said Daeren. 'Just let Chrys continue. We'll do our best to—'

'You'll wipe them all out.'

All of them—to lose them all, just like that. 'No,' exclaimed Chrys. 'I won't. I promise, we won't hurt anybody.'

Garnet's throat dipped as he swallowed. 'All right then.'

Chrys remembered to hand him the patch, which he put to his neck himself. A good sign, he was still in control. But what could have happened, she wondered in dismay. What went wrong? Did he get the bad strain from Eris?

The minutes lengthened as she waited for her people to do their work, while Daeren stepped out to the hall for a moment. Then he was back. 'Jasper will meet us at the hospital—'

'No,' exclaimed Garnet. 'You needn't tell Jasper.'

'Just for overnight observation.'

'But if they've done something forbidden—'

'We'll see.'

Garnet's irises flashed pink; that was Rose.

'I need them back now,' Chrys told him.

'What did they say?'

Chrys flexed her fingers awkwardly. 'I don't know yet.'

Garnet looked from her to Daeren in a calculating way. 'Just let me go. I've a home on Solaria; I'll go, and won't come back.' Run twenty light-years, but not escape what's within.

Daeren caressed his shoulder. 'We'd miss you. All of you. Olympus wouldn't be the same.' At his touch Garnet relaxed enough to let Chrys have her people back.

'They've 'experimented' with his neurons,' reported Rose.

' 'They?' You mean his own people?'

'They claim he asked for it, just for fun. They offered us untold amounts of palladium not to tell—as if the nanos won't find out anyhow. Pathetic, if you ask me.'

'You yourself once looked pathetic, as a refugee,' Chrys reminded her.

'Look, I know the Great Hosts don't give an atom for what I think, but what's the harm in a little Enlightenment? Sure, they messed up a few dendrites out of ignorance, but they'll grow back....'

'I'll call my attorney,' Garnet added, but his tone had softened.

'It's not yet a matter for the law,' Daeren pointed out. 'If you come now, it stays with the Committee. Section Five-oh-three-three, subsection A.'

At the hospital, Doctor Sartorius took Garnet away for the nanos to test every neuron. Chrys imagined him lying there amid worm-tubes all snaking into his head. She turned to Daeren. 'What will become of him?'

The peach-colored walls extended a packet of instruments into a bubble of plast, which took off down the hall, dodging the humans at the last moment. Drunks and accident victims passed to and fro, the hospital's usual evening clientele. Daeren sank into a chair. 'What happens next depends on what we find. If Rose is right, Garnet's people were just starting to go bad. We take out the main instigators and make an example of them.'

Chrys sighed. 'Hope mine learn a lesson too.'

'They still ask?'

'Now and then.'

Daeren watched her curiously, as if trying to figure her out. 'I'm glad you were there. I'm not sure he would have made it with me.'

Her mouth twisted. 'His people thought they could buy mine off.'

'Perhaps. I prefer a more generous view. But remember—' He looked her in the eye. 'Never make a promise you can't keep.'

She looked down. 'I'll remember.'

'Jasper?' Daeren rose from his seat. 'We're glad you're here.'

Lord Jasper strode quickly toward them, the map stone gleaming on his fur talar. 'Is he all right? Where is he?'

'He's having the brain scan. We expect he'll be fine, but we need to make sure.'

'Good god, what a scare.' Jasper wiped his brow. 'Are you sure he's all right? You've cleaned them out?'

Daeren hesitated. 'Chrys is training with us,' he added, noting Jasper's questioning look. 'Her people checked him out.'

'Yes, I recall now he mentioned it.' Jasper nodded apologetically. 'Dreadfully sorry for this ... inconvenience.'

Chrys said, 'It's an honor to be of service.' She saw the sweat on his forehead. He must be worried sick, but for Jasper, dignity was everything.

Daeren addressed the wall. 'Consult, please.' The wall punched in, shaping a small round conference room done in blues and greens. Depression color, Chrys would have called it. As the three entered and took seats, the wall closed them in. 'Here are Garnet's options,' Daeren began. 'The choice is his, but he'll need your support. He's lucky to have you.'

Jasper waved his arm impatiently, as if at a poor business presentation. 'I know he'll be fine. He just needs a clean start.'

'That's one option,' Daeren admitted. 'If micros damage dopamine receptors, the carrier can choose to be swept for arsenic. The people know that.' He hesitated. 'That's a drastic choice.'