engaged with any human besides the professor, and even that was purely in a clinical and professional manner. Now she was lying in a pool of them. They seemed friendly enough, they listened to her, and they even followed her into the lake. She sensed that some of them cared about her well-being. Nevertheless, they were insane-every last one of them-with their games, their thought speech, their peculiar facial expressions, and now this. What is she doing to him?
Lily understood what humans did to reproduce, and it was supposedly a normal and necessary thing, but this did not appear to be what was taking place. The mechanics were all wrong. She looked like she was eating him rather than mating with him. Perhaps it was a sort of courtship that would culminate in a proper union. Or perhaps she was witnessing how humans died. Despite her research at the lab, it was evident that these creatures still held many secrets. She turned away from D_Light and the fanged woman to stare out at the lake. She wondered if she should leave this group, or if ultimately these humans were inexplicably linked to her fate. Perhaps they could provide her a path into their world; therein, she could find what she was looking for, whatever that was.
The seeker let out a low growl as she stood at the water’s edge. Her prey had gone straight in. They had left their clothes on. Perhaps they swam off, or maybe a boat had picked them up.
No…not a boat, she realized after a moment. She no longer had their scent, but she had been tracking them long enough to know them. She was certain there was no boat because the trail they’d left was not that of a party with a good escape plan. Their scent and tracks spoke of anxiety and lack of resolve. Ironically for a killer, a seeker had an extraordinary sense of empathy. Such was needed to imagine themselves in the place of their prey. Now Treva imagined the party swimming in the frigid water, their fingers going numb while their clothes dragged. She imagined their disgust at the dark water and fear of what was beneath the surface.
Finally, there was the fact gleaned from the Cloud that most of those in the party were not strong swimmers. They will stay together. They did not swim far.
She stood still and concentrated on the scent threads that came to her. There were thousands of them- threads from the water itself, threads from the algae scum on its surface, threads from the thick aquatic plants that grew up from the heavy mud below. But there was no trace of her prey, not yet. Although irritating because it distracted from her work, she would now have to send word to the Divine Authority of this recent development.
Katria swore out loud, catching the attention of the waiter product that was busily wiping down a nearby table. The waiter bowed and asked if he could be of further service. She waved him off without looking at him.
So the little shitters ran straight to the water, Rhemus blinked in. Well, two points to them for doing the obvious.
Katria chuckled despite herself. Good thing I contracted the seeker for the job rather than by the hour, she returned.
Yeah, just think, if it doesn’t catch them, we don’t pay a point. He paused. You made the right call. Don’t sweat it. Once a seeker gets imprinted, they don’t give up. It’s just a matter of time.
What Rhemus said was more or less true; however, there was an eventual timeout clause in the contract. House Xando knew better than to sign a contract that took one of their precious seekers indefinitely out of operation.
Forget it, Rhemus said. Kick back and let it do its job. What’s that you’re eating?
I’m not sure, Katria replied. I never like to know. I just want it to taste good.
And here I thought you didn’t like surprises, Rhemus teased.
Only pleasant ones, Katria answered with a grin.
Earlier, Katria did have a pleasant surprise, a gift from the OverSoul. Having offered the necessary prayers and point sacrifice, the OverSoul dispensed the divine inspiration she needed through her familiar. It was so simple. Like a judo master, she would use the demons’ own weight against them, and they were bound to fall hard. No matter about the stymied seeker. Perhaps it was a blessing, for now she would have the opportunity to see this divinely inspired plan come to fruition.
CHAPTER 22
Human genetic engineering started in the United States. This was a surprise at the time to those who speculate on such things. The expectation was that China would fire the first shot. China, a newly minted superpower, had both the means and a seemingly unhindered view on ethically problematic issues. Nevertheless, many historians believe that the catalyst for America’s plunge into “accelerated human evolution” was in response to Asia’s economic rise to power. The West did not want to give up their hegemony. As the American middle and upper classes’ grip over exclusive and high-paying employment continued to erode in the global economy, so did their qualms about tampering with nature. Parents had always wanted to give their children an edge, but then on the competitive international stage, “want” became “need.”
But let’s not be too harsh on these U.S. parents and their suppliers. Pandora’s box was destined to open eventually, and when it did, it did not even take a generation before nearly everyone in the world was saving their dollars, their yen, or their euros to level the playing field for their own child.
Improving the long-term health and attractiveness of their children was easy enough, but the real demand was for boosting intelligence. Historically, parents had always secretly hoped for a “gifted” child, and now this gift could be purchased.
Thanks to such market forces, it was only a few generations before much of the world was genetically homogenized. Now was the opportune time for a virus to strike. When the TerriLove virus exploited a weakness in our shared proteomic signature (one related to the nervous system, incidentally), it raged with abandon. We were like identical shafts of wheat, standing straight and immobile, awaiting the scythe.
Is it any wonder the OverSoul banned engineering on humans? Only through the seemingly random drunken walk of sexual reproduction do we gain the diversity needed to meet an unpredictable future.
I will find you. It is impossible to hide from me. You think you are clever, but your vanity is your undoing, Ascara the witch cooed as D_Light sank below the frothing waves.
It was then that D_Light woke, not because of the nightmare, but from the numbingly recognizable voice of his familiar. Master, your quest log has been updated.
Another nightmare? How is that possible? Smorgeous, analyze the dream…somehow. What’s that about my vanity?
Master, you have not experienced a dream state in the 23.4 minutes you have been asleep.
Not that again! What the hell is going on?
Master, you have another quest. You have made it clear that the MetaGame is your highest priority.
D_Light groaned. His head swimming, he cursed at his computer. He was sticky. He remembered where he was-remembered the lake-and wondered if he should go take another swim to wash off. Without waiting for permission, Smorgeous saturated his master’s optical senses with the quest log.
Quest: Seek out Dr. Monsa, great-grandfather of the House of Monsa. Dr. Monsa is the head patriarch of the House of Monsa. The House of Monsa is located at the following coordinates…
That is nearby, only thirteen kilometers from here, Lyra’s thought broke in. D_Light did not realize that Smorgeous had joined him into a blink with the nobles. Now the three of them were sharing thoughts as they reviewed the quest. It was more than a little disconcerting when his familiar shared his mind without explicit permission. Now he had to be careful to shield his thoughts in case something embarrassing cropped up in his head.
