Starwolf, a junior pack leader.'
Councilor Lake brushed that aside impatiently. 'I may know little of your kind, but it seems obvious to me that you are something special. If all Starwolves are like you, then heaven help us. I only have one Don.'
'You seem to place a great deal of faith in him,' Velmeran observed.
'Don is my weapon, carefully and completely trained for the sole purpose of defeating Starwolves,' Lake said with deliberate pomposity, underscoring his own lack of enthusiasm. 'Don's entire life is designed around a single function. One day if all goes according to plan, he will fight Starwolves and win. Or he will himself be destroyed in the attempt.'
'You do not seem to be particularly concerned, whichever way it might turn out.'
The Councilor sat back in his chair, frowning in serious reflection. 'I think that I am going to tell you something that could get me shot for treason if certain of my colleagues found out. Although you people do not realize it you have won the war. The Union is on the decline, in terms of population, economics, industry and technology at a rate so alarming that not one member of the High Council can deny that our doom is at hand. The Union is so overgrown that it will take awhile for the beast to die. And after five hundred centuries, another ten or so is not all that long.
'Now I do not want you people taking credit, as patient as you have been. You have been bleeding us steadily for quite some time, but you have not been a direct threat to our survival since the days of the big battles. Now, however, we suffer from so many ills that your actions can mean life or death to us. And this is the time that will decide our future. If Don can turn the war against you in his own lifetime, then there is a chance that our civilization will get up off its deathbed and start growing again. If he fails, we will not have a second chance.'
'But if we are not destroying the Union, what is?' Velmeran asked.
'We see the results, but we can only argue the cause,' Lake explained. 'Personally, I believe it is because we were not meant for civilized life. Nature gave us hands and a brain so that we could tie a rock to a stick to make a better club. All the rest has been our own idea. Then we began the process of removing ourselves from our environment, the circumstances and conditions that shaped us. Our evolution has stalled out; our civilization promises equal chances for both the weak and strong, and nature intended harsher rules. Cut off from any shaping influence, our species has begun to decline right down to the genetic level.
'The genetic code that defines a human is becoming too foggy and ragged to read properly. Over a third of our population is genetically sterile. Random mutation has driven infant mortality to levels that we have not known since the dark ages. Mental deficiency and mental imbalance claim a quarter of the population. Do you wonder if we are not in trouble? Our race is dying out, for want of proper maintenance.'
'But, is this so throughout the Union?' Velmeran asked.
'No, not everywhere,' Councilor Lake said, shaking his head. 'Three highly mutated races are thriving — or would if we left them alone. And the independent merchants are themselves a race apart. Those four groups might survive, but I doubt that any one of them will replace us. Only you people can do that.'
'Us?' Velmeran asked, surprised.
'Yes, of course you.' The Councilor drained his glass in a quick swallow and reached for the decanter. 'You people are best suited for life as a space-faring race, and for all the reasons that we are not. Machines are your native environment; they can neither dominate nor intimidate you. Have you ever considered the civilization you would build, the lives you would lead, once freed of the task you were made for?'
'Why do you think I fight you?' Velmeran asked in return. 'It was intended that we reestablish the Terran Republic, and then remain to defend it. I doubt that it was intended that we should replace you.'
'That is fairly much what is likely to happen,' Councilor Lake said. 'Soon the day will come that we can no longer fight you. The Union will be dissolved and your Republic will return, and the Starwolves will be left to nurse humanity through its old age.'
The Councilor sat back and drained his second glass, then crossed his arms and sighed heavily. 'That might seem a very dismal prospect, at least for us. But I am satisfied. So many ages have come and gone, and they left nothing behind but ruins. At least we are fortunate enough to have you. The Starwolves are our replacement, made to order, man's own idea of what the superman should be. You are the offspring of the human race, whoever made you. And, I will be the first to admit, you are our betters.'
'Then why do you fight us?' Velmeran asked innocently.
Councilor Lake afforded him a startled glance. 'Because I am human, for good or ill, and I will not go down without a fight. And I am Jon Lake, High Councilor and ultimate ruler of this entire sector. We have each inherited a duty and I will do what I can to buy time for the Union, even knowing that it must be defeated in the end.'
Velmeran only shook his head. 'I still do not understand.'
'Really?' Lake asked. 'I had thought you might. We each have a duty, being who and what we are. The only difference is that my duty is at odds with my conscience. To ease my conscience, the least — and yet the most — that I can do is to warn you of what is coming.'
He paused a moment, glancing quickly about the room as if to see if they were indeed alone, then leaned closer to the two Starwolves. 'The best minds, human and mechanical, at our service have long been contemplating the problem of fighting and destroying Starwolves. Now we are ready to test our ideas. The first you have seen, and dealt with effectively. The second trap for your fighters is something that you have not seen in a long time, and I fear that it will take Starwolf lives before you remember how to deal with it. The third is something altogether new — Don's own idea, I might add — and that, my friends, is a truly awesome weapon that could well be a threat even to your big ships. Now, that is all the warning that I can allow myself to give. Make of it what you can.'
* * * *
'I am sorry that Don could not make it back,' Councilor Lake said as he escorted his guests to the door. 'He was on remarkably good behavior tonight. I think he learned a thing or two.'
'So have we all,' Velmeran answered as Javarns assisted him with his cape.
'Yes, so have we all,' Lake agreed. 'But I am satisfied… Ah, that will be all, Javarns.'
'Very good, sir,' Javarns said, turning away. 'I will get the valuables back out of hiding.'
'Don't let him fool you,' Lake said quietly. 'I think he was delighted to have a chance to take a good close look at Starwolves.'
'Perhaps, but he will never trust us,' Dveyella said.
'At least he learned that you are not murderers and thieves.'
'Shall we do it again sometime?' Velmeran asked.
'Of course. Your place, next time?' the Councilor asked, smiling mischievously.
'You will probably be welcome, but call ahead for reservations.' Velmeran paused a moment, and reached into his belt pocket to pull out a wallet. 'Give this to Javarns with my compliments. He will probably want it back.'
Dveyella frowned and drew a watch from her own belt pocket. 'He will probably want this back as well.'
11
'This has been a strange night, and no doubt about it,' Dveyella remarked. 'Still, I would not have missed it.'
Their tram glided silently atop its elevated rail across the width of the city. It was near the middle of the night; the walks and avenues were nearly deserted, and the city lighting had been reduced to a gentle, velvety twilight. By this time there was hardly anyone about but Starwolves, and they had the city mostly to themselves.
When Velmeran did not comment in turn, Dveyella glanced over at him. He sat alone and, for the moment, seemingly unaware of her presence, so lost he was in his own thoughts. She walked over and sat down close beside him. 'Meran, do you know what to make of it all?'
Velmeran frowned and shook his head helplessly. 'I feel like we are living out that chess game. Councilor Lake has explained the rules, and now he has turned over his seat to the Sector Commander for us to play out the game. I only hope we do as well in life as we did in practice.'
