Matrix.'
'I thought that was you.'
'Nay. She made me a gift of your records, everything from SIN to secret files. But for her good offices, new files would have accumulated. You have much to thank her for.'
'Yeah, well, I guess so.' A pause. 'I don't want to seem ungrateful, or greedy, but do you think that maybe she'd help again?'
'Mayhap. But 'tis not my place to say. She can go places and do things that deckers only dream about. She has shown me so much.'
'Can she show you how to get what we need?'
He was certain she could. Whether she would was the question. 'I can but ask.'
'And can she do it without anyone finding out?'
How could he doubt? 'She is the Ghost in the Machine. Can there be any question?'
There was a long pause. Sam's icon paled and flickered briefly, as if he had divided his attention, then returned to normal intensity. 'Dodger, do you know what's happening outside?'
Circuitous redundancy, a flesh trait. Dodger decided to humor it. 'You have dumped me the data, Sir Twist. I understand the importance.'
The Sam icon shook its head. 'That's not what I meant. I mean do you know what's happening to your body?'
' 'Tis just meat, a thing of confining flesh. It does not matter,' Dodger laughed. 'I roam the Matrix nearly at will now. Speak your needs, and I shall do what you request.'
The astral defenses around the mansion were thick and strong, but passive rather than active. Certain that active presences were available to respond to any intrusion, Sam didn't want to be taken as an enemy. A battle could have dire consequences at this point, not the least of which was wasting time. So he stood on the outside and tapped at the wall, drumming on its surface with the steady insistence he heard running in his head.
It didn't take long before something came to investigate.
The small sphere floating through the barrier had tiny arms and legs that thrashed in a swimming motion. Its progress was slow, like a fish breasting a stiff current. Once through the pale yellow of the barrier, a portion of the sphere split and peeled back to reveal a single eye that stared at him.
The small spirit was a watcher, one of that particularly dumb breed that magicians used as messengers and for simple observation tasks. While it was trying to make up its mind what it should do next, Sam told it what he wanted.
'Tell the professor I need to speak to him.' 'Who?' Its voice had a breathy quaver. 'The professor. Tell him I need to talk to him.' 'Who?' it repeated.
Sam had no time for such nonsense. He reached out and snatched the thing, snapping the astral strings that bound it to its summoner. He gathered them up and re-wove them as he molded the whimpering spirit in his hands. Satisfied with his alterations, he tossed it back at the barrier. The watcher fled, bawling for the professor.
That ought to get somebody's attention. Belatedly, Sam realized that the dumb thing might have been asking who he was, rather than wanting a repetition of whom he was asking for. Oh, well, too late to do anything about that now. The wall was shimmering, deepening in shade and seeming to become more opaque. Presences were gathering at what he wanted to call the top of the wall, but that didn't make sense because the wall had no top; his sense was of defenders gathering at the battlements. They knew he was here.
Something happened to the barrier to his left. A dozen presences exited the wall and rushed toward him. At first he thought they might be spells directed at him, but as they drew closer he realized they were astral projections. The welcoming committee of ma-gicians was coming to meet him. Hoping to demon-strate his peaceful intent, he stood his ground with his arms by his side. To his relief, they halted a few me-ters away.
Sam looked them over as they studied him. Most he didn't know, but three he recognized at once. Urdli and Estios stood closest to Professor Laverty. A fourth magician, a dwarf, seemed vaguely familiar but Sam couldn't quite place him.
Laverty stepped past Estios and spoke. 'You chose an unusual way of announcing yourself, Sam. I had not expected to meet you this way.'
'There's a lot about me you don't expect, Professor. But then, nobody's always right.' Sam hoped his grin had the right amount of confidence and nonchalance. 'And the name's Twist, by the way.'
The professor inclined his head, acknowledging Sam's pronouncement. Score one. Sam began to think he might actually have a reasonable chance at making the bargain he hoped for.
Then Urdli spoke up. 'So why do you come here, mongrel? Your churlish noise and unseemly display have interrupted important work.'
The elf was even more intimidating on the astral than on the mundane plane. Sam felt his cool beginning to slip. He pressed on, hoping he had guessed correctly and that his arguments were well prepared. 'You could say that understanding and necessity have joined forces to bring me here. I have come to understand that you were right about my responsibility in this matter of Spider.' Sam let Urdli begin to smile before he added, 'And wrong. I have to do something about it, not for anything I've done, but for what I am. Even if I hadn't taken your guardian stone, I would have to be involved in this. My responsibility is to myself. I must be true to my totem.'
'And by being true to your totem, you are true to yourself and thereby discharge your responsibility,' Laverty said. 'Exactly.'
Laverty smiled slightly. 'You are an unusual man, Twist.'
'He's a coward,' Estios asserted. 'And a thief and an incompetent,' Urdli said. 'And a shaman of considerable power,' the dwarf added. 'Gentlemen, we are in need of power to combat Spider. I do not think we should be blinded by prejudice and personal animosity. Twist demonstrated courage, skill, and unusual competence, if not foresight and caution, in removing the guardian stone from the citadel. He should not be dismissed as an addition to our forces.'
'This isn't personal,' Estios objected. 'Objectively, he has shown that he's unsuitable. He let a wen-digo go, just because it had been his sister and he couldn't face up to killing it. That is not the level of conviction demanded at this time.'
'And he has once refused to help,' Urdli said. 'He may withdraw the false offer of aid as soon as his fickle mind finds some other phantasm to chase.'
'Enough,' Laverty said. 'We have lain with stranger bedfellows in the past in order to do what was necessary.' His attention shifted to Sam. 'You have come here without being called; therefore you have something in mind. Do you have new information?' 'Some. I need more.' 'Don't we all,' Estios said. Laverty ignored him. 'Perhaps we can trade, but despite your plea for information, I'd wager you have already taken steps. Would you care to tell us your plan?'
'I'd rather not get specific.' As if he could. 'I've only got the bare outline of a plan. As I said, I still need information
'And you expect to get it from us?' Urdli was incredulous.
'Yes,' Sam said, as though there could be no question. 'We're fighting the same enemy, after all.'
Urdli huffed. 'The enemy of my enemy is not my friend, but simply a convenience of war.'
That was the reaction Sam had expected. 'Fine. I'm; not asking for friendship. I have a long memory, too. But we can be allies and pool our resources.'
'What can you offer?' Urdli asked, his tone implying that he didn't believe Sam could have a thing.
'You surprise me,' Sam said evenly. 'Before you wanted my help. Or was that just a ploy to get me alone so you could kill me?'
Urdli was equally unruffled. 'You refused to help then. You said that your sister was more important than the fate of the world.'
'So I was wrong,' Sam said quickly. 'But now I'm ready to help. Are you ready to let me, or do you prefer to try to stop Spider all by yourself?'
'I am not by myself.' The sweep of Urdli's arm took both the gathered magicians and the defended barrier wall.
Sam followed the gesture and sensed the power of the gathered entities. 'I concede you've got the astral covered pretty well, even if most of your strength is defensive. But the bombs are mundane, and you haven't got
