'As geriatric drugs and trace elements.'
'Yes. Not a complete lie, of course. It is a geriatric drug-and how! Always make your cover story as close to the truth as possible. The idea was, even if someone at the Alpha Centauri end who had an idea of what it was fell into kzin hands and was probed by a telepath, he or she could fix on the idea of a geriatric drug and medicine, just possibly the telepath would not detect an actual lie. That was the idea, anyway. Whether or not it would have worked is another matter. But anyway nothing was said in our maser as to what it really was. Then, of course, when it arrived it was to be hidden.
'If Sol system had been plainly falling, instructions would have been masered to open the containers and make Protectors. From there it would, we hoped, go as Operation Cherubim had been meant to go. Of course, we would give instructions then to try to ensure that the Protectors created would be suitable individuals-volunteers, with high ethical standards and records-good people, in short-and childless. We would have wanted trained scientists and fighters, of course, so they'd have as big a start as possible in knowledge and experience.
'We would do the same on Earth. The kzinti would find themselves attacked by Protectors in both systems simultaneously. We sent the nukes as well so the Protectors would have powerful weapons ready to hand right away, either as bombs or pumps for lasers. Even Protectors couldn't build nuclear processing-plants and factories in a kzin-occupied system overnight. But it was a desperate ploy, only to be used if all else was lost. We wouldn't have control over the process, or over who the human Protectors in this system would be. You know Protectors, once they are used to their state, are more or less indestructible, smarter than human geniuses, and unless they're killed they live for thousands of years. One can't imagine they would ever have handed power back to breeders, or even agreed not to make more Protectors. They could produce their own tree-of-life, given time. There was fear that we were exchanging one demonic enemy for a worse. But even if they had been universally benevolent, even if they defeated the kzinti, it would have changed our society utterly and probably forever…
'Anyway, the plan never had to be used, for which we may give thanks. The ramscoop raid and the death of Chuut-Riit gave us a breathing space, and instead of Protectors the hyperdrive saved us. We were lucky.
'As for Operation Cherubim, it seems that all those in the need-to-know circle in the Centauri system died. The kzinti found the maser transceiver in due course and they didn't stop at half-measures in blasting Nifelheim out of the sky with all its personnel. Also, quite a lot of ARM intelligence people from Sol died in the war, you know. We had gaps in our own records and knowledge. We didn't keep a lot of things electronically at all, for fear of kzinti or their agents hacking into our files. We lost both hard copy and computers when the kzin hit assets on Earth, which happened more often than most people know. Anyway ARM decided the consignment had never arrived and wrote it off… And you say the containers were hit in the fight.'
'Yes.'
'Well, at least they can't have been breached,' Guthlac said. 'If any tree-of-life agent had escaped you'd have known all about it at the time. How old are you, Nils?'
'A hundred and one last birthday.'
'Even twenty-six years ago, you would have been too old to make the change. Exposure to tree-of-life would have killed you. But you're still here. And none of the rest of your party was affected either. I think-I hope-we can assume the integrity of the containers. They were made strong, after all… Although no stronger than the ordinary hospital containers they were supposed to be. We expected them to be inspected and x-rayed by the collabos at least, and we didn't want to arouse suspicion by making them anything special.'
'They may have been damaged, though,' said Rykermann. 'I remember seeing them take hits. And twenty-six years buried wouldn't have improved them. There can be some powerful microorganisms and compounds in Wunderland soil, in the caves in particular. I'd suggest they be removed at once.'
'Obviously. That's why I sent for you as soon as I realized what your report was about. Can you find them?'
'With deep-radar it should be easy enough,' Rykermann said. 'I remember the locality.'
'We want to be discreet about this,' Guthlac said. 'We also don't want humans being put at risk of exposure to tree-of-life. Trustworthy-very trustworthy-kzinti would be useful on a job like this. The stuff's no danger and no value to them. I say that because I think of Vaemar. Can Vaemar destroy them?'
'He's still up at the caves. He's due to return in the next day or two. You know why.'
'This is tricky,' said Guthlac. 'We don't want humans approaching those containers, not given the state they might be in, but I'm not happy about any kzinti, not even your young paragon of virtue, finding out too much about them. It might be best to simply clear the whole area and nuke it.'
'It might be best,' said Rykermann, 'to make sure the containers are still there first.'
'Why shouldn't they be?'
'There were several people in our own party-the party that met the couriers when they were buried-who survived. I've lost touch with some of them. I'm not saying any of them would necessarily steal such things or have any motive to, but who knows who they might have talked to since then? The fighting's been over on this planet for thirteen years. Barroom reminiscences about some buried containers of weapons might have tempted some crook or adventurer to go on a private treasure-hunt for all we know.'
'If such a crook had opened them he or she would have had a surprise. And I think we would have known about it by now.'
'Even so, surely they should be counted and inventoried before they're destroyed?'
'I take your point. Can Vaemar do that?'
'Yes.'
'Get him onto it then. I don't need to tell you to stay well away from the area yourself. It shouldn't be too dangerous for him.'
'May I tell Vaemar what he's doing? He knows about the Pak, by the way. He searched old Earth records for another project.'
'I didn't know that. Act at your discretion. If he knows about the Pak there doesn't seem much point in concealing this from him. It'll give him an incentive, in fact.'
Chapter 4
Circle Bay Monastery, despite being home to an order of celibate male monks, had detached guest houses for lay visitors, including females. With a wedding planned to be held there shortly the bride, Gale, and her guests Leonie Rykermann and Karan, who had arrived early by air-car, were experimenting with clothes and cosmetics in front of a mirror. Twenty-fifth-century cosmetics, including skin-coloring agents as permanent as tattoos until one wanted to remove them, gave plenty of scope for experiment.
'You think headband suits me?' Karan asked.
'Not one like mine,' Leonie told her. 'Try a white one. Or better, the one holding the jewel.'
Karan surveyed the result from several angles. 'Little cape?' she asked. 'Like this?' She demonstrated.
'That ought to turn a few heads,' said Leonie. 'Including Vaemar's.' She herself wore a long skirt that hid her legs, legs that she still moved awkwardly.
The telephone on Karan's belt beeped. As she listened to its message her eyes lit and her whiskers twitched. She bared her teeth and raised her ears.
'From Nurse and Orlando!' she told the others. 'Tabitha looking at pages of picture-book! Not eating it!' Life with Vaemar had improved her Wunderlander grammar and vocabulary.
'That's wonderful!' said Leonie. 'Wonderful for us all! Wonderful for history!' They had all been hanging upon evidence that the first daughter of one of the Secret Others-the thin, hidden line of intelligent kzinretti-had bred true. It didn't always happen. The Secret Others had been few to begin with, and they were very few now. Karan on human-liberated Wunderland was perhaps the first intelligent kzinret in millennia who did not have to hide her sapience.
'Hurrah for history!' said Gale. 'Bring them to the wedding!'
'Yes, now I can. And rate Nurse charges can't leave them alone with him too long.' Karan's ears swivelled. 'Car coming,' she said.
Leonie's ears also twitched slightly-she had a little Families blood. She stepped to the door. 'If that's Arthur, I
