Part 76 (1/2)
In any case, if the King attends the meeting, his coercive ability would be entirely sufficient to neutralize Marc's.”
”I can believe that,” Hagen muttered.
Cloud said, ”But nothing has really changed. Papa and his confederates will never agree to our opening the time-gate.”
Elizabeth said, ”Marc asked me to tell you that he has something completely new to discuss with you. He said-and I confess I have no idea what he means-he said it concerned the answer to your old question about your genetic heritage.”
”G.o.d-he said that?” Hagen's voice was hoa.r.s.e. His mind engaged that of his sister on the intimate mode and both Elizabeth and the King perceived the agitation of the exchange.
Hagen and Cloud were desperately afraid-and at the same time, fascinated.
”Elizabeth,” the King asked, ”do you know whether or not Marc can use that CE device on more than one metafaculty at a time?”
”I can answer that!” Hagen exclaimed. ”G.o.d-can I! Papa instructed me thoroughly enough in the d.a.m.n thing's operation.
He was ready to chain me to a backup suit of armour he had all ready when we escaped from Ocala-”
”Pull yourself together.” The King's barely leashed coercion hovered about the young man. ”This is important!”
Hagen swallowed. ”The rig can enhance only one metafunction at a time. For instance, when Marc performs a djump, the rig is locked onto his upsilon-field-generating faculty.
When he was doing the star-search, it enhanced his farsight.”
”And when the bunch of you got together with Felice to zap Gibraltar,” Aiken interposed, ”he was augmenting his creativity?”
”That's it,” Hagen agreed. ”When he's phased into the thing-when the needle-electrodes are in his brain and it goes white-hot-he has only a single preprogrammed superfaculty.
The others are in peripheral mode. They're there, but only in his usual barebrained order of magnitude. He'd have to jump back to the directive computer if he wanted to switch.”
”That's all right then,” Aiken said, considerably relieved. ”I was afraid he could use the rig to mind-zorch us in Black Crag.”
”Not possible.” A twisted smile spread over Hagen's face.
”He won't be able to pull that off until he's capable of teleporting the whole CE setup around with him-power supply, auxiliaries, and all. Ten tons of junk.”
”Then we've got time,” Aiken said. ”I say we go see what Marc has to say. If he's barebrained, I'll take a chance.”
”Could you burn him?”
Hagen asked quietly.
”No!” cried Cloud.
Elizabeth said, ”All of you must give me your solemn word to keep the peace-and let me probe you redactively now and at Black Crag to be sure you mean it.”
”Agreed,” said Cloud at once.
Hagen took a bit longer, but finally he nodded his head.