Part 64 (2/2)

Odeon removed his stole and kissed it, then folded it and put it in his tunic pocket. Saying Ma.s.s had helped more than he'd expected; he was feeling somewhere between resigned and serene when he went to the dining room for breakfast. He'd also decided or been guided, he wasn't sure, that since he was going to go, he might as well get it over with.

Brief goodbyes after breakfast, then ask the Protector to make the necessary changes.

Fortunately for his peace of mind, he thought, the children weren't there--maybe deliberately, because the Family's expressions told him they knew something was going on. And, to his surprise, the new Protector was sitting between Joanie and Jim, his plate holding more food than Odeon would've thought reasonable for someone his size--if an Aspect of G.o.d had to eat at all. Still, Jeshua had . . .

As Odeon sat down and began filling his own plate, Keith chuckled. ”As long as I'm in body,” he said, ”I do have to eat. And a Sandeman warrior has a pretty high metabolic rate, so I have to eat a lot. Yes, your Family knows what you've decided to do, and that you made that decision primarily to help them. They also know I won't hurt you in the slightest. We'll take care of it after breakfast, as you're thinking. All right?”

”As you will it, Lord.”

Keith grinned. ”Better start getting used to giving orders instead of taking them, Michael. Do you want just the abilities, or the mind-set as well?”

Odeon tried to return the smile, but was sure it came out more like the grimace he really felt. ”I don't think you need to ask, Lord Protector. If I'm going to do it, I'll do it right; I'll take whatever you see fit to give me.”

At that, he felt the other's approval. ”So be it, Michael. You'll be a real a.s.set to your--and your Family's--new home.”

After breakfast, the entire group went to the common-room. Odeon said his goodbyes, embracing and kissing his Family head and spouses while tears ran down his face.

Medart watched sympathetically. Odeon's feelings of betrayal and uselessness might not have been enough to bring him to this point; protecting his Family to the best of his ability, even if it meant giving them up to do it, had done the job--something Medart had seen the previous night, though Odeon hadn't yet realized it. He regretted the man's present pain, but he was certain that once the Protector made the necessary changes, Mike would find he job every bit as challenging and satisfying as Medart himself did.

When Odeon was finished with his goodbyes, he turned to the Protector.

”I'm ready. What do you want me to do?”

”Find a comfortable chair, and tell me whether you want to remain conscious for the procedure or not.”

Odeon sat down in the nearest armchair, grateful to his Family for gathering around as the Protector stood in front of him. Medart held back, which made Odeon grin briefly. ”You ought to be here too, Jim; I made the decision I did because you forced me to face the fact I could do my Family more good this way than I could any other.”

”Decision?” Cortin asked sharply, as Medart joined the group. ”The decision point was Mike's?”

Keith saved Medart from having to answer. ”Yes. You all protected him by your certainty that the decision would be Joan's; now it's his turn to protect all of you.” He turned to Odeon. ”Which would you prefer?”

”Since you say it won't hurt, I'll take it straight. I don't think I could handle that kind of pain again.”

Keith smiled. ”You underestimate yourself, Michael; you are far stronger than you believe. The only part of your basic personality I'll need to modify at all is detaching you emotionally enough that you'll no longer have or form close personal ties that would affect a Ranger's necessary impartiality. The rest will be additions, or speeding up att.i.tude changes you'd be going through anyway.”

”I think that's a relief,” Odeon said. ”Let's take care of it, okay?”

”Okay.”

Keith stepped back and smiled. ”Done, Michael. You and James need to take care of some details, so we'll leave in a couple of minutes. I gave you everything a Ranger needs, in some cases more, and took care of a couple of your problems--such as removing your allergy to teaching tapes; you'll be able to use them now, and you'll need them. Your intelligence has doubled; you have and know how to use a powerful Talent that includes telepathy, mind-s.h.i.+eld, teleportation, and materialization; and you have the other abilities and att.i.tudes proper for a Ranger. I also removed the satyr virus from your body, so you're no longer contagious, a service I will perform for anyone else who leaves the Systems. I made only one overt physical change, since you've chosen the Traditional Church, which means you can't be my priest or devotee any longer. I've reset your biological clock to where it would be if you'd been selected in the usual manner, but to maintain it there, you'll have to go on anti-agathics; my powers, as James told you, don't extend beyond the Systems. Otherwise you look and feel exactly the same--but if you should need them, I've given you a complex of hidden changes, all of which will activate if any one of them is required. Again, with improvements.” He smiled again.

”You'll do well, Michael, both as Christ's priest and as a Ranger.

Joan, you reached a decision yourself while I was working; you ought to tell them what it is.”

Cortin looked from Medart to Odeon, then back. ”If Mike thinks anything about the Empire is important enough that he'll give up Family Cortin for it, I'll trust his judgement; as sole negotiator for the Kingdom Systems, I am empowered to say the Systems will join the Empire. I ask that you give us all the help possible to reach the level of the rest of the Empire, and show us how to take our proper place in it.”

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