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this?’ he asked and pointed at a grey ovoid on a table close to the door.
    ‘No,’ the Cat said. Her tone was one of dangerous boredom.
    ‘It was on the Ables ND47 you rode through into Boongate,’ Troblum explained, wishing he wasn’t trembling and sweating so much. ‘Somebody salvaged it and took it with them to their planet’s new world. I never found out why, maybe they thought it would give them some kind of edge over their fellow settlers. But the government confiscated it, and then it got lost in evidence archives for several hundred years. Then a museum found it and—’
    ‘Troblum!’ The Cat’s angry voice snapped across the chamber.
    ‘Yes, sorry: it’s a zone-killer dispenser,’ Troblum said meekly. ‘And I was really lucky when I bought it, the museum had kept it in a stabilizer field so it’s still functional and active. The thing’s about as antique as you can get, but in a confined space like this one I don’t rate anyone’s chances, not even in a force field like yours. What do you think?’
    There was a short pause. ‘Are you trying to threaten me, darling?’ the Cat asked.
    ‘I’ve got it on a double activation switch,’ Troblum said. ‘I can trigger it if I think you’re going to try to hurt me. Or if you’re too quick for me, and I’m exterminated, that’ll trigger it as well.’
    ‘Oh, fuck me backwards with a power blade,’ Stubsy wailed. His legs were giving way, sliding him on to the floor. ‘I can’t take any more.’ His hands went over his head, and he started sobbing. ‘Just fucking do it, man. End this, for fuck’s sake. Kill us.’
    ‘He won’t,’ the Cat said. ‘He’s not the type. If you fire that thing, fat boy, we all die, not just me. If you do as I say and help me capture Paula, I might even overlook this little misdemeanour. Carry on, Alcinda,’ she ordered.
    Troblum sent an order into the dispenser’s management array; its malmetal surface rippled, opening fifty small portals. ‘No.’
    Alcinda had taken one step towards him. Now she stopped again.
    ‘Do it,’ the Cat said.
    ‘They don’t understand,’ Troblum said. ‘It’s not just the insert that helps you control them, they have hope. I don’t. I know how stupid that is. I know you. You’re probably one of the few people I actually do understand. That’s why I turned my force field off. So there’s no chance of me surviving the explosion. I know you’re going to kill me no matter what. And we both know that I’ll never get re-lifed even if the galaxy does survive. This is it for me, the end. Not just bodyloss, but real death. So I might as well do the human race a favour and take you with me.’
    ‘What about Stubsy and the girls?’ The Cat asked.
    ‘Do it, you fucking bastard!’ Stubsy screamed.
    ‘Yes,’ Alcinda growled. ‘Take us—’ Her body stiffened, her back arching convulsively. Her spine bent so far Troblum thought it might snap. She clamped her hands to her head, elegant fingernails clawing long bloody streaks in her scalp as she tried to tear out the source of her agony. She screamed silently as her legs gave out.
    ‘Let’s not confuse the issue with other people’s poor advice,’ the Cat said lightly. ‘You still think you can get out of this, otherwise you would have fired the zone killer straight away. What’s the deal?’
    ‘I don’t know,’ Troblum said. ‘I don’t have a tactical program. This doesn’t have a logical outcome. I’m just waiting for you to do something scary, then I fire it. We both die together.’ He stared at Alcinda, who was writhing helplessly on the floor. Things like furry mushrooms were emerging from her eyes, mouth, and ears; then another one bloomed from her belly button. They began to spread wide, swelling.
    The Cat laughed. ‘Oh, darling, you are delectable. I’m the only person you understand, and because of that you’re going to kill yourself. How about you walk out the door and rush into your starship while I