Read This Day All Gods Die for Free Online Page B

several orders of magnitude.
    Suddenly he was aware that he could comprehend and participate in the quantum energies of this crisis on a scale which would have been impossible for him only moments earlier. A blaze of illumination had effaced the shame of his incapacity to grasp Warden's game.
    He found himself beaming unselfconsciously, like a se-nile old man. A joy as acute as terror throbbed in his veins.
    He knew at once that he would give the UMCP director all the help he could.
    Baffled by a rush of information he was unable to manage, Chief Mandich retreated into a pose of clenched stolidity.
    He belonged to ED; and as Min Donner had sometimes said, ED was the fist of the UMCP, not the brain. The Security Chief was accustomed to using his mind for his own duties, not for analyzing the underlying purpose of Warden's policies.
    Hashi felt sure that Mandich was full of outrage. He was also sure, however, that the Chief would continue to take orders—
    and carry them out faithfully—
    at least until Min Donner re-
    turned to account for herself.
    Koina may have understood Warden's intent as little as Mandich did, but she responded differently.
    "Director Dios," she said coldly, "I'll certainly tell Special Counsel Igensard—
    as soon as an appropriate occasion
    presents itself." The chill in her voice was extreme. Her inflections might have been rimed with ice. "But that's a secondary issue. Under the circumstances, whether or not the UMCP has any integrity"—
    she froze the word to such brittle-
    ness that it threatened to shatter—
    "can't be our first concern.
    The Amnion have committed an act of war. That's primary.
    "Are you going to tell the Council?"
    "Of course." A tightening around Warden's eyes made Hashi think he found the question painful. "That's the law.
    It's also my duty.
    "But first I want to know where events are going, what the stakes are. If I can't tell the Members what the threat actually is, they're liable to do something stupid."
    Indeed they were. Hashi agreed completely. From a his-torical perspective, it was plain that elected officials acting in legislative bodies seldom did anything which could not be called stupid. And in this case the difficulties were greatly increased by the fact that many of the Members derived their positions, directly or indirectly, from Holt Fasner—
    who in
    turn derived much of his wealth and power from trade with the Amnion.
    Koina appeared to grant Warden's reply a provisional assent. However, he had already moved on as if he neither wanted nor needed any acknowledgment from her.
    "Which brings us," he said mordantly, "back to Suka Bator.
    "You three were there. Chief Mandich, you've been made responsible for security on the Council island. In particular you were responsible for security during this extraordinary session of the GCES."
    The Chief tightened his lips to a pale line; but his only reply was, "Yes, sir."
    "Director Hannish," Warden continued, "you were responsible for representing formal UMCP policy before the Council. Director Lebwohl"—
    the UMCP director paused to
    study Hashi momentarily—
    "I will presume you were there
    because you're responsible for our investigation of the kazes who attacked Captain Vertigus and killed Godsen Frik."
    Hashi nodded, but he held his tongue.
    "I want to know the exact nature of the threats we face.
    That means I want to know what the Amnion are doing. And I want to know what's behind these kazes. Who's sending them? Why are they being sent? And why are they being sent now, when the Amnion have just committed an act of war?
    How we respond to one is likely to depend on what we do about the other."
    Why are they being sent now? Hashi considered this interrogative a trifle specious. He was convinced that Warden understood the timing of recent events very well. He kept his belief to himself, however.
    "So you tell me," Warden concluded, "the three of you.
    What happened? What the hell is going on?"
    He did not single out