Descending Road - THE BOTTOM PORTAL by Dana W. Paxson

THE BOTTOM PORTAL

1563 4D

Frowning, Arlen entered his garden. The rebels, damn them, held the power complex. That Rhin and her conniving! How could he get to her? Maybe her andros, she got them from Li Dezzart, but then, no, that would be complicated. Best to postpone all that until he struck back and got the Complex again. And he would get it back — the rebels couldn’t last, and Arlen counted in his mind the losses he would accept: dieoffs in the andro farms, crop losses, unrest. Stakes made little difference when one player could buy the game.

Now to finish the little scenario he had been arranging before the interruption. It wouldn’t take long; he had only an hour until the meeting with his military security heads. Frei would be interesting to watch as Indrio became dinner. He just had tell Turiosten where to start, and then— but he might need to restrain Frei, especially with the katschild genewarps working in him.

Arlen reached in a pocket of his coverall and retrieved a jector. Maybe half ‘thellin, half Metarbor, not too much; so often he overdid that, and got indifference instead of feeling. He came to the recess where Indrio waited with Turiosten inside her: Turiosten‘s favorite place in the garden, filled with deep-blue hyporchids and their soporific scent.

No Indrio. Three inert figures sprawled across the low gravelled steps. He kicked each one, not tenderly, in the thigh. Moans. Where was Turiosten? He strode out along a path, knocking blossoms free to fall to patches of grass and stone, searching. Figures lay scattered everywhere in the shade. He returned to where Derain lay, and slapped her awake, saying loudly in her face, “Where is Indrio?”

Her head lolled, her eyes rolled back. No use with her. Turiosten‘s hypnotic, whatever it was, worked all too well. Arlen began to dial a dose of KP on the jector, to block the hypnotic. Only one dose left. Best save it. He stormed along path after path. No Indrio. Leil was gone. And Andrew.

Andrew! That wormfood farmer had disappeared again, and no sign of Turiosten in any of the sleepers. At last, in a remote glade, he found Indrio, alone. He knelt over her, jected her with the KP. She sat upright.

“Arlen? You’re freeing me from that thing?”

He smiled and took her arm. Keep it in check, don’t scare her. “Just tell me. Did you see Andrew leave here?”

“No. That creature put me to sleep as it left me.”

“Where did it go?”

“That woman with the small nose and the real thick brown hair. Why did you wake me? Was it just—“

So it was Leil. He dialed the jector to Derinone and jacked a dose in Indrio‘s arm. She tried to speak, and slumped. That would keep her until he found that damned alien. Turiosten had pulled this hide-and-seek before, keeping its host asleep in the hope that Arlen wouldn’t notice; but Arlen had one way to find it that never failed: the machine. He went through a floral crevice to a wall panel. Now he could push a button and listen for the screams. He opened the panel, pressed his fingers to the codeplate, slammed his thumb down on the gray button beside the plate, and waited, facing out into the greenery.

Nothing happened. He pressed again. Nothing. He turned to the panel to see a code roll across the display: POWER SHUNT ACTIVATED. What was this? He activated audio, said, “Diagnostics, please.”

“Power shunt activated in Entry Three.” Entry three. The way he used to get down to the farms.

“Message to go.”

“Ready.”

“Werzindar, get down here. Somebody’s been fucking with the entries. It’s an emergency. Bring a police squad.”

A pause, then an edgy voice. “Arlen? We’ll be there right away.” Arlen slammed the panel shut and pushed out to the path.

At Entry Three, he studied the panel, then keyed it open. As if a flame had touched the inside and leaked heat outward, tiny scorch marks edged the display. Someone had jokered it. He called up diagnostics. The containment circuit for Turiosten still tested intact.

Arlen rubbed his neck, then said, “Report usage log.”

“Two, an hour ago, first ID Leil seven seven arbol four three two, second ID unknown.”

Arlen raged. “Message!”

“Ready.”

“All stations, listen.” He gave Leil‘s ID, and descriptions. “Find and detain, anesthetics mandatory. Dangerous. Last seen near top of farms.”

“Arlen, report for you.” Quintiran, security chief for the farms.

“Yes?”

“We’ve got a dead worker here, farm locus Cynad Six Six. She was interrupted sending out a call for help. And she’s had her liver taken out. We read teeth marks.”

“Acknowledged.” Turiosten had been hungry. Curse that thing! Arlen looked back into the garden sunshine, then said, “Anything else?”

“Yes. We had alarms through here a half-hour ago. Two of our people saw one of Gullinder‘s pursuit teams coming down through the vats after someone.”

“Who?”

“We don’t know. Whoever it was disappeared. We’re investigating.”

Damn them all, they might as well investigate lightning bolts after they hit. “Did you stop Gullinder‘s team?”

“We lost three trying. The team apparently went out through the bottom portal.”

The bottom. That would figure. Getting even his best people to pursue down there was nearly impossible. Arlen said, “Find what you can. Off.” He turned and walked out into his fragrant garden.

Werzindar arrived with four police guards, and Parthren in his grip. “We found her in the approach from the upper elevator.”

“Arlen,” she said, trying to shake off Werzindar, “I’ve got news.”

“Just wait. You,” Arlen glared at Werzindar and swept his arm in a circle, “Let her go. Scour this place for bodies, hiding or dead. I want this woman, Leil seven seven arbol four three two. Check all the doors and the circuits, get the techs down here and have them wring out the door logic.”

Werzindar took his group away. Arlen watched them fan out, then wheeled. “Yes, Parthren, I see you don’t have Frei with you. Saving him for yourself?”

Parthren rubbed her arm. “He found friends. I couldn’t get to him before they took him away. One of them was that young Luce guy you let go with Serreth.”

Engel. That strutting creep — good thing Mentrius' soldiers had reported back they’d nailed him. But they hadn’t mentioned Frei. Arlen studied Parthren‘s eyes. “And who else?”

“Two andro women with scalp-short hair. No idea who they are. I’ve never read their scent, but when I checked after they left their smell wasn’t andro at all.”

“When did you see all this?”

“Near light-setting time.”

That would put it after the report from Mentrius. Had his bugboys missed Engel? Unlikely. They’d told Mentrius the knife had gone through his gut, four times. Fatal, and painful on the way. “What kind of shape was Luce in?”

“He seemed fine, but a little slow, maybe tired.”

Arlen looked off into the garden; a swarm of bees clung, crooning, to a high vine hung with pods. Parthren‘s observations didn’t add up. The report from the farms didn’t add up. And the rebels held the power complex. He said to the open panel, “Quintiran.”

A pause. “Yes, Arlen?”

“Send me a runner with a Type Eight jector recharge, half KP, half Derinone. To Garden Entry Three.” Arlen turned to Parthren. “Our plans are changing. I’m getting Indrio, and you and she are going to look for Engel and Frei together, up in Rumchi and Sobi.”

Parthren‘s eyes widened. “We’re going to Sobi Zone together? If they see Indrio they’ll—“

“Do what? It’s that damn festival, that… Corsang Run. They’ll leave her alone or get dragged and trampled. She’s your bait.” Arlen handed Parthren a small strip of shining metal. “Use this when you find them. It’ll bring a team of helpers to get Luce and Frei out of there. I want them both in my chamber upcity. Just press the strip here, and speak to it. You’ll hear it answer. Fully secure.”

“You expect a lot.”

“And I pay well.” So she wanted more time with Frei? Fine. “And I’ll give you five more days with your young man if you can get him back to me intact. Getting Indrio to find him should be no problem.”

Parthren smiled. A small wave of dilation rippled up her rows of dainty nostrils. “Oh, I’ll do that.”

At Garden Entry Three, the runner waited. Arlen dismissed her, handed the jector to Parthren, and said, “Wait until I’ve been gone for a few breaths, then wake her up and mention Frei. That should be all you need to do.”

He strode out to an upsloping corridor, the garden door thudding shut behind him. A name, a glimpse of an attractive man, that’s all it seemed to take with Indrio, ever since she had first seen Arlen. She had loved him then, as much as she could love anyone, probably. And then she’d seen Tariall, and Arlen had tried to ignore it. And then Frei.

Arlen felt himself a fool to think anyone could love him, such a smart fool to let feelings blind him like that. So now he had Tariall‘s head in a box to keep him company, to turn on and off with circuits; and he had Indrio to excite him, to turn on and off with drugs. They both bored him now. Parthren, whining and bargaining, her feelings never really holding her hostage, now she intrigued him. Arlen blew out a short sharp breath. Time to counterattack at the Complex.

Story List	SURPRISE ME	Author Page
USER SURVEY	PUZZLE ME	MAKE ELM MARK

HOVER Lucida Bright BARE	HOVER Lucida Bright FULL	HOVER Palatino Linotype BARE
HOVER Palatino Linotype FULL	HOVER Times New Roman BARE	HOVER Times New Roman FULL
PAD Arial BARE	PAD Arial FULL	PAD Lucida Bright BARE
PAD Lucida Bright FULL	PAD Times New Roman BARE	PAD Times New Roman FULL


	THE BOTTOM PORTAL 1563 4D Frowning, Arlen entered his garden. The rebels, damn them, held the power complex. That Rhin and her conniving! How could he get to her? Maybe her andros, she got them from Li Dezzart, but then, no, that would be complicated. Best to postpone all that until he struck back and got the Complex again. And he would get it back — the rebels couldn’t last, and Arlen counted in his mind the losses he would accept: dieoffs in the andro farms, crop losses, unrest. Stakes made little difference when one player could buy the game. Now to finish the little scenario he had been arranging before the interruption. It wouldn’t take long; he had only an hour until the meeting with his military security heads. Frei would be interesting to watch as Indrio became dinner. He just had tell Turiosten where to start, and then— but he might need to restrain Frei, especially with the katschild genewarps working in him. Arlen reached in a pocket of his coverall and retrieved a jector. Maybe half ‘thellin, half Metarbor, not too much; so often he overdid that, and got indifference instead of feeling. He came to the recess where Indrio waited with Turiosten inside her: Turiosten‘s favorite place in the garden, filled with deep-blue hyporchids and their soporific scent. No Indrio. Three inert figures sprawled across the low gravelled steps. He kicked each one, not tenderly, in the thigh. Moans. Where was Turiosten? He strode out along a path, knocking blossoms free to fall to patches of grass and stone, searching. Figures lay scattered everywhere in the shade. He returned to where Derain lay, and slapped her awake, saying loudly in her face, “Where is Indrio?” Her head lolled, her eyes rolled back. No use with her. Turiosten‘s hypnotic, whatever it was, worked all too well. Arlen began to dial a dose of KP on the jector, to block the hypnotic. Only one dose left. Best save it. He stormed along path after path. No Indrio. Leil was gone. And Andrew. Andrew! That wormfood farmer had disappeared again, and no sign of Turiosten in any of the sleepers. At last, in a remote glade, he found Indrio, alone. He knelt over her, jected her with the KP. She sat upright. “Arlen? You’re freeing me from that thing?” He smiled and took her arm. Keep it in check, don’t scare her. “Just tell me. Did you see Andrew leave here?” “No. That creature put me to sleep as it left me.” “Where did it go?” “That woman with the small nose and the real thick brown hair. Why did you wake me? Was it just—“ So it was Leil. He dialed the jector to Derinone and jacked a dose in Indrio‘s arm. She tried to speak, and slumped. That would keep her until he found that damned alien. Turiosten had pulled this hide-and-seek before, keeping its host asleep in the hope that Arlen wouldn’t notice; but Arlen had one way to find it that never failed: the machine. He went through a floral crevice to a wall panel. Now he could push a button and listen for the screams. He opened the panel, pressed his fingers to the codeplate, slammed his thumb down on the gray button beside the plate, and waited, facing out into the greenery. Nothing happened. He pressed again. Nothing. He turned to the panel to see a code roll across the display: POWER SHUNT ACTIVATED. What was this? He activated audio, said, “Diagnostics, please.” “Power shunt activated in Entry Three.” Entry three. The way he used to get down to the farms. “Message to go.” “Ready.” “Werzindar, get down here. Somebody’s been fucking with the entries. It’s an emergency. Bring a police squad.” A pause, then an edgy voice. “Arlen? We’ll be there right away.” Arlen slammed the panel shut and pushed out to the path. At Entry Three, he studied the panel, then keyed it open. As if a flame had touched the inside and leaked heat outward, tiny scorch marks edged the display. Someone had jokered it. He called up diagnostics. The containment circuit for Turiosten still tested intact. Arlen rubbed his neck, then said, “Report usage log.” “Two, an hour ago, first ID Leil seven seven arbol four three two, second ID unknown.” Arlen raged. “Message!” “Ready.” “All stations, listen.” He gave Leil‘s ID, and descriptions. “Find and detain, anesthetics mandatory. Dangerous. Last seen near top of farms.” “Arlen, report for you.” Quintiran, security chief for the farms. “Yes?” “We’ve got a dead worker here, farm locus Cynad Six Six. She was interrupted sending out a call for help. And she’s had her liver taken out. We read teeth marks.” “Acknowledged.” Turiosten had been hungry. Curse that thing! Arlen looked back into the garden sunshine, then said, “Anything else?” “Yes. We had alarms through here a half-hour ago. Two of our people saw one of Gullinder‘s pursuit teams coming down through the vats after someone.” “Who?” “We don’t know. Whoever it was disappeared. We’re investigating.” Damn them all, they might as well investigate lightning bolts after they hit. “Did you stop Gullinder‘s team?” “We lost three trying. The team apparently went out through the bottom portal.” The bottom. That would figure. Getting even his best people to pursue down there was nearly impossible. Arlen said, “Find what you can. Off.” He turned and walked out into his fragrant garden. Werzindar arrived with four police guards, and Parthren in his grip. “We found her in the approach from the upper elevator.” “Arlen,” she said, trying to shake off Werzindar, “I’ve got news.” “Just wait. You,” Arlen glared at Werzindar and swept his arm in a circle, “Let her go. Scour this place for bodies, hiding or dead. I want this woman, Leil seven seven arbol four three two. Check all the doors and the circuits, get the techs down here and have them wring out the door logic.” Werzindar took his group away. Arlen watched them fan out, then wheeled. “Yes, Parthren, I see you don’t have Frei with you. Saving him for yourself?” Parthren rubbed her arm. “He found friends. I couldn’t get to him before they took him away. One of them was that young Luce guy you let go with Serreth.” Engel. That strutting creep — good thing Mentrius' soldiers had reported back they’d nailed him. But they hadn’t mentioned Frei. Arlen studied Parthren‘s eyes. “And who else?” “Two andro women with scalp-short hair. No idea who they are. I’ve never read their scent, but when I checked after they left their smell wasn’t andro at all.” “When did you see all this?” “Near light-setting time.” That would put it after the report from Mentrius. Had his bugboys missed Engel? Unlikely. They’d told Mentrius the knife had gone through his gut, four times. Fatal, and painful on the way. “What kind of shape was Luce in?” “He seemed fine, but a little slow, maybe tired.” Arlen looked off into the garden; a swarm of bees clung, crooning, to a high vine hung with pods. Parthren‘s observations didn’t add up. The report from the farms didn’t add up. And the rebels held the power complex. He said to the open panel, “Quintiran.” A pause. “Yes, Arlen?” “Send me a runner with a Type Eight jector recharge, half KP, half Derinone. To Garden Entry Three.” Arlen turned to Parthren. “Our plans are changing. I’m getting Indrio, and you and she are going to look for Engel and Frei together, up in Rumchi and Sobi.” Parthren‘s eyes widened. “We’re going to Sobi Zone together? If they see Indrio they’ll—“ “Do what? It’s that damn festival, that… Corsang Run. They’ll leave her alone or get dragged and trampled. She’s your bait.” Arlen handed Parthren a small strip of shining metal. “Use this when you find them. It’ll bring a team of helpers to get Luce and Frei out of there. I want them both in my chamber upcity. Just press the strip here, and speak to it. You’ll hear it answer. Fully secure.” “You expect a lot.” “And I pay well.” So she wanted more time with Frei? Fine. “And I’ll give you five more days with your young man if you can get him back to me intact. Getting Indrio to find him should be no problem.” Parthren smiled. A small wave of dilation rippled up her rows of dainty nostrils. “Oh, I’ll do that.” At Garden Entry Three, the runner waited. Arlen dismissed her, handed the jector to Parthren, and said, “Wait until I’ve been gone for a few breaths, then wake her up and mention Frei. That should be all you need to do.” He strode out to an upsloping corridor, the garden door thudding shut behind him. A name, a glimpse of an attractive man, that’s all it seemed to take with Indrio, ever since she had first seen Arlen. She had loved him then, as much as she could love anyone, probably. And then she’d seen Tariall, and Arlen had tried to ignore it. And then Frei. Arlen felt himself a fool to think anyone could love him, such a smart fool to let feelings blind him like that. So now he had Tariall‘s head in a box to keep him company, to turn on and off with circuits; and he had Indrio to excite him, to turn on and off with drugs. They both bored him now. Parthren, whining and bargaining, her feelings never really holding her hostage, now she intrigued him. Arlen blew out a short sharp breath. Time to counterattack at the Complex.