Mutant Star (30 page)

“Rick Akimura.”

“Akimura, Akimura, Akimura,” the wallscreens whispered.

“I know the Akimuras,” said the man. “That boy is a null. You say a null is threatening the mutant community? But how is that possible?”

“He’s become a multitalent,” Saiken said. “His skills outstrip those of the strongest among us.”

Around the hall, mutants and nonmutants were looking at one another with perplexity and confusion.

A voice rang out: “A null has become a multitalent? I don’t believe it.”

“But it’s true,” Saiken said. “He is wild, uncontrollable. Just beginning to test his strengths. It is urgent that we prepare ourselves now.”

Again, the room was silent. Then a tall, red-haired man in work clothes stood. His golden eyes gleamed.

“How can we control him?”

“A group of telepaths working in concert with telekinetics,” Saiken said.

“But we would tire eventually. What then?” the redhead asked.

“Neural dampers could be applied,” Saiken said. “We could use a combination of medication and group telepathy.”

“But you’re not certain that will work.”

Saiken hesitated. “No. But we feel reasonably certain—”

“Reasonably certain against some sort of supermutant?”

“There are no guarantees. Even we don’t know the limit of his strength,” Saiken said. “And that is why we must act. Once he is neutralized, he’ll see reason. Work with us. Lead us.”

“And in return we’ll worship him?” a woman cried. “Is that what you’ve brought us? A supermutant to be captured, then worshiped? What do you think we are, some primitive tribe?”

The room filled with laughter. Other voices called out in sudden relieved glee.

“It’s that old supermutant rag. Sing a few more choruses and we might start dancing.”

“A supermutant? Not again. Is that what she called us here for?”

“Help. Somebody save me. It’s the supermutant.”

I thought Melanie Akimura got rid of the last so-called supermutant who showed up around here. Maybe you should talk to her about Rick. Maybe she’ll give him a good spanking.

Rita, have you been using too many joy sticks? I thought
that was strictly against the healers’
regime.

“Please,” Saiken said. “Listen before it’s too late. He is here. Rick Akimura is the true enhanced mutant we’ve been waiting for.”

“Rita, go back to Mendocino. Look for mutant boojums there.”

Save your fairy
tales for children. We stopped believing in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the supermutant long ago.

A supermutant to lead us? Who asked for one? Anybody here send out for a supermutant?

“Listen to me,” Saiken cried. “You must listen to me! There really is danger. He is young, reckless. He must be controlled until he has grown into his talents.” Her voice was lost in the din. Even Vincent Guindelle was laughing and shaking his head. Her image on the wallscreens went unheeded.

“Please!” Saiken tried once again to make herself heard. But her voice was hoarse from shouting, and nobody was listening. It was no use. No one believed her. No one cared. Rick would catch them all unprepared.

“You’ll be sorry,” she said. “I tried.” Shaking her head in anger and sorrow, she left the speaker’s platform and hurried from the room. The echoes of the mutants’ laughter rang in the hallway behind her.

One person, however, was not laughing.

“Hey, Rita. Wait! Wait a minute.”

She turned to see a tall, muscular man with a gray beard and hair caught back in a ponytail hurrying after her.

Skerry.

“You are his father,” she said.

“I know. I know. Listen, are you serious about him being uncontrollable?”

“Yes. Paula Byrne went to see him.”

“That nutty Book Keeper from San Diego?”

Saiken flashed him a look of anger. “Sister Paula has much to share.”

“I’ll bet.” He paused. “Sorry. What the hell was she doing with him?”

“She thought he might be the promised one.”

“The promised one?”

“The True Host of the Book believes that an enhanced mutant will emerge to lead us and—”

“Okay, I get it. Mutant messiah. You think my son’s the mutant messiah.” Skerry started laughing. “How did Paula Byrne decide that?”

“I told her he might be the one. She confirmed it after attempting to examine him.”

“Right. You got a call from Ethan Hawkins and sent Paula Byrne up to tend Rick. So what did he do, give her a mental hotfoot?”

“Well, in a manner of speaking—”

“It’s exactly what I would have done.” Skerry nodded. “Listen, Rita, I think he’s just bluffing you. You fell for his tricks. But I’ll go talk to him.”

“You should not go alone.”

“To see my baby boy?” Skerry’s voice was harsh. “You think I need to bring along a mutant cavalry? Guns? Maybe some horses?”

Saiken shook her head. “Do what you wish. But for your own safety, you should not go alone.”

“I always work alone.” Skerry’s eyes glittered. “But thanks for the tip.” He faded slowly from view until Rita Saiken stood by herself in the empty corridor.

***

Have you taken leave of what’s left of your senses?” Narlydda asked. “Rita Saiken tells us your son is one step away from becoming the Antichrist, and you decide to go visit him? No, absolutely not. I forbid it, Skerry!”

“Back off, Lydda. Nobody forbids me anything. Or have you forgotten?”

“I know you’re upset about Alanna—”

“Damn straight I am. And if she’s up there floating around on Hawkins’s pleasure dome while Rick starts to develop horns and cloven hooves, don’t you think somebody should try to go and fetch her?”

“I thought Julian went to do just that.”

“Yeah,” Skerry said. “But he must have liked the accommodations. He stayed. It’s been two weeks. No sign of Alanna. Meanwhile, Melanie tells me that Julian and Rick had a run-in. I’d say it’s time for me to go up there.”

Narlydda laughed harshly. “Next you’ll be telling me you believe in the supermutant myth.”

His eyes flashed. “I don’t believe in anything, and you know it. But I told you there was something strange about Rick. Strange and powerful. I just thought he was an angry, violent kid. But maybe I was wrong.”

“Oh, come on, Skerry. You sound as crazy as Rita Saiken.”

“Don’t laugh, Lydda. If there’s even a hint of truth to Saiken’s story, we’ve got to consider it. Our daughter is up there. And my—son.” Skerry paused. “I let Julian go to break the news, hoping Alanna would turn tail and run. Now I see that I may have to make a little visit to Hawkins’s Pavilion and check things out for myself. Besides, Saiken’s little proposal for a telepathic concert gives me the creeps. I don’t think anybody knows what’s really going on with Rick.”

“If he’s dangerous, he must be stopped.”

“Maybe so. But one multitalent against twenty-five telepaths? It’s bad odds.”

“Especially when that one happens to be your son.”

In silence, they walked up the path toward their skimmer.

Narlydda turned, eyes glittering. “Aren’t you getting a little old for this kind of thing?”

Skerry met her gaze firmly. “Spare me the insults, Lydda. What if Rick
is
some kind of fluky enhanced mutant? An evolved mutant, if you will. I don’t really believe it, but I don’t know what’s going on. A null turning into a multitalent—that’s pretty wild. Yeah, I know he might be dangerous. And I’m partially responsible. Whether I like it or not.”

“That doesn’t mean you have to go racing off into space because of a prank you pulled years ago. Who the hell do you think you are? Sir Galahad?”

“Some prank,” Skerry said. “If what Rita Saiken says is true, I contributed to the creation of an enhanced mutant. Which puts the entire mutant community at risk. Maybe more. Ha-ha. Tell me something else that’s funny.”

“So you really do believe it.”

“I’m beginning to, yeah. I have to find out what he is. And I’m going to try and save those kids from themselves before it’s too late.”

Narlydda sighed. “You’ve got some kind of hero complex, Skerry. Are you sure this isn’t just an excuse to get up out of your floatchair?”

He opened the skimmer door and got in. “I wouldn’t exactly call it a hero complex, Lydda. I’d call it a bad ease of fatherhood. A real bad case.”

.

******************

14

Julian ate well on Hawkins’s pavilion, and he slept as well as he could without the comfort of Eva beside him. But he was slowly growing accustomed to their new status as ex-lovers and colleagues. There was plenty of distraction to help. Work absorbed him. And each time he looked out the window there was a star show, the cold white face of the Moon peering back at him, or the lovely blue curve of Earth.

The Flare Program was shuffling along, thanks to the crude equipment Eva had set up. And the lab was taking shape around them. Another two weeks and they would be ready to run full shifts. Julian was grateful for the demanding pace.

He sat up now, released from the most recent flare ride. He had seen little: a few wheeled vehicles crawling over the surface of a red sand landscape. Mars, most likely. Julian logged his ride and left the lab, intent on lunch.

Only two people stood in the mechteria line. One was a mutant man with gray hair and a mustache. He wore an orange shuttle pressure suit with pilot insignia at the shoulder. Behind him was a woman clad in a blue stretch suit. Julian admired her thin, graceful figure and long, dark hair. She looked familiar. As she turned toward the tables, he got a glimpse of her face. High cheekbones. Celadon skin. Alanna. She looked up and her golden eyes widened with surprise.

“Julian,” she said. “What are you doing on Hawkins’s Pavilion? I thought you were down at Berkeley getting your doctorate.”

“I’m working on it here, on a research project that Colonel Hawkins is sponsoring.”

“Really? I’m working for him, too. Engineering.” She smiled tiredly. There were dark circles under her eyes. “Come keep me company. We can talk while we eat.”

Julian followed her to a table. “Have you heard from your folks?”

“Not lately. I don’t think they’re really thrilled that I’m living with Rick.” She gave Julian a suspicious look. “Does Rick know you’re here?”

“Well, not exactly.” Julian hadn’t seen his brother since the day he arrived. “Don’t tell him you’ve seen me. We had a kind of falling-out.”

Her gaze went right through him. “I’m sorry. He’s been … sort of touchy lately.”

“I know about the changes, Alanna.”

She closed her eyes and slumped in relief. “Oh, good. I wasn’t sure if I should say anything.”

“Has it been rough on you?”

“Not exactly.” She smiled. There was just a touch of sadness in her eyes. “He’s gotten, well, distant. Different. He’s so ambitious now that I hardly recognize him.”

“Ambitious about what?”

“Stuff. He wants to make lots of money and buy a big house. Wants us to get married.”

Married! Julian tried to keep his voice level. “How do you feel about that?”

Alanna shrugged. “I guess I want to. I used to complain that he didn’t have any plan for his life. But I sort of miss the guy he was before he started developing all these fancy mutant skills.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” Julian paused. Should he tell her the truth? Rick obviously had not. But how to say it? Casually? Take a sip of coffee and say, by the way, did you know you’re my half sister? So you can’t marry Rick.

Alanna looked up. “Here comes Rick now.”

Julian turned and saw his brother striding toward them. There was a tightness to his features that Julian recognized as fear.

“I thought you were long gone, Julian,” Rick said. “Alanna, what are you doing with him?”

She stared at him in surprise. “Having lunch. Is there a law against it?”

“As of now. A personal Akimura law. I don’t want to see you two together.”

Julian stood up. “Wait a minute, Rick—”

“Alanna, I’ll see you in our room.”

“What?” She pushed back her chair and jumped to her feet.

“Now.”

“Rick, if you think that you can talk to me like—”

Alanna’s voice faded to a whisper, practically inaudible. She wavered as though a stiff breeze were blowing right through her. For a moment, Julian could see the back wall of the mechteria through Alanna’s blue tunic. Then she vanished entirely.

“Rick,” he said. “What have you done to her?”

His brother smiled grimly. “Don’t sweat. She’s all right. I just t-jumped her out of here. Did you tell her anything?”

“No,” Julian said. “And you haven’t, either, have you? For God’s sake, Rick. Be reasonable. She’s got to be told. How long do you think this can go on?”