Playing God(149)

She stretched her legs for all they were worth, hurrying, up the stairs and striding across the receiving rooms. Mother staggered and leaned heavily on her, but kept the pace. Councilors and their assistants turned to stare. Theia saw them out of the corners of her eyes. She didn't break her stride. She was up the stairs and into the Debating Chamber before anybody could make enough sense out of what they saw to raise objections.

Ueani Byu jumped to her feet as Theia burst in, dragging Mother with her as fast as she could.

“How dare you!” boomed the Queen. “What is this…”

“Intrusion?” inquired Mother. She extracted her arm from Theia's.

“I would have suggested perversion,” said Aires Byu mildly from the sofa she shared with Vaier Byu.

“Intrusion, perversion.” Mother's ears crumpled and straightened. “Yes, I am both. Both. Here and now, and you will hear me and now, this one last time, my Majestic Sisters.”

“Why should we do so?” asked Aires Byu.

“Because if you don't, the Humans will take your world, your world, your titles, your people right out from under you and leave you staring stupid, lost as I am between All-Cradle and the Ancestors.” Mother clutched a table edge. Theia started forward, but checked herself uncertainly.

“The letter, Theia,” said Mother. “Give your Majestic Sisters the letter. The letter.” She closed her eyes and her mouth kept moving.

Theia pulled the letter out of her pocket and moved into the semicircle of Queens. Without even thinking, she handed it to Vaier Byu.

The Queen took it and looked at the lettering. Her mouth puckered, and her ears fell back. She handed it to Aires Byu.

Aires handed it to Theia. “This is a Human written thing. You will, of your kindness, Noblest Sister, read it to us.”

Theia felt her ears crumble from sheer embarrassment. “I'm sorry, Majestic Sisters. I forgot.”

“Forget forget,” murmured Mother. “Read it, Theia.”

Theia opened the letter and read it. The Queens listened in complete silence. None of them even twitched an ear or a fold of skin.

When Theia finally lowered the letter, it was as if she faced a cluster of statues.

“Well, if we needed proof the Humans were liars, we have it now.” Ueani Byu struck the wall with her fist. “Idiots! We've been idiots!”

“No!” cried Mother.

Vaier Byu got to her feet. “Praeis Shin, you are in the Change. Give your will to the Ancestors and leave those of us who are not so lucky to suffer the Humans’ anger.”

Mother looked at Theia desperately. “Web! Theia! Tell them, tell them, tell them we win. We win because of the letter and the web. Lynn gave us our victory. Tell them!”

Theia understood. Warmth rushed through her blood, and she almost laughed out loud.

“She's right!” She ran to her mother and grasped her shoulders. “Ancestors Mine! We've got them hot and cold!”

“Would you be so good as to explain this jubilation?” asked Aires Byu.

Theia faced them, one hand on her mother's shoulder. “The Humans’ communication web is a forum for argument as well as a way to exchange information. It's a debate wall that stretches up and down the Human Chain. Corps, corporations like Bioverse, can be broken by having their illegal or immoral actions made public in the web.” She lifted the letter triumphantly. “This may not be illegal, but there are many, Majestic Sisters, who will find it repugnantly immoral.”

“And how will breaking Bioverse help us?” Ueani barked. “It will leave us that much worse than before they came.”

“Threats,” said Mother. She swayed a little, but her ears were straight and still.

“We don't have to do it, we just have to threaten to do it,” said Theia. “It's a trump card, it's a hold over them. A sword in our hands. While we can threaten them with this, they will be forced to deal with us, not just take our resources and leave.” She looked at the Queens, and the Queens stared back, ears tipped backward and faces smooth. “Listen,” said Theia, searching for the right words, trying to imagine how her mother would explain this. “From the first we have been subject to the Humans’ will and conditions. We had no power once we signed their agreement. We had something they wanted, to be sure, but they held our lives, and they knew it. They held their power over us, and we had nothing to counter it with. We had no way to tell them they could not treat us so, could not make such demands on us. Now”—she held the paper aloft—“we do.”

“Which would be marvelous, if we knew how to make use of this magical web,” said Aires Byu.