"...est in these pages?" "Well, it would be something for the record books." "You dumbass kids!" "You brought this crap into my home!" "Do you know how close they watch me?" "That stolen tech must be pretty important." "Or is it something else?" "Uncle R., you've got to lead these people." "You got to lead the stand against the Earth Republic." "Hello, my love." "Oh!" "You should have made me a partner." "I see a bright light, a white, blinding light." "The man who raped me." "I didn't even tell my fiancé." "Poor Connor had no idea." " Connor as in Connor Lang?" " Yes." "Did you know him?" "Seriously?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Who's there?" "Aah!" "Amanda..." "You're mine." "Hey, this guy, did you notice any details about him?" "What species?" "Human, Votan?" "I couldn't see his face." "The candles blew out, the door flew open, and he rushed in." "Did he say anything?" "My name." "So he knew you?" "I was mayor." "The whole town knows me." "What aren't you telling me?" "Years ago, there was a man in New York." "He attacked me." "I never saw his face, but I thought it was him." "Yeah, I know." "It's impossible." "But, I don't know." "Even if by some miracle he could have followed me here... why?" " But still..." " Okay." "When I get this guy, and I'm gonna get this guy... we're gonna find a much taller window for you to push him out of." "Now, would you like me to leave Tommy or Irisa here just to keep an eye on you?" " No, no." "I'm okay." " Yeah?" "Just catch this guy." "Oh, I'm gonna do exactly that." " Okay." " Come on." "Let's go." "_" "_" "_" "_" "This parable the one where the just man cooks his unfaithful wife and serves her body parts for supper?" "It's inspiring." "It's disgusting." "What is it with you Castis?" "Look, I know that you're mad at Stahma." "She is a derunjo." "She turned my son against me and convinced my crew to throw me out into the dirt." "And you bear no responsibility for any of that." "Well, whose side are you on?" "Well, as one of your closer friends, which is hardly a crowded field," "I'm on the side of watching you avoid any further acts of extreme self-sabotage." "I've killed men for speaking to me like that." "First step is admitting there's a problem." "Very good." "Now, I want you to burn the Castithan crazy scrolls, and fix your family from the inside." "I wish I could." "Really?" "I've made too many mistakes." "Stahma will never allow me back in." "Well, if you want it bad enough, you'll find an angle." "You're a smart guy." "You know, for a Castithan, I mean." "Meh Yewll." "Making house calls?" "_" "Lev." "It's been so long." "I wasn't sure you'd recognize me." "You're not welcome here." "To forgive is divine." "No, it's deeply human, which is something that neither of us are." "We spent enough time learning to talk like them, rocking the slang, getting down with the idiomatic usage." " Bedside manner." " So they trust us." "Right up until we'd sedate them and cut them open in the name of science." "Nice seeing you, Lev." "Meh." "Honey..." "Good-bye, Lev." "Don't you want to know why I'm here?" "Nope." "Not in the least bit curious?" "Fine." "Why?" "I'm dying." "A little jumpy, huh?" "My nerves are shot." "Ah, I understand." "You have no idea what I'm going through." "Oh." "Of course I do." "It's your sister." "No, this has nothing to do with Kenya." "Ah, yeah, it does." "She was loving." "Yeah?" "You?" "You don't love anything." "I mean, you wouldn't even know how." "How can you say that?" "You and me are the same." "We both don't really care about anyone." "We're just really good at faking it." "That's not true." "I care about you." "No." "No, no, no." "People like you and me, we screw our way through lives, yeah?" "And have relationships that end in train wrecks." "Me?" "I prefer it that way because the sex is better when you don't complicate it." "So please, don't tell me that you care about me because I don't want that." "I didn't love your sister, and I sure as shtako don't love you." "How could I, sweetheart?" "You're damaged goods." "Now where was that fire when we were in the sack?" "I wouldn't have had to imagine her." "Ah." "First time's foreplay." "Second time, I take you apart." "You're mine, Amanda." "Yeah, well..." "The Adreno... have you had any weirdness?" " You look terrible." " Any side effects?" "Could you have gotten a bad batch?" " Let's go inside." " Answer me." "I get my Adreno directly from Varus Soleptor." "Pipeline's impeccable." "Then maybe I'm crazy." "Hey." "Tell me what's bothering you." "I saw something that couldn't possibly have happened." "Then I thought I was being followed." "I saw Nolan, only..." "Only what?" " Nothing." "Never mind." " Hey." "Amanda, Amanda." "You have been through a terrible trauma." "Churchill, take her to McCawley's house." " Okay." " No, no, no, no." "I'm fine." "Hey, hey." "You need protecting." " No, I'm fine." " No arguments." "You two, go make a pot of tangbark." "It's wrong that they've taken over Rafe's house." "Rafe got what he deserved." "He lied." "He harbored a criminal, him and Nolan both." "Nolan did what he thought was right." " You go ahead and defend Nolan." " To my death." "So..." "I searched your place this morning, top to bottom, inside out, looking for signs of the attacker." "You know what I found?" "You found nothing." "That's right." "And you suspect that I broke the window myself." "Well, can you explain it?" "No." "I did find this." "Last time I checked, hallucinating was not a side effect of Adreno." "That's the best theory I got." "I'm sorry, Nolan." "I'm just tired." "I just need some space, okay?" "Yeah." "Okay." "Yeah." "You gotta be kidding me." "Hey, can you direct me to the showers?" "You know the shower?" "The water from up above?" "Rub-a-dub-dub?" "And you don't know what the hell" "I'm talking about, do you?" "Showers are for the lowest of liro." "Let me prepare the water for you." "I can manage on my own, thanks." "It's a privilege to serve the father of Favi Christie." "She's a wonderful young human." "Yeah." "I think I'll keep her." "By the way, it's... it's nice of you to say that." "I think I'll get one of these." "What?" "Don't be alarmed." "I wanted to welcome you to our home." "I should have stayed at the NeedWant." "I told Christie that..." "Christie was correct to want her father close." "I would be appalled to see the father of my hanya tavo stay in a brothel when we have ample room." "Well, this is only temporary until I find my own place, you see." "In the meantime, we'll see to your comfort." "Judas Priest." "Could you, uh, c-cover up?" "Please?" "Do you know why Castithan women wear a beaded gown when bathing?" "No." "Only their husbands are allowed to be naked, as Rayetso made them." "In many ways, you humans are much more..." "liberated." "Not in every way." "I know you had Alak beaten last year and threatened him with even greater bodily harm if he continued in the family business." "I want to assure you he is merely a figurehead, a concession to the male orthodoxy of our culture." "I run the family business now." "Well, I'm glad to hear that," "I guess." "I'm telling you this because I want your relationship with Alak to be a strong one." "Datak is gone from our lives now, and you, Christie, and the child are what I consider family." "I hope you will consider making your stay here a permanent one." "Oh, I'll think about that." "Please do." "And in the meantime... enjoy your bath." "Ah." "Good afternoon." "Leave." "I'm afraid I can't do that, Raiga." "I said leave." "Step aside." "State your business and go." "I can barely speak." "That puvako split my lip." "He deserves a raise." "You know you're not welcome here." "And I penitently bear the bruises of the lesson you so ably administered." "But I'm here to..." "McCawley." "Datak." " What's he doing here?" " Rafe is family." "Pottinger threw me out of my digs." "I must admit I had my doubts about crashing here." "But your wife, or your ex-wife," "I suppose, she put them at ease." "I borrowed his slippers." "Hope that's okay." "You were saying?" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "Wait, he quotes a scripture, pretends to be sorry, and you're gonna let him back?" "Hana-tova, there are many things about our culture I fear you will never understand." "He does not ask to be taken back as tandabola, the head of the household." "I suppose you humans would call it the right of visitation." " It's the old Hail Mary play." " No, he burned Alak." "You crushed your son's hand!" "Let it go." "There are laws." "I'm not letting him near my child." "The protocols of shishinolo have been met." "I assert my right to safeguard my lineage." "You're a disgusting troll." "Well, what family doesn't hit a rough patch now and then?" "I'll see myself out." "Did you hear something?" "Tommy..." "There's somebody out there." "You stay right here." "Tommy?" "Tommy?" "It can't be Wulukot Fibrosis." "I told you it was." "That's impossible." "We designed the bug to kill humans, only humans." "Maybe it's a mutated strain." "All I know is it's slowly killing me." "We have a serum." "You think I didn't try the cure?" "It doesn't work on Indogenes." "Well, there must be something you missed." "I have a contact in Marin County." "I didn't come here to be healed." "I came here to be forgiven." "You're obviously suffering from dementia as well." " I'll make a note." " Meh." " Don't be like that." " Like what?" " Like myself?" " Exactly." "I came here to say good-bye." "Good-byes are overrated." "Roll up your sleeve and let me take another blood sample." "No." "Let's go for a walk instead." "What the hell?" "Yewll's not answering." "Hey." "Tommy, stay awake." "Bad idea to nod off with a concussion, buddy." "You've been hit." " Let me see." " No, it's fine." " Irisa, let me see." " It's not my blood." "See?" "The bullet missed me." "Well, who's blood is it then?" "It's all over your arm, all over the floor." " Where's Amanda?" " She ran off." "She's terrified." "Doubting everything she sees, strung out on drugs." "Well, why aren't we out there looking for her?" "Hey, Defiance, we've got an emergency bulletin from everyone's favorite lawkeeper." "Anyone with eyes on one Ms. Amanda Rosewater should hit up his hailer tout de suite." "You know the number." "Call me." "Sorry." "I was just looking for..." "Yeah." "Your husband." " Yeah." " Yeah." "It's been a regular missing persons unit around here." "He's not answering his hailer?" "How do you know he's not answering his hailer?" "I work for him." "He's hard to reach." "I never seem to know where he's at anymore." "Ooh." "Sounds like you're losing your mojo, newlywed, huh?" "Maybe I can help you find him." "I've got a break coming up." "That's how Alak mangled his hand?" " His dad?" " Can you believe it?" "And today, he almost wormed his way back into Stahma's good graces." "Castis." "Crazy." "I've been living in their home, learning their language, cooking their gross food, and they still treat me like an outsider." "But Datak..." "Datak gets to atone." "I just don't get these people." "You can practice all the rituals you want." "But in the end, you have to live in their skin, as we night porters say." "Okay, now how am I supposed to live in their skin?" "Come play with me." "Hmm?" "What do you mean?" "It's a secret." "All right, take care." "Favi Tarr, what are you in the market for?" "_" "_" "_" "Let's go upstairs." "Champagne room." "Your breath is very Irathient, by the way." "What do you want?" "I wish to conduct business with your spymasters." "Your usefulness has diminished, along with your position in this town." "Your wife, however, has been very generous in support of our cause." "Oh, I was curious whether your Irathient deity had blessed you with a mind as appealing as your body." "But it seems Irzu is a stingy god." "Counting Datak Tarr out of any race is a terrifically bad bet." "Enough." "I have customers, real customers." "So what do you want from the Votanis Collective?" "Well, first, let's examine what I have to offer." "Defiance exists in a state of ongoing political flux." "Now, with the right alliances that I myself can broker, the direction of these changes can be controlled." "And what direction do you envision?" "Away from the Earth Republic." "You have my full attention." "If those bloody cameras were still working, we'd have found her by now." "You know, my sources tell me there's been no Blue Devil to be had in town for weeks." "Yet, Amanda seems to have an endless supply." "You got anything to say on that front?" "Amanda is an adult, and I help her as a friend." "Yeah, see, I see that different." "I see a guy so desperate to get a woman in the sack, he's willing to turn her into a junkie to do it." "Amanda would slap you for saying that." "Yes." "Yes, she would." "But Amanda is not here." "So maybe you want to slap me, defend her honor?" "I'm gonna ask you this one time." "Did you spike her Adreno?" "Some kind of hallucinogen or Votan roofie?" "You're fired." "We're way past that point now." "What exactly is that supposed to mean?" "It means you messed with Amanda, so if you want the badge back, you're gonna have to take it off my dead body." "That's not a bad idea." "You want to take your shot, go right ahead." "But make it a good one." "See, about nine months ago, I died." "It didn't take." "True story." "Connor." "We're not done here." " Hey!" " Nolan, they found Amanda." "Amanda." "Amanda." "Amanda." "Hey." "Hey." "Look at me." "That's it." "Can you hear me?" "Amanda?" "Amanda?" "Hey." "Hey." "Come on." "Connor?" "I found the hair." "My hair." "You took my brush." "What are you talking about?" "Can you be a man about this one thing?" "Something." "Anything?" "You're not real." "You're dead." "You died in this town." "You were shot by an Irathient terrorist." "Oh, you don't really believe that, do you?" "Jeez, Niles." "My killer is obvious, if you just look at the facts." " What?" " That's never been your way." "Truth is your enemy." "It makes you look at some unpleasant things." "Ah, shut up." "Take Amanda." "Our girl." "So beautiful." "What?" "You figured that by having her, it would help you be me?" "You'll never be me." "Incidentally, I forgot to thank you for the watch." "The Bulova." "Old world." "It's just a little awkward, given that I barely knew you." "Was it supposed to be an apology?" " It was a gift." " Mm." "Schoolboy crush." "Little Niles's first year." "So sweet." "But you knew we all laughed at you, right?" "All the sixth formers." "I mean, it was so obvious." "Did you laugh?" "Yes, I did." "What can I say?" "I was 17." "I thought it was funny." "Life was a lot funnier before the Votanis Collective wrecked the place." "Do you not remember holding me?" "You..." "I told you you would be okay, and Votans wouldn't hurt us." " That was a lie." " Yeah." "And what they did to Coleman, that was the worst." "I never got over that day." "I think..." "I think maybe..." " it's why I am the way I am." " No." "Some people, when they're born, they just come out wrong." "That's why you stared at me." "That's why you stole the hair from my brush." "That's why you followed me to New York." "You're a sick little pervert who deserves to die." "She keeps touching the back of her neck." "Here." "Let's have a look at it." "Help me get her over." " Oh." " Oh." "I've seen this on soldiers out west." "It's an EGO implant." "This one's defective." "If we don't get it out, it's gonna kill her." " What's an EGO?" " It's a military implant." "It fuses with the body and provides intel." "Aren't those things supposed to help you in combat?" "Not if it's damaged." "If the component is compromised, it can stop your heart or cut your spine." " You fight in the Pale Wars?" " Didn't everybody?" "Hmm." "Doc!" "Doc!" "Doc!" "Where the hell is she?" "Things have changed so much since we first arrived." "We came here to change this world, and we did." "It's beautiful." "We came here to destroy this world, and we did." "And this town smells." "There's no poetry in your heart anymore." ""Anymore"?" "Was there ever?" "Yes." "_" "_" "_" "My Meh Yewll." "You could always melt me." "I wrote that to get in your pants." "Worked." "Think you could ever forgive me for leaving you?" " I've missed you." " I had to leave." " Because of what we did." " They weren't animals." "They were people like us." "They had names." " They had dreams, hopes, futures." " I know." " We killed children." " I said I know!" "We watched them die, then talked shop, made jokes." "Gallows humor." "It changed you." "I'd touch you, and you'd jerk away." "You used to say... _" "I will heal you." "And we'll live happily ever after." "Oh." "I see." "What?" "You don't remember." "Remember what?" "It's your orderly Indogene brain trying to process the inexplicable." "You remember that I left, but not how I left." "You didn't want to remember." "No, Lev." "I died eight years ago after I opened my veins and I left you holding all that guilt." "Say you forgive me." "I do." "Come with me." "I can't." "You can." "Just take my hand." "We'll be together." " Her breathing is shallow." " There's no doc." "We're gonna have to operate." " Help me here." " Yeah." "I'm on it." " Come on." " Finish off that dressing." "All right." "You got her?" "Good." "Okay." "Sterile mist." " You've done this before?" " Yeah, sure." "Long time ago." "The patient lived?" "Does now really look like a good time to chip away at my confidence?" "Sorry." "Oh, Jeez." "No, no, no, no." "There it is." " Oh, God." " What?" "I can't remember whether to cut around the device or into it." " You don't know?" " I may not have actually done this procedure myself, but I think you cut around it." " Do it." " All right." "No!" "Cut into the device first." "It will remove itself." "Where the hell were you?" "Booty call." "Catch your breath." "I'll close this up." "See?" "I'm not allowed to die." "Not for a good, long time." "Why not?" "Because these people need me." "It's my penance." "Oh, sure, Datak." "Why don't you just help yourself?" "Is there anything extra" "I could order for you for my dinner?" "A bit of soothing tea." "You wouldn't believe the day I've been having." "So, I hope my home has provided you with comfort in a difficult time." "Do I look insincere?" "Oh, your face is kind of built that way." "I'm glad there's a strong man around to look after things while Stahma and I work through this period of trials." "We're family after all, bonded by blood." "All right." "What do you want?" "I want to regain my place in this family." "I want my life back." "Tall order, that." "Rafe, you understand how important discipline is." "You've raised three children." "But knowing where to draw the line is what matters most, and I regret that I..." "I crossed that line with Alak." "You think?" "I want to mend things with my son, with Christie." "A word in the ear from you might help sway her, in time, of course." "Why the hell do you think" "I would ever consider helping you?" "Well, I heard about what happened to Rupert, his sons, Hyatt and Josef." "You were close to the family, weren't you?" "Yeah." "We were." "Hmm." "Yeah." "The Earth Republic... the Earth Republic has... has taken so much." "Your mines, your home." "Yeah, well, times are tough all over." "Well, there's not much one man can do on his own." "I learned that hard lesson when I stabbed their Colonel Marsh with a letter opener." "Well, what you did was stupid." "Perhaps." "But had I possessed a thousand letter openers and a thousand strong hands to wield them..." "I've been talking with the Votanis Collective." "About what?" "Weapons." "My life has taken a decided turn for the worse since the Earth Republic arrived." "I think it's time we take back our town." "What do you say?" "Hmm." "You're still sitting here." "Yes." "I was worried about you." "I wasn't myself." "Yeah, I know." "How's Tommy?" "Irisa?" "I can't believe I shot her." "Ah, Tommy's got a hard head." "You missed Irisa." "No, I didn't." "I clearly saw that..." "I was hallucinating." "Yeah." "Hey." "Don't." "Sorry." "You know, what you thought you saw, what you might have heard me say, you know that wasn't real, right?" "How'd this happen to me?" "Either you came in contact with someone implanted with a defective EGO without knowing it, or..." "Or?" "Or someone infected you on purpose." "Who would do that?" "You promised this procedure would be safe." "And you promised a pristine E6 protocol EGO device, not this repurposed shtak from Von Bach's reject pile." "I did the best I could." "Well, in any event, it worked." "Over the last three weeks, all of Amanda's relevant memories have been quietly uploaded to my data repository." "We're ready for the next step." "Good." "That's good." "How did we end up with these egos inside us?" "Well, it happens from time to time on the battlefield." "An EGO gets split into shrapnel and implanted in different soldiers." "The particle walls must have gotten compromised when we injected it." "Little suckers went looking for a new host." "And found us." "Which is why these operations are usually done in a lab in a controlled environment." "My memories... did they go anywhere?" "No." "They weren't recorded." " What about..." " The one in my head?" "I dug it out." "And destroyed it." "So what are you gonna do?" "Just leave it in?" "No, I'm gonna take it out." "Just not yet." "Why?" "Because I'm not ready to let you go."