DoOon Mode Page 3

  Now it was hand to hand. The carnivores were all fighters, of course, but so were the herbivores. They were fairly evenly matched. But because they were fighting each other, both were likely to be losers.

  The action was brief but vicious. Hound bit Ewe on the neck, robbing her of coordination. Ram bashed Bitch's head against a log, knocking her senseless. The two victors leaped up, about to tackle each other. Dog and Sheep seemed evenly matched. They grappled, being able to get in neither a good bite nor butt, and rolled into the river. In a moment both screamed as the fish attacked.

  Hound and Ram ran to rescue their neuters, for the moment forgetting their own fight. They reached down to grab hold of Dog and Sheep.

  And three Swine appeared, armed with clubs. They quickly bashed Hound and Ram from behind, knocking them into the water. Then they focused on the two females. "Take one, toss the other," Pig said tersely.

  Boar got down on helpless Ewe, while Sow hauled Bitch to the water and rolled her in. Then she joined Pig, using clubs to bash back any who tried to scramble out of the water. Meanwhile Boar finished with Ewe, hauled her up, and heaved her also into the water. In a moment she too was carried away by the torrent. If she didn't drown, the chances were that her teammates would. Both Ovines and Canines seemed to be finished. Their human nulls would be free to desert them.

  After that the three Swine finished the work on the raft and got on it, poling it across the river. Their two prisoners were bound and hobbled, and made no resistance. The Felines merely watched.

  "We could have taken them," Tom said.

  "And maybe gotten ambushed by the next team," Pussy countered.

  "Time to find out," Cat said.

  They rose from their concealment and walked to the site of the mayhem. "Any other teams watching?" Cat called, not loudly.

  After a moment there was a stirring in the brush, and the Caprines emerged: Buck, Goat, and Doe. All had horns, beards, and hind hooves. Along with them were two human nulls almost identical to the ones the Felines had. "What is your position, Cat?" Goat inquired.

  "We suspect that cooperation is better than conflict," Cat said. "At least at this stage."

  "We agree, Cat. Can we do each other any good?"

  "We have useful information."

  "We have another way to cross the river."

  Cat glanced at the other Felines. "Shall we declare a truce, not to be broken until after fair notice?"

  "We agree. What is your information?"

  "What is your way?"

  Buck walked to a hiding place, and lifted a sizable coil of rope. "Tie this to a bough, swing across," he said.

  "Why haven't you done this already?"

  "Our captives won't go."

  Cat nodded. "Or rather, you can't trust them to go across, since they might run away if not immediately threatened."

  "We didn't threaten them," Doe protested. "But they are reluctant."

  "Our information will solve that problem," Cat said.

  "We thought it might," Goat said. "We observed yours carrying weapons for you."

  "Here is the key," Cat said. "Ours are not prisoners. They help us because it is in their best interest to do so. Yours will help you similarly, if you give them reason."

  Goat looked at the Feline's Dar. "True?"

  The man did not respond. "You are free to speak," Cat reminded him.

  "True," Dar agreed.

  "How did they persuade you?" Goat asked.

  "They freed us," Dar said.

  "Why did you not then run away?"

  "We have no reason to run, and we do have reason to stay. We are better off with them than without them."

  Goat looked at Cat. "We must talk," it said.

  They walked a bit away from the group, and Cat explained about the agreement to speak for the Human nulls after the mission, and about giving them the pain button. Goat was dubious, but decided to try it.

  "However," Goat said, "this does not settle the matter of the contest. We can't promise our Humans much if we do not win."

  "The second finisher is the reserve," Cat reminded it. "That also should be worth something. The Humans should understand."

  Goat nodded. "Perhaps so," it agreed. "And perhaps also, when we have privileges, we could request the services of those Humans as our nulls. We could then treat them well."

  Cat hadn't thought of that. "This may be feasible. Perhaps we should extend the truce, and try to finish first and second. Second place would be better than death."

  "Three teams have already perished," Goat agreed. "We would not care to do business with the Swine. That leaves only two in doubt."

  "Equine and Fowl," Cat agreed. "With some luck we can avoid them and beat them."

  "But the Swine will have to be dispatched."

  Cat nodded. "No truce with Swine. Suppose we cooperate until we have the first and second places secured, then have an honest, nonviolent, fair contest with agreed rules to determine which team wins?"

  Goat nodded in return. They had an understanding.

  They returned to the others. "We have agreed to cooperate throughout," Cat said. "To take first and second places, then decide amicably which team wins. We will avoid other teams, but will try to dispatch the Swine. We believe that this will make both survival and winning far more likely."

  "I will address our Human companions," Goat said. "The rest of you may get acquainted." Goat walked toward the two Human nulls who stood within sight.

  "Oh, goody!" Pussy exclaimed. "Come here, Buck."

  "Come here, Tom," Doe said, smiling.

  The males were glad to accede. The two couples went behind trees, already embracing.

  "That looks like fun," Col said somewhat wistfully.

  "Are you permitted to interact sexually?" Cat asked, surprised.

  "We are allowed to resist rape," Col said. "But the pain pills make that possible. You have freed us from that threat."

  "But you may have sex if you choose?"

  "Maybe."

  Cat looked at Dar. "May I have a more complete answer?"

  "We are permitted, if our controlling nulls wish it," Dar said. "But we are not permitted to seduce them."

  "So you can accede, but not initiate."

  "Yes," Col said. "You may have noticed that neither I nor my counterpart with the Caprine trio have acted at all seductively. But neither have we made ourselves ugly."

  Cat was thoughtful. "We interacted for a time with the originals you emulate. Darius was interested in Pussy, but Colene did not approve. We concluded that sexual interaction was appropriate only between the two humans, though there was none. You differ?"

  "We are nulls, like you," Col said. "We may not indulge with our own companions, only with nulls of other persuasions."

  "What about with alternate Human nulls?"

  Both of them looked surprised. "That didn't come up in our indoctrination," Col said. "I suppose we could. But since we can't initiate, it won't happen unless we are directed to do it."

  "Is it something you would wish to do?"

  "No," Dar said. "No more than your Tom would wish to indulge with a foreign Pussy."

  "If we succeed, with the Caprines, in securing the two winning places, we believe that the second place finishers will still be treated well, because they will be held in reserve for the Virtual Mode mission. The winners will go with the real Darius and Colene, but the second place team will request to be assigned their human nulls as servants. That should secure your identities also. If you then wish to indulge with our males and females, they should be happy to do it. We believe we can make a good life for you, at least until the mission is concluded. Therefore you should find it worthwhile to cooperate with us even if we finish second."

  "Yes," Dar agreed.

  Goat returned with the other couple. "They agree," it said. "They have the pain button."

  "Shall we call our Humans Feline Dar and Col, and yours Caprine Dar and Col?" Cat asked.

  "Call them F-Da
r, F-Col, C-Dar, and C-Col," Goat said.

  The two couples returned from their copulations, and the ten of them got to work completing the rope, which was made from rolled wiry grasses the Caprines sniffed out. The four human nulls worked with them, satisfied that their personal interests aligned. Soon the rope was ready.

  They found a tree with a stout branch leaning out across the river. Tom, good at climbing, went up to tie the rope to the branch, so that it hung down to the ground in a broad curve. They made a small loop for a foot. Then each individual held it and swung across, almost grazing the water, and letting go as it reached the far side. They had a set order: Tom, Doe, F-Dar, Goat, C-Col, Buck, Pussy, C-Dar, Cat, and F-Col. That kept the two teams thoroughly mixed, so there was no temptation for anyone to separate when across the river. There was no reason to suppose anyone would violate the truce, but Cat and Goat agreed to buttress agreement with caution.

  When they were all across, Cat thought of something. "Do we want to leave the rope there?"

  "Do we want to return this way?" Goat asked in return.

  "If any teams remain behind us," Tom said, "they can use it and still be behind us." He was always aware of tactical situations.

  "They will hesitate, fearing a trap," one of the Human nulls said. It was C-Col. Cat and Goat nodded; she was right.

  Buck glanced at her. "I could get to like you."

  "Want me to inhale or bend over, big boy?"

  He was almost taken aback. "In good time, perhaps."

  So the Human nulls could respond readily enough, Cat thought. The girl was definitely flirting, teasing Buck about his combination of human and animal traits without suggesting that she found either objectionable.

  They moved on. "The terrain opens out ahead, becoming hilly," Col said. "The flag is beyond the worst of it."

  She was correct: the trees faded and hills formed, with gullies between them. They became increasingly steep, but the girl knew the best paths around the obstructions, generally following a contour. They saw no other teams.

  They came in due course to truly challenging geography. It seemed as though a mountain had been riven by an earthquake so that the two halves of it wedged apart, leaving a chasm between. The far side was a virtual mirror image of the near side, because of the manner of its formation, but both were endlessly jagged and devious. It was hard to see any continuous path through this dangerous maze. "This is as far as my knowledge goes," F-Col said, and C-Col agreed. "The flag is in this region."

  "I can show it to you," F-Dar said. "There is a place where a sighting can be made. That is the extent of my knowledge."

  He led them up a path along a ledge cut into the nearer slope, until they reached a flat-faced boulder with a crevice of its own. Dar sighted through this. "There it is."

  Cat looked. There was a silver flag perched on a spire of rock directly across from them. Now they knew where it was; they would have to find a way to reach it.

  "We had better get going," Buck said, looking down into the chasm. "The Equines and Fowl are ahead of us."

  Cat looked down while Goat peered through the slit at the flag. The two other teams seemed to be racing each other. "Not much hope of catching them," Tom said. "They have too much of a lead."

  "We Caprines can catch them," Buck said. "We're adapted to climbing."

  Goat looked at Cat. "This disturbs me. There's a smell in the air."

  "I agree," Cat said. "It is too straightforward. We were warned of the unexpected. It shouldn't be a straight foot race."

  "Well, it is a foot race," Tom said. "And every moment counts. Let's stop wasting time."

  "Two things," Goat said. "First, the smell. It warned us of the attack of the beasts, so that the Bovines got slaughtered instead of us. It made us cautious when the Ovines and Canines fought. We had best heed it now, for it is when things look obvious that they may be most treacherous. Second, we don't have to be first to fetch the flags, merely the first to bring them back. The other teams will have to pass us as they return."

  "And where are the Swine?" Cat asked. "They were also ahead of us, but aren't in the chasm." For everything was visible; the Swine were not ahead of the other teams.

  "They're behind us!" Buck said. "Waiting to ambush us."

  "So we have to watch behind as well as ahead," Goat said. It turned to Cat. "Suppose we Caprines outrace the others, to get the flags, while you Felines hunt the Swine so our return is safe?"

  "I agree in principle," Cat said. "You can perform better on such a slope, and we can hunt better. But I remain suspicious. I think we are missing something."

  Goat nodded. "I agree. For one thing, it might be a tactical mistake to divide our force; the two leading teams might unite against us, and the Swine are neither stupid nor scrupulous. We may yet need to fight together."

  "But we have to get the flag!" Pussy cried, and Doe agreed.

  "We have to be best prepared for victory," Cat said, and Goat agreed. "I think we should tarry and try to fathom the mystery."

  "Sometimes you neuter intellects give me a pain in the udder," Doe said, smiling obliquely at Tom.

  "True," Tom agreed quickly. He did not try to conceal his interest in the Caprine female. They had coupled once, but seemed to be developing more than a sexual relationship. "You spend so much time analyzing, you don't get much done."

  "Nevertheless," Cat said evenly, "we believe we should consider a bit longer. We are not driven by sexual passions."

  "However," Goat said, "those of you who are so driven may as well indulge yourselves while we ponder."

  The sexed nulls needed no urging. Tom took Doe to a nook in the rocks, and Buck took Pussy to another. Because they had to be prepared for any likely degree of interest by masters or mistresses, nulls were almost indefatigable in this respect. In addition, Tom and Pussy had been long denied. Caprine males had a reputation for randyness, and Doe was an uncommonly lovely example of her kind.

  "And you human nulls," Cat said. "I suggest you take a walk through the brush, spread out, and protect yourselves if menaced."

  "But do not seek any quarrels," Goat said. "If you see anything of interest, you may inform us when you return, if you wish." The phrasing was careful, reminding them that they were being treated as associates, not servants.

  "You have our approval, should you need to use the pain buttons," Cat said. "But it might be better to conceal them unless there is no choice. The Swine are arrogant and cunning; the former trait may prevent them from suspecting the degree of autonomy you have, but the latter should not be underestimated."

  The two Dars and two Cols nodded and set out on a walk that would cover a fair swatch of territory. They understood that they were scouting for the allied teams; they would try to locate the Swine without alerting them. Swine, being what they were, would probably try to rape them if they caught them. Not just the Boars with the girls; the sows could do weird things with males when they had the chance. It was not often that any null could get away with any such act against a human-seeming person.

  Meanwhile the two neuters put their heads together and conversed quietly. "I believe the Swine are watching us, and will ambush us very soon after we get the flag," Cat said.

  "But three should not fare well against six."

  "Perhaps we should reduce it to three before they strike, tempting them into overconfidence."

  Goat stroked his beard. "Mock fight?"

  Cat nodded. "We can fetch the flag, and you can betray us and butt us into the chasm. The Swine will not question that; it is the way they operate. Then we can circle behind the Swine and counterambush them as they strike."

  "This requires considerable trust on our part."

  "We can lead the way, if you prefer. I merely thought we would be better at hunting and pouncing, once we are away from the rocks."

  Now Goat nodded. "Without trust, nothing is viable. You will trust us with the flag; we shall trust you with our lives."

  "To facilitate trust, we ca
n exchange human nulls. I think ours will not serve you directly, if they distrust your motive, and vice versa."

  "Agreed. Do you know where the flag is?"

  "I suspect it is on this side of the chasm, not far from us."

  Now Goat was surprised. "This side?"

  "We need to be alert for surprises. This chasm setup is too pat. I think the far side is a reflection."

  "Your mind is truly devious!"

  "You differ?"

  "No, I had come to a similar conclusion in principle, if not in detail. I thought the visible flag might be a decoy, but your analysis seems more apt. Very well, you fetch it, we'll betray you and head back, you circle behind. This will require some choreography."

  "Each couple can plan its own," Cat said. "We can advise them quietly, then you and I can do a search for the flag. I think anyone who falls into the chasm can't be seen from the trail side."

  "Understood." They separated, looking for the two couples.

  Cat found Buck and Pussy, who had evidently finished one bout and were warming up for another. Cat suspected that Buck was flattered by Pussy's unusual ardor; she wanted all the humping she could get, after her drought. "We believe we know where the flag is," Cat said. "The Felines will find the flag, and be betrayed by the Caprines, who will take it back to be ambushed by the Swine. Then the Felines—"

  "Got it," Buck said. "I'll do Tom, and Doe can do Pussy. Let's check sites."

  Males were very quick to catch on to the possibilities for violence. The two moved off as Cat returned to the base of the crag where the sighting crevice was. It saw that the human nulls were returning. "Anything there?"

  "Swine tracks," F-Dar said. "But we didn't see the Swine themselves."

  "Is there a likely site for an ambush?"

  "Several."

  "The Felines are about to fetch the flag. The Caprines will betray us and hurl us into the chasm. But when the Caprines are in turn ambushed by the Swine, the Felines will ambush the Swine in a countertrap. We do not ask you human nulls to participate, except to this degree: you who are with us, go with the Caprines."

  F-Col pursed her lips. "Clever. Cat. It will not pay us to let the Caprines take the flag in by themselves."