Frank Herbert by The Green Brain

Author:The Green Brain
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

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Chapter VI

THE DANCING PATTERN of insects on the cave ceiling appeared as a lovely thing to the Brain. It admired the interplay of color and motion while it read the patterned message:

“Report from listeners in the savannah; acknowledge.”

The Brain signaled for the dance to proceed.

“Three humans prepare to flee in the small vehicle,” danced the insects. “The vehicle will not fly. They will try to escape by floating away on the river. What do we do?”

The Brain paused to assess data. The trapped humans had been under observation twelve days. They’d provided much information about their reactions under stress. The information expanded data obtained from captives under more direct control. Ways to immobilize and kill humans became more obvious daily. But the problem wasn’t how to kill them. It was how to communicate with them in the absence of fear or stress on either side.

Some of the humans—like the old one with the grand manner—made offers and suggestions and appeared to display reason… but could they be trusted? That was the key question.

The Brain felt a desperate need for observational data on humans under conditions it could control without that control being noticed. Discovery of the listening posts in the Green had aroused a frenzy of human activity. They used new sonotoxics, deepened their barriers, renewed their attacks on the Red.

Another worry compounded all this—the unknown fate of four units which had penetrated the barriers before the Bahia catastrophe. Only one had returned; its report: “We became twelve. Six gave up unit-identity to envelop the area where we captured the two human leaders. Their fate is unknown. One unit was destroyed. Four dispersed to produce more of us.”

Discovery of those four units at this time would be catastrophe, the Brain realized.

When would the simulacra emerge? That depended on local conditions—temperature, available foods, chemicals, moisture. The lone unit that had returned had no knowledge of where the four had gone.

We must find them! the Brain thought.

The problems of individually-directed action dismayed the Brain then. The simulacra were a mistake. Many identical units would only attract disastrous attention.

That the simulacra meant no great harm and were conditioned only to limited violence had no meaning under present conditions. That they wanted only to be allowed to speak and to reason with human leaders—this plan carried only pathos and irony now.

The reported words of the human called Chen-Lhu came back to plague the Brain: “Debacle… barren earth.” This Chen-Lhu offered a way to solve their mutual problem, but what were his true intentions? Could he be trusted?

The Brain suspended decision, directed a question at its minions: “Which humans will try to escape?”

Attention must be paid to such details, the Brain knew. Hive orientation tended to ignore individuals. The error with the simulacra had originated in this tendency.

On the surface, the Brain knew its problem appeared deceptively simple. But just under the surface lay the hellish complications of emotional triggers. Emotions! Emotions! Reason had so many barriers to hurdle.

The messengers had consulted their listening-post data.

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