2012 Part 22

HIGO's conclusions were at the same time inescapable and impossible.

Marina's expertise was an ability to read situations. A child of the welfare system she had learned earlier than she could remember, to know unerringly, who and what was bad news. She was also lucky. Stumbled over in her young teens by Penny, she confirmed for her an early suspicion that in rare circ.u.mstances some people could be good news. She was still working to trust the distance this would take her and so was, she knew, unreasonably suspicious of Penny's ultimate goals but not her interest in her. She knew in her head Penny was alright, more than alright, pretty d.a.m.n good - the best there was. Her loyalty, once gained was unshakeable, but her ability to trust was too fragile to be leaned upon firmly. This gave her a hard edge, which she deliberately beat, folded and honed like a samurai sword until it cut through the c.r.a.p of the world without blunting.

She was totally without fear. Others thought her ruthless, without feeling, inexorable - and so she was. She went where others more timid left her to go alone. She chased information firstly from curiosity and later learned that knowledge and information was the critical factor which gave control over her life and that of others.

She never considered her motives or inner drives. She had no need for introspection to delve into such things as cruelty or abandonment in childhood. For her, there was only one kind of person who mattered. Those like her grandmother, who's concern was coupled with action. Through her she learned the need sometimes to destroy in order to re-create. Abandoned by her mother, abused by the man who claimed to be her father, she was freed from him by her grandmother with one determined blow of a boning-knife - he defiled her no more. They so disposed of his remains he was never found nor was he missed by anyone.

This was care indeed, not available, after her grandmother's death, in countless children's homes and foster parents. She soon had more moves than she had had birthdays. One of Penny's sea captains found her a bedraggled, spitting, run-away kitten, stowed away on a JNO s.h.i.+p bound for Trinidad. 'Bring this young would be mariner to me at JNO,' she had said to the barely amused captain. Her first thought was to hand her back to the authorities, Marina divining her intent threw her so dark and venomous a glance, which she correctly understood as a challenge to her humanity and left her unable to refuse.

'You shall be Marina, my would be sailor, I have work for one of such ferocity.' So she stayed. Whatever her previous life, she was born again - Marina - no-name. She learned quickly and in five years, by nineteen was in control of Penny's developing security needs.

'I need people who can read faces and intentions, you can learn security techniques, its mainly your survival instincts I want.' Hiring Marina was one of Penny's best decisions. Marina gathered material on every employee, every customer, every rival, no one remotely connected with JNO escaped. Where she could, she got DNA records, you never knew who might be related to whom and you never knew when you wanted to check who might have left a trace of their presence in unexpected places. She kept finger-prints, voice-prints, school-records, college-records, job-applications, private correspondence, anything, everything. Until HIGO she had no easy way of cross-referencing and much of her knowledge was too diffuse until GAIANET was able to do the collecting and HIGO the interrogation.

After the disappearance of Alexander, she got HIGO to lay out certain names in two columns. Those with unusual and linked DNA patterns were Hep, Alexander, Thea, Ljeschi and unexpectedly - Barboncito. None of the other many thousands of records had similar patterns. They were different from other people, and were not DNA patterns of any kind she ever saw elsewhere - HIGO filed them as such. The surprise was Barboncito and she wondered if Alexander had known. The other list held Penny, Ric, Manny Kanuho, and the members of the advisory group - all perfectly normal, sharing no relations.h.i.+p at all. She had expected Manny and Barboncito to be related. This major surprise confirmed her suspicions that all was not as it seemed at Fourthworld. Barboncito the hacker, was related in some way to Hep, Thea, Alexander and the others.

His electronic foray into the terminals at Markham was not what he said, just curiosity and a test of skill. His companions.h.i.+p with Alexander was probably no accident and she had never believed they had fallen off some ledge. So where were they? Who was traitor to whom? What was Alexander's relations.h.i.+p to these others and how come he shared their DNA, while Thea had none of Penny's? Was it possible Thea was adopted?

The hacking had stopped for a long time but the 'worm-holes' were there nonetheless. Despite all her efforts, Barboncito and or his agents must have access to GAIANET and were active. But where was the information going and how was it being used? Why did they not take over if they could? If JNO as it seemed, was holding its own, why was it? When would they make their move? Would they? What was going on in JNO in parts she could not see where Thea, Alexander, Ljeschi and Lucina roamed? She had to know!

She had checked out Fourthworld on the day she left Alexander in the Canyon. Her people had infiltrated Kanuho's operation at many different points and reported all was well. They still reported that everything there was alright. Still there was no doubt GAIANET was compromised. When Penny and members of the Advisory Group manipulated resources, the effect was often less positive than it should have been. It was as if the opposition knew what they were going to do and had been busy minimising the effect. The only neutral variable was the climate. Everyone was losing against that. Something was going on and all her instincts said it had something to do with the supposed disappearance of Alexander. She decided her best starting point was to renew her efforts within Fourthworld.

She spoke to Ric about her thoughts on the hacking problem, she said nothing about her investigations into the top bra.s.s at JNO. He told her to talk to Penny and so she called her up and they spoke for a long time. After this Marina sought out Ric in the computer centre almost as soon as she finished speaking to Penny. Marina directed him outside for a stroll in the grounds.

'I don't want to risk being overheard. I trust the people here but you can't be too careful. I've spoken to Penny and I've got to get to Fourthworld in a hurry.'

Ric had his own inkling about their conversation and wondered how much Penny had given away about her relations.h.i.+p with Lucina and the others at Psathi. They had to trust in each other. Marina was Penny's creation and her creature. He trusted her tenacity and loyalty, but realised he had no knowledge of her as a person. He knew in general terms what she did, but relatively nothing about her background. He knew via HIGO she was investigating all of them and had not made up his mind about what he thought of it.

'I want to know two things,' he said, first, what exactly did Penny and you discuss?'

'And the second thing?'

'I'll answer that after you answer the first.'

'Why are we sparring like this?' Marina asked abruptly.

'Alright, Marina I'll be as direct as I can. You're Penny's person, JNO is her creation and you are its guardian. I know I'm just an operative...'

'A crucial one and b.l.o.o.d.y good.' Marina grinned, 'Probably, well yes a crucial one as you say, though without Hep I'm not so sure I wouldn't be well out of my depth. Anyway, an operative in the end - but I'm no machine any more than Penny - or you for that matter. So I need to know what motivates you beyond doing your job. I'm concerned about Penny and her involvement with the Psathi people. We've both experienced Hep and Lucina directly and we've never talked about it. We both do our job and report. We've both of us left the responsibility for making final decisions with Penny. We've allowed her to face them alone...'

'There's Alexander, you're forgetting him,' she interrupted again and stared him directly in the eye. She could tell, he knew something.

'I won't discuss him with you until I know what you talked about with Penny.

'Okay, okay, I'll come clean. I talked about what's going down here. That most people know nothing about, some people know something about and a handful of people know everything about. I asked her what you know, what she knows, and most of all I wanted to know what Alexander, Thea Hep and especially what Lucina and Zarian knows. I told her I've looked at all of you. Okay, I'll tell you where I'm up to. Starting with you. Basically I think you're okay. You're in love with Penny, but you won't do anything about it while she's got the world on her shoulders. I think you should, although it's none of my business. You're working on a fast and more efficient form of inter-personal communications with Hep which links into SYDCOM and Lynne Farrell's thing with Colwyn. I know you're nearly ready for early trials and that the Advisory Group want it like yesterday. I'm right?'

'Yes, of course, you wouldn't be doing your job otherwise.'

'Thank you, you're not bothered I'm clued up about you?'

Ric smiled dourly. 'I'm not so sure about the personal stuff, but it's your job to know about all of us and as long as you're getting it right.'

'That's what Penny said.'

'You mean she knows?'

'Of course, but my guess is you knew and merely wanted it confirmed.'

Ric did not speak.

'So that's you. Penny, well I don't have to say anything about her; without her we're nothing. It's the others, and that's where I've drawn a complete blank apart from the DNA samples.'

'DNA samples?'

'You don't know about 'Them?"

'I want to know what you know.'

'Okay, okay. I thought you would have checked out what I was doing with HIGO.'

Ric said coolly, 'I don't have time to spend checking up on you. I know I'm alright and I trust Penny to trust you're kosher. Funny isn't it, we spend so much time on methods of communication that we don't have time to communicate with each other properly. So what's all this about DNA?

'You really didn't check out what I was doing - thanks for the trust.' He's a straight guy, she thought, he'll be good for Penny if we all get out of this okay, and she told him the facts.

'So you see Ric, the great surprise is that Barboncito and Alexander are related. Thea and Alexander are too as you'd expect, and they are all related to Hep and the others but Penny is no relation to Thea, despite her being her daughter and Alexander's twin, while Alexander shares DNA with his sister. So there's no way Thea can be her child. Alexander is, but he shares DNA with his twin, a congenitally complete stranger to her mother.

'You spoke of this to Penny?'

'Yes. Is that the second question you had?'

' Yes. What did you speak about?'

'I asked her point blank why Thea had no DNA patterns from her but how it was Thea and Alexander were both related to the others. She went quiet for a long time, so long I had to ask if she was still there.

'And?'

Ric was astounded at her directness. With Penny It was a subject he had always treated like walking on eggs.

'I thought I'd overreached myself and she wasn't going to answer me. Before she replied I went on and told her about Barboncito and the concerns here about the 'worm-holes'. I think it was the practical consequences of this that brought her back to reality. I couldn't help thinking she was under considerable strain. She simply said she knew it was true and had no explanation but that she had given birth to the twins physically and that was all she could tell me. Once it was spoken, she seemed to recover - I thought she felt a bit relieved at not being alone with the knowledge. That's why I said what I said about you and her. She's terribly isolated in herself, needs your help Ric. Anyway, she said she was surprised about Barboncito and that Alexander needed warning. She supposed Thea would do it. I wasn't all that astounded at the inference that Alexander is still alive. I never believed the stories, Kanuho was too evasive about it. You knew didn't you?'

'Lucina told me.'

'I thought so, she threw her spell on you all in the Group, but missed me out. So you all knew about 'Them.'

'Only Penny and I knew for certain that 'They' exist,' replied Ric. 'The Group sense it but have no real knowledge. Now there are three of us and 'Them' as well of course.'

'It starts to explain all my doubts,' said Marina. 'Ever since I began recording DNA patterns it showed up, I've probably known longer than anyone, but until now it was none of my business. My job is to keep tabs and report back as and when.'

'Why didn't you simply ask Hep or Lucina?' Ric offered, 'I did think about it. But it seems clear they are not going to let us into the secret. If Penny hasn't got answers and, more to the point can't get them, there must be a reason which we'll have to search for because it won't get answered simply by asking. Anyway you're all far too busy with the here and now to spend time on it. I decided it will have to be me. I have a responsibility to Alexander now that we know he's alive. We sent him after the hacker and I stupidly a.s.sumed we had sorted the problem out and it wasn't my business to interfere with his business with the Navajo. But now I know this is the root of the problem. I've been making more enquiries about Fourthworld.'

'Doubtless,' Ric smiled.

'Manny Kanuho is clean. At least on the surface he is. Have you had HIGO check out Fourthworld lately?'

'No, I've been too busy with the communications thing, one of my people monitors it though.

'Who?'

'Boltkin - he's a good man, works too hard though.'

'Yes I know, You had to suspend him once, I worked on it. He came out clear. Well Fourthworld has aroused my suspicions.'

'That's not hard to achieve,' laughed Ric.

'That's as may be,' she replied seriously, not responding to his jibe. 'But Fourthworld turns out to be a far more complicated operation than meets the eye.'

'How do you mean?' They had walked as far as the ornamental bridge over the stream which fed the lake and Ric sat on the parapet with his back to the water as Marina spoke. She stood next to him, looking out over the water. An observer would have seen nothing more than two people casually conversing in the unusually warm late winter air. The fact of the conversation having immeasurable consequences for the entire planet would have been entirely unimaginable.

'It's a long story - but shortly told. It begins with Fourthworld and leads on to G.o.d knows where - the rest of the Universe I think. But I won't begin to interpret what I've been discovering; let me tell you the facts as I know them first and then - well, we can talk about the possible consequences after. I take it you want to hear this?'

'Of course, but don't you think if it's so important it ought to be for the whole group?'

'I'm not sure the whole group needs to know yet, I think it's important for you to know because of what you are working on with Hep and because you know about 'Them', so I wanted you to know first. Penny's the only other one and I've already sounded her.'

'What did she say?' asked Ric, turning to face her.

She agrees with me, and said I was to have this conversation with you immediately. Be patient Ric, I'll tell you all about her views and what she wants to see happen in a minute, let me finish what I've got to say before you let your anxiety about her get in the way.'

'Sorry, it's just that...'

'I know and it becomes you well,' and Marina turned to place her hand on his arm. 'But like I was saying - it begins with Fourthworld. From the moment of Alexander's disappearance at the Matkatamiba I was suspicious. Like you and Penny I have to admit, since it's important to the situation, that I too have a personal interest in the Conway family in the form of Alexander.'

Ric raised an eyebrow and smiled.

'Yes well, that's my business. Anyhow, while we were in the Canyon at Kanuho's family hogan, I took the opportunity to, let's say 'get close to Barboncito', and you can keep your eyebrows to yourself, I did it as part of the job, which doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. He lied at first to me of course about the hacking, but then thought he would see me off the track by admitting to it freely. What he couldn't lie about was the DNA test I did later. Don't ask! The other thing he couldn't lie about was the sheer physicality of him. He'd been eyeing me up from the moment he saw me, probably when Alexander and I were nosing around Tuba City. He got Manny to test me out on the drive and by the time we got to the hogan he was like a cat on hot bricks. There has only been one other person in my life who behaved as powerfully and that's Alexander - and they share the same DNA! (I said to say nothing until I finished). But there was a intense difference between them that I couldn't put my finger on until much later, it affected me so much that I had to leave him immediately afterwards to find out what it was. I intended to stay with Alexander but I had the strongest feeling he was meant to face up to Barboncito alone, like magnetic opposites, depending how they face each other they would attract or repel. There was a naturalness to them when together which needed no third presence. I also knew it was vital for the firm that I checked him out as soon as possible. These feelings came from knowing without doubt Alexander's need for me had a positive and endearing quality and Barboncito's was altogether negative. Alexander bore me aloft, made us into something new and s.h.i.+ning, it's hard to explain in words. With Barboncito it was the exact opposite. It wasn't that he used me like other men use women for their own gratification, he was more experienced and more adventurous than Alexander. I thought I knew everything but he knew something more. The main point of this story was that although he led me to greater and more extreme heights of pleasure than Alexander could, He left me feeling diminished, used, lessened - without a future. It was as if I had known everything with him and there was nowhere else to go, not even with him, we had done it all and we could only repeat never innovate. With Alexander there was everything to play for, with Barboncito everything was ended for all time. It was like going on a far and splendid journey to the horizon, with the world behind and nothing in front, with nowhere to go but back to the world you'd come from. It was as if in the end the world is flat and he steered me to the edge. It came to me later when I was talking to Manny Kanhuo. I saw a vacancy in his eyes, a despair and a resignation. It was the opposite of the fire I saw and felt in Barboncito. Barboncito revelled in what was done and what was to be repeated over and over again. He had a strength in the certainty of knowledge. He saw his world without doubt, clear and clean, he knew what was what. Not in the fire of hope, that was in Alexander, but in a fervour of conviction, of a faith, already given. I was truly shaken by the force of him. But what got me really scared was that I felt relief in finding such conviction, so much so that I nearly gave in to him. He has such strength, such 'correctness' there seemed little point in struggling against him, in finding the power within me to struggle for unknowns and take risks. He would do all this for you, carry your burdens endlessly and without complaint, all you have to do is believe in him and what he knew. It was my waning resistance that made it imperative I left him as soon as I could before it melted down altogether. It was so strong in me that in leaving him I also left Alexander to his own devices and in his company. But there was nothing else I could do to save myself. I've worried about it and what's happened ever since. I feel really bad and have a strong sense of responsibility about it. I was too frightened for myself to stick with Alexander. What kind of loyalty is that? Did Alexander resist him like I did or did he go along with him? I can't rest till I know for sure. Manny knew it too. He had already given in to Barboncito and I now know that's the secret of Fourthworld.'

'Wait,' Ric interjected...

'I said not to interrupt me, if this isn't crystal clear when I've finished you can ask all the questions you like, until then please say nothing, I need to keep my concentration if I'm going to say what's on my mind?'

'Okay I'm sorry - You were saying you knew the secret of Fourthworld.'

'Right. I saw it in Manny's eyes. I knew in my gut they were up to something that was no good to JNO but I couldn't work out what it was. I've always worked on instinct for the dissonance in things, and there was a clear difference between what Manny said and did and what went on underneath his Stetson. He was in thrall to Barboncito in some way. Now the whole point of JNO's support for Fourthworld, which you set up if I remember correctly...'

Ric nodded.

' ...was to get indigenous peoples all over the world into their own network, linked to GAIANET ... '

He nodded again.

'...they were to act in opposition to the multi-corporations armed with the strength of Markham's information to counteract their manoeuvrings and where possible take over local operations and hand them back. Manny called it 'Operation Robin Hood.' What got me though, was he ought to have been c.o.c.k-a-hoop with it and while everything on the surface was tremendous, it seemed to me somewhere he had lost heart. I don't think he would ever admit it, even to himself if you strung him up by the goolies. It had to be bound up with Barboncito. It was clear that Barboncito was c.o.c.k-a-hoop alright, so why was Manny down in the dumps? It had to be they had different things to care about. I spent enough time at Fourthworld to be sure your expectations were being met. There were no leaks that I could see, but yet they seemed to be disproportionately strong. Condamine used them to great effect in Brazil as you know. But I couldn't account for the difference in att.i.tude between Manny and Barboncito. It was ages before I fathomed it out. In the end it was something Penny said at one of the group meetings that sparked me off. It was one of her asides I wasn't supposed to take any notice of. She said to Piotre something about however hard we try to promote change in what people could do, whatever opportunities we put in their way, something always seems to prevent them from collectively taking the initiative. It was always down to one or two individuals to take the risk which made the whole thing vulnerable however much sense it made and that individuals, however strong they were, were not enough any more, there just wasn't time. Piotre said some plat.i.tude or other about the way of the world and an explosion went off in my head. It was tied in with something Barboncito said to me that evening in the hogan. He more than said it actually, he was boasting and arrogant with it. I told you about as soon as I could get a line out.'

'The other Firm.'

'Exactly, the 'other Firm!' We've never found the other Firm have we? I've been searching ever since for anything that could be a rival to JNO and there's nothing there. Nothing tangible. I've found lots of companies who confront us here and there and they win some local skirmishes from time to time, but they have no direct involvement in the set-backs we are feeling and the worm-holes in my security system appear invisibly from no predictable source. I've thought and thought about it but it was HIGO that gave me the clue. I thought it had made a mistake and was about to report HIGO to you as a fraud (she laughed at the furrow appearing on his brow) a joke, Ric, actually HIGO came up with the goods, it wasn't its logic at fault but mine. The funny thing is that it's dead simple when you know. HIGO proved the existence of the other Firm, it's a dream of a programme, so powerful, pity it's not a human mind or I'd go for it in a big way! I think I'm in love with it anyway!'

She laughed, and Ric smiled indulgently, he knew the power of HIGO and that of the DNA freak who made it. He said nothing about what Hep was up to with synapses and neurons. She went on, 'Well, HIGO interpreted the data GAIANET and I put in about the worm-holes and did its stuff, whirring and clanking through it (Ric winced, HIGO was famously silent) In the end it came up with three letters. I was disgusted, it had laboured mightily and brought forth a mouse. Bet you can't guess what they were!'

'No. What?'

'JNO!' She paused for effect. 'And for good measure it put in an exclamation-mark. If it hadn't been for the exclamation-mark I'd have thought it had made a fundamental mistake and was seriously flawed. The exclamation-mark was its little joke. Did you know it had a sense of humour? Anyway, at first I thought it was bonkers, and then it came to me. What the 'worm-holes' were doing was the 'same thing' as JNO. It's as good as JNO! HIGO was paying it a compliment with its little exclamation-mark! So Barboncito, that arrogant, beautiful, hunk was right, there is another Firm - as invisible to us as we hopefully are invisible to the rest of the world. Since it undoubtedly exists, it isn't that we are being 'hacked' into; it's checking out if it knows what we know, see? - we're being taken for our own ride! Get your megabytes around that my gobsmacked computer champ! Two Firms - us and Them - but where in all that's electronic are They? How do you get to Them before they take us apart by inches? What's more - I bet that's where Alexander is right at this moment, where the other Firm is. I've got to find him, he's too inexperienced to face up to whatever's behind Barboncito and what gives him his faith. He needs me by him at the very least!'

She popped her athletic body up on to the parapet in a smooth movement. She waited for him to speak. He thought for a long moment,.

'What have you to say about these two Firms?'

'You're right I've got ideas about that but I get the idea you are ahead of me.'

'What makes you say that?' Ric quizzed her with his eyes.

'I have a strong suspicion it's to do with what you're working on with Hep,' she replied.

Ric smiled broadly, 'You don't let much get past you, Marina, Penny always said without you JNO would've collapsed from its own weight and from those who would have undermined it without your preventive strategies.'

'That's as maybe, bonnie lad, but I've not been as successful as I should have been since that Barboncito came on the scene.'

'About those two Firms, Marina, what about them? - tell me what you think and I'll see how they fit in with what Hep and I am doing.'

'Okay - First off what I'm going to say is still indistinct in my own mind. So, Barboncito was the gun that started it off and the DNA discrepancy set it running. The idea of another Firm, was screwy but scary at the same time. When HIGO clued me into what it really meant I went into over-drive. It had to do with 'Them' I got all the information about Them I could and where d'you think it led me?'

'Is that a rhetorical question or do you want me to answer?' asked Ric, who pulled himself up to join her on the parapet, less elegantly and less athletically. She stared out over the stream and challenged him, 'Yea, you answer it!'

'Okay I think it led you to ancient Greece. To Mount Olympus and to some old, old fairy stories. Mine's a guess from what Penny has told me but I reckon you know something better!'

'I don't know how you know, but it's mad isn't it? - quite totally, gobsmackingly, barmy!' It was a while before I got it. It wasn't easy either. I started with the DNA patterns and went to all the experts. No one had seen anything like it. I began to think it was all fake, and I was sure I was being set up except for the fact that I had got hold of samples of blood from Alexander and s.e.m.e.n from Barboncito myself and made the tests under my own scrutiny. They seemed real to me, so I made the a.s.sumption the other samples were too. The amazing thing was the experts told me all the DNA patterns were fake, except they didn't know how you could fake DNA patterns. To cut the story short I got eventually to an old Greek archaeologist who had been carbon-dating finds from a dig on the island of Paxi or Paxos I think it's called today. There he found a gla.s.s phial containing a substance which was later identified as a lock of rough, reddish hair. The locals had kept this phial in a chapel dedicated to St Thomas on the brow of a hill far above the sea and revered it as having great interventionist properties and religious significance for conversing directly with G.o.d. The old guy was at the end of a long career as an expert in Greek mythology and he was following a hunch he'd had from a very confused legend about the reported death of the Greek demi-G.o.d - Pan - on the island of Paxi. He traced the mythology through finds beneath and around the little chapel and he discovered, like with many local Greek saints, that St.Thomas was probably a corruption of 'Thamus' an ancient Egyptian name. Now the old man said with a light in his eye that made me blink, that according to an ancient called Plutarch in some piece or other he wrote on why the oracles went silent, one Thamus, was an Egyptian sailor who was on his way to Italy by way of Paxi or Paxos when Plutarch says he heard a divine voice shouting across the sea 'Thamus, are you there? When you reach Paxos make sure you proclaim that the great G.o.d Pan is dead!' Which the legend says he dutifully did and the news was greeted with groans and lamentations. The old man was convinced that the phial contained a relic of the old G.o.d and did all the tests possible. Carbon dating turned out to give the hair an age of about the time when the Pan cults were pretty widespread. Well you know me, I checked out the DNA of the so called Pan hair. When I compared the DNA sample I got with all the others it was the same patterning as those on the 'Them' list - as Alexander's and Barboncito's. Of course each individual one is different. but the patterning is unmistakably different from ours. I asked the DNA people if it resembled anything like that taken from Palaeolithic humanoids and it seems what they have in that realm is inconclusive but that my sample was quite different from anything they had ever seen. You can imagine how excited I was. The b.u.g.g.e.r of it is I haven't got a DNA sample from all of them.' I need to check out Lucina's and Zarian's, I've only got Alexander's, Thea's, Barboncito's and Hep's. I particularly want that Ljeschi fellow's to check against the hair from Paxi. If there's a match - I reckon we've got hold of the other Firm!'

She held Ric's eye and with consummate satisfaction tossed her finely chiselled head in triumph. Ric spoke quietly, it was clear to her he had an idea about her conclusions already, which slightly blunted the edge of her achievement.

'You mean that 'They' are the Greek G.o.ds of mythology living in the here and now and that Zarian, Lucina etc are running a parallel Firm to JNO? I can go along with the G.o.ds bit; that surprises you doesn't it? To tell the truth it surprises me too. But working so closely with Hep and the work I've done with Thea and Alexander, plus some things about Penny's history made me think about the old Greek myths. I don't know if it was anything specific, certainly there was nothing as provable as your DNA checks. That's really exciting, even if it's so way-out as to be unbelievable. So I've done a little investigating of my own. Did you know for example that Lucina is another name for Hera, wife and incidentally sister to Zeus, and that Dodona is a place in Northern Greece, famous for its ancient oaks - a favourite symbol of Zeus? There are other links in the names from Penny's past, and you're right about Ljeschi being a verbal disguise for Pan and that there's a legend about him dying on an island called Paxos in the Adriatic. I can't explain Thea or Alexander, nor Barboncito. But have you ever commented to yourself about the relations.h.i.+p of Penny and Thea?'

'Like she seems to exist in a sense outside her mother and the Firm?' He nodded, 'Yes I've seen it, they're obviously fond of each other but I've always thought of Thea as so self-confident, sure of herself in a way that makes her frightening. I've thought for a long time Penny is frightened by her - no frightened isn't the right word - it's more like in awe of her astounding abilities. But if they're not actually related, it wouldn't be surprising, if like she'd been foisted on her as a baby by somebody else?'

'Lucina for example!'

'Sure! Lucina would be a prime candidate! But what about Alexander? That relations.h.i.+p is altogether different, and now I come to think about it, his DNA pattern is less distinctly different from Penny's while not quite being of it, on balance, the pattern is more like his sister's than his mother's but there are traces of Penny's. They are so slight as to put Alexander squarely in the 'Them' category, but it's as if he straddled them in some marginal way.'

'So Penny could be his mother, while she couldn't be Thea's?' Queried Ric.

'Yea, that's right! And that can only mean one thing! Christ Ric, are you thinking what I'm thinking?'