"The less you move, the better. Several of the wires are in deep, and we have a fiber optic attached to your core brain. You can minimize the damage by remaining still. And you can avoid the pain by answering my questions honestly. A few I have already asked. Even if you feel you answered honestly the first time, I'm asking again because I'm looking for certain fine points in your answer. Understand?"

"Yes."

"I want a more detailed explanation of what you asked Numbria."

I tell him as much detail as I can remember. It feels repetitious to me. I get bored. I don't know what he's looking for.

Yet I start to get an idea when I recall the questions I asked Numbria about the Telar's role in modern society. I listen to my own answer, studying it for clues as to what he wants.

"Numbria said the Telar were involved with business and politics at the highest levels. But they disliked sharing their scientific knowledge with mankind. Then I asked why the Telar were still interested in humanity. That's when she got upset and I had to sedate her."

"You are skipping something here," Haru says.

"What?"

"You tell me."

"Can you give me a hint?"

"Yes." Haru reaches over and turns the dial.

The pain is instantaneous and unlike any pain I have ever known. I don't feel it in a particular part of my body. It's like my mind is filled with pain. First it feels like nerve pain, then a burning sensation. It changes as it grows. I keep trying to get a handle on it, to block it, but I can't because it's too deep. My thoughts of the pain are made of pain. I feel I no longer have a name. I've lost all sense of identity. I exist only to experience pain.

Far off, I hear someone screaming.

It takes forever to realize it's me.

The pain suddenly stops. It is just gone.

I open my eyes and wince in the light. Blood drips from my lower lip, where I bit it. My heart pounds, and I gasp for air. Haru speaks in his calm, cold voice.

"That was three, Sita. You see the dial goes up to ten. No one has ever experienced ten and been able to talk afterwards. The brain, whether it is human, or Telar, or vampire, cannot stand such a level of torment. As it is, you were thrashing around, and we had trouble holding you down. You may have damaged your brain already. My advice is for you to stop lying and answer my questions to the best of your ability."

"Did you do this to Yaksha?"

"Yes."

"No wonder he killed so many of you." For the first time since being captured, I feel despair. The Pulse is more powerful than I imagined. I doubt I can resist it. To willingly invite another twist of the dial would be insane. I can't block even a portion of the pain. The reason is both subtle and obvious. The device appears to have the ability to obliterate a person's sense of "I" and replace it with pain. Therefore, there is no one left to try to resist it. Haru senses my despair and smiles faintly.

"Enough. What did Numbria tell you about our interest in humanity?"

"She said you have no desire to help humanity. That you see them as a plague spreading across the planet. A plague that has to be wiped out."

"Did she tell you how we plan to do this?"

"No. But she said you wouldn't exterminate everyone. She said you would keep a few alive, to study, to learn from them."

"That's not true."

"I'm repeating what she said."

"What she said isn't true."

"You would know."

Haru stares at me. "How do you feel about our plan?"

"I told you, Numbria didn't explain your plan to me."

"Forget that. Should we destroy humanity or not?"

"You're seriously asking for my advice?"

"I'm curious how you feel about the matter."

"Your plan is monstrous. No one knows people better than I do, their strengths and weaknesses. But this is their planet. They have a right to life. You can't just wipe them out like you would a swarm of mosquitoes."

"That's where you're mistaken. Several times in the past, we have destroyed the bulk of humanity. In fact, Numbria told you about the plague. We were the ones responsible for it."

"But why?"

"Humans breed like rats. What better way to halt their growth than to use rats?"

"Are you going to use disease again?"

"Not necessarily. Whatever method we use, the earth cannot bear the weight of seven billion people. You know the story. The poles are melting. The oceans are polluted. The ozone layer has a hole in it. If we don't act soon, and decisively, the earth will be ruined forever."

Odd. Brutran had given the same speech.

"Then work with humanity to help clean up the planet. You obviously possess tremendous scientific knowledge. But you're few in numbers. They can help you if you point them in the right direction. You know, I've lived a long life, I've seen everything. But I've never seen a case where mass murder has led to a higher standard of living."

"I respect your arguments. But the decision has been made."

"By who?"

"The Source."

"You're the head of the goddamn Source." When he doesn't respond, I ask, "How are you going to do it?"

"That's irrelevant."

"When are you going to do it?"

"Soon."

"God," I whisper.

"Do you believe in God? That is one of my questions."

"You can't be serious." Haru reaches for the dial. "Wait! Okay, you are serious. I'll answer as best I can. I don't know."

"You met Krishna. You were deeply moved by him. Surely you must have thought he was a divine being."

"He radiated extraordinary love and power. He was definitely not a normal human being. But to say someone is God, what does that mean? I honestly can't say."

"But you feel an obligation to do his will?"

"I wouldn't put it that bluntly. I've disobeyed him on occasion."

"When?"

"I promised him I wouldn't create more vampires. But I made two."

"Why?"

"In order to save their lives."

"Are these two still alive?"

"You read Seymour's books. You know they're both dead."

"Still, we come back to the original question. Do you feel compelled to obey Krishna?"

"I try to follow the example he set. I don't always succeed. Why?"

"You know why. He told Yaksha to kill as many of us as possible. If I let you go, I assume you'll try to do the same."

"Not if we can come to an understanding that benefits us both."

"What do you have to offer?"

"You know my abilities, and you know I'm no friend of Brutran and the IIC. Perhaps we can work together to put them out of business."

"Do you have a plan to destroy them?"

"I'm working on one."

"How can you get near them when they've got the Array?"

"Is that the main thing holding you back?"

"Answer my question."

"I've discovered a way to block the Array. I'll be happy to share it with you if you release me."

"Share it with me now."

I hesitate. "I can't."

Haru turns the dial on the Pulse.

I scream. I cannot stop screaming.

The pain cannot get any worse, and yet it keeps getting worse. I lose all concept of time. My agony feels eternal. I cannot recall a time when there was no pain, because the pain has wiped my memory clean. Yet I manage to remember the name of the machine. The Pulse, he calls it the Pulse, as if it were designed to generate waves of pain. But that's a lie, because there's not the slightest gap in the torment.

All that exists is pain and a desire for it to end.

Finally, it stops. My body is racked with spasms I can't control. I fear to open my eyes. I know I'm a mess. I've vomited on my shirt and urinated in my pants. And if my bowels had not been empty, I would have shit myself.

"Sita," I hear Haru say.

"Stop," I whisper.

"You want me to stop the pain?"

I keep my eyes tightly shut. "No more."

"I'll be happy to stop if you will just answer my questions."

"I'm trying."

"Not hard enough, I'm afraid. You have no real desire to join forces with us. Granted, the IIC is your enemy as much as ours, but you're the same as Yaksha and Krishna. You see the Telar as something that must be wiped out."

"Only because you're talking about . . ." I feel too weak to finish.

"Wiping out humanity? I told you, we've reduced their numbers before and they've survived. Think of what we intend to do as a deep pruning. With the bulk of humanity gone, the planet will have a chance to heal. It's the only chance it has. You can talk all you want about humanity joining us to repair the damage they've caused, but it's a dream. Mankind won't take any serious steps until it is too late. Humans are bound by the silly political institutions they've created. Every elected official in every country has to show immediate improvements to his constituents or else he's voted out of office. For that reason alone, your leaders are unable to plan ahead. No, Sita, earth is our home too, and we're not going to stand by and let it be destroyed."

I manage to open my eyes. "There must be a middle ground."

"It's those Telar who have urged compromise that have pushed us to the edge of this present catastrophe."

"You mean you're not all of the same mind?"

His hand lingers over the dial. "Are you trying to annoy me?"

My disgust helps to restore my strength. "Are you so utterly devoid of compassion that you can bury seven billion bodies?"

"The Nazis incinerated six million Jews and didn't lose any sleep."

I grasp his hidden meaning. "You helped them!"

"We have been behind every great war humanity has fought."

"But why?"

"To keep human beings in their place. We were surprised the Cold War lasted so long. It was supposed to heat up with the exchange of a few nuclear warheads. Mankind surprised us there, by keeping the genie in the bottle."

"There! You admit they're capable of great acts. Come out of the shadows, Haru, and give them a chance. The worst that can happen is you'll have to fall back on your original plan."