Zude's side and placed her hand on the Magister's arm. "Personal attack and associational slur."
Zude looked at her. "Right," she grunted. "Right. Delete. I wish it unsaid." Both she and Longleaf sat again.
Rhoda nodded. "Magister, on this matter my feet point with yours," she encouraged. "I understand the reasoning behind banning such research and behind the moratorium on cloning. I am in sympathy with the public's loss of confidence in biotechnology."
Zude raised an eyebrow.
" But we are speaking here of benefits to all humankind. If research were to be authorized and a violence center discovered, then we could make ethical use of our knowledge and take a giant step toward an advanced, nonviolentcivilization, toward a reverence for life from the moment of our birth." She looked toward the cat figure by Zude's desk unit. "And if we rid ourselves of violence, Little Blue might even be populated again with animal beings."
Shaking her head, Zude contended, "Amah, you can't talk about the Protocols and reverence for life in the same breath. Reverence for life interferes as little as possible with another's freedom." She paused for several heartbeats, looking far down the familiar discursive path that now rolled out before them. Then she changed direction entirely. "You say you come with Magister Lin-ci Win's knowlege, even though she has not sent you. I'm fully aware of her support of Habitante Testing. Does she plan some strategy for convincing the Central Web?"
"I don't know the answer to that."
Longleaf touched Rhoda's sleeve. "First Behavior."
The Matrix Major blushed as she turned back to Zude. "Magister Win would of course wants your support with the Central Web, though she realizes that's unlikely. Still, she hopes a new development might influence you." Rhoda picked up the cotton pouch that Captain Edge had brought in, and emptied onto the table two three-inch wooden shafts, each terminating in a delicate and sharply pointed crystal. "Have you ever seen these?"
Zude shook her head. She examined the crystals. "Are they tuned?"
"Precisely. But not charged. Captain Edge will tell you that they are monoclinic staurolytes with a wildcard vector that can operate as far away as twenty feet. They burn out hairs, vocal bands . . . and testicles."
Zude looked at her.
Rhoda picked up one of the shafts. "They're called 'ballbakers.' In a rash of recent incidents in Singapore, they have been used to castrate men. The woman in possession of these told us that if the Amahrery continues to stall on the matter of neurological violence inhibitors, renegade women would do it themselves and in their own way. By castration."
Zude's fist hit the table. "Revenge!" she breathed. "Insane, mindless revenge!" She pushed her fingers through her hair, then stood abruptly. "Forgive me, Kanshoumates," she said, pulling in a deep breath, "but I have trouble understanding anyone who thinks that burning off a man's balls will make him docile."
Rhoda shot a glance at Longleaf, then turned back to Zude. "I would agree, Magister, but you will admit that the symbolism of the act carries with it a powerful message."
"I'll admit no such thing!" Zude shot back. She leaned on the table. "Such women don't want a nonviolent world, Major. They simply want to punish men. And to participate in the escalation of the violence . . . thus, I might add, damaging their own argument that men are the violent sex!"
"Whatever the case," Rhoda replied, "Magister Win believes the spreading use of these devices triggered the uprisings, at least in Kandy and Singapore."
Zude leaned toward Rhoda. "Lin-ci Win sent these crystals?"
Rhoda looked at Longleaf. "Insofar as she sent us at all, she sent them with us as evidence of the new extremes that citizens are moving toward. She is being pressured, Magister, to use her influence in hastening the Central Web to a
Zude looked at her. "Right," she grunted. "Right. Delete. I wish it unsaid." Both she and Longleaf sat again.
Rhoda nodded. "Magister, on this matter my feet point with yours," she encouraged. "I understand the reasoning behind banning such research and behind the moratorium on cloning. I am in sympathy with the public's loss of confidence in biotechnology."
Zude raised an eyebrow.
" But we are speaking here of benefits to all humankind. If research were to be authorized and a violence center discovered, then we could make ethical use of our knowledge and take a giant step toward an advanced, nonviolentcivilization, toward a reverence for life from the moment of our birth." She looked toward the cat figure by Zude's desk unit. "And if we rid ourselves of violence, Little Blue might even be populated again with animal beings."
Shaking her head, Zude contended, "Amah, you can't talk about the Protocols and reverence for life in the same breath. Reverence for life interferes as little as possible with another's freedom." She paused for several heartbeats, looking far down the familiar discursive path that now rolled out before them. Then she changed direction entirely. "You say you come with Magister Lin-ci Win's knowlege, even though she has not sent you. I'm fully aware of her support of Habitante Testing. Does she plan some strategy for convincing the Central Web?"
"I don't know the answer to that."
Longleaf touched Rhoda's sleeve. "First Behavior."
The Matrix Major blushed as she turned back to Zude. "Magister Win would of course wants your support with the Central Web, though she realizes that's unlikely. Still, she hopes a new development might influence you." Rhoda picked up the cotton pouch that Captain Edge had brought in, and emptied onto the table two three-inch wooden shafts, each terminating in a delicate and sharply pointed crystal. "Have you ever seen these?"
Zude shook her head. She examined the crystals. "Are they tuned?"
"Precisely. But not charged. Captain Edge will tell you that they are monoclinic staurolytes with a wildcard vector that can operate as far away as twenty feet. They burn out hairs, vocal bands . . . and testicles."
Zude looked at her.
Rhoda picked up one of the shafts. "They're called 'ballbakers.' In a rash of recent incidents in Singapore, they have been used to castrate men. The woman in possession of these told us that if the Amahrery continues to stall on the matter of neurological violence inhibitors, renegade women would do it themselves and in their own way. By castration."
Zude's fist hit the table. "Revenge!" she breathed. "Insane, mindless revenge!" She pushed her fingers through her hair, then stood abruptly. "Forgive me, Kanshoumates," she said, pulling in a deep breath, "but I have trouble understanding anyone who thinks that burning off a man's balls will make him docile."
Rhoda shot a glance at Longleaf, then turned back to Zude. "I would agree, Magister, but you will admit that the symbolism of the act carries with it a powerful message."
"I'll admit no such thing!" Zude shot back. She leaned on the table. "Such women don't want a nonviolent world, Major. They simply want to punish men. And to participate in the escalation of the violence . . . thus, I might add, damaging their own argument that men are the violent sex!"
"Whatever the case," Rhoda replied, "Magister Win believes the spreading use of these devices triggered the uprisings, at least in Kandy and Singapore."
Zude leaned toward Rhoda. "Lin-ci Win sent these crystals?"
Rhoda looked at Longleaf. "Insofar as she sent us at all, she sent them with us as evidence of the new extremes that citizens are moving toward. She is being pressured, Magister, to use her influence in hastening the Central Web to a
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