Branded by Fire

CHAPTER 7

Councilor Kaleb Krychek sifted through the reports flowing in via his constant connection to the PsyNet, the vast mental network created by the minds of millions of Psy, and paused.

Living “jacked in” to the Net, without firewalls or shields, was not recommended, and such complete immersion, such obscene openness to others, was not something he’d ever practice. But as a Councilor, he had to be aware of everything the instant it happened. And, given that most Psy uploaded data almost without thought, the Net was the quickest and most efficient information highway in the world.

Hence his very, very well-guarded link.

“Silver,” he said, as another report “pinged” in his mind, alerting him to news that had set off one of his keywords.

His most senior aide walked into the room, smart and coolly elegant despite the fact that beyond the windows, Moscow lay swathed in darkness. “Sir?”

“I’ve caught three reports of public violence by Psy in the past twelve hours,” he said, and it was the word “public” that was important—because Silence had been meant to wipe out violence among their race. “Find out what’s happening.”

“Yes, sir.” She paused, and waited until he’d raised his head from his desk before speaking. “There is a slight possibility that Pure Psy might be behind this.”

Kaleb had considered that—the pro-Silence vigilante group had the potential to spin out of control. And Kaleb did not countenance anything outside his control. “Do you have any evidence to back that up?” Because Silver’s family were spies, betraying Pure Psy without a blink because Kaleb was more powerful, and therefore had the potential to offer them a better gain—loyalty to anyone outside their own family was a cost-benefit calculation for the Mercants.

“No,” Silver said. “However, I’ll ask members of my family if they’ve heard anything. There’s also a chance it’s a cluster.”

He didn’t ask how she knew about clusters—he hadn’t chosen Silver as his aide because she was stupid. “Make a list of all recent events that fit the parameters. Go back a month.” Clusters of violence—when a ripple in Silence broke certain fragile minds—only took place over a limited period of time. Two weeks was the maximum. If this had been going on any longer, they had to start looking for another explanation.

Even as Kaleb spoke to Silver, another man, one known only as the Information Merchant, received a request through an e-mail address available to those who knew where to look.

The request was . . . unexpected.

It might even, he thought, be impossible to fulfill. But the Information Merchant was the best in the business. He did not accept failure.

Decision made, he tapped out a reply using the wireless keyboard beamed onto his desk.