05. Twilight at the Well of Souls - The Legacy of Nathan Brazil by Jack L. Chalker Page A

proboscis under which extended menacing mandibles.
    "You all have been briefed on the situation?" It wasn't really a question. Anyone who hadn't would have to execute the staff that should have kept the leader informed.
    "As you are aware, then, I instructed us to vote with the majority," the leader continued. "Our somewhat unique abilities should make us invaluable in a fight. And yet I am unhappy, for I do not like things left to the fates. Our ancestors would demand more of us."
    They didn't comment, keeping their heads tucked in reverently. It was partly reverence, partly respect— and partly that even they, the twelve who ruled their land as an absolute theocracy, were terrified of Gunit Sangh.
    Anyone in Dahbi could enter the priesthood; those with a lot of brains and guts could rise far inside the hierarchy, too. But to reach the top, the pinnacle, you had to have more. In a land ruled by ancestor worship, old age commanded the greatest respect. And in a land where only the smartest, the most ruthless, the most totally amoral could reach the top of the order, the oldest of that hierarchy was not only the leader, but also the nastiest bastard the race had yet produced.
    "Hear my commands," intoned Gunit Sangh. "First, we shall prepare a force under the overall Zone council command. We will contribute whatever is asked, in equal measure, from each prefecture. Choose your people well. I want the most expendable, to be sure, but also I want people who can take orders, who can fight—and kill."
    The twelve gave a silent nod in unison. "However, this is not sufficient," Sangh continued. "Suppose the battle occurs far from Dahbi? This would leave us as helpless pawns, known to be fighting this Brazil creature yet unable to do anything to influence the outcome. That is intolerable. Zilchet, you have a report on the Entries in our land?"
    One of the twelve stirred, and the vicious insectlike head rose. "I have, Your Holiness. We have received approximately three hundred so far. I say "approximately" only because one seems to pop up almost every hour."
    "And you have interrogated the newcomers?"
    "I have, Your Holiness. Our psychologists find them a truly alien mentality—which is to be expected, of course, but not quite to this extent. They seem to have all been females of the Type 41 category—the same as Brazil. They are part of a religious cult of some kind that believes Brazil to be God—not a god but the God—and will do whatever he wills. In other words, fanatics on a holy mission."
    "They wish to proceed away from Dahbi?" A slight nod. "They do, Your Holiness. They are quickly learning their new bodies and adjusting with astonishing rapidity to new forms and abilities."
    "It is to be expected," Gunit Sangh noted. "Whoever planned this operation knew the Well World before they ever got here. They have been thoroughly briefed. They knew they were going to become different forms with different abilities and were told to explore their new forms and adjust quickly. They are not here as ignorant children to live a new life; they are here as preprepared soldiers. You see what I mean, my brothers. We could lose this thing."
    They seemed to shimmer a bit at this idea. It was disturbing to them, as it was to Gunit Sangh. "You have them under restraint?"
    Zilchet sounded slightly miffed at the question. "Of course, Your Holiness. Any who appear are brought as quickly as possible to a central receiving facility, where they are carefully interrogated and then restrained, awaiting Your Holiness's decision."
    "My decision is to let them go," the leader told them.
    This astonished them, and there was much agitated rippling of their ghostly white forms.
    "Tell me, are they of the same race? The same world?"
    Zilchet had barely recovered from his shock. "Yes, Your Holiness. The same. Remarkable uniformity, in fact, if I do say so myself."
    "Do they appear to know each other personally— as from before?"
    "No, it is not evident. At