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STORY: The Thinker was to start a new era of research, promising an
end to disease and poverty until the Little War took place. The young reprogrammed
Thinker to become the Prime Root system, feeding power and control to each city.
Logan tells Jonath (who has very long hair now) to be careful or he will activate
the Watchmen, robot kill devices programmed to react to the slightest pressure on
the floor. Logan tests the floor with a rock and nothing happens. Gant may have reactivated
some of the power from Thinker. Logan figures any Sandman could have done that--they
all had that training. One of Logan's sleeves on his jacket has been ripped off totally.
A voice talks to them and watches them on a screen...Gant. Evans comes out, "It's
been a long time, Logan." Evans used Jonath to lure Logan here. Jonath calls
him a filthy...Evans shoots him with a blast, "You shouldn't call me named,
Jonath." Logan puts down his weapon as he is told he is surrounded. Other Sandmen
come out. 7 feet tall, bare waisted, dark, burnished skin, deep sunk luminous eyes.
A shark like mouth...Gant, "Down, little Logan." The men put Logan to his
knees in his tight pants. Gant tells Logan he is glad to see Logan's body is in good
solid muscle tone. He promised that Jess and Logan will be reunited and smiling a
silvery toothed smile, he tells Logan that he has not harmed Jessica. Gant tells
Logan before he killed Ballard, Ballard had time to destroy a large part of Thinker
but not all. The core is intact. Logan tells Gant that Gant never had any honor.
Gant pulls Logan's hair back with the head, Logan's hands are tied behind him. Gant
tells Logan that Jonath was drawing a weapon. 6 years since the death of the cities,
Gant built his personal kingdom in Crazy Horse. Logan promises to kill him. Logan
opens his jacket as he is put in a room with hundreds of holes in the ceiling, water
dripping out of each one slowly. If he touches the walls, lightning lashes at him,
then a storm builds inside the room. Iced sleet, wind, thunder, hail. Gant tells
Evans to bring Logan to room K where he will keep his promise to Logan. When Gant
asks, Evans explains why he betrayed Logan, "Logan was always arrogant and self
serving. He took our friendship for granted--as if it were my privilege to be his
friend. I knew someday I'd best him, and now I have. I want him dead!" Gant
tells Evans they share emotional attitudes towards Logan. The Sandmen smiled at one
another as they remove a blood soaked Logan from the storm room, small mewling sounds
came from his throat. Room K: part of Gant's personal living quarters. Gant has on
a tank top now. Jess is glad Logan killed Lucrezia, whom Gant claims treated Jessica
well, considering the price she could have offered for her. Lucrezia also saved Jess's
value. Gant feels Logan was a violent man and he has now eased Logan out of his violence.
Jess tells Gant he hates both of them for doing what he lacked the courage to do:
seeking Sanctuary. Gant tells her that Logan did not stand by his duty, but that
he did. He tells her Logan ran from his duty. Logan is brought in but Jess feels
he doesn't know her. Both were thrown into a cell of raw rock, dirt floored and cold.
No clothing, no food, no water at two day intervals. He wanted to see them rot. Logan
lacked control of his body functions, couldn't talk, whimpered. The storm room had
broken him. Jessica strokes him, caresses him, and comforts him but he did not know
her. Gant returns with a whip to use on Logan...a whip he wants Jessica to use on
Logan. A blond sandman forces her down. If she doesn't whip Logan, Gant points a
gun at Logan's face, Logan on his knees, "You will or I'll burn him down."
Worker guards had it better than the medsupply guard...they had women to use when
they got the urge. A prisoner female tried to club a guard once but they burned her.
He wanted to shift to the worker guard unit for some nice, young meat. A figure darted
into the medsupply unit, took fresh wraps, healpacs, and cotton. Jess lost all sense
of time but loved Logan more than ever..and he knew it even though he could not relate
to anything yet. A crewcut Sandman tells short curly haired Sandman Brun about a
time he chased a Runner into the Nursery. The Runner got past the robots and the
Sandman was not allowed to shoot a Homer at him due to the Autogoverness who was
worried about the infants. The autogoverness knocked the gun away. The Runner picked
it up and blew his arm off clean at the shoulder...it blows up in another's hands.
Brun laughed, "Ha Ha. Runners should know better." The crewcut urks and
falls, his eyes and mouth open. A needle was in his neck. Before Brun could activate
an alarm, a needle hits his carotid artery. He falls. Jess sees a figure coming.
Not Gant, not Evans or another Sandman...Steratt. It is Mary Mary 2, a grown girl.
"You met me once, long ago," she tells Jess. Jess says, "I don't remember..."
Mary Mary was five then and had escaped the nursery. Jess starts to remember. She
lets them out. Mary Mary tells Jess she can managed Logan with Jess's help, "I'm
stronger than I look." They stand Logan up. His head rolled on his neck. A bubble
of saliva formed and broke on Logan's paste white kips. They hear a clang of metal.
Mary Mary says, "Hurry! Someone's coming!" |