Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html Flinx in Flux ****************************************************** Author: Alan Dean Foster Title: Flinx In Flux Original copyright: 1988 Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html Genre: Science Fiction Version: 1.2 Date of e-text: 12/15/00 Revised: 1/25/02 Source: Prepared by: Comments: Download both lit and txt version. Please correct any errors you find in this e-text, Update the txt file's version number and redistribute. Revision Comments: Spellcheck, formating corrections, cleaned up html for greater compatability with most standard format conversion utilities. ****************************************************** By Alan Dean Foster :Published by Ballantine Books: The Icerigger Trilogy ICERIGGER MISSION TO MOULOKIN THE DELUGE DRIVERS The Adventures of Flinx of the Commonwealth FOR LOVE OF MOTHER-NOT THE TAR-AIYM KRANG ORPHAN STAR THE END OF THE MATTER FLINX IN FLUX MID-FLINX BLOODHYPE THE HOWLING STONES The Damned Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html Book One: A CALL TO ARMS Book Two: THE FALSE MIRROR Book Three: THE SPOILS OF WAR THE BLACK HOLE CACHALOT DARK STAR THE METROGNOME and Other Stories MIDWORLD NOR CRYSTALTEARS SENTENCED TO PRISM SPLINTER OF THE MIND'S EYE STAR TREK@ LOGS ONE-TEN VOYAGE TO THE CITY OF THE DEAD WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE . . . ... WHO NEEDS ENEMIES? MAD AMOS PARALLELITIES* forthcoming Books published by The Ballantine Publishing Group are available at quantity discounts on bulk purchases for premium, educational, fund-raising, and special sales use. For details, please call 1-500-733-3000. ****************************************************** Sale of this book without a front cover may he unauthorized. If this book is coverless, it may have been reported to the publisher as "unsold or destroyed" and neither the author nor the publisher may have received payment for it. A Del Rey Book Published by The Ballantine Publishing Group Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html Copyright (c) 1988 by Alan Dean Foster All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by The Ballantine Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo copying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. http://www.randomhouse.com/ Map by Michael C. Goodwin Cover art by Darrell K. Sweet Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 87-91887 ISBN 0-345-34363-8 Manufactured in the United States of America First Edition: July 1988 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 ****************************************************** For all the readers who've stuck with Flinx and Pip since 1972, and wanted them back. And most especially for Betty Ballantine, who first saw potential in them and me, and who helped bring the three of us to life. ****************************************************** Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html Flinx in Flux Chapter One The man at the end of the table wore his attitude like a mask. In another place and time the intensity of his speech and gestures might have seemed unnatural, but they were perfectly appropriate for his present surroundings. He was a roly-poly sort of fellow topped by a short brush of inspired hair that crawled down to his shirt collar. Unlike his diatribe, his attire was simple and neat. With his mouth shut he looked quite ordinary. So did his five companions, save one. With that single exception, none was especially tall or muscular. They differed in coloring, though there was nothing unusual about that. They were of different ages. They came from different backgrounds and different worlds. What had brought them together in this small room at this particular time was a burning fanaticism, a bond stronger than epoxene or duralloy cable- a cause each was willing to die for. They were true believers, and they knew without a shadow of a doubt that their cause was just. Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html When discussing it they were transformed. At such times they sloughed off their daily personas and lives as easily as a lizard sheds old skin. They sat before one another fresh and gleaming, like the holy crusaders they knew they were. Each brought something different to the cause. The man who was speaking contributed money. Another brought strength and physical skills. The man seated beside her was naturally cunning. The six complemented one another even as they shared the same passion. They were the leaders of a growing band, having been chosen by their associates to make the hard decisions, to determine targets and courses of action. The man who was speaking was known to his compatriots as Spider. It was an accurate description of his mind, not of his physique. When he spoke of the Cause, he no longer looked so genial- His eyes seemed to bulge from his face, and his mouth contorted in a humorless grimace. None of them knew each other's real names. It was safer that way. The others had adopted names such as Flora and Lizard and Ormega-identification borrowed from the natural world that they were dedicated to preserving. Ecology was their creed, worshiped without question or hesitation. They had created unnatural relationships in order to better maintain the natural ones between species. Relationships that the civilization of the Commonwealth was dedicated to destroying. Such was their perception. They were not alone in these beliefs, but they were alone in their methods. They had moved beyond reason into the realm of religion, a place where nonbelievers were heretics to be stopped by whatever means necessary. For years they had been biding time, gathering strength, testing the limits of their organization with subtle probes here, tiny strikes elsewhere. A chemical plant sabotaged, construction of a shuttleport abruptly delayed, a few crucial votes influenced by money, persuasion, or occasional blackmail: all in the name of the Cause. With each new success, each achievement, their confidence blossomed and new recruits were gleaned. Until recently. The organization had grown beyond being a nuisance. It was now officially classified as a Problem, albeit still a minor one. Higher visibility meant more scrutiny by the authorities, more difficulty in soliciting adherents. They were no longer preaching to the already converted. The organization had reached a plateau. They could collapse in upon themselves, stagnate, or take the great leap forward. It was time to metamorphose from a cause into a movement. Making that transition meant announcing themselves to the Commonwealth at large. It meant making a statement that could not be ignored, showing how far they were willing to go to support their beliefs. It was time at last for a major effort, for a spectacular display that would bring them the kind of universal recognition they had heretofore shunned but now demanded. Time for a demonstration on a scale sufficient to bring double, triple the usual number of doubters flocking to their banner. Time to show the forces of destruction that they were a power to be reckoned with. So it was that the six had gathered in this cramped and stuffy chamber, under the assumed names that they had come to regard as their only important ones, to decide the where and when and how of the announcement they were going to make. Though they had no official leader, Spider spoke first and longest because he was the most articulate among them. When burning with the Cause, Spider could be spellbinding. His body was a mistake of familial genetics. Within that rotund, jovial shape dwelt the soul of a tall,, sepulchral figure whose spiritual ancestors had once stalked the torture chambers of earlier inquisitions. He never hesitated, never second-guessed himself. Because he knew. Knew what was right, what was just, what had to be done. His companions listened with respect. All felt as he did but could not put their emotions into words as facilely.