VISIONS OF HEAT

“It’s becoming imperative that we find a replacement for Santano Enrique.” Nikita glanced at the minds surrounding hers—each appearing as a cold white star against the blackness of the Net—and wondered who was, at this moment, plotting to knife her in the back. Someone always was. The fact that their physical bodies were scattered across the world was no guarantee against attack.

“Maybe it’s not just Enrique we need a replacement for.” The silky suggestion came from Shoshanna Scott. “Are you sure you weren’t the one who passed on your daughter’s genetic deficiency?”

“We all know Sascha wasn’t deficient,” Marshall answered. “Nikita produced a cardinal—how many cardinals in your family tree, Shoshanna?”

Nikita was surprised by Marshall’s support. As the most senior member of the Council and its tacit leader, he tended to remain neutral. “We can’t afford to be divided at this stage,” she pointed out. “DarkRiver and SnowDancer will take advantage of any weakness.”

“How sure are we that they’ll follow through on their threat?” This came from Tatiana Rika-Smythe, the youngest mind in the vault.

“We all got pieces of Enrique after they executed him. I think we know exactly how the leopards and wolves will react if we attempt to harm Sascha.” Henry Scott’s mind wasn’t the star of a born cardinal, but it was extremely powerful nonetheless. Added to Shoshanna’s razor-sharp political skills, the pair had the potential to rise to the leadership of the Council. Perhaps that was why Marshall was suddenly so willing to support Nikita.

“We need another cardinal to replace Enrique,” Ming LeBon asserted, his mental voice as coolly lethal as his physical presence would’ve been in a meeting on the physical plane. An expert at mental combat, he was also a master in the human disciplines of karate and jujitsu. “No other Gradient will do—he was an anchor and did the most to keep the NetMind in check.”

No one disagreed. Facts were facts. The NetMind, the policeman and librarian of the PsyNet, had a tendency toward unpredictable breaks of erratic behavior. For the past six generations it had been such that the Councilors took turns keeping an eye on it. Two particular Psy talents seemed to have an affinity for the task.

“Enrique’s access to the NetMind also allowed him to hide his defective mind from us,” Henry pointed out.

Ming’s star remained absolutely calm. “That’s unavoidable. Despite all our research, we can’t predict the ones for whom conditioning will fail.”

“Most of the cardinals in the Net are unsuitable for Council ranks,” Nikita said. They were too cerebral, having little to no idea of the ruthless practicality needed to keep the Psy at the top of the food chain.

“Did you have anyone in mind, Ming?” Marshall asked.

“Faith NightStar.”

Nikita took a few moments to locate the basic information files on the cardinal. “An F-Psy? I understand that the F and Tk designations are best able to control the NetMind, but the F-Psy are . . . unstable.”

“Over ninety-five percent of them are in institutions by the time they’re in their fifth decade,” Shoshanna added. “She’s not a viable choice.”

“I disagree. Faith NightStar has a mind as powerful as Enrique’s and she’s been giving us highly accurate predictions since she was three years old. No other foreseer has been as productive or as accurate. During her entire lifespan, she’s shown no symptoms of mental deterioration and as an F-designation cardinal, she’s been under extremely close observation.”

“Ming makes a good point,” Marshall broke in. “It may be that Faith is the safest choice after Enrique. At least we know she’s not psychotic at this stage, and the monitoring she’ll continue to need while doing forecasts as a Councilor will ensure any changes are immediately picked up.”

“Whoever we choose, we need to confirm a successor soon.” Ming’s psychic voice was resolute. “I’ve prepared a comprehensive report on Faith NightStar.” He showed them the mental storage shelf within the Council chambers.

“Does anyone else want to suggest a candidate?”

“Another possibility is Kaleb Krychek,” Shoshanna responded. “He’s a cardinal Tk and part of the Council ranks. I’m placing the files on him beside the ones on Faith. You’ll note that his control over his telekenetic abilities is reputed to be superb.”

“Kaleb is younger than I am,” Tatiana pointed out, “and he’s already nearly at the top. I’d say that makes him a better choice than Faith—aside from being incredibly young even compared to Kaleb and myself, she’s been isolated. She won’t have the capacity to survive being Council.”

“I disagree.” Nikita wasn’t convinced of Faith’s suitability either, but she was certain of the threat presented by Krychek. “Kaleb’s risen to the top despite his youth. That displays a single-minded determination that might make him susceptible to the same kind of sociopathy as Enrique.”

“We’re all power hungry to some extent,” Tatiana retorted. “However, you may be correct in this instance—we may need a less aggressive Councilor to soothe the populace.”