Mia stared at him. For a moment, the picture he painted did seem strangely appealing. “Of course,” she said. “But what you’re talking about is an invasion of our minds. You want to take away our free will –”
“Free will?” Saret raised his eyebrows. “How do you define free will? Your people will be free to live as they please, to be with whomever they want, to do whatever they want . . . They just won’t be able to kill or hurt others when the urge strikes them.”
“And they will worship you, right?” Mia said, her eyes narrowing. “That’s what you ultimately want, isn’t it? An entire planet full of puppets who will obey your every command?”
Saret laughed, shaking his head. “Put like that, it does sound awful, doesn’t it? But no, Mia dear, that’s not how I see it. Your people will worship me, true – but that’s because I will be their savior. I will be the one to bring an end to their suffering, to liberate their planet and bring them peace.”
“And what are you planning to do with the rest of the Krinar here?” Mia asked, the thought just occurring to her. “Korum foiled your plan with the Resistance, and all your people are still here. Don’t you think they would notice if all the humans suddenly became peaceful? If murder rates went to zero overnight?”
“It wouldn’t happen overnight,” Saret said. “Complete mind conditioning takes many days, if not weeks. But yes, they would ultimately notice, of course – which is why I’ll have to get rid of everyone in the Centers and make sure the protective field prevents anyone else from coming here any time soon.”
Mia to
ok a deep breath, fighting the urge to throw up. Surely he didn’t mean – “Get rid of everyone how?”
He sighed. “By killing them, of course.”
All color faded from Mia’s face. “Killing all fifty thousand Krinar?” she whispered, unable to comprehend the evil required to do murder on that scale.
Saret shrugged. “The majority of them, yes. Some might survive, of course, but most will perish.”
“Perish how?” Mia could hear the hysterical edge in her own voice. “How can you possibly kill so many?”
“By utilizing that same nano weapon Rafor and the Resistance planned to use as a threat,” Saret explained, looking at her calmly. “The design Korum gave us through you was faulty, of course, but it had enough of the right elements that I’ve been able to hire someone to perfect it. It’s almost ready now; my designer is just putting the final touches on it.”
“So let me get this clear,” Mia said, staring at the psychopath sitting next to her, “you want to murder fifty thousand of your own kind in your quest to bring peace to Earth? And you don’t see anything wrong with that?”
“Of course I do.” Saret frowned. “Do you think I’ll enjoy that part of the plan? I would’ve gladly sent them back to Krina or tried to control them if I could. But I can’t. All I can do is try to make them disappear in as painless of a way as possible. I know it’s not exactly consistent with my pacifist agenda. But you see, Mia, the good of the many far outweighs the needs of the few. We should’ve never come to your planet; it was your cheren’s endless ambition that brought us here in the first place. Now we must atone for what we did; we must pay for our sins against your kind –”
“Are you going to kill me, too?” Mia felt her fear fading as a strange numbness started to set in. What he was intending was so horrific she simply couldn’t process it fully. “Or are you planning to make me into a puppet? That’s why you’re telling me this, isn’t it? Because you’re not worried that I’ll tell anyone?”
Saret grinned, releasing her arm and covering her hand with his palm instead. His touch felt scalding on her skin, making her realize how icy her hands had become. “The thought of you as a puppet is rather appealing, I must say,” he said, his eyes darkening again. “And maybe I’ll do that eventually . . . But I’d rather not tamper with your mind too much at first. I quite like you as you are right now.”
“So what are you going to do with me then?” Mia’s tone was almost disinterested. “If you’re not going to kill me, that is –”
“I won’t kill you,” Saret reassured her. “I’m simply going to make sure you don’t remember this conversation – or anything else that happened in the past few months. It’ll be for the best, you’ll see . . . I know you got attached to that monster, and you’d probably miss him if he was gone. But this way, you’ll be free from his influence forever. It will be as though he had never been in your life.”
Mia stared at him, acidic rage starting to burn in the pit of her stomach. “You’re going to kill Korum and erase my memory to make me forget him?”
“No, Mia dear,” Saret said, smiling. “I wouldn’t be that cruel to you. I will erase your memory first. That way, you won’t feel anything when he dies. I don’t want to put you through that kind of trauma, you see. Painful memories like that are the hardest to get rid of, and the last thing I’d want is to give you nightmares that linger in your subconscious –”
“You’re insane,” Mia said, her anger growing by the second. She welcomed the feeling because it helped clear the fog of terror from her brain. “You really think that’s a mercy, invading my brain like that? And why do you care about me, anyway? You’re about to murder fifty thousand Krinar without a second thought, and I’m just Korum’s charl –”
“You know, I’ve asked myself that same question.” Saret’s forehead creased in an introspective frown. “You’re just a human girl – a pretty one, to be sure – but nothing all that special, to be honest. I didn’t understand at first why Korum was so obsessed with you. But then a funny thing happened, Mia –” he leaned forward, his eyes gleaming darkly, “– I started wanting you myself.”
He paused for a second, and then continued, ignoring the look of horrified disgust on her face. “Believe me, it’s been hell, seeing you all the time and knowing that I don’t have the right to touch you, that he’s the one taking you to bed every night. But now things will be different. When you wake up, it will be as if he never existed . . . and you will be mine, the way you should’ve been from the very beginning.”
Sickened to her very core, Mia tried to yank her hand away, hot nausea boiling up in her throat. He held her for a second, then let go, watching with a smile as she jumped back like a scalded cat.
“Never,” she hissed, backing away toward the wall. “Do you hear me? I don’t know what you’re imagining here, but I’ll never be with you willingly. You might be able to force me, but that’s all it will ever be between us, memories or not –”
“Why?” Saret asked, still smiling. “Because you think you’re in love with him? What does a twenty-year-old know about love? He seduced you, Mia, that’s all. When he’s gone from your life, I’ll do the same – and you’ll love me just as much as you thought you loved him.”
Mia laughed, her desperation making her reckless. The thought of forgetting Korum and being forced to share the bed of a would-be mass murderer was so repugnant she thought she’d rather die. Maybe she could goad him into killing her. “Oh, really?” she said contemptuously. “I’m not even the least bit attracted to you, Saret. You’re like dog food to me. I wanted Korum from the beginning – from the first moment I saw him. But not you. Never you. Do you understand me?”
As she spoke, she could see the smile fading from Saret’s face, his expression hardening. “We’ll see about that,” he said, getting up and stalking toward her. “Once your memories are gone, you’ll be singing a very different tune, believe me.”
“No!” Mia screamed as he reached for her. Her nails curved into claws, raked down his arms as he grabbed her. “Get away from me, you sick fuck! No!!!”