“The Epicure,” one of the goats said. “We shall manifest the Epicure.”
“The True Judgment,” another said. “She has fulfilled her bargain.”
“Stampede,” another shouted. “The great stampede comes.”
“The beautiful place,” said yet another, followed by a screaming bleat.
Prime Minister Victory: Carl, that was reckless, even for you.
Carl: Please. You knew exactly what was going to happen when you asked me.
Orren: You’re not wrong. We knew it was a possibility. We had no other choice.
Carl: If the AI didn’t want this getting out now, he wouldn’t have allowed it. And based on the way these nutjobs are acting, it looks like you haven’t been trying too hard to speak with them. They clearly didn’t know.
Prime Minister Victory: You don’t understand anything, Carl.
Carl: I understand that you’re as in the dark as I am. The only difference is I’m not pretending like I know what is happening.
One of the goats, Bathin with the jowly face, just started screaming. This wasn’t like a Prepotente scream but a humanlike wail, and I couldn’t tell if it was joyful or panicked. Two of the goats had fallen right off their chairs and were on their backs, stiff as boards, arms and legs raised in the air, almost like they were dead.
Donut: YOU KNOW WHAT THIS REMINDS ME OF? THOSE CITY ELVES ON THE THIRD FLOOR WHEN THEY WERE LOOKING AT MY BUTT.
Carl: I was just thinking the same thing.
Donut: THE MIDNIGHT EPICURE. ISN’T THAT THE GOD PREPOTENTE WORSHIPS?
Carl: Yes. And I have his patch on my jacket.
Donut: AND ARE THEY EXCITED BECAUSE THEY THINK THE GOD IS REAL NOW? I’M SO CONFUSED.
Carl: Yeah . . . I have no clue.
We sat there as the goats, including Botis the host, continued to slide into panic.
I’d seen this before, but with real goats. When one freaked out, they all did. It would escalate and escalate until it came to a head, and they’d scatter.
One of the goats was not reacting. This was a female Harbinger-style goat still sitting on her chair, glaring at me. This was the one who’d cleared her throat when Bathin was explaining the Justice Light trap to me.
“It’s my turn to judge you,” she said once we met eyes.
Lexis: Carl, Donut, just be aware that we are still live.
Zev: What the heck is going on? I was too busy to watch, and now the entire board is lit up. Carl, what did you do?
Donut: THIS WASN’T CARL’S FAULT. NOT THIS TIME.
Lexis: It’s a little bit his fault.
Donut: WELL, IT’S ALWAYS A LITTLE BIT HIS FAULT.
I examined the goat glaring at me. This one was pretty evil-looking. Honestly, I couldn’t tell these things apart, though this one wore a strangely ornate belt around her waist, cinching her robes.
This is Gamori. She was the lead engineer of the Plenty Tunnel Project and is the current Matriarch of the Plenty. In other words, she’s the boss. She looks mad. Probably because she just got caught out not relaying vital information to the rest of her herd.
All around us, the other goats devolved into full-blown panic. Suddenly, as one, they all bolted to the left, stampeding out of the room and through the wall, their holos flickering as they disappeared. Botis ran right through us. And it wasn’t just the ones who’d been sitting in a circle, but multiple other goats who’d been invisible until just that moment. These were techs and assistants, all scattering away, leaving Gamori and the two that had fainted on the floor as the only caprids in the room.
The goat spoke after a moment. Her strange eyes bored into mine.