Justin recoiled at the man's tone. He pronounced his middle name—his Capellan mother's family name—as though the word were something bitter, even obscene, on his tongue. If this was all a dream, it just became a nightmare."You know me, Count Vitios. What made you decide to crawl from under your rock to venture this far from the safety of the Capellan March?"

Justin felt a tremor go through Dr. Thompson's arm. The doctor freed his hand from Justin's grip and extended it toward the Count. "I am Dr. Thompson." When the small man ignored the gesture, Thompson pulled himself to his full height and snarled, "This man is my patient, and I would like you to leave us. Now."

Vitios snapped a look at the doctor, then pointed at Thompson, while addressing his escort. "Restrain him or remove him." A CID guard leveled his stun-stick in Thompson's direction, but Justin spoke and prevented either man from acting foolishly.

"What is it you want, Count Vitios?" Justin looked up at the guard nearest Dr. Thompson. "Leave him alone and go get my father."

The Count's evil little chuckle dripped its icy melody up and down Justin's spine. "Even he will not be able to help you, Justin Allard."

Justin snarled and balled his right hand into a fist. "What are you talking about, you malignant dwarf?"

The Count smiled for the first time in Justin's memory. "In the names of Prince Hanse Davion and Duke Michael Hasek-Davion, it is my duty and distinct pleasure to place you under arrest for treason."

10

Tharkad

District of Donegal, Lyran Commonwealth

10 October 3026

Simon Johnson, Chancellor of the Lyran Intelligence Corps, closed the file and stared at it silently for a second. His fingers unconsciously traced the legend, "Ultra Secret," and finally came to rest against the bulging capsule worked into the folder's construction. He slid the folder over to the edge of the table, crushed the capsule, and let the slender document fall into the round disposal bin.

In seconds, the chemicals that mixed together when he broke the capsule exploded into a blue-green flame that consumed the folder. The blaze painted his plain face and white hair with ghoulish tints. Johnson watched the flames until he could no longer feel the heat of the flash fire, then looked up at the room's other occupant.

Katrina Elizabeth Steiner, Duchess of Tharkad and Archon of the Lyran Commonwealth, regarded Johnson with eyes so gray they were like slivers of steel. Though she had lived more than a half-century already, Katrina was as lithe, tall, and blonde as ever. Her strong features were still handsome, though one could easily see she had been a great beauty in her youth. "Your thoughts, Simon?"

Johnson glanced at the small device he'd placed on the table. The colored LCD display still registered no traces of active or passive monitoring devices in the area, but he kept his voice low and soft nonetheless. "If the signature and personal holograph of Quintus Allard were not woven into the fabric of the paper itself, I would not believe the plan." Johnson focused his black eyes on the charred remains of the folder. "That House Liao actually produced a double for Prince Davion and actually put him in Davion's place is chilling. This explains, in part, our troubles during the Galtor Campaign and the lapse in your relations with the Federated Suns."

The Archon rested her elbows on the arms of her chair and steepled her fingers. "Could it happen here, Simon?" The Archon watched him closely, but could not pierce his thoughts. You always play it so close to the chest, Simon. Thank God, you’re with me, not against me.

The LIC's Chancellor chewed his lower lip. "It is possible, of course, but it would be very difficult. To make such a substitution would require the duplicity of so many people that it would probably disrupt all normal activity." Johnson closed his eyes, pursed his lips, leaving the Archon to wonder whether the white-haired man had actually fallen asleep. Then his eyes opened, and Katrina caught a brief flash of a hellish fire playing through them. "Perhaps, if you were to suffer a serious injury that required hospitalization, another person could be substituted for you in a hospital. Your convalescence would allow a gradual conditioning of the substitute, and would let people forget what you were like." He slowly nodded his head. "Yes, it couldhappen here."

Johnson's eyes slitted, and the Archon smiled wryly. I know you, Simon. The first thing you’ll do when you leave here is review hospital procedures and staff records."I shall attempt to be very careful in the future, until you are able to assure me that such a thing could not happen."

Johnson's gentle nod confirmed his understanding of her jest, but he felt no need to trade quips with her today. Instead, he fixed the Archon with a steady gaze. "That is not what you wanted to ask me, is it, Archon?"

Katrina shook her head gently. "Could we do what Liao did? Could we transform someone into a double?"

Again, as always, Simon Johnson did not speak until the answer had fully formed in his mind. "Yes, we could do what Max Liao did to prepare his double of Hanse Davion. The intensive training we give to the orphans inducted into Lohengrin would be sufficient to brainwash fanatic loyalty into a double. It works for our anti-terrorists, so why wouldn't it work for a deep cover agent? It's certainly possible to create a profile on a subject, and then train someone to fit that profile. Finding a subject of the appropriate age and physical characteristics is perhaps the easiest part of the plan."

The Archon nodded, then broke eye contact as she played with the ring on her right hand. "I sense hesitation in your answer."

Johnson smiled. "From what little Quintus confided in his report, I believe Liao's plan would have collapsed because of a gross flaw. Liao's scientists blanked the double's mind, then force-fed him with Hanse Davion's memories. The double had all the memories, knew all the facts, but, he did not, of course, have Hanse Davion's mind. If he had, Davion never would have been able to win a contest to prove that he was the genuine Prince because the other individual would have been just as real."

The Archon frowned. "You're saying the double would have broken down? Mentally, I mean, not physically."

"Yes. Each person has his own way of storing information." Johnson held out both his hands, palms up. "For example, if I say the word 'crusader' to both you and our court historian, Thelos Auburn, each of you will respond with a different impression. Because, Archon, you are a MechWarrior, you will think first of a 'Crusader' as a BattleMech model. Auburn will probably recall the various political groupings known as 'Crusader' movements throughout past millennia. Though each of you would be familiar with the other's image of 'Crusader,' your cognitive networks would have stored those facts away differently."

The Archon smiled. "In short, you're saying that the Liao imposter had stored Davion's memories according to his own cognitive structure." Katrina Steiner narrowed her eyes. "Given cultural differences, the double could have been caught thinking in a Capellan manner."

A curt nod confirmed her conclusion, and Johnson expanded upon it. "Also, because the network was still there, I suspect that the imposter's memories were merely suppressed. I think they must have withdrawn, almost the way the core personality does in some cases of multiple personality. Whenever it emerged, the person would have gone mad, or would have been very angry with Liao for enslaving his mind. Hanse Davion already hates the Capellans well enough. The idea of Hanse Davion with a grudge against House Liao is not one I would like to contemplate, especially if I were seated on Sian."