Free Fiendish Schemes by K. W. Jeter Page A

the Father.”
    “There seems to be no end to such.”
    “But this is the most important one. The key to our fortunes. And it is this: The whales speak to others beside themselves. They speak to the oceans. ”
    I could see at last where his discourse was taking him. “And that is what intrigues you and your associates. You realize some speculative value in having the whales serve as emissaries between yourselves and the intelligent, active seas in which the whales swim. You might enlist the whales’ aid in obtaining clews about the impending actions and movements of the sentient ocean organisms—which information you could then provide to the various rival lighthouse corporations.”
    “You have it in a nutshell, Mr. Dower. I can tell that you see the potential for profiting upon these discoveries.”
    “Of course.” I shrugged. “You learn from the whales what the oceans will be up to, and Phototrope Limited or another lighthouse corporation learns the same from you. Then you rush off to the betting shop to wager everything with the Sea & Light Book, confident that your bets will prove true.”
    “Genius, eh?” Stonebrake’s smile grew wider.
    “I have but one question. If all these marvels are true, why are you revealing them to me? What do I have to do about it? You should just go and talk to your gossipy whales—I presume you do so behind this Father Jonah’s back—then make your wagers, collect your winnings, and leave me blessedly alone.”
    “Ah. There’s the rub.” His expression turned to something more rueful. “That is what we’ve been doing—and we have not made our fortunes. And it’s not for lack of the appropriate stakes to put up; we have some of the wealthiest—and greediest—individuals in the nation as our backers. Alas, though, the information we obtain from the whales is often fragmentary and unreliable. Sometimes we win our wagers, and other times we still lose.”
    “How regrettable. But still no concern of mine.”
    “Bear with me,” said Stonebrake. “A number of our group, myself included, have determined that what we must do is not just employ the whales to communicate with the oceans, but negotiate with them. If we could find a way to enduce the oceans to act and move in certain ways, we would clean up on the Sea & Light Book.”
    “I fail to see how I could assist you with that. My powers of persuasion are minimal, at best.”
    “It would be a conundrum for the most eloquent. None of our party has come close enough to understanding the nature of the sentient oceans, so as to be able to determine exactly what they might want from human beings, so that they would agree to do anything for them. For us.”
    “Perhaps they also wish to be left in peace.”
    Stonebrake rubbed his chin in a musing fashion. “The person to crack that puzzle will be in a powerful and lucrative position. . . .”
    “If you say so.” I could do nothing other than lift my shoulders in a shrug. “My best wishes to him.”
    “How appropriate that such is your desire. For that person is none other than George Dower, Esquire.”
    “Me?” I gaped at him in amazement. “Now I am certain you are insane. I have neither the desire nor the ability to negotiate with whales and oceans—or moonbeams either, for that matter.”
    “You underestimate yourself.” Stonebrake placed a fingertip against my chest. “You are your father’s son, and that quality is what makes you the man of this hour. One of the category of devices invented by the senior Dower were intricate clockwork systems of violinlike strings and rosined wheels that could, when properly tuned and arranged, simulate human voices. Do you recall any of those?”
    I could barely forget one of the damnable things, try as I might. In an abandoned London chapel, years before, I had had an unsettling experience with a pack of automaton figures crafted by my father, a mechanical clergyman and accompanying choir all given voice by the