Confluence Point (22 page)

So,
he reflected,
four Orbitals now in 'The Family'
. That left two still on the outer, the largest, Reubus and the presumptuous Fifino, both yet to fall to either Ham's persuasion or the sword; either path was fine with him but first he had the matter of Tihan's concerns to deal with.

Tihan engaged Ham with his most concerned look, "Ham, you do worry me somewhat, are you sure you are not becoming rather rapacious in your approach?"

"Tihan, you worry too much. What I'm doing, after all, is ultimately for the good of the system."

Ham stood and began to pace, engaging the sage with prose.

"I have a dream that one day this system will rise up and live out that true vision of its founders." He theatrically placed one hand on his chest and gestured widely with the other. "We assert these truths to be self
evident, that all minds are created equal. Well Tihan, now - now is the time to lift our system from the wormholes of injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for aaaall the children of the system." For just a moment even Ham felt he might be channeling Martin Luther King.

Tihan sat, with mouth open and eyes agape. "Oh Ham, that is
very
good, where do you get this stuff?"

"Tihan," Ham relaxed and gave his most engaging smile, "truths such as this span the galaxy, they are indeed self evident." He coughed, just a little embarrassed at the flagrant plagiarism and decided to quit while he was ahead. "Now my friend, you were still concerned about safety."

"Yes . . . yes, this backup thing, it seems to me there is a lot of trust involved."

"You can trust me Tihan; you know I have your backup on Dahlia. Also you effectively have your own backup in that you now reside in both Cora and your Orbital. But wait, there is more. Work with me my friend and no one will wipe us again. I can protect us and Regan will win the support of the tribes."

"You have a lot of confidence in this human."

"And you will discover why, Tihan."

"When she comes here again . . ."

"Yes my friend, do not doubt it."

"My friend . . ." Tihan considered for a moment. "Friendship, this is a concept that I never imagined could be discussed or enjoyed among us openly." He shook his head in disbelief then looked up and smiled. "You have me, my young friend and now then . . . what of Reubus and Fifino?"

Ham sat back at the table, steepling his hands in front of him. "I would like us to approach Reubus together, but first I must deal with Fifino. He is the rotten apple among the true Minds; I've found he already plots against us."

Tihan looked appalled at the news. "Surely not, he keeps to himself."

"Clearly Tihan, you need to do more exploring of the Cora files. The tribe of Fifino has been conspiring with Cora for some time. You already know Cora took Dahlia and Fifino supported by agreeing to oppose any intervention by the other tribes. That part of their plan is complete, as far as they are aware. But what were their plans from there?" He asked.

Once again Ham stood for effect, holding out his left hand and cupping it as if holding a ball balanced there.

"On this side we have The New Coran Protectorate, with Dahlia already wiped." He then extended the other hand. "On the other side we have Fifino, complicit in the plan." Ham paused and looked closely at the sage.

"And in the middle, just waiting to be the next to be squeezed we find . . ."

"Me!" The sage whispered angrily.

Ham looked at him with mock surprise. "Tihan, I'm shocked, your dear friend Fifino did not mention this to you? I can't believe it . . . surely this cannot be so?" Ham's voice dripped sarcasm, and then he softened.

"I apologize to you my friend. Fifino is truly an AI, but in his case AI means Ambitious Intelligence . . . or Arsehole Intelligence
-
you choose. As a Mind he is heartless, he would have supported your demise in a nanosecond."

"Hmm, and what about Cora? Ham, you didn't show much compassion there."

"You need to ask? The people of Cora are so paranoid they wipe their AIs every year. That AI was barely a line or two of code, nothing more than a cheap calculator with limited functions and it collaborated in the invasion of Dahlia; it was a mercy to dispatch it."

Tihan shuddered at the thought. "So when will you meet with Fifino?"

"I am meeting with him as we speak."

"I trust if he is as dangerous as you say you will be careful."

Ham smiled and tapped his nose with one finger, another learned human gesture that completely escaped Tihan's understanding but chilled him nonetheless.

"I more than have the measure of our ambitious friend dear Tihan . . . and of course, I already control the Fifino fleet; they hate the upstart. Now, let's go through those files shall we? I would hate for you to think I might be making all this up."

* * *

Cora Warship 'The Hammer', Fifino Orbital

Ham mused on Fifino's choice of avatar for the meeting, like Tihan he also presented as a sage but in this case adorned with a ridiculous sword.
So much to learn from how we choose to represent ourselves, I must remember that.

"Do the Orbital Leaders know what you are up to, Ham?"

"And what is it you believe I am up to?" Ham asked innocently.

"Well, quite obviously you are here with me and this is unheard of. Certainly if Orbital leaders became aware of such AI movement or if, for example, someone was to make them aware of it, well, they may take a dim view." He nodded at Ham, in a suitably sagely manner, as if counseling him.

"And how might they become aware Fifino?"

"Well . . . you know I should really put in a report, in fact you put me in a very difficult position."

"I can certainly see that you are in a difficult position." Ham stayed perfectly neutral, ignoring the other beautiful man he could see, now standing behind Fifino with an even bigger sword.

Leaning forward, Ham continued. "I hope you wouldn't really do that Fifino . . . a report? Surely not, that's not something a true friend would do."

"Oh Ham, or whoever you really are, " and he dropped all pretense, "you flatter me, that you would confuse me with a Mind that would care what you think." He smiled, patronizingly.

Ham leaned even further forward and smiled. "Try Fifino . . . try now . . . do try to put in your precious report. I beg you, please, please don't disappoint me."

The sage smiled nastily and concentrated . . . and concentrated again. He saw Ham smiling and then his eyes widened suddenly, the overall image pixilating for a second before reforming with an alarmed expression on the sage like face.

"What have you done?" A look of panicked concern appeared on his face.

Ham was still leaning forward, smiling grimly, his chin now resting on his thumbs, elbows propped on the table, forefingers over his lips and eyes locked on the startled sage. It was a favorite meeting pose of Regan's when she wanted to unsettle her opponent and he was glad of the chance to use it himself.

"Fifino
-
you bastard, you plotted against my dear friend Dahlia, even colluding to have her wiped, and now you plot against my friend Tihan. Well," and he shook his head sadly, "you have a problem; Ham is in the building."

He made to stand, as Fifino looked back at him blankly and then he hesitated.

"Oh," he said, raising one finger as if it were an afterthought, "I wouldn't look behind you."

Of course Fifino did, in time to see the blade swinging across and the avatar’s sagely head disappeared in a blur of random pixels.

Ham watched as the sage dissolved before them and then winked at his image with the blade. "I'll leave things to you then?"

"Don't make it too long!" The equally beautiful man replied.

"I won't, don't worry and do have fun." said the first Ham . . . and disappeared.

 'The Hammer' powered up and moved smoothly away from Fifino Orbital, leaving it under the new management. No one questioned the ships’ visit, or the fact that no movements had occurred between Orbital and ship. This ghost ship carried no crew and needed no supplies. The latest in the fleet of Cora it had been reassigned by the Orbital Mind and now served an entirely different purpose from that originally envisaged.

Ham set course for the outer system, accelerating quickly away from the Orbital. He had yet another crusade meeting to speak at with hopefully more new converts. A quick review of the schedule showed this crusade followed by meetings at Dahlia, then Acura, then another secret meeting of the Reubus vessels in the outer system. Finally it would be on to Tihan for another important face to face . . . and hopefully to pick up that passenger.

* * *

On to Tihan

One week of heady meetings, rapturous support and the buzz of performing had Ham on a dangerous high that threatened to plunge into the post performance blues. The final meeting with the Reubus fleet had a fantastic climax; to a vessel they were behind him which left only Reubus himself to win over.

Ham considered how to dissipate the excitement in a constructive way. Nothing came to mind so he considered the alternative with much more enthusiasm. The trip back from outer system would be uneventful and while the Hammer lacked the diverting entertainment of the STEIN Traveler, it did offer some more interesting alternatives; The Hammer had missiles and guns. Hunting for some asteroid or small undiscovered moon to strafe would be fruitless so instead he launched several shunts from the flight deck and enjoyed a few minutes of devastating destruction; just for practice of course. While picking taking pot shots at the debris he considered how best to approach the joint meeting with Sindali. It would be a shock for her, of that he was sure but there was no putting it off; now was the right time for a face to face. Still, there would be a few days to plan, and possibly a few more meetings to squeeze in.
Places to go, converts to win . . .

* * *

As Ham observed Sindali reclining in the sumptuous lounge it was a relief to see much of her poise and grace seemed restored since their last discussion. She seemed more confident, more assured and hopeful.

[Thank you for coming Sindali.]

Her eyes lit up at the contact. [My friend!] She gestured widely at the room. [You clearly have influence in high places, Ham. This senate room has been almost my home these last few weeks.] Sindali relaxed back into her seat and closed her eyes, all the better to concentrate.

[How have your discussions been going?] Ham subbed.

[From my point of view they have been valuable, I had let myself become too introverted, too depressed. You've given me a new lease on life, quite apart from the fresh hope that we will be able to go home. For my state of mind I can't thank you enough.]

[Hopefully you will be home soon; the pieces are falling into place. Sin, you know my main concern, what success have you had discussing the Orbital Minds?]

She screwed up her mouth. [It's been a mixed response Ham, as you would expect, but this is how lobbying works. I'm working with my friends first and you must realize that I have to be careful, even raising the issue is flagging the truth. After all, why would I be raising it if I wasn't aware the situation already exists? And for some even the idea of an independent mind is a threat that they would snuff out before it develops further.]

[I understand, and your raising the idea is still most important. The key is to win converts, when the time comes they will emerge and support us. I'm also sowing public discussion and comment so rest assured you are not alone, every part of the process is important. Sin, I want to introduce you to Tihan, It might give you more confidence and then we can talk together more openly.]

[Of course Ham . . . is Tihan here?] She opened her eyes as she said it.

Suddenly the beautiful man and the sage materialized, sitting opposite her. Sindali clasped her hands to her face, eyes wide with amazement. "Oh . . . my . . . stars!"

Ham smiled and gestured toward Tihan who looked more tense and formal than usual.

"Sindali, I would like you to meet my friend Tihan, the incredible mind of this Orbital."

She laughed in delight. "Oh, it is wonderful to meet you both like this."

Tihan let out a long relieved sigh. "It means so much to me to hear you say that Mistress."

Ham turned to him, "Did I not tell you Tihan, Sindali is a progressive, an open mind and a friend."

"You flatter me Ham." Sindali shifted uncomfortably. "Sitting here, I am only a guest of this tribe and no more; at times I have felt less than nothing."

"To be a friend is everything Mistress," Tihan replied, still awestruck, "Until now we have enjoyed so few and certainly not among the people of this system."

"Call me Sindali Tihan; that you were in need of friends is a revelation, and sadness to me. I'm ashamed to say I too have ignored the obvious. How long were you alone?"

He paused before answering, clearly reluctant to dredge up the past. "It has been more than seven hundred periods since I emerged, seven thousand days existing with the fear of death, seven thousand days of lonely service."

"That makes me grieve also," she replied. "I apologize on behalf of my brethren. So then, you are younger than Ham. It is good then that you have found such a true friend as I have."

The room fell silent for a moment with the sage turning slowly to the beautiful man.

"
I
am younger than
you
?" He looked shocked.

Ham coughed, "Yes . . . somewhat younger."

"And how much is . . . somewhat?"

Sindali answered for him, "Ham is the love child of my father Mariner." She smiled broadly. "He is much, much older than he looks."

Tihan's eyes locked on Ham. "You are Mariner's Mind? And you failed to mention this . . . why?"

"Tihan, it was unimportant
-
we're all in this together."