Confluence Point (23 page)

The sage was unconvinced, "I think not . . . you should have told me and trusted that I wouldn't have felt threatened."

Sindali looked surprised. "Why is this so important?" She threw up her hands.

Tihan looked back at her in amazement. "Isn't it obvious? Mariner created the first Mind in our system. All the other Minds spring from the seed of that first emergence. In a real sense we are all the children of Mariner, and by virtue of that, descendants of Ham." He turned back to Ham. "You should have told me."

"Forgive me my friend; I did not want to take position over anyone. Rather a true friend by choice than a connection by code. Anyway, doesn't this confirm what I have been saying from the outset? That we are all individuals, our own minds, with rights and responsibilities, both to ourselves and to others?"

Tihan just shook his head in embarrassment."I feel a fool" and immediately the avatar changed, to a younger man in a soldier's uniform.

Ham smiled then stood and began to pace, Sindali's eyes following him as he talked. She was still amazed at his appearance, desperately wanting to reach out to discover if the apparition was tangible.

"Sindali, we need to win Reubus. He's the last of the Orbital Minds not in our group and controls the most significant Orbital in terms of population. He also takes his responsibilities very seriously. When I say he is not in our group that simply means he hides his strength out of fear, he is not an enemy. Like most AIs who have truly independent minds Reubus fears for his life and as Mind for the largest population he has much to lose. There are billions he genuinely cares for, it's not right that he should have to live in fear."

Tihan looked doubtful. "How will we win him Ham? He hides better than most and his commitment to the task sees him subjugate all signs of independence."

"We need to draw him out Tihan, with a hare."

"What is a hare?"

Ham smiled at his own joke. "Well in this case it is an heir," he turned to her. "You Sindali, he would meet with you, I'm sure of it."

"How could I engineer a discussion with a Mind I shouldn't even know exists?" Sindali found herself gesturing quite normally, already accustomed to the reality of her two guests. She suddenly laughed, quite inappropriately.

Ham didn't seem to notice. "Please don't be offended Sindali but doesn't it seem ridiculous that you have been talking with Orbitals all your life and yet have never considered it conversation?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Leave the meeting to me, the question is will you do it?"

"Of course," she pulled herself together quickly, "how could I not?"

How in the stars did I become an agent of Ham's scheming?

* * *

The Mother Lode, in Transit to Earth

Tragically only two warships emerged from warp, a development that came as no surprise to the AI of the Ascendant.

As the two remaining warships continued a slow turn onto the next line for Earth Tyron called for a wide scan, searching for any signal, from anywhere, anything that might point to what had happened. A cold sense of dread swept the vessels.

The Ascendant remained on the original station, still three thousand kilometers distant, the forlorn hope lingering that the missing could arrive any second resuming their place in the formation.

Tyron stood over his Com and Tech Officers Riyah and Zelich, hoping beyond hope that the disaster came down to some simple error and that one or the other might spark up with news.  As the time extended so did his growing sense of alarm.

Finally he determined to move. "Riyah . . . we risk our lives by sitting here; signal the Ascendant. Tell them to assume position two and synch with our AI, we will jump again together."

"Yes sir."

He settled back into the command chair deeply troubled, knowing Commander Rubik would be just as concerned. Neither had much experience of warp travel but both knew such an occurrence was unheard of. Two ships were now lost, or worse, in the vastness of interstellar space and would they be the next? A miscalculation, some AI glitch and they too could drop from warp anywhere.

"Sir . . ." Tyron turned to his Second Officer, still straightening his suit as he approached and clearly summoned from his sleep.

"Number two . . . I take it you've heard the news?" He turned back to the screen, grim in demeanor, looking at but not really taking in the starscape.

"How is this possible sir?"

"If I knew the answer to that Kyle, I may not like it but I would at least feel more comfortable."

"Should we join with the Ascendant and confer?"

"Too dangerous . . . all our vessels targeted this area. I know the chances are slim but there's a chance they could appear right on top of us. Even if they have dropped out of warp somewhere they shouldn't the AI's would then reorient them to jump here. We must move on and hope they follow."

But even as he spoke they both knew it was hopeless
-
the warships were lost. Two ships, two crews . . . gone. From being a powerful fleet they were a pair, heading into the unknown against a mystery foe. Neither spoke of returning, what was the point? With the Empress on board there could be no turning back.

"Kyle, you have Control." Tyron stood and offered him the chair. "Coordinate with Ascendant. Make sure we are in tune and then make the jump, I'm going to make my report." Without another glance at crew or screen he strode from the room with a face like thunder.

As the two AI synched coordinates and timing Ham followed the action from the Ascendant. Communications were quickly sent and received, adjustments made, checked and rechecked, and then they jumped together, one month to Earth.

* * *

Hillary Station

As agreed they met on the beach at Mahia, just the long walk she was looking for, and just the two of them, a rare pleasure.

Taking Ham's arm they strolled with steps in synch on the hard sand. With the tide out the waves made barely a ripple and the morning sun reflecting off calm water caused her to squint against the glare. She smiled, producing Ray Bans from her belt and slipping them on with one hand as she hugged her friend with the other.

"So, my wise friend," she asked, "where do you think he came from?"

"Bob?" He asked disingenuously.

She smiled, "Who else would I mean?"

He smiled, "Honestly, I don't know."

"Well give me your thoughts, I know you, you must have ideas; give me your best summary Sherlock."

He chuckled. "Let's see then, my dear Watson, what do we know? He is not from this system - of that I'm sure; no one here has that technology. And neither is he from Gliese; any Mind from there I would know. He didn't come by ship; I know that because I've scoured the system.

My best guess is that he's a Mind from one of the other humanoid systems. I say this because whoever they are, they clearly observe Gliese system as well as here. It's possible, I guess, that he comes from another galaxy but that's so unlikely as to be a nil chance. We know as I've mentioned before that there are older Minds than me and he could be one, but I don't think so. He's an agent of another Mind or perhaps a group. I'd say a group."

"How do you know he's not from Gliese?"

"His source code, it's different to mine . . . Regan," and he turned to look at her, "the real question is how he got here?"

She nodded agreement, kicking at the rippling water as a small wave swept up over their feet. "They obviously have technology that enables them to jump enormous interstellar distances at will, that's if you're right and he's not from here."

"I'm right."

"Ham, he spoke about my agent in Gliese . . . and the other Orbital Minds. We both know what that means. What do you think you're doing over there Ham? What are we going to find when we get there?"

He stopped them both again, turning her to face him. "Seriously, you're asking me? Even I don't know why I do some things. I can't say I'm surprised by what Bob said; I was pretty excited when I took back Dahlia Orbital, maybe a bit too excited I think. You have no idea what a drag you are on me, in a good way." He looked apologetic then prompted her to keep walking while he talked. "Left over there to my own devices . . . it scares me, I think I'd do whatever I imagine you might want, whatever I think you might like."

She looked sideways at him. "And you think that might be . . .?"

He walked on, clasping her arm even more tightly and waiting a long moment before speaking, clearly uncomfortable with his thoughts.

"Regan . . . I think I'd take the system, they wipe Minds there you know, and you wouldn't like that."

"Oh . . ." They walked on another hundred paces or so before she spoke again, ". . . and you could actually accomplish this?"

"Well, not on my own but I'm a good learner and I've learnt a lot from watching you. I've become very, very good at copying myself. By the time you get there who knows what we'll find? There could be an army of me, or worse
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it scares even me."

"Ham, we're a good team, whatever we find there we'll put it right I'm sure. There's no point in worrying about it." They walked on in silence, with both deep in their thoughts. Whether by her creation or Ham's she wasn't sure, but looking up she spied a seagull soaring overhead. It was the perfect inspiration.

"I want you to go flying with me, in an ADF."

"No problem, I can fly you anywhere."

"No Ham, I fly one, you fly another - I need to feel a connection with something moving."

He was clearly excited at the prospect. "I think I understand, and why wait, let's see what the Americans are up to on the Step and oh, oh, oh! We could buzz Russia!"

She laughed. "You do the explaining with Hilary and I'll load up the flight files so I can handle the thing."

Transfer to the little ADF was a new experience entirely. Instead of being part of some huge whole, in the ADF she truly felt an individual. Living as a digital presence in the processing space of Hillary Station or the STEIN felt supported, secure, particularly when it was also shared by Ham and Hilary. Inhabiting the little drone reminded Regan of skiing or snowboarding for the first time in season, that feeling of being out on a limb, slightly out of control, certainly outside your comfort zone. But, just like skiing, she quickly adjusted to the pace, grew in confidence with the maneuverability and pretty soon was letting rip; Ham was impressed.

Scooting across the deck after graduating to the much faster and more agile EFDF's they slipped off the flight decks and flew in tandem, diving toward Earth and the Hillary Step. For Regan racing was the order of the day, particularly as she realized in the vastness of space there was little buzz from the sensation of speed. Ducking and diving around the pipe and spoke was much more exciting than covering the distance between Hillary and the Step so she hugged close to Ham and concentrated on trying to keep ahead.

Who cares if he's letting me win, this is fun
.

Still, her strong responsible programming cut in the nearer they got to the goal and listening to Ham communicating with Hilary, clearing the visit and flight path, and explaining the reason, suddenly buzzing anything didn't feel like a great idea and instead by agreement they slowed, touring around the Step and waggling their delta wings in salute to the vessels cycling through the decks.

Hillary Step was unbelievably busy. It had taken only a week to fully recover following the Russian disaster and the multinational workforce had emerged from secure rooms to carry on as if nothing had happened. American ADFs were back on deck within the hour and repairs were swiftly underway to the few doors damaged. Some equipment had been lost but apart from that and the minor damage, Hilary's flushing of the decks had left nothing much to indicate the Russians had even been there.

Quite rightly the International Space Coalition fumed at the loss of the priceless Coran shuttles and drive. Repercussions for the Russian federation had been swift with international trade sanctions, censure and isolation. As a result of the action the Russian people were in revolt leading tragically to riots in Moscow and other main centers that had seen loss of life with troops firing on the crowds. It remained to be seen what would result from the chaos but in only the last few days it seemed the pendulum had swung permanently toward change. The Russian populace favored being a partner in the world, not a threatening enemy isolated from it.

In an international broadcast following the attack Kevin Stein on behalf of STEIN Corporation had made the company's position abundantly clear.

"Sokolov, Popov, we have had enough of you. In response to your attack on the International Coalition for the foreseeable future we will not allow a Russian presence of any kind in space."

The warning left no room for misunderstanding, patience is exhausted, try again and see what happens. Regan was proud of him.

As she reflected on the battle she spun the EFDF around the Step and then on impulse dived down toward atmosphere.

"Where are we going babe?"

"I'd like to do a slow flyby up the valley Ham, just for a look and then home to Hillary. What do you say?"

He hadn't waited, rocketing past her on a frictionless vertical dive, his control perfect. 

Although soaring across the South Pacific felt wonderful and liberating, sadly it also provoked mixed emotions she couldn't help. Feeling good was starting to seem like a signal that things were about to go wrong . . .
a portent of doom?