"Alice..." Shonn whispered. "It's not your fault..."
"Yes, it is," she stubbornly replied. Then, with a shove of her mind, she pushed the memory away, banishing him back into the darkness.
"Idi, playback mission briefing, minutes twenty-three through fifty. High volume," Alice commanded.
Zary and Mir appeared in front of her, and, as if she had traveled back in time, she was back in the presence of the Council as they discussed her mission.
"...that is why stealth is so important," Mir remarked. "Because of the technological tools at her disposal, Exony is sure to be protected by methods we can only crudely conceive of..."
Exony.
That was the name of her foe. Exony was the woman that wished to visit a profound evil on all of humanity. The name reminded Alice of something, and she was sure she had heard it before, though where and when, she couldn't remember.
Alice crossed her arms. "Why don't you stop Exony yourselves? You're the most powerful people to have ever existed. You're practically immortal, right? Why don't you find her and kill her yourselves? How can you expect me to succeed in this insane mission when I don't even know what I'm going up against?"
"You will succeed, Alice, because you must," Zary answered. "We have run trillions of simulations, and in all those where we undertook this pursuit directly, we failed. No strategy has a chance of succeeding apart from the one we have decided to pursue."
"Why?" Alice pleaded.
Zary and Mir looked at each other intently, and for the first time, they disagreed.
"No," Zary implored.
Mir shook his head and continued. "Technology is never perfect, as the Ganymede event will attest to, and the technology within us is not immune to this fault. There is a connection between we of the Council and Exony. You could say that we are linked. Though it was once by design, now, it is against our will."
"What do you mean, linked?" Alice demanded.
Mir paused and clenched his jaw, then shook his head and continued. "Exony was once one of us, Alice. She was a founding member of the Council..."
"She was one of you..." Alice growled. "And now she wants to kill everyone?!"
Zary was quick to try to explain. "Exony was once a member of the Council, and while she served humanity alongside each of us, she held to our code. Peace, progress, and prosperity for all humanity. She was responsible for many of the improvements in life that humanity now enjoys. During her time on the Council , she served with only what is good and right in her mind."
"All of the Council can hear the thoughts of one another. Had she ever even thought of such an aim as she now possesses, the Council would have held an immediate termination vote and ended her life in an instant."
Alice wasn't satisfied. "How did she leave, and why did she leave? How could you let this happen?"
Zary gritted her teeth in frustration. "After Ganymede, Exony lost faith in us, and she lost faith in herself. She disembarked the Ark with the intention of ending her own life. We knew this because we could hear her thoughts, and we didn't stop her, for such an intervention would have been profoundly unjust. We do not dictate what each human does with their lives, and if they wish to end their own life, as long as they hurt no one else in the process, we will not stop them."
Alice's eyes lit up. "But she didn't kill herself, did she?"
"No," Mir replied, regret and anger now present in his voice. "Although, we believed she had. We saw her shuttle explode with our own eyes after it left the Ark. In the same instant, her thoughts ceased within our minds, and we believed the terrible deed had been done."
"We investigated the remains of her ship, and we found pieces of her there. We identified her remains biometrically, and we had no reason to believe that anything other than her suicide had occurred. If she had been planning some subterfuge, then she never thought about it even once. Such a deception was inconceivable to us. It should not have been possible."
Alice still wasn't satisfied. "So you thought she was dead, but now you somehow know she's alive?"
"For five years, we were sure she was dead," Zary corrected her. "However, three years ago, something unexpected happened. Exony's thoughts returned to us."
"We first noticed it as a kind of sporadic whisper, here and there. For a year, we could not understand what it was, but as time continued to pass, the whispers became more clear, and we knew that it was, indeed, Exony."
"We assume that Exony developed technology that enabled her to block her thoughts from us. But, as time passed, that technology began to fail, and her thoughts returned to us. The link between Exony and we of the Council at the present moment is a pale imitation of what it once was. It is weaker and mostly silent, but it is still a link, and we have not yet been able to find a way to sever it."
"We do not understand how the link between Exony and the Council has mutated, and we do not all agree on the proper process of resolving this issue. Some of us wish to leave the link open because of the information we can glean from it, while others believe that severing the link is the best option. We do not know if Exony can hear whispers of our thoughts just as we can hers."
Alice frowned. "That's why you can't try to stop her yourselves. She might be able to read your thoughts. She could know where you are and what you're doing before you even do it."
"Correct." Mir conceded with a hint of embarrassment in his voice. "Exony may, even as we speak of her, know that we are planning to stop her. However, if she can hear of us what we can hear of her, she will not know many details of our plans. She will not be able to stop someone operating independently of us."
"She does not have a link with you, Alice, and we have been careful to shield certain aspects of you from her so that you may find success. Once you leave us here today, you will receive no further communication from us until your mission is complete. You must not contact us either unless we do find a method to sever our link with Exony entirely."
Alice threw her hands up in the air."If she can hear even whispers of your thoughts, she's going to see me coming. She's going to know who I am!"
"No, Alice," Zary declared. "With great effort, we have manipulated our neural pathways to encode your appearance and other identifying factors as a cipher within our minds. Each of us has performed different parts of this task at different times, and each while the others were unconscious."
"When we look at you, we each see a different face. When we speak your name, it sounds like another in our minds. The odds that Exony would be able to divine each step of this process from the correct member of the Council at the correct time is not likely. It was an arduous task and one we can only use to shield a few words and images, but it was an invaluable use of our resources. She will not see you coming..."
Alice held her hands out and stared at them. "All you can tell me is what I'm supposed to do, but not how to do it. I have to do this alone?"
Zary and Mir looked at each other meaningfully, then Zary spoke. "No, not alone. You will need help from someone. Your new ship A.I. has been programmed to find him and assist you during your mission. It is the most advanced A.I. ever created and will provide you with any information you may need to be successful. You will not be alone, Alice."
"Who is it?" Alice demanded."Who am I supposed to find? How can they help me?"
Mir glanced at Zary, then answered. "You might say he has a gift. Truly, he possesses many gifts, and those gifts will surely prove to be crucial. Also, he has a deep and troubling connection to Exony. Because of that, we believe he can be swayed to help you without the use of forcible compulsion."
"What connection?" Alice demanded.
"A troubling one, and one that will have caused him much torment during his life. We believe he craves a resolution to this torment, just as any human would. Assisting you on your mission, and killing Exony will offer him that resolution."
"Our scans indicate that he is near Osiris Station."
"You must be careful, Alice. The man you seek
holds no love for the Council. He will be fearful and angry, and he may will probably attempt to kill you. You must overcome these possible complications and gain his trust using whatever methods are..."
Suddenly, Alice's eyes snapped open. The Council was gone, and she was back in the stasis quarters of the Epiphany.
"Ending lightspeed travel. Terminating stasis protocol."
Alice prepared herself for rough turbulence, but as the Epiphany released the photons it rode upon and gradually slowed down, the change was barely perceptible.
"It is now safe to return to the cockpit, Alice," Idi stated.
Alice stood up from her seat and felt a sudden wave of nausea. She doubled over as her body tried to purge the contents of her stomach.
"Gah!' Alice yelled as she struggled to control the retching and looked down at the floor. She hadn't made a big mess. Only a few drops of saliva had soiled the floor.
"Good thing I haven't eaten in days..." Alice joked.
"In this circumstance, yes," Idi agreed. "But you are human. You must eat food at regular intervals, or you will die."
"Oh, please," Alice retorted. "Exony will probably kill me before I have a chance to starve to death."
"Yes, Alice. My simulations indicate your chances of being killed by Exony at 79 percent. Starvation seems to be a much smaller hazard. Your chances of starving to death are only..."
"Actually, just shut up," Alice grunted. Idi was beginning to get on her nerves.
Alice wiped her mouth as she shook away the mental cobwebs from her time in stasis, then exited the lightspeed quarters. The hatch shut with a quiet hiss as she walked back to the ship's command terminal and braced herself against it.
"Frontal observation, Idi," Alice commanded.
The viewing screen popped into existence and Osiris Station appeared before her. The immense and ancient station was several thousand kilometers away, but it was still visible as a speck against the glorious swirling red, orange, and brown backdrop of Jupiter.
Alice sighed at the beauty of the immense gas giant in front of her. But then, the weight of her past fell squarely upon her shoulders. The last time she had seen Jupiter, she had been preparing for her mission on Ganymede. She had hoped she would never have to return there.
"Alice, as the Council predicted, I've detected the anomaly I've been programmed to search for," Idi announced. "It occurred just as we left lightspeed travel."
A jolting shot of excitement shot through Alice. "Where?"
"Osiris Station."
Alice grinned. She had planned on searching for days around Jupiter before finding the anomaly.
"I'm not alone," Alice declared.
"You are not alone," Idi agreed.
Alice's grin grew wider. Maybe she stood a chance after all.
Chapter 5
Leo ducked into the narrow service corridor between Hangar 111, and the nightclub next to it. When he felt he was far enough down the corridor to avoid passing stares, he doubled over and clutched his side.
He had run five kilometers in a little over 15 minutes, and the mad dash had completely winded him.
After several deep breaths, he walked back up the corridor and snuck a peek out into the Grand Promenade to watch for anyone who might be following him.
The entirety of the promenade was flanked on each side by thousands of apartments and businesses that stretched hundreds of meters high. Bright lights and tempting calls to action screamed from the front of the businesses on the lower levels, while the apartments above them displayed a beautiful mosaic of colors and decorations. The apartments along the promenade were the most desirable on the station and were all owned or leased by very affluent individuals.
In the center of the promenade, swirling masses of people walked this way and that, busily hustling to their destinations.
As Leo watched, two women ran headlong into eachother as they chatted away on their handheld smartphones.
"Watch where you're going!" they both shouted in tandem.
Leo chuckled to himself as he looked away. Many people were waiting to enter tunnels that led to the station's mag-lev transport trains. The trains were the lifeline of Osiris. They could quickly deliver their passengers almost anywhere within the massive station.
Leo wished he could have used one of the trains, but the station authorities closely monitored them, and there was no way for him to escape if caught inside.
Once Leo's scan revealed that the busy thoroughfare was free of obvious dangers, he looked up, imagining a sniper's nest that might be hidden on one of the apartment balconies. He saw nothing to give credence to his paranoid imaginings, however, and instead found his eyes lingering on the beautiful sight above him.
High above the hustle and bustle below, the reddish-brown swirls of Jupiter painted a flowing scene across the transparent ceiling of Osiris' main deck. The scene struck Leo as profoundly beautiful, and he was briefly entranced by it before he remembered his urgency.
He had to leave Osiris, and it was his own damned fault. How could he have been so stupid? If he had controlled himself and kept his head down, he could have stayed there for years and enjoyed a long-needed break from his chaotic travels.
He now had enough money to carry him through a lovely extended stay on Osiris. He could have easily leased an apartment on that beautiful part of the station, and perhaps he could've even found a woman who would tolerate him and keep him company.
Maybe Annabelle could have been that woman, he imagined wistfully. Where had she gone? Had she been wounded? He wished he could discover her fate before he left.
Leo sighed and shook his head. That ship had sailed, just as his was about to. The Origin Council could have detected what he had done in the bar. Their operatives could already be aboard the station.
Leo calmed himself with a deep, relaxing breath, then stepped out onto the Grand Promenade. With calm, even steps, he walked the fifty remaining meters to the entrance of Hangar 111. When he reached it, the doors quickly and silently opened, but only after automatically scanning his I.D. implant and matching it to one of the many ships within.
With caution, Leo stepped through the threshold and scanned for anything that might mean trouble. A stream of data flashed in his mind's eye as his implants did their work. There were many people and ships in the hangar, but his scans revealed nothing abnormal.
Without any cause for suspicion, he walked ahead and to his left, past several large, private docking bays that were reserved for better ships than his.
After he passed the entry ramps to the private bays, he proceeded into the enormous, central portion of the hangar. That area was for those needing less security and possessing less wealth. As he walked through clusters of small, old, and weathered looking ships, he continued his scans, though he detected nothing out of the ordinary.
Here and there, people were loading and unloading their ships. Loud music blasted from a bright red shuttle as several teenagers leaned up against it. As Leo walked past, he saw their attention drawn to something above. Their eyes opened wide, and they pointed up as they gasped with amazement.
Leo looked up to see what was of such interest to them, and was startled to see a small, lightspeed capable ship glimmer above him as it floated past and entered a private docking bay.
Leo looked away and quickened his pace. Such a ship could mean only two things: Either someone of immeasurable wealth was aboard that ship, or someone on Council business, neither of whom he had any interest in meeting.
After walking quickly and cautiously for a few minutes, Leo reached his ship, Arcturus. A marvel of modern technology, it was certainly not, but Leo smiled broadly as he walked up to it.
He was surprised, however, when a dirty-faced, and raggedly dressed little girl suddenly crawled out from underneath it. The little girl looked up at him fearfully as he began to back away.
"Hi," she said in a sweet little voice.
"Um, hi?" Leo gently replied as he knelt to make himself
less threatening.
The girl looked to be about six years old. Based on how she dressed, she was probably one of the many orphans that made their home in the hangar. Leo had crossed paths with a few but had generally paid them no mind. Their parents had either died or abandoned them, and the dark places within the hangar were the best home that they could find.
"I have a secret..." the little girl revealed.
"Oh, yeah? Well, do you want to tell me?" Leo replied with a kind smile.
The little girl nodded solemnly.
"Okay, what is it?" Leo asked, trying his best to feign genuine interest. While he did feel sympathy for the little girl, he couldn't afford to lose time getting off the station.
The little girl slowly held her hand out.
"Ah, I see..." Leo whispered. Then, he slowly reached out and placed his left palm onto hers. With a quick thought, he transferred a few hundred credits to the little girl's account.
Her eyes went wide as the amount of the transfer became clear to her. "Wow! Thank you!"
"Never mind..." Leo replied. "Now, what's the secret."
The little girl rose to her feet. "Um, someone broke into your ship!" Then, she took off running through the hangar as fast as her little legs would take her.
"What?" Leo yelled after her, but the little girl was already gone.
"Damned orphans..." Leo complained to himself. He had probably just gotten scammed, but he quickly tempered his frustration. He had plenty of money now, and he could afford a bit of charity. The little girl would probably make better use of it anyway.
With a deep sigh, Leo stepped up to his ship and placed his left hand on its dirty hull. He expected the entry hatch to open after sensing the implant within his hand, but instead, nothing happened. He felt a stab of confusion as he slid his hand slightly to the right, but the hatch didn't open.
Leo tried to calm himself but felt the beginnings of panic bubbling within. Had he damaged his implant?
The Ganymede Legacy Page 5