The two women chuckled as co-conspirators.
As their humor subsided, Von brought them back on point. “So how do we go about doing this then?”
Molly tilted her head, contemplating their next move. “I think what we need to do is start filming. What say you if I bring my team over to capture the footage? I’m sure they can get the scripts over to you in the next few days. And then perhaps we film after that?”
Von nodded enthusiastically. “Of course. That sounds wonderful. We have a semester break coming up next week so the campus will be quiet.”
Molly bobbed her head, considering whether they actually might want students in the reel at all, but then figured it was a detail they could resolve later if they decided that they did. “Great. That’ll work,” she agreed.
Von’s face changed suddenly, as she seemed to look around her university office before bringing her eyes back to her holo. “Tell me. I know you said you were well funded, but I’m curious where the funding is coming from to do all this?”
Molly took a deep breath. “Well, we have some private funds from parties interested in educating our leaders to make more informed decisions. And a number of industry leaders who have been adapting their working practices in line with some of the principles you’ve been advocating. They want to make sure that they can select their workforce from these informed leaders, too.”
She realized she was being vague. “You know, as we work together, I’ll be able to show you more and more. For now, just know that this is all above board, and being done for the right reasons. After all, there is no way this kind of strategy can benefit those who would have motive to exploit the population. And you know what a positive effect your strategies have on civilizations as a whole.”
Von seemed to take comfort in the reassurance. This Molly Bates was right. There is no way that anyone could be using these strategies for bad intent. It just wouldn’t be of any benefit to them. Von smiled. “Okay. I’m happy to proceed.”
Neechie had managed to find his way into the ops room as Molly had sat talking with Abigail, and just then jumped up on the invisible sofa.
“My ancestors!” exclaimed Abigail. “Is that …?”
Molly nodded, stroking his head as he nuzzled up to her thigh and then jumped into her lap. “A sphinx. Yeah. He’s our mascot around here.”
Von leaned forward, trying to see him better. “He’s a little cutie!” she remarked.
Neechie looked up at Molly as if to say, See, told you so. I am, aren’t I?
“Yes you are, Neech,” Molly agreed, pulling her hot mug out of the way so as not to burn him. “You are …” she repeated, stroking him with her free hand. Suddenly she felt a little light headed.
“Okay,” she said, looking back up at the screen. “I need to head out and get back to my people. We’ll get some scripts over to you in the next day or so, and if you’re happy to continue working on the syllabus, feel free to send it over when you’re ready for me to take a look.”
Von snapped back into business-mode. “No problem. I’ll do that.” She grinned and waved at the Sphinx. “Bye Neech!” she said. “Bye Molly,” she said, looking a little more grounded and waving to Molly.
The call disconnected, and Molly put her mug down immediately.
“What is it Neechie? Are you trying to show me something?” she asked, looking down at the Sphinx in her lap.
He meowed, and then Molly felt herself start to drift through realms. She saw images of places she had never seen before. An image of a series of planets in a weird array, balanced in a cluttered orbit.
She saw an entrance to a tomb, and some old markings that reminded her of the Zhyn characters, but ones that she didn’t recognize.
She felt like she was losing consciousness, and she put her feet on the floor, causing Neechie to jump off her lap and onto the console floor. She focused on her breathing, allowing the images to come and go, but putting her attention on the present, on the sensations in her body, keeping herself grounded in this reality.
She saw space. But a space cluttered with stars. She looked around trying to recognize a constellation. A feature. Something that would tell her where she was.
She recognized nothing.
Breathe, she told herself.
She was aware of Oz, and words coming from Oz. But she was too far into the realm visions to really understand.
Then she felt like she turned back over her shoulder, and looked behind her, and she was no longer in space, but in a bedroom, looking down into a drawer, near a bed.
Breathe. You’re safe, she told herself.
Then everything grayed out a little, and she became aware of the lights in the ops room through her eye lids. She felt herself hyperventilating as her awareness in the present world came back, and she kept breathing, feeling a little nauseous and out of sorts.
Molly? What’s happening?
Molly heard Oz’s words this time.
It’s okay, Oz. I’m back. I’m right here.
‘Nother realm jump?
Yep.
I’m blaming the Sphinx.
Molly breathed heavily through her nose in a half snort. The Sphinx sat looking at her, unimpressed, as if trying to assess her condition.
Me too. I think we should rename him Mercury - the messenger.
Gaitune-67, Safe house, Kitchen
Joel looked over at her, his eyes full of concern. “So, you really think it was a message?” he asked.
Molly shrugged, leaning back against the counter top. “I don’t know what else it could have been. I mean, unless I’m just seeing random scenes that are neither past, present, nor future.”
She moved over to one of the chairs and sat down at the kitchen table. “I just don’t know what to think anymore. I just know what I feel. And it felt like a message.”
Joel folded his arms, and shifted his weight to his other foot. “Shame there’s no way to get in touch with Arlene. This was precisely what she was meant to be helping you with.”
Molly cocked her head. “Hmm... but is there no way to get in touch with her? I mean, they headed off to ancestors know where... but we can call anywhere from that ops room. Distance is irrelevant. So, assuming they’re on a Federation ship they must be reachable.
At that moment Molly heard someone sitting down in the common area, and then the noise of a game playing on the holo. She looked towards the door.
Joel frowned as he watched her get pulled out to the common area by the noise.
He followed her, standing in the doorway.
Molly had stepped through to look at who was sitting on the sofa. “Sean?”
Sean looked up, surprised that anyone was around. “I was... I was just chilling out for ten minutes. I needed a break from cataloging the—”
Molly shook her head, dismissing his excuses for slacking on the job. “It’s okay. We were just talking about something, and I thought you might know about this. Giles and Arlene went off on some mission. Giles didn’t tell me where exactly, but I can take a guess. If he’s in a Federation ship, how would I get hold of him?”
Sean shrugged. “Ops room. Ask ADAM which ship, and then connect a call with that ship’s EI.”
Molly looked confused. “Okay. And do you know how it is these EIs can be in touch over such ridiculous distances?”
Sean nodded nonchalantly. “Sure.”
Molly waited, dropping her head, and raising her eyebrows pushing him to explain.
Sean sighed. “Tech-no-lo-gyyyyy, of course,” he said, patronizingly.
Molly rolled her eyes into the top of her head as she turned and headed back into the kitchen.
Joel’s smirk turned to full on laughter as he headed back in ahead of her. “That goon,” he chuckled.
Molly laughed away to herself, her chest bouncing as she tried to keep it inaudible. “I never know if he’s being earnest, or if he’s just fucking with us!” she admitted.
Molly leaned against the fridge. “Okay. So I’ll give them a call and see if Arlene has any suggestions. And beyond that I think I should probably spend some more time with the little guy. See if I can get some practice.”
Joel’s face crumpled in confusion. “Little guy?” he asked, crossing his legs, and folding his hands in front of his crotch.
Molly had opened the fridge and was taking out the remains of one of her shakes. “Yeah. Neechie,” she responded, without looking up.
“Oh. Right. Of course,” Joel agreed quickly, relaxing instantly.
Molly closed the fridge door and turned to leave. She spun back to look at him. “What did you think I meant?” she asked.
Joel blushed and shook his head. “I... had no idea,” he lied, picking up his mocha and hiding behind a slurp. A slurp that was way too much, and way too hot.
He swallowed, ignoring the pain, as Molly bobbed her head once, and drifted out of the kitchen, oblivious.
Chapter 4
Administration House, Staðall University, Spire
Dean Alfred Radcliff sat comfortably in his chair reading on his holo. There was a timid knock on the door.
“Enter,” he said brusquely, swiping away the screen and sitting up a little.
His assistant poked her head into the office. “Dean Radcliff, there is a gentleman here to see you. He says you have an appointment, but I don’t see anything on your schedule.”
Radcliff sat up properly and flicked through to his schedule. He was blocked out until his meeting with the heads of the Science Department at four. He looked up, frowning. “Nothing on my schedule. Who is he?”
His assistant looked awkward, stepping gently into the room, intending to close the door so she couldn’t be heard. Before the door was closed it was pushed open again, and there stood a rather tall Ogg, in a smart-looking atmosuit, not altogether unlike one that Radcliff owned for meeting and greeting visits he often needed to do.
“Greetings of the day to you, Dean Radcliff. Allow me to introduce myself.” The Ogg spoke with a refined accent. A lilt of his native Ogg-tongue but with the precision of excellent schooling in Estarian ways.
The Dean, too curious to insist he schedule an appointment, beckoned him into the room, and indicated at the chair in front of his desk. “That will be all, Amy,” he told his assistant.
The Dean sat down again as the Ogg made his way into his office and sat down.
The Ogg continued his introduction. “My name is Raj Ghettie, of the Northern Clan of Cambodrian. My family has extensive ties and business here on Estaria, as well as an interest in supporting the education system.”
The Dean had worked with many enterprises and representatives with big trust funds and contributions that needed to be allocated for philanthropic causes. His face brightened at the thought of where this might be heading.
The Ogg continued. “We have a heavy interest in maintaining what we call ‘vallitseva tila.’ The balance in all things.” He paused, studying the Dean’s reaction carefully, as if his next word were dependent on how he responded.
The Dean leaned his arms on his desk, nodding with interest.
Raj Ghettie took it as a cue to continue. “We feel that the education sector is a huge part of this process. So much so, we would like to pledge some financial aid in exchange for lending some direction to some of the material taught.”
The Dean smiled, satisfied that his first reaction had been entirely accurate. “Of course. This is something I’m sure the board would be open to. However, I must ask — what kind of influence are you expecting?”
“Oh, nothing too drastic,” Raj explained with a dismissive wave of his hand. “We’re mostly impressed with the breadth of study available. But we’d be keen to ensure that the university remains... traditional. None of these newfangled courses like Media Studies, or Reinterpretive History, or Journalistic Methodologies.” He chuckled at the thought of the subjects.
Radcliff nodded sympathetically, his fake smile playing across his face. “Yes, I concur with that sentiment entirely. These people will argue anything to give a degree away these days.”
“Quite,” Ghettie agreed. He paused for a moment before continuing. “I assume you’ll want to do your due diligence before you accept our contribution. But I think in essence we can work to move this forward fairly quickly.”
Ghettie stood up to leave. Radcliff stood too, and walked around his desk to see him out politely. He stopped, thinking of something new. “Mr. Ghettie. I’m grateful for your interest, and I look forward to accepting your generosity. But I wonder …?”
Ghettie finished his sentence with a knowing look in his eye. “Why now?”
Radcliff bowed his head a little. “Indeed.”
Ghettie’s confidence suggested he’d anticipated the question. “We live in uncertain times. Times where we all have a responsibility to ensure our crafting of the future. I myself have suffered a health challenge, and swore that when I was able enough again I would do everything in my power to make that change in the world that I would like to see before I die.”
He placed his hand on Radcliff’s shoulder as if he were a longtime friend. “I know that for those of us in the game of educating young minds we are very in touch with this concept. And our own impending mortality.
Radcliff nodded, sympathetic to the gentleman’s health problems. “Yes. Yes, of course,” he muttered. “One has to ask, though.”
Ghettie removed his hand from Radcliff’s shoulder and turned to leave. “Yes. One must,” he agreed. “I’ll have my people send you over some material to consider. We should talk again in the next week or so.”
And then he strode out of the office, leaving the door open.
Radcliff could see Amy sitting in her desk, watching a little awe-struck by the stranger who was able to walk into the university and speak with her boss without an appointment or a good reason.
Her eyes remained on the door out of her office.
“Amy,” Radcliff called through from his office.
Amy’s attention snapped back to him. “Yes sir?”
Radcliff’s voice was enthusiastic and motivated. “Have the board meeting scheduled for the end of the month brought forward to next week. There are some pressing matters for us to consider.”
Amy had already started pulling up the details to alert the board members and their assistants.
He ambled over and closed his door, and her attention was pulled from her screens as she heard it clunk shut.
Curiouser and curiouser, she thought to herself, returning her eyes to her task.
Gaitune-67, Base conference room
“Okay, how did we get on?” Molly asked looking over at Joel.
Joel straightened up and then stood up, regarding the assembled team in the base conference room. “Looks like we have a plan,” he reported, pulling up a screen on his holo.
Each team member looked a little more on edge than usual. No one had been told who would be going undercover, and apart from Pieter, everyone else was at least part excited by the possibility. Pieter sat looking morose, like a kid who didn’t want to play this game.
Brock noticed. “Hey, cheer up buddy. May never happen!” he said, slapping Pieter’s arm, and only then realizing how what he had just said was totally not true.
Pieter glared up at him. “Fifty-fifty chance I have to do the whole undercover thing. I tried to tell Joel it just wasn’t my bag.”
Brock lowered his voice and leaned in. “And what happened?” he asked, concerned.
Pieter shrugged anxiously. “I never got past rehearsing what I would say in front of the bathroom mirror.”
Brock giggled. “You loon. You should know you can just talk to Joel. I did, back when there was
ops stuff I didn’t want to do.”
Pieter turned his head so they wouldn’t be overheard. “And what happened?” he asked softly.
Brock shrugged with his easy relaxed way. “He took me out of it until I got enough training to feel good about it.”
Pieter considered it for a moment. “I also didn’t want to let the team down. I mean, surely no one else wants to do it either.”
Brock pointed around the table, sweeping his finger, and encouraging Pieter to look. “See all these folks here?” he asked.
Pieter mumbled to the affirmative.
Brock posed his follow up question. “Notice the air of excitement in the room?”
Pieter nodded.
Brock grinned down at him. “Every single one of them is excited by the prospect. There’s no shortage of people who want to volunteer. If you’re not ready, you’re not ready. You shouldn’t feel like it is any reflection on you, or on your commitment to the team.”
Pieter nodded again, his shoulders relaxing a little. “Thanks, man,” he said quietly, nudging Brock on the arm.
The two sat up straighter and started paying attention to the meeting that was getting going.
Joel pulled up a screen with a bunch of names.
“Okay,” he told them. “Oz has gone in and created back stories for each of the folks who have been selected for this mission.”
He glanced at the screen and then his notes. “What you see on screen is the ship’s manifest. This is the crew that is down to take the ship from Estaria to Teshov. Those who have been selected for the undercover part of the mission are: Sean…”
Sean fist pumped the air near his body, in silent jubilation.
Joel continued to read off his list. “Brock, Maya and Jack.”
Maya grinned.
Jack nodded politely, only her eyes betraying her secret lust for a good undercover mission.
The Ascension Myth Box Set Page 134