Synthesis

by Rexx Deane

  ***

  Sebastian woke to the sound of a female voice nearby.

  ‘Hello. Fancy meeting you here.’

  His eyes snapped open and he lifted his head. Oh Gods. Stevens. She was sitting in the mud, right in front of the steps. No way to avoid that encounter, either.

  ‘Oh, you are awake.’

  ‘Only just.’ He forced a smile. ‘How are you Ms Stevens?’

  ‘Call me Monica – I’m fine, thanks.’ She moved a little closer. ‘We never got to have that drink.’

  He shuffled away, trying to maintain his distance without being too obvious.

  ‘What’s the problem?’

  ‘Nothing, really … I just don’t have time.’

  ‘Oh, I get it … You think I’m interested.’ She shook her head. ‘No, I wanted to discuss work – and be sociable.’

  He let out a sigh and laughed. ‘Sorry, I totally misinterpreted you. I’ve been busy and haven’t had any time to stop. Things have been getting on top of me.’

  ‘That’s understandable. Yet another man getting the wrong impression of me. Don’t worry, I won’t take up too much of your time. I wanted an opportunity to introduce myself properly. Given we both work for SpecOps and I occasionally stop off here, I wanted to see how our skills might overlap in case we had to work together.’

  ‘I’ve already got a partner but, out of interest, what are your skills?’

  ‘Xenobiology, Human biology, xenoarchaeology, and geology specialisms.’

  ‘You specialise in all those?’

  ‘Sort of, they go hand-in-hand, really. Like our skill sets when combined.’

  He tilted his head questioningly.

  ‘Being a programmer, you’re a tech specialist, aren’t you? Occasionally, we come across ruins and artefacts that require a technical decoding, rather than linguistic or cultural. I thought you could be useful on some of our digs in future – we’ve got a few big ones lined up, but obviously it would depend on your workload and priorities.’

  He nodded. ‘Of course.’ The talk of archaeology and the earthy aroma of mud conspired to remind him of Achene’s tunnels again. ‘I’d certainly be interested.’

  ‘Now’s not the time to discuss business, though. I can see you need to relax, and I don’t have much time to hang around myself. I just needed a break.’

  ‘Speaking of which, what time is it?’

  ‘Must be about quarter past four.’

  ‘It’s gone sixteen-hundred? Oh, Gods! I’m supposed to meet Gladrin in fifteen minutes.’ He leaped to his feet, slopping mud everywhere.

  Monica looked him up and down and smiled broadly. Suddenly self-conscious, he lowered himself back into the mud and slid towards the steps.

  She giggled and looked away. ‘Sorry, can’t help it. You looked rather fetching in your N-suit when I saw you the other day – you ought to show yourself off more.’

  ‘Uh, thanks. I guess.’ His face flushed as he climbed the steps out of the pool and made his way to the shower. He rinsed away the mud and dried off. She was still staring at him as he put his clothes on.

  ‘Send Gladrin my regards, won’t you?’ Monica said.

  He nodded and dashed out.

  ***

  Gladrin limped back and forth in front of the large fountain in the mall. Apparently, the wound to his leg was healing well with nanobot treatment.

  ‘Sorry I’m late,’ Sebastian said. ‘Have you been waiting long?’

  ‘No, I only just arrived myself.’

  He looked around. ‘Is there somewhere we won’t be overheard? I’ve got some news you’ll be interested in.’

  Gladrin’s sultry expression lightened. ‘Really? I take it this is something you don’t want said over the system. Let’s walk.’ He led Sebastian to the nearest lift terminal. ‘Level four.’

  The lift car arrived and seconds later they stepped out on the highest level of the terraces, far above the bustling mall. Gladrin proceeded to the narrow maintenance walkway spanning the space between terraces. ‘When we get to the middle, it’s best if we stay close, facing each other, just to make sure nobody can lip read our conversation. There’s enough sonic backwash from the river to prevent eavesdropping.’

  Sebastian crossed the bridge. Gladrin was right; the rushing of the weirs below was amplified and focused by the curvature of the roof.

  ‘Now, what did you want to speak about?’

  ‘Your family.’

  Gladrin’s face hardened. ‘What is it?’ His voice wavered. ‘Have you … found them?’

  ‘Not exactly.’ It was difficult for Sebastian to maintain his forward stare. ‘It looks like their records have been deleted from the societal database. Do you know what that means?’

  ‘Someone high up has changed them, or they are in the Witness Protection programme.’ Gladrin turned away and grabbed the handrail. ‘Good Lord. Are they safe?’

  ‘I don’t know. Wolfram found the evidence, but it’s my guess that the ITF, or the entities controlling some of their members, might have agents in Witness Protection. I think it might have proven more effective to put them there, rather than have a terrorist cell watch over them indefinitely.’

  ‘And so they would have been told that I was either dead, or that contacting me would risk all our lives.’

  ‘It sounds possible, and I know it’s not very concrete—’

  Gladrin brought his fist down on the handrail. ‘It’s good enough!’ His eyes sparkled. ‘It’s logical. Even terrorists operate on logic. It means they’re probably safe and will remain safe until we find them – as long as we play along.’ His eyes reddened.

  ‘But Sir, terrorists don’t always do logical things. You only have to look at the recent attacks to—’

  ‘Don’t be a fool. I know you’re not an idiot. Why do you think there were never any demands? Those bombings were a cover for tech-harvesting operations.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘They hit colonies and steal the alien technologies they come across. All the bombing sites had a prominent alien research presence.’ Gladrin stiffened, as though becoming aware of his animated behaviour.

  ‘I can’t believe I didn’t see it.’

  ‘You couldn’t have known. You didn’t have any information. The one on Cinder IV was an exception, a lab run within the civilian compound. They blew the place up to hide any evidence of their activity.’ He smiled flatly. ‘Thank you for finding out about my family. I will sleep easier now … Discovering where they are without alerting the ITF or the agents in the government will be a challenge, but I’ll deal with that when the opportunity arises.’ He heaved a ragged sigh and turned to leave.

  ‘Sir, before you go – what about the bodies from the lab? I never found any evidence of them and wondered how the head got out of the frame without it going out of the vent, too.’

  Gladrin rubbed the back of his neck. ‘Yes, sorry about that. I did set you a rather insoluble investigation … I took the bodies as soon as it happened. I’ve had to make the excuse that the remains were found in space. They will have to be sent back to their families. Unfortunately, Alvarez can’t easily be returned with his head severed unless we make up some elaborate excuse. I’d imagine your friend, Aryx, would want to inform his family.’ He patted Sebastian on the arm. ‘I’d better be going. SpecOps have a dig that has come up and the ITF have urged me to take a slot on the mission, so I won’t be around for a few weeks. Stay here for a few minutes after I’ve gone. We’ll catch up again soon. And thank you.’

  Gone was the stony stare and, as he walked off the gantry, there was a definite spring to his step.

  Sebastian looked down past the high walls at the perspective-distorting panorama. Tenebrae, with its bright architecture and clean lines, somehow seemed dark and shadowy behind the gleaming surface. He watched the mix of races on the ground far below, like tiny insects milling around en-masse to some unfathomable purpose. Since the disaster, the percentage of aliens aboard the station seemed to h
ave increased – either that, or many Humans had left. Strange how what was perceived as an anti-alien terrorist attack had inexplicably brought more aboard – but how their lives would change if they knew what strange forces were acting upon them day-to-day. He’d always thought of people as transparent, their motives plain to see – just like the atrium, open and exposed – but now, nothing was straightforward. The universe had become complex and shrouded in mystery.

  If only his grandparents were still alive; how they’d have loved to hear his tales of exploring the galaxy, and of the strange beings he’d encountered – maybe even his father would have been proud of him – but they sure as hell wouldn’t want him involved in what he was about to do. He wiped away the tear threatening to fall from the corner of his eye and gripped the handrail. Now was the time for action, not self-pity.

  He activated his wristcom. ‘Computer, locate a free apartment.’

  ‘An empty ambassadorial suite has been located on level two of the habitation ring.’

  ‘Good. Book it until 09.00 tomorrow and bill it to SpecOps. I also want you to re-route all incoming communication signals from my apartment to that one. Block all other terminal access from the apartment, including my overrides. Once I’ve entered, lock the door and do not release until opened by Aryx Trevarian.’

  ‘Acknowledged.’

  It might have been too early in the evening to go to bed, but he needed the rest. If he attempted the lucid dreaming spell he might even go straight to sleep and stay that way until the signal triggered the dream – if he succeeded in casting the spell.

  ***

  Aryx wiped the last of the green smears off the Ultima Thule’s hull. A loud clunk came from behind him and he turned around.

  ‘You didn’t say where you wanted this,’ the yellow cargomech said, carrying a large crate between its grippers. The voice might have been badly synthesised by the robot, but there was no mistaking Wolfram’s use of contractions, or the cube, mounted on its chest.

  ‘Just over there.’ He pointed in the direction of the ship’s loading bay. ‘And be careful if anyone else is in earshot. I don’t want them realising you’re not a TI. AI research was abandoned because of paranoia, and coupled with the threat of the ITF, it’s best to keep you hidden.’ He wheeled around to the back of the ship to examine the damage caused by the battle with the Iceni. ‘I don’t know how people would react.’

  ‘I do apologise. I shall endeavour to keep our discourse suitably formal in the presence of others.’ The cargomech bowed and stomped off with the crate.

  Aryx shook his head and smiled. ‘I’m glad to have you around. It makes a change to be able to rely on technology for a change … I wonder how different things would have been if you’d been there before I lost my legs.’

  The mech stopped and turned to face him. ‘There has not been an appropriate time to tell you, but I overheard a conversation between Sebastian and Agent Gladrin in which Gladrin revealed that he was present on the planet where you were wounded, before his involvement with the ITF.’

  His chest tightened. ‘Really?’

  ‘I took the liberty of acquiring and examining the system records belonging to the cargomech that injured you …’

  ‘And?’

  A solitary LED on the cube pulsed once.

  ‘I know you. What are you hiding?’

  ‘There is evidence of tampering in the programming logs. It was deliberate. Code signatures in the logs are similar to the nightmare Trojan Gladrin planted on behalf of the terrorists.’

  A volcano boiled up from somewhere deep within him. His teeth clenched so hard they might break. Some bastard did this to him. Those ITF bastards. ‘They’ll pay, one day,’ he said, and took a deep breath. It was no good dwelling on the past.

  He watched the mech lower the crate into place. It turned around and trundled back towards the ship, this time using the caterpillar treads.

  ‘You love doing that, don’t you?’

  ‘Doing what?’

  ‘Experimenting with motion, mucking about.’

  ‘I suppose you could say that I do enjoy it. It is rewarding to acquire new experiences through experimentation and extrapolate their potential uses.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Aryx said. Surely the SI was capable of emotion, or at least if it wasn’t – it soon would be.

  ‘You’re welcome. It was only a light crate, and I do not experience hardship in helping.’

  ‘I mean thanks for everything. You saved our lives several times over the last few days.’ He rubbed his eyes. ‘I don’t know how I’d have managed without you.’

  ‘I do not—’ The lights on the cube stopped flashing and instead pulsed twice. ‘Thank you. I value your lives greatly, and I do not mean simply for the freedom that you give me. You are the first people to have accepted me as an individual with a right to my own existence and I find it … comforting.’

  Aryx’s eyes stung and a lump formed in his throat.

  ***

  Sebastian shuffled along the corridor towards the ambassadorial quarters. What would happen if the spell went wrong? He might never wake up; become a coma patient; slowly wither away and die in permanent sleep. What if he got possessed? The latter didn’t bother him nearly as much. From what he’d seen of possession through magic, it seemed the effect would likely be temporary, and the sealed apartment would hold him if things went wrong – but what if he was still possessed in the morning? Cullen had been possessed long-term after strangulation, but what had happened to William was still an unknown. A very ominous unknown … Perhaps locking the door wasn’t enough. He called Aryx.

  ‘Hey,’ Aryx said. ‘I hadn’t expected to hear from you until tomorrow.’

  ‘I’m heading for an empty apartment to try the lucid dreaming. I’ve locked the door for your access only.’

  ‘Great – I’ll just call by with some armed guards in the morning, shall I?’

  ‘No! Call my terminal – it’s redirected here. You’ll have to get me close to it and check my eyes. If I refuse, you know it’s not me and you can order a lockdown.’

  ‘I can’t believe you’re going through with this. The old Sebastian would have thought this was superstitious crap.’

  ‘Nothing I’ve learned has conflicted with my belief in science. It just doesn’t have all the answers. I know it seems weird, but for me religion isn’t at odds with scientific proof anymore. Maybe the Gods do, or did, exist in some form. Maybe what we think of as divine is simply the expression of some greater universal pattern.’ He stopped and leaned with his back against the wall. ‘I feel more at peace, like I’ve found something that’s been missing.’

  ‘I suppose that’s all that matters. I guess if you hadn’t introduced me to Jim-Bob, I would still be a bit … Actually, I wouldn’t give it up for anything.’

  ‘Even for your legs?’

  ‘Including the legs. I can make more of those, but nobody can replace a friend.’

  What was the world coming to?

  ‘Are you still there?’ Aryx asked.

  ‘Yes, you took me by surprise that’s all.’

  ‘Get used to it.’

  Sebastian turned a corner. There was the apartment.

  ‘I’ve arrived,’ he said.

  Chapter 48

  Sebastian sat cross-legged on the sumptuous double bed of the ambassadorial suite. With the lights off, the faint glow from the nebula shone through the single window, casting a pale, fuzzy rhomboid on the floor in front of him. The infoslate beside him recorded his vitals, displaying waveforms, pulse, and sounds recorded in the room. He placed a vial of carbyne on the sheets beside it and pressed his eyes as Duggan had instructed.

  Against the swirling patterns behind his eyelids, he visualised himself going to sleep and walking in a strange landscape, all the while surrounded by a bubble of white light. It was difficult to muster the feelings of being asleep and dreaming, but it was the best he could manage – surely intent was the most important factor.
>
  While he concentrated, the sparkling, waving patterns faded from his aching eyes, and other shapes revealed themselves. First, the familiar Algiz rune, the symbol for protection as before; second, Dagaz – an angular figure of eight on its side, resting at the bottom of the Algiz rune – the cycle of day and night; thirdly, Perthro – a square bracket with inward-kinked top and bottom – representing the discovery of secrets and hidden knowledge, enclosing the previous two. The sequence became clear. He tried not to get excited by the realisation of its meaning and, as he concentrated, he heard the strange droning. Allowing his throat to relax, he replicated the hum. The sensation felt natural this time.

  He recalled Shiliri’s explanation of time, and began to concentrate on the here and now, letting go of anticipation and planning. Letting go of past failure … Just like being in the spa.

  While he hummed, his larynx got the feel for what was supposed to happen and formed a double-tone. He relaxed further and allowed his lips to form the words.

  ‘Ég vakna á meðan ég sef, meðvituð um draum minn.’ I wake while I sleep, aware of my dream.

  He clamped his speech to a whisper, stopping the process, and opened his eyes. Still holding the mental imagery in his mind, he quickly sketched the glyph on the infoslate with a finger. ‘Store and lock to Aryx Trevarian’s print.’

  Confirmed.

  This was it.

  He cleared his mind and, concentrating on the glyph image with eyes open, recited the tones.

  The stars shining through the window scintillated like a mirage. The vial emptied. Before he had time to appreciate what was happening, he toppled over onto the bed, unconscious.

  Chapter 49

  Sebastian Thorsson stood on a beach of warm, red sand. A velvety, purple sky reflected darkly off the smooth, black sea that caressed the two red suns bathing in its waters. The fading light enhanced the soft contours of sand at his bare feet, and a warm breeze blew in off the ocean, bringing with it the tang of exotic salts. He couldn’t remember how he had arrived on the planet, but it didn’t matter; it was enough to enjoy the tranquillity. He ran his hand over his hair. Strange how the scene felt familiar.