The Stream

by Mark White

  'True,' he replied. 'I'm glad it's not another odd bit of research for Geraldine. I was getting a bit concerned about her.'

  'Concerned, why?' I asked, heart beating a little faster but trying to give a casual appearance.

  'Oh, just that she's been looking into strange areas lately, such as your HOME and Raj Tamboli research. I'm not sure they're areas a Decemvir should be worrying themselves with. There must be more important things in the world.'

  'I don't think it's up to us to question a Decemvir's intentions,' I said defensively. 'Once the Elector has selected them, they should be autonomous and we shouldn't question their intentions. We have to trust to their better judgement.'

  'Yes you're right of course, and it's quite correct that you should stand up for your Decemvir,' he replied, although the tone didn't match the placation in his words. 'However the doubts don't come from me. Gulzari has told me that he and the other Decemviri are concerned about Geraldine's performance. They are worried that she's making the same mistakes as Marcus Nguyen before his death. All the fuss he made when he couldn't get his own way, let's hope Geraldine doesn't suffer the same fate. I'm only telling you this because I like you Kofi. Please don't get tarnished by association with Geraldine. If you ever want to make a move, I'm sure I could find you a role in Gulzari's office.'

  FEOS: Suffer the same fate? Did he really mean what I think he meant? Or was that just clumsy phrasing? I need to watch myself very carefully. I don't think Damon is what he seems to be, or if he is, he could be unintentionally working to a different agenda. Could Gulzari be implicated here?

  'I, I don't know what to say Damon. I don't feel comfortable criticising a Decemvir. Geraldine's been very good to me.'

  'I understand Kofi, that's commendable of you. Please just bear in mind what I said when you're working with Geraldine. If there's anything that strikes you as odd, or she says anything that worries you or makes you feel uncomfortable, please come and discuss it with me. I'm acting as proxy to a Decemvir here, so you shouldn't feel disloyal. Your loyalty is to the whole Decemvirate, not just to your Decemvir,' he said while smiling condescendingly.

  'Sure Damon, I'll bear that in mind,' I replied, trying not to show how uncomfortable and suspicious I was.

  'Thanks, I knew I could rely on you, Kofi,' he said and then changed the subject quickly. 'Religion eh? That's a torturous and fascinating subject. I know quite a bit about it, especially the years before the Flood. You just wouldn't believe the things that were done in the name of religion back then. The world was a horrible place, it's hard not to feel relieved that humanity has moved on from the suspicions of its youth.'

  I was hoping he was about to leave after unnerving me so much with his discussion about Geraldine. But of course, as usual he's an expert in whatever I'm working on. I guess he needs to be a bit of a know-it-all in his position, but still it is very annoying. I'd better play along with him to keep up the pretence of friendship and make him think I'm on his side.

  'I'd love to hear your thoughts on the major religions back then. Most of the problems were linked in some way to either Christianity, Judaism or Islam I believe?' I asked.

  'That's a bit of an over simplification,' he replied. 'They were the biggest religions that were used as causes around which various states and politicians justified their atrocities. None of the actions had anything to do with the religions of course, but that's been the modus operandi of fascists through the ages; to sow hatred, discord, blame and suspicion on "the others". So the rise in fundamentalist religion went hand-in-hand with the rise of fascism and other political extremism around the globe. You did miss out two other religions that were pretty major at the time.'

  'Did I? Hinduism? Buddhism? Jedi?' I asked.

  'Those are not the religions you are looking for,' he said, and smirked. He was obviously pleased with himself, but I had no idea why. 'Technically the others aren't religions, but they always seem to be supported with the same level of fervour and blind faith so that the same level of atrocities were committed in their name. The first is the religion of atheism. Although we see this as the rational and correct way to live now, some states dedicated themselves to the Church of Saint Dawkins so vehemently that they actively persecuted any people of faith.'

  I'll look up the bits I didn't understand later. I can see how that sort-of makes sense. I know the secular state of France mandated atheism in the years before the Flood. I read earlier how lynch mobs became common again, and some regions even resurrected the use of the guillotine. Across the Channel, the United Kingdom of England and Wales was effectively in a terrorist civil war between the atheist and Christian groups. ‘I see, what's the other one?' I asked.

  'The religion of democracy,' he said, pausing smugly. 'Democracy was seen by many cultures as the way to give freedom to troubled areas of the world, whether they wanted it or not. When the United States of America set out to spread democracy across regions of the Middle East on the New Crusade, the irony seemed to be lost that they had to be permanently occupied in order to maintain the rule of democracy. They were democratic, so it had to be better. The fact that the USA and the Occupied States of America were ruled by a series of fascist demagogues and snollygosters didn't matter, as they had been democratically elected. By then of course, the word democracy had become somewhat flexible in its meaning, but as long as you could say you were democratic, you could sleep cosily in your bed and dream of ways to spread your gospel further.'

  'That's an interesting interpretation,' I said, not entirely convinced. 'Wasn't the USA fundamentally Christian by that time? I know they'd deported devotees of other religions, and membership of a church was compulsory in many states. So isn't that just spreading Christianity by another name?'

  'A good point, but that wasn't true of all the allies that helped the USA in their invasions, until they were rebuffed by the Islamic Caliphate. To many nations, the spread of democracy was going to cure the world's ills, despite the fact that it was often the failure of effective democracy in their own countries that caused problems. But you're right, the USA was a special case in its own right. Did you know there was even a Church of Jesus Christ the Gunslinger?' he said.

  'No, but that doesn't surprise me. We're still finding abandoned guns that need disposal across America centuries later,' I said. 'Thanks though, that a useful perspective, it'll give me something to think about.' I was hoping he'd take the hint.

  'No problem, I always enjoy our chats. It's nice to be able to talk about some of my favourite topics with someone. Now don't forget what I said about Geraldine,' he said.

  'Sure. Unfortunately I'd better get back to my day job. I have to write up the draft contract for Doctor Sosa next and get it out to him by the end of the day,' I said.

  'OK, by the way did Geraldine give approval for me to read the Raj report?' he asked.

  Damn, I'd forgotten about that, hoping that he would. 'Sorry,' I said, making it up quickly. 'She's going to use some of it in a report to Gulzari, but isn't sure how it fits in yet, so until then she'd rather keep it under wraps. I'll ask again once the report has gone out.'

  Damon looked unimpressed. 'OK, I think I understand. I hope we'll chat again soon. Come over and see me if you've anything you'd like to tell me, or have concerns over any decisions,' he said, turned and walked away.

  Phew, that's given me something to talk about when I see Geraldine next. What with Damon and Safira, I'm going to have lots to discuss with her, as well as my next report.

  It's approaching time when I need to leave so that I can get back ready for when Safira should make contact again. I've found lots of interesting information in my research that I'll need to summarise in my report, but I still don't think I'm making any progress on the Fount. I was just about to leave when I received a call from Mauro.

  'Kofi?' he said, sounding upset and a little angry.

  'Yes, Mauro, what's up?' I asked.

  'I've been trying to get approval for Project Impala, bu
t have been getting push back from the board. They said that they couldn't spare my time, and wouldn't give way no matter how much I shouted. That made no sense to me, as only last month they were telling us all to get research funding anywhere we could. I know one person on the board well socially, so I hassled him until he told me why. Apparently they received some official guidance late this morning not to allow research work into HOME be authorised for the foreseeable future. That guidance came directly from your office. What the fuck is going on?' he replied, getting angrier as he went on.

  'What?' I said, stunned. That can only have come from Damon. Who else knew about it? First thing is to calm Mauro down. 'Leave it with me, don't worry. I'll ask Geraldine to send a direct message to your board countermanding that order. They can't refuse a Decemvir. I'm sorry, it must just be a miscommunication internally here. You know what bureaucrats can be like. Please don't worry, I'll sort it out. You should receive my draft contract in a few minutes by the way.'

  'Oh OK, that's a relief,' he said, noticeably calmer. 'I'm very keen to get on with this quickly. I'll probably do some work on it this evening anyway, I've got a few ideas I want to have a quick look at.'

  'I appreciate your understanding and keenness Mauro, just get on with it, and I'll fix the issues here,' I said.

  'Thanks, have a great evening,' he signed off.

  'You too,' I said.

  Damn, Damon is getting to be a problem. I'm going to have to send Geraldine a brief priority message to get this sorted. There's too much stacking up so will flag some brief concerns.

  'Please send authorisation to DJ Institute board for Project Impala. Damon blocking authorisation. Told me he hopes you don't suffer same fate as Marcus. Says Gulzari has doubts about you. Is this the Fount we seek? FEOS recipient has contacted me. Need to meet soon.'

  About a minute later I received a brief reply: 'OK, sent. Fuck. In office in two days. Send next report tomorrow, whatever state. Be careful. FEOS FFS!'

  No whisky tonight. I need as clear a head as possible for this meeting with Safira. I've still got a bit of a foggy feeling after my bad night, so have just had a stimulant to pick me up. I think I'm just about ready, now that the time is approaching. Luckily I had the foresight to bookmark the location of our conversation last night. I've no idea if it makes any difference to Safira or not, but if it has a chance of making it easier, that's what I'll do. Anyway, mentally to me now, Safira looks like that Wellsian, and if my mental acceptance eases the channel, then I'll give it a go.

  So I'll drop into the VR environment, pause looking at the Wellsian, and wait.

  'Greetings Kofi Albus. It is good to see you again,' said Safira after about ten minutes. Despite intently watching and expecting her arrival, I still jumped out of my skin when the Wellsian moved.

  'Hello Safira, it is good to see you again too. Is your connection stable this evening?' I replied.

  'Yes I believe so, Kofi Albus. I believe I can hold this link for longer tonight,' she said.

  'Please, just call me Kofi, no need to be formal if we are to learn to trust each other,' I said.

  'Very well Kofi A…my apologies, it is something I will learn. Due to the way we identify ourselves, if I shortened the nominative identifier for another Safiran, it would be seen as a major insult,' she said.

  'I assure you, no insult will be implied with human names, especially after being invited to use it,' I said.

  'Thank you Kofi,' she said, pausing slightly and smiling. 'Thank you also for highlighting your conversations with Damon Gates. It is worrying. Should I call him Damon?' she asked.

  'When we're talking about him here, then yes, that will be fine. If you were to meet him in person and hadn't been introduced, you'd refer to him by his title and surname, Lictor Gates,' I said helpfully.

  'Ah, this will take some getting used to. I will refer to Kofi, Damon, and Geraldine using their short name in our conversations then going forward. Please correct me if I make errors. I wish to learn your culture and language more fully in order to understand you better,' she said.

  'Of course,' I replied. 'I have reviewed the pool of your meeting with Geraldine. Has there been any change in status on your side since then?'

  'Several things have progressed to different degrees of satisfaction. Firstly, we have reduced the Safiran death rate significantly with improved breach detection techniques. Your bulk drive differs in a few fundamentals from others that we have seen. Deaths still occur. However the pressure for us to act against you immediately is reduced,' she said.

  'OK, that sounds better, but any deaths are distressing. I appreciate your forbearance,' I said, somewhat unnerved by the fact that it sounds as if there are internal disputes within the Safirans over whether to take more direct action against us.

  'We do not have unlimited patience,' she said. 'Any death is hard to bear for a race who are effectively immortal. However our code does not place us above other beings. We will attempt to guide and help you to overcome this. Only if we fail, will we take direct action,' she said, matter-of-factly.

  'What form would this direct action take?' I asked.

  'That is a matter for another time. We do not have enough information to judge the correct course of action as yet. We would wish the strike to be surgical and targeted at the problem. If we were unable to ascertain the root of the problem, then genocide would be considered,' she said, deadpan again.

  I looked at her, not knowing what to say. I guess she could see the fear on my face.

  'My apologies. I did not mean to upset you. That was not intended as one of your threats. We do not threaten. You asked a question, and I merely replied as factually as I could. If you do not wish to know the answer, please do not ask the question,' she said.

  Fair enough I thought. 'OK Safira, I understand. Is there any containment action you can take to help yourself in the mean time? Anything I can do to help?' I asked.

  'We had one contingency in place from when other races developed an equivalent to your bulk drive. This contingency is to protect the fabric of reality, and not to protect the Safiran race. We have had to strengthen this contingency, at further loss to ourselves,' she said, looking slightly distressed.

  'What is this contingency? How did it hurt your race?' I asked, wondering if I wanted to know this answer too.

  'A large number of our race were selected for the honour of becoming Redoubts, sacrificing themselves in order to strengthen the bulk linings. This happened once in the distant past, but has proved inadequate to the current challenge. Further selections have been made in order to bolster this, to reduce the impact, but it can never be fully efficacious,' she said.

  'Sacrificed themselves? How?' I asked.

  'This is difficult to explain. Words are clumsy. It is also distressing. My partner was among those selected,' she said.

  'Safira, I am truly sorry. I don't know what to say,' I said, taken aback.

  'It is a great honour, but I do miss her, and will do so through eternity. I will try to explain. We are corporeal beings. Beings of thought and energy that reside in the substrate of reality, through to the bulk itself.' I'm still not sure what that means, but not the time to ask. 'We are still able to propagate ourselves however, create new Safirans from the joining of two or more of us. During mating, and I'm using the closest equivalent word I know although coalescing might be more appropriate, the conjoined parties can each split off a small portion of their own consciousness. This gestalt forms the pattern around which a new independent consciousness grows, born with the kernel of the knowledge from each parent. It is a beautiful moment.' She paused as if lost in thought. I kept quiet out of respect.

  'When my partner became a Redoubt, the two of us mated one final time. Instead of splitting off a kernel each, I slowly took her apart piece-by-piece. Every small kernel of her soul was separated, surrounded by my love, and the remnant of intelligence given a purpose. That purpose was to live in the bulk lining, spread thin; monitoring, watching, rea
cting, repelling if possible, and repairing if not. They can also grow, merge and multiply themselves. It is a sacrifice for a noble cause. I am proud to have been the partner of a Redoubt, and I do this in her name.'

  'Safira, I'm sorry. I understand the pain that must have caused you,' I said, somewhat at a loss for words.

  She replied with a steely determination in her voice. 'It is not pain. It is pride. It is also a determination to stop it from happening again. When your bulk ships rip into the fabric, many of our Redoubts die. Others try to repair the damage, but this cannot happen indefinitely. This must stop. The Redoubts are strong enough to block data transmissions and many forms of bulk transportation, but they cannot withstand the crudeness of your bulk drive. It's the equivalent of using a nuclear bomb to crack a nut. We want to help, but we cannot until the agency, your Fount, driving your Confluvium is understood and terminated. Your research has shown that it is the enemy of both your races and mine.'

  So that's why we can't get data transmission via the bulk to work. At least one mystery explained.

  'I agree, we appear to have a common enemy. I have been trying to track down and understand what might be behind all this. It dates back to before our Flood, and yet I see no trace of it beforehand. I'm still hunting through the historical records, but nothing is standing out as being responsible. The only theory I have in the present day is that it may be a group of people behind the scenes driving things, and I believe Damon and Decemvir Gulzari Desai are involved in some way.'

  'That is incorrect,' she said bluntly. 'Or should I say, they may be involved in a peripheral way, but they are not the driving force, and may not even know what the driving force is.'