The Stream

by Mark White

  'Very well, I am more than happy for you to help in any way you see fit. Safira, do you have any news?' I asked.

  'Yes I do. Some good, and some distressing news,' she said.

  'Give me the good first please,' I said. Sounds like I'm going to end the meeting depressed anyway.

  'We have the Tap-killer ready,' she said earnestly. 'It has passed our final testing. We tested it on the remaining prisoners and they are all fine, but Dry. We analysed the process and we are confident this exercises all the possible timing variations. You may deploy it at your earliest convenience.'

  I saw the message appear with the full details.

  'That is very good news, Safira, thank you,' I said. I'd been waiting for this moment for so long, I think I never quite expected it to happen. I have no choice but to trust them. 'I will start the process after this meeting. It will take me around a day to be ready to press the key to trigger it once I have propagated this to all the critical systems. I need to ensure my agents are all ready to step in and minimise the disruption, and spread the message of what has happened and why. This is going to be a traumatic time for humanity, and I must ensure I do everything to minimise the damage.'

  'Will you be OK?' asked Kwasi. 'You are likely to be hunted down and blamed for everything that goes wrong, no matter what you say, if the lesson of Raj is anything to go by.'

  'I know Kwasi,' I said, realising that thought probably came from his Kofi memories. 'If I am honest, I do not know what will happen to me. I may not survive, but that is not the most important thing right now. We must win this, and rid humanity of Raj's control. Many have died already, I will not be the first, nor probably the last.'

  'We will do everything we can to protect you,' said Safira. 'Besides any personal considerations, your guidance will be important for humanity's future, and also driving the push to free the rest of the Confluvium.'

  'Thank you,' I said. 'I will however transmit everything I know about what happened, and what I think needs to happen in the future, to help people understand. I'm sure humanity will survive without me if the worst happens. So what was the bad news?'

  'Kofi. We are concerned about him. He…does not seem himself,' Safira said, looking genuinely upset. 'Please take a look at his recent logs and see what you think.'

  I saw the message arrive and scanned over them quickly. Shit. That doesn't sound like Kofi.

  'Has he forgotten that he was automatically sharing his logs?' I asked. Not the most important thing, but it seemed indicative of a bigger problem if so.

  'Yes, it would appear so,' she said. 'He has always been fairly open with his thoughts and opinions, but they have always matched his personality and the way he behaved. Now he has changed. When we conjoined last night, I could feel he was different, holding things back from me, suspicious. He tasted bitter.'

  'What has happened?' I asked, feeling more and more distraught. I could feel Kofi slipping away so soon after getting him back.

  'I believe it is our fault, but it explains a wider problem,' she said. 'When we Safirans split off a kernel during mating, our consciousness expands and regrows to fill the gap, in the same way as the conjoined child grows. This does not appear to have happened for Kofi, which was unexpected. This is all new to us too, we thought we understood the process, but we were wrong.'

  'Is there anything we can do?' I asked. This can't be the end for Kofi.

  'We do not know, but there is one possibility', she said. I could see her trying to hold back her emotions. 'When we analysed what happened when we created Kwasi, we could see a difference between my kernel and Kofi's. There was, let's call it, a rigidness, an inflexibility, about Kofi's. Luckily my kernel was able to adjust for this and let it expand correctly as Kwasi matured. However, there was no such support for Kofi's consciousness to enable it to recover. This has triggered a breakdown in his personality, which is being manifest right now as a growing paranoia. He has been trying to hold himself together, but he is volatile. I believe the problem is accelerating. He may not be recognisable for long.'

  'So what is the possibility?' I asked, hoping she can give me something to hold on to.

  'We now realise this is the reason why we couldn't bring Kofi back in incorporeal form in the first place. We did not allow for this unexpected rigidity in his consciousness, which is probably derived from the fact that your minds have evolved in the constrained environment of your body. Knowing this, we can allow for it and believe we could now make his, or anyone's consciousness incorporeal. We are just finalising the technique, and if so we will attempt it on Kofi. It is his only chance, but we fear the damage may be permanent,' she said.

  Kwasi cut in. 'If I can, I will see if I can rebuild and repair him from my memories and knowledge of him. I do not know if it is possible, but it must be tried.'

  I could see that was news to Safira too. 'Thank you Kwasi, that may well help, but do not risk yourself too. I cannot lose both of you,' she said.

  'I will be careful Safira, but I must try,' Kwasi said. He definitely contains the determination of his parents.

  'Thank you, both of you. I know you will do what you can. We could not have got this far without Kofi, he deserves to be here when we win,' I said. Somehow I did not believe I would see Kofi again.

  'There is one final matter of interest. We believe a related problem to Kofi's has caused Raj's changed behaviour over recent years. If he had stayed as one consciousness in the Stream, we do not believe he would have had any problems. However he has split himself across the planets of the Confluvium, and reintegrates periodically. We believe that sometimes he may split his consciousness into his Lictor androids when there is something critical that cannot be carried out by the AI personalities. This has been a slower process, but has degraded his mental stability over time. He is showing more and more signs of paranoid, and at times schizophrenic, behaviour,' she said.

  'That would explain his increasing danger, and lack of care about the impact of what he does. He considers himself more important than the rest of the Confluvium. He certainly isn't the Raj Tamboli that existed before the Flood,' I said.

  'Indeed. This is another reason why he must be stopped before he does something catastrophic. It is in his power to do so,' she said.

  'You have both given me plenty to think about, but right now I need to get this Tap-killer moving so that I can deploy it tomorrow. It has been a pleasure to meet you Kwasi, and you again Safira. Thank you for all your help. We are nearly there. I want Kofi to witness it though, please do what you can.'

  'Of course, Geraldine. I will send you an update as soon as I can on Kofi,' she said, as they both disappeared.

  I didn't want to mention it, but I was disturbed by a couple of the things about the Safiran history that Kofi had uncovered. They had pretty dark times too in their past. I am taking a lot on trust here from the Safirans. I hope my trust is not misplaced, and that I have not been manipulated too. No matter what though, Raj needs stopping. I just hope I don't leave us open to something worse in exchange.

  Shit Kofi, what have we done to you? I can't bear it.

  Plog: Kofi Albus - ~30th Ianuarius 228PD

  It's funny how once your eyes are opened, you can't help but see what's going on around you, and how I've been duped for so long. Everything that's happening fits into this scheme of theirs. I'm so angry with myself for not realising. Not as angry as I am with the Safirans. They've played a long game. Once we're free of Raj's protection, they can make full use of us. They can feed on our energy, probably use us as symbionts even. We'd be better vessels than these stupid Bora.

  I need to get a message to Geraldine somehow, warn her what's happening. But how? Everything has to go via Safira. I am trapped.

  I now know what Kwasi is for. Kwasi has my memories. The memories of a human. He knows how everything works on Earth. There will be nothing to stop him.

  All that love crap was just to trick me into giving way, and let them create their monster.

>   Not as much of a monster as Safira of course. She's tricked me and Geraldine from the start.

  Or has she? I only have Geraldine's word what happened at that first meeting. She could have faked the log. Have they been working together all this time, trying to uncover what was protecting humanity from the Safirans? Why would Geraldine do that though? Maybe they can control our thoughts in the same way as Raj uses his benevolent guidance, and have been driving her since that first meeting. Yes, that makes most sense.

  What can I do? Fuck. Only way I can help is to kill them both. I'm unlikely to get a chance at both, so I need to prioritise. Which is most important, Safira or Kwasi? Shit, they both are. I'll just try to kill whichever one I meet first, and then go straight and find the other before they realise what's happening. I can do this. I must do this.

  I think if I surprise them, I can wrap around them and force conjoin, from what I see from the histories. I can subdue them and suppress them, push them all the way down so that their consciousness will take a while to recover. And then I kill the Bora. That's how Safirans used to kill each other in their deep past. It must still work.

  Fuck. Fuck. Both of them are together, coming to see me. I'll have to try to separate them. Act normal Kofi.

  'Hello Safira, hello Kwasi,' I said smiling. 'How was your trip to Geraldine?'

  'It went well, thank you Kofi,' said that bitch Safira. 'We gave her some good news, we have the Tap-killer ready.' Fuck, I might be too late. 'Geraldine sends you her love.'

  I snorted. Shit, I shouldn't have done that. They looked at each other, and walked apart, standing either side of me.

  'What are you doing?' I shouted, looking at one and then the other.

  'I am sorry Kofi, we cannot let this continue any longer,' said Safira. They moved closer and both wrapped their arms around me.

  I struggled, and shouted 'Get off me you bastards. I know what you're doing.' Fuck I just realised, now they have Kwasi, I'm expendable. 'Stop it!'

  'Relax Kofi, your struggle is over,' said Kwasi.

  [Logging force terminated]

  Plog: Geraldine Mander - 31st Ianuarius 228PD

  I think we're just about ready, at last.

  We're all set up and ready to deploy the Tap-killer. Well, with the exception of my agent in Montreal, who hasn't confirmed her readiness yet. That's just one extra level of redundancy though. It would speed up the deployment in North America if she was ready, but it will get there in the end anyway. I'll give her half an hour more, then I'll press this lovely little key.

  I was hoping to get a message from Safira about Kofi before I did it. I know things are going to fall apart right after, and I don't want any distractions then. I feel it won't be good news though.

  There's the last radio contact coming in from Montreal, about time.

  'Hello Montreal, all ready there?' I said into the microphone.

  'All taken care off here Geraldine,' said a male voice. That's not right.

  'Who is this? Please identify yourself,' I said.

  'Geraldine, how could you? How could you possibly forget my voice after such a short time. I am mortally wounded. At least I would be, if I was mortal,' said the voice back. Shit, Damon's voice. I hoped I'd heard the last of him.

  'Hello Damon, sorry about that. I was preoccupied with trying to kill you. I'm glad to get this chance to say goodbye,' I said. Time for a bit of mocking.

  'You can EMP me all you want, I'll keep coming back, and I'll find you soon. I'm not sure what the message you're preparing to transmit to everyone via this system is going to say, but it won't help. Even if people believe you, I can soon get them back under control,' he said. He's fishing. He still doesn't know exactly what we're doing.

  'Would you like to know exactly what we are about to send? I have my finger on the key, ready to send it. I guess it will take longer to get to North America now, but you won't stop it propagating round the long way,' I said.

  'Go on, enlighten me. Kitten videos?' he said.

  'Actually, no. I think I'll wait and let you be surprised. I'm sure you won't like it,' I replied, starting to enjoy myself slightly too much. I'm not the baddie here, so I shouldn't reveal my evil plans in too much detail.

  'Hold on, I've someone here who wants to talk to you,' he said. Odd.

  'Hello Geraldine, I thought we should speak in person,' said the same voice back. It had a different timbre though, a very weary, sombre tone. Shit, I know who this is, if our theories are right.

  'Who am I speaking to?' I said, trying to keep up the act while feeling out of my depth.

  'Have you not worked it out? This is Raj Tamboli of course,' he said. I knew it, but I'd rather not give too much away.

  'Raj? How can it be? You died on Flood day,' I said. I'm hoping taking a dumb approach might make him underestimate me.

  'Go away and work it out for yourself. I'm glad you know who I am at last, but I do not wish to discuss it,' he said tersely. 'Whatever you are about to do, I urge you to reconsider. I have worked my entire life long to keep humanity safe from itself. I now work to keep it safe from the threat of the Safirans. Do not be taken in by their reasonable words, they have their own agenda. You do not know what will happen if I am gone,' he said.

  'Raj, I don't doubt that you started this with the best of intentions, and without your intervention, humanity may not have survived. But look at what you have done since. You have subjugated other races. You have controlled people. You murder innocent civilians. You...' I was saying, before he interrupted, shouting.

  'They were not innocent! They were traitors to their own race!'

  'Even Mauro Sosa?' I said. 'All he did was discover something you didn't want people to know.'

  'He was a traitor by association, he was working for Kofi Albus, who worked for you. You, Geraldine Mander, former Decemvir and agent for the Safirans. You are the biggest traitor of all. I will not let you cause humanity to revert back into fascist savagery,' he said. I'm not sure if androids can foam at the mouth, but he was having a good try by the sound of it.

  'You cannot fight fascism by becoming the arch-fascist to rule them all,' I said, getting tired of this. I need to get on with it soon. I just need time to add this to my report logs, and then I'll press the key. At least I now have direct, logged evidence of Raj's existence.

  'How dare you! I have had nothing other than the best interests of humanity in mind at all times. Unlike you, I have not been duped by the enemy into aiding the destruction of humanity,' he ranted. 'You, you…quisling.' That's a nice archaic insult. I haven't been called a you you before.

  A message through from Safira. Time to get on.

  'Raj, I am tired of you. You performed a service for humanity that will not be forgotten. Now you are waste of space. Let me finish this,' I said, and disconnected the radio.

  Deep breaths, Geraldine. Calm yourself.

  Only a brief message from Safira:

  Kofi had to be subdued as he had become dangerous. Kwasi is attempting everything we can to restore him, but prepare yourself for the worst Geraldine, I am sorry. For full disclosure, please find attached Kofi's final log.

  Oh Kofi, I am so sorry. I am responsible for putting you in harm's way. I always admired your mental equilibrium, your sense of humour and your sharp witted mind. Seeing you lose that is hard to bear.

  Shit, that last log is dark. He's definitely spiralling down fast. His paranoia does make me think though. As confident as I am that I am doing the right thing, it is hard to say what evidence I have that would contradict his accusations. He is in the best place of all to judge; and yet I don't believe him, I trust Safira. She had no need to supply that log. Just because they are alien, it does not mean they are evil. Just because their race did bad things in the past does not mean they still do them. Look what we did in the days before the Flood. I trust people based on the way they behave, not where they come from.

  I will do this, in Kofi's memory. I do not know if I wish to survive it anymore
, but it must be done.

  Part 4: Exeunt Omnes

  Plog: Geraldine Mander - 31st Ianuarius 228PD

  That's it. That's all the evidence I have. I told you I would come back and summarise once I had presented the evidence. So here I am, sat about to press the key that will disconnect all your Taps from the Stream.

  In case you skipped things, these are the important points.

  Raj Tamboli is alive and living in the Stream

  He has been controlling your thoughts

  He has been killing people who don't fit in with his plans or who may uncover him

  We have subjugated and damaged all the other races in the Confluvium

  The Safirans are our friends, despite the deaths we have inflicted upon them

  We must stop using our bulk drive. It kills Safirans and causes damage they repair at great cost to themselves

  The Safirans can help us replace the bulk drive

  Raj Tamboli started with the best of intentions, but is now insane. We cannot remove him from the Stream, so we must remove us from his influence

  Clear enough? I cannot sit here and do nothing. I know this will cause chaos and confusion once you all lose access to the Stream. I am trusting that humanity has matured under Raj's guidance and will not revert back to the ways before the Flood. Let the Decemviri continue to guide us into the future, and let them decide how the world needs to change. We may be ready for democracy again, we may not. That is their decision, not mine. I do not wish my old position back, but I am here to help and support the recovery in any way the current Decemviri see fit. I will take any punishment they wish to impose on me. Kofi Albus should be absolved from any blame, he was doing my bidding at all times.

  Do not trust the Lictors, they must be destroyed.

  Once we get Earth back on track, we must save the other races in the Confluvium. Then we should destroy the remnants of the Stream to ensure Raj cannot return. He deserves rest, he served humanity well, but lost his way due to the things he had to do.