Blake's 7 - 04 - Afterlife

by Tony Attwood

  As she worked Vila looked over Korell's shoulder. She let him, confident that whereas Avon would have seen clues at once Vila would hardly bother to concentrate on the progressions she was inventing. As it turned out her guess was right. Avon would immediately have concentrated on the aspects of their time together which Korell did not list. Vila didn't seem to notice.

  Korell looked at the embryonic program. At the commencement she added 'Blake' and at the conclusion 'Avon'.

  Find the link between the two, she knew, and she could have the whole mission tied up without further ado. The clue to the link was somewhere in that program, but she couldn't see it nor could the Blake computer operating in a much-reduced capacity. Back on Gauda Prime it had all seemed so much easier. Now she began to suspect that Avon had been playing with her. He knew she would sit in Revenge and wait for him, and whilst doing so would review the evidence. For that reason he had removed certain key sections from the Blake computer which stopped the logical links between those six points being analysed.

  Remaining true to her personality Korell did not slam a fist on the table, nor pace up and down the room restlessly. But inside she vowed to make Avon pay for this particular burst of egotism.

  She turned to the options at her disposal. She could either do nothing, take off, or try and contact Avon. Physical contact was out of the question since Avon had clearly walked a considerable distance when he had left Revenge. In the frozen wasteland that the planet had become, the only way to make the journey was wearing thermal protection suits, which were hardly standard issue for space freighters. That left the option of wearing space suits, which equally was hardly feasible for a two mile walk in normal gravity. And since she wasn't going to run away, that brought back the single option of contacting Avon without leaving the ship.

  Korell felt like a child being led along a pre-planned path. She gave Blake a series of commands, and expressed no surprise when the computer accepted them. Certain higher level pathways within the computing complex had been left open.

  'The link to Avon's position will only work under certain conditions. Those conditions have been met. I can put you in touch with Avon, ' said Blake formally.

  'Wait, ' called Korell, stopping the computer just in time. 'What were the conditions?'

  'That five hours should pass between the take-off andyour requesting contact; that during the time you should not have tried to make contact with any other person, that Avon should not have called in with a code word himself, and that no landings should have been made on Terminal. '

  'Trustful isn't he?' said Vila, watching with interest. 'It's a typical Avon move. Leave us in the dark, set up a load of instructions in the computer. He probably told Blake to reduce himself to rubble if you tried to call Servalan. Isn't that right Blake?'

  Blake confirmed it was, more or less so. 'Very well, ' said Koreli. 'We talk to him on his terms. Let us communicate. '

  The picture that came on the screen was clear. Avon was sitting with his back to a panel of controls, flashing lights and computer equipment. As contact was made he spun round and smiled. 'Koreli, Vila, come over here. There is work to do. ' /

  'Two reasons why not, ' said Vila. 'One is you've made it so cold outside it must be near absolute zero, and two because I don't like the sound of work. '

  'There is an entry port one hundred and twenty yards ahead of the ship, ' Avon said. 'You can make it wearing space suits. Or you can stay in Revenge if you like. ' And with that he cut contact.

  Despite the inevitable protests of Vila they got into their suits, left the ship and began the slow trudge through the permafrost. The sky above was pitch black, with only a handful of stars shining this far from the galactic centre. There was no sense of movement, any more than there was on a normal planet, for in many ways Terminal was a normal planet. It just happened to be travelling between the stars rather than around one of them.

  As they walked Vila complained of the cold, the weight of the suit, the distance to the entry bay, the likelihood of getting lost, and then suddenly he shut up. In the distance there was a moan, turning rapidly into a shriek. For a split second it made Vila stand still. Then as the sound repeated, only this time closer, it made him move faster than

  Koreli would have thought possible. She followed him, frightened but curious.

  The entrance turned out to be a set of glass-covered panels with white surrounds raised at 45 degrees to the ground. Koreli and Vila approached cautiously, but as soon as they were next to the entry bay one of the panels swung back to reveal not the staircase that Vila expected, but a single chamber, with room for two. Vila looked at the enclosed space cautiously. A sudden movement near him made him leap forward. Koreli moved equally quickly and they collided together in the small chamber. The outer door remained wide open, enabling them to make out in the starlight a hideous form. It was perhaps thirty feet tall with wide wings and a bullet-like head. There appeared to be two massive hind legs, although it was the two much smaller fore legs thrashing about in die air that gained closer attention. These were the ones that would do the damage. One swipe from either would leave the victim torn in two. The creature obviously knew where Koreli and Vila were standing, presumably from the smell, for it was difficult to see anything in the mediocre star light. It made its way relentlessly towards them, crunching the hard frost as it walked. In total desperation Vila searched for any sort of control mechanism that would activate the door, but there was none. As he looked back out the creature made it to the entrance hatch and put out a forelimb to pick up Koreli.

  Vila swore ever after that Avon left the closing of the hatchway until the last moment to derive some morbid pleasure from seeing how dependent Koreli and he were upon Avon, now that Terminal was on the move. Certainly inside the control room Avon had managed to get a number of surface monitors working, including one which now showed a clear picture of the creature stomping around the hatchway wondering where its prey had gone. For several moments after the hatchway had closed and the lift began to take them down Vila continued to look straight ahead in dumb horror.'Instant transmutation, ' Avon pronounced when Koreli asked for ail explanation of the creature's origins. 'Life on this planet genetically transmutes to adapt to changing circumstances. It's the survival pattern that the original seeding introduced by the Terminal Consortium. They were looking for new life forms and new food supplies. They certainly got the former. '

  Korell noted the comment (or rather lack of it) on the latter. But having got away from the creature she showed no further interest in looking outside. She was more fascinated with every aspect of the interior of the man-made planet, and Avon showed no hesitation in letting Korell discover the layout of this section of the planet. As he had conjectured, the central power machinery and its controls had not been damaged by the devastation wreaked by Servalan. Although some of the passageways were dusty they allowed free access through this level and the one above. There were sleeping quarters close by, along with plenty of food concentrates and a variety of clothing.

  'Korell, I need to know much more about the forces that operate this ship and the way it is manoeuvered. The controls are over there, ' Avon indicated across the room with a wave of one hand. 'Vila, I want those compartments open, and also the five doors on the right in the corridor outside this room. '

  Asked to work in his own speciality and still shaking from his experience on the surface Vila readily agreed, but stopped work almost immediately when he discovered that Korell had refused to join in. 'Avon, ' she said, 'I concede that a whole planet could be more comfortable than a spaceship and is certainly somewhat more spacious, but that in itself is not sufficient reason for coming here, going through the melodramatics and getting Terminal on the move. Before I start work which will result in my giving you the secrets of this planet, I want to know why I am giving them to you and what I am getting out of it. ',

  Avon did not trouble to argue. 'I am going to finish the work I set out to do five years ago, and
this time there will be no error. The Federation is used to thinking about me in relation to Blake and all his political activities, and have forgotten my real interest in life. And with the way I have it planned they won't even know what I have done. I am going to break the banking cartel, totally, finally and utterly, by removing from the system ten thousand million credits. '

  Vila's attempts to make space travel more bearable were continuing to bear fruit, and in a way that he could never have dreamed possible. Not one single second of his time on Terminal seemed to weigh on Vila's hands. There were an infinite number of doors to open: cupboards, safes, bedrooms, food stores, drinks cabinets, computer access panels. They had all been locked before the last occupants of this level had left. And whatever the reason for their departure they had certainly not left in a hurry. Everything was put away in its place, waiting to be reclaimed at some future unspecified date. Sometimes Vila found electronic components that had Avon almost overwhelmed enough to thank him. Sometimes he opened up bypass channels that freed data banks which kept Korell awake for twenty-four hours at a stretch checking them through. And sometimes he found stores of relaxants that had himself and KAT in ecstasy for hours on end.

  The underground locations went on for ever, and as time passed Vila seriously began to wonder if it was possible to walk around the whole planet on the inside. If that were so, he calculated (with the help of KAT during one of their more sober moments) then it would, at their present rate of progress, take them three hundred and twenty-seven years to make their way round the world once, and they would still have consumed only about one tenth of one percent of the relaxants and stimulants they came by.

  Here at last he had found his life's work. True, the adoring masses that he had dreamed of were not there to sing his praises, but Korell was always pleasant, and even Avon seemed to have reduced his natural hostility to Vila by one or two degrees. Indeed, so involved was Vila in the whole activity of moving around the planet that the fact that he had been told little of Avon's grand plan for the ten thousand million credit swindle caused him little concern. But nudged on by the ever-curious KAT it did gradually dawn on him that they were approaching Earth and it might be advantageous to know a little of what to expect. Sensibly, Vila chose a moment to ask when Koreli too was present. Avon was surprisingly forthcoming, but did, he noticed,

  talk more to Koreli than to Vila.

  'The Administration's credit system on Earth was set up with the one simple idea of enabling the Federation to expand. All other functions are secondary and hence dealt with by lower levels of computer operation. The troops out on the frontiers need to be paid, and so do the civilian workers. Also whenever a new planet is brought into the Federation the old currency is immediately declared invalid and Federation Credits are brought in, effectively tying the planet to the Federation economic system. They gain complete Federation control - political, military and economic.

  'The economic dependence by the planets is secured by ensuring that all development comes only through long term loans at punitive rates of interest. Whenever the planets can't pay, the loans are renegotiated over even longer periods. So when there is a political uprising the Federation can agree to the planet's independence just as soon as all outstanding debts are paid off. This can't happen so the control is maintained; those wanting withdrawal are forced into violent confrontation and the violence of the Federation is legitimised. It is a standard pattern which has been practised as far back as history goes. '

  Vila looked as if he were going to make a comment. Avon cut him off, continuing with his exposition. 'To reduce corruption at the Federation end the whole system has long been computerised - not just the handling of the day to day 'banking functions but also the decisions as to which loans are granted. ' Avon turned away to the banks 'of machinery.

  'Terminal Computer, ' he called.

  'On line' came the response. The voice was cold,

  mechanical, emotionless. It was the sort of computer that Avon could work with.

  'What is the economic situation of planet Aarn-12?'

  'The planet has a debt of 537 million credits over a twenty year period. Repayment of the loan is progressing behind schedule. '

  Avon turned back to his companions. There was no triumph in his voice, no sign that his major strategy was drawing to fulfilment. The computer continued. 'Facilities for the loan were already in existence when we landed. And according to the loan control computer on Aarn-12 they still have what they think they have always had, debts of 500 million. But Finance-7, the main banking computer on Earth, registers them as having 507 million. Since the debt will never be recovered the difference is irrelevant and will not be discovered. Particularly since the aim of Finance-7 is to increase planetary debts. When it does that it is functioning at full efficiency and has no program instructions to cross-check how it got there.

  'Meanwhile, the remaining seven million is in a credit file logged in an account controlled by Kerr Avon. Where are the accounts Avon?'

  'On the seven hundred and thirty-one planets which have computer links with Terminal. Those planets all jointly sponsored the research on Terminal, and used the links to retrieve data from the experiment. It seems they didn't trust the research teams that were out here to tell them what was going on. Those links can take us into the heart of the computer systems on each of those planets without anyone ever knowing data is coming through. With a billion transactions passing a day, from grain forcasts to starship docking patterns, no one is going to look into one person depositing credits, especially when it helps their banking reserves. '

  'Avon this is brilliant. ' Vila was overcome. 'You know, ' he added on reflection, 'I particularly like the bit where I don't get shot. '

  'There is just one other thing we have to do. '

  'Yes?' said Vila more rapidly than he meant. He was so overwhelmed by the scheme he was ready to take on anything.

  'It is just possible that during a routine cross check on Finance-7 by the other economic computers some of the discrepancies will be discovered. That is no problem in itself because the computer will just consider itself better off than it thought it was. But if the check reveals that all the discrepancies occurred during the same two month spell, that could spell disaster. I need to go to Earth to modify two

  circuits in Finance-7. '

  Vila stared. 'You are not seriously telling us that you intend to present yourself on Earth to the Administration? Hasn't it occurred to you that you could be recognised?'

  Avon did not answer. Korell tried a different tack. 'A teleport system would have helped, ' she said. She had a nasty feeling that the more Avon explained, the less she understood of what was really going on.

  11

  Avon pressed a control. 'Terminal Computer, attack alert. '

  A wide range of lights flashed on and two sirens sounded. Avon silenced them with the touch of another contact. 'Full alert acknowledged. Defence capability ninety three percent in operation, ' announced the computer.

  'It's not Federation. Not approaching Earth like that without a command ship at the front, ' said Korell.

  'And without anything coming up on computer chatter, ' said Vila watching his monitors. 'They ought to be telling the Administration to put on a major reception for that sort of fleet. '

  'Well now, if that is not a Federation fleet and it's not the Administration's own troops, then there is only one person who would dare to drive this sort of fleet against Earth. '

  'Servalan!'

  'If Servalan is attacking the Administration on Earth, where are the Federation forces?' asked Korell. She looked worried.

  'Grid reference 489273. ' The voice was that of Terminal Computer.

  Everyone peered closely at the monitors. There, sure enough, was a Federation fleet, complete with battle cruisers and warships, bearing in on Servalan's forces. As they watched the Federation forces split into two, one splinter continuing the movement towards Servalan and the other section headin
g towards Earth.

  Avon reacted rapidly. 'Terminal Computer, give me an analysis of the activities of the fleets on the screen. '

  The computer's answer was immediate. 'The force under the command of Servalan is engaged on an attack upon Earth's Administration. At the same time there is a defence force from the Administration which is currently passing Mars orbit on its way to meet this fleet. ' Vila pointed to a number of dots which represented the Administration's own ill-equipped, and probably ill-prepared small fleet now clearly launched on its way. 'The Federation fleet is commanded by Yardynn. ' Koreli repeated the name. 'You know him?' asked Avon.

  'He's a star fleet commander - one of the Academy's bright young things. In fact, now I come to think of it, he trained as a pilot in the same year that your old friend Tarrant did. He's been making noises recently about the need to re-establish a firm hand, and how the Administration is too weak willed to control the Military. A lot of noise, but I don't think anyone really anticipated a direct attack on Earth by him. It would make sense, though. After making all the threats and getting away with it he's probably been goaded by other officers to put some action where his mouth is. So now he's using the opportunity of Servalan's attack to get rid both of her and the civil Administration on Earth. He's aiming to be the new President and Supreme Commander all rolled into one. '

  'A three-sided civil war, ' said Vila. 'Servalan, Yardynn's Federation troops and the Earth Administration troops. And I wouldn't give much chance for Earth. They can't be used to fighting with the likes of Servalan and Yardynn. And where does that leave us, Avon?'

  'Exactly where we were before. Whoever wins, there will be a need for an economy and expansionist policies to try to mop up pockets of resistance and establish a new order. '

  Vila disagreed. He decided that it was time for panic measures. 'If we get out now, Avon, we'll have five million. That's enough. Get Terminal under way. '