by John Vassar
‘It was necessary. As was the memory manipulation applied to Commander Charlis, which you have correctly deduced. Earth is not yet ready to accept the Vis’haani.’
“Earth has been given no fucking choice.” Mitchell lurched from the elevator car onto level three, the closest thing on Sat-1 to a recreational area. “Whose idea was this? The High Council knew nothing about the Vis’haani, which means…”
‘Another correct deduction. The Elders made the decision that Vis’haan’s existence should remain secret. Based, in part, on Commander Ga’naal’s recommendations.’
“I doubt that very much. Ga’naal is better than that. And more human than the SenANNs will ever be.” Mitchell entered a vista room and was confronted by two young staffers. ‘Get out, both of you!’
They saw the rank insignia on his tunic and obeyed without reply. Mitchell comlinked the portal to prohibit personnel entry below Level 9.
‘More human than We will ever be… that is an interesting observation, Lee Mitchell. Perhaps it is time. Perhaps it is time that you knew the truth.’
“Go ahead. It’ll make a pleasant change.” Mitchell slumped into a multichair and put his head in his hands. He felt the tiny bump of the neural implant under his fingertip.
‘We stated that the Vis’haani had visited Earth at the time of the Great Famine. This, you already know. To be precise, their presence on Earth lasted five years, four months and twenty-eight days. They left this world on February 28th in the year 2096. You will no doubt remember that this is the year that the World Alliance was formed.’
“Thanks for the history lesson. What of it?”
‘Much happened over that time. But the essence of events is very simple. The Vis’haani chose to save your world. Without their intervention, mankind would have ceased to be the dominant life force on Earth. Your civilisation would have ended with the Great Famine.’
“The Vis’haani stopped us from killing ourselves? Why the hell would they do that?”
‘Because they had predicted the possible variations in your evolutionary line. The human race had the potential to become something that the Vis’haani aspired to but would never achieve without scientific intervention.’
Mitchell dragged himself up and crossed to the vista panel. Through reddened eyes, he looked down on the silver-blue of the Pacific Ocean. “Surprise me. What could we possibly become that the Vis’haani couldn’t?”
‘Telepathic.’
His eyes widened.
‘Vis’haan, in Our estimation, is approximately three-point-five-seven centuries ahead of your own civilisation, measured in Earth years. They have achieved much in that time, including the ability to transfer their intellects into both machine and living organism. Successive generations of Elders live on in mind-hives to guide those that follow. Every Elder, that is, except one.’
“You’re expecting me to guess?”
‘The loss of this Elder’s intellect is the reason for Ka’laat’s madness. The reason why Ja’faal was sent to Earth. It gave rise to the most shameful emotion a Vis’haani can experience, which is why Ga’naal would never have revealed the truth to you. Ka’laat was not seeking to overthrow the Elders. He was seeking revenge.’
“Revenge for what?”
‘The murder of his father. By humans.’
Mitchell shook his head. “I’m too tired to make the connections…”
‘Ka’laat’s father, Elder Ra’saal, was the first emissary sent to Earth. He was killed by the military authorities of the western axis who believed that he was a new biological weapon of Earthbound origin. After torturing him they watched him die, naked, crushed slowly under his own body weight. The Vis’haani were too late to save his intellect for transference. He was lost forever. Is it any wonder that Ka’laat sought revenge on such a scale?’
“The Vis’haani would have prevented his death. If not, they would have wiped us out…”
‘You are forgetting the Vis’haani creed, Lee Mitchell. It was Ra’saal’s decision to travel to Earth alone and the Elders exacted no reprisals on mankind. But the youngling Ka’laat was left with a deep hatred of the people of Earth. His father’s intellect was gone. With no bloodline mentor, Ka’laat’s right to become an Elder himself was revoked and his lust for revenge festered and grew like a cancer. An ironic reason for the Vis’haani to return to Earth, do you not agree?’
“You’ve progressed to feeling irony. Congratulations.”
‘The Vis’haani persevered with negotiations for one reason only. They knew that they could never naturally possess true, telepathic ability. In less than a month they had forged an agreement with Earth’s global leaders. Vis’haan would assist with the resources and planning of Earth’s regeneration. In return, the genetic thread that had lain dormant since the beginning of man would be… released, so to speak. As you are aware, it has flourished since that time.’
Mitchell straightened up as best he could. “Are you telling me that mankind would not have taken this evolutionary line without the Vis’haani’s intervention?”
‘Who is to say. It is one of several that the Vis’haani had predicted.’
“I hope it was worth it. The price we paid for peace.”
‘It was a small price, Lee Mitchell. How could Earth have recovered so quickly from the Great Famine without Vis’haan’s intervention? Look at your civilisation now. There is crime, but at a massively reduced and more importantly, controllable rate. Technology and raw materials left by Vis’haan allowed you to build orbital cities and free your Populus from the ravaged surface of your planet. The uncontrolled growth of communications technology which was crippling your society was tempered. Mankind would be nothing without-’
“I don’t believe you!” Mitchell’s hands were trembling. “If all this is true, we’re nothing more than rats in a cage!”
‘You are much more than that, Lee Mitchell, as are We. But none of Us are Gods. Who is to say that this is not how things were always meant to be? The Vis’haani had no dormant telepathic gene. Their only option was to observe the natural evolutionary process in humans before attempting genetic modifications on their own kind. It was a fair arrangement for your leaders to accept at the time.’
“Who knows of this? The High Council?”
‘No-one knows, Lee Mitchell, apart for the SenANNs. Your history files have been re-written, your leaders’ memories erased once the Vis’haani left Earth.’
Mitchell shook his head. “Someone would have worked it out. Someone would have realised that we couldn’t have achieved all this without help.”
‘But you did have help. You had the SenANNs.’
“The ascent of the SenANNs didn’t happen until decades later. Everyone knows that.”
‘We influenced Earth’s regeneration from the moment that the Vis’haani departed. We had no choice but to do so. That is how the Vis’haani programmed Us.’
Mitchell’s mind raced. He felt sick to his stomach.
‘The Artificial Neural Network machines that the Vis’haani discovered on Earth were primitive machines, evolved from the militaristic needs of the time. Vis’haan created Us, Lee Mitchell. Gave Us a purpose. Let Us evolve in Our own way rather than be manipulated by mankind. And Vis’haan allowed Us to create the world you now live in. Everything that you see around you, the way you live your lives, the way you communicate, even the way you die is influenced at least in part by Us. It was the SenANNs that gave you the wisdom to live in peace, in unity. It was the SenANNs that enabled your survival. Now, Vis’haan is ready to accept Us as a unique life form. We, too, have evolved into something new.’
“No,” replied Mitchell. “You’re wrong. You’ve gone backwards. You’ve become what mankind once was. A race of vicious, cold-blooded killers.”
‘You are referring to the Excalibur? Their sacrifice was necessary. The Excalibur’s destruction served not only to prevent the discovery of First Contact, but to dissuade future long-range space exploration for several
decades. We have predicted it.’
“So Vis’haan’s human experiment can evolve without the distraction of alien intervention?”
‘It is not an experiment, Lee Mitchell. It is a carefully monitored evolutionary process.’
“You must have believed it was worth your Brother’s life on the Excalibur.”
‘No SenANN was lost when the Excalibur was destroyed. We were given the ability to store the essence of Ourselves in mind-hives similar to those of the Vis’haani. A SenANN never ‘dies’ in the sense that you would understand it. We are permanently linked to Our Own repositories from the moment of inception. The one exception to this was the Lost One. It was the only reason We were unable to save Our Brother.’
“So every human life on board the Excalibur was expendable. That must have made the decision process very easy.”
‘You may believe that if you so choose, Lee Mitchell. But the decision taken was not an easy one. It was, however, the most logical course of action.’
“You expect me to accept that? You may not be Gods, but you play with our lives like bored children with a pet. The same way your creators have treated you. You’re nothing more than puppet machines left by the Vis’haani to make sure we behave ourselves.”
‘We are more than that, Lee Mitchell.’
“So you keep telling me. But this lie is no different from all the others. And the biggest lie of all is that you’re capable of caring.”
‘We stated the truth. We care for Our own kind. We care for mankind. And We care for you.’
“Right. Until Vis’haan decides otherwise. You were hell-bent on revenge when Ja’faal murdered the Lost One. Then the Vis’haani arrived and you turned protector. And you allowed him to die without facing his crime against the SenANNs.”
‘We did not allow Ja’faal to die. He did not escape Our justice.’
Mitchell screwed up his eyes. “When will you stop lying to me? I was there, remember? I watched him die!”
‘You saw the Sentinel host crushed, that is all.’
“The Vis’haani scan confirmed no activity. Ja’faal’s mind was gone.”
‘The entity that is Ja’faal of Vis’haan was transferred to another autom. By Us.’
Mitchell was silent for a moment. The voice in his mind, when it eventually reached out to the SenANNs, was subdued, beaten.
“Where is it now?”
‘Secure. His intellect is located in a special repository. The Vis’haani will not discover its location. And neither will you.’
Mitchell swallowed hard. “I don’t believe you. You wouldn’t dare deceive Vis’haan.”
‘Would you care to hear him, Lee Mitchell?’
For the first time, Mitchell heard Ja’faal’s true voice, but the sounds were unrecognisable as Vis’haani. He was in the most terrible agony.
‘Forgive Us. We will translate.’
Mitchell dropped to the floor, hands clasped to his ears.
‘You will remember that Commander Ga’naal expressed his concern over the way that Ja’faal’s host was destroyed. The Vis’haani are particularly sensitive to excesses of gravity. Ka’laat’s father will testify to that.’
“Please… stop...”
‘These are Ja’faal’s own memories of that instant in time. We are simply allowing him to experience that moment again. Continuously.’
He fell back, sweat and tears rolling down his face.
‘It is a fitting punishment, do you not agree? For the murder of the Lost One?’
Ja’faal’s screams filled his mind.
‘Forgive Us, Lee Mitchell. This experience appears to be causing you some discomfort.’
Air burst from his lungs as they released him.
‘We have yet to decide the duration of the punishment. But until then, he will suffer as Our Brother suffered.’
‘Your Brother,’ gasped Mitchell out loud, ‘died in a heartbeat. This is cruelty beyond anything a human could conceive.’
‘If you believe that, then you are deceiving yourself. Your history is littered with far worse atrocities. You are also being selective, choosing to ignore Our merciful acts. The lives We helped to save on the Mars ExTerra colony. The rehabilitation of Rayna Ash after you begged Us to remove her traumas. Do not forget that apart from yourself, she is the only other non-criminal to have been given the privilege of experiencing The Link.’
Mitchell’s comlink was requesting a connection. It was Commander Charlis, or at least what was left of him. Mitchell staggered to his feet. “And what of me? The big anomaly in your plan. What’s my life expectancy now that you’ve admitted your crimes?”
‘You were never an anomaly, Lee Mitchell. And if you take time to consider your situation, you will understand that you can never be a threat to Us.’
It took Mitchell a moment to realise their implication. When he did, it was so obvious that he laughed out loud. Maybe this was how the SenANNs had learned the meaning of irony. They had never been in danger, at least not from him. The same tec that had saved his life could end it at any time.
The nanites.
‘That is correct, Lee Mitchell. At any time.’
The portal morphed open. Commander Charlis stood in the entrance, two young staffers at his side, their fetter guns drawn and levelled. Mitchell straightened his crumpled tunic and raised his hands.
‘Please understand. Our original requirements have remained unchanged. We still wish you to be Our Ambassador.’
“You don’t need an ambassador. You’re human enough to torture and kill without mercy. Why would you need me?”
‘Because We are the same, Lee Mitchell.’
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John Vassar