by M. D. Cooper
The pleasant memory was instantly swept away by guilt. She still hadn’t contacted her. But then, I’ve been so busy…
Erin put her hand over her eyes. The same excuse again.
Life on Carthage was complicated.
Maybe she should contact Isa now, while she had some free time. After all, the picotech wasn’t arriving until the following afternoon; she had plenty of time. She should contact Isa and tell her she’d like to see her again, maybe in a few days. Hopefully Nathan Hart would be in captivity by then.
Yes. That’s what she should do. It was the right thing, and it was what she wanted. Walter had been right back on Laconia when he’d pointed out that she’d wanted to settle down with someone for years. Decades.
So why do I find it so hard?
Erin squeezed her eyes shut. She would contact Isa, though the woman had probably gotten tired of waiting for her and was already seeing someone else. She’s probably—
“Gah!” Erin’s frustration got the better of her. She would Link to Isa. Now.
She had been thinking so intently of Isa that it took her a moment to realize that wasn’t who was contacting her. When she saw who it was, she was so surprised she sat upright.
The biologist hesitated for a second.
She gave a soft laugh.
She had been about to say that if she hadn’t switched to a different excavation method, she wouldn’t have uncovered a threat to New Canaan’s security. Instead, she said something that was also true.
After an awkward pause, Erin added,
She hadn’t gotten the impression that Martin was being anything but congenial when he’d taken her out in his boat. She’d thought he was only mending their awkward relations after getting off to a bad start.
What did she mean? Martin’s offer had caught her entirely off guard, but now that he’d made the suggestion, she found that she did want to see him again, very much.
She was having problems sleeping, after all. And she had nothing to do until tomorrow. Spending some time with Martin would be a distraction, if nothing else.
Erin agreed and said goodbye. As she got dressed to go out again, she wondered a little at what she was doing. She’d been fully intending to contact Isa, yet here she was about to go and meet someone else. Of course, there was nothing between her and Martin, but she still felt guilty somehow.
By the time she was ready to go out, Erin had gotten tired of trying to figure out what she expected or needed from these two new people in her life. She had enough to think about. She resolved to just enjoy a late evening with Martin and go with the flow.
When she arrived at the café, she saw that he’d picked the perfect spot. Their rendezvous was only a few meters from the sea wall and, at that late hour, the place was empty. A few couples strolled along the dockside, but otherwise, the port was also quiet.
The last scheduled ferry of the day had departed. Moored private yachts and catamarans bobbed gently on the low waves. Distant music and lights from one of the larger vessels told of a party going on, but somehow it only added to the quiet ambience of the scene.
Martin was waiting at a table outside the café. He noticed her approaching from afar, and stood up to bring a chair for her from another table. Erin’s heart lifted at the sight of the scientist, who had turned out to be quite different from the grumpy, slightly obstinate man she had first taken him for. She realized that she’d missed him since leaving the SATC site, and had regretted not having the chance to say goodbye in person.
She arrived at the table and ordered a cream soda from the servitor.
After standing again to politely kiss her cheek in greeting, Martin said, “Thanks for coming. It’s good to see you.” He sat down to sip his tea.
“Thanks for asking me. It’s good to see you, too. Your timing was perfect. This is just what I needed right now.”
“Really? I’m glad to be of service. Don’t worry, I won’t ask what it’s about. I get that what you do is classified. But whatever it is that’s going on, all I can say is that it’s a pity. I’d thought we’d be leaving violence and fighting behind by coming here. And I’m sorry you’re mixed up in it. I hope you aren’t in danger.”
“I try to stay as safe as I can. To be honest, I never thought I would be mixed up in anything like this, either. I’m just an engineer. I’m only trying to do my job. But it should all be over soon.” She paused and looked out across the water. The dark clouds were clearing, and one of Carthage’s moons was already in the sky, while the other was rising and casting a long, silvery, ruffled reflection on the waves. “This is a nice spot. You’re never far from the sea, are you?”
Martin smiled and shook his head in answer. “I grew up on Earth, on the Pacific Coast, right on the beach. I don’t think a day passed when I wasn’t near, in, or under the water. I was so young when I learned to swim that I don’t even remember it. Sometimes I think my blood is half seawater. You’re right, I’m just not comfortable if I’m away from the ocean for very long. How about you? You’re from Sol too, right?”
“Yes. I’m Marsian. Though, you know, it all seems so far away and so long ago. Such things don’t seem to matter anymore…I mean, both those places are gone. I see myself as a New Canaanite now.”
Martin nodded solemnly. “I try not to think about that…Earth and Mars, that is. Core, Victoria too. I’m glad we’re here, far from all that mess.”
The chatter from a group of people approaching along the quay distracted them from their conversation. The people were wearing wetsuits and carrying gear over their shoulders.
“Diving?” Erin said. “At this time of night?”
Martin shrugged. “It’s as good a time as any.”
The group halted near a set of stone steps t
hat led down into the water. Martin got up and walked over to them. After saying hello, he asked them what they were hoping to see. A discussion ensued where Martin explained what organisms were probably in the water and where the creatures were most likely to be found. The conversation dragged on, and Erin began to seriously wonder if Martin was going to join the group for their dive. His expression had come alive in the way it had when he’d taken her out on the boat.
Finally, he wished them luck and returned to the table. The divers put on their gear and dropped off the quay wall into the water. As they swam out of the port and into the bay, the light from their head lamps glowed beneath the water like deep sea creatures’ bioluminescence.
“Is there really that much for them to see yet?” Erin asked. “I thought you and the other marine biologists had only just begun to seed the oceans.”
“I think they have a good chance of seeing something interesting. Once you’ve started up an ecosystem and the conditions are right, you’d be surprised how quickly it takes off and becomes self-sustaining. The trick isn’t in the seeding, it’s in preventing things from getting out of hand. Just before I came to Landfall, I had to help out a colleague who….” Martin paused and smiled, embarrassed. “If I start talking shop again, I’ll never stop. And sorry for speaking to those divers for so long just then. I thought I’d give them a few tips, but I got carried away. I left you alone.”
“Hey, no problem. I’m guilty of obsessing about my work too. Don’t get me started on… Well, I can’t talk about anything I’m doing right now anyway.”
“Then what can we talk about?” Martin asked. “Looks like we’re going to be stuck for conversation. All we’re interested in is our work, but we can’t mention it without turning into total bores. What a pair we make, huh?”
Erin laughed. “Uh huh. Total pair of bores. Let’s just enjoy the scenery instead.”
She didn’t turn her gaze out to sea once more, however. She looked at Martin. He looked at her. After a few moments he leaned over to kiss her. It seemed the most natural thing in the world.
Much later, when they were in bed in Erin’s apartment, and she was curled against Martin’s back as he slept, Erin thought, Life on Carthage sure is complicated.
THE PLAN
STELLAR DATE: 12.06.8935 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Island of Cyprus, near Thrace
REGION: Carthage, 3rd Planet in the New Canaan System
Nathan squatted in his cave behind the armored vehicle. Everything was done. All he had left to do was wait, and he did it as conscientiously as he had done everything that Myrrdan’s agent had directed him to. As he stood silent and still, he monitored the noises around him, highly magnified by his enhanced hearing.
He listened to the drip of water from the stalactites. At first, he had thought the drips were regular, but he quickly realized they were chaotic. The realization gave rise to another thought—how had he discerned the chaotic pattern? He didn’t think the before-Nathan, the one of flesh and blood, could have arrived at the conclusion.
Had his brain also been altered, its capabilities upgraded? How could he find out? He invented a complex calculation, then set to work to figure out the answer. But he knew the answer before he worked on the problem. The numbers had become patterns in his mind, and the calculation was a meshing of the patterns. The answer was the perfect amalgamation of the colors and shapes, which dissolved into figures. He did not know how he had worked the problem out.
Nathan was forced to conclude that his brain had also been altered. A tinge of sorrow overlay the conclusion, arising from a hidden place somewhere inside. But he ignored the feeling. He must wait. He must listen. If he were discovered, he would have to leave.
A passage led from the back of the cave and wandered—narrow and rocky, but navigable—through the mountain’s interior until it opened on the other side of the gully. If he had to escape, he could go that way. He would be forced to abandon the armored vehicle. It would be unfortunate, but necessary. His worth was greater than the vehicle’s. That had been made clear to him. He must remain free and alive until the call came. What would happen to him after he stole the picotech, he did not know. He imagined that he would remain in hiding, perhaps performing small services.
Drips fell from the stalactites into the glinting pool, the tiny grains they carried adding to the mineral mounds that were forming beneath them. From outside the cave came the sound of the breeze rushing through the gully. A bird sang, three long notes, repeated over and over again.
It was the first bird Nathan had heard on Carthage. The place was coming alive.
Then came the sound of a footstep on loose rock. Nathan still did not move, but he turned all his attention to the noise. The person was around one hundred and fifteen meters from the cave, he estimated. More footsteps followed at a steady pace. The person was alone, and moving closer. A lone searcher? Did the sound have the quality of a Marine’s boots? Nathan could not confirm or deny his query.
Perhaps it would be prudent to make ready to leave. Nathan stood. He strode to the back of the cave and hovered at the opening of the passage. It was entirely dark there, and he would not be seen by human eyes, especially those adjusting from the brightness outside.
The footsteps drew closer. The person slipped on shale, then righted themselves. He or she was heading purposefully, directly to the cave. Had Nathan’s earlier conclusion been incorrect? Was this hiding place known to someone else?
A figure appeared at the cave entrance, silhouetted by beams of sunlight that had penetrated the surrounding vegetation.
“Nathan, come out.”
Myrrdan’s agent!
Nathan left the passage entrance and went past the vehicle to show himself to the person.
Myrrdan’s agent looked at him from head to toe. “I’d almost forgotten. You are quite the specimen, aren’t you? I did some excellent work on you. Tell me, is everything working? Have you experienced any difficulties?”
“None,” Nathan replied. He lifted his hand, palm facing the agent, to the military vehicle. “I did as I was instructed.”
“You did indeed. I heard all about it—had a hand in confusing their pursuit, as well. The attention was lamentable, but worth the risk. Fortunately for us, the relevant authorities seem entirely perplexed by your act. They are still debating whether or not it was only a moronic prank. All of which is to our advantage. Although you are now more of a vehicle than a human being, I had a strong suspicion that additional transportation would be necessary, and I have been proven correct.
“Nathan, I bring good news,” the agent went on. “The picotech is to be used again. They are too hasty to create their new, perfect world. The technology is just too tempting for them. Why take days or weeks to build something when it could be finished in minutes? But there’s more to it than that.”
Myrrdan’s agent came inside the cave and walked over to Nathan. “I’ve uploaded all the data you require into this.”
Nathan looked down at the long pin, like a toothpick, in the agent’s hand.
“Bend down to me so I can insert it.”
Nathan did as he was instructed, though he didn’t know exactly what part of his new body the agent needed access to.
A pair of human eyes stared into Nathan’s own. He saw the pointed end of the pin draw nearer, and then the agent pushed it into a port in the corner of his eye. The insertion was painless, though the sensation was odd. He found that he could immediately access the new information. He saw that the picotech was to be deployed to help build the second space elevator. He also saw the positions of all the troops that were guarding the site and supporting armaments. Finally, the secret locations of three military pinnaces were revealed.
“I am sure you can see their intention, can you not?” Myrrdan’s agent asked.
Nathan’s enhanced brain had indeed reached the conclusion the agent was referring to seconds beforehand.
“It is a trap,” he said.
<
br /> It was the first time he had uttered a sound since his enhancement. His voice sounded unfamiliar. It was another person’s voice, recreated via circuits.
“It is indeed a trap,” confirmed the agent. “They intend to capture you. Perhaps that is their entire reason for using the picotech again. No matter. They will not succeed. You see the plan? You are confident that you understand?”
“I do, and I am.”
“Hmm. Tell it to me then. I want to be sure.”
Nathan related the scheme that had been uploaded to his mind, word for word, exact and emotionless. He was, however, experiencing emotions—strong emotions—it was only that the artificial voice he had been given did not convey them. He felt joy and great excitement. Finally, he would be able to complete the task.
“Yes,” Myrrdan’s agent said. “You have it perfectly. How I would love to be there when you deprive them of their precious picotech. I would love to see the looks on their faces when they realize they were outwitted before they even thought up their pathetic attempt. But, sadly, I will be elsewhere, patiently maintaining my little confection of deceit. Ah, well.”
Myrrdan’s agent returned to the cave opening. “Good luck, Hart. Or whatever you are now.”
“Wait,” Nathan said. Desperation clawed beneath the monotonous voice.
He had discovered that the plan was missing an essential element. Myrrdan’s agent had forgotten the most important part.
“What is it?” the agent asked. “What’s wrong? I can’t stay much longer.”
“I cannot see…” Nathan checked the new information. It was not there. He was sure. “What happens after? I cannot see what I am to do after I have stolen the picotech module.”
The agent scowled. “Don’t be stupid. Isn’t it obvious? I found you here, didn’t I? I will find you again to retrieve it. That is all.”
The dark figure quickly left, and Nathan heard hurried footsteps across the rough, loose rocks. He didn’t dare follow the agent. He knew it would be wrong. It was daylight outside. He had to avoid discovery at all costs, and the agent would not want to be seen with him. But the person hadn’t answered his question. He hadn’t been asking how he would give over the module; that was obvious.