The Alpha Choice

by M. D. Hall

  She told him of her own thoughts, and the continuing danger posed to Gorn.

  ‘I think you are right, up to a point. The saboteur may be afraid that the boy will remember something else. In fact, he may already have told Kirion of matters which are not part of the official record. If there is something more, he will not want to make it known for fear of what will happen to him. He is not stupid, and will suspect that the teleport was not malfunctioning, whatever Darl has told him.’

  ‘I agree,’ she replied. ‘What of the girl who witnessed the incident?’

  ‘She was in the wrong place at the wrong time, our friend will have no interest in her.’

  He continued. ‘This, neatly leads me to our resolution, something I suspect you did not want to confront,’ the look on Tala's face confirmed his suspicion. ‘You are my greatest student, Tala, yet you lack the will to make harsh decisions.’

  ‘You’re wrong, Garnoth, I know what has to be done and accept it.’

  ‘I am not wrong, and you know it. Your reaction, to being manipulated on Telluria, was one of self-loathing. Beron, for all that he is a fool, would have had no such qualms. Even now, you merely accept what must be done. If you were being objective you would welcome it as the solution to our present impasse.’

  She smiled, realising she could not hide herself from her old mentor.

  ‘Your need to apply subjectivity may make you even more effective, as long as you do not lose your objectivity,’ he paused before asking his next question, a question that was more than tinged with a little mischief. ‘You are convinced of my innocence?’

  ‘I am.’

  ‘When deciding my guilt, were you being objective or…subjective?’

  Tala shook her head. ‘Objective, of course, I didn’t start from the premise that you wouldn’t betray our people. You are more than capable of doing that, if it suits your purpose. You are the most calculating, self-serving person I have ever known,’ she paused for a response, some reaction, there was none. ‘Yet, despite looking at this from every angle I could think of, I couldn’t come up with a single reason why you would have done this. There is no scenario where you personally benefit from what has happened. The only possible conclusion I could draw, was that you are innocent.’

  He leaned forward and took her hands in his own. Looking into her eyes, he winked and said. ‘That’s my girl!’

  After a moment they separated, and Garnoth returned to business. ‘You will report to Darl, confirming that I have made a full confession. You have ascertained that I had no direct contact with any other rebels and all communication was through the Avatar. Clearly, I had underestimated the consequences of altering its base subroutines. By removing its fundamental need to protect our people, I inadvertently allowed it to incriminate me, it was no longer subject to the overwhelming instruction to protect me. When faced with what it had done, damaging its master by incrimination, logic left it with no choice but to self-destruct. The most efficient way of achieving that was to charge the troopers.

  ‘I will make a full confession to you in Darl's presence, then as we both know, I will open the door to oblivion. Because Darl will be present when it happens, no blame will attach to you. I will seek to antagonise the man, so as to elicit some threats, he is easily manipulated. This will give you the moral high ground should he seek to cast around for blame. The whole incident will be recorded. Once the only perceived threat to his continued well-being is removed, the boy Gorn may be more inclined to unburden himself to you, that is if he really does have anything to add.’

  Tala thought that he had finished, when he added. ‘I may have been wrong about the girl, Trang. Intrinsically, she is of no value to our friend but if she is special to Gorn, our friend may use her to get to him. I advise you to keep an eye on both of them.’

  With that he stood up. Their last private meeting was over. No more words were said before Tala departed and Garnoth remained standing for a few moments after she left.

  As Tala wandered along the corridor leading from the cell, it crossed her mind that her mentor was being unduly optimistic about her chances of success. Anyone who could get the better of Garnoth would be difficult to find. If she failed, then his death would be pointless. Any sympathy she should have felt for her mentor was tempered by the knowledge of what he had made her do in the signing room, why does that keep coming back to me?

  Ω

  Gorn had found it tricky to route the visual and audio feeds to his system without leaving any footprint, particularly as he had to consider the mysterious person who had caused the blackout. Even though he had assured Trang he did not think they were in danger from the interloper, it would not pay him to be careless. The Avatar could have sorted this in an instant. He was already missing his machine friend.

  After he watched Tala leave Garnoth's cell, he sat back and looked at Trang. ‘This is certainly not what I expected, it looks as though we’ve found ourselves a protector.’

  Ω

  Garnoth sat down on his bench, thinking over everything that had happened, not long now, he thought. Why did she omit to mention my behaviour in the signing room, and that interesting little object? He recalled the look on her face during the brief moments she held the glowing Artefact. She is holding things back from me. He looked up at the now inert monitor, and smiled.

  Had Gorn still been observing the fallen spymaster, his blood would have chilled at the sight of that smile.

  Δ

  Jon did not condone Jane toying with the Te, yet perversely, he felt cheated. A large part of him wanted revenge for Emily, and to witness the pyrotechnics that would accompany a visitation of wrath. Instead, their tormentors simply blinked out of existence. Where, minutes before, his people had fought a doomed but heroic battle for their survival, there was now just the small blue light, floating like a tiny sun in orbit around the blue green planet that was still going to be his home, then...

  Δ ∞

  …he was back in the room with the two easy chairs. It was just as it had been a few days before, with him sitting in one armchair and Jane in the other. They were alone.

  She looked at him with the same lack of expression he had come to expect. ‘You saved us, after all. If you were going to help why didn't you do it earlier?’

  There was no response, what’s she waiting for? ‘Emily didn't have to die!’

  Without a hint of sadness or regret she replied. ‘That incident enabled us to act as we did.’

  Instead of gratitude, he could only feel overwhelming loss, and anger. ‘Incident! It wasn’t an incident, my friend died! How could I be so blind, so stupid to think you would be at all concerned by the death of one scrawny, feisty kid? I suppose cherishing individualism isn’t what it used to be.’

  ‘We could not have intervened before we did. As I told you, we compiled the Accords and if they are to have any meaning, they must bind us as they bind others. It was that incidence of violence which placed the Te'ans in breach.’

  He just shook his head. Nothing she could say, however well reasoned, would ever convince him they did everything they could. Looking at the impassive being in front of him, he was reminded just how alien she was. After an awkward silence, at least for him - he had the distinct impression Jane could have continued in this way for an eternity - during which the sorrow was slowly replaced by anger, he pressed on. ‘I thought the warning given to the Te all those years ago was that they faced destruction if they breached the code. But even after they killed Emily, you allowed them to destroy our ships. Tell me, how many people died then?’

  He was answered with a shake of the head. ‘Your ships and their crews are unharmed, we removed them from danger without the Te or you knowing. To have allowed them to die would have been, inappropriate,’ there was no more emotion in this announcement than her earlier comment concerning Emily’s death.

  Her persistent lack of emotion threw her earlier behaviour into stark contrast, something he could no longer ignore. ‘You hal
ted the wave, when you could have allowed it to destroy them, did you enjoy doing that?’

  ‘The wave was halted as a demonstration of power, nothing more. Their destruction was never an option. We merely reminded them it is futile to challenge our will.’

  ‘They’re still alive?’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘What do you mean, of course? If these Accords mean so much to you then there shouldn’t be a single Te’an alive, anywhere!’

  ‘That is what you believe we should have done? Kill every man, woman and child on every Te’an world. Completely erase them from the Universe? Is that what you want me to do?’

  His anger slowly evaporated, to be replaced by…confusion. Was she really giving him the power to decide whether an entire race, the innocent as well as the guilty, should cease to exist? A vivid recollection of the monster in the holosphere replayed in his mind, they killed Emily, they were going to kill billions of us, if they don’t deserve to die, who does? He remembered the infectious happiness of his friends over the news of their pregnancy. How many Te’ans are blissfully unaware of what’s going on here? How many Rogers and Sams are about to give the good news to their friends? Can I, with one word obliterate all that?

  Any resolve he might have had, crumpled under the realisation he was not the monster in the hologram.

  ‘No, I don’t want you to kill them.’

  The anger returned. ‘So this was all about keeping them in line, reminding them who’s boss.’

  Her look, convinced him he would get no answer. He stood up, too angry to remain seated, and walked away. From his earlier experience, he knew the wall was a long way off, and so he quickened his pace. After a few minutes, it was no closer. His walking broke into a jog and after a few more minutes, a run. When he was too tired to run any more, he stopped and slowly turned around. A dozen or so paces from him were the two armchairs, Jane still sitting where he had left her, the room just as it had been, no bigger.

  Returning to his chair, he slumped into it, exhausted. He had no idea how much time had passed before he spoke again, but throughout that time the Custodian maintained her silence and remained, totally alien.

  When he had got his breath back, he decided there was no point in asking about what had just happened. ‘Everyone else who was in the chamber, where are they now?’

  He was answered as though there had been no lapse in their conversation. ‘They are back on Earth, as are the crews of your ships. In due course, you will need to explain to them what has happened. They are confused, have many questions, and need a level head to guide them; that task will fall to you.’

  ‘Wasn’t there some other way to achieve this without Emily…’ the question was left hanging.

  ‘She was aware of the possibilities, and played her part willingly.’

  In spite of the shock at what he had just heard, he managed to say. ‘Because Alf can see the future, and told her…but why not tell me…why didn’t she tell me?’

  ‘Would you still have become involved?’

  It was his turn not to answer a question. ‘Then why didn't you let me take her place?’

  ‘Because you still have a part to play in what is yet to come.’

  ‘To tell everyone what happened?’

  ‘Something far more important,’ she answered.

  ‘More important than all of this, I hardly think so!’

  The thought of anything outweighing what had taken place over the last twenty-four hours, seemed incredible to him, but his exclamation had nothing to do with that. He knew Jane was not prone to hyperbole, and it worried him.

  ‘Do you recall the void you experienced during your visit to the future?’

  He nodded.

  A voice he recognised added. ‘It is still there.’

  Turning, he saw Alf sitting beside him in another armchair. His time travelling companion simply inclined his head. ‘Do you have to keep appearing like that?’ He expected no reply, and was not disappointed.

  Alf continued. ‘The void still predominates in the future, and you must play a fundamental part if it is to be frustrated.’

  ‘Why me?’

  ‘The Artefact has decided.’

  ‘When is this going to happen?’

  ‘You saw what the future is like in just a few years, you do not have long.’

  ‘What is it about you people? You mention something, then become enigmatic or go into silent mode, you’re always doing it.’ There was no response. ‘You see, you’re doing it again, or not doing…anyway, it’s insane.’ Exasperated, he exhaled and shook his head, clearly they wanted him to do most of the work. ‘What I saw in the future went beyond us, other stars were missing. This thing, this nothing is going to start here and move outwards,’ he looked from one to the other, ‘I’m right, aren’t I?’

  The custodians looked at each other, before Jane replied. ‘The danger is beyond anything you can presently comprehend. You will need to find the Artefact and it will guide you, but the final choice will be yours.’ Alf continued. ‘For now, however, you have a more pressing problem.’

  ‘You’ve got this all wrong. I’m just a conduit, remember? The President makes the decision and I provide the key to the Artefact, which by the way, has gone…vanished!’

  ‘Your leaders are no longer material to the involvement of the Artefact. They will have a part to play, but not in the greater scheme.’

  ‘Greater scheme? You mean the more pressing problem, don’t you?’

  ‘No.’

  Jon knew there was no point in pressing the point, they were not going to lay it out in front of him. ‘But they are linked?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘If we don’t deal with the pressing problem, the greater scheme is meaningless.’

  ’To you, yes.’

  ‘That’s a comfort,’ his attempt at irony withered before the emotionless eyes of his audience, I might as well be talking to a couple of rocks, he thought, not caring that they would know what he was thinking.

  ‘We have sent this contingent of Te’ans some considerable distance from their home and have imposed a general prohibition upon any Te’an entering within one hundred and fifty light years of your planet,’ Alf explained.

  ‘They’re hardly likely to take that seriously. They know your threats are meaningless…’

  Jane answered before his question was completed. ‘This is not a warning, they will not be able to physically pass the boundary we have imposed.’

  Jon began to breathe a sigh of relief, there was no way his people could venture that far from Earth.

  ‘You are now in possession of technology which will enable you to stray outside the safety zone. It is critical you persuade your leaders to do nothing which breaches the secure boundary. If the Te find you beyond the boundary, they are permitted not only to destroy your ships, but also invade your home world. You would be deemed an emergent civilisation and, therefore, open to the full force of the Te’an war machine. President Conway and the other leaders who witnessed what transpired today will not need to be convinced, but they will eventually leave office, and the danger which threatened to engulf your world will recede, in the minds of their successors.

  ‘They will convince themselves, by a combination of wishful thinking and naïveté, fostered by a mistaken interpretation of minor technological advances, that you are safe. You will enhance both your weaponry, and defensive capabilities, and all too quickly come to believe you can defend yourselves, but make no mistake, without the power of the Artefact, or many thousands of years of advancement, you cannot repel a Te’an attack, and we cannot help you.’

  ‘You couldn't help us this time, but you did.’

  ‘We would advise you not to test out your theory.’

  Jon felt heavy. ‘There isn't really a choice is there. I mean, if we stay within the Zone we’ll be swallowed up by this…void, and if we move outside, the Te attack us?’

  ‘Yes,’ Jane admitted.

  ‘So, what
’s the answer?’

  ‘You need to discover that, for yourself.’

  He should not have been surprised. ‘It seems the only help we’re going to get from here on, is the Artefact. As I told you, it disappeared…but you already knew that. I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me where can I find it?’

  ‘It is no longer on Earth.’

  Instead of waking from this nightmare, he was plunging ever deeper into darker dreams. ‘I’m not sure I can process that just now, where do I go from here?’

  ‘You need to speak to your friend, and both of you need to convince your leaders of all that we are telling you,’ answered Alf.

  ‘My friend?’

  ‘Hugo Black, he remains the CEO of TeCorp, although I anticipate he may very well change the name. He has the power and influence to aid you,’ Alf replied.

  ‘I’d hardly call him a friend.’

  ‘Really?’ Alf raised an eyebrow, but only by a minute fraction. ‘The two of you fought against the greatest threat your planet has ever known. He saved your life, or at least secured your liberty.’

  Jon was confused. ‘He was almost one of them. I know he helped at the end, but without him none of this would have happened.’

  It was Jane’s turn to reply. ‘If not him, another would have been chosen. He never saw TeCorp as an opportunity for self advancement, and at no time did he believe he was acting other than in the interests of your species. Of course Gerry Wye was similarly misguided. The difference between the two men is that as soon as he became aware of what was at stake Hugo Black was prepared to do what was necessary stop the Te. In similar circumstances, it is unlikely that any of the others on the Te’an list of candidates would have acted as he did in assisting you. Probably the biggest mistake made by the Te was in choosing Hugo Black. He still wants to see the human race evolve into something worthy of its potential. He will help you, and the pair of you will become firm friends for as long as you live, or your species survives.’