Mindguard

by Andrei Cherascu

  “You insolent little -”

  At that moment Tamisa shut off the holofeed. She was livid. If she had been in that studio, she would have physically attacked both guests and the moderator too. In the past few days, ever since the commander shut down Ayers-Ross, the interstellar press was avidly covering anything connected with the activity of the enforcers.

  It was obvious that the mass media had its own bias. Since the media itself was a great political power, Tamisa could see why the influential press barons would want to weaken the position of the enforcers. For that, she hated them with a passion.

  While she herself could acknowledge that the actions of Commander Anderson over the past few weeks had been unorthodox, she felt that the media had no right to question the enforcers. They had maintained peace for over two and a half centuries. Since the Great War of Minds, there had been no other wars. Even the occasional guerrilla conflicts on some meaningless planets were so infrequent, that the enforcers had been given the popular nickname ‘The Unnecessary Unit.’

  Tamisa was maddened by the ignorance of the general population, who failed to recognize that the enforcers maintained this peace, discouraging violence and anarchy through their very existence. In doing so, they created the illusion that they were no longer necessary. The people were too dumb to recognize this and the media just furthered this ignorance.

  Educator Carson was by far one of the most paranoid politicians in the IFCO. He had been raving for years about conspiracies and totalitarianism, but no one had been willing to listen until now. The host had invited him specifically because Carson was easily angered and emotionally unstable, the type of person who would no doubt capture the attention of the common citizen. Then, he paired him up with historian Mike Vernon, easily the most unlikeable and distrusted of all the people who had shown support for the Enforcement Unit. It was subtle and malicious.

  Yellow journalism such as this could prove very damaging to the image of the enforcers. But if you threatened the position of the Enforcement Unit, you could easily destabilize the entire IFCO. Could theses idiots not see that? Or were they so hungry for personal power, that they were prepared to ignore the well-being of the very society they lived in? Tamisa remembered Kaye Wright and the nightmare that had been Aanadya. That nightmare could easily become the entire federation, if the enforcers would cease to exist. It made her blood boil.

  When Villo entered her quarters and asked if he could speak with her, she almost yelled at him for no reason. She managed to control her anger at the last moment. She’d be damned if she would lash out at the one person she loved most in the world, just because of the hypocrisy and stupidity of the rest of the universe. Villo was her personal universe, Villlo and the enforcers.

  He read her like an open book. “You’re pissed.”

  “No, I…” She took one look at Villo and gave up. “Yeah, I am.”

  “The news?”

  “Yeah.”

  She knew what he was going to say: ‘Oh, don’t get you panties in a knot, Tammy. Commander’s been dealing with bigger and scarier monsters than these paranoid idiots, since before you were even born.’

  He didn’t say that. Instead, he looked worried. If anything could unsettle Villo Kantil, then it had to be bad.

  “What happened?” Tamisa asked, half afraid to even hear the answer.

  “We managed to track down Ross.” He delivered the wonderful news as if he were reading an obituary.

  “Why is that bad?”

  He let out a heavy sigh. “This makes no sense to me,” he said. “I tried to contact the commander but I can’t get through. Martin told me the commander is busy at the moment and we should just go ahead with the mission as planned. You’ve got full control.”

  “Ok, so… all right… but where is Ross?”

  “Oh, we know his exact position. Kernis managed to decrypt the Ayers-Ross mission files, so we know where they’re scheduled to be at all times. Today, they’re on a planet called Korall, right on the verge of Djago. The objective is to acquire means of transportation to take them to La Khez, then Ovande, Noriado 2, Ganthic and finally Carthan. They’ll be spending the night on La Khez and then Noriado 2. We can intercept them really anywhere we want and at any moment of our choosing.”

  “It sounds great so far,” Tamisa said, confused.

  “There’s more,” Villo answered. The expression on his face told Tamisa that they were getting to the part that bothered him. “It seems that we were lucky once again. By the time we seized Ayers-Ross, the team was already on Korall. Because of its proximity to the Djago Desert, it makes communication very difficult, meaning Ross will be less suspicious if he doesn’t manage to get through to Kriss White. That’s a good thing, because so far the old man has been stubborn and uncooperative. As you know, I spent about a half hour questioning him. There is no point in wasting more time, because no amount of intimidation or physical discomfort will make him play along in time for us to use him, of that I am certain. It’s safer for us if Ross believes that he can’t get through to him because of their location.”

  “White seems like a tough old son of a bitch. I wish we had him on our side.”

  Villo remained silent. Tamisa was starting to get impatient. She was already worked up about the media circus, Villo’s hesitation just made her more nervous.

  “Let’s just cut to the chase. What is it, Villo? Why are you so upset?”

  A fleeting smile crossed his face. “That’s why I love my Tammy,” he said. He sat down on her bed, staring at the floor. ”The problem is that, even though we basically have them trapped, the commander gave Kernis the order to activate the neuralfield scanners.”

  “What? Wait a minute, that can’t be!”

  “I can’t explain it, Tammy,” said a helpless Villo.

  “This is… has he even watched the news?”

  Villo said nothing, for there was nothing to say.

  “I mean this will give them exactly the fuel they need to throw on this little campfire. This could be a serious problem.”

  “Yes, it could.”

  “If so far, the accusations sounded like paranoid ravings this will, in effect, offer the greatest credibility to our detractors, what the hell is he doing?”

  “I don’t know, Tammy,” Villo said. Those were the most frightening words Tamisa had ever heard.

  Neuralfield scanners were highly controversial technology. They worked like genetic trackers but were far more advanced. Only fifteen years ago the commander had faced public scrutiny when he had proposed the wide range employment of NF scanners throughout the IFCO, to aid the Enforcement Unit in its effort of maintaining peace. They were powerful devices that could instantly recognize a person’s brainwave patterns if their brainwaves were modified by the use of neuroinsertions. That would make it possible to locate someone within a few feet and follow and register their movement on any planet in the federation.

  Public uproar had been immense, with many people vocal about the blatant infringement of privacy. So far, trackers of genetic markers had been used for the purpose of finding people suspected of criminal activity, but those had only a mere fraction of the power and efficiency of neuralfield scanners. The citizens argued that reading a person’s neural patterns was dangerously close to telepathy. Once that point had been made, the Council of Presidents was quick to reject Commander Anderson’s proposal. The use of this technology had been deemed illegal.

  However, in a controversial move, the Council granted the Enforcers the right to possess the weapons, but not to use them. The unpopular decision had been rooted in the fear of another great war and a situation where the enforcers could once again become humanity’s last line of defense and would need the advantage of such technology. Using NF scanners for a mission such as this was outrageous. On top of that, it was completely unnecessary, since they basically had Ross’ team cornered.

  Tamisa couldn’t understand the commander’s decision, it seemed downright crazy. He was
ostentatiously going against the express orders of the Council. This could turn out to be one of the few things that could actually jeopardize the very existence of the enforcers.

  “Give me a link to Commander Anderson,” Tamisa ordered the holocloud.

  “The commander’s channel is unavailable,” the computer responded.

  “Give me Martin Anderson, then!”

  “The channel is unavailable.”

  “Damn it! Give me the coordinates to the commander’s exact location!”

  “Unavailable. The commander is not on the premises.”

  “And Martin?”

  “Not on the premises.”

  “This is crazy! Villo?” When Tamisa looked at Villo she had the expression of a scared child seeking reassurance from a parent. Unfortunately, she found Villo looking back at her with the same exact expression.

  “They are both unreachable? Now? Right before we’re about to leave on this mission? It’s almost like they fled or something.”

  “Whatever it is, Tammy, we have specific orders and we have to go ahead with them.”

  “But -”

  “Tammy!” Villo’s voice was categorical. “The commander’s actions are baffling, I can see that as well as you can. The two qualities that define an enforcer more than anything else are trust and willpower. Your mind wants to panic but you won’t because you are an Enforcer. You are one of us. And the beating heart of the enforcers is Thomas Anderson. He always has been and I hope he always will be. He trusted you with this mission, you are the Field Unit Commander. You’re the one who needs to show the most faith in him right now. You owe him that and I think we all do. You can’t let the team see that you question his judgment, even for a second. It would be bad for morale, it would be bad for the team and, ultimately, when the situation is resolved, it will be bad for you and your future with us. Have faith, Tammy!”

  “Do you trust him with your life?”

  “My life is nothing, I trust him with it entirely. If the commander decides that he must sacrifice it for the good of humanity, then I humbly offer it to him to do as he sees fit.”

  Tamisa felt her heart at the same time break and beam with and pride. “You trust him that much?”

  “Do you trust me?”

  She hugged him tightly, her most beloved friend. “I don’t trust anyone but you,” she said.

  “Then have faith! Whatever he does, it’s the right thing. He has never been wrong.”

  “Never?”

  Villo’s eyes spoke volumes. Tamisa took a deep breath, as if preparing to dive into the deepest waters.

  “Then we should go,” she said, “we’re set to leave in three hours.”

  Chapter 18

  Enforcing Injustice!

  Slogan used by an anonymous group of activists who oppose the political influence of the Enforcement Unit. Text usually found spray-painted next to a drawing of Commander Thomas Liam Anderson on the walls of abandoned buildings.

  “Are you all right?” Isabel asked. Her body was tense, as if she feared Sheldon might collapse at any moment and she would have to catch him. He was as white as a sheet and his eyes were sunken into their sockets. He looked like he had lost a ton of weight in just a few seconds.

  “Yes,” he answered and simply walked past the two women, paying no attention to either of them. Sophie turned to Isabel and got worried when she saw the look of concern on the elderly mindguard’s face.

  A few minutes later they were in front of the small Christian church that Mac had chosen as their meeting point. Ray Manner was sitting on the steps. He told them that Mac was inside and would join them shortly. Sophie was surprised when Jason Elden also entered the house of worship. She knew that Mac was a practicing Christian, but she had no idea that Elden was also. It made sense now why Mac seemed closer to him than to the other bodyguards under his command. The bond between the two had always seemed to be more than friendship.

  “We found a decent ship,” Manner said. ”Seems in pretty good shape and it should get us to where we’re going. What the hell happened to Sheldon?”

  They all turned and stared at the mindguard, who looked like he had contacted some strange disease and was going through all the symptoms in just a few minutes. He turned around and walked away from them, clearly in no mood to be the center of attention. Just then, Mac stepped out of the church.

  “All right, off we go, then. Sophie, remember what I said, you need to stop at any time you tell me.”

  ●

  They boarded the small spacecraft that looked a lot worse for wear than it really was. The flight was not completely unpleasant, but also not comfortable. As they distanced themselves from Korall, it seemed like everyone’s general mood worsened by the minute, most notably Isabel’s, who had to change from her colorful garment into the same dark combat uniform everyone else was wearing.

  “If we get attacked, they usually go after the mindguards first,” Ross explained. “That’s why I’d rather have everyone looking the same, make it harder for them to distinguish their primary targets.”

  Other than that, there was very little talk for the duration of the trip. When someone did speak it was usually in mono-syllabic groans.

  “Well, according to the machine we’re in the desert,” announced Simon Bayles, who was piloting the vessel. Sophie felt relieved at the realization that she didn’t feel any different. But that was just superstitious thinking. They were in a spacecraft in the vacuum of space, not on a planet where their brains would be exposed to that mindfield, or whatever it was called. There was no reason to feel anything yet and she knew it. What was she expecting to happen? A huge holosign signaling ‘You’re in trouble now’?

  As the ship reached the desired level of hyperspace stability, and could pass through the Muench-Henriksen gateway, Sophie was completely unaware of how suddenly and violently her mood was about to change.

  ●

  The thick clouds on La Khez made landing the spacecraft very difficult. There was poor visibility, the radars didn’t work very well and they were approaching a mountainous region at dangerous velocity. For a brief moment, the team seemed worried, but Bayles skillfully steered the vessel towards a plateau and landed it safely. The last part of the ride felt to Sophie like a rapid descent on a shabby rollercoaster whose parts were falling off.

  “Smooth landing, Bayles. Don’t quit your day-job!” Manner said.

  “You could have piloted the ship yourself, if you weren’t too dumb to understand the commands.”

  The second they set foot outside the ship, their brains were exposed to the physical field created by the telepathic activity. For Sophie, it all happened so quickly that she didn’t have the time to adjust. She had but a fraction of a second to notice that everyone was staring at her like they were expecting something to happen. Then she felt overcome by a painful pressure stemming from somewhere behind her eye sockets. It was as if an immense weight had been placed on her brain and that weight was now pushing against her tear ducts.

  She fell to her knees and started crying. It was the strangest feeling. She didn’t even have the strength to be ashamed, as the unmanageable sobbing was rapidly draining all her energy. For some strange reason, the word ‘mindache’ popped into her head, though she didn’t think that term actually existed. She was overcome by a horrible headache and an uncontrollable urge to cry, like she was experiencing an acute episode of severe depression. She felt like the whole planet was closing up on her, like everything around her was trying to get inside her head. The sky was made of lead and the ground was hot coal, forcing poisonous smoke through her every orifice, and tearing new ones where it found none.

  She rocked back and forward, desperately weeping. She was angry at her team for just standing there, looking at her like this was some sort of a performance. Not a single one of them made the slightest gesture to comfort her or help her. Damn you all, what the hell are you doing? Help me! She didn’t have the power to utter a single word. Damn you
Sheldon, you were supposed to protect me!

  She felt like she was just experiencing the worst possible day of her life condensed into one single moment. And they were all just looking at her like they were waiting for her to shrivel up and die. Later, she found out that they were actually just waiting for the initial shock to pass.

  “You had to get it out of your system,” Ross said. “That was your mind trying to fight off the planet’s neuraltranscendence field.”

  She was still breathing heavily and her eyes were bloodshot from all the tears. “I… I would have never expected this… it’s…”

  “Yeah, it’s very traumatic. That’s why we put so much emphasis on training and preparation. Truth is, scientist still don’t really understand how this physical field works. They don’t know the exact ways in which it interacts with an individual’s brain. They just know it’s caused by the specific thought timbres of telepaths and that it increases in power with the number of telepaths on a certain planet, as well as the frequency of mind-to-mind communication.”

  “Yeah, but still… this…”

  “I know,” said Ross, “you have to go through it to really understand.”

  “Does everyone… I mean… do people usually break down like this?” Though she still felt exhausted, enough time had passed for her to conjure up the energy to at least feel embarrassed.

  “Well, the mind’s initial reaction to exposure is usually pretty turbulent, but it varies from case to case. I’ve seen few that were as severe as yours. But don’t feel bad, it all depends on a person’s psychological structure. Maybe you’re more sensitive. And, after all, this is the Djago Desert. Neuraltranscendence fields don’t get much more intense than this. Anyway, we need to bunk here overnight, we have no choice. You need your rest and so do Isabel and Sheldon. The next two planets in our path, Ovando and Ganthic, are even more dangerous. But we’re staying right here. We’ve scanned this plateau and there’s not a soul around for miles.”