by Jade Kerrion
Jem turned and stalked away.
“That was eloquent,” Kir said, breathing hard from his efforts to catch up with her.
She snapped at him. “Do something.”
“What?”
“Do something. You need to keep them distracted until our planet has a chance to grow up.”
“What would you like me to do? Throw stones from our asteroid belt into their planet?”
Irritation flickered through her brown eyes. “Surely you can manage something more subtle. You’re the business strategy guy. I’m just the science geek. Come up with something.”
Kir was briefly silent. “I think I know how,” he said as they approached their little planet.
The blue and white planet was insignificant compared to the vastness of the Shixar Imperium, but it was theirs, and she was prepared to do anything to protect it.
“SimOne, activate a privacy screen,” Kir said, ruffling Kav’s tousled head as he passed by. “I don’t want any eavesdroppers.”
“Privacy screen activated.”
Kir inhaled deeply. “I think we need to split our efforts. We need to pay attention to inter-galactic affairs before our humans are space-bound. So, I’m going to suggest that you stay focused on the planet. Keep nudging them toward the science and technology needed to get into space, and I’ll work on inter-planetary relationships.”
“How are you planning to do that without our humans out there?” Jem asked.
“Through others. There are at least two other major galactic empires in the universe.”
“Yes, the Skrun and the Krey, but neither is controlled by a team.”
“Which actually makes it easier.” Kir’s grin was wicked. “If they’re controlled by the central command system, I don’t need to negotiate with other students. I’ll just subvert the programming.”
Subvert? Jem looked at SimOne. “Is that legal?”
SimOne shrugged. “Technology is ahead of the law.”
“It sounds like ‘go ahead’ to me,” Kir said. “SimOne, I’ll need your help. I’ll design the strategy, but you’ll have to create the virus based on my specifications, and release it into the central command system.”
“You’re asking our android to create a virus to attack the central command system? Isn’t that a conflict of interest?” Jem asked.
“No, it isn’t,” Kir said. “SimOne, what are your goals?”
SimOne’s response was immediate. “To assist you in winning this simulation.”
“What else?”
“There is no other goal.”
“See?” Kir flashed a triumphant grin.
“You could get into big trouble,” Jem said.
“Not really. You see, I’ve just realized something. We’ve been calling it the world simulation program, but that’s not all it is. SIM-709 is ultimately a universe simulation. We’ve been assigned to various worlds, but that’s not to say that we can’t go beyond our planet and play with the universe too. Like the humans on our planet, the teams have all been so busy empire building that they’ve all missed the bigger point. It’s not about winning against all odds. It’s about defining the rules of the game so that you don’t have to win against all odds. It’s about creating a sustainable competitive advantage, and the way we’ll do it is by redefining our—yours, mine, and SimOne’s—field of influence, and expanding it far beyond the third rock from the sun.”
“Did you minor in law?” It was not a question, nor was it intended to be complimentary.
“I did take some classes in business law,” Kir confessed.
“And what did you learn?” Jem asked.
“That lawyers are the biggest risk takers. They understand the rules and then find ways around them.”
Jem frowned thoughtfully. “You know, that’s what Professor Ptera said that first day in class.”
“I think he was trying to tell us something then, and I have stupidly missed it until right now.” Kir’s half-smile was wry. “It’s not too late though. We have enough time to salvage this situation.”
Kav bounced. “What can I do? What can I do?”
Jem looked at Kav. “I need you to help me manage this planet while your brother talks to the other planets. Do you think you can help me do that?”
“Sure!” Kav beamed. He puffed his chest. “I’m not so good with water, but I can do other things.”
Jem laughed softly and ruffled his hair. “I’m sure we can find other things for you to do.”
Jem saw little of Kir over the following two weeks. Jem and Kir were like two planets, passing in close orbit but never actually connecting. They tag-teamed brilliantly on Kav, handing the boy off without a single miss, but they did not have much time to talk to each other beyond a hurried, “Hey, how’s it going?” without waiting for an answer.
We’re like an old married couple working different shifts. With a wry smile, Jem let herself into Kir’s apartment at the end of the day, with a sleepy Kav in tow. The lights automatically turned on when they entered, but the apartment was quiet.
“Kir!” Kav called out loudly. “I’m hungry.”
“I guess he’s not back yet.” Jem gave the boy a push toward his bedroom. “Go change out of your wet socks, Kav. I’ll get dinner started.”
She hoped she sounded more confident than she felt. Kav stomped off to his bedroom, leaving a trail of muddy water. Now, what was in Kir’s kitchen? She searched through Kir’s pantry and found enough food to prepare a simple dinner of roasted meat and grilled vegetables.
“I don’t want to eat the meat,” Kav protested when she set the plate in front of him.
“Just eat the vegetables, then.”
“I don’t like vegetables either.”
Her personal device buzzed. She glanced at the incoming call and picked it up. “Hey, Rio.”
“Will you be back soon? I’m about to get dinner started for us.”
“I’m still here at Kir’s apartment. He’s not here, and I can’t leave Kav alone. I’ll be home as soon as I can. I don’t know what time, though. Why don’t you eat? Don’t wait for me.”
There was a long silence on the other end. “All right,” Rio said finally. She could hear the quiet disappointment in his tone. “Don’t stay too late. You need your sleep too.”
Rio was right. She was short on sleep and had been for months. She hung up the call and sat across from Kav. “Listen, you can have a nice hot meal, or you can have a sandwich. Your choice.”
“I want dessert.”
“Did you hear me ask if you wanted dessert? Dessert isn’t in the list, buddy.”
“I want dessert.” Kav’s cry escalated into a wail.
She winced. “Kav, I can’t give you dessert for dinner.”
“Why not?”
“Because your brother won’t let me.”
“But he’s not here now.”
So much for that cop out. She should have known better than to engage in a battle of logic with a five-year-old boy. “Are you tired, Kav?”
He nodded, his chin sinking against his chest.
“Do you want some milk before I take you to bed?”
“I want to cuddle in bed with milk.”
Oh, well. She filled a cup with milk, and with the cup in one hand and Kav’s little hand entwined in her other hand, she marched him off to bed.
“Can you read a bedtime story?” Kav asked as he lay back against his pillows.
He had used his best wheedling tone. Flattered that the little boy had brought the full force of his charm to bear, Jem nodded. “All right. Grab a book. Just one.”
Twenty minutes later, the fourth book slipped gently out of her grasp as she fell asleep, the little boy curled contentedly against her chest.
Jem awoke to a darkened room. Disoriented, she sat up. A whining complaint emerged from beside her. Kav.
The boy shifted without waking, snuggling into the warmth of the sheets and then settled back to sleep. She held her breath as she eased ou
t of the bed and walked to the door. She flung the door open and recoiled, flinching from the bright glare of lights in the small living room.
Kir was seated on the couch, his astral workstation spread in front of him. “Hey,” he greeted quietly.
She held up a hand to shield her eyes. “What time is it?”
“It’s one in the morning.”
“Damn, I have to get home.”
“I called Rio. I told him you fell asleep here, and not to worry. I’m sorry I was late. I was at the lab trying to work something out with SimOne and lost track of time. You might have just fallen asleep when I came in, but I didn’t have the heart to wake you, and Rio said to let you sleep.”
“It was a good nap,” she conceded, though she would have to stay up half the night to do all the work she had slept right through.
“Did you want something to eat? I ate the food you left out.”
She cringed. “How bad was it?”
“Oh, it was edible. Besides, it was good to eat something I didn’t have to cook myself. Did you have a chance to eat?”
“No. Kav was a little cranky. He didn’t eat anything either.”
“I’m sure he’ll make up for it tomorrow. Here, you sit down and wake up properly. I’ll get you something to eat.” Kir pushed to his feet and headed into the kitchen.
His easy manner assuaged her vague sense of guilt stemming from an obscure sense of failed responsibility. Jem slumped into a chair, trying to work up enough energy to open her astral workstation, while Kir tinkered about in the kitchen, preparing a simple meal. A bowl of steaming hot noodles surrounded by vegetables and drenched in a savory brown sauce was enough to quicken her appetite, and she devoured the meal quickly.
“Hmm, I see you didn’t like that meal at all,” Kir said, his smile pleased. “Want more?”
“No. I’m good. I just need to let it settle.”
“Shall I call a transporter to take you home?”
It was probably the smart thing to do, but instead, she said, “We should catch up. Our planet’s making traction. I had SimOne speed up a couple of star revolutions, but now we’ve slowed it down to practically zero.”
“Are you intervening on a detailed level again?”
She ignored his sarcasm. “Absolutely. We’ve made a lot of progress in the past fifty star revolutions in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology. We’ve transformed social, economic, and cultural conditions, but the coolest stuff is yet to come.”
“What are you planning?” he asked, his interest apparently piqued.
“We’re going to need major progress in two fields to go further—versatile and stable sources of energy to power more sophisticated devices and a far better understanding of the rules of the universe as it pertains to time and space.”
Kir snorted. “Sounds like you have something more in mind than a ‘go forth and figure it out.’”
She had missed his ironic sense of humor. “It’s the same thing we did after the plague: pick a few people and focus on them. I’ve got two in mind, and I’ll get it right even if it means speaking to them in dreams and visions. I’ll use one of them to drive advances in power generation and the other in physics. Between the two of them, they’ll set up the foundation for real progress toward the future.”
“Sounds cool. So, when do you think they’ll attain space exploration?” Kir asked.
“Within a hundred star revolutions.”
“Damn.” Kir fell silent. “That’s fast. Not too long ago, we were still wondering what to do about the fact that our dominant life forms had brains the size of peas.”
“It’s the direct intervention. We can greatly accelerate progress, but we also run the risk of things getting out of control. We’ll have to keep a close eye on our humans.”
“You’ll have to keep a close eye on them. I’ve got my hands full.”
“Doing what?” Jem demanded.
Kir smirked. “Doing what I do best: making trouble and then looking innocent when the blame starts flying.”
“What exactly did you do?”
“Warmongering, I believe is what it’s called.”
Jem arched an eyebrow. “You started a war?”
“Not precisely. I just nudged things along.”
Jem leaned back in her seat, an amused smile curving her lips. “I can’t believe how angelic you looked when you said it.”
“I’ve been practicing every night in front of the mirror,” Kir confessed with an irreverent grin.
“Who’s fighting?”
“The Skrun and the Krey may be teaming up to take on the Shixar.”
Her jaw dropped. “Really? How did you pull it off?”
“A few strategically placed bits of misinformation.”
“Lies?”
Kir’s mouth twisted. “I don’t know if I’d call it a lie precisely. Let’s just say the information was open to misinterpretation.” The sparkle in his eyes confirmed that he was amused rather than offended. “At any rate, the Shixar are busy right now, far too busy to hassle the other teams.”
“Are you sure that open fighting in the universe is the way to go?”
“No. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s not the right way to go, but we need to buy time for our planet. As long as the big boys are fighting each other, the little folks may be allowed to survive unscathed, at least for awhile.”
“That’s a dangerous game you’re playing,” Jem said.
“We’re out of options.”
She was silent for a long time. “That was what I was afraid of.”
“It’ll work. It has to. You focus on getting our munchkins into space. I’ll keep the Shixar off our backs.”
“All right.” Jem stood up. “I should go.”
“I’ll call for a transporter.”
“Okay, and thanks for dinner.”
“Thanks for being with Kav. It means a lot to him, and to me too, knowing that he’s with someone who cares.”
She looked away, chewing on her lower lip.
“Why does being thanked for what I consider an extraordinary kindness on your part always make you feel so uncomfortable?” Kir asked.
Jem shook her head.
Kir sighed and glanced down at his personal device as it flashed an incoming message. “The transporter’s here.”
“All right, bye.” She dashed out of the apartment before Kir could say anything else.
All the way home, she chewed on her fingernail as she thought about Kav and Kir.
12
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. At its height, it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1922, the British Empire held sway over about 458 million people, one-quarter of the world's population at the time, and covered more than 33,700,000 km2 (13,012,000 sq mi), almost a quarter of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its political, linguistic, and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, it was often said that "the sun never sets on the British Empire" because its span across the globe ensured that the sun was always shining on at least one of its numerous territories.
– Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
* * *
Jem raced up the steps of the Simulation Center, into the empty classroom, and then through the double door that led into the laboratory. She was breathing hard by the time she reached their planet. “What happened, SimOne?” she demanded of the android, who was standing by the planet.
“A volcanic eruption.”
An icy fist closed around Jem’s heart. “Damn it. Where?”
“6.102°S 105.423°E” A topographical map flashed over the astral screen.
“The entire island’s gone,” Jem whispered, a stricken sound. “Zoom in.”
Huge plumes of steam and ash hung over the area. Bodies floated on rafts of volcanic pumice.
“What�
�s the death toll?” Jem asked.
“In excess of forty thousand, and expected to rise over the next few days.”
“What other effects?”
“Minimal. The explosion took place at some distance from major cities, or the toll would have been much higher.”
“Were you expecting it, SimOne, or could it be sabotage?” Jem asked.
“The geological area is fundamentally unstable. It would not take much more than a sneeze to trigger a volcanic eruption.”
Jem looked sharply at SimOne. Had the android actually made a joke?
“Are you concerned about sabotage?” the android asked.
“I want you to keep a close eye on the planet. Nothing, and I mean nothing gets through the atmosphere, not even a wayward asteroid. Kir’s making trouble out there, and I don’t want our planet caught in the backwash.”
“Understood.”
“How’s the Empire doing?” Jem asked. There was only one empire worth speaking of, and they both knew it. The Empire spanned the breadth of the globe, occupying a quarter of the total land area, encompassing a quarter of the world’s population. “It reminds me of the Shixar,” Jem said, almost to herself. “Large to the point of monstrosity.”
“The Empire’s influence continues to grow. Unchecked, it has the potential to occupy up to a third or half of the world’s land mass. Should we check it?” SimOne asked.
That was the real question, wasn’t it? Jem chewed on her lower lip. “No,” she said finally. “They’re not doing too badly, and while not exactly benevolent, they’re not stupidly cruel either.”
“They are business people,” SimOne observed.
“Right, and sometimes, business people are the best administrators,” Jem conceded. “War is bad for business, so they manage away from that possibility.”
“I never thought I’d hear you say that,” Kir said, walking up to join them.
“I wouldn’t have if I’d known you were around,” Jem said blandly. “How are things going?”
“Well enough. There’s enough momentum to keep things going without me standing around, just watching it. I thought I’d come back here and bug the both of you.”