Want to Go For a Ride In My Spaceship?: The Nathan Daniels Saga: Act 1 (Parts 1, 2 &3)

by Sam Lippert

  “From the twenty-first century forward most human societies have had more than enough resources for everyone to have what they need, but it took a long time for economists, let alone those societies, to move beyond the 'culture of scarcity.' Even in the healthiest of societies it only takes a few unrestrained sociopaths trying to 'get it all' to create a disaster, but when everyone is trying to get it all, you get Rand.”

  “It sounds like you are making the case for communism, or at the very least an extreme form of socialism.” Nathan interjected when Prescilla paused. “There are plenty of examples from twentieth century Old Earth of those being a disaster.”

  “Communism takes the resources of a society and attempts to divide them equally between all the members of the society. This can work well in small close-knit groups where the work is shared evenly as well. Once you apply it to a large society two problems emerge: less tolerance for the 'freeloaders' and the rise of sociopathy. The sociopaths make their way into positions of power and use that power to hoard resources, while the 'freeloaders' do very little and still get the same as those who are working hard. The large numbers caught in the middle eventually get tired and revolt.

  “Socialism is better, in fact nearly all successful societies have some amount of socialism in them. Generally a socialistic society has rules that reign in the sociopaths and programs that provide for those who cannot completely provide for themselves. The problem is that, over time, those at the lower end of the economic spectrum are seen as 'lazy' and getting more than they deserve. When the sociopaths find a way to feed that mindset, eventually everyone believes that everyone else has it better than they do. This results in a breakdown of social programs and relaxation of the regulations that keep the sociopaths in check.” Prescilla paused again. Nathan could tell she was waiting for him to ask the obvious question, either that or he had forgotten it was his turn for a piece of the pie.

  “So, in your learned opinion, soon to be 'Dr. Anderson,' what's the solution?” Daniels covered his bases by following his question with the next to last bite of pie. The captain could be a good student, especially with the right teacher...

  * * *

  CRASH! Nathan's reminiscing was interrupted by the shattering of the plate glass window at the front of the diner. Although Prescilla had issued an injunction to her followers against harming small businesses, it was obvious the Rand security forces felt no need to follow such rules. The diner window had given way when one of the security team had shoved a protester against it in an attempted arrest.

  Nathan and Remi took a split second to evaluate the situation. Although the glass breaking was startling, there did not seem to be any eminent danger to themselves or the occupants of the diner, although outside was another matter. The two sides of the Revolution were well matched in firepower, with the rebels having the advantage in numbers. It also looked as if a large number of the security forces were fighting for the rebels, not against them. This particular city was likely to be a rebel stronghold before nightfall.

  “You have to talk to her, Nathan.” Remi said matter-of-factly after their quick assessment.

  “What?” Was Daniels' somewhat befuddled response.

  “Prescilla. If the haze you have been in since seeing her on the screen is any indication, you have enough of a connection that she should listen to you. Rebellions of the size and scope that this seems to be can last for years, and she said ships were grounded until things have settled down. You need to get us permission to leave!” Remi took his hand in an effort to anchor his thoughts in the present and reenforce her point.

  “I don't know if I'd go so far as to say 'connection,' but this whole thing is kind of... ...my fault,” Nathan said self-consciously rather than in his usual boastful manner.

  “Seriously? How could that possibl...”

  “I brought her here.” Remi gave him a playful glare when he interrupted her. “Now don't look at me like that. She was just a fare I picked up in the Consortium five years ago! Granted, I did return her money before I left Rand...”

  “You gave her money back? I would say that makes her more than 'just a fare!'” Remi smiled, obviously enjoying Nathan's discomfort. “So, how do we go about finding her?”

  “Well, since network access was part of our spaceport fee, let's see if Nola can find us any leads.” Nathan patted his pockets. “Damn it! I am not used to having any reason to carry a ship radio with me! Do you have yours?”

  “No sir. Didn't think I'd need one, as I was with you.”

  “It looks like we are going to have to brave that,” Nathan gestured at the riotous conditions outside, “And make our way back to the ship.”

  * * *

  Omany was in the midst of re-provisioning the ship when the uprising started. As the Nola had landed at one of the few remaining independent spaceports on Rand, it was unaffected by the general strike. The only way the priest knew there was something amiss was from the announcement that the port was on general lock-down.

  “Shit!” Exclaimed the porter who had been helping Omany as he dropped the cases of food he was carrying and darted off to his security station. The priest picked up the cases and brought them aboard Nola himself.

  “Nola,” he said once he was aboard. “Do you have any idea why the spaceport is on lock-down?”

  “It seems that over the past few years Rand has been experiencing 'General Strikes' with increasing frequency. Rand's working poor have finally awakened and joined with the destitute in demanding better conditions for what is the majority of the planet's population. Today was slated to be another strike, but as the labor movement's leader was addressing the strikers, she declared a revolution, ordering all off planet traffic grounded. Ten ships at various spaceports around Rand have attempted to defy the 'no fly' order, and all were shot down. There is pandemonium in the streets as workers across the planet clash with security forces in their attempt to seize control. The lock-down here is likely a response to this.”

  “Have you heard from Nathan or Remi?”

  “Sadly, no.” The AI responded. “They both left without taking their ship radios. The Randian news services have apparently downplayed the size and scope of the previous strikes, as there was no indication that there was anything to worry about when they headed to town today.

  “The labor movement appears to be headed by one Prescilla Anderson, who is currently number one on the security forces most wanted list. Charges include terrorism, theft and breach of contract. Last known location was the city of Ayn, the Randian capitol, but that was six months ago, when they removed her second hand for previous breach of contract and theft charges.

  “Do you think they are okay?” The AI finished with a question that Omany truthfully could not answer.

  “I am sure Nathan is doing his best to ensure their safety.” Omany responded, truthfully. “Although sometimes that is not enough. As you are, for the time being, safe behind the fence of the spaceport, I must go out and see if our friends are in need of assistance. Please seal the ship after I leave, and do not open up for anyone except one of us.” Seconds later the old man had his staff and was over the fence, in search of his Princess.

  * * *

  Out on the street there was such a mass of people that it was nearly impossible for Nathan and Remini to stay together, let alone move in a direction other than one that the horde of people wanted to go. In this case, the protesters were interested in standing their ground against the security forces, which meant jostling from the crowd kept an individual moving through the crowd, like a single molecule moving around a liquid due to Brownian Motion, while the crowd as a whole remained stationary. As with said molecule, occasionally an individual would be jostled out of the crowd, sadly into the midst of the waiting security forces.

  In the time Nathan and Remi were in the diner the crowd and security forces had created an uneasy truce. The security personnel had attempted to disrupt the protest using a variety of non-lethal means: tear gas, soni
c cannons, and stun grenades, only to find that the crowd had been supplied with countermeasures for everything in their arsenal. When it became obvious their technological solutions would not work, the security forces had attempted to rush into the crowd, wielding billy clubs, but the crowd had easily overwhelmed them. The cops were clearly unwilling to use lethal force, which was the only way there was any hope of dispersing the crowd at this point, however there was no indication how long the unwillingness would last.

  Nathan and Remi were clearly in the wrong place for the inevitable time when the security forces decided to open fire, however, leaving the crowd at one of the edges guarded by the cops would likely lead to their arrest. Returning to the ship seemed impossible at the moment.

  Nathan pulled Remi close and delivered a shouted whisper into her ear. “Draw on your leadership skills, Princess. If you were the one in charge in a group like this, where would you be?”

  Remi thought for a moment. “Over near the holo projectors,” she said in the same fashion. “I doubt the video connection is one-way. Surely Prescilla wants to keep an eye on events all over the planet. If I were a 'lieutenant' in charge here, I would want to be there, to ensure the connection stays up, receive and send information to headquarters, and to take over keeping the crowd agitated if something happens to the video feed. That location also has the advantage of being farthest from the security forces.”

  The pair tried to guide their random movement through the assembled crowd, attempting to reach the center stage.

  * * *

  Omany had exactly the opposite problem of the pair he was trying to reach: the security forces were between him and the crowd. Although this would be considered by many to be being on the 'good side' of the assembled forces, it was quite decidedly not where he wanted to be. He knew his quarry was in the throng of protesters, otherwise they would have been back at the Nola by now, or at the very least, he would have run in to them on his way here from the spaceport.

  In short order the priest found an officer who seemed to be, at least nominally, in charge of at least a portion of the security operation.

  “Commander, if I may have a moment.” Omany asked politely. The officer looked up, intending to brush the older man off, but then he saw the robes. Even in a culture as non-religious as Rand, being a man of 'the cloth' brought some measure of respect.

  “What is it, Father?” The commander responded.

  “It is Brother, commander, I am a priest of the Verstaten order, which teaches that all that lives is brother and sister.” Omany made a slight bow in the commander's direction. “I do believe I can be of some assistance in the current situation.”

  “How's that, Brother?” the commander queried.

  “We priests of Verstaten are trained in methods that allow us to connect with people at a very emotional level, simply by being in their midst. If you allow me into the crowd I believe I can do much to sooth their agitation.” Omany smiled a 'harmless old man' smile, putting the commander in mind of his senile grandfather.

  “Brother, you misunderstand. We aren't here to keep people out, we are here to keep the criminals in, until we can figure out a way to arrest them all. On Rand, people have free will, and that includes entering an irate mob if it suits you. I would recommend against it, though.”

  “In that case...” Omany bowed again to the commander and made his way past the police barricade.

  Another of the many aspects of a Verstaten priest's control of the autonomic nervous system is the ability to control pheromones, those scent chemicals given off by all living things (at least those whose DNA originated on Old Earth) that have a subliminal effect on other beings. In this case, Omany adjusted his scent to one that would trigger a feeling of total revulsion, making it so that no other human would want to be within three feet of him. This allowed him his 'personal space' within the throng as well as providing for freedom of movement, as the crowd literally parted in front of him. The priest headed to the center of the storm. He had no doubt that would be where to find Nathan Daniels, and with him, the Princess.

  * * *

  “Look,” Nathan said to the young man in front of a rack of equipment at the base of the stage. “I know you said you are in charge here,” he motioned taking in the whole crowd, “and that empowers you to do a lot of things. I am not belittling that at all. I'm sure your mother must be very proud of you.”

  “Actually, she's a staunch supporter of the status quo, so, not really, no. Thanks very much for bringing that up!” Nathan could tell the boy was nervous.

  “Well, I'm sorry to hear that.” Nathan said without breaking his verbal stride. “But, I absolutely must talk to your boss, Prescilla Anderson. I know her, she's a friend of mine, and I think we can help one another.”

  “Sir,” the boy said, with a tone that included no small amount of condescension. “For all I know you are a spy from the Security Forces, or worse yet one of the conglomerates, trying to get a read on her location. What could you possibly offer that would be worth taking that risk?”

  “How about ten kilos of ninety-nine and nine-tenths pure gold?”

  The boy's jaw dropped and he turned back to his equipment to make a call.

  “Make sure you get the name right. It's Captain Nathan Daniels.”

  After a few minutes of hushed conversation, the boy turned back to face Nathan and Remi.

  “You are in luck,” he said. “Prescilla will see you.”

  “There was never a doubt in my mind about that.” Nathan said as two brutish looking men separated from the crowd. Moments later the brutes forced dark cloth bags over Nathan and Remi's heads. Loss of sight was immediately followed by the prick of a hypoderm and the pair lost consciousness.

  Omany arrived just in time to see his Princess being carried away. The sight provided enough distraction that he had no warning of the blow to the back of his head that rendered him unconscious.

  CHAPTER XVI

  “Calling private trading vessel Nola, this is Winnette, I have an urgent message for Captain Nathan Daniels, please respond.” Winnette had be released from stasis as soon as the courier ship was in orbit around Rand. She had immediately recorded that message and set it to repeat on all EM frequencies, as she was still unable to use n-wave given the Nola's precise location was still unknown. That was twenty minutes ago. In ten more minutes she was going to have to land or risk suffocation, and she preferred to make her landing near the Nola.

  Getting no response to her EM signal, she hacked her way into the planetary network in an effort to seek out the ship's new AI. It is not hard for a trained KII agent to find a fledgling AI on a new planet, all she had to do was find the data node that logged the most downloaded data in the last couple of days. Sending Nola a message instructing her to listen to her EM radio was equally easy.

  “Winnette, is that really you?” came over the courier ship's speakers moments later. “I'm sooooo scared! Nathan and Remi left the ship eons ago and didn't take their radios! Omany went out after them and he's not answering my calls, even though I know he has his. I don't know what do do!”

  While AIs have tremendous intelligence, ones as young as Nola were still finding themselves, and were like small children emotionally, especially when faced with a crisis.

  “Nola, sweetie, we will deal with that, but first things first. I need to land. I only have five minutes of oxy left and I want to land near you. Can you please tell me your location?”

  * * *

  “Nathan Daniels! I never thought I would see you again!” Prescilla was across a table from him, using a rudimentary prosthesis to sip tea and eat apple pie ala mode. The desert was a nice touch, and Nathan knew it was for his benefit, to show that she remembered their time together.

  Although seated at the table, with Remi on his left, Nathan was bound securely to his chair. Remi was bound as well. He wasn't sure, but he guessed the restraints probably had not been Prescilla's idea.

  “Prescilla, what the Hell h
appened?” The effects of the drugs were still wearing off, and Nathan had to take extra care not to slur his words. “You came here to study why Rand had not had a revolution, not to provoke one. Isn't interfering in this way going to make getting your dissertation through your committee that much harder?”

  “Silly man! I completed my dissertation within six months of you leaving and I defended it via n-wave a month after that! I am officially Dr. Anderson now, not that the title matters much here.” She paused and took a bite of pie. After cutting her piece, the pie had been passed to Prescilla's compatriots around the room, who each took a slice for themselves. When the pan had returned to the table, Nathan had been unsurprised to find there was still some pie in the pan. Prescilla had taught her revolutionaries well.

  “You graduated less than a year after we parted ways?” Nathan asked rhetorically. “That explains why I never saw your name on the degree list! I didn't even start looking until a year later.”

  “My interviews, case studies and other research clearly showed what was allowing the insanity that was the Randian economy to continue. Knowing the nature of the cancer, I took it upon myself to eliminate it.” She paused, cut a bite of pie with her fork and fed it to Nathan.

  “Remember our discussion of the J-curve and how revolutions are linked to outcomes not matching expectations?” Nathan nodded, savoring his pie. “It seemed logical that a culture such as Rand's would lead to everyone in it expecting to be a success, and to a certain extent that is true, but what no one on the outside realizes is that on Rand, if you are not successful, everyone, including you, believes it is entirely your own fault! Never mind that it stands to reason that even with the same abilities and opportunities not everyone can be a success! The overwhelming belief here is, or should I say was, that everyone achieves what they deserve to achieve.”

  “But surely over time, as multiple generations of the same family, or other social group, are unable to break the cycle of poverty, no matter how capable certain members are, that belief has to change.” As a future ruler, Remi's education had included a fair amount of sociology, economics and political science.