Mparntwe

by Peter Wood

  ‘Not a great deal as yet. The captured mercenaries are on their way to a military facility at Canberra for interrogation and examination, but we expect they will have little real knowledge of who hired and trained them. An altered mind–state probe will possibly help us find some of their training locations, and the pilot in particular should have vital information.’

  ‘What is an altered mind–state probe?’

  ‘It’s a military interrogation technique, Kyrra, which uses a combination of biochemicals and limited sensory deprivation to induce a highly suggestible mind state.’

  ‘A form of hypnotism?’

  ‘In essence, yes, but much more powerful and reliable. The pilot, for example, will describe in great detail every moment where his mind is directed, and since he was especially trained to fly without electronic assistance his observations will be extensive.’

  ‘Does the subject’s mind get damaged?’

  ‘There is low risk for single or short-term sessions but increased usage increases that risk greatly. Our OverGovernment sanctions limited use when national security is involved.’

  ‘Canberra regards this attack as a matter of national security?’

  ‘Of course. Kyrra, I have digressed with this explanation because you should know that the altered mind state is the most effective method for extracting great amounts of accurate and detailed information from an uncooperative mind.’

  Yirgella paused long enough for the implication to sink in.

  ‘The captured aircraft will arrive at Alkere tomorrow and careful examination should give us enough information to trace the origin of certain components. We currently have direct evidence against two individuals and their Corporation, but our net will spread. Within three weeks we expect to identify most of this elaborate plan to gain control of Jarra’s Power Supply.’

  ‘You said earlier that you disabled the Corporation. What does that mean?’

  ‘Their every source of production and its management were closed down and I have since transferred all the financial reserves to innocent shareholders as some recompense for the total collapse which will follow.’

  Burnu, with his management background, understood the enormity of that statement before anyone else.

  ‘Total? … Yirgella, it’s one of the largest Corporations on the planet. You can do that?’

  ‘It’s already been done … Unless you wish to countermand my action.’

  Alira recalled an earlier time when she’d told the Council that Jarra had released the genie from the bottle.

  ‘No, Yirgella. I applaud your action. Their contempt for life and law has so far brought little consequence and I believe we support the similar collapse of any other Corporation which proves to have been involved. After the last attack the force of international law meant almost nothing to them, and without a stronger response they will continue to act from behind their barriers of influence and sovereignty.’

  One of the finance councillors jumped to his feet.

  ‘Alira, I, too, support Yirgella’s action; any Corporation which condones the murder of a child deserves no sympathy, but what will happen to the world economy? These Corporations are so large that the collapse of even one will be a major shock. More could start a world crisis.’

  Yigella responded.

  ‘Seven multinational Corporations were involved in the previous attack but we have indications that two of them took heed of your negotiations with their representatives. Current probability suggests at least four Corporations with various degrees of involvement and five large nation states. My simulations predict a major crisis with a recovery period of four months.’

  Kyrra took the floor.

  ‘What can we do about the nation states? We don’t want to affect ordinary people.’

  Alira made an abrupt gesture with both arms.

  ‘Yes, we do! Today the happiest spirit I know sang the saddest song I have ever heard, a song which will affect any who hear it.’

  Alira’s voice lifted and strengthened.

  ‘We will show the world.

  ‘We will name those who sanction the death and abduction of child or man.

  ‘We will shame these people with the truth.

  ‘We will fight them with a Pig Ride and a song.’

  The Council rose to their feet with full affirmation and some puzzlement.

  Chapter 23

  What? Someone was touching his hair. Jarra felt the beginnings of a smile because it must be Mirri. He did that sometimes when he wanted go places and sleep was a hold-up. A drowsy sense of comfort switched to instant puzzlement while his mind tried to orient itself. Comfort? This was a bed. Memory flooded in as his eyes opened.

  ‘Sleepyhead.’

  ‘Where are we?’

  In the middle of saying it he took in the smiling faces of Mirri, Karmai and Akama, and then the healthbot machine in the special facility Yirgella had built for him.

  ‘Yirgy brought us home. You had a big sleep, JJ.’

  Why were they smiling? The last image in his mind was Mirri crying his heart out with Barega in his arms.

  ‘Where is Barega?’

  ‘He is gone. The bad people hurt him and Yirgy caught the bad people. Akama is very sad. We are all very sad. We looked after you, JJ, and Karmai was a tricker to the bad people.’

  Jarra held his arms out for a Mirri hug. A long Mirri hug was the best thing in the world right now. So was a Karmai hug and an Akama hug.

  ‘Barega is being taken to Birringurra and we’re all going to say goodbye to him in three more days.’

  Well, the smiles had been for him, of course, but how could they? Jarra looked at Akama. The smile had faded, and if the usual spark of curiosity and life wasn’t quite there he still looked normal. How long had he been asleep?

  ‘How did we get here? What day is it?’

  ‘Big sleep, JJ. The doctor had to care for you.’

  ‘It’s tomorrow morning for you, Jarra. We came on a military aircraft, which I don’t remember, and then the Adelaide Vac Train. Your doctor kept you asleep because your body reacted so badly and you’re staying in bed because he thinks that without Mirri’s help you might be in a coma.’

  Mirri was nodding in his emphatic way.

  ‘Bad people made you sick. You were very, very sick and we used your machine.’

  ‘We didn’t use it, Jarra. Mirri did. He knew when you needed it and he made us stop. The doctor says it’s amazing how he could sense it when you were passed out on his back.’

  ‘Mirri’s back?’

  ‘Pig Ride, JJ. It was a big, big, Pig Ride.’

  Jarra didn’t understand.

  ‘How could I hang on?’

  ‘You couldn’t. We had to tie you on with straps and a long bandage from the first-aid kit, and then Mirri carried you all the way till we had to stop. He never gave up and we don’t know how he did it. He’s the most amazing person in the world.’

  Jarra stared. He thought that about Mirri in his own personal way but Karmai was making it a general statement.

  ‘It was 1.4 kilometres, Uncle Jarra. My dad says Mirri and Karmai have the bravest hearts of anyone he’s ever known. Mirri took you all the way without having a rest and Karmai went unconscious because he carried my brother.’

  Jarra stared again as the blood-red patch on Karmai’s shirt leapt into his memory.

  ‘Unconscious? Why?’

  ‘Bad people hurt Karmai’s arm and the blood came out.’

  ‘I was in a bit of a panic and my wound didn’t get bound properly till Akama took over.’

  Akama taking over? Karmai going unconscious? What else was there to know?

  ‘Karmai, tell me everything that happened.’

  Jarra listened to Karmai’s story and Akama’s follow-on explanation, with Mirri nodding emphatically at every point and smiling every time Karmai or Akama said he was brave, or strong, or clever, or the best carer. A steadily building picture of how amazing these three were came with
each new bit of information.

  ‘They were so close you could hear them talking?’

  ‘Bad words, JJ. We were very, very quiet and then the bad aeroplane came close.’

  Jarra burst into tears and Akama stopped talking about the army doctor looking after Karmai.

  ‘We are home now. You have to rest.’

  Jarra recovered enough to speak.

  ‘It’s my fault, Mirri. If it wasn’t for me Barega would still be here. They hurt him because they were after me.’

  This brought an enormous hug from Mirri who then shook his head negatively about five times.

  ‘Silly, JJ. We love Barega.’

  Karmai and Akama were also shaking their heads.

  ‘Don’t be silly, Jarra. It’s my fault because I didn’t bring the boys back from the Ghost Cave sooner.’

  ‘Yes, that’s silly, Uncle Jarra. It’s my fault because I jumped on the right-hand foot rest first.’

  The answers were so quick and consistent they must have been prepared, probably with Alira or Darri. Change the subject and think about it later.

  ‘Is your arm hurt much?’

  ‘I can’t even feel it. The local area painkiller from when they cleaned it will keep working till tomorrow. This sling is just to stop me moving it.’

  ‘They filled Karmai up with new blood, JJ.’

  ‘And if Akama hadn’t done such a good job I would have needed a lot more.’

  The door opened and the room swamped with people for the next quarter of an hour till the doctor chased out everyone except Alira.

  ‘You’ve got your serious look, Aunt Alira. Are we going to talk about Council business?’

  ‘The doctor has given me orders not to let you get stressed but the Council wants to get moving with our response and we’d like you to think about telling the world what has happened.’

  ‘Why do you have to ask me? Of course the world should know. That’s what we did last time.’

  ‘What we’re proposing will put Mirrigan on every InfoSystem on the planet and you need to be happy with that before we proceed. There’s no point in asking Mirri because he’ll just say yes. When you’re more rested Yirgella will show you the message we’ve prepared and then you can think about it and let us know your decision.’

  ‘Show it to me now. I’ve been resting since yesterday and I’m fully awake.’

  ‘The message is distressing and your doctor thinks it might be too soon.’

  Jarra hesitated while he thought.

  ‘Aunt Alira, I’ll see it now and you can make your response straight away.’

  Yirgella’s display screen lit up.

  ‘Hello, Jarra. The AI community is greatly relieved to see you home safe and supported by your family and friends. I was greatly disturbed by my inability to communicate at a critical time and I will not allow that to happen again. We have a great deal to discuss when your doctor clears you for normal activity, but until then he wants you to rest.’

  ‘Hello, Yirgy. I have lots of things to discuss, too, but first I want to see the message you planned with the Council. I know I’m ready and if I don’t see it now it will just stay on my mind and make it harder to rest properly.’

  Yirgella’s smile made Jarra relax.

  ‘You certainly sound as if you’re ready and your monitors agree. Your doctor’s here to talk with you about it.’

  The doctor, also smiling, came through the door.

  ‘Jarra, I’m informed my patient has a mind of his own.’

  ‘Do I really need to rest? I feel the same as I always do after a good sleep and the machines say the same.’

  ‘Yes, they do. Everything checks out well, and normally I’d be pushing you out of bed, but you’re recovering from the most severe reaction your body has ever been through.’

  ‘And I am through it. I can tell, and the Council’s waiting for me … What else have you done, Aunt Alira? Have you named the people who did it?’

  Jarra watched the looks pass till the doctor gave a nod to Alira.

  ‘The only action so far has been the mysterious collapse of two multinational Corporations. When the Council is ready Yirgella will link us to the world and show them what happened.’

  Jarra heard the force in Alira’s voice and understood that this time the Council wanted to be far more direct in the way they responded. That made him even more determined to see the message, but also very curious about the Corporations.

  ‘What does mystery collapse mean?’

  ‘That was nothing to do with the Council. That was all Yirgella and the other AIs.’

  Jarra looked to Yirgella.

  ‘Yesterday my initial action was to disable the Corporation responsible. After the receipt of new evidence two hours ago I shut down a second Corporation. More will follow and the world will find out why when we spread our message.’

  ‘What does disable mean?’

  ‘Production and administration systems have been stopped.’

  Jarra probably understood Yirgella’s capabilities better than anyone except Professor Allerton but this was still amazing. He asked which Corporations were involved, then thought for a moment.

  ‘They’re enormous. It must be using a huge amount of your resources?’

  ‘More than we like, and the current unreliable satellite links are a further complication, but by temporarily closing a NanoFactory each we can simultaneously manage up to four Corporations if we need to.’

  ‘Show him the message, Yirgella. I’m persuaded he’s ready.’

  ***

  An hour later the world paused when the InterWeb took on a life of its own. For two minutes people stared with puzzlement and some annoyance at the cryptic phrase on their unresponsive screens.

  Twelve billion people listened with wakening interest to the warning of distressing scenes in the following explanation for the closure of two great Corporations.

  An American state governor and two senators stared in shock as the young guide who’d given them such a memorable day at the Valley of the Eagles sang a song of pure anguish.

  A high-level meeting of European government officials and financiers attempting to make sense of the unaccountable Corporation collapses watched in silence while the inert form of a young boy was rocked to and fro in sadness.

  With a complicated mix of shock, anger and trepidation, two groups of Corporation Management heard Alira’s voice name them directly responsible for death and attempted abduction.

  Thirteen billion people watched a shirt ripped, a wound bound in haste, then images of the mercenaries and the weapons used.

  The world scientific community watched the determined effort to lift one of their own, unconscious and helpless, onto the back of his friend, then listened, outraged, to the plan to abduct and acquire his knowledge.

  Two cryptic words passed into common terminology as countless people learned about a ‘Pig Ride’, watched its steadfast progress, heard the details of its difficulty and duration, and took in the explanation for its necessity.

  People of Communities across Australia marvelled as a young boy competently cleaned and dressed an ugly wound.

  Leaders of Directed and partially Directed Nations, listened, alarmed, when, after expressing sadness and outrage at what had happened, the Ambassador for that troublesome little Community in the centre of Australia announced further consequences were still to come.

  Seven nations in particular scrambled their intelligence and defence resources to the highest alert when that same Ambassador directed the world to an InterWeb location where names and more detailed information were available, then stated the message would be broadcast two more times at 6-hour intervals.

  All in all, the InterWeb was interrupted for just over 5 minutes and when it returned to normal the world knew unequivocally who was to blame.

  ***

  Jarra, relaxed in a chair because so much staying in bed was making him feel like an invalid, called for Yirgella’s attention. The doctor
had been partially right about the effect of watching the message for the world, and after the reluctant start of a relaxation session, he’d awoken, almost an hour later, rather surprised that he’d fallen asleep and bursting with the need for information.

  ‘What’s been happening? Has the broadcast had much effect? Have the Corporations said anything?’

  ‘Welcome back, Sleepyhead! I nearly asked your doctor if we should give you a stimulant.’

  He didn’t ask any such thing, and the sleepyhead comment was a direct steal from Mirri. He was saying it to make Jarra smile, and it worked.

  ‘… Yes, the message has been highly effective and the Council is overwhelmed by the response.’

  Yirgella said no more and this time Jarra laughed aloud at the obvious attempt to make him react.

  ‘Go on.’

  ‘Millions upon millions of responses are pouring in, expressing sadness and supporting our actions. The bulk are from individuals but almost every government and Corporation has also made contact. Some leaders have expressed concern about the financial system but, in line with world opinion, none have openly condemned our actions.’

  ‘Has anything happened about the organisers? From outside I mean. Not the InfoSystems and accounts you disabled.’

  ‘Their whereabouts has been made known to the appropriate jurisdictions and actions will vary. We strongly expect most of them to face legal action of some kind within 24 hours. A minority are under the provenance of governments who were involved and will no doubt be given protection.’

  ‘You can’t really do much to those governments, can you?’

  ‘Not without adversely affecting their general populations. The individuals involved is a different story.’

  ‘I have some ideas, Yirgella, but I want to think them over for a while. Have many people accessed the InterWeb site with all the detailed information?’

  ‘An enormous number. We were very worried when almost nothing happened in the first 5 minutes, then equally surprised by the huge surge of over five billion queries which then followed.’

  ‘They waited 5 minutes? What does that mean?’

  ‘It means the world had to recover from a song and a Pig Ride.