by JM Guillen
“Right,” I mumbled. I stepped through, blearily. “Sure.”
Had I even fully gone into torpor? System time showed less than one day since I’d last been active. Furthermore, I’d just stepped through the conduit in my white room, and I hadn’t geared a single thing.
“Weird.” I turned my neck and popped it. “Am on a cold boot?” I asked the hallway.
It didn’t respond.
I stood in a darkened passageway that stretched out before me. It could have been in any office building anywhere, as long as the building smelled like dog shit and had several broken windows. I stared out as I passed them, with the thought that I might be able to identify the city.
Somewhere in England? Maybe. The cars below drove on the wrong side of the road, but that could place me almost anywhere in the United Kingdom.
Seven or eight meters down the hallway, a crimson sphere the size of a basketball hung in the air. It burned quietly and sang a soft and eldritch song. As that light flickered, I in no way thought it made the shadowed passage look menacing.
“Well then.” I began to walk toward the sphere as I massaged the back of my neck.
It had been years since I’d been assigned a tier three conduit. In fact, I’d thought the Facility didn’t even use them anymore. The tier ones were practically universal in recent years. I’d become accustomed to simply stepping through a door and coming out in another place. Instant travel. No search for the terminal marker, no cover-up, no fuss.
Now I had to walk down the hallway, like some kind of animal.
Designate, do I require an initiation code to operate this conduit?
Negative, Asset. As always, the Designate’s link felt like a cold river in my mind. Your Crown has already been queued to the conduit.
Understood.
I stepped into the burning sphere and only squinted a little at the electrical sensation that spread across my skin. The tier threes weren’t uncomfortable per se, but it did feel as if every centimeter of my skin fell asleep for a moment.
A scarlet flash burned in my Crown, I found myself to be slightly dizzy, and…
Elsewhere.
“About fuckin’ time.” The drawl carried more than a little amusement. I was half afraid I might have to come and wake you up.
You just want to climb into bed with me. I hear it’s a hillbilly thing. I blinked again to adjust my eyes to the strong, sterile light.
A Facility Location. It had to be. The white walls, the tiled floor, everything seemed crisp and perfect.
The only thing that threw off the professional atmosphere sat at a table in front of me, bearded and huge. He wore denim overalls for fuck’s sake and grinned at me like a loon.
“Overalls? Are you serious?” I gazed at Wyatt and gave him a tiny smile.
It was about all I had the energy for, if I were honest.
“How you doin’, Hoss?” Wyatt stood and extended me a hand, a bit of sympathy in his tone.
I nodded at him, and we shook.
“I guess you—” I cleared my throat. “You know?”
“I guess I do.” Wyatt fiddled with his beard, the way he occasionally did when he didn’t know what to say. “Fucked up.”
“Yeah.” I started to say something else but couldn’t exactly find the words. I’d rather not talk about it, I think.
I get it. He nodded. Gideon was a good man. Helluva leader.
“Yeah,” I repeated. “You know what I’m here for?” I gestured toward my own head, in the vicinity of my Crown. “You got the dossier?”
I don’t. Wyatt gave a shrug that more resembled an avalanche than anything else. But I know where the Designates expect us to be. Come on. He gestured as he began to walk.
I dunno. I gave him a suspicious glare. If this is you trying to trick me into some kind of Thai strip club…
That happened once! He shook his head, as if disgusted. I was doing you a favor.
We were on assignment! I chuckled and shook my head. Chasing some jackass who would… I tried to remember.
Angels, wasn’t it?
Right! Some jackass who thought he could pull angelic Watchers from the Old Testament out of his pocket.
That’s why we needed the club, Wyatt insisted. The ladies in that place were Irrational. I thought they might be angels.
I’m not certain they were ‘ladies’!
As we bantered, Wyatt led me down the hall, past several stainless-steel doors. When the passage came to a T, he took a left. A couple more turns and he led me into a small meeting room.
It took the two of you long enough. Anya stood at the front of the room, focused on telemetric readings. The bank of computers covered most of that wall, along with a silver terminal orb that hovered in midair off to Anya’s left.
Brooks Brothers here wasted a lot of my time, Wyatt explained. You know how he can be.
“A terminal orb?” I stepped closer to the primary interface and watched my reflection in its smooth surface. I’d seen them before. Hell, I’d used one while fumbling my way around a Facility black site just a year or so ago. Typically the orbs were used for ‘heavy lifting’ within the system. To see Anya make use of one made me wonder what she was up to.
Indeed, Michael. She turned toward me, a soft smile more in her eyes than on her lips. It’s been an overwhelming few hours.
Tell me about it.
I have informed the Designate of your arrival. Anya turned back to the telemetric displays, her brow furrowed. We will be briefed shortly and are advised to remain here.
Well enough by me. I glanced around.
A meeting table dominated the far side of the room, while a third wall held dark screens. In the corner a second door stood firmly closed.
Kind of weird for all of us to get briefed together.
The Designates want me t’ be here to explain things to you, Wyatt informed me as he pulled out one of the chairs and tortured it with his weight. They said it gets hard not being able to use big words. Gets in the way of their Reptilian conspiracies.
I’m pretty certain I shouldn’t be here. I stepped closer to the powered-down terminals and tried to track what the interfaces might be for. Doesn’t the Crown require something like six hours of torpor for every hour of use?
Not yours, Wyatt jibed. Only Assets who actually use their brains have that limitation.
Caduceus Gardener has been assigned to assist with that lack. Anya felt distracted as she plucked at an interface I couldn’t see. I feel confident she will be able to bypass any functional issues you may encounter.
Not exactly my point. I frowned a touch. I believe that, in my entire career, I’ve been called off torpor early exactly zero times.
Huh. Wyatt frowned. I hate to admit it when yer right.
It occurs to me that the current situation is unusual in several ways, Anya linked. I have completed several non-protocol tasks in the past several hours.
Our conspiratorial theorizing was rudely interrupted by a general link, as a young woman entered the room.
Wyatt! Sofia Delacruz smiled at the bear of a man, the link curling in a soft Spanish accent. You get assigned to babysit this joker?
You know how it is. He sighed. Genius is often punished with extra responsibility.
Oh. She nodded. So Anya’s doing the babysitting?
I have not been tasked with any specifics regarding Michael or Asset Guthrie, Anya linked while she peered into her interface. My instructions only involve waiting to be briefed.
Typical. Sofia stepped over to me, a sarcastic glint in her eye. What have you been up to, Mike?
Oh, you know… I sent a little of my own sarcasm through the link, Mostly gringo stuff.
You do have the whitest name on earth. She considered for a moment. Maybe Johnson or Smith would be whiter. Should I start calling you Mike Johnson?
You said you’d call me ‘Michael’ if I got us out of a certain scrape? I raised an eyebrow at her.
I don’t remember that. She seem
ed to consider for a moment. I may have been under duress.
I notice your skin condition has cleared up. I gestured at her forehead. It’s impressive that you went through so much trouble to look nice for me.
Wow. Just wow. Sofia chuckled and held up both hands in surrender. Okay then.
At that moment, the second door opened. In strode the young Mandarin Designate I’d dealt with on several of my dossiers. As always, she appeared crisp and professional. Her dark hair had been pulled back in a neat bun, and her thin-rimmed glasses perched perfectly on her nose. As she walked, her high heels clicked loudly on the floor.
Behind her, my favorite Caduceus Asset strolled into the room.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. The Designate sent a general link and nodded toward the table. Take a seat. We have quite a bit to discuss.
I hope none of this is about the dress code, I sent to Wyatt alone. I’d hate to see you get sent home.
I bet it’s not. My friend scowled at me as he sat down.
Yeah?
Too much weird for me. I’ve got a feeling that we’re about to be neck deep in horseshit.
I hated to admit it, but the hillbilly just might be right.
2
The Designate wasted no time with pleasantries. As soon as the five of us sat, she stepped to the terminal orb. She placed her palm on its surface and began to link.
A momentary perusal of your ancillary Crown systems will reveal several integral processes of your personal holography are currently offline. This is expected and will continue to be so for— she paused there and turned her head to Rachel.
Two hours five minutes, as near as I can figure. Rachel gave a shrug. Difficult to say.
She’s right. Numerics flitted across the surface of Wyatt’s oculus as he delved into his personal system. I barely have the bandwidth to send and receive links.
What with all the porn, I linked to him alone.
You may experience difficulty sending and receiving any information during this time. Rachel shrugged. Nothing for it.
Several of you should be in torpor right now, the Designate continued. These processes would be far simpler to implement there, however we are currently on a fixed timeline.
What alterations are taking place? I linked everyone but glanced at Rachel.
The Facility has chosen to update a significant portion of the firmware that drives your integral holotecture, the Designate answered. This process has been scheduled for this particular cadre for a short time now. The update is being applied to Facility Liaison 702 as well.
That guy? I linked my best friend. Again?
Demetrius isn’t all that bad. Wyatt shook his head as he linked to me. I think you’re just jealous because his suits look better than yours.
You’re. Wearing. Overalls.
These processes are being streamlined due to a ground-level alteration in the basic operations of a Facility cadre, the Designate continued. You five, along with Liaison Stone, are to be the vanguard of this new modality. It is intended to streamline Facility response to large-scale Irrational events.
A question? Anya actually raised her hand a little bit, something I found endearing. Does this update to our holotecture hinder porting this dossier via packet?
That’s an affirmative, Rachel poked in. It’s why we have to be all chatty about it. Your receptive helix alone is pulling 89.01% of your Crown resources. Almost overtasked.
I have a question too. Wyatt nodded at the Designate. Does this new modality standardize Assets into permanent cadres? Is that why we’re all grouped up?
This is an experimental modal, the Designate clarified. But yes. This alteration is classified as the Citadel Initiative. For the time being, the five of you and Liaison Stone are the first permanent Facility cadre.
So I’ll always work with… Sofia gave me a sharp smile and continued, these particular Assets?
That is affirmative. The Designate stepped back over to the terminal orb and made two quick touches upon it before she turned back to us. This Facility substation has been retooled for your specific use. It is now reclassified as the Citadel. Your personal white rooms have all been geared to open conduits to this location.
Neat. I glanced around the table. But why? You said something about a fixed timeline?
I did. She paused. Aside from Asset Guthrie and Preceptor Petrova, is everyone familiar with the Facility concept of a cascading error? The Designate scanned the table.
Sure. Sofia stretched and leaned back in her chair. A cascading error refers to an anomaly within the system. It happens when one thing goes wrong that leads to another, which leads to another. She gave me a catty glance. Kind of like when Bishop goes on dossier.
She’s not wrong, Wyatt linked to me.
Since the Dossier I63-1998, the Designates have tracked over one hundred events worldwide that have been related to the events in the Mojave Desert.
Over a hundred? I sat back, a bit stunned. All connected to, what, the Vyriim?
The agents of Dhire Lith, in one form or another, the Designate confirmed. Servitors of Aberration 45171R.
You suggest a parallel between a cascading error in the system, and events involving Dhire Lith, Anya observed.
Yes, the Designate agreed. Often, these are small things, such as smuggling operations or reconnaissance into Rationality. Other times, however, these are acts of sabotage and war.
Like with Substation 306. Wyatt nodded to himself. They took the whole fucking thing, Rook and all.
Didn’t they kidnap captain pretty boy here? Sofia jerked her chin at me.
That was his girlfriend. Wyatt leaned toward her, as if to whisper a confidence in her ear. They had domestic issues.
This is the reason for the Citadel Initiative. The Designate paused, glanced down at the tablet she held and then back to us. The Facility is experimenting with new solutions to a certain class of problem that seems to continually grow in new and unexpected ways.
So we’re like a specialized team? Wyatt asked.
Across Rationality, most incidents that require our attention are still quite small. The Designate paused for a moment. Most of our incursions are simple things. They typically involve a young person accidentally discovering Irrational capabilities or a creature that is left over from an earlier age.
Correct. Anya nodded. On the average, a dossier is marked as complete in less than three hours.
Yet within the past five years or so, this has begun to change. Those typical assignments still exist, but more and more we find we must send Assets on longer excursions.
I’ve been to more otherworldly topias in the last five years than the rest of my career combined, Wyatt grumbled. Honestly, I blame this jackass. He hooked a thumb at me.
Hey! I gave him a dirty look.
Aberration 45171R seems to be at the root of much of this, yet it is difficult to ascertain for what purpose. For this reason, the Citadel Initiative exists.
I thought the Vyriim had pulled back? I turned toward Anya. Wasn’t that right? Their incursions halted after our little party in Dhire Lith?
The nature of those incursions simply changed, the Designate explained. They began to act far more secretively and moved through agents rather than taking action directly.
You’re talking about Sadhana. Wyatt sat back and crossed his arms over his huge barrel chest. That fucking Drażeri was with them, at the end.
In the Spire. I furrowed my brow. At the time, the Drażeri agent had seemed bizarre. He was the last thing I expected to encounter.
Correct. It is currently believed that if Sadhana is not completely controlled by Aberration 45171R, then it is merely a matter of time, the Designate acknowledged.
So that’s the point of the firmware? Rachel asked. We’re to be assigned a specific location with everyone queued into its systems?
Affirmative. The Designate folded her arms. The formation of the Citadel Initiative has been in the works for a few months now. Unfortunately,
due to recent events, some changes in personnel had to be initiated.
Gideon, I realized, with a start. Before we lost him, you intended Asset DuMarque to lead the team.
Gideon DuMarque was an exemplary Asset. The events at the Spire showed his capability with the Catalyst packet.
They did at that, I linked thoughtfully. Catalyst happened to be a tough packet to equip. It granted the Asset some Designate level controls over Facility tech, while allowing the user to coordinate teams of Assets.
The original intention was for DuMarque to be the Catalyst for the team, while Bishop was to be appointed permanent Alpha-in-the-Field. She paused. In the past, these two have functioned well, complementing each other’s natural talents.
Bishop? Sofia seemed a touch confused.
With current Asset allocations, it has been decided I will be the Designate in Charge in place of Catalyst DuMarque.
What? Wyatt exclaimed, stunned.
I will be the Designate in Charge, she repeated. I will coordinate your activities and communicate with Facility Prime.
No. No, no, no. Sofia waved one hand. That wasn’t what officer overalls here was saying.
HA! I sent to Wyatt. The link felt clunky, heavy in my mind.
Bishop is the Alpha? Sofia continued.
We’re all going to die. Rachel sunk her head to the desk. I don’t think they make enough viral mecha to fix this.
There are circumstances you have not been privy to prior to today. The Designate raised one hand. These factors colored our decision-making when it came to the formation of this group.
It’s that they’re all reptilians. Wyatt sent to everyone in the room except for the Designate. I knew it all along.
Anya shot him a glare.
The events that took place in Dossier I63-1998 and Dossier K91-1998 have handed us a unique opportunity regarding Michael Bishop. As you may remember, much of his spine and holotecture required refitting at the end of those assignments.
Oh, I remember, Rachel groused.
To this day, Asset 108 is in possession of neural structures that are unique among humans, not to mention among Facility Assets. These structures provide us with an advantage we believe Aberration 45171R does not know exists.