I was almost afraid to ask but I did. “Were the cannon for the moon part of this shipment?”
Rorklin spoke for the first time, “Not at first. When I loaded, I saw the system would not be useful to the fullest without the moons armament so I put them on board. We also use what you call Right Angle Space, but more angles. I will show you. We also have rifles to use against ANNU KI. I put 20,000 of them on too. I made a long list from our files to use against ANNU KI. I have long fight with them.”
I hoped the background noise in the hall wouldn’t disturb them. From the way Rork nodded in approval, I suspected they didn’t have a concept of ‘we’.
Betty spoke in my head, EXACTLY, THEY ALSO DO NOT SLEEP, THEY CAN EAT OR DIRECTLY ASSIMILATE, YOU WILL LEARN MUCH OF TECHNICAL IMPORTANCE FROM THEM, ASK THEM ABOUT THEIR WAREHOUSE AND MANUFACTURING BASE.
I said, “We do too. You recognize the Regs as created as you are? Correct?”
“Yes. The same created us both. Also part of you.”
“I thought so. Thank you for making me sure. I would ask you about where you came from if that is permitted?”
Rork spoke. “Yes. Wait. I will change your projector to show you.”
He concentrated on our projector for a moment and it made a loud pop.
He continued, “Make better later. Bring mine.”
A small box appeared and disappeared leaving a ball about a foot in diameter suspended in mid air. It activated and the Great Hall became a part, a small point in a broad distinct Universe. Our location was a blinking green dot. Another blinking green dot appeared in a region of space which had no galaxies close by.
“That I came from.”
I held my breath and asked, “Do many requests arrive in your recent times?”
“No. Yours was the only one in many cycles with the proper code.”
“Perhaps if you relocated to the outer system here in this space/time you could get more requests.”
“Could not get less. You help. I do. Have food now? Work now?”
Torme said, “Both. Come over to my table. We will have a feast for the ages.”
The ages will have to judge us, but we certainly tried.
After the first course the talk turned to how long it would take to install the equipment. Rork allowed it would take about five years to train the installers and get the job done. But then he said that if he and Rorklin would be allowed to wake up some helpers that needn’t be trained the job would go much quicker. Torme and he figured back and forth and finally they settled on 2,000 couples. Rork evidently set the wake up process in motion because the room formed again and out walked a pair just like the first. They were noticeably thinner. They had one question, work first, or eat first. When a server led them to a table set already for them they methodically started to make up for all those lost meals. After that another couple arrived every five minutes. I thought to offer Torme some help kitchen wise but I was sure he would be offended. Three more adjacent halls were finally needed. The Reg Techs, and our Techs started plumbing the level of advancement of the A-I technology, like techs do all over the Universe.
I watched Rork and Rorklin walk out with M.Verdai. For sure they were horse trading. I hoped we wouldn’t have to walk home. Torme called in his family to be introduced all around. I got to meet his twin daughters who would be going back to Earth with us. Some one came up with a naming procedure and name tags appeared for everyone. That helped since they all had the same numerical designation. I shared meals with arrivals and steins until I was about to burst. After a while, I lost track of time. Nobody even noticed that the arriving stopped. So much mingling was going on that at one point I lost my balance and fell backward onto a serving maiden. She just caught me and stood me back up without stopping. But not before I realized why the women wore such loose fitting one piece suits. The suits hid the fact that the Reg females had three pairs of breasts. I was so far gone that I had to sit down and figure out what I could do with three pairs of breasts. Oops, damn, I hope Molly and Sally were taking a time out.
M.Verdai came back and started talking to me about trading some Ranger Tech with Rork after he found another ten thousand rifles to kill the ANNU KI with. But he had done her one better and turned her Transparency Technology into a weapon by making it into a wide field in which no instruments worked. She was very impressed. That seldom happened.
For sure we were all going into the third day when Thelma spoke into my mind, I NEED YOU BACK HERE SOONEST, GATHER YOUR PEOPLE AND LEAVE. TORME AND IKE CAN HANDLE THE REST OF THE MISSION, I’VE ALREADY SPOKE TO IKE, YOU HANDLE TORME, SEE YOU SOON. I didn’t immediately sober up because I wasn’t drunk. Maybe going on a bit slower, but not drunk. Molly, Sally, Get everyone back to the ship.
I caught up with Torme in the corner with a thin couple and said, “Thelma said you and Ike can handle the rest. I’m leaving the two Rail Gun Docks here. My pilots need cross training in your Wagons. Can you call your daughters and tell them we’re leaving?”
“Sure, they’re packed and anxious to go. You’re going to miss a lot of tech exchange possibilities.”
I turned to the couple who some humorists had named Adam and Eve and asked, “Would you like to go to Earth with me?”
I almost saw the rosy bulb in their foreheads change hue. After that they said in unison, “Yes, we’re ready to go as we stand here.”
“Good, remain close to me and we’ll get to my ship.” I had to admire their willingness to accept adventure, though I didn’t understand them.
“Go to M.Verdai ship?”
“Yes.”
Adam said, holding up a small orange ball, “I can get us there.”
“Good, let’s wait a moment for M.Verdai and the girls.”
Eve said, “She, two minutes, they three minutes. I am now on your time frame.”
Sure enough, Eve was right. I said my goodbyes to Torme and his wife, the room formed, and unformed and we were on the Frigate. No sensation at all. Molly and Sally were already there.
M.Verdai said, “Seats, we’re lifting.”
Adam and Eve just grabbed a bulkhead. Ten X Reg gravity made fifteen X Earth gravity. They boggled my mind.
On ARK IV, people were moving around a bit quicker, but with no hesitation.
I called Ike just to make sure he didn’t consider he was being left with too much to do. He said, “Me and my people wouldn’t miss it for anything. Go, do, and keep me in the loop.”
Molly, ‘copy him on everything, he always had my back’. I almost didn’t want to leave this region of space. We had come to some positive results and more would come. Maybe Earth , or some part of its peoples could be saved. Personally I did not have faith in a good outcome.
M.Verdai went off with Torme’s daughters to arrange for an apartment in Central City. Torme had also sent along a Legation of two men and two women to act as his contribution to Thelma’s Court. Oh boy, she wasn’t going to like that Court idea but it was coming full speed at her. I was told by the DO that we were to waste no time, so he had us near maximum speed. I didn’t ask what that was because the answer wouldn’t have had any meaning to me. He just said, “Three and a half days.”
I had only to wait so Stalorne had brought me a soothing tea along with his plan for the ANNU KI capture. He was quite detailed in his style of presentation. I was about halfway through it when Betty knocked on the door jamb, “May I have some of your time?”
“Why sure. Stalorne, we have another customer.”
Betty would have tea also. When he was out of the room Betty said, “Could you send him on a mission for a few hours?”
When he came back with the tea I said, “I’ve been looking over this plan of yours. Why don’t you go over now to Stores and sort out how you want to be re-supplied? I didn’t see that in here.”
“Not yet. I take it you have no objections to my ideas?”
“Heavens no. While you’re at Stores you might go by Arms and see if the latest model of the single shot
Plasma Rifle couldn’t be built into the standard walking stick.”
He said, “That’s one I hadn’t thought of. I’ll do that. I have lunch laid out in the cooler. Help yourselves if I’m not back.”
When he was gone I said, “There goes a fellow long overdue for a field assignment.”
“Yes he’s ready, but he has learned a lot as steward and grown to be sure of himself.”
“That’s true. But what brings you here? Not that you’re not welcome day or night.”
Betty smiled, “I think I’ll forgo that ‘night’ invitation for a while until M.Verdai quits punishing you.”
I smiled also, “Maybe that’s prudent.”
“Actually I have a message from Thelma. It’s so confidential I’ll have to erase any memory of it when we’re done with the discussion.”
“Damn, that’s radical. Very well, if you must. But before we get into that let’s go over some loose ends.”
“Sure, fire away.”
I refilled her cup and started, “There’s the matter of this Diplomatic Mission business. I just started it so Walter could send off his trouble makers, and I hear they are a contentious bunch. Their escorts would like to send them to the farms for a week. However such efforts can be a plus, if properly managed. I’d like to assign your Ensign Tony Bressler to them full time. He seems like he has no qualms in calling a spade a spade.”
“That’s true. He says he’d like that duty and will get on with it right away.”
I went on to the next thing on my problem list, “There are the prisoners. I took them off Walter’s hands to spare him the adverse publicity. There’s no doubt of their guilt. I have no qualms about putting them to death. For sure, I’ll shoot them myself and not waste a moments sleep on them. But in going over their histories I see that at various points in their lives, for no real reason they lost the concept of right and wrong, lost the ability to follow their learned moral code. That fact doesn’t explain away, no matter how you twist their Resumes. So the question is, ‘What’s hidden from us?’ Did they just catch a virus? Were they implanted between lives to react under ‘X’ circumstances? What threw them off course? I know that I could just kill them and you’d sort out their memories. But maybe killing them would release whatever is in them and we’d set it free and it would be gone to influence someone else.”
Betty had been following me intently and I’m sure my words were heard by many. She relaxed and said, “You bring up questions that must be answered. Especially about death releasing the ‘bad actor’. We will take over the prisoners. In the end you may still just have to kill them for expediency’s sake. We’ll let you know what happens. We know about mind traps which persist over various life times. It may be as simple as that. We’ll see. Did you have anything else to resolve?”
“No, not that I can remember now. Let’s do what you came for.”
THE END
PRELUDE TO GREENER GREEN BOOK TWO
XO RAFE BERGER COMMANDING ARK IV
COMMANDER BETTY TRILL-ESSENCE
EXPLAINING ORDERS WHILE ON ROUTE TO EARTH
Betty said, “Very well. Here is the short form. Thelma needs a steady supply of freshly mined gold that hasn’t been influenced by any sort of wave activity. Why, you don’t need to know just yet. She has back tracked a supply coming into the banking stream. It is coming from 1854 out of Sante Fe. The person responsible for this operation is a Marshall Jason Dillard, or as he now calls himself, after a close brush with death, Pierre La Fuette. He has many people about him. Their histories aren’t classified. They will be brought to you on paper and ink of that period. Dillard is about to embark on a mission to kill a Senor Constanza who was behind the attempt to kill him. He made it look like the attempt was successful and has bought himself a few weeks. You are to go to his residence in Sante Fe, 21st of September, 1854, and help him kill his enemies in the most gruesome way possible. We want to establish an aura of invincibility around him. That’s to keep anybody from coming around his sphere of influence and asking questions. You have a supply of Grouper Wagons so use them. We want him so indebted to us that he will sell his gold to no one else though we will give him a good price. When I’m gone from this room, you will remember that we want the gold to manipulate the Earth’s banking systems. Questions?”
“No. I can see already how it would be best handled. I’ll take along M.Verdai to watch my back. She has different opinions and ideas, I’ve learned.”
“However you see fit. A non visible Frigate will collect the dead. The second part of this operation will actually take over the Earth’s banking system as a means of influencing political policy. We’re going to start about 1,000 AD. So you will next meet with your Military Intelligence Commander to tell him to train his men as Bankers and stock brokers. Thelma wants any one of them capable of walking into a World Class Bank of any era and being capable of taking over. You’ll also want to meet with General Niken to have him set up some sort of transportation system. Now nothing smaller than a Frigate has time slip capabilities. If he needs something smaller, he needs to say so right now. He is cleared for access to the archives in ARK IVs seed ship. He will be implanted whenever he enters it. Have him write down what he wants as his memory will be cleared every time he exits. Only Thelma has unlimited access. That’s the way the Elders set it up. They also set up a series of small Banks around the world in different times. Who knows why? Maybe it was someone’s hobby, or something. The MI people will be going into these existing Banks. Stress how to handle every task in a bank, including janitor. We’ll implant them with the appropriate language when they have definite assignments. Questions?”
“Not now.”
“An Essence will be assigned to every ten year period from 1,000 AD onward to the end. They will monitor and advise thru whatever type of communications system you set up. The ANNU KI already has a world banking system in place. You will be in a constant battle them. They don’t play with many rules. We will play with no rules at all. If we tear societies apart all the better. The dust may settle in a more desirous, to us, manner. We will stop any wars that try to start, as nastily as possible. That will vex the ANNU KI no end. Are you getting the picture?”
“Yes. What do I do after Sante Fe?”
“You’ll be going to Australia, about 2015, to interrupt the functioning of an ANNU KI gold supply route. The active ANNU KI ship is near Ayers Rock. Another ANNU KI ship is embedded in Earth but we don’t presently know where. I know 2015 is after your personal time, but you’ll get a thorough briefing. Do you think you’ll have enough to do?”
“Yes, I’ll put the whole MI battalion into a Time Drop bay later today.”
Rising, Betty said, “That would be a good start. We’ll have to do dinner when you have time.”
“Would that be this century, or the next?”
She just smiled and gave me a non platonic kiss and left.
Damn, did I have things to do, ‘Molly, Sally, get me Klinster and Niken over here.'
Niken got here first, being just down the hall. “What can I do for you?”
“Betty was just by with messages from Thelma. Long winded session which I’ll share with you as we go along. Klinster will be here any moment and I have to brief him. He’ll have to go into a time drop along with his men. So for now, I just want you to go into the seed ship, you’ve been cleared, and you’ll know how to search for what you want. You need a type of ship which can be readily fitted for Time Slipping. Figure you’ll need berthing for 1,000 personnel. You’ll need capability to insert small groups, no more than twenty, unseen into a hostile environment. The unseen part you’d better talk to M.Verdai about. You will have cover by Frigates but I’d like to keep them high up for reasons of secrecy. Is that enough to start a search on?"
“Sure, I’ll be back when I have it.”
“If you’re undecided bring several printouts. You’ll have to bring everything out in writing, because you won’t remember the time inside, security.�
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“Not unusual, later.”
He wasn’t gone ten minutes when Klinster came in with his E/XO, a fellow named Roland Trinstein. He said, “Molly suggested I bring Rolly along. What’s up?”
“New orders. Thelma wants your Battalion to become bankers. The plan is to establish banks, or use the ones Elders have in place, to cover the time from 1,000 AD to the end. Your people will need to be able to walk into any bank within that time frame and do the janitors job to the presidents job. These banks will also sell or buy stock and security certificates. They'll also issue insurance, any kind, so you will have to know those fields also. How much time to bring your people up to those levels?”
Trinstein spoke first, “Three months, basic knowledge.”
Klinster said, “Three and a half months.”
“Fine, the material will be gathered, and lecturers pulled from the crew. You will go into a four month time drop. We’ll set up a sphere around your quarters at a ratio that your elapsed time here will be only one week. Don’t worry about languages or culture adaptation. The Essences will provide an overlay upon assignment. Niken will handle transport. Develop a communication plan which will work over time. For emergencies a Frigate will never be far away. If you want to hire local security, do so. The desired result will be a capability to influence political and commercial events, thereby saving lives. Advanced technology will be inserted as you advise. I would start with costless desalination to irrigate Australia. You have to arrange the specifics. We don’t care whose apple cart we upset. The ANNU KI already controls your competition, so run them out of business. Your people will also have to know the reinsurance business. You can see some possibilities to prosper there I’m sure. Do you have enough details?”
Klinster said, “Reinventing the wheel would be easier. But my fellows are bright. They’ll get it done."
I said, "A platoon of Essence Ensigns will sort out any study difficulties. They have the very best study technology. Are we finished?”
Greener Green I: Where Does the Circle Begin Page 31