The Unknown

by Angel Wedge

  “Yeah. Can’t believe I mentioned it. Don’t say anything, right? They wouldn’t believe you anyway.”

  “They might. Some of our leaders are looking for a reason not to trust you. To set up our own colony and compete for resources, or to declare war. Most of us think that’s crazy, but we know what the sponsors back on Earth will say. And if they hear you’re keeping secrets, anything that could possibly be military, I think there might be a whole lot more support for the paranoid fringe. They’re just looking at your perfect society, trying to find something that they could use to convince the majority you’re our enemy.”

  “Well, all you have is one second hand rumour. You can’t threaten us with that, surely?”

  “I don’t want to threaten you. I just want to know there isn’t something we should be afraid of. Please, off the record. Tell me, and if it’s not something that could hurt our people, then it doesn’t go any further.”

  “I can’t,” Bosẽ looked down at his feet, and mumbled the words. He seemed to be ashamed somehow, but there was no obvious reason why. Unless…

  “You don’t know? You built these tunnels, but you never asked why?”

  “I never thought to ask. Research said they needed a chamber this size at this location, and different engineers submitted plans to minimise the energy and materials costs. We never asked what it was for, because we’d been asked to build so many things. It wasn’t until after I decided to ask, so I could make sure it was listed on my achievements, and they said that project never existed. It’s like…”

  “Could you go in and take a look around?”

  “I don’t think they’d like that. I mean, they probably haven’t changed the door codesCould get in so much trouble, you know?”

  “Okay, I won’t say anything to the brass,” Jasper offered his hand to shake, not quite sure why he’d offered that much. It wasn’t like he knew it was safe. But he didn’t believe this guy was a convincing liar, so he had to assume this project was a secret from the Martians. That meant it was unlikely to be something that threatened Earth, surely?

  “Thanks. Now, want to see the power plants? I didn’t work on those, but they’re incredible!”

  * * *

  Day 24

  When Jasper and Elle got back to the camp, there was a small deputation waiting for them. It was nearly sunset already, past midnight on clocks that had slowly been drifting out of sync with the sun since landing. Both of them should have checked in several hours before. Boo’s glider carried them. They decided to stop out of sight of the camp and walk the rest of the way back; somehow it seemed like they would get in even more trouble if Boo brought her glider all the way to the camp. So they left her at the rocky outcrop.

  There were at least half a dozen people standing just inside the airlock now. They must have been waiting; and for there to be so many of them, it was immediately obvious they knew where the two had been. If people were worried, if their superiors just thought they’d wandered out of range or were missing, then the response would have been to send out an iterative search.

  “Is there a problem?” Elle called back over the radio as soon as she was close enough to see that the situation in the camp wasn’t quite normal.

  “Doctor Planck,” the voice on the other end was angry. But it was also an officious voice, a bureaucrat rather than a scientist or a soldier, and that told them all they needed to know. Elle knew it was a serious situation, so she decided it wouldn’t be wise to aggravate her superiors by complaining about the incorrect use of her name. “You need to make a full report. You have been outside communication range for seven hours. You will return for debriefing immediately.”

  They stopped their buggy by the closest airlock. The samples went into a separate hatch, for automated isolation and dispatch to the appropriate labs, so only two people needed to wait in the main airlock. Half an hour after the buggy had stopped, the inner door was open and they could step out; into a room filled with the camp’s security personnel. They wore thick uniforms that surely couldn’t have been space efficient, and they still had the name ‘Vulcan’ printed across their chests. A reminder of the sponsors who had been able to send such a large crew out here; and of the low-key rebellion that had taken place along the way.

  There were only eight security staff in the whole crew, including those who had primary duties in some other area. They’d all been personality screened, after all, and could therefore be trusted. The agencies that planned this expedition didn’t believe that they needed any kind of disciplinary procedure, because they were sure all the people they’d chosen were good. But the sponsors, and the administrators, and a dozen different layers of management had disagreed. And now, the security men they’d never wanted were here to arrest Jasper and Elle for going out of bounds. With a little smile to herself, Elle thought that in some ways, it had been worth it. She had found out so much about Kells, too. She was sure she’d do it all again if she had the chance.

  “Calm down,” Jasper hissed over the suit radios, “You’re practically glowing. Try to look guilty at least.”

  The security men helped both of them out of their suits, and then took the suits away. They were marched away in different directions, to where they could be interviewed. The guards said it would be an interview, a debriefing, but the officers in charge seemed to have no interest in learning about Mars, or even asking where they had been. Captain Erdos just subjected Elle to a torrent of anger, which didn’t tell them anything they didn’t already know, and the interrogators just weren’t interested in any information the two had gathered. Elle guessed pretty quickly that Jasper would be getting a similar treatment from Walsh and Ng; and that this would be followed by introducing them to someone who actually knew what they were doing. Because this kind of interrogation could only be designed to make someone doubt their own observations, or make them absolutely sure about never associating with the Martians again.

  A good while later, the rebels were called in before Lemuel and Brayden. It was the first time they’d seen each other since their arrests, and there was no chance to talk in private now. Both had been stripped to minimum clothes, and their bags and personal possessions could be anywhere by now. In contrast, Major Brayden sat behind the desk in an immaculate military uniform, hair brushed back just so.

  “You are aware why you have been brought here,” he started. It wasn’t a question, but Jasper felt the need to correct him in any case.

  “Not really. We went out on an exploratory mission, according to our assigned duties, and we found something worth exploring that we believed justified a late return. We haven’t been given an opportunity to make a report yet, just an endless series of questions about our loyalties, and various people from security trying to make us feel uncomfortable. Which seems a questionable tactic in such a tight-knit community, I could tell Carl Ng was less than enthusiastic about having to play the bad cop.” Then he turned to Elle, “Has it been the same for you?” She just nodded, and didn’t say anything. He suspected that her interrogation could have been worse than his, but there wasn’t really a good way to ask about that.

  “Very well then,” Lemuel spoke firmly, “We’ve finally received a response to our first message back to Earth. For whatever reasons, our sponsors have determined that Martian cities are to be considered enemies. Therefore consorting with members of that culture may be considered corporate espionage. Do you understand?”

  “That’s crazy!” Elle burst out, “We’ve not been spying on anything, we’ve been looking at their culture and technology. We’ve learned so much, things that could give us a big advantage, maybe lead to more of our people surviving.”

  “I agree,” Lemuel nodded, “But among my committee, there are a few who are convinced you must be a spy. And security is one area in which I don’t have complete autonomy. Remember that we need to have a landing field ready for when the second ship arrives, so they need to be sure that my personal judgements can’t be allowed to endanger t
he mission. So, you are spies. The only choice now is whether you’re spying for us or for them.”

  “You can’t be serious?” Elle murmured, “I mean, have you seen their philosophy? I spent most of the time we were away talking to Boo – Boudica, the woman who came back with us to visit the camp before. And I talked to her friends too, a couple of them, and there was nobody there who had the slightest hesitation in telling me anything I wanted to know. What’s the point of spying on someone who regards open sharing of information to be one of the cornerstones of civilised behaviour?”

  “I’m glad you found it so easy to get answers. Our negotiators weren’t so successful. There are things we can ask about, but it seems they have some policies on equal sharing. We can’t ask too much unless we give them information about our own technologies as well. And there are secrets, big secrets. Things they say they can’t tell us. Can you explain why we’ve found it so difficult to get answers to certain questions, if they are as open and honest as you claim?”

  “Because they’re working to first contact scripts drafted by a group of ivory-tower game theorists and political scientists. Like the guy on tech support who knows what your problem is, but he still has to ask if you’ve turned it off and on again first because that’s his job. They’re following the rules, because that’s what the leaders are supposed to do. They’re following a plan that doesn’t really apply, because they figure it’s better than making some huge mistake. They’re overthinking massively. They’re not keeping secrets, and I’m sure they’re not lying. But if people who aren’t official representatives happen to meet up and chat, there’s no protocol for that. It’s like… they’ve got this time-clock system, where they have to record how many hours you’re working on a project for, to make sure everybody’s pulling their weight. But half the time, if a manager can see someone is putting their heart into the project, he’ll assign them a project called ‘misc’ that they can bill as many hours as they want, and only skim the progress reports before signing off.”

  “I think their fraud is their own business,” Brayden spoke sternly, “While you–”

  “No, you don’t get it. Their whole system is built on rules on how people should interact to generate the maximum happiness. A mathematically perfect theory of how to run a city, with provably perfect laws and perfect electoral systems, and an incredibly complex algorithm that allows everyone to vote on every law, with different weights to the vote depending on how much it will affect you. There’s so many rules that nobody could possibly learn them all. And that’s fine, because they only apply in formal situations. There’s a system for everything, so if you’re unsure what to do you can look up a protocol that’s been hammered out in meetings and is as perfect as it’s possible to be. But there’s no rule says you have to follow the rules, if you can think of a better solution. So the diplomats are screwing up big time, because nobody’s trained in politics except as an abstract exercise, they’re nervous, so they’re treating you like a puzzle.”

  “So how do we solve this puzzle?” Lemuel cut in before Brayden could come up with any more scathing remarks.

  “Informal contact. There’s no protocol for making new friends, everyone does it their own way. If you just open the gates, let people visit Kells as long as they get all their work done, and allow unregulated contact, then you’ll find out all you could ever want to know. There’s no secrets in Kells, if you need to know anything you can just ask someone who knows. It’s like, everything’s so genuine.”

  “But they have at least one secret, and a big one. On a scale to be compared to our conflicts over the naming of the ships. They outright refused to be drawn on whatever this issue is.”

  “No way,” Elle shook her head, “That’s antithetical to their society.”

  “Actually…” Jasper started, speaking quietly, “I think I might have found out a little about that. A secret kept for the good of the many; it’s in all those regulations, if you look in the right place. Something that would raise too many questions, that could have disturbed the balance enough to make their society fall apart in its early years. I know part of it, that there’s a large chamber beneath Kells. Bosẽ told me the size and shape, but he doesn’t know what’s in it.”

  “A nuclear facility?” Brayden growled, “Could put some of the pacifists on edge.”

  “They already use nuclear power, and that’s as open as everything else. Hell, I met this guy Chase who built a fusion reactor for a school project when he was ten. There are secrets there, of course, but that’s a language thing. To them, a ‘secret’ is more likely to mean a password for some system.”

  “Well then,” Lemuel cut Brayden off again. He wasn’t willing to see this interview turn into an interrogation. “We will slowly open up the borders. Allowing people to visit this city, Kells, once we’re sure they won’t act inappropriately towards our unexpected neighbours. I’d like to make it free for all, but given the hostility that some have shown, I think that would be a bad idea. I hope we can open up the borders more given time.”

  “But their secrets are–”

  “I was coming to that, Major. Please, curb your enthusiasm. Now, you two seem to have been warmly welcomed into the Martian city, through some combination of personability and luck. So while we will slowly open the borders, I will ask you to act as unofficial emissaries. If you learn anything regarding Martian military capabilities, or any possible weapons, you must report to us. And I will expect you to do your best to find out more about this secret, because right now it is casting a vast shadow over our whole relationship with the Martians. I am not asking you to be spies,” he gave Brayden a very deliberate glance there, to make sure his meaning was clear, “Though some of our contacts back on Earth might sleep a little easier if they see that when they read between the lines. I am not asking you to test the limits of their hospitality in any way. But I am sure you have your own curiosity, and if there is any chance you could learn more about the situation then I expect you to take it.”

  “Yes, Sir,” Jasper nodded.

  “Yes,” Elle responded a few minutes later, and more reluctantly.

  * * *

  “I don’t think he’s impressed,” Jasper shrugged when they finally completed their debriefing. It had taken a lot more time, but most of the other questions had been fairly straightforward. The kind of debriefing they would have expected, being the first people from the camp to visit Kells.

  “No,” Elle shook her head, “Neither of them. Lemuel wants to know what this secret is, but he doesn’t want to upset the balance. And Brayden just wants an excuse to have an enemy. I think he’s a little too invested in the idea of a war, no idea why.”

  “An excuse to show how macho he is? Whatever, we’re not going to give him one. We’re going to prove this secret is nothing we need to worry about.”

  “I still can’t believe there even is a secret. A government cover-up in a city like that? Are you sure Boz wasn’t joking?”

  “His name’s Bosẽ. Only Boo calls him Boz, some kind of long-running joke. And I don’t think so. It was too serious, it wasn’t phrased like a joke. I practically had to drag it out of him, and I felt bad pushing him as far as I did. It’s like, he had to not talk about this because someone in authority said so, but he really wasn’t happy about it. I expect I could have got information more easily if he actually knew anything, and if your long and rambling conversations with Boo are any guide, I’d expect most of the other Martians to feel the same way.”

  “Well, I’m planning to head over there again. Day after tomorrow, if I manage to make up the deficit on my work rota. Maybe I can meet some more people in a social setting, maybe I can turn the conversation in that direction. Seems to me, if secrets are looked down on, then a few guys with a few beers, chatting about things they don’t know, might be the best way to turn up something about the big conspiracy theory.”

  “A social situation?” Jasper raised an eyebrow. It was an annoying gesture that alw
ays seemed to say so much, but that Elle couldn’t quite decipher. “You mean a date, right? A first date, maybe. Will you be bringing a present?”

  “It’s not like that!” Elle blushed, “Well, I mean, not entirely. You think I should take a gift? I don’t even know what the normal thing would be, or if it’s different on Mars. I –” she stopped as she realised the guy beside her was laughing quietly behind his hand.

  “Hey!” she gave him a gentle punch on the arm, “Maybe it’s a joke to you, but… I mean… It’s not a date just because you arrange to meet someone and go to a social venue. You plan to meet up with your friends all the time, or whatever. And it’s work too, in a way.”

  “Only when you’re asking questions,” he shrugged, “Sorry, I don’t want to be an ass. But I never saw you so flustered, even when we thought we’d discovered the ruins of an ancient Martian civilisation. You’ve got to admit, with how serious you usually are it’s a bit weird to see you being so… well, normal, I guess. You got to expect a bit of ribbing, it’s par for the course. Tell yourself I’m just jealous if you want. But I got to say, good luck.”

  Explorer

  Day 25

  Boudica came all the way to camp in her glider this time. She didn’t bother with her helmet, trusting the bubble to keep her breathing. When she first arrived, Elle thought that was so incredibly reckless. But then, she was being pretty carefree herself. The environmental scientist operating the airlock today made comments close to what Elle was already thinking; that it would be crazy to accept a ride with someone who didn’t take even the most basic safety precautions. But she’d made a decision, and Elle von Planck wasn’t one to back down from her own plans. So she waited for the air around her to get as thin as the sparse natural atmosphere of the red planet, and then lumbered outside in her own suit.