“So you already knew everything Linehan did.”
“And more besides. We knew the Rain wouldn’t let Linehan get access to anything of real consequence. But that didn’t mean that he couldn’t be useful as bait.”
“Which worked a little too well.”
“Which worked like a charm. First SpaceCom tried to get you in the tunnels. Then the Jaguars themselves bit. Though I’m not sure I’d take at face value their claim that they wanted to cash in on Linehan for propaganda value. Anyone can broadcast anything and claim it’s for real. I suspect they were hoping to take his mind apart to see if they could learn more about Autumn Rain. That’s how their interrogations work. They dose the subjects, make them think they’ve died, get all their secrets in an apparent afterlife before killing them for real. The Jaguars may have accepted those missiles from the Rain. But they were desperate to avoid becoming their puppets.”
“So they became roadkill instead.”
“They sought victory or death. We gave them the latter. We didn’t know exactly where in those mountains they were. But the location of your abduction gave us enough to go on. Especially when the Throne unleashed its heaviest gear. Better call the Andes a desert now, Spencer. The Jaguars are one less problem. Unlike the Rain. Who remain very much a factor.”
“How do we know that?”
“We destroyed a base on both Earth and Moon and took out two hit teams. But it’s exactly the same as it was when we got in there in the aftermath of Elevator. Everything’s been cauterized. Their whole strategy seems to be aimed at surviving even the most absolute of reverses. We have reason to believe they’re regrouping. And that their leadership remains at large.”
“So where am I going next?”
“We haven’t put you into orbit for the scenery.”
“Yeah? Then tell me why I’m up here.”
Because you’re not going back.”
The Operative looks at the man who sits upon that screen. It’s a face he’s never seen before. It’s a face he knows too well.
It’s his handler.
“Not going back to what?”
“That,” says the handler, gesturing at the window behind the Operative in which the Moon floats. “We’ve no need for you there anymore.”
“No need? We’re still combing through all of Nansen’s wreckage. Not to mention figuring out if Matthias was reporting to anyone else within SpaceCom.”
“It’s true,” says the man. “Questions remain. As it happens, we brought you up here to discuss some of them.”
“Lay it on me.”
“They involve you.”
“Really?”
“You know I never joke.”
“Has somebody been questioning my loyalty?” asks the Operative. “Is that what this is all about?”
“No one’s questioning your loyalty, Carson. What’s at issue among my colleagues is your judgment.”
“Go on.”
“There’s a point of view afoot that says it was madness to get Sarmax involved. That it was folly to pursue the south-pole connection. And that it was downright crazy to push Lynx so close to his breaking point. There’s a point of view that wonders just what kind of three-ring circus you were running.”
“I’ll tell you what kind of three-ring circus I was running,” says the Operative. “One that blew the Rain’s game on the Moon sky-high and did it way ahead of anybody else.”
“A fact I’ve pointed out more than once.”
“It’s nice to know you’re still on my side.”
“When I’m not, you’ll be the first to know. Was there anything to suggest that Sarmax’s romantic liaison with a member of the Rain compromised him?”
“There was nothing. He’s loyal. And finished with his decade-long sulk. We needed him back. He needed a reason to get involved again. Which this most definitely was.”
“And Lynx?”
“What about him?”
“He isn’t too happy with the way you handled things either.”
“You mean running Sarmax behind his back?”
“He’s not thrilled about that at all. But what’s got him really worked up is the broader structure of the mission.”
“He figured that out?”
“I’m afraid he did.”
“When?”
“Somewhere between when the shooting stopped and the debriefing. There were just too many loose ends for him not to guess. Like I just said, Carson: this was one of the most complex runs I’ve ever seen. And Lynx is as furious as I’ve ever seen him.”
“I can’t say I blame him,” says the Operative. “What razor wants to learn that his mech is actually running him? That his mech isn’t just a mech but is also a razor? Shit, that’d wreck my day. I can’t imagine what it must have done to Lynx’s.”
“He’ll get over it. But in the meantime he’s being kept away from you.”
“Permission to speak frankly?”
“Are you ever anything but?”
“You guys are blowing things out of proportion. We’ve had the mech-as-razor variation going for a while now. We’ve had it playing merry hell with anybody who thinks they know which end of a Praetorian pairing to attack first.”
“That’s not what everybody’s taken issue with.”
“Then what’s their problem?”
“The reversal pairing is primarily a defensive posture. But you turned the formula on its head. By using it to run Sarmax you almost let things get completely out of hand. You were flirting with disaster the whole way through.”
“But it worked.”
“It worked. Indeed. And for that reason I give it my assent.”
“Nothing succeeds like success?”
“Not around here it doesn’t. At the end of the day, they’re not going to be able to argue with results. But they’re going to want to keep a close eye on you from now on.”
“That sounds like micromanagement.”
“Call it what you want. Though I’m sure we won’t keep you on such a short leash as to make you useless.”
“And what about Lynx and Sarmax?”
“I think I can persuade everyone that there’s no sense in breaking up a winning team.”
“So the three of us will still be working together.”
“Absolutely. The Rain’s still out there. We need you to take the fight to them.”
“Where?”
“We’ve got something in mind in the Earth orbits.”
“You’ve got something in mind? Or do you mean the Rain do?”
“I mean both. The situation remains on knife-edge. Tonight you showed the ultimate resilience. But the Throne showed the ultimate restraint. It’s imperative you understand that, Carson. The president will not falter from his determination to reach accommodation with the East. He will not turn this cold war hot. He will destroy both the traitors who became the Rain and the traitors within SpaceCom who sought to bargain with them. He will recover all that he has lost. And you will help him to do all of this.”
“I could ask for nothing more,” replies the Operative.
Which is just as well. Because now everything’s folding into a single mind in the highlands of New Guinea. A mind that’s swung open into universe. Yet somewhere in that universe is a body that can barely contain that mind. And the woman who possesses both finally understands why her struggle’s only just beginning. Why absolute defeat merely sows the seeds of total victory. Why those she loved were taken from her twice. Why she’s heading back toward equator.
Where she’ll find a way off the bottom of this well.
And out into those mirrored heavens.
APPENDIX
Timeline of World History, A.D. 2035–2110
2035: Global oil now long past peak. Global temperature continues to rise. Gas masks necessary in most urban hubs due to poor air quality. Flooding has begun on most coastlines.
2037: As world intensifies search for alternative fuel sources, Second Great Depression begins. G
lobal economy goes into reverse. All major environmental treaties scrapped.
2039: Marshal Sergei Olenkov seizes power in Moscow; proclaims the restoration of Russian greatness. Purge of oligarchs begins.
2041: The Helios Project launched: Euro-financed project to establish giant satellites to beam solar-generated microwave power down to Earth to provide clean energy.
2042: Communists overthrown in China. Sixteen-year civil war begins.
2043: Formation of the Slavic Bloc; alliance includes Russia, Ukraine, Belorus.
2045: Six years after coming to power, Olenkov announces that Russia will seek to “bury the hatchet” with the European Union in general, and with Germany in particular. He declares that his only quarrel is with the “grasping, avaricious American money barons who have brought both environmental and economic catastrophe upon us,” and dedicates Russian power to purging Eurasia of U.S. influence. Russia begins massive armaments projects and full-scale “supermodernization” program, with a heavy emphasis on space-based systems and information technology.
2046: Collapse of European/U.S. talks. Europe declares it will steer a course “between East and West.” U.S. withdraws last bases from Western Europe, accelerates own armaments program.
2047: U.S. claims the Moon as an exclusive American possession, begins construction of lunar fortresses. Russia decries “solar imperialism” but does not attempt reciprocal constructions—though Olenkov declares that “henceforth, space will be our nation’s shield.”
2048: Russia occupies libration point L4, sets up “research station” there that rapidly grows into set of major fortifications. U.S. claims L5 and proceeds to leverage its lunar position to occupy L2.
2049: The Kyushu Incident. Horrific accident at fusion reactor complex devastates Japan, turning much of archipelago into contaminated wasteland. Evacuation of remainder of all islands by survivors occurs within six months. Several terrorist groups claim responsibility but no group or individual is ever brought to trial by any nation. Fusion programs worldwide reassessed in wake of tragedy.
2050s: Flooding now profoundly redefining coastal areas. New York, Washington, London, Los Angeles, among scores of cities maintained only through the construction of huge dike systems. U.S. and Russia accuse each other of intensifying environmental crisis through secret next-generation weapons tests.
2051: Helios Project abandoned in wake of evidence indicating that output is actually accelerating global warming by contributing to biosphere’s total energy. Satellites are left to drift as derelicts or repurposed for purely space-based applications.
2053: Ukraine announces withdrawal from Slavic Bloc. Russian troops overthrow Ukrainian government, install regime that sues for reinstatement within the Bloc.
2054: Man lands on Mars: U.S. craft Boreas-3 touches down in Isidis Planitia.
2055: Fires devastate North American grasslands and forests in multiple regions simultaneously. Severe water shortages occur throughout U.S. Washington declares it will enforce emissions standards for developing nations; cites Brazil, Nigeria, Argentina as most flagrant violators of such standards.
2056: United States signs mutual defense pact with Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama; begins extension of antimissile shield to those countries. Local insurgencies intensify.
2057: United States, Canada reaffirm mutual defense pact. The Euro Magnates gain control of the European Union, announce they will sign no treaties save those of commerce.
2058: Chinese “neo-Confucians” win the War of Inward Strife, which has wracked that nation since the early 2040s and taken more than 50 million lives. They proclaim that they will carry the struggle of the Third World against the United States to a successful conclusion. China relaunches space program “on a scale worthy of the Han people.”
2059: China announces it will resume control of Hong Kong Free City in the New Year.
2060– 61: Hong Kong, New Guinea sign Unifying Accords. Massive transfer of capital, infrastructure, population from former to latter occurs, over both Chinese and Indonesian protests. HK Geoplex established at site of Old Port Moresby.
2062: Russia and China agree on comprehensive border settlement. China declares U.S. monopoly of lunar resources a “crime which we shall put to rights.”
2064: U.S.-Brazil War. (First Eco-War.) U.S. troops occupy Brazilian cities and force Brazilian government to sign the Treaty of Montevideo before withdrawing.
2065: Slavic Bloc and U.S. accuse each other of placing nuclear warheads in orbit.
2066: Establishment of the Russian-Chinese axis: “defensive” pact between the Slavic Bloc and China.
2067: Declaration of St. Petersburg by Slavic Bloc and China. The two powers proactively recognize the Monroe Doctrine and add their own corollary stipulating that the U.S. will not interfere in the affairs of the Eastern Hemisphere. U.S. rejects declaration as “unbridled expansionism.”
2068: Slavic Bloc and China begin wholesale aid program to seven African nations in exchange for equatorial launch facilities. Russian and Chinese troops begin to combat local insurgencies.
2069: Scientists report that almost one-third of all species on planet have become extinct in last half century, with particularly heavy losses occurring in tropical zones.
2070: Formation of Eurasian Coalition: Slavic Bloc and China agree to pursue a combined foreign policy. Euro Magnates reaffirm their neutrality.
2071: Following a secret treaty with Pakistan, Eurasian Coalition launches a surprise strike on India. The Coalition’s space-based offensive breaks the Indian defense grid within minutes. No nuclear weapons are used. India sues for peace and agrees to disarm in exchange for a guarantee of no occupation. The United States condemns the action but does not intervene.
2074: In the name of national security, United States announces cauterization of its information systems from the global net. Eurasian Coalition follows suit.
2075: Coalition establishes permanent bases within nations of northern and central Africa. South Africa declares neutrality.
2078: Second Eco-War: following attacks on its assets, United States establishes permanent bases throughout South America, establishes treaties with all nations on that continent except for Chile, Argentina.
2079: Chinese hypersonic missiles strike American super-carrier USS Adams in the Indian Ocean. The Mauritian Standoff occurs. The Coalition destroys U.S. satellites in geosynchronous orbit above Eurasian heartland; U.S. retaliates in kind. World waits, but no further hostile actions occur. In aftermath of incident, both sides lay claim to adjacent portions of the geo orbits.
2080: Conflict intensifies in Middle East between the superpowers’ proxy nations. Jaguar’s Sword begins insurgency operations in South America, rapidly subsumes other Latin guerrilla movements.
2082: Scientists warn global temperature increasing far faster than expected.
2084: Massive food and water riots occur within United States following the tightening of rations. Hysteria against alleged Eurasian infiltration, sabotage reaches fever pitch. Conditions within Coalition believed to be similar.
2087: U.S. government defaults on debt, collapses. Military takes control of the means of production, restores order.
2088: Reformed Constitution proclaimed in Washington. Executive powers invested in Inner Cabinet, presided over by president, and comprised of heads of global commands: Army, Navy, Air, Space, Information, CounterIntelligence. Senators serve terms for life, franchise limited to the military and to veterans. Martial law declared for the “duration of the emergency.” Ex-admiral Andrew Harrison becomes president at the age of forty-one.
2090: Olenkov dies in Moscow at the age of ninety-five.
2091: Eurasian Coalition announces the completion of military exercises across multiple theaters which successfully demonstrate the integration of the Russian/Chinese military infrastructures and information architectures. Construction on Roaming Tundra begins: massive space station at the heart of the Eurasian g
eo defenses.
2093: The Euro Magnates begin work on the Europa Platform, at Lagrangian point L3.
2094: Air Force Command loses an internal power struggle: the Inner Cabinet assigns its assets to Space Command. From here on in, most powerful commands are SpaceCom and InfoCom.
2098: Arab-Israeli conflict escalates beyond control. Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Damascus, Tehran destroyed in a nuclear exchange. Radioactive fallout contaminates parts of southern Europe.
2099: “The Quickening”—strange lights blaze across upper atmosphere, are seen by hundreds of millions. Superpowers begin secret talks regarding environmental degradation/atmospheric destabilization.
2103: Moderates assume power in the Praesidium, the Eurasian Coalition’s governing entity. U.S. president makes first public statements advocating détente.
2105: Treaty of Zurich signed. U.S. and Eurasian Coalition agree to enforce rigid environmental proscriptions in their respective hemispheres. New age of international cooperation is heralded. Plans are laid for joint transfer of industry into space, wholesale colonization of Mars. In accordance with Article VIII of the treaty, Eurasian Coalition begins construction of bases on Moon.
2106: Jaguar’s Sword extends operations into Mexico and Los Angeles Sprawl.
2107: Construction on Phoenix Elevator begins as joint project undertaken by the superpowers. Blueprints call for a four-thousand-kilometer-long structure that will orbit the Earth and whose nadir will be reachable by suborbital transport capable of attaining a height of 150 kilometers. Construction time is estimated at four years.
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