by Erik Hanberg
“No? Some part of you must have been serious enough to fool the cartel.”
“You know we can’t go back to that time again,” Shaw insisted. “The Lattice might be terrible in its way, but the effects of losing it are worse.”
“It sounds like you have your answer to Grace’s question of you then,” Aquinas asked.
“I do."
“And I have mine,” Florian said.
“All that unnecessary suffering. So much death,” Shaw said. “You truly want to go back to that?”
“People will be prepared this time. It won’t be as bad.”
“The Dark Eighteen will be nothing compared to what happens if the Lattice goes down again. Months, if not years, until it’s reestablished. And that’s if we don’t kill ourselves in the meantime.”
“When the people’s gadgets and wraps are sitting lifeless, they will find renewed life in their faith,” Florian said.
Shaw stepped back, repulsed. “Thousands—maybe millions will die—but so long as the survivors convert, you’re happy with it, is that it?”
Florian didn’t answer, but his expression dripped with contempt.
“Is there a jail or a prison in the Vatican?” Shaw asked Alberto, who was still at his side, valiantly working again as his aide-de-camp, despite his injuries.
“Yes, sir. We have a small detention cell.”
“Call in the Swiss Guard. I want Florian and his whole team locked up away from their equipment.”
Alberto didn’t give Florian a second glance or show any signs that he was surprised. He acted instantly and called for the guard.
“You’ve gone too far. The pope will fire you for this,” Florian spat.
“He hired me to stop this war, not to destroy the Lattice.”
“Our cause is righteous.”
“Your cause is a death sentence.”
“Our mortal coil is nothing compared to what awaits us.”
Shaw shook his head. “You’re as single-minded as Taveena.”
“She is fighting for the end of the Lattice, but that is only a half-measure. I am fighting for a rebirth of the entire body of Christ through the church.”
“No, you’re just a fundamentalist who doesn’t like modernity.”
The Swiss Guard arrived, followed by the pope. Shaw gave the arrest order. The colorfully-dressed soldiers hesitated and looked uncertainly to the pope.
“Don’t look at him, look at me,” Shaw hollered across the lab. “Until he tosses me out, I’m the supreme authority about all military matters. Now arrest them.”
The Guard stared at Clement, who remained quiet. Shaw couldn’t tell if he was legitimately willing to let Shaw arrest Florian or if his threats had bullied the young pope into silence. Either way, the Guard took his silence as assent. They arrested Florian and his six research assistants. The monks didn’t resist, and let the guards lead them from the room.
Once they were gone, the pope said, “The moment you are relieved of service, I will have to free them, you know.”
“I don’t care what you do, your holiness, so long as he stops his research.”
“You seem suddenly convinced that the Lattice should not be destroyed.”
“I’ve been wrestling with the question for months—should the Lattice be saved or should it be destroyed? I’ve gone back and forth on it. And even when I think I’ve decided… it’s like I get cold feet and run to the other side again. But it wasn’t until just these past few minutes that I’ve realized I’ve been asking the wrong the question.”
“What is the right question?” Clement asked.
Shaw was about to answer when Alberto cut in, reporting news from his wrap. “Excuse me, sir, but researchers on the Flathead reservation have just leapt ahead of Florian’s work. Saint Aquinas gives them a twenty percent chance of success.”
Shaw grimaced. “That means the cartel is going to go after them next. But Galway isn’t going to let up here, either. When do the saints think she will attack us again here?” he asked.
“Given everything she’s mobilized, we believe cartel forces won’t be in position for three and a half hours,” Alberto answered.
“Ok,” Shaw said. “We still have work to do to get ready. But I think there’s time for me to jump over to the Flathead research cluster and see if I can convince those scientists to stop.”
Alberto was surprised enough that Shaw registered it. “What?” Shaw asked.
“It’s just… convincing them to stop wasn’t part of your deal with Grace Williams,” Alberto said, squirming ever so slightly as he contradicted Shaw. “You only had to stop Brother Florian from continuing his research. Not… everyone.”
“I was the one who authorized Florian to start his research again. I bear responsibility for this feedback loop. I don’t know if we can put the genie back in the bottle, but I have to try.”
Alberto shook his head. “Feedback loop?”
“It’s a feedback loop of research. Florian got somewhere. Now the Flatheads built off his work and they’ve found something new. Next, some university or the Navajo research cluster will achieve a breakthrough based on their work. Then someone, somewhere on Earth, will have a revelation and before anyone can do anything about it, the Lattice will be gone. Just like the parallel computing of the saints. If I can stop them from continuing their research now, maybe I can stop the whole process from self-perpetuating.”
Alberto checked his wrap. “Galway is diverting some satellites from their intercept course with the Walden and targeting Montana,” he reported. “If they don’t stop research in the next fifteen minutes, she’s going to destroy the entire Flathead research cluster.”
“That’s insane,” Shaw said. “A major corporation is going to murder people in cold blood inside the U.S.? Galway can’t possibly think she’ll get away with it.”
“She does. And because of it, Cunningham has pulled T-Six out of the cartel and severed her company’s ties with Dvorak.”
“T-Six is based in California,” Shaw mused. “They could be tried for it if they worked with Galway on a crime of this magnitude. But does Galway truly believe that Europe will protect her?” Shaw shook his head. “If she’s serious, then I definitely want to try to talk them out of continuing their research.”
A call came in on Shaw’s wrap and he accepted. He was surprised when the avatar of Grace Williams appeared in the lab with him. She took a deep breath. “This isn’t a conversation I would normally want to have with millions of people listening in. But here goes. It’s in your interest to let Dvorak attack the Flathead research cluster.”
Shaw felt himself go slightly bug-eyed. “Are you kidding me? It’s in my interest to have Dvorak murder innocent scientists?”
“Well…” Grace demurred. “They aren’t so innocent if they are trying to destroy the Lattice. Think about what will be on their shoulders if they succeed. But there’s another more personal reason you may want to stay out of this. Ask yourself, what will the U.S. do if Dvorak kills those scientists?”
“They’ll want retaliation,” Shaw said after a half-second’s thought. “To show that a company can’t get away with lawless murder.”
“And what’s the most likely way they can retaliate against Galway?”
It only took Shaw a moment to follow Grace’s reasoning. “They’ll destroy her laser satellites…”
“Precisely. The very satellites that are moving into position to kill your wife and daughter. The very satellites Tim Yang told you the U.S. likely won’t destroy. But if you let Galway carry out her threat, they’ll change their minds in a heartbeat and the cartel’s threat to the Walden will evaporate. That’s one step closer to getting your family safely back to Earth and out of Taveena Parr’s clutches.”
“So I should sit tight?”
“I believe the saying goes, ‘Never interrupt your enemy while she is making a mistake,’” Galway said.
Shaw felt himself growing angry. “If the U.S. wants to sen
d Dvorak Systems a message, why don’t they take out Galway’s satellites before they kill the researchers at the reservation?”
“They still might,” Grace said. “But I doubt it. When it comes to prosecuting crimes based on thoughts, intent is a lot trickier to measure in court. Galway could always claim it was just a threat. If she actually goes through with it, the argument against her gets a lot clearer and a lot cleaner.”
“Even if some citizens die,” Shaw said, shaking his head.
Grace nodded. “I’m just saying… this might be the answer to saving you and your family. You’ll be under my protection here. And Galway won’t be able to get to Ellie and Jane there.”
Shaw closed his eyes and pursed his lips. He didn’t need to look around the room to know that everyone—the pope, Alberto, the saints, Grace’s avatar—were all watching him. Grace’s argument made a certain amount of logical sense… if you could get past the part about letting Galway murder a bunch of scientists for doing research. He just wasn’t sure he could. Even if it would mean Ellie and Jane were safe from Galway’s threats.
But “safe” was a relative term. Just because Galway wouldn’t be able to get to them, it didn’t change the fact that they would still be hostages in an orbiting spaceship. Taveena still was in control. His wife was trapped. His daughter had still not experienced Earth’s gravity! He needed to solve that problem as well as this one.
He couldn’t quite believe it himself, but he’d made his decision. “No,” he said, opening his eyes. “If the scientists on the Flathead reservation are willing to listen, I have to try to stop them. I might have a chance to save their lives from Galway and stop the Lattice from being destroyed again. Those are good things to be doing. The right things to be doing.”
“And your family?” Grace asked.
Shaw sighed. “I have to believe I can find a way to save them that doesn’t put other lives at risk.” He turned back to Grace. “I’m sorry.”
Grace shrugged. “As cold as it might sound, it doesn’t matter to Altair. Either you convince them to stop their research, or Galway bullies them into submission, or she kills them. Whichever happens, they won’t be researching ways to destroy the Lattice.” The call ended and her avatar was gone.
Another phrase of Galway’s repeated in his mind. She’s more ruthless than I will ever be. It wasn’t true, of course. It was Galway threating to blow up an entire research cluster, not Grace Williams. But if Grace were playing chess, they’d say she thought twelve moves ahead. And sometimes it seemed like she treated humans not as opponents but pieces on the board.
Shaw turned to Aquinas. “Can you get me a decision maker at the Flathead reservation to talk to?”
“I’ve identified just the woman,” Aquinas said. “She’s waiting to speak to you. But I warn you, she’s not willing to be convinced.”
“Connect me.”
Shaw’s jump took him to a picnic table next to a blue lake. In Rome it was well into the evening, but in Montana it wasn’t even noon, and the bright summer sun was reflecting off the ripples on the lake. Behind the lake were some low hills with tall pines and brown scrub. Next to the picnic table were a series of one-story buildings, all with magnificent views of the lake.
A native woman was sitting across the picnic table from Shaw. She smiled. “Welcome. I am Lucille Cullooyah of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation. I understand you wish to speak to me?”
“I do. Thank you for making time,” Shaw said.
“It is hard to turn down a saint, even for a lapsed Catholic like myself.”
Shaw smiled briefly and decided he didn’t have time to do anything but dive right in. “I’m here to ask you to stop your research into ways to destroy the Lattice.”
Lucille nodded. “I know why you are here. But you should know the confederation has a strict policy about interfering with any research on the reservation. Instead of relying on casinos, we have decided to base our economy on human capital. Originally, scientists came here to do the research banned elsewhere in the United States. Now our work is diverse enough that companies come here because we have the talent—and the quality of life, of course,” Lucille said, indicating the lake. “But non-interference is still a foundational value.”
“Even when your lives are at stake?” Shaw asked.
“You are here for something bigger than your own life,” Lucille said. “You passed up an easy option because you thought you could achieve something greater. In the same way we choose—”
Shaw never found out what she was going to say next. Lucille was cut down by a laser blast emanating out of the big Montana sky. Before Shaw could react, more lasers cut through the atmosphere, peppering the research lab with rapid fire beams. After another second, one of the squat research buildings exploded.
The picnic table was outside the blast zone of the building’s explosion, and of course Shaw’s avatar would be untouched even if he were inside it. But his focus was on the dead woman on the other side of the table. He felt helpless, just as he had when he watched Annalise and Kuhn crumple under laser blasts from the sky. What was it that made people like Zella Galway think they could kill indiscriminately from the air and never face consequences?
And it was people like Lucille who paid the price. Shaw tried to memorize Lucille’s face before he ended the jump.
Back in the Vatican, Aquinas was looking somber. “Galway ordered the attack early,” he said.
Shaw didn’t respond.
“Galway wanted you to see it happen. That’s why she ordered it while you were there.”
Shaw nodded again, silent. Others in the room were silent too.
“How is the U.S. responding?” Alberto asked. “Are they destroying her satellites?”
Shaw looked to Aquinas for the answer. He hadn’t wanted it to go this way, but perhaps it would be the trigger to force the U.S. to act and save Ellie and Jane from the coming destruction.
“They have not fired upon them,” Aquinas said. “And it looks like they won’t.”
“They are going to let her get away with it?” Shaw suddenly exploded, his quiet reflection gone. “What are they thinking?”
“Galway has been a major donor to many in congress,” Aquinas said. “As we speak, they are intervening with the President and the military on behalf of Dvorak Systems.”
“But she just brazenly murdered people inside the United States. And they are going to let that slide?”
“I believe Dvorak may face some… heavy fines for their behavior,” Aquinas said.
Shaw stared at him. “I can’t believe they’re letting her off the hook for a massacre on U.S. soil.”
Aquinas coughed and continued. “Because the Flathead reservation is considered a domestic dependent nation with its own unique sovereignty, the argument is being made that this is a matter for the tribal police, and not the federal government.”
“The tribal police don’t have satellites,” Shaw said. “And they don’t have the resources to prosecute the CEO of a trillion-dollar company. That’s meaningless.”
“I believe that’s the intention.”
Shaw was stunned into silence for several seconds. “Racism and crony capitalism. The original sins of the United States. And my family will pay.”
“There is another reason they are willing to let Galway’s satellites proceed to the Walden,” Aquinas said. “Perhaps even, the main reason. Taveena Parr has ended her meditation.”
“She’s been cooped up for months inside the control room of the Walden. The only time she came out was when… was for the delivery of Jane,” Shaw said. “What is she up to?”
“She’s working, sir. She’s building on the research of Brother Florian and the scientists at the Flathead reservation.”
Shaw groaned. “And she’s ten times more likely to find the solution than any of them.”
“Yes. Now that she’s started her research, I estimate a fifty percent chance that she will find a so
lution to the problem in the next six hours.”
“Fifty percent? That high?” Shaw was aghast. “Florian had less than one percent chance this morning.”
“It is the feedback loop you described earlier. And, without disrespecting Brother Florian’s abilities, now that Taveena Parr is working on it… the chances of success have gone up significantly.”
“So the United States is hoping that Galway does their dirty work for them. They’re willing to let her destroy Taveena to stop the anti-Lattice research.”
“That is correct,” Aquinas said. “They believe this way they won’t have blood on their hands.”
“How long until Galway’s satellites are within range of the Walden?” Shaw asked.
“Six hours.”
“Nearly the same length of time that it might take Taveena to finish her work and destroy the Lattice.”
Aquinas nodded solemnly.
“Will she find a way before they arrive?”
Aquinas was silent for a moment. “I honestly couldn’t say, sir.”
Shaw turned away. “You’re telling me that in six hours either the Lattice will be down, or my family will be dead. Those are my options right now.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Is there anything else I should know?” Shaw asked. How could there be? But, of course, there was.
“The Italian war is not over,” Ignatius said. “Dvorak has finished resupplying the Northern Italians. Their army will be here in the next four hours. If their missiles don’t kill us first.”
Chapter 11
Only an hour remained before the new army of Northerners and Dvorak mercenaries would arrive in Rome, and three hours remained before Galway’s satellites would intercept the Walden.
There was a flurry of activity at the Vatican, where the Catholics were preparing for what everyone knew would be a final showdown. Despite everything else, it was clear that Dvorak had no intention of letting up on its assault. The chance that the Lattice could be gone once more fueled their attacks, as they sought to solidify their advantage before the loss of communication.
Grace and Nosipho arrived, as promised, but their presence didn’t cause any dramatic changes to the war effort. Grace was a near celebrity for everyone who had an Altair ring, and Nosipho brought her considerable operational experience to bear on the defensive effort. But a little extra morale and a little extra logistical support wasn’t going to change much. Most of the supplies they had donated arrived well ahead of their airship, and the saints had already perfectly positioned most of the weaponry around the Vatican and Rome.