by A. I. Zlato
Egeon and Galatea remained with the juvenile stranger, who agreed to follow them. It was difficult to know what he could have understood from the scene that had just occurred before his very eyes. Thanks to Alea, this crisis had been defused — but what would happen in future crises?
Egeon pondered his apprehension, while Galatea, with mildness and persuasion, took Mossa to their home.
Child, go deep inside the Earth. You will see, the Elders will be there.
Crying their dead world, tears of fire, tears of glass.
Deep inside the Earth
The Machine will save nobody but you.
Book of Lullabies
Chapter 26
: Space H. (1st Circle)
Baley began tidying up her apartment, in anticipation of Paul’s visit. He wanted to share his findings on the sect. After receiving his message, she felt a bit guilty. He kept her informed on his progress, while she had been careful not to. That feeling of guilt vanished immediately. She knew she had acted as properly as she could, in order to further the investigation. She quickly got busy in the living room, to make it look presentable. She could have gone to his lab, but that would have cost her precious time. It was better that he came to her than the opposite, for obvious efficiency reasons.
She nearly finished when Paul announced himself. He was less pale than he had been during his last visit. Maybe he was getting used to the rail technology, or he made up his mind to support her, or his Kandron had dropped him not far away.
She felt in a good mood, and offered him coffee, which he accepted. After mixing up the concoction, she handed him the steaming cup. While he was drinking, she told him of her progress. She spoke briefly about her reading, then talked about the list of at-risk children, based on their age and religious beliefs. She was about to speak about the headmaster when Paul interrupted her. His distinctive voice echoed in the air.
“What is a Pioneering Area?”
“How could you not … It is a construction site, beyond the Periphery. The goal is to create a new Circle, to extend the City.”
“Mmmm. So the Periphery will no longer be the Periphery?”
“The current Periphery will be part of the new Circle, after making the necessary modifications, obviously. Another Periphery will be built beyond the new circle. At least, that’s what I imagine.”
“So would the residents of the current Periphery have to move out, or would they be integrated into the new Circle?”
“How could I know that?”
“Sorry for worrying about my modest person.”
“I do not know … I guess you will be notified in due course. Could we go back to the investigation?”
Baley had to admit that the fate of the current Periphery’s residents was unknown. If they were integrated into a Circle, they would need chips … but one could not perform a transplant on an adult without the risk of severe brain damage. On the other hand, moving a thousand people and rebuild their homes would entail colossal investment and resources.
The Machine had necessarily anticipated and planned what was best for the City. However, would that be better for the residents? The mere hint of a doubt about Its decisions triggered a painful electric shock. Nevertheless, she almost talked to Paul about the strange structure of the area, and the link that shaped up in her brain ‘modification of internal structure/modification of a Pioneering Area,’ the discussion she had with Lars … But she changed her mind.
There was really no connection, and she reprimanded herself for having thoughts so distant from her assignment. She completed her reports by talking about the chat she had with the parents. When she finished, Paul, in turn, told her about his reading and discoveries, which corroborated hers, although Paul’s had more details. When he mentioned that Chrijulam believers rejected the concept of technology, Baley could not help but interrupt him.
“Well, but you are also anti-technology?”
“No! There is a fundamental difference between not willing to be enslaved to It through a chip, and rejecting the very concept of the Machine. I don’t like the idea of having a grafted artificial piece on my head, which is able to send and receive information but also able to control my thoughts. It is also true that I think humanity will one day be able to do without the Machine. However, in the current state of things, I cannot imagine the City without It, even though I also have questions about its very existence.”
Baley would have liked to ask Paul about his interrogations, which maybe echoed her own, but as a proof he had just said, her chip prevented her from engaging a conversation on such a topic. She said to herself that, after all, the thoughts of a single individual distrustful of the Machine did not matter that much. She needed to continue being wary towards him, even if he was helpful for the moment. Do without the Machine, really? That very idea put him in the ranks of suspected people.
Paul continued.
“What I do not understand is, why these ancient beliefs would lead now, and only now, to the children’s deaths? Why only kids aged 11 to 13? The beliefs of this cult did not become contradictory to this world’s way of living only in the last few months; they always have been … there must have been a trigger. Edgard suggested to me that something had changed in the City.”
“The Pioneering Area…”
“I was not talking about that kind of change; that is a deliberate modification. No, I was thinking...”
“An external modification to achieve an internal modification … the structure of the M …” Baley could not finish her sentence, stopped by an electric shock.
“I did not understand your comments. What internal modification?”
“It’s nothing, just … a vague impression. Let’s move on.”
“An impression is always better than nothing. Tell me what it is.”
“I cannot, I … cannot.”
Baley swung her head to relax her cervical vertebrae. The Machine did not want her to have such thoughts. The Machine had its reasons, and it was right. She began to recite the Invocation loudly, bowing her head.
“Nothing can match the Machine. Thanks to It, the Equilibrium will be maintained.
The existence of the Machine is our survival; It preserves life.
I will serve the Machine as best as I can, and with honesty.
My life is dedicated to the Machine, and the Machine is my life.”
This simple ‘prayer’ restored calm in her mind, and she looked up.
“What did you say?” Paul asked.
“It is the Invocation to the Machine.”
“Never heard of that! What does that mean? I could have said it was a prayer.”
“Not at all! It is a simple formula. It calms me.”
“Because you need calm at this moment?”
Baley shot a withering look at him.
“Ok”, he said. “You were talking about internal modification as a triggering factor. If you have an idea, we have to talk about it.”
Baley’s stare darkened further.
“It was nothing but an absurd idea; let’s stop here, please.”
“Come on …”
“Please”, she said, with a tone that could not bear a response.
With her head so heavy, she could not continue the conversation. Pain flooded into her brain, from her chip to her neck, preventing her from forming a coherent thought. She then recited the Invocation endlessly, to calm down and lessen the pain. She resumed the chat.
“One problem at a time. Let us put aside this concept of triggering factor for now. For starters, we should make sure all the dead children lived with this belief, in order to validate our hypothesis. Then, we would need to understand what is different nowadays in Chrijulam’s belief system. I will focus my research in that direction. I urge you to continue working on your documents, perhaps you will find out something that will help us fight effectively against that cult.”
Her investigator mindset had taken over, and she had clarified the roles, relegating to
the backburner her confused ideas about the Pioneering Area. However, she felt she had not finished having those thoughts. Lurking in the shadows, they only needed a moment of carelessness from her in order to resurface … Internal modification and hardware, external modification and Pioneering Area …
The investigation should come first.
After Paul left, Baley headed to the Tower to request a meeting with the Machine, even though the time slot allotted to her had expired for the day. Given the importance of her assignment, she was confident of getting an approval. She needed to be alone with the Machine for a few minutes, even though she could have obtained the information she was seeking from any terminal on the ground floor.
In the lobby, almost deserted at this time of the day, she found a Kandron, which she recognised as Edgard, thanks to its coppery colour. It stared at her and extended its head all the way to her level. For the first time, she did not look the other way, in disgust. She felt the animal’s energy, its presence, and a strange …
She had no time.
Authorised to access the first floor for six minutes, she logged in via the flexible membrane, which lay just before her, reflecting her image as a mirror. The translucent surface became cloudier under pressure from her fingers.
She transmitted the product of her thoughts, research and conjectures. She then asked the likelihood that all parents of the dead children belonged to Chrijulam.
“Thread: solution to the end of young humans.
Instruction: calculation of probability of membership in Chrijulam
Object:Humans originating young humans dying through non- scheduled death
Loop: While
Result: 70%
End Loop
End instruction
Thread: in progress”
Baley observed that the end of young humans, the term the Machine used to refer to the Problem, was no longer a mere instruction, but a thread in itself. In other words, the Machine considered the Problem critical for the preservation of the Equilibrium. She needed to act quickly, and her commitment grew when she saw the results of her search, which confirmed her hypothesis.
With a probability of 70%, the cult was properly the common denominator. Moving forward, she used her allotted time to continue her query of the Machine and make projections in order to assess the risk of occurrence of a new Problem.
“Thread: solution to the end of young humans.
Instruction: Probability of occurrence
Object:Source of young humans aged 11 to 13
Criteria: Chrijulam
Result:Probability > 95%
End instruction
Thread: in progress”
A probability higher than 95%...the Problem would certainly occur, and now she would tell which children would be at risk. Such a high probability required a quick and effective action plan. She questioned the Machine on the methods used to fight against cults.
“Thread: solution to the end of young humans.
Instruction: Elimination religious beliefs
Criteria:Chrijulam
Result:Error 246
End instruction
Thread: in progress”
“Definition Error 246?” She queried, via her chip.
“Definition: not enough data OR incompatible data”
Baley had to find a way to bring all the necessary information to the Machine. She withdrew her hands from the membrane, which became translucent and smooth, reflecting again her image, moving to the rhythm of the waves she crossed. She stepped back into the alcove of the column that just opened up, and headed down to the ground floor, aware of the immensity of the task ahead.
She knew pretty well that one could only fight against something that one really knew. She had to study closely the followers of that cult. She had to do more than simply reading documents that were a few centuries old, although she had to admit that she was able to kick off her investigation thanks to information in those documents. She needed to learn more if she were to find a solution to the Problem.
She could not speak directly to the believers. Her prior experience with parents in the Pioneering Area was proof that she should not do it. Their mistrust and hostility had shown her that she would not get further information from them, and they must have warned their fellow believers. It was not imaginable to pay a visit to those who had lost a child, and to suggest that their beliefs were connected to the suicide of their son or daughter.
Whatever she might think of their extremist beliefs, she still had to consider them human beings stricken with grief, struck down by the loss of a child. It was needless to add another layer of guilt. Baley had no reason to do so. Where else could she turn? Whom could she ask questions to find out more about that religion? Where could she get the information she needed? She decided to find out more through neighbours, traders, relatives … all these people whom she did not interview because they had no connection with the investigation, but who could give her valuable intelligence on the lifestyle of Chrijulam followers. And perhaps give her the keys to defuse the bomb the Problem was.
She held those short interrogation sessions, back to back, all day long, trying to be as discreet as possible, so as not to arouse suspicion in people’s minds. The goal was not to tarnish the reputation of a category of residents, and not to put them on the front line in a City living in generalised anxiety. She approached each individual under various pretexts, more or less credible, in order to hide her real motives. She knew that everything would eventually come out, but she hoped to conclude her investigation before rumours expanded.
The close family, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts and uncles fell into two categories. Those she suspected of espousing Chrijulam’s ideas treated her suspiciously. Politely but firmly, they refused to answer her questions, even the most insignificant. The other category, people willing and available to talk, did not reveal much, and the same was true for neighbours, shopkeepers, etc. It turned out that these families only participated very little in the Circle’s social activities. No one had ever seen the believers engage in volunteering or sports activities, their discussions with neighbours were limited to polite phrases, and no interviewee was ever invited to have dinner with Chrijulam believers. The latter lived in a tight-knit community, while maintaining signs of integration, so as not to draw too much scrutiny on them.
The only ones who could have effectively helped refused to answer her questions. She temporarily reached an impasse and hoped Paul would manage to get interesting information from his manuscripts. It was the only path. If someone had told her, not even a week ago, that she would find an interest in the research of a mad scientist, she would not have believed it.
Back at her apartment, nervous, she reviewed the entire day. She certainly validated her hypothesis and confirmed that a new occurrence of the Problem was almost certain among children of the sect. It was a breakthrough, but she had no idea how to counter these beliefs, at least the ones pushing kids to commit suicide. Her interrogations had produced nothing conclusive.
When she opened the door into her apartment, she had hoped to find solace with her husband. Lars was her moral support in every investigation, and for this particular one, she really needed his support.
She saw him, slumped on the couch and visibly grumpy. She went to give him a hug, only to receive a grunt in response, from a husband who usually was so considerate towards her.
Only one individual could have put him in this state … Iris. What had she done again? With all the diplomacy she could muster despite her anger, she sat next to her husband and began the discussion. He flatly refused to discuss his work, and started directly the subject hat was annoying him.
She was right. Lars told her that a well-meaning person, who wanted to remain anonymous, had sent him a message about their daughter. Baley sighed, wondering what could push someone to send such a message, and she waited for her husband to disclose the content.
According to the anonymous source, Iris had
made new friends, whose main occupation was to venture out of the City, heading towards the Unique Forest. Baley was speechless, unable to understand what interest one could find in a tangle of branches and leaves, under the permanent influence of nature and anarchy.
A green, wet mass. Cold. Hostile. That was probably one of the provocations Iris liked to initiate, but Baley did not understand that her daughter could self-inflict the extreme pain that ensue when one was cut off from the Machine, simply to irk her parents. In the Pioneering Area, Baley had experienced a decrease in the chip’s signal strength and found it very unpleasant; therefore, if one had to imagine a complete cut-off, that would be … unthinkable.
Lars had tried to have a discussion with their daughter, that stranger, to try to understand her behaviour, her supreme bravado. The youngster was angry, saying that she was old enough to choose her friends, and that she was free to do what she wanted after school, that she could not stand the fact that her parents monitored and did not trust her. Clearly, she was not denying the revelation …
What could make Iris want to move so far away from the Machine, to risk breaking the connection … Baley did not feel at ease with that very idea.
She knew she had to talk to the youngster, to go and confront her in her room. Lars was too irate to do so, but she, too, was too concerned with other things. She did not even have time to chat with her husband since the beginning of the investigation, and she needed to tell him some things. What she needed most was an evening without screaming. She took her husband’s hand to appease him, but he jerked and then retreated in one corner of the couch.
She promised to talk to Iris the next day, after having a good night of sleep, after resuming a semblance of married life, when she would regain the necessary energy.