by Lee Bond
Garth exhaled, pinched his face into a moue of slowly mounting frustration. “Well, what about the network channels?”
As he waited for Naoko’s answer, Garth decided he didn’t like the FrancoBrit. For starters, he was quite obviously the most heavily converted cyborg he’d ever seen outside of SpecSer’s Heavy Elites, and that was saying a whole helluva lot. Without even looking at a spec sheet for the cyborg terrorizing an entire section of hostages–he was just sitting there either singing or talking to himself-, Garth knew damn well that the FrancoBrit violated dozens of Trinity restrictions.
Owning a ceramix gun might not necessarily make you an assassin or hit man, but since a ridiculously souped-up ninja assassin working for Yellow Dog had already attacked him once, Garth’s opinion was pretty much the only one he was willing to entertain. The presence of an obviously illegal cyborg in a system hating everything there was to hate about Trinity literally screamed ‘I am here to kill you’.
Since everyone in Latelyspace who wanted him dead was either likely to use God soldiers or some other fantastically dangerous Latelian science project to murder him instead of hiring outside their own borders, the only explanation rest in whoever’d hired Injiri to kill him.
Question was; who could that be? Tynedale/Fujihara wasn’t stupid. He’d damn near crippled them in Goren’s System and Trinity Itself had warned them away, so unless the NorthAMC/EuroJapanese combine was now being run by suicidally psychotic morons, the answer rest somewhere else.
“Goddamnit.” He didn’t have time to figure this shit out!
“I did that already.” Naoko beamed triumphantly as she finished overloading the last of the relay stations in a ten mile radius around Doans’ offices. For everyone but a power-user like the Chairwoman, the sluggishness of the system was nothing but a mild inconvenience that would pass. Everyone who was anyone expected netLINK congestion around Game time, and with the Watergate Men telling all the citizens to be good little sis and sas, everyone was going to be watching the Screens to occupy their time.
To Doans, the quagmire would be maddening; it was within her power to override each station, but very slowly. Naoko knew her countermeasures would regard Doans’ attempts to push any data save her own out of the relay stations the same as any other file, which should force the Chairwoman to bypass the remote activation and head right down to the Sigma. “There is … there is just one problem.”
“What’s that?” Garth flipped the FrancoBrit the bird. The cyborg did a complex thing with his arms that involved a lot of moving and flapping of arms, and then he too, delivered a bird. He shook his head and stood, bristling with rage. “You know what? Fuck this guy. Fuck him in his earhole. I’m gonna go kick his ass.”
“Garth, now is not the time.” Naoko laid a hand on Garth’s shoulder, her senses crawling with something akin to horror; the ‘skin’ there was definitely beginning to feel lifelike, and this filled her with a nameless dread. Whatever insane scientific process giving life to Harry Bosch simply had to be doing something dangerous to Garth! “I … I’m not entirely certain I’ll be able to prevent the Chairwoman from physically using the First Main. As I said, whispers in certain … communities … have it that the entire netLINK is built up around the Main. Once there, she will probably be able to override my hack. She’ll issue that Sigma sooner or later.”
“Meh. As long as the system sees what happens here. Doans may be able to prevent anyone from using their machines to discuss this crisis, but she can’t stop them from talking to each other. It’ll take time for her to figure out what’s going on, and I’m hoping that it’ll be too late.” Garth pointing warningly at the FrancoBrit, mimed punching him in the head with a big old fist. The cyborg returned the threat, mimicking a complicated neck-breaking process. “Can she find you or me once this is all done?”
Naoko’s brow furrowed. “Well, no, but …”
Garth stopped his antics with someone who was apparently the next in a long line of enemies and turned to Naoko. “Look, I was going to wait until later to bring this up, but the hack you did on my old proteus kept me from being arrested and kicked out of the system by Doans and Vasily. They had absolutely no proof that I was anywhere near any of the places they thought I was. Was I there and did I do the things they think I did? Short answer, yes. Long answer, yes, but with really good reasons, which I promise I will cover when everything is over and done with. So, when you say ‘well, no, but…’ you’re putting yourself down. I get that it’s the biggest hack you’ve ever done, but trust in yourself. You, Lady Ha, are the best hacker in the Universe. Turuin had nothing but compliments for your skill, and he was some kind of super-agent. You can do this and not get caught, especially with my prote, on account of how it has four different, untraceable ‘LINKS to the outside world, plus the one I use for my regular calls. B… beyond that, the … power source running Odin right now is … the thing is supercharged. We could place a call to Smash All Infidels with juice to spare. We are safe as houses. At least from the Chairwoman and the OverCommander.”
“I…you…” Power source? What was he talking about? Naoko went back to work. She couldn’t concentrate on anything else right now. “The number of things you need to explain to me is rapidly approaching an imaginary number, sa.”
“No kidding.” The hair on the back of Garth’s neck stood on end. He didn’t need to look at Vilmos’ deactivated cambots or raid Vasily’s prote for data. The Goddies were coming, and they were coming fast and hard. “Are you ready, Naoko?”
“I…” Naoko looked at her progress. “No, not yet…not completely…the Chairwoman needs to start the procedure before I can … before I can stop her.”
“All right, okay.” Garth dropped his fake gun and picked up his mace. “Listen. You stay here and hide. Do your work. Flash me when you’re done. Keep hiding. If I know Vilmos, he’s going to make an announcement about his expectations for us all any second.”
“Why is that?”
“Goddies are coming.” Garth kissed Naoko on the cheek. “I need you to do one more thing.”
“One more?” Naoko asked weakly. She was already three-quarters of the way done the most amazing hack of her entire life, and the man she was certain she loved was asking for more? She nodded hesitantly.
“Need you to ‘LINK all the protes in this room together and activate their cameras. We’re going Live and Direct to News4You with a special report from on-the-scene mayhem expert, Harry Bosch. There’s a p2p encryption program I ripped off the ‘other’ terrorists that will do the trick quite nicely.”
“Yessa!” Naoko saluted smartly and continued her efforts.
xxx
Three seconds later, Vilmos started his speech. He stood under the open Dome, letting the rain land on him. It was all about showmanship now.
“Ladies and gentlemen, sis and sas, thank you so much for cooperating.” He gave an exaggerated frown. “I’m sorry about before. I had no choice and I needed your attention. Let us move forward. I have confirmation that the greencoats are on their way. I have no idea how they’re going to come in, save that there will be a great many of them. In order for us all to have the greatest impact this day, I need you all to act like terrorists.”
He raised a hand to forestall any impending interruptions. “I would like to remind you that the gun turrets are still fully functional and that they will fire on anyone who doesn’t follow through with my commands. Is that understood? Either you can die by gunfire or you can die at the hands of a Goddie. It makes no difference. When this debacle is finished and the rain washes our blood away, Doans will have become our leader in spirit as well as in name. Men!”
Vilmos’ terrorist squad met in the middle of the room. Their faces were flush and shining with excitement. He felt deeply honored by these visionary men and women. They’d stuck by him through the long, hard years, earning this moment with their loyalty and diligence, their belief in the cause.
He smiled when he saw some who’d been
hostages a short time ago. “The Goddies won’t come in through the roof again. They don’t have anything that can counter the filanet. They will come through the walls. Because the way this place is shaped, they will have to come down at us along the stairs and seats. We will have the tactical advantage here. Kill as many as we can. If we are lucky, we will force them to use greater and more deadly means to get us all.”
“What about the sky cannon?” Someone in the crowd asked, her voice filled with fear.
“The Chairwoman can’t use that. She won’t be able to until well after the fact. No, the Chairwoman will first issue a Sigma, erasing us from history. Then and only then will she turn this entire Museum into charred ash and smoking rubble.” Vilmos smiled wide at the uncomfortable murmurs, “Don’t forget, all of us have seen the evils of Trinity science. The response for that is complete and total eradication. I … I want you all to know… I’m very proud, especially those of you whom I didn’t meet until today. The willingness to give your lives for the greater glory of Latelyspace proves that there is still hope. If Doans sees this inclination to use drastic measures, she will have no choice but to …”
The first of the explosions reached their ears.
Irritated that his last chance to make a rousing speech had been stolen from him, Vilmos began shouting at the hundred-plus terrorists to get ‘good’ spots for the fighting. Dozens began running up the stairs to the upper areas so they could have a better vantage point when the Goddies rushed through the doors. He cautioned them to feel no sorrow in shooting the people in the seats as they fired on the Goddies, reminding them that their purpose now was maximum damage. No one was getting out alive. He double-checked on the snipers and then got to his own spot, prepared and ready to fight and kill for his Regime.
Vilmos loved the fevered sheen in his compatriot’s eyes. They would surely sacrifice themselves for the greater cause. If it ensured a resurgence of the Regime, their deaths would be well spent.
If, however, Doans should somehow manage to resolve the situation peacefully, or in such a way that any violent conflict was put firmly on someone else’s shoulders … Vilmos planned on living to fight another day. As his fellow loyalists all fought and died, he’d be gone.
After all, he had promised Chairwoman Doans an eternity ago that he would do whatever it took to keep her in office, to keep her strong.
He wouldn’t fail, even if that meant fleeing.
xxx
Ashok wanted to run away from the Chairwoman. The desire to flee, to get up from his chair and rush into the hallways, was so profound at times it was all he could do to keep track of what was coming out of his mouth. Failing that, he wanted his cell. His cell was small, it was quiet and he wouldn’t have to talk; the Second Tongue was programmed to force him into responding to any conversation directed his way. Cruelly, Doans kept on talking, as if they were at a luncheon.
“What do you think of this, Traitor?” Alyssa gestured to one of the over-sized tactiSheets on the wall. On it, Ashok saw a sudden and drastic increase in troop activity.
“Your men will be destroyed, Chairwoman. I’ve told you already that whatever plans you make, Vilmos learns at the same moment.” Pain trickled through him and then faded. She’d reactivated the full authority of the Second Tongue and he knew he would never grow accustomed to it. He longed for the opportunity to fall silent.
“Yes, ordinarily, that would be quite true.” Alyssa admitted readily. “If it weren’t for our old friend Tomas Kamagana.”
The Second Tongue tickled his throat. If he didn’t respond soon, the tickle would become an agony, the agony a torture, the torture unbearable.
Ashok spoke hastily, brow furrowed. “Sorry?”
Tomas Kamagana was a name from the great, hoary past. He’d concluded a long time ago that Tomas was dead or at least on another planet. Before being court-martialed, the man’s rabid personal and public attacks had achieved a level of frenzy bordering on the insane. Following that great fall, the system’s greatest protean scientist had disappeared, prompting Ashok’s decision to move forward with his many nefarious plans. To hear that old enemy’s name now, in connection with troop activity and The Museum hostage taking … it worried him. “Did you … did you say Tomas Kamagana?”
Alyssa smiled as a routine update from her many avatars announced that none of the news channels had figured out any reliable methods of covering the story. Harry Bosch’s vague intimation that he wasn’t going to let anyone bury this day under secrecy was just so much hot air. Mysterious ability to contact her directly notwithstanding, there was nothing he or anyone could do to prevent what was going to happen now. Well, that wasn’t entirely true.
Direct intervention from an Enforcer would stop the mayhem in remarkably short order, but Alyssa strenuously doubted Trinity had any inclination –or desire should It know- to ‘assist’. If anything, It would want things to go as badly as possible.
She nodded absentmindedly at Ashok. “Yes. I did, though I am certain Vasily would rather I didn’t know. Apparently, not only does the old man still have his skill, he’s gotten better with age. Frighteningly so. He’s designed some sort of avatar that overrides the safety limits in your x-DEC infiltrated boards, burning them out even as they make them safely usable. I confess ... I understand less than a third of what OverCommander Vasily has begrudgingly told me. Essentially, the Army has an hour before their equipment begins to fail, the mainboards in the processors fried from the inside out. Tomas was also kind enough to design these avatars to map out the extent of your perverted chips as they destroy themselves. Theoretically, they will offer up several different methods of excising your x-DEC chips from every computer system in use.”
Against better judgment, Ashok found himself defending his work. “Impossible. The design is flawless. There is no way.” Pain started lashing him, a slow, languid thing that would leave him breathless in just a few seconds. He was dimly aware of the Chairwoman watching him suffer, and of her amusement. This woman had taken the Traitor’s Tongue and transformed it into a thing of merciless beauty. He had no doubt –even as he groaned and gagged and wretched- that in time, his Second Tongue would transform him into the model citizen.
“Argue all you desire, Traitor.” Doans settled back into her chair to watch Vasily prepare his troops for an all-out assault. “As Tomas was kind enough to point out to the OverCommander, his designs, his programming language, and his efforts were key factors in bringing Latelyspace out of the darkness while you were everything he claimed and more. Loathe as I am to admit it, we made a mistake in underestimating Tomas Kamagana. As, I think, you did. As you can no doubt see from your spot on the floor, the OverCommander’s men are preparing themselves for an attack, whereas five minutes ago they were not.”
Ashok watched in silent rage as thousands of God soldiers geared up for their attack. All their heavy weapons -like the VapoRaptors- were at the far rear of the deployment zone. They were obviously unwilling to use their truly heavy weapons unless it became necessary. It was a smart move. Tomas Kamagana’s avatar wizardry could destroy more than just the affected chips, especially in something as dangerous as a VapoRaptor. The last thing the OverCommander would want were tanks turning into bombs.
Ashok gnashed his teeth. What else could go wrong?
xxx
OverCommander Vasily stood before his men. It was a rare opportunity, this chance to speak to his men face-to-face, and he reveled in it.
There were four thousand four hundred and forty four God soldiers present, and when they weren’t shifting their feet and staring moodily into the dark storm clouds that threatened to turn the rain into an endless torrential downpour, they were keenly interested in what they were about to do. OverCommander Vasily was glad for this chance to speak to them. The road ahead was the toughest any group of warriors had ever walked down.
His voice rang out. “My Army. My soldiers, my men. How proud I am of you, on this historical day. You are about to embark on a
mission of destruction, a mission of honor. The terrorists inside our Museum need eradicating, yes, this is true, they need to pay for all they’ve done today. But some of you may not have thought far enough, seen deep enough into the vileness brought up by a few cowardly traitors.
Loyal citizens -your brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers- are in there with them, held at bay, not just by guns and threats, but out of fear. Fear of what they know must come; they’ve been tainted by Trinity technology so vile, so insidious that their lives –even if they were to survive- would never be the same. They would question the Chair, even if only inside their own minds.
And that cannot be allowed to happen. They know it, and like any true Latelian, they will fight for their lives, knowing even as they do so that what they’ve seen, what they’ve endured has changed them for the worse. No true Latelians, they, not after today.
It pains me to say it, my brothers in arms, but we must make the hard call for them. The hard call is saving the rest of the system –saving them- from what’s been done. They won’t want to live with us, not now. They can’t. The hard call is looking those brothers, sisters, mothers, and fathers in the eye as you take their lives. Rest assured that what you are doing is the right thing to do. Not for yourselves, not for me, not even for the Chairwoman, but for them. It will be hard, it will be rough, and some of you will probably die today. Maybe at the hands of someone from your own family. Greet your deaths as true warriors: eyes open, mouth screaming, and with someone else’s blood on your hands.
These terrorists have Trinity weapons, but we have something they lack. We have that Latelian fighting spirit that has kept Trinity at bay for thousands of years. We have honor and courage and discipline.” Vasily winked broadly, chuckling under his breath as if what he was going to say was an afterthought, something he’d only just realized. “Most of all, we’ve got four hundred times as many men as they do and about eight hundred thousand pounds of mean, fighting muscle to go along with it.”