Templum Veneris

by Jeremy L. Jones

  “You are late,” Isra scolded, as Viekko pulled himself inside after Colton.

  “How the tam garig can I be late?” said Viekko still seething. “The train left on time, so did the shuttle. If I’m late, it’s because you put me on the wrong flight.”

  Isra glanced over as Althea found a hand-hold near the entry hatch. The room was disk-shaped with white plastic walls, and Viekko found it was just barely high enough that he could orientate himself upright without slamming his head against the ceiling... or the floor, depending on your perspective. Cronus was there with Isra, wearing the same dark Ministry Green uniform over his EROS suit. He also had his immersion goggles strapped to his head and immersion glove that wrapped around his arm from elbow to fingertips like a metallic vine. He seemed to be watching invisible things fly overhead and occasionally reached to touch them.

  Isra glanced at the two of them. “It takes approximately ten minutes to exit the shuttle and find your way here. It has been twenty. The shuttle was not late, not according to station records. Therefore, you are late. What is going on with you two?”

  Viekko shrugged trying to hide his irritation. “So we got a little lost, it’s a big station. What makes you think there is somethin’ goin’ on?”

  “Well, you are on opposite sides of the room for one,” noted Isra, glancing between the two again.

  Althea turned a slight shade of crimson.

  Viekko took off his hat and ran a hand down his queue. “We were discussing a holo-vid that got everyone on the Neuvonet all excited; some firebrand preacher trying to shut down the Electric Bordello. I’m for it, I think the whole thing is morally degradin’. Althea is surprisingly adamant about keeping it, she's apparently a huge fan. What about you Isra? Care to weigh in?”

  Viekko became aware that he was the focus of a harsh glare from both women. It made the hair on certain parts of his body stand up straight, but he clenched his teeth to keep from showing anything.

  “Viekko,” said Isra in a slow, deliberate tone. “If something is going on between you and Althea, something that might compromise the mission, I need to know about it. You know I can tell when things are not right.”

  Viekko put his hat back on. “If I were you Isra, I would stay outta my head. I don't think you'd much care for the mess. I understand we have a mission. Maybe we should talk about that.”

  Isra glared at Viekko for a few seconds. Her look conveyed any number of physical threats so horrific that mere words wouldn't do them justice. “Captain Colton,” she said finally. “We may start the briefing.”

  Colton pulled up the sleeve on his uniform and tapped a few icons on his EROS computer. The lights in the room dimmed and a beautiful female voice began speaking. Viekko couldn't understand a single word, but the sound was sensual even if the meaning was not.

  “Bem-vindo pessoa da Terra. Esta e a Rainha Isabel de Cytherea. E com grande prazer que ofereco um convite especial para a Sala de Cytherea.”

  “Pretty voice. Who’s she?” Viekko asked.

  “She identifies herself as the Rainha of Cytherea City,” said Isra floating toward the center of the room. “She is a local monarch who may very well control any and all human settlements on Venus.”

  Viekko folded his arms. “What does she want?”

  “She has a special invitation for us.”

  “A special invitation?”

  “Um convite especial!” Cronus said, sliding the goggles off his face.

  “Well khagaral deer baas, you speak...whatever the hell that is, Cronus?” said Viekko.

  “It is a type of Ancient Portuguese,” said Cronus. “Based on ancient texts before the Fall and recordings made now, one could build a reliable model for the language. One could even use that model to learn the language. One could even program a cerebral interface to quickly teach this language in hibernation. One is doing that now actually.”

  “Ah, of course. Incomprehensible spew,” said Viekko. “I’ve missed ya, Cronus. So what's this special invitation to, exactly?”

  Isra touched her own EROS computer. The lights dimmed, and a hologram of Venus appeared in the center of the room. Isra floated so close the light reflected off her face. “As near as we can tell, Rainha Isabel is granting us an audience. We do not know much about the society. The operator only conversed with the Rainha for a few more minutes before we lost the signal entirely. We have not been successful at finding it again.”

  The hologram zoomed into the planet until the sphere became a jagged landscape, and Isra continued. “There was an effort in the mid-twenty-first century to make Venus habitable for human life, using carbon capture technology and other atmospheric modifications. The people of that time period hoped to lower the temperature, remove the toxic gasses, and replace them with an oxygen-rich environment. Until this moment, we had assumed their efforts were unsuccessful. It turns out we were only partially right.”

  “I don’t understand,” said Althea, watching the holographic landscape speed by. “Everything I’ve read puts the surface at two or three hundred degrees. Not as hot as it used to be, but still too much for any permanent colonization. What changed?”

  The hologram centered on a large mountain and started circling it. “We were thinking globally when we should have been thinking locally.” Isra focused everyone's attention on the mountain. “The Maxwell Montes is located near the planet’s northern polar region which gets much less solar energy than the rest of the planet. It is also the highest point on the surface. So, yes, while most of the planet remains uninhabitable, the area around the peak of this mountain is the exception. In fact, given Venus’ relative size and atmospheric composition, this rugged patch of ground may be the most Earth-like place in the solar system.”

  Viekko floated with his arms folded looking unimpressed. “A few folk livin’ halfway up a wall ain’t much of a civilization.”

  Isra indicated a wide, flat area near the mountain peak. “The mountain range forms a plain a few hundred kilometers wide that would provide ideal living conditions for a society to develop and flourish. Several hundred kilometers beyond that would still be technically habitable but decreasingly so as one travels down the mountain. But you are right, Viekko, it is unlikely that we will find a technologically advanced civilization.”

  Isra touched her EROS computer, the hologram disappeared, and the lights brightened. “We have been ordered by the Ministry to investigate whatever civilization we find, meet with their leader, and leave with the beginnings of a cooperation treaty between our people.”

  Althea blinked with surprise. “A… a treaty? Aren’t we getting a little ahead of ourselves? You said before that we barely know anything about these people.”

  “Yeah, Isra,” Viekko added. “What if we get there and we find a pack of orgon dalaichin emegtei that ain’t worth talking at, much less dealin’ with?”

  Isra closed her eyes and breathed deep as if trying to find some source of inner strength. “Because the Human Reconnection Project needs results, Viekko. The Ministry needs some tangible progress if they are to maintain interest in the project. The point of this operation is to build relations around the solar system that will provide a strategic advantage for the Ministry, as our civilizations venture back into space.”

  “I thought the idea was to hunt for, study and protect all those lost human colonies since civilization tanked,” Viekko grumbled.

  Isra floated closer to Viekko. “Of course that is our main goal. But you are naive if you think the Ministry wants nothing out of this. They have invested tens of billions of Corporation fiat in this project and we have had, to date, nothing to show for it.”

  “What about Titan?” said Viekko. “Anyone remember that? ‘Cause I do. I nearly got my head chopped off. We saved that planet from a civil war that would have killed every miserable soul on that moon, and those that wouldn’t have died would have been slaves on a dyin’ world. Not to mention, my near decapitation. Of me. And my head. That ain’t a good enoug
h result?”

  “With all due respect to your head, Viekko, no it was not,” said Isra. “Titan is now totally under Corporation control. They are using the increased revenue from Titan's hydrocarbons to threaten what little power the Ministry has. It was a complete failure. This mission to Venus is all we have left. If we fail, it means the end of the Human Reconnection Project.”

  “What if these people, whoever they are, what if they aren’t terribly keen on an alliance with us?” Althea asked, with rising concern.

  “Then we will have to convince them that it is in their interest as well as ours,” said Isra abruptly. She gestured at the Captain. “Captain Colton will be our pilot for this mission. Are we almost ready for departure?”

  “Very nearly,” said Colton. “Just getting the old girl filled up.”

  “Good. The rest of you get ready for hibernation.”

  Captain Colton pushed himself toward the hatch with Cronus floating leisurely behind. Viekko and Althea were about to make their way through when Isra stopped them. “Althea, Viekko. I know that something is going on. It is likely none of my business, and so long as it does not affect what we are about to do, it will remain that way. But if I need to find a replacement—”

  “Yeah, yeah,” said Viekko pulling himself through the hatch. “I get it. We’ll be fine. We’ll get it all sorted, right Althea?”

  Althea avoided his look but nodded anyway.

  “See. No problem,” Viekko continued with false cheerfulness. “You’ll get your treaty, Isra. You better. This project is the only thing any of us got left.”

  ****

  The Ministry Exploration Spaceship Stalwart was docked in another part of the station, away from the crowds arriving from Earth. Its design was not unlike the basic, mass-produced shuttles that carried passengers from Earth to the space station, but this model had added thrusters for escaping Earth's orbit, detachable boosters to aid take-off from Venus and extra antimatter reactors to make them all work.

  Viekko pushed his way down the main corridor of Stalwart and grabbed a handrail by the door to the hibernation room. Cronus floated cross-legged outside with his immersion handset and goggles. He floated nearly motionless, only occasionally reaching out to pluck something invisible in front of his face.

  “Althea in there?” Viekko asked, pointing at the door.

  “Not supposed to go in there,” Cronus replied. “Althea was very insistent. Almost to the point of violence.”

  “I can handle myself, kid.”

  “You’ll be sorry,” Cronus predicted.

  Viekko opened the hatch and pulled himself inside. Althea spun around and wrapped her arms around her nearly naked body when she heard the door open. “Bloody hell, Viekko. What’s the matter with you?”

  “Sorry,” said Viekko, quickly closing the hatch behind him. “Cronus didn’t tell me you were changin’ in here.”

  “Well, I am. Now get out!”

  “Ain’t nothin’ I haven’t seen before, and anyways we gotta talk.”

  “Must we?”

  “Seems it would be a kindness to Isra. Besides, Ma always said 'you should never go to bed angry.'”

  Althea sighed. “At least make yourself useful and hand me a sensor array.”

  The room was barely the size of a closet, and Viekko could almost move without hitting his head or limbs on the wall or the front of a hibernation pod. He was able, after some flailing, to spin around and find the small compartment where they kept the sensor arrays; tight, translucent suits completely lined with electronics and sensors that monitored all facets of the body during hibernation. Putting them on always made Viekko feel like his entire body was being wrapped in cellophane and then poked with wires. Each one was single-use and came in a mylar bag barely big enough to contain a short book. He pulled one out and handed it to Althea.

  “So about last night…”

  Althea turned around and wrapped her arms tighter around her body. “Do you mind?”

  “You gotta be kiddin’,” muttered Viekko. He pulled his hat over his eyes and spun around, still holding the sensor array out for Althea to take.

  “You seemed perfectly happy to show me all sorts of things last night.”

  Viekko felt her take the mylar bag and heard her rip it open. “I wasn’t exactly in the right frame of mind last night, Viekko. I already apologized for that. I don't know what else you want me to do.”

  “Yeah… see, but I was thinkin’, the only other time I seen you like that was that night we met. You remember that?”

  “Been trying my hardest to forget,” Althea’s voice strained with the effort of squeezing into the suit.

  “Yeah, yeah, I know. It was a mistake. We’ve had that discussion.”

  “Well, then I don't know what else there is to say.”

  “Well, it occurred to me that the last time you wanted anything to do with me, you had just finished with a good bit of thievin’. Which is why you got so worried about the Corpos bangin’ on the door. So I got to wonderin’, what did you steal this time, Althea?”

  The faint rustle of Althea putting on her suit stopped. “Just some newtech off some Corporation creep. It’s not your concern.”

  “I thought you were done with that business.”

  “I am. It was just a one-time thing.”

  “The people at the clinic, they got a saying. 'One hit is one too many.'”

  “Don’t lecture me, Viekko. And it’s okay, you can turn around now.”

  She was dressed in the sensor array now. It was never designed for any kind of modesty; it was just barely obscured nudity with a lot of wires on top. Viekko gulped.

  Althea sighed and rolled her eyes. “And don’t look at me like that.” She spun around and began entering commands into the hibernation computer.

  “How much is this newtech worth?” Viekko inquired.

  Althea opened a hibernation pod without answering.

  Viekko kept pressing. “A million? Five million? I know you didn’t pull a ten million fiat heist in one night.”

  “It was worth five hundred million Corporate fiat. Downloaded from a secure facility, accessed by someone with the correct credentials.” Althea hurried through the last sentence as if that would explain it all away.

  Viekko paused while he took this all in. “Okay, you should be safe while you’re working with us. When we get back to Earth, I know some people who can help you lay low. You might not be able to go home right away, but I figure...”

  Althea turned around. “I'm not worried about getting caught. I’ve got help, and they are careful. They’d lose too much if they turned on me. All sorts of Corporation personnel have access to that system; it will be next to impossible to pin down exactly when it was stolen. The only person who could possibly make the connection is the very man I used to get to it, and he has as much, if not more, to lose if the Corporation finds out that he let me in.”

  Viekko lowered his hat and fixed Althea with a suspicious look. “So they won't be comin’ after you? You sure? You were awfully skittish when Blinky was at the door.”

  Althea turned back to the hibernation computer and touched icons on the screen. It was unclear to Viekko if she was accomplishing something or if it was just a convenient way to keep from looking him in the face. “It was just the heat of the moment. The chances of them tracking me down are almost zero.”

  “I guess I don't understand. What's the problem?”

  Viekko floated closer then stopped when Althea looked at him over her shoulder. That glare could cut steel. “I enjoyed myself. There, are you happy? I led a simple idiot on. A man who was maybe lonely or isolated and just wanted some companionship. Or maybe he was just horny, but that’s hardly a crime. But you know what? At that moment, it felt… right. Justified. Euphoric. Sexual even.”

  “And… you don’t like any of those things?”

  Althea turned back to the computer. “You just don't get it. I shouldn’t feel that way. That man did nothing to de
serve that. He listened to his crotch more than his brain, but he never tried to hurt me nor anyone else that I could see. He was just a man, maybe a lonely man looking for some connection in this world, only to find just another person that wanted to stab him in the back.”

  Viekko chuckled. “So what? You said yourself he works for the Corporation. That organization is so backstabbin’ that their symbol should be an arm plunging a knife into someone's spinal column.”

  Althea stopped fiddling with the screen and just bowed her head. “But they have the good sense to feel bad about it. Or at least know that they did something wrong. But me? I feel nothing. I’d do it again if the situation presented itself. And again, and again…”