by A I Zlato
All the same, it was better that Mossa did not leave Egeon so the latter could also monitor him. Hoping that such an approach would be enough...
Egeon went that morning to a general meeting. He loved to gather the community so that department heads would briefly explain all the progress their respective teams had made and for everyone to know the overall status of the project. He knew from experience that these gatherings remotivated those who needed it, made work more meaningful to those who were shortly lost in the details, and reinforced cohesion of their group. Unfortunately, in recent times, such meetings always ended up steering toward the topic of the Prophet at the expense of the vessel construction. Egeon promised himself that this would not happen that day because he knew that Galatea had good news to announce. He hoped that what she had to say would boost the energy of the community, and would get it out of its religious slump.
With Mossa following him, he reached the shore. Hundreds of people had already gathered, waiting for his coming and more so, that of the hybrid. It had become a habit. People greeted Egeon, and respectfully bowed to Mossa. This one did not answer, draped in his arrogance, which everyone took to be an expression of his prophet status. Egeon began to imagine how to make him trip so he would lie with full length on the rocks of the shore; so that everyone could see his status as a mere human. That was pure meanness, Egeon knew. Of course, he would not do it, lest he incur the wrath of the believers, but the idea amused him for a moment.
Within minutes, the whole community had gathered, and department heads Alea, Galatea and Teo stood next to him. Egeon made his usual introduction, greeting the assembly and briefly announcing the agenda. He pretended that he had not noticed that only a minority of those present looked on, while others were staring at Mossa. He stood a little apart, and was motionless, staring into space and indifferent to what was happening around him. The only visible movement was the flow of energy that undulated on his artificial skin.
Egeon gave the floor to Galatea, who took her place on the ultraF node. Her voice was immediately amplified, bringing in the whole assembly. She announced that she and her team had made their choice in the rocky planets that orbited the star Alpha Centauri. She explained that it was the second planet in the system, twice as large as the one on which they all lived now. Hope, as her team had christened it, had two continents surrounded by a liquid ocean, probably water. Temperatures were colder there than they were in their present place, but the climate was temperate, thanks to a protective atmosphere made up of nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen. Hope was a promise for their descendants. Galatea did not elaborate on astronomical observations or on calculations that enabled them to determine the best planet. She simply showed via the ultraF the image of the star, pointing to the small point that corresponded to their future planet. The assembly marveled at the image; they were captivated. Even Mossa came out of his immobility and turned his head toward the image. Their dream was becoming reality; the future was before their eyes. Galatea then replied to many enthusiastic questions. Egeon saw with pleasure all the people he knew so well regain their normal behavior and passion for the project. Galatea flashed the most detailed images she had managed to get of the planet. A huge, blue-and-orange sphere, dotted with clouds, under which one could guess was rocky ground. Thanks to her and her team, the community knew they would not only leave but also reach their destination. Egeon, like the others, contemplated their goal. Hope... what an appropriate name!
Then came Teo’s turn. Egeon hoped that, for once, he would be slightly positive and would not spend ten minutes explaining all construction problems. He saw his friend getting ready to speak when Mossa intervened. He did not position himself on the ultraF node, and yet his voice carried far, probably amplified, at his request, by his electronic parasites.
“I admire what you have managed to achieve with the little technology you have at your disposal. Your training program (Shuttle Generations) is absolutely brilliant, and the methods for determining the destination planet are impressive. Regarding the construction of the shuttle, however, I think I can improve a lot of what you have done.”
The congregation swallowed his words.
“How dare you criticize decades of work, you who just arrived?” Teo said, adding in a whisper, “Damned electronic weirdo!” but it was loud enough to be heard by a few.
“How dare you talk like that about the Prophet? He is the Link and the Break; he will guide us!” someone next to him said.
Murmurs of assent pervaded the assembly, even without hearing Teo. Given that he was a nonbeliever, what he had said was necessarily irreverent.
“Is this a prophet? Open your eyes! He does not even know how he got here! He repeated for days to those who would listen that he wanted to go home! And now he finally says that he will help us build the shuttle? What is his true motive? How would he be better than generations of people like us?” Teo added.
“He is our guide! He came to help us! You are an unbeliever; the Prophet will punish us if you continue your stupidity!”
“Calm down! Calm down!” Egeon intervened. “I understand that Teo is annoyed; it is never easy to hear a stranger say that your work can be done better. Whether Mossa is the Prophet of our legends or not, the work here is relevant to all of you. You are all free to believe what you want, but you must respect the beliefs of others. We cannot afford to waste time arguing on concepts that nobody can prove anyway, whether he or she believes or not... it is all about beliefs. Let Mossa explain his point of view, and as usual, we will decide together what to do.”
Teo scowled, and the crowd fell silent. Egeon had temporarily managed to establish a status quo.
“As I said, I am impressed by what you have accomplished so far,” said the hybrid. “From your ancestors to you, every generation has shown immense talent, ingenuity, intelligence. Regarding the construction of the shuttle, I just wanted to say that it was possible to incorporate more complex, more advanced electronic circuits that would notably lighten the structure of some redundancies, and make the trajectory more reliable.”
“You want to turn my beautiful shuttle into a small transportable machine?” Teo hissed.
“No. What makes the Machine a machine is its vast number of programs. The Machine is not just the sum of those components; it is more than that. For the shuttle, I mean adding calculator equipment only.”
“And how do you know that? Have you contacted the Machine? Have you exchanged information with it? How can you be so sure?” Teo queried, echoing Egeon’s own concerns.
“In Space O., there is also a machine,” said Mossa.
“And how can you be sure that our own, uhh! Well, in short, that our Machine is the same as yours?”
“I know, that’s all.”
“That is exactly what I am saying! You contacted the Machine! Did you say anything about our presence? What did you tell it about us?”
Under the effect of these words, the assembly felt a shiver of anxiety. It was unthinkable that the Prophet had betrayed them. Unless...
“I did not contact the machine of this space. All you do is attack me so as to shift the conversation away. My point was simply to say that it was possible to add calculators to the shuttle to make it more efficient.”
“In case you missed it, we want to leave this planet in order to build another life on new foundations... if we take away even just a tiny part of what constitutes the Machine... our new world will be an extension thereof!”
“But what are you talking about, Teo! This is an unexpected opportunity that awaits us! We hope to improve the shuttle, and who knows, to finish faster... You ought to rejoice!” someone said.
“You are so blind! He gives us with one hand, and takes it back with the other! He offers gadgets to lull our vigilance and make us carry spare parts of a machine which our descendants will restore naively!”
“Teo, I understand your concerns, but before flatly declining what Mossa is offering us, I suggest you spend time wi
th him, and study his improvement proposals. You alone will be judge on what changes to incorporate; you are and you remain the sole decision-maker,” said Egeon.
He could not afford to say publicly that his friend was wrong, especially as Teo’s concerns also resonated in him.
Teo muttered under his breath. He already had enough to do, juggling technical problems and motivating idle teams. He would now have to listen to a greenhorn explain in a condescending air how to improve his craft.
“I would not go against your decision, Egeon. Nevertheless, I find Mossa’s relationship with the Machine unclear. His insistence to integrate new intelligent components does not please me. Why not improve the ultraF network? If we think deeply, the network could very well provide the services that Mossa wants to achieve with mini-machines.”
“Teo, all options must be considered. Mossa will stay with you, and will have no autonomy. You will remain the only judge,” Egeon said to his friend.
He nodded, and gestured favorably, telling Egeon he understood him. He knew that he could thus monitor the hybrid better, if he had him permanently around. He could spy on each of the hybrid’s actions, and perhaps discover his true intentions. As always, Egeon and he were allies. It was agreed; he would accept the presence of Mossa around him.
Egeon analyzed the meeting and saw that there were mixed feelings. Several people who agreed Mossa was the Messiah had questions about him. The fear of the Machine, of what it could do to them, the possibility that the hybrid came in contact with the Machine — all these questions had affected them. The majority, however, remained blissful before the hybrid, convinced that he would help them. Egeon mentally noted the names of people who seemed ready to change sides. At the mention of this idea, he sighed. He would never have thought possible that the community could be divided into two factions. It was his duty to maintain a semblance of cohesion for the project, because nothing else mattered. He turned to Galatea. He saw by her attitude that she shared, in part, his concerns vis-à-vis the hybrid, and would, as always, be on the same team as he was.
Alea stepped forward in turn to present the progress of the training program, and was also overshadowed by Mossa.
“I admire your work; your training program for Shuttle Generations is impressive. The translator concept to ensure content accessibility over time is ingenious; however, I think this concept can be significantly improved.”
Egeon boiled against the impertinence and the condescension of the teenager. Teo scrutinized Alea’s reaction; she was among those criticizing his attitude a few minutes earlier. With a little luck, he could offload Mossa onto Alea, which would really be good news. Galatea caught his smirk and gave him a nudge in the ribs. Surprised, Teo composed a neutral face.
“I’d be happy to hear your suggestions about our translator program,” said Alea.
“To ensure that each generation understands your message, you would need a single translator for the duration of the trip. This translator would be the link between the latest generation of Space H., and the first of Hope. This would ensure that your skills, your knowledge and your dreams are well transmitted to the end.”
“How come we never thought about that earlier?” Teo queried sarcastically.
“Of course, that would be ideal, Mossa, but we do not know how to extend the life of a human by hundreds of years. In addition, I do not think that’s desirable,” Alea replied as a good diplomat.
“Let me guess,” Teo continued. “You are speaking of yourself, I imagine. Is now the moment you tell us that your circuits allow you to live for a thousand years?”
“My circuits, as you say, increase the capacity of my brain. They may not affect the life of my physical shell. I was not talking about myself, no. I am not part of your space. I have developed more knowledge than yours... I will not be a translator because I will modify the message, even for the first generation.”
“In other words, you’re too good for us... some say, you must be our guide... and you are refusing to guide us. We will have to choose another Messiah...” Teo quipped.
“You should make a decision. When I propose to guide you, you put on me fallacious intentions, and you do not want my help. When I do not want to play the role of translator, you accuse me of not wanting to guide you.”
Teo had nothing to say, aware that Mossa had placed one of his contradictions in front of him.
“Mossa,” Alea said, “I understand that you don’t want to be our main translator, because you have the same life expectancy as we do. As you suggested this concept, however, maybe you have an idea on how to implement it.”
“I was thinking about kandrons.”
Alea, Egeon, Galatea and Teo opened their eyes wide; they were stunned. Even Teo had nothing to say in response; the idea was so... unthinkable. The assembly was also bewildered. “Kandron” was whispered and spread at that moment.
Mossa continued, “Kandrons live for centuries and are a part of this space. They establish strong bonds with humans, and are able to understand you. They will be able to translate content for all shuttle generations.”
“You forget that they are interested only in humans of the city... the city where it is located... the Machine again! After all that, do you still say that you are not in touch with that Machine?” Teo queried.
“Kandrons are not under the Machine’s control. They live in the city, but do not have chips, and they are free to fly away from the Tower.”
“You’re right, Mossa. Kandrons live apart, but what exactly makes you think they will be good translators?” Alea asked, determined to exploit the idea to the end.
“Think about Eutrope. Through it, I learned your language and acquired the basics of your culture.”
“Yes, but you have your second skin,” Alea replied.
“It helped me learn very quickly; that is true. But without a good teacher, that second skin would have been irrelevant.”
“I accept your reasoning; they might be good translators, but what would guarantee that they would follow our instructions? After all, they are a different species.”
“The shuttle generations will be further away from you than kandrons will be. They will live and die in a confined space without knowing what land is, what non-recycled air is, what it means to have a sun rising and setting each day. The very concept of day and night will be artificial. Kandrons, by contrast, would have lived here, would have known you.”
Egeon and Alea stared at each other, saddened by what the hybrid had just said. Yet he was right. This was the reason for the translator program, ensuring that messages continued to be transmitted despite the inevitable distance. It was just hard to hear this implacable fact when spoken aloud. It was hard to imagine that kandrons — those mysterious creatures, beautiful but inaccessible — could over time become closer to them than their own offspring.
“Maybe you are right, but... what do they have to gain? Why do they want to leave the planet?” Teo asked, still edgy.
“Eutrope suggested the idea. Kandrons wish to leave. By studying your Shuttle Generations training program, I imagined these creatures in the role of translators. Each species wins.”
“Wait a minute. All kandrons want to embark?” Teo asked, taken aback.
“That’s the idea, yes,” said Mossa.
“But... that approach would enlarge the shuttle considerably! It’s...” Teo continued.
Egeon decided to cut short Teo’s recriminations, no matter how justified they might have been. It was necessary, as with the construction project, to pretend to be in agreement with Mossa’s view so they could monitor him better.
“Mossa,” said Egeon, “I appreciate your concern for us, and I am sure your suggestion deserves interest from Alea and her team; however, try to understand our questions. We never had to deal with kandrons before Eutrope appeared, and even it came and continues to come only to see you. We do not know much about them, and we do not know their motives. We cannot make the decision to enlarge the s
huttle, adding weight to take them along, without knowing their purpose.”
“I did not think about asking Eutrope its motives; its thoughts seemed so clear and the benefits to your Shuttle Generations program so obvious...”
“Listen, Mossa. I will have a meeting with team leaders to discuss your proposals. Before that, could you explain to Alea and Teo your ideas and suggestions relevant to their respective fields? We must think carefully before deciding.”
Some people raised voices in the assembly in support of any suggestion coming from the Prophet. Although at the beginning of the meeting, many people said they thought Mossa was the Messiah, they were now no more than a handful. Many were skeptical and distrustful vis-à-vis his suggestions. The suspicion of collusion with the Machine had shaken a part of the assembly, and his improbable suggestion to take kandrons along that involved increasing the shuttle’s transport capacity to more than double its size and had tipped the majority in Egeon’s favor. To increase the size of the vessel, taking into account the needs of kandrons that were unknown to date, would mean deferring the project for several generations. The beginning of the meeting ushered in the fulfilment of their dream; Hope seemed within reach. Taking kandrons along meant somehow giving up; deferring unsustainably the departure time. Mossa’s motives were unclear, and while pretending to help, he suggested things that would delay the departure. The guide, the Messiah — the real one — could not have done that.
While leaving the meeting, pondering things retrospectively, Egeon felt that this meeting had at least allowed most people to stop believing in the appearance of the Prophet. At least, there was that...