The Other
Page 19
“The number, Mrs. Aapada.”
“We estimate between 7,000 and 18,000 civilians were absorbed into the containment zone.”
Sahaan bit his lip. Mrs. Aapada herself had only barely been able to speak the words. Her voice came out raspy and her words clipped. Deep inside, Sahaan wanted to shriek out, his rage near blinding. But he kept that down, deep down. If the Reclamation was to have a future, he now had to be the best human he could possibly be. There was no one else left.
“Understood. Have we talked to the media?”
“Portal One Studio is now inside the containment zone, sir.” They were the Reclamation’s most watched broadcaster. “They are off the air. The others are only showing satellite footage of the capital, at least for the time being.”
“Let’s get in contact with them. It will show them that we have a plan and we’re on top of the situation. I’m going to draft a speech. Tell them I would like it broadcast to every city.”
“I’ll get right on that, sir.”
“And I want regular updates on the military situation. We’ll need every last surviving soldier. Oh, and one more thing, see if someone can get ahold of Bharo Meharab. He should be in the Adamantine Central Hospital. He’ll want to come here, but I want him out in Citrine instead, as he and I had originally planned.”
“Understood, sir.”
Mrs. Aapada ran off.
Sahaan looked around the large room. As he recalled, there were a few offices somewhere behind the central meeting chamber. He now needed to focus on what he would tell his country.
~
“Hey, Brad?”
“Hey, Charles! It’s been a while. How have you been?”
“Well, all right…”
“Sounds like maybe not so great.”
“I need someone to talk to, and I wasn’t sure who I could reach out to. I was hoping we could talk.”
“Sure, man. Sure thing. What’s going on?”
“I’m about to make a decision. A big one. I was able to avoid it for a while. It was impractical. So, it was easy to dismiss it— What kind of encryption is this?”
“Best you don’t ask. Suffice to say, only me and few people know the decoder for this one. … You still there?”
“Yeah. Yeah. I guess, I was just saying that it was easy to ignore this problem when it was only a pipe dream, something that wasn’t even practical, anyway. But I’ve solved all the problems. It’s just pushing a button now, but I don’t know if I can make this decision for so many people. In my work, we have these big bureaucracies, and, sure, they stifle individuals from going off and doing their own thing, but most of the time that’s good. And maybe my case is like that. Maybe there are a lot of other people who know way more than I do about the situation, and there’s a good reason why they haven’t acted.”
“No one knows any more about the vestigs than you or I.”
“Brad, it’s best if you don’t guess at what—”
“I knew three years ago when you were first hinting at it.”
“I don’t want anyone else responsible for this.”
“So you can carry it all alone? Clearly that’s bothering you. How did it happen, anyway?”
“Brad…”
“I trust this encryption, if that’s what you’re worried about. It can’t be broken. Not in our lifetimes, anyway.”
“… One of the sub-atomic particles I catalogued early in my career, it was the one that makes the vestigs’ walls work.”
“No fucking way.”
“I kept it to myself. I documented it as inert for the official records and kept the real observations to myself. You now have the power to end my career, by the way.”
“How does that translate to getting a person inside their walls, though?”
“I did my own tests, made some samples of iron with the quantum properties induced. They’re pretty resilient. The quantum field can absorb a lot of energy, but there’s a point at which the matter changes. And you can use the orientation of the incoming energy to move the particles of the wall around. And that means—”
“Holy fuck.” Brad let out a laugh. “You’re going to turn their walls into a person?”
“Yeah. That’s the idea, anyway.”
“So, once you do this, can the left overrun their walls?”
“No, I don’t think so. Doing this doesn’t allow anyone to find the sub-atomic particle in question. But it would allow them to repeat the process of changing a wall.”
“Right, like we talked about before.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, let’s look at our options. We can do nothing with this information, in which case, the parties get more extreme, and more insane, until one day someone does decide to attack the vestigs somehow. Or we can use it, in which case we get a person inside their borders who can talk to them, tell them about us, about all of us, and also the potential that one of our groups will repeat the process.”
“And I’ll go to jail.”
“Assuming they trace it back to you.”
“They will.”
“Let me help with that part.”
“Brad—”
“You asked for my help.”
“I did.”
“So let me help.”
“Okay. Sure. Last logistical problem.”
“Shoot.”
“We need a template for the memories and personality.”
Brad sighed. “I already told you the answer to that, too.”
“C‘mon. Seriously? He’s going to need to talk politics, not physics.”
“Damn it, Charles. What was the very first book you told me about?”
“Reading a three-thousand-year-old research paper called The Politics is a bit different from brokering international peace, don’t you think?”
“Maybe. Or maybe you’re just the right mix of passion, intelligence, and patience.”
“…”
“Charles?”
“Thank you.”
“See. Any of my other friends would be screaming back at me by now.”
Charles chortled. “Fine.”
“So, what has to be done next?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing. I already executed the program.”
“You wrote a computer program that can transform a wall on another continent into a person?”
“Yeah.”
“Techies…”
“Go to hell.”
“After you, my friend.”
~
A knock on his door. Was it his door? Sahaan supposed it was. He was the president, after all. But this did not feel like his room. In his brief survey, he had discovered stuffed into the room’s shelves and desk drawers a million bits of paraphernalia from so many decades’ past negotiations between Alterra and the Reclamation. It certainly did not feel like ‘his’ room.
Another knock.
“Come in,” Sahaan said.
A man pulled the door cautiously open, still bumping it into a stack of boxes, regardless. He slid into the room and stood up straight. Sahaan recognized him as the ambassador of Alterra, a Mr. Rajaad Ot.
“Hello, Mr. Ot.”
“President Ekeer.”
Would that ever cease to feel weird? “What can I do for you?”
“First of all, let me say that your staff are handling the situation remarkably well, given the circumstances.”
“Thank you, Mr. Ot.”
“I was wondering if I might be permitted to send my report through the portal today, despite…” He merely let the sentence hang.
“That will be fine. I’ll write you something for the officers stationed there.”
“Might I also know, Mr. President, since I must make recommendations to my government, whether or not the containment field is stable?”
“All indications are that it is now perfectly stable.”
“I see. But its southeast edge is now less than a kilometer from the portal.”<
br />
“It is.”
“And how long can your generators keep it stable? Is it a matter of weeks, days, hours?”
“Months, Mr. Ot.”
“I see. Still, I think it best to inform you that my recommendation to my government is that we construct walls around our portal. As a precaution.”
Sahaan took a deep breath to calm himself. “That seems prudent. I would probably do the same thing in your position. Do you expect any political difficulties on Alterra?”
“On the contrary, I expect they will want to know what they can do to help.”
“Thank you, Mr. Ot. I will keep that in mind.”
“Thank you, Mr. President.” Mr. Ot pulled the door open as far as he could, once again banging it into the stack of boxes, and slid out the door.
Sahaan shook his head and returned his attention to his speech.
~
“Sahaan?”
“Hi, Lachel.”
“Oh, Sahaan. Is it true?”
“Depends what it is.”
“That you’re the acting president.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“And is the containment zone really stable again?”
“Yes.”
“Good. That’s good. How are you holding up? I wish we could be there with you.”
“You and Jaan stay in Barine. Please.”
“It makes sense. You’re right, of course. What are you going to do?”
“I was actually calling you about that. I’m preparing a speech. It’s going to be… Well, it will be something, that’s for sure.”
“You’ll outline a plan for the containment field, I’m sure.”
“Yes.”
“And a path forward for reconciliation with the nanite-bodied. With the Pinnacle.”
“Yes, that too.”
“Shouldn’t that do?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Oh?”
“I’m going to use an old trick. A very old one. Politicians have been using it for centuries, probably longer. And I’m not sure how I feel about it.”
“What trick is that?”
“Use an emergency to push through policy changes that are badly needed but were held up during the expansive bureaucracy of peacetime.”
“What kind of changes?”
“You’ll see in the speech. I wanted to tell you in advance, though, that I have listened to you, and your reasons for loving the Reconciliation Party the way you do. And I want to keep all those good things. I don’t want those to go away. There are just… elements that have to change. And we’ve run out of time. We can’t avoid changing them anymore. … Lachel?”
“I love you so much.”
“I love you, too. Tell Jaan I’ll come out to Barine as soon as I can. And I haven’t forgotten that I owe him a voidball game.”
“Break a leg.”
“Love you. Goodbye.”
“Bye.”
~
“Good evening, fellow citizens of the Reclamation. I am speaking to you from the temporary government headquarters in Portal City. This has been a difficult night for all of us, most especially those of us with a loved one trapped inside the containment zone.
“As many of you have seen already, a group of citizens fired energy weapons into the containment zone earlier this evening. While their intent was to damage the evolver nanites inside the containment zone, their weapons fire instead damaged our own containment nanites, causing the containment field to partially collapse and expand in all directions.
“The containment field is now stable. Let me repeat that. The containment field is now stable. Its continued stability is now dependent on two factors. First, the containment field must absorb no further disruptive forces. Second, the expansion of the field has increased its energy requirement. We now require the emergency generators of all Reclamation cities to remain active until the current emergency has been resolved.
“I wish to make this last point perfectly clear. If Bengine’s reactor fails, then Adamantine falls. If Citrine’s reactor fails, then Besserine falls. If Eline’s reactor fails, then Cynine falls. Each and every one of us must do our part to ensure that the power flow to the capital remains uninterrupted. We stand or fall together.
“Now, to the matter of resolving the current emergency.
“First, it may surprise many of you, especially citizens of Enerine, Exenine, Bengine, Citrine, and Cynine, to hear me say this, but our first resolve must be increased attention to our walls. The nanite-bodied, whose nation we have learned is called the Pinnacle, possess a technology by which they can transmute our wallslabs into people. As we have heard from their holographic ambassador, some of these people will be friendly, others hostile. There is no way to tell until they arrive. My government will be doing everything in its power to stop these visitations until such time as visitors to our country can arrive authorized and cleared through a practice of customs and border inspection, similar to the policy we maintain with our allies on Alterra.
“Second, in addition to being broadcast throughout the Reclamation, from this moment forward, this speech is also being broadcast into every major city of the Pinnacle. It is simultaneously a call to action for our citizens to ensure our continued safety and wellbeing, and also a response to the message sent early this morning by the Pinnacle ambassador Catherine.
“To the citizens of the Pinnacle, I have this message. The government of Reclamation aligns itself ideologically with your center. We too dream of the world you describe, the one where we live in harmony, the one without walls. However, we also recognize the very real political necessity of those walls in the here and now, and we will not dismantle them until such means have been discovered for us to ensure our continued existence in the bio-material form of our choosing, which is decidedly this one. We offer those on your three right political axes the future possibilities of open but controlled travel between our states, trade of our flora, and the opportunity for individuals to become like us and join our society, if that is what they want. To those on your three left political axes, if we are attacked, we will defend ourselves with every last ounce of strength, every last weapon at our disposal, and every last nanite program we can type out. Our friends on the parallel world Alterra are indeed strong, and the current emergency has only bolstered our alliance.
“However, we do not want to resort to weapons, or to merely trade with you from behind our walls. The path we want is the one described by Catherine. That is what we will work toward, despite the limitations imposed by the practicalities of both the left and the right.
“Citizens of the Reclamation, tomorrow you will vote for a new president, who is to take office in one month’s time. You will vote either Reconciliation or Guardian, and I urge you to vote with both your hearts and minds for whichever candidate you think most capable.
“It occurred to me, however, as I drafted this speech, that the path I am laying forward for us, is neither a path of ‘reconciliation’ nor a purely ‘guarded’ posture. It is a path of both. I dislike the idea of choosing one or the other of two policies, which are both crucial to our survival. For the duration of my time as president, I will not be representing the Reconciliation Party. Rather, I represent Cooperation. Call that a party, if you wish, though at present it has a membership of merely one. If there is one thing you take away from my speech, let it be this: Dazine does not survive without Exenine. Adrine does not survive without Citrine. And the same for every other city. We stand or fall together.
“Thank you, and good night. Rest well, for we have much work ahead of us.”
~
“Mr. President?”
A shake of his shoulder.
Sahaan jolted awake out of a dreamless sleep. His head was slumped in his arms atop his desk in the small office with the piles of boxes partially obstructing the door. He sat up straight and blinked a few times.
“Mrs. Aapada.” Sahaan’s view came into focus. “What time is it, Mrs. Aa
pada?”
“Eight, Mr. President.”
“Has there been any communication from the Pinnacle?”
“No, sir.”
“And the staff?”
“Busy, sir. Well, about two-thirds of them to be precise. I divided everyone into three groups. They’re taking turns getting four hours of sleep each. But I make sure each discipline is represented in each group, so we won’t be lacking a skill set at any point.”
“Good work, Mrs. Aapada. I think the military has a term, a field promotion. How would you like to be my acting Vice President?”
“I would honored, Mr. President.”
“You’re doing an excellent job. Now, which of these three groups are you in?”
“I hadn’t assigned myself to one.”
“Well, as acting president and acting vice president, we need to cover for each other. I’ve gotten my four hours of sleep, so now it’s your turn. What do I need to take care of during that time?”
“Yes, sir. The communications team is monitoring for any sign of a signal, and also preparing for the media briefing at ten. We’ve decided to have it in front of the View Seven building, since all the usual venues are… unavailable. There’s the military liaison who should be arriving back from the portal soon with an update. If he’s not back within an hour or two, we’ll want to get someone in communications on that too, make sure the situation there isn’t degrading. And the science division has their hands full. Definitely keep an eye on them. They’re still monitoring the containment field, of course. The acting science director, a young man by the name of Vigy, he said he’s concerned about the power requirements, and he’s preparing some new models. I think that’s all the major items.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Aapada.” Sahaan moved to the door. “Time for you to take a break now. That’s an order.”
She hesitated for a moment uncomfortably before the door. “May I… perhaps use this room, sir. My apartment, it was near the Hilltop Suite.”
“Of course.”
“Thank you, Mr. President.”
Sahaan exited the office, walked down the short hall, and entered into the main diplomatic meeting space turned office of the Ekeer presidency. He almost allowed himself a small grin at the ridiculousness of it all, when he noticed that the entirety of the staff had huddled in one corner of the room.