Version Innocent

by Pete Molina

  ***

  After she left Johan’s, Terra took an auto cab to the Martian Embassy in Washington DC. When the cab stopped outside the embassy, Terra stepped out. She took it all in. At least something is the same, she thought. But as she looked around she realized that everything was exactly the same as it had always been. It’s me that’s different. She realized. I expect changes but I’m not that out of date. It would take decades for her to really be able to see large physical differences in the city…Primers didn’t change anything that they didn’t have to, and if they did change it to account for new technology, they worked hard to make it look familiar. People needed to have something to cling too.

  She walked up to the gates and had Plato send the access codes. The gates began to open and she stepped in to the building. It looked like a dome habitat, someone’s idea of a joke. Everyone on Mars lived in dome type habitats and someone, probably from Earth, had decided that the Martians would be more comfortable in something familiar. Martians were practical people; they had to be. They used the domes because that was the easiest way to do it on Mars. On Earth, they weren’t necessary… Terra had to admit it made her feel a little more at home, but she mused it was only because of the strangeness of events.

  When she entered the front door of the embassy, she was greeted by two Martian guards in full dress uniform, complete with weapons which Terra knew were armed. They both snapped to attention as she entered. They obviously recognized her, just about every Martian did. Beyond stretched a corridor that traversed the whole length of the building’s first floor. Just past the guards was a security check point. The checkpoint consisted of a blue rectangle on the floor of the hallway that took up its whole width. The rectangle extended about ten feet and, there was a matching blue rectangle on the ceiling. The blue rectangles were just there to let her know that there was a security fog field in place here.

  She stepped forward into the fog field. She couldn’t feel anything but at that moment her body was totally enmeshed in the utility fog that was examining her minutely. The fog got in to the clothes next to the skin and made sure that no foreign objects or contraband were being carried. If the field found anything that was not allowed that could be considered dangerous, it would simply immobilize her while the guards disarmed her or detained her for a security report. She continued to slowly walk through the fog field. When she was half way through Plato chimed in.

  Terra, the field has located a foreign object attached to the cuff of your right sleeve. The device has been identified as a micro-bug surveillance device. The bug has been removed and is currently being dissected The information contained within the bug is encrypted. It may take sometime to break.

  That’s all right, Plato, I know where and whom it’s from, Terra replied. FBI Special Agent Jim Dawson, who else? Certainly not Johan. Terra remembered the brief hand shake with Agent Dawson, it would have been easy for him to plant a bug on the cuff of her suit sleeve. I believe that it was Agent Dawson.

  That would be a logical conclusion to draw, given the limited number of people you have interacted with since being restored. Might I also suggest that it may have been planted by the people at the restoration clinic itself, Plato continued.

  Of course, you’re right, Plato. I hadn’t thought of that. Keep trying to break the encryption so we can find out who did plant it and where it was sending or was supposed to relay its information. My hunch is still Dawson. Terra stepped out of the security field. If anyone else but her had such a surveillance device they would have been detained immediately, but she was Terra Gates. No doubt she would hear something about it. She continued down the hall to the lift tube that went to the top of the building and the ambassador’s offices. She was probably expected by now.

  She rode the tube to the top and emerged from the lift tube hole in the center of a moderately sized receiving room that was ornately decorated with paintings, classical furniture and several smaller displays that showed the same view as Dome One in Olympia, the first and largest Martian city. The scenes were changing at real time, with a delay of several minutes as the images were transmitted live from Mars. It was like looking several minutes into the past. Terra found it comforting…she always did. The entire room was a skylight as it was the center of the top of the dome. There were six doors around the perimeter. Each one, Terra knew, lead to the office of one of the ambassadors. She walked off the lift tube hole and tried to decide which door to go to. Fortunately her mind was made up for her when one of the doors to her left opened and a tall woman with dark hair came out.

  Terra recognized her at once. It was someone who had been a friend of hers for most of her life, Emelda Garcia. Terra started to move toward Emelda, quickly opening her arms for a friendly embrace. “Em, it’s so good to see a friendly face…but I didn’t expect to see you here on Earth.” Emelda came close and gave her a brief hug and then pulled away from the contact a little too quickly.

  “Terra, it’s good to see you again, although it is a little surprising considering you had gone on a half century hiatus only a few years ago,” Emelda said flatly. What’s wrong? Terra thought. This isn’t the Emelda that I knew. Terra decided to put a good face on and try to put her friend at ease.

  “Well, it’s been quite an ordeal, if I do say so my self. But I’m here now and I really needed to talk with someone from home. It is all a little overwhelming just now.”

  “I see…well why don’t we go and discuss it in my office,” Emelda offered, gesturing Terra toward her office. Terra started towards the door and Emelda came up behind her. Emelda’s office was beautiful. All of the ambassador’s offices were. Terra walked in and was going to sit down on one of the couches on the side of the room, when Emelda passed her to sit behind her desk. Clearly she wanted Terra to sit in the chair in front of it.

  Something really is wrong, Terra thought. But is it her or is it me?

  “What’s going on here, Terra?” Emelda came straight to the point. “I wouldn’t have thought you’d come here to talk with me considering.” Emelda’s tone was cordial but cold.

  Terra wasn’t sure how to proceed. She had done something, or rather her other version had done something that had soured their relationship. She guessed that whatever it was it had something to do with Sam Storm.

  “Before you condemn me, Em, please just listen for a second. I don’t know what if anything, the government has told you about my early restoration but there are some special circumstances involved.” Terra began, but Emelda interrupted.

  “Of course, with you there would have to be special circumstances.” She emphasized the word “special”.

  Had she used her position and voting power to do something? Terra wasn’t sure. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Em, I don’t know what happened between us that would upset you like this.” Emelda snickered at Terra’s words. It stopped Terra for a second, but then she continued, “I am not the Terra Gates that went on hiatus two years ago. I am Terra Gates 262.3, the backup that was restored was made eight years ago. I have no idea what has happened in the last eight years. Even the files of my companion have been lost…I thought I might be able to access them from the Embassy. So what ever has happened between us, all I remember is that we were friends up until the 262.3 backup was made, so please tell me what you’re unhappy about.”

  As she was speaking, Emelda had warmed a bit, as if she was wishing that what Terra said was true. She was still cautious. “How exactly did this restoration come about, I can’t believe that the Terrans are that incompetent.”

  “I’m sure you heard about the virus attack on the restoration data center,” Terra began.

  “Of course, there’s been nothing else in the news and it’s caused quite a stir on Mars, considering they won’t let us have our own local data stores.”

  Terra continued. “The virus, it seems, started a number of restorations. The
authorities aren’t sure yet whether it was intentional or not, but mine was one of them. Of course the virus also wiped all my other versions on file, just like it did with the other thirty million. My version was the only one left in there. My restoration was the only one that had progressed passed the no stop point. So you see, I have no idea what’s going on, just that I have suddenly awakened, out of date in the extreme, to find out that everything has changed and that my restoration was touched off by a terrorist. And now you’re mad at me. It seems that everything I had going before the backup has gone badly off course.”

  Emelda was nodding. “I see,” she said, and her tone had gotten a little more friendly but she was suspicious still. “I will have your story checked out, you understand.”

  “I would expect no less,” Terra replied.

  “I must say, I have never heard of such a strange set of circumstances occurring to one person, especially considering that it’s you and given your status on Mars. And now, with your restoration, your share votes will come back in to play. There are a number of people who are going to be very unhappy about this, considering the actions of your other version.”

  “What actions?” Terra asked, trying to make sense of things. Emelda sighed, giving up her grudge. She understood that this Terra was not the one who had wronged her, but it was always hard for humans to forgive easily one who so closely resembled someone who had.

  “I’m not sure where to start,” Emelda said, pausing “About six years ago, you, or rather your other version started to vote your shares to impact policy. It was very strange considering that you, like your grandfather, had always refrained from voting most of your shares to give all the other share holders a greater voice in decision making. You voted for several new habitats even though we have no need for them. You started moving a large portion of your personal profits, that you normally gave to citizen benefits, to other accounts that no one could oversee.” Terra stared at her in disbelief. She couldn’t imagine herself doing any of that. It went against every fiber of her being. It compromised the values that had been instilled in her by her grandfather. She had become a dictator, a majority share holder voting to make policy single-handedly.

  “And,” Emelda continued, “in the last few years you became more secluded, more secretive until finally you, the other you, decided to go on hiatus. You wouldn’t tell any one why, just that it had to be done. I think what really got to me was that you personally voted against several initiatives that my family brought to the board, after you had said you would approve them. You took years of my family’s work and flushed it Terra, with out so much as an explanation. We were glad to see you go, and so you see I’m not particularly thrilled that you’re back and the other major shareholders aren’t going to be happy either. We’ve been trying for the last year to figure out what was going on with you and to try to undo some of the things you screwed up.” Emelda crossed her arms over her chest.

  “I’m horrified, Em. I can’t imagine doing any of those things. It sounds like you’re telling me a story about someone else. I am so sorry for what happened. I wish I could change thing,” Terra said sincerely.

  “I know you would, Terra, but your other version…it’s just hard to let go of it all at once. I hadn’t expected to see you again for quite some time. But you said it,” Emelda smiled, “these are special circumstances. You really aren’t to blame, who knows maybe your other version cracked or something.”

  Terra grinned, “Well I hope that I would have had a little more mental stability than that.”

  “I hope so too. I’m going to have to contact Mars and let them know about all this. I’m sure many people will be glad to have the old Terra Gates back. But I know there is one person who won’t be glad to see you back…President Stoneman.”

  “Ariel Stoneman, she’s president?” Terra exclaimed. Ariel had been one of her rivals all her life. They had been born at approximately the same time and Ariel had always been just behind her in everything. Her family controlled one of the smaller offshoot family corporations, and that corporation owned a significant number of shares in the United Martian Government. With Terra on hiatus, Ariel’s family would have become the most powerful on Mars. Ariel would be furious when she found out Terra was back prematurely, Terra almost wished she could be there to see the look on Ariel’s face. That was another reason why she never would have gone on such a long hiatus.

  Emelda must have been thinking the same thing because she smiled and gave a small chuckle as she mentioned Ariel. Then her smile faded and she became serious again. “So why is it you’re here, Terra? You must need something that you think I can help you with.”

  Terra nodded. “Yes, I wanted to let you know that I was approached by a US FBI agent who is investigating Sam Storm, the man they believe is responsible for the terrorist attack on the backup storage facility.”

  “Why did the agent approach you?”

  “He said that he believed that I was restored by Sam Storm on purpose.” Emelda frowned as Terra said this.

  “We know that Sam Storm 6.7 worked on Mars for a while about eight years ago, and that you knew him. Do you have something to do with this attack?”

  “I haven’t had anything to do with it, Emelda. But I don’t know about my other version, with what you’ve told me and what agent Dawson told me I am beginning to suspect that my other version did have something to do with all this.”

  “I see…and what did the agent want from you?” Emelda asked.

  “He wanted me to help him by having dinner with a crèche mate of Sam Storms. He thought that I was supposed to be there and that I might be able to do the US a service by helping them apprehend him,” Terra explained. Emelda was silent, considering. Terra waited for her friend’s advice.

  After a few moments Emelda began. “The bug that was on you as you entered the Embassy, I assume that it was planted by this agent Dawson?”

  “That’s what I think, I have my companion working on breaking the micro-bug’s encryption. Once that’s done, we should know for sure,” Terra agreed.

  “It makes me wonder if Dawson wants your help or wants to get you. I realize that being so far out of date basically clears you of any wrongdoing of your other version, but I think he may be trying to trap you. “

  “That’s what I think, but I’m not sure what to do about it. I told him that I’d help, and he wants me to wear a wire when I go to this dinner. So I decided to come here and look for some answers as to why this was happening and to see if I should help Dawson,” Terra said.

  “Well…officially Mars condemns the terrorist attack on the restoration facility by Sam Storm and will cooperate with the US to bring him to justice. Unofficially, we are using this event as a bargaining chip to try and improve our position. I would ask that for now you play along with this Agent Dawson. I’ll do some checking on him and try to find out what the deal is.”

  “I think you’re right. I just wanted to find out what was going on inside, considering I’m out of the loop by eight years,” Terra agreed.

  “Yes, you could definitely say that, I believe that your office is still in order. You should stay here tonight and I’ll try to find out more about what’s going on out there. If I had one guess as to who is behind this, I’d guess it’s Damon Harding.”

  It was a name that had been on the back burner of her mind for the last few hours. Harding would have taken all this as a personal attack, and considering that Terra knew Sam had little love for the restoration system, whatever he was up to would be bad news for Harding. If Harding were involved and he felt threatened, this could be dangerous. But anything that brought Harding down a notch might be worth the danger.

  “Yeah, I’ll stay. I have some things to check out on my own,” Terra decided.

  They chatted for a few more minutes and then a priority one communication came to which Emelda had to devote her full attention. Terra left
the office and headed for the lift tube.