The Roke Discovery

by J P Waters

  “But you think that it’s weird, right? That they’re being taken in alive? You said it yourself—they’re killers. Yet they’re being carted off into a truck each day.”

  “Yeah, but I’m no scientist. If they say they need them alive, they need them alive. I’m at the bottom of the totem pole, man.”

  “Well, a friend of mine is a scientist, and he thinks it’s shady as hell too. Your name won’t come up – we just want to conduct some independent oversight.”

  Frog contemplated the offer but scratched his bald head. “They are working me to the bone to keep those nasty little critters alive. I would like to know why…”

  “Come on Frog, all we need is a lead. A name on a piece of paperwork, a company logo, anything.”

  “Well, the other day I was loading up one of the trucks and saw the letters IWS on a piece of paper on the floor. Is that anything?”

  “Maybe. You don’t know what IWS stands for, though, do you?”

  “Nah, like I said, they don’t tell me much. I just handle the dangerous little fuckers.”

  “Well it’s something, at least. Thanks, Frog.”

  “Don’t mention it. Like, seriously, do not mention it. I think they had me sign all kinds of documents when I took the gig. I need this job, so this can be our little secret.”

  Jayson’s car had just completed its circuit of the block. Perfect timing. “Yeah, I hear you.”

  “Stay safe out there,” Frog said climbing out of the vehicle. “Seems like more and more are coming in each day.”

  “Yeah, you stay safe too,” Olie replied.

  Frog jogged into the precinct, and Olie thought he even ran like a frog, bounding across the street with a bounce in his step. Olie hoped he would stay safe.

  By the time Olie got back to the apartment, Mona had already prepared a comprehensive list of every group or position potentially associated with the letters IWS. Mona had also pulled additional research on the obvious frontrunner: Infinite Water Systems, a water-treatment megacorp out of Germany. If they had discovered that the rokes expelled clean water, a gold rush on the species might be coming, and if IWS had a lead, they would want to keep it.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Olie, Jayson, Janie, and Mona gathered at the apartment that evening to plan. Unbelievably enough, Jayson had called in enough favors to secure a meeting with Frederick Parker later in the week, but they had yet to unpack Olie’s IWS lead. Janie and Jayson had been tasked with checking their work databases for any government or scientific connections, and the siblings had requested they meet in person to go over their findings.

  Once everyone was inside, Olie gave Janie the very brief tour of her sparse apartment.

  “Nice place, Olie,” Janie said with a brief smile.

  “Thanks. It’s good to finally have you over,” Olie replied. She poured the woman a glass of Hard20 and led her over to the living room, where Jayson sat watching adnews and Mona stared blankly ahead.

  Janie cleared her throat. Giving Jayson and Olie a serious look, she laid a small information disk on the coffee table, its smartglass projecting documents across the surface and onto the telesphere.

  “Are either of you familiar with the name Anushka Kaif?”

  They both shook their heads.

  “Billionaire tech mogul. Her family’s company was instrumental in the popularization of wearable technology. She convinced them to go all-in on band tech early, and the investment has paid off in spades.”

  Janie pulled a video of Kaif speaking at a press conference up onto the sphere. She was a powerful presence even behind the podium, answering and deflecting questions with ease.

  “Ms. Kaif recently began to dabble in water. I don’t know a great deal about why, beyond the typical company platitudes, but it’s no surprise that the mind who helped usher in a now-essential technology would be interested in monetizing the planet’s most essential resource.”

  A new photo. This time, Kaif was shaking hands with a government official in front of a navy-blue logo on a white field.

  “IWS!” said Olie.

  “That’s right,” said Janie. “Infinite Water Systems. Now, you mentioned something about rokes excreting or secreting water. Are you sure?”

  Olie nodded. “I didn’t believe it, either, but we tested it in Jayson’s lab and on my surface. It appeared in Gerry’s jar right after he’d been spooked by something.”

  “And it was clean water?” asked Janie.

  “Well, we didn’t drink it,” said Jayson. “But according to the readouts, yeah. If they’re producing hydrogen on their own, it could be that they’re mixing oxygen in our atmosphere with biomass and creating water as a byproduct. It’s not that far off from photosynthesis.”

  Janie looked impressed.

  “Who’s that in the photo with her?” Olie asked.

  “A Seattle utility official. They just won several contracts for new facilities here in Washington after their success in Germany. It might be what has SeaCrest in such a rush to modernize. They seem to be struggling with the competition. No offense, Olie.”

  Olie shrugged. “So, if IWS is collecting rokes from the police, then at least some part of the government knows about it. Is the water really worth the risk? What if a pair of rokes escapes and starts breeding on our coast? Or if they miss some during their roundups?”

  “I’ve been asking the same questions, but I’ve hit nothing but walls so far. Nobody is willing to confirm anything or discuss the rokes at all. It’s one of the weirdest experiences I’ve ever had in politics.” Janie replied. “The only way I’d get stonewalled like that is if the Governor was involved. Turns out Kaif—and by extension IWS—is one of the Governor’s largest donors. Another of Kaif’s investments? Cerebral Bionics.”

  “A.K.A Frederick Parker,” Jayson chimed in.

  “Well, that explains the Seba moving crew at the police station,” Olie thought out loud. “Do you think he knows about Kaif’s involvement with the rokes?”

  "I don’t know,” said Jayson. “But we’re going to have the opportunity to ask.”

  “Now Olie,” Janie said, turning to give Olie her full attention, “with all this new information, there’s a high likelihood that there is some government interference. It may be excessive use of bureaucracy, or it may an actual crime. Either way, it looks like this may reach all the way to the top. I’ve been careful about keeping your name out of things so far, but if you meet with Parker there won’t be anything that I can do to keep him from... whatever he’s capable of. You’re about to tangle with some very powerful people, and they could make your future very difficult. Especially where offworld employment is concerned.”

  Janie let that last sentence hang in the air. Olie cocked her head and looked at Jayson.

  “That’s right,” said Jayson, a pained look in his eyes. “I know how much getting back into space means to you. You’ve done more than enough. Mona, Janie, and I can handle things from here.”

  Janie was right, of course. People like Kaif and Parker had connections everywhere. Get on the wrong side of the wrong people, and you could be blacklisted across entire industries. And, on the flip side, one corporate champion going to bat for you could make all the difference. Jayson’s grandfather ran Martian Mobility, and that simple connection is what had made their upcoming meeting with Parker possible.

  As Olie thought about the hell IWS could cause for her, though, her mind snapped to all the people she’d be leaving behind if she made it back to the stars. Lane and Raquel. Aaron and Jeni. Jayson and Janie and even Mona. And the people she’d already lost. Dim. Leon. Newton, the mystery man who’d started it all. Gerry, too. Their memories would haunt her if she didn’t do something—the memories of the living and the dead.

  “No Jay, I’m not leaving yet. I want to finish what we started.”

  “Sorry to interrupt,” Mona interjected, “but my NOVA monitoring just picked something up. I think it’s of interest.”

  Mon
a took control of the telesphere, flipping from Kaif’s dossier to a foreign broadcast. The screen was full of rokes, but the surrounding beach looked nothing like Washington. According to the lower third of the screen, this new outbreak was in Russia.

  “It appears the roke threat is spreading.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  “Let’s go over this one more time,” Olie said, riding with Jayson and Mona to Seattle to meet Parker. “We have no idea how much time he’ll give us, so we need to get this right.”

  “We’ll open by showing him the reports and photos from around Washington, make a case for the seriousness of the outbreak with vids from Russia, and then explain how capable Mona’s been in tracking and eradicating them,” Jayson said, checking and rechecking that he had the right files loaded up on his band.

  “I’m just not sure he’s going to buy it. Jayson, you and I have 1 tour on Mars and a few years of Earthside experience, and this guy is a gagillionaire. Are we sure we don’t want to mention IWS?”

  “Not unless we have to. Kaif invested in Cerebral Bionics, so the less Parker knows about the IWS involvement the better. Our goal is to appeal to his humanitarian side, not get into business or politics.”

  “And what if he just doesn’t care?”

  Jayson let out a dismissive huff. “Doesn’t care? About rokes running wild and killing people?”

  “Yeah, what if he’s just some out-of-touch billionaire? What if he’s just some tech asshole from San Francisco who really doesn’t care if people die in McCleary, Washington?”

  “My grandfather wasn’t just some tech asshole, and he believed in Parker.”

  “Jay, that was a long time ago. What if Parker has changed?”

  “Then it’s our job to change him back,” Jayson said. “You’re sure you want to go through with this? You can back out if you want—I’ll cover for you.”

  “No, no. I want to be here. Just a little nervous about asking one of the most influential CEOs on the planet to overturn a core belief and turn his creation into a roke killing machine.”

  “I don’t think we have any better options, do you? Nobody else is listening, you heard Janie.”

  Olie shook her head. “I just hope he listens.”

  “If not, we go to plan B. Go to IWS, get concrete evidence that they’re using the rokes to generate clean water and ignoring the risks, and leak it to the media. If we can’t convince Parker that something needs to be done, maybe the public can.”

  “Based on my calculations, Plan A has a much higher likelihood of success. We should hope that it succeeds, and that Plan B can be avoided,” said Mona.

  Olie turned and looked at Mona.

  “Yeah Mona, that’s why they call it Plan A,” said Olie.

  “Look, there’s downtown,”Jayson interrupted as they approached the city.

  Olie hadn’t been to downtown Seattle for some time, and she set the car’s windows to transparent as they entered the outskirts of the city. Parker’s remote office was far enough inland so they wouldn’t be forced to take a dronecopter to one of the islands. Parker was in town from San Francisco, consulting on the Sebanic implementation at SeaCrest. Olie had already sworn to Jayson and Janie that she wouldn’t bring that up.

  “It’s a nice suit, Ol,” said Jayson in the car. “It looks good.”

  Olie had taken the occasion to dress up in a tight black monosuit, the same one she had worn to Dim’s funeral.

  “Thanks, Jay.”

  Jayson straightend his jacket and produced a small smile.

  “You ever think of living down here full time? In the city?” asked Olie.

  “Not really. Janie still has her old place, and I stay there every now and again, but out there near the coast is better. The dronecopters and the hydroscrapers, it’s not for me.”

  “Me neither. Those hydroscrapers make me depressed. You ever see pictures of old Seattle? Before the buildings were on stilts?”

  “Yeah, the way things were before was beautiful, but everyone knew it was temporary. The water was coming downtown one way or the other.”

  “Some buildings survived, waterproofed instead of giving in and putting up stilts. Sometimes I wonder about that, it must have taken such dedication to preserve the building when half of it’s underwater. You think it all could have been prevented?”

  Jayson turned and looked out the window. Bridges and dronecopter pads extended from the sides of the buildings, allowing multiple businesses to have their own dedicated entrances.

  “I don’t know Olie, I think maybe this is the way it had to be, and people just salvaged the parts of the buildings they couldn’t live without. Look at it now, the dronecopter pads, and the stilts, It’s not the way we planned it, but it works.”

  Cerebral Bionics’ building was several miles from the islands and the partially submerged Space Needle. Olie looked out the windows as they entered a part of town where the roads were raised. On either side of the highway, tall buildings with oversized neon vid displays pitched everything from biomods to Hard20—so many ads that the entire skyline seemed to flash red and hot pink.

  They made their way over a bridge before taking an exit and maneuvering down a few side streets to the CB building, which twisted and turned like bamboo into the sky.

  “I don’t know how this thing stands up straight,” said Jayson.

  “It’s amazing,” Olie agreed.

  She followed Jayson and Mona through a lavish entryway that opened to reveal a grand lobby furnished in all black and silver. Most impressively, a large koi pond was built into the marble floors. Olie nearly gasped, unable to remember the last time she had even seen a real fish outside of an aquarium. Olie looked over the edge, wondering if the fish were real. If anyone had the money to burn, it was Cerebral Bionics. The ceilings were at least thirty feet high, and couches along the edge of each room mimicked the perplexing curves of the building perfectly. Static paintings adorned the walls—a rarity in any tech corporation—and the oils on some of them seemed to still be drying. Others must have been commissioned specifically for the building’s unique architecture, the canvases curving alongside the wall’s surface.

  A woman in a CB uniform—human, not a Seba—directed them to an elevator that would take them to the top floor. Once there, a human secretary introduced herself as Azura and asked the group to take seats in a lavish waiting room, promising that Mr. Parker would see them shortly.

  “What’s Frederick Parker like? Did you get any sense from the emails?” Olie whispered to Jayson.

  “No, it was all very cut-and-dry, but all communication was done through his handler and Janie’s connections. Rumor is he’s… eccentric. Very focused, incredibly intelligent, but not high on people skills.”

  “Would either of you like a drink while you wait?” the secretary asked, returning from letting Parker know of their arrival. “A cocktail, perhaps?”

  Olie could feel her heart pounding in her chest. A cocktail? For a business meeting in the middle of the day, Olie felt out of her element and turned to Jayson for guidance. Jayson’s family operated in circles like this, but she didn’t.

  “No. Thank you, Azura. We’re fine,” said Jayson.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Frederick Parker’s personal office felt more like a penthouse than a place of business. The room’s entryway and receiving area were completely white. The floor was entirely composed of luminescent tiles that glowed a sky blue. An ornate rock feature dominated the center of the room. Its unique color and crystal formations marked it as having been carved from either an asteroid or a chunk of moon rock—Olie guessed it would have been as expensive to transport as it was to reshape. An oversized telesphere and floor-to-ceiling windows adorned the far wall, and outside Olie could see Seattle’s islands and hydroscrapers lit up like beacons.

  Frederick Parker stood up from behind a desk in an adjacent room, beckoning them in. The study contained a large, intricately carved wooden desk, two genuine leather cha
irs facing it, and large oil paintings complementing the ones in the lobby but particularly emphasizing the color red. Parker was wearing a white one-suit and jacket with a mock collar. He had gray hair and a perfectly symmetrical face that hinted at surgery or genetic modification. Between biomods and dermal enhancements, his face was flawless but also strangely featureless—he was not unlike a Seba himself. He smiled as he reached forward to shake hands with Olie.

  “Welcome, welcome! Please, make yourselves comfortable—I was just getting some reading done. I see Azura already offered you beverages?”

  “Yes, thank you.” Jayson said.

  Parker then turned to Jayson. “Mr. Belsey. I remember you being much shorter.” Parker smiled, and the slightest creases appeared where his crow’s feet might have once been.

  Lastly, Parker turned to the Seba. “How are you, Mona?” and then he turned to address Jayson, “Or have you changed her name?”

  “No, I haven’t,” said Jayson.

  “I’m doing quite well,” Mona replied in a flat tone.

  “Do you know who I am, Mona?”

  “You are Frederick J. Parker. You invented Sebanic.”

  Parker smiled out of the corner of his mouth, then backed away toward his desk. Leaning against it, he gestured for them to sit. The humans did so, while Mona was left to stand to the side.

  “Did you hear what she said?”

  “She identified you as her inventor.” Olie replied.

  “Precisely,” Parker began. “I program my identity into the minds of our Sebanic. With my current level of notoreity, it is unnecessary, but I want to cement my spot in history. I want them to know where they came from, and that they were lovingly and fearfully made. Now then,” Parker moved behind his desk and took a seat in the executive chair, “why is it that you have cashed in what I imagine to be a large amount of favors to get this meeting?”