Oracle

by Douglas E. Richards

  Anna paused for all of this to fully sink in. “And finally,” she added, “we were able to confirm my hunch that Kaitlyn is a traitor.”

  Vega nodded slowly. “Speaking of which,” he said. “I think it’s time for us to find out why.”

  “I couldn’t agree more,” said Redford, reaching out and tearing the duct tape from the former chief scientist’s lips.

  65

  There was a long silence in both conference rooms, and all eyes were now on the Vorian calling herself Kaitlyn O’Connor.

  “So what do you have to say for yourself?” began Vega. “You killed five of your own people. You betrayed everything we believe in. You tried to kill the woman representing the galaxy’s best hope to end a senseless war.”

  “From your perspective, it was a betrayal,” replied Kaitlyn in the Vorian language. “But not from mine.”

  “English, Kaitlyn, please,” said Vega. “Or I’ll just use the translator program. Our human friends have a right to hear this too.”

  Kaitlyn sighed and continued in English. “Killing my Vorian brothers and sisters was the most horrible thing I’ve ever done,” she said, her tone anguished. “It haunts me every day. And it will for the rest of my life. But I did it for a higher cause. I did it to save us all.”

  “Save us all?” said Vega in disbelief. “That’s what the rest of us are trying to do. Which is something that you’re trying to stop.”

  “I know that your heart is in the right place, Tom,” she said. “That’s what makes this so hard. But you’re doing the opposite of saving us. Just because you and most of our governing class believes something doesn’t make it true. You’re so convinced that a human Oracle like Anna can break the deadlock in this horrible war. And I agree. If only the Gatekeepers would let her.”

  “The Gatekeepers will let her,” said Vega. “Her subconscious abilities, because they are subconscious, will fly under their radar. I don’t understand the math and physics behind it, but this is scientific consensus.”

  “Well I do understand the math and physics,” said Kaitlyn, “and it isn’t consensus. Because I, for one, don’t agree. You’re all fooling yourselves if you believe for an instant that the Gatekeepers won’t notice her. How could they not? You’ve seen what she can do. And this is only the beginning.

  “How can you not be terrified of her potential power?” she continued. “Look what she’s just shown us. That her subconscious is clever enough not just to provide her with actual visions of the future, but also with fabrications, with just the right elements to make something it wants come to pass. Fooling even her. Which is terrifying. And she can see futures of which she’s not even a part. You, yourself, marveled at the complexity of what she accomplished, the layers of the onion she constructed. You called it interlocking deceptions in ten dimensions. You can’t tell me you aren’t a little afraid of what she might become.”

  “I would be,” admitted Vega. “Except that I’m certain she’s the perfect choice. Anyone else with this power would worry me. Even the humans have a saying about absolute power corrupting. But it won’t corrupt Anna. There’s something about her that I trust. And I’ve come to believe in fate. It was fate that we found her.”

  “You’re a fool, Tom. Even if she is the right choice, I come back to the same point. The Gatekeepers can’t miss her. Can’t! No matter how much you hand-wave about her subconscious being immune from Gatekeeper scrutiny. Even if it is, what do you think will happen if she is able to bring our allied fleet to the brink of victory? Don’t you think the Gatekeepers will be curious about who’s at the helm? How she’s able to accomplish what no other intelligent being ever could? So even if she slips under their radar at the start, they will find out that she used higher order capabilities to win. And they’ll consider this cheating.”

  Kaitlyn frowned deeply. “So what then?” she asked. “They could destroy our entire fleet, our entire species even, just to make a point.”

  “So this is how you justify killing five of our people?” said Vega in horror. “You did it because you thought they might be zeroing in on an Oracle, and were worried about Gatekeeper retaliation?”

  “That’s right. I would never do this if the stakes were any less profound. You’re so sure that everyone thinks like you, Tom, but there are dissenters in very powerful positions back home. Dissenters who managed to position me to be among the first to go through to Earth if the portal ever reopened. They and their predecessors have long feared the very thing you hope for, and have long tried to shut down the Earth initiative. And even though they failed, they did manage to send me here as an operative.”

  “So why didn’t you kill me when I was zeroing in on Anna?”

  “First, all the other possible candidates you identified turned out to be duds or sociopaths. I thought she would be the same. And then things with her moved much faster than anyone could have anticipated. After your initial meeting, instead of slowly vetting her, slowly bringing her up to speed, as per protocol, you ended up on the run together. Everything was accelerated. Instead of taking days or weeks to vet her, she proved herself in hours. I rushed here as quickly as I could, but she was already having visions, even before being enhanced.”

  “So you knew that if you tried anything too flashy,” said Vega, “she’d likely see it.”

  “Yes. And that was especially true after she was enhanced.”

  Vega shook his head in disgust. “I’m truly sad for you, Kaitlyn,” he said. “I’m sad that you believe you were protecting our people. You might even be right about the Gatekeepers finding out about Anna. But even if you are, do you really think they’d be vindictive enough to destroy us? Have you ever seen any sign of this? Don’t you think that we and every other intelligence has tried to do everything we can to remove the Gatekeepers’ shackles?”

  The alien leader paused. “We believe they’re sabotaging our efforts to achieve transcendence,” he continued. “Yet we continue to try. We don’t kill every scientist with the audacity to go against their will because we fear reprisals. The Gatekeepers have never been known to interfere with any of us directly, at least not overtly, which is why we aren’t even certain they exist. So even if they caught us, they’d just stop Anna from being our admiral. They wouldn’t take it out on our entire species. Especially since only a handful of the many billions of us were responsible for this choice.”

  Kaitlyn didn’t respond, but her expression indicated that he had scored some points and had shaken her certainty.

  “And they’ve always been in position to wipe us out whenever they like,” continued Vega. “So either they find the wholesale slaughter of innocent beings as unthinkable as we do, or they’re keeping the many intelligences around for a good reason.”

  “What reason?”

  “Really, Kaitlyn?” he said in disdain. “You know as well as I do that this has been the subject of over twenty thousand years of debate. And you know the predominate view on Vor, which I share. Which is why we’re here. I think the Gatekeepers are doing this to force all intelligences to mature. Force us to figure things out. To get creative, and to tame the more aggressive species among us who think the Gatekeepers want war. To demonstrate to all that we won’t incur the Gatekeepers’ wrath if we have peace. Which is exactly what we hope Anna will bring about.”

  “You’re playing with a fire you can’t possibly control,” said Kaitlyn. “Two fires. You think the Gatekeepers won’t retaliate, but you can’t be sure of that. And who’s to say that Anna’s powers won’t evolve to the point where she becomes an even bigger threat than they are?”

  She turned to the human clairvoyant. “I like and admire you, Anna,” she said sincerely. “A lot. You’re decent, brave, kind, and for a human being, intelligent. You have very little ego and a relentless determination to do what’s right. I can’t tell you how many times I wished that I hated you. Or that you frightened me. But you don’t. You’re wonderful.”

  Kaitlyn sighed. “But that’
s how you are right now,” she added. “Not even you know how you might change. Not even you know if the growing capabilities of your subconscious and your clairvoyance will make you drunk with power.” She paused. “Human campers are careful to extinguish their fires,” she continued. “But that’s not because they don’t like them. The fires give off light, and warmth, and protection from wildlife. The campers snuff them out because they know and fear the destructive force they might become.”

  Anna stared deeply into Kaitlyn’s holographic eyes for several long seconds. Finally, she sighed. “I can’t really argue with you,” she said. “I have no idea what the Gatekeepers might do if they find out about me. But as to what I might become, you’re right to worry. I do too. All I can say is that I’m well aware of the danger, and intend to spend every second fighting against becoming corrupted.”

  Kaitlyn nodded thoughtfully. “Thank you for that,” she said. “I believe that you’re sincere. Although I am annoyed at you for making me like you even more,” she added with a wistful smile. “And Tom is right. If anyone can avoid corruption, it’s you. But I still fear that with the level of power and influence you’ll command, this is still inevitable. I guess we’ll find out.”

  “I guess we will,” said Anna.

  “In any event,” added Kaitlyn, “I can’t begin to tell you how much I hope you prove me wrong.”

  66

  The meeting participants in Albania and Utah took a short break to attend to biological needs while Kaitlyn was escorted away to a makeshift prison. The Vors didn’t believe in capital punishment, but she would become a considerable headache for them to keep imprisoned. Redford suspected she would end up in a human-guarded prison, especially since so many in the US military had become aware of the alien presence on Earth, and so many more would be learning about it soon. Possibly the entire world.

  When the meeting reconvened, this time with only four participants, Vega started it off. “So is this the part of the discussion where you tell us why you won’t be coming to Vor, after all?” he asked Anna.

  “It is,” she replied.

  “Before you begin,” said Lisa Moore, “I wanted to raise one quick issue.”

  “Go right ahead,” said Anna.

  “Just out of curiosity,” said Lisa, “do you know what I’m about to say?”

  Anna shook her head. “I’m still mostly drawing a blank when it comes to reading future conversation,” she replied. “Even though it does now seem an easier trick than some of the things I’ve done. But I’m afraid you’re going to have to tell us.”

  “What you’ve achieved is remarkable,” said Lisa. “But there is one aspect of this I find troubling. Now the Tarts know where our portal is. They didn’t before. And now the US military knows, too. Won’t this bring about a lot of . . . complications?”

  “The Tarts would have found out anyway,” said Vega, unconcerned. “If Anna hadn’t acted, almost seven hundred of them would have made it their number-one priority to learn its location. I have no doubt they would have succeeded in fairly short order. There is no question in my mind that the gains were more than worth it.”

  Lisa considered. “You’re right,” she said. “I suppose the discovery of our portal was inevitable.”

  Vega nodded. “And with the Tart numbers so reduced,” he said, “and the US military on our side, we’ll be able to protect our people coming through.”

  Saying this, the alien leader turned to face the woman next to him. “So what is it that’s holding you back from going to Vor, Anna?” he said, returning to the pressing topic at hand. “You can’t still be concerned about your qualifications for the job, or your ability to lead. You just provided a perfect demonstration of how effective you could be as our admiral. The way you were able to move pieces around the board and orchestrate events was spectacular.”

  Anna flashed a brief smile. “I have to admit,” she said, “I surprised myself. I accomplished more than I ever thought I could, despite having no idea why I was doing what I was doing much of the time. So I’m beginning to believe I really can make a difference in your war. Just not now.”

  “But the portal could disappear tomorrow,” said Vega. “This may be our only chance.”

  “I hope that isn’t the case,” said Anna. “But it’s a risk I have to take. Before I go with you, Tom, there are a number of things to sort out. First, charity begins at home. Humanity has major problems of our own. It used to be each other, but now it’s the Tarts. Their portal could reappear and discharge hundreds, or even thousands of them. Or a portal between Earth and the home planet of one of the other twenty-seven intelligent species could suddenly materialize. Who can say?

  “What I do know is that the Vorian portal might disappear after I’ve gone through. And I know how I’d feel if I learned that while I was off being your admiral, my own species had been killed off—something I might have been able to prevent.”

  Vega considered this for several long seconds. “I understand,” he said finally, letting out a discouraged sigh. “I’m still disappointed, but I can’t really blame you.”

  “Again,” said Anna, “I didn’t say I would never become your admiral. Just not now.”

  “So when?” asked the alien leader.

  “My plan would be to stay on Earth for about ten years,” she replied. “Maybe less, depending on circumstances. During that time, our people will get to know your people. We’ll work together to eliminate the Tart threat. We’ll monitor for other threats. And as soon as I feel comfortable that things are well in hand here, I’ll be open to the idea of doing what you ask.”

  Vega considered. “As long as the portal cooperates, I think this is fair. We’ve waited twenty thousand years for a game changer like you. We can wait ten more years if we have to.”

  Anna winced. “I’m afraid there’s more to it than that,” she said. “A lot more. I have some . . . requests.”

  The detective paused. “Okay,” she continued, “I can’t afford to be polite here. They’re more like demands.”

  Vega’s eyes narrowed. “Go on,” he said.

  “First, I want to get a much better lay of the land. Understand the details of the galactic situation. The characteristics and histories of the players involved. I refuse to be anyone’s pawn until I can figure out for myself who I can trust.”

  “And how would you propose to do that?” asked Vega.

  “With your help. Starting with your allies. Instead of bringing more Vorians here every forty hours, bring two from an allied species. With libraries full of their histories and cultures for us to study. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

  Anna paused, but Vega chose not to respond.

  “And before I agree to become your admiral,” continued Anna, “I’ll also need to go through your portal and get the lay of the cosmos for myself. Travel to the home planets of other intelligent species. I want differing points of view on the war. Which should have the added benefit of making me a better admiral. I’ll also want to talk to prisoners you’ve taken that represent the forces opposed to you.”

  Anna sighed. “You say that your goal is just,” she added. “And that your side is more deserving of winning than the other sides. My gut tells me you’re right. But I’ll want to confirm this for myself.”

  Vega raised his eyebrows. “You’ve really thought this through, haven’t you?”

  “You have no idea,” replied Anna.

  “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised,” he said “But, please, continue.”

  “One big problem is that I can’t even trust the Vors,” said Anna. “My intuition says we’re on the same side. But before I become your admiral, you and your allies need to get your houses in order. As Kaitlyn just demonstrated, you aren’t monolithic in your thinking. Not everyone will welcome me with open arms. Many will treat me like a savior. But it’s also clear that others will try to kill me. Within my own fleet. On board my own flagship.”

  Vega nodded grimly. “An excellent
point,” he allowed.

  “It’s funny,” said Redford, “for some reason I thought of the Vors as all reading from the same hymnal. Because you’re so much more advanced than us, and all live in peace. But it’s obvious to me now that of course this isn’t the case. We have peace within our country, but still have huge differences of opinion on key topics. So why should you or your allies be any different?”

  “Very few Vorians know about the Earth initiative,” said Vega, “or that human clairvoyants are even possible. And while you’re right that we don’t all agree on everything, I had thought that those who did know about the initiative were all on the same page.”

  The alien leader sighed. “Apparently not,” he added. “So maybe a ten-year wait is for the best, after all. This will give those back home time to ensure that Anna is protected when she arrives. Especially from any Vorians or allies who, like Kaitlyn, fear that she’ll bring about the wrath of the Gatekeepers.”

  “The delay is good for other reasons, also,” said Anna. “Did you really want to throw me into the fray right now? I don’t know anything about the war, the players, or the workings of your starships. I’m told my powers will only grow stronger. So what’s the rush? When I’m not helping our military eradicate the Tarts, you and your people can bring me up to speed. Build a warship simulator to train me. Teach me about historical space battles and common strategies. You can convert additional useful information into audio so my subconscious can absorb it while I’m sleeping.”

  Vega nodded. “As I mentioned before,” he said, “we also have techniques that can implant information directly into your conscious mind. Although this system will take us a few years to recreate here, and modify so it can be used on humans.”

  “I remember you mentioning it,” said Anna. “You said you used it to ensure that you could emulate our expressions and gestures when you arrived here. Did it help you with our language and idioms as well?” she asked. “Because you really do speak like a native.”