Trinity

by Patrick Morgan

  *

  GVX’s galley was a scene of frantic activity as the crew strapped themselves in and readied systems for departure. Amid all the activity, sitting one leg over the other in one of the sculpted leather passenger chairs was a lone female figure wearing a look of bemusement. In her mid-fifties, she was the oldest member of the crew and projected an aura of uncompromising experience. Wiry curls of black hair spilled down onto her immaculately fitting jumpsuit. Absently, she began removing a plethora of rings from her fingers and placing them in a small box on the seat beside her. As Katherine approached she reached up to her left brow with both hands to remove a small piercing that ran through her eyebrow. She placed this in the box, took a last look at the contents, then closed the lid with care.

  ‘Councillor Kane,’ she said, without looking up. ‘I must say you’ve assembled a good crew here.’

  ‘Thank you, Trish,’ said Katherine with appreciation.

  ‘That co-driver of yours though,’ she let out a low whistle of appreciation. ‘Shame on you for bringing a creature like that.’

  She gave a little laugh and, raising her eyes to regard Katherine, propped her chin on the knuckles of her left hand.

  ‘He’s beautiful. A little rough around the edges maybe, but, wow.’

  Katherine flushed and saw Myra, who was in earshot, staring at them with her eyebrows raised. Behind Trish Asher she saw Brendan Scott attempting to stifle a smirk. ‘Are we going to have a problem, Trish? Now would be the time to say so.’

  Asher dropped her arm and snapped instantly into a more professional tone of voice. ‘No, don’t worry. I’ll keep myself to myself.’

  ‘Good to have you aboard, Trish,’ said Katherine in acknowledgement. Then she turned and headed for the cockpit.

  ‘Quite the reception down there,’ Jacobs observed, as Katherine climbed into the driver’s seat.

  ‘Well, Kyra and HEX apart, this is still quite a big deal.’

  ‘Yes, it is,’ he agreed, flicking switches and punching in commands on his control console to fire the V10s.

  For the first time, there was no second-guessing; the crew knew exactly what they were doing and worked in harmony. JJ, Jayce and Scott all took their places while Myra diligently checked ROOT’s telemetry for any anomalies, of which there were none. Jacobs activated the motors that retracted the slide-in compartments, and Katherine revved the engines a couple of times. She could hear a raucous cheer from the hangar below and for a brief, selfish moment, revelled in it.

  ‘Control systems operating as expected, Katherine,’ said ROOT silkily through a speaker behind them.

  ‘I concur with that,’ said Jayce. ‘All systems nominal.’

  ‘I suppose that means we’re good to go,’ said Jacobs, covering his mic. He all but rolled his eyes at ‘All systems nominal’. Katherine had to agree it was a daft catchphrase, but then it did serve a purpose.

  ‘Something wrong?’ asked Jayce when there was no response.

  ‘No, Jayce,’ said Katherine, who was trying not to smirk. ‘Thanks, we’re just locking in the torque converters.’

  Jacobs flicked the switch to enable the drive line. ‘Torque converters locked in,’ he said, getting back to business.

  ‘Okay,’ said Katherine. ‘Say goodbye to civilisation.’ She throttled up and felt the drive engage as they began to roll. GVX broke into dazzling sunlight, magnified threefold by the water on the ground outside the hangar. The sectioned, spring-tread wheels threw arching gouts of spray into the air behind them as the V10s surged before being brought back to heel.

  They skirted the outer edge of the Eastern District, heading south to meet the road that led to Aya. The new city lay further south than was ideal, and Kyra would almost certainly not have taken the same route. But being able to maintain maximum speed on a paved road for over 900 kilometres was an opportunity to make rapid progress. Katherine had pulled strings with the Aya Construction Department to have the road clear of traffic for a few rotations and, as they turned to join it, her wish appeared to have been fulfilled. Bureaucracy, for a change, had played in her favour.

  She selected four-wheel drive, allowing the front four wheels to rotate freely, and throttled up to 80 per cent duty on the V10s. They accelerated up to nearly 120 kilometres a rotation and cruised comfortably eastwards. The concrete was smooth and new; the water sat like a film upon it, reflecting up at them.

  They quickly passed what remained of Lake Eiraye, upon whose receding shoreline Skala had originally been constructed. It looked unusually resplendent, a result of the last rainfall it was ever likely to see. Gradually, the green of the grasslands appeared on the horizon and the fields to either side began to look more fertile. Muscular livestock dotted the fields and the occasional tree gave way to small spinneys and outcroppings of woodland.

  Ahead of them lay the darkness beyond the perpetual dawn. Katherine had never found time to visit the construction at Aya, despite it consuming her more recent working life. She felt a strange foreboding she couldn’t explain and added another 2 per cent throttle. The journey had started and from now it was simply a race against time to find Kyra and HEX before any harm came to them. But first she would visit Aya and see the future she had helped to build.

  033: Aya

  Aya City, 1,009km East of Skala

  Skala was only a little over eight rotations behind them when Katherine got her first sight of Aya. The transition from the heat and brightness of Skala into the sullen grasslands had been gradual. The sparkling of water on the roadway turned dull as light drizzle came and went at uneven intervals. Rear-facing cameras showed the sun falling ever lower in the sky, eventually necessitating the use of an anti-glare filter.

  Aya itself lay around 100 kilometres southwest of a tall mountain range, colloquially known as the Teeth of Aumond because of its regular and serrated peaks. Who Aumond had been, Katherine couldn’t recall, but she imagined her as one of the early tribal settlers of ancient history. Between Aya and the foot of the mountains lay what HEX had christened Har Lake, a thirty-five-kilometre-wide body of water fed by two slowly melting glaciers.

  The approach to Aya took them due east, the city spread out a little to the south of their route. The road and its parallel railway turned slowly southeast until they faced the suburbs square on. The sun hung so low in the sky that it kissed only the tips of the huge skyscrapers littering the Central District. The bright concrete, white tile and blueish-green glass made the taller buildings gleam between the shadows of the looming mountains beyond. The lower streets of the city extended out to surround the centre in a dark shroud.

  A freight train trundled towards them, on its return to collect supplies from Skala. Despite GVX’s speed, it took nearly a turn to clear, such was its length. The pallets and containers it carried were occasionally separated by huge lay-down gas tanks supported in metal cradles.

  Nearing the city’s boundary, the last licks of sun upon the road became darkness and the drizzle started once more. Katherine throttled down with a kilometre to go and GVX’s progress slowed to a crawl by the time they passed between the first buildings. The roadway remained as wide as they entered the city and Katherine knew it continued as such, becoming a central thoroughfare as far as the Council Chambers, which were now under construction. Although some buildings, mostly residential, were complete, they were punctuated by partly developed plots around them, areas that had been purchased and would be developed by private companies who had yet to deliver on their commitments.

  The crew of GVX remained silent as the huge vehicle rolled past shell after empty shell of buildings and under regular walkways in varying states of completion. Although pockets of floodlit construction equipment littered the sidewalks, it was eerily quiet. The residual warmth inside GVX, coupled with the streaking rain and deserted, spotless streets they flitted by, induced a soporific effect that was hard to fend off.

  They slowed to a halt within sight of the construction area surrounding central Aya.
From the cockpit, Katherine and Roy Jacobs could see the occasional site worker look at the hulking monster that had parked itself nearby, but none gave it more than a cursory glance before carrying on with their business.

  Jacobs put the V10s into a fuel-conserving five-cylinder idle-running mode, and initiated the command to expand the flanks before following Katherine out of the cockpit. Trying to fight back a yawn, he found the crew were standing in a semicircle facing the Councillor and made his way over to join her. The atmosphere was odd – he couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but she seemed to have assumed a slightly sullen, resigned mood he didn’t recognise. Maybe it was just the warmth and the tiring effect of eight rotations’ travel.

  ‘Before we go any further, I’d like Trish to brief you,’ said Katherine. ‘Now seems an appropriate time, while things are still safe and quiet.’

  Trish, who seemed to be expecting this, pushed herself up and took her place in the centre of the galley, frowning her thanks to Katherine.

  ‘Most of you know me already,’ she said, in a soft but commanding tone. ‘For those that don’t, I’m Trish Asher. My role here is to keep you all safe. Trust me when I say Ayon is very unforgiving. My primary concern is risk management. Be under no illusions: should you fall down a crevasse out on the ice, you will not be rescued.’

  She stared intently, first at Myra then at Roy Jacobs, to make sure the message sank in. The rest of the crew sat fidgeting or looking at the ceiling or floor.

  ‘Should there be any sort of incident, our priority is to keep Councillor Kane and Roy Jacobs safe. I’m not suggesting the rest of you are expendable, but without drivers we’re going nowhere. As I understand it, this bag of bolts is about the most sophisticated, complicated-to-operate vehicle ever to turn a wheel, so we need to keep both of them out of trouble.’

  Trish saw nods around her. Katherine, who she knew would be feeling uncomfortable, was looking down at the floor.

  ‘The next most important person here is Bren,’ she said, looking at Brendan Scott. ‘Bren and I go way back and I can assure you he’s the best medic we could have with us. He’s also a good cook. If you get hurt, he’s the person that’s going to put you back together again, so keep him safe.’

  ‘Our biggest risk is Miss Cena here,’ she said, pointing to Myra with the coupled fore and middle fingers of one hand. ‘I mean no disrespect but you need to understand you’re in at the deep end. JJ, Bren and Jayce have been out on the ice recently, so listen to them. Katherine, how long since you’ve been out?’

  Katherine drew in a long breath, trying to remember exactly. She recalled the trip but not the date. ‘A long time since I’ve been really deep into Ayon.’

  ‘Then you need to re-acquaint yourself. I’ll help you as much as I can. Now,’ she said, looking around again, ‘some housekeeping. JJ and Jayce, as soon as we stop in the tundra I want the mulchers filled, even if we don’t turn them on. Keep them filled whenever you can. There is nothing less useful than all the bio-material that’s sat behind you as the fuel gauge ticks down to zero.’

  JJ and Jayce both nodded their understanding.

  ‘Men,’ said Asher, stirring them to attention. ‘We’re going to be out there for a lunar cycle at least, if not more. It’s going to be hard enough for you to pee straight, so keep things hygienic.’

  Asher turned to glare at Myra, who had put a hand over her mouth to cover a giggle.

  ‘You might find it funny now, Miss Cena, but I guarantee when you’re throwing up all over the place with a stomach bug, you won’t be laughing.’

  Myra looked a little ashamed of herself, but was still fighting hard not to giggle.

  ‘Which brings me to my next point,’ continued Asher, surveying the women around her. ‘Our cycles will converge very quickly, you will be amazed how quickly. Bear it in mind, for your sake and the sake of the men. Menstruation is a reality, and it’s not problem-free out on the ice. As with the men, keep things clean and tidy please. There is no shortage of sanitary supplies, so use them as you need. If you’re feeling overwrought and snappy, most likely all four of us will be feeling the same. The last thing any of us needs is a catfight or a pack of us setting on the men. They need to do their jobs just as we do, so be aware of your body and cut them some slack. That works both ways, gentlemen. We all need to support each other.’

  Everyone nodded their understanding.

  ‘Good,’ she said with finality. ‘Now, when we get into the deep cold I don’t want anyone going outside on their own. We operate a buddy system and everyone looks after everyone else. If GVX’s toilets are blocked and you have to do your business outside, you go with someone. If you scrape the solar panels on the roof, you do it with a partner. Whatever it is, you keep line of sight all the time. Are we all clear on that?’

  There was a collective murmur of affirmation.

  ‘Very well,’ said Asher. ‘We’ve a long way to go before we have to put those rules into force, but the earlier we start observing them the better. When we do get out there, remember the basics. If you are outside you will use up a lot of energy, so keep that in mind. Bren will be helping you adjust your diet accordingly. JJ and Jayce, this applies to you more than anyone, as you’re likely to be outside the most. I gather the panels on the roof will need periodic scraping?’

  Jayce nodded.

  ‘Watch how much you sweat if you’re doing manual labour. If your sweat gets too cold you risk hypothermia. I know Jayce,’ she said, as he made to protest. ‘You know all about it but the others probably don’t so I’m spelling it out.’

  She grinned at Jayce a moment, and the others seemed to sense he knew what was coming next. ‘Keep your nether regions warm. It’s not uncommon to contract urinary tract infections out here, particularly in men for obvious reasons. If you like pissing razor blades then fine, if not, keep wrapped up and warm down there.’

  She looked at them each in turn to make sure they understood. ‘Okay, that’s it for now,’ she finished and turned to sit back down.

  ‘Okay,’ said Katherine. ‘We’re going to be here for about three rotations for JJ and Jayce to have a look over GVX, before we head into the borderlands, then the tundra. Our next stop will be three shifts from now so check thoroughly.’

  JJ nodded her agreement, Jayce kept his head down.

  After a brief pause Katherine said ‘I’m going to take a brief look around outside. Roy, would you come with me?’

  ‘Sure,’ said Jacobs, and made to gather his things.

  *

  ‘What do you think?’ asked Katherine, speaking up over the distant sound of construction. It was cold outside and the floodlights above them made the sky look darker than it really was. The fresh, black tarmac under their feet glistened with an oily residue.

  ‘It’s very impressive,’ replied Jacobs, after a pause that he hoped went unnoticed.

  ‘No, really,’ said Katherine, eyeing him critically. ‘What do you really think?’

  ‘It feels, well, I don’t know.’ He looked back at her intently and decided he might as well be truthful. ‘It feels sterile.’

  He wracked his mind for excuses as to why he felt this way and began to list them. ‘Maybe it’s because there’s no one here. The buildings are just shells. Once they’re fitted out and the streets are filled with people it will feel different. It just feels, I don’t know,’ he stumbled and saw that she was looking at him expectantly, almost willing him on. A thought had crystallised in his mind and he spoke it before he had time to properly consider his words.

  ‘It’s got Ratha’s stamp all over it – you know, like a hundred variations on grey? I’ve heard people call her the ‘Grey Lady’, and it kind of fits.’

  Katherine, who had heard people call Joss Ratha much worse, smiled but said nothing.

  ‘Do you think she’ll be the next Matriarch?’ Jacobs asked seriously. ‘That’s the common view, that she’ll be the first Matriarch of Aya.’

  ‘I really don’t know,’
said Katherine. ‘Possibly. What else do they say?’

  Jacobs turned to her, a worried but defiant look in his eyes. ‘That she’s going to treat the position as more than just symbolic.’ He let his voice trail off.

  Katherine grimaced a little at the implications of his suggestion. Still, she couldn’t deny the growing sense of unease she felt when thinking of her former mentor, but said nothing more. Jacobs looked back to the nearest building, looking for something positive to say but finding himself coming back to the same word – soulless. He scrutinised the curved glass frontage and realised he couldn’t see the most fundamental of interruptions across its flank.

  ‘Possibly I’m being dumb,’ he said, suddenly more upbeat, ‘but that building there? Where’s the door?’

  Katherine gave a snort loaded with irony. ‘Yeah, where is the door?’

  He waited for an explanation, which, after a deep resigned breath, she provided. ‘It’s Victor Urasa’s new building. You see those glass pods?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Jacobs, confused. Three pods, evenly spaced at about twenty metres apart, protruded from the ground a further thirty metres from the building.

  ‘You step into one of those and an elevator takes you down into a tunnel. The tunnel runs across to the building, where you get into another elevator that takes you up to where you want to go.’

  ‘Well,’ said Jacobs thoughtfully, ‘what happens if the elevator breaks?’

  ‘There’s a spiral staircase around each elevator. It kind of ruins the effect the architect was looking for, they were later additions for exactly the reason you’ve described.’

  ‘Why not have just have a normal front door?’ he asked. ‘The sidewalk runs right up to the glass.’

  Katherine crossed her arms and frowned in annoyance, he thought, but when she answered he realised from the sarcasm in her voice that her ire was directed elsewhere.