"I agree, Leo. I need to know what happened to the file, as well. If Exony hacked it, our mission might already be compromised. We might have to change our strategy, abandon this ship, and try to regain the element of surprise."
Leo smirked. "Our mission... It's not our mission yet, Alice. Not until I know the truth."
Alice turned to the viewing screen. "I understand. Leo. We're en route to the Council's Umbriel Facility. There are experts there who can look at the tablet for you. We're headed there anyway, so I can go through re-implantation protocol."
"NO!" Leo burst out as he slammed his hands down on the control panel. "I'm not going to a fucking Council facility! Do you think I can trust some Council scientist to tell me the truth about that tablet? Why the hell would you take me to a Council facility? How fucking stupid are you?"
Alice was stunned by Leo's anger, but she quickly realized she had made a big mistake. Of course Leo would hate the idea of going to a Council facility...
Alice replied gently, trying to diffuse Leo's growing anger once again. "You're right. That was a stupid suggestion. We can find an expert with no potential conflict of interest, but I do need new implants. I'm working raw right now, and I need optimization if I'm going to stop Exony."
Leo looked at her with fire in his eyes. "If you want to go to a Council facility, you'll need to shoot me out into space first. What if you're being lied to so that you'll inadvertently bring me to them? What if this is all part of the Council's plan?"
Alice leaned back in her chair and edged away from Leo. "That would be a very dumb plan, Leo. The Council wouldn't go through all that trouble just to capture you, and I sure as hell wouldn't either. Remember, I could've just bagged your ass back on Osiris..."
Leo smirked. "Yeah, you could have, and then I would've watched while Thrall killed you..."
Alice clenched her fists. "Yeah, and then he would've taken you right back the chair and tortured you to death..."
Leo nodded begrudgingly. "Fair point..."
Alice sighed and relaxed her fists. "The only reason we got out of that alive is that we worked together. If we want to keep living, we need to keep working together..."
Leo stared at her intently for a few seconds, then nodded. "Yeah, probably... But, how the hell can I trust an operative to work together with me?"
Alice back to the viewing screen. "We were headed to Umbriel, but we can change course. If you don't want to go near a Council facility, fine, but I need my implants back. I can't perform this mission without at least some tactical interface and environmental scanner. I need a hacking implant, and I need a weapons system too."
Leo turned and stared at the stream of data flowing across the viewing screen. "You might be better off without implants, Alice. We both might be... This is Exony Margolesh we're talking about. Any implant is just something else for her to hack. Any weapons system is just another for her to use against us... Isn't she the one that developed most of the Council's technology in the first place? She'll use it against you if you let her. You're better off operating raw, in my humble opinion."
Alice was surprised that he had pivoted to a tactical discussion of their mission so suddenly. Every generation of Council implants since the first had been proven to be unhackable in every test. However, Thrall had dealt with them easily enough. If Thrall could do it, Exony certainly could..."
Alice looked back to Leo. "You might be right. Do you think she's that powerful?"
Leo stroked his chin thoughtfully. "You're the one with the might of the Council behind you. You tell me."
Alice shook her head. "I don't know, and we need to find someone who does. We need someone who can advise us on the best technology to use against someone like Exony."
Leo raised his eyebrows. "What about Idi?"
Alice furrowed her brow. "I don't know about Idi... I have my doubts about her..."
Leo nodded. "Fair enough. Here's my proposal: There's a tech expert I trust on Oberon. Randell Clark is his name. We were headed to Umbriel, and Oberon is right next door, so we wouldn't be wasting too much time. He was a tech expert for the New Republic during the war. He knows everything about Council technology and he can find out what happened with my file...."
Alice considered his proposition. Oberon was close, and if Leo's contact could be trusted, then he might be able to provide them with valuable insight and resources. If it also encouraged to trust her a little more, then it would be well worth the trip.
Alice turned to Leo and extended her hand. "Okay. I'll take you to Oberon. But Leo, there are other things we need to be concerned about. You need to keep in mind that neither of us has an official I.D. implant. If we get caught breaking the law, we're going to be arrested, and there will be nothing I can do to get us out."
Leo grasped her hand and shook it. "Agreed. Without an I.D. chip, neither of us can buy anything, either. Knowing Randell, money is going to motivate him to help us more than anything else."
Leo released her hand, then continued. "I'm guessing that Idi can't build your new I.D. Otherwise, this discussion would be ridiculous."
Alice frowned. "I already told you. I'm not sure about Idi..."
Leo ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath before nodding. "Well, I suppose I don't blame you. I don't trust Council tech either..."
Alice shook her head. "I dunno. It's just a hunch. She is useful, but I want to limit the control she has over the mission...
Leo chuckled as he replied. "Maybe there's hope for you yet, Alice. Take me to Oberon, you can get back on the grid, and then we find Randell. If the Council wasn't behind what happened with my file, then I'll help you stop Exony. If it was the Council, then I'm out. I want to help you, Alice, but I won't let the Council manipulate me into causing the next Ganymede."
Immense guilt and pain immediately pushed into Alice's mind. Leo looked like he didn't realize the nerve he had just struck. He didn't understand how raw those wounds were, and she didn't plan on showing him.
Alice buried her emotions and nodded. "Deal. We're a few hours from the Callisto relay. I'll have Idi inform you ahead of our jump. In the meantime, I suggest you think about your abilities and consider how you could use them to help stop Exony..."
Leo nodded as his expression darkened. "Yeah, we'll have to talk about that. Hell, why else would I be here?"
Alice placed her hand on his shoulder. To her slight surprise, he didn't shy away. "It's okay, Leo. Just think about it, okay? Think about how it works, why it works, and how to control it. Billions of lives, including yours, mine, and Annabelle's, are at stake..."
Alice finished speaking, then turned away from Leo and began inputting sequences into her control panel. Leo probably wanted to say more to her, but he understood her gesture as one of dismissal, and he respected it.
Without another word, he stood up from his chair and walked out of the command center.
As Leo left, Alice became lost in thought.
The message from Exony, if that's what it was, was nearly disaster. If Exony had already managed to influence their mission so strongly, how could anyone hope to overcome such abstract and omniscient power? Implants were a risk because Exony could hack them, and weapons wouldn't be effective against her either...
She would have a plethora of defensive options at her disposal, none of which would give much chance for a successful assault. If stealth was removed from their list of advantages, the chance of success seemed almost non-existent, not unless Leo could somehow magically blink Exony out of existence...
Alice chuckled to herself at the thought. Maybe Leo could do something of the sort, but how? Based on what he did to Thrall back on Osiris, Alice had thought that maybe he had a good handle on his abilities. However, according to Annabelle, Leo had little conscious control of them.
They would have to work on that, she decided. Once Leo was entirely on board with the mission, they would have to work together to help him gain control and understanding of his abi
lities.
"Idi, you overheard my conversation with Leo?" Alice asked.
"Yes, Alice," Idi replied.
"Once we get to the Callisto relay, program our exit point as close as we can safely get to Oberon. Once we arrive, land on Rithe island."
"Alice, it is my duty to inform you that I have severe reservations regarding your plan," Idi announced.
Alice ran her fingers through her hair. "I don't give a damn. We need Leo, and we need to figure out what happened with the tablet."
"According to my preliminary analysis, it is unlikely that Exony could have hacked the tablet," Idi replied.
"What about you?" Alice grumbled. "Is it possible she could hack you?"
"That is exceedingly unlikely," Idi protested.
"But possible," Alice retorted.
Idi was silent for a few seconds before answering. "I do not possess the necessary data to provide a conclusive answer."
A shiver crawled up Alice's spine. "Okay, Idi, then you should be able to understand my decision. I can't have you in my mind any more, either. Not if there is even a small risk."
"I would highly recommend that you allow me to offer you whatever enhancements are called for in this situation," Idi argued.
"No!" Alice declared. "I have enough voices in my head as it is. I don't want you in my mind anymore... It wouldn't work anyway; I don't have any functioning implants for you to interface with."
"If I may," Idi interjected. "There are certain emergency protocols in my programming that would allow me to construct certain implants. I would highly recommend..."
"No!" Alice ordered as she slammed her fist down into the control panel. In spite of her anger, Idi's admission shocked her. Programming a ship A.I. to construct and install implants was in violation of several laws that she could think of. The Council must have been very desperate to program Idi with that capability...
"Very well, Alice," Idi replied.
"Good! Make sure to keep me updated on our status. I'm going to get some sleep, " Alice ordered.
"Yes, Alice."
Alice tapped the control panel in front of her, and the viewing screen disappeared. Then, she stood up from her chair and gently stretched her tight and sore muscles. She hadn't slept since waking up two days earlier in the Medical Bay. She was exhausted, mentally, and physically, and she needed rest.
As a swirling elixer of competing fears bubbled within her mind, she turned and exited the command center, then walked distractedly down the ship's central corridor to her quarters. Idi opened the doors for her automatically, then closed them behind her as she walked into the room and gingerly reclined on her soft, comfortable, and inviting bed.
She tried to clear her mind to make way for restful sleep, but as soon as she closed her eyes, dark visions of Ganymede began to resurface in her mind. She couldn't help but remember the look on Shonn's face before he had died. He had stared at her blankly while she tended to his wounds. Even at that moment, his gaze had caused her heart to flutter. She remembered how his flesh and bone had slowly turned gray, then black, before falling through her arms as ashy dust.
She remembered the warning the New Republic Science Officer had given her that she had so ignorantly ignored and the agent of eroding death she had unleashed upon billions of innocent people.
She could have stopped it...
"No!" Alice screamed as she slammed the door on the malevolent memories.
She was not going to sink into a deep, numbing pool of guilt and regret; not when there was so much at stake. The past needed to stay in the past, and she needed to focus on what was to come. She needed sleep so that she could function at her best. She had little chance of stopping Exony if she deprived herself to the point of madness.
Alice took a deep breath and found a place calmness in her mind. It was peaceful there, and it held fast for just a moment before the sound of Shonn's voice broke through its obsidian walls and sounded within her.
"I love you, Alice."
His voice had been so quiet, and so pure... He had known he was going to die, and at that moment, he had turned to love as the antidote to that grim certainty. He had turned to his love for her, the woman who had steadfastly returned that love. And also, the woman who had killed him.
"I SAID NO!" she screamed as her murky cocktail of toxic emotions bubbled forth. Cold, laughing and mocking guilt. Despondent and despairing regret. Burning, seething hate: The kind of pure, consuming hatred she reserved only for herself.
With a primal roar, Alice screamed as if trying to purge her emotions directly through her vocal cords. Then, she violently smashed her right fist into the wall next to her bed. As the blow landed, she felt her fifth metacarpal bone in her right hand snap into two distinct pieces. Pain blossomed in her hand, then in her mind, and as the glorious sensation filled her being, it banished the haunting specters of her past.
"Shit," Alice whispered as she gently inspected her broken and inflamed hand.
Oh well, she might as well use it, she thought. So, she focused on where a chunk of broken bone stretched against her skin to form a large, inflamed lump, She concentrated on the pain and embraced it fully, enjoying the clarity that it brought to her mind.
With a sigh of relief, she leaned back luxuriously on her bed and draped her broken hand across her chest as she closed her eyes.
Then, the universe mercifully receded, and she immediately fell into a deep slumber
Chapter 29
She had been so close, but she had failed once again. The agent had not yet been perfected. Her body had rejected it, and she hadn't been able to interface with the carriers, most of whom had been rendered braindead within minutes of contact. A few had fled Exony's lab in a somewhat hysterical manner, but she knew they would not be able to withstand the effects of the flawed machines in their brain for longer than a few hours.
No matter, Exony thought. They would still be of use.
In spite of its imperfections, version 12.45 had been enlightening. Her son had somehow bypassed the flawed code and accepted the agent, and he now lived among the Gods. The power he must have felt at that moment... The bliss...
She could only hollowly conceive of the heaven in which he now lived. If nothing else came of the previous iteration, at least one of her sons no longer felt fear or guilt, and for that, she was grateful.
There was more to be grateful for, as well. When the Council had severed their link with her, the burst of scattered memories she had received had been quite useful. It had allowed her to divine much more of the Council's intentions, and that would soon be of great benefit to her cause.
The early generations of Exony's salvation had also served a purpose, just as her most recent had. Like stellar wardens, they wandered the Solar system, searching for places to bring peace and knowledge through her influence. Unpredictable though they were, she could still hear most of them, and one, in particular, had had exciting things to say.
It had found Leo and Alice, and it had found them together.
Oh, what a duo Leo and Alice would make, Exony marveled. They were both specimens of astounding uniqueness. Alice was intelligent, dutiful, and virtuous, but also consumed by guilt. And Leo; he was the brilliant magician she had created on Venus. Oh, how she looked forward to seeing the miracles that Leo and Alice could create under her guidance.
Yes, she could have ended their misguided mission with only a thought, but that would have required murder, and she was not prepared to sink to that level of sin. Instead, she had decided to welcome them.
They would surely become powerful allies when the totality of her plan was revealed to them. The lies of the Council would stand in stark contrast to her righteous vision for humanity, and anyone of good heart and mind would see the light.
Yes, all in all, Leo and Alice were anything but a problem. They would be just two among many to benefit from her years of single-minded determination. Perhaps they would even play some part in expediting the gift of heaven to the mas
ses. Maybe they would prove to be the most powerful of allies in her fight for peace.
As Exony rambled in thought, her hand movements belied the frenzy of her mind. As long as she could remember, her hands had worked of their own accord. It was like they were controlled by some invisible puppeteer within a dark corner of her subconscious mind.
As of late, she had taken to believing that the God of the Infinite was responsible for her near automatic and entirely accurate fine-motor skills. Those skills were on full display to her silent servants as she rapidly coded a refined program for her machines.
Her fingers danced across the control panel at the edge of the shimmering pool. The control panel was interfaced with trillions upon trillions of tiny machines that comprised the silvery pool and all that lay beneath it. They were many in number and beautiful in their elegant construction, but they weren't yet perfect. They needed to be reprogrammed, and that was Exony's most pressing task.
She had made a pact with herself long before she had embarked on her magnificent plan. Perfection was mandatory. She could not afford an error such as the one she had made on Ganymede, particularly when dealing with an agent that could affect all of humanity.
The difficulty in her programming involved the brain signals associated with implied consent. She could not morally install her machines within people against their will, and for that reason, she had programmed a process of voluntary transmission.
Anyone who came into contact with her creation had to be given a choice. Most humans were too ignorant to understand the gift she offered, and so, if the decision were left to their conscious minds, they would deny it. Luckily, subconscious desires were more reliable and simplistic than those within the conscious mind. Subconscious consent was just as powerful as conscious agreement, and that was at the crux of her new program.
Most of humanity would gladly accept the gift she offered when the choice was left to their subconscious mind. It was everlasting nirvana weighed against endless pain. Most would make the correct choice, but a small minority would inevitably resist.
The Ganymede Legacy Page 24
