The Trojan Horse Pandemic

by Veronica Preda

  Back home, they asked Ulysses to help them identify the crystal. They took a few pictures of it, which they transferred to their computer, but did not take it out of the water. Timea wanted to throw it out, but Ryan insisted on keeping it.

  “As you wish!” she said. “If you feel comfortable sleeping with an atom bomb in your own house...”

  Ulysses' opinion was that, judging by the structure, there was a great possibility that it was a small conglomerate of klonymium crystals.

  Shivering, they opened the journal. It indeed looked like a draft for a future collection of funny short stories. The old archaeologist had written down all kinds of events that had happened before his eyes and all the stories were told with a lot of humour, self-irony and words of advice for young people. Around halfway through the diary, the style suddenly changed, and the funny stories came to an end. The old man noted only short sentences that kept nothing of the style of the first pages. A new meeting with Trench Pioneer. Almost convinced me. Then another sentence: I will never accept!! A short fragment followed: “This tiredness increases with each passing minute. Angie wants us to go to Greece.”

  As they read, their questions multiplied. It was obvious to them now that Trench Pioneer had tried to convince him of something, most likely an expedition related to the Trojan Horse. But how much did the old man know about the artifact? Did he know the whole truth, or did he only have hunches? Was it an instinct to refuse, or was he perfectly aware of the fact that bringing the Horse to light would have meant bringing death upon some of his fellow humans? The journal did not say anything clear about this.

  ”I could destroy them, you know!” Ulysses' voice was heard. “I could easily destroy them. Everything is online now. I could crash their shares, I could upload everything on the internet. On people's phones. We could force them to put the Horse in an aquarium. Or to throw it out, back to sea.”

  ”I don't like this at all!” Timea whispered to Ryan.“ In all the movies, the rise of artificial intelligence ends up badly for mankind.”

  ”Ulysses, start the preparations. Stand by! I will go and confront them.” Ryan said.

  “I'm coming with you.” Timea said.

  “I don't understand your choice.” Ulysses answered. “You are exposing yourselves to unnecessary risk. We can create enough pressure, people will find out everything, without you going there.”

  “The suspicions would not do enough against them. They are too powerful. We would never know the truth. Ulysses, how rapidly can you arrange everything?”

  “Within a few hours. A sign from you will be enough and I will unleash cybernetic hell on them!”

  Part VII

  The Truth

  Like at the previous meetings, Gabriel and the other representative were waiting for them. With no introduction, Ryan slammed down the bowl with the crystal from Karides' office right in front of them. Water drops from the container spread out all over the table, splashing the two sponsors.

  ”I see you found the klonymium crystals.” Gabriel said while taking a white handkerchief out of his pocket and wiping his face.

  “I'm glad that you still have the decency not to begin with pathetic denials. I was expecting you to act surprised and oblivious. It wasn't easy for us to gather all the clues, but now we're not as confused as we were.” Ryan said.

  “And what do you want?”

  “What do you mean what do we want? We want you to stop using the Horse. We want people to stop dying.”

  “What if I told you that this particular thing is impossible?”

  “We would be forced to go ahead with our plan!”

  ”You've recovered Ulysses, haven't you? Did that bastard succeed to transmit one more time before being destroyed? I always felt that his creation was a bad idea. On the other hand, he brought us a lot of money...” Gabriel said, after pushing the bowl towards the edge of the table. “It makes sense that you have a plan, otherwise you would not have had the courage to show up here.”

  The other representative stepped in:

  “You dare threaten us? You are nobody, you have no power!”

  “Leonard, leave us alone, please!”

  “But... sir!”

  “I will explain it to them. I'm sure I will make them change their minds.”

  Leonard left the room snorting. Gabriel spoke:

  ”Everything you have understood so far is true. Let's start with the beginning. Karides... we wanted to attract him first. We needed the name of a famous archaeologist on the frontispiece of the exhibitions that were about to come. We made everything available to him: maps, information, evidence. The old man did not want to collaborate! We arranged then that his daughter would find the clues. But he tried to convince her to give up. We had to get rid of him. A few crystals in his office and repeated exposure was sufficient. You know the rest. Marion did what we needed her to do. She didn't understand anything, poor girl, unlike the old obstinate goat. She worked with enthusiasm and secured the worldwide success of the exhibition. Then you had to step in!”

  “What about the others? Ronnie, Marion's mother?”

  “Same crystals, same effect... We thought you would also enter the house in Skiathos. You would have been exposed and we could have got rid of you! We tried to push you away from finding the truth. Or to make you realise that it would be best to mind your own business.”

  “And Ulysses?” Timea intervened for the first time.

  “That synthetic son of a bitch got away from us! We didn't expect that! It was supposed to be just very intelligent software and not at all what it has become. It tricked us. It hid its neutrino signature when it contacted you. I don't know how, but it succeeded. We will find it and destroy it. You should return to your lives and be grateful for being alive. You do not really want us to turn against you. Like the others, you wouldn't have a chance.”

  “But how? How could we just walk away from something like that?” Ryan asked.

  “This problem is way over your heads. You don't even realise how much! It's better for everyone if things keep going the way they began.”

  “How could this be better for everyone? Even for those who are dying while we're speaking? Is it better for them too?” Ryan continued.

  “It's better for the ones who will stay alive.”

  ”We can't accept this.” Ryan said. “Even if you kill us, Ulysses has already spread in the virtual world. He can not be deleted anymore. He would destroy you, he would make everything public. It's enough that people begin to find out and to be afraid.”

  “You insignificant, pathetic beings!” Gabriel stood up, hitting the table with his fist, making his chair fall backwards. “Do you really believe that you're in control? Do you believe that you've ever been in control? You can't stop what has been already decided for you! You have a choice!” He arranged his chair, sat down and repeated. “You have a choice. To mind your own lives and maybe you'll get over this well or you'll be responsible for the extinction of life on this planet!”

  Ryan and Timea remained silent. Gabriel's words were still streaking the room, like invisible electricity discharges. Minutes passed by in silence. Ryan gathered his words and said, stumbling:

  “If what you're saying is true, then it's a horrible choice. We'll choose the smallest evil. But make us understand.”

  “Fine. Except for Leonard... and maybe a few chosen ones... you'll be the only folks from this world who know the truth.”

  “What about you? Don't you know the truth?”

  Gabriel smiled and said:

  ”I said from this world. The klonymium crystals arrived on your planet in ancient times, since the time when you started fighting each other. Have you heard of wars in which victories occurred against any logic? You probably have. It happened like that because we decided it so. Because that was what our calculations had shown us. Let's take Troy, for example. Inside the walls of that city, astronomy and sciences had advanced so much that they were one step away from discovering us. W
ith the technology they had developed, they would never have fallen. The rest of the world didn't know that. They only wanted their riches, but they couldn't break them. Then we intervened. We just had to envelop the crystals in a certain form, suitable for that moment in history. In a form that they could understand. It has always been the same. The battle of Agincourt... does it sound familiar? The battleground, the inspiring words of a king, the people's determination and the military tactic... they counted, I don't deny it, but we helped a little bit. Do you know anything about the Saint-Secaire Mass? Do you really believe that, only by muttering a few magical words, a corrupt priest would make people become more and more weakened, without the doctors finding a cure? The Black Death that reduced the European population by at least a quarter, do you think it came only from poverty and rats? Have you ever studied that medieval outbreak? There are a few figures there that don't entirely match, you know? We have intervened in your wars, in your history, to keep things under control and to move them in the directions we wanted. Then, we hid the klonymium in the Earth's depths, under layers of water, until we needed it. Now we have to intervene again.”

  ”Do you mean killing people?” Ryan said.

  “We have to. You see, Earth has always been our backup planet. Our Sun – as you call it – is unstable. For the moment, everything is fine. But it can change at any time. At the first indication of beginning the transformation into what you know as a supernova, we will have to evacuate. We will come to Earth. But until then, we have to take care that you preserve this planet properly.“

  ”We're your backup home? Who are you?”

  “We are that superior civilisation that some of yours have suspected or encountered accidentally throughout your history. But hunches and childish drawings are not proof, so everything has remained in the form of legends and unproven myths. We have been the klonymium providers in your wars, moving things in a particular direction.”

  ”What is that direction?” Ryan said.

  Gabriel sighed.

  “Haven't you been listening to anything I've said? To let you evolve, in order for you to take care of this planet until we need it. But not to evolve so much as to open your eyes towards the Universe. Now, you have multiplied too. If we leave you alone, you'll drain this planet of all its resources. You will die, but you will also destroy our future home.”

  ”Is this a purge?” Ryan continued.

  “You might call it that. More like a reduction.”

  ”What if we don't accept it?”

  “We have the klonymium, remember? It's easy: the crystals enter an oscillation phase and they discharge a one-time seismic wave. From that moment on, they can start emitting the klonyc waves. The seismic wave means nothing. The klonyc waves – this is their true power. It is what affects people. They are actually radiation that destroys the vital energy of people. Nothing works anymore: synapses, cardiac function, cellular exchanges.”

  ”How did I survive it? Was it because I had only been exposed for a short time?” Timea asked.

  “Exactly. Equations, equations, equations. Size, range, time. It takes a certain amount of time for the klonyc flow to reach its full effect. After that, there is no return.”

  “And water?” she asked.

  “Water is a shield, as you have figured out. As long as it is outside a body, the klonyc radiation can not go through water. But once inside the tissue, the wave changes its properties and cannot be stopped from destroying the breath of life, its vital spark.”

  ”Let's say that things will go ahead according to your plan. How do you choose who will be exposed to the crystals and who will not? What will happen when you are forced to move here, to Earth?” Ryan said.

  ”Our calculations show us that... well... with a few exceptions maybe... random exposure is to be desired, in order to keep approximately the same structure of the population. The answer to your second question is: it depends. If there are not too many of you, then maybe we will live at peace with you.”

  Ryan and Timea stood up in silence and moved to the door.

  “Do we have a deal?” Gabriel spoke behind them.

  “We do. After all, you haven't left us much of a choice, have you?” Timea said.

  ”That's right.” Gabriel smiled. “Believe me, it's better for everyone. According to our plan, whoever is lucky enough not to be exposed to the crystals, or to remain alive, will be allowed to continue living. Don't make us change our minds about this. One more thing: don't have any illusion: there is no technology on Earth that can destroy the crystals.”

  Once outside, Ryan and Timea looked at each other in silence.

  “What if he isn't right? What if he's just a lunatic?” Ryan asked her.

  “But what if he is? It would not have been possible for so many people to die and for no one to do anything, without some powerful scheme far beyond our capabilities.”

  ***

  They arrived home, where Ulysses was waiting to present them with new information. He had gathered all he could about the crystals, but he transmitted the information laconically.

  “Now what are we doing?” Timea asked. “Are we going to search every moment for crystals hidden inside the house? Are we going to live in the mountains? What about Ulysses?”

  “Don't worry about me for now. I took care and protected myself. I'm no longer the naive program on the submarine, the app which trusted its creators. I will do everything I can to protect you too.”

  “How?”

  ”You humans, you use all kinds of gadgets, like mobile phones, but also many others, without knowing what they can really do. Listen to this. So far, I haven't caught anything interesting.”

  From the computer speakers, a rustle was heard. Then, some thuds and a vague creak of a door. A beeping noise followed and a man's voice was heard: “Leonard, come to my office!” The two spouses recognised Gabriel's voice.

  ”Are you listening to them?” Timea asked what was already obvious.

  ”Twenty-four hours a day. They can't do anything, not even go to the bathroom, without me knowing,” Ulysses answered. ”Let's hear them...”

  ”Gabriel, no matter how hard I try, I don't understand why you don't get rid of those two once and for all. It wouldn't be complicated, after all...”

  ”Leonard, they are a part of our plan. We need them to follow our calculations.”

  ”What calculations? Everything is under control. Absolutely everything!”

  ”This last part is true. I have noticed it as well.” Ulysses intervened. ”I have tried to follow the victims' families, but I would have risked being traced. They are already tracking them down.”

  Ryan and Timea did not have time to answer, because the two resumed their dialogue and Gabriel spoke again:

  ”Leonard, in our simulations, an error has never occurred. We knew that our plan would be easily accepted, especially when those who might have made troubles would have understood that, in fact, they had nothing to lose but everything to win. Look at you, for example. On our side, you have secured yourself a safe and bright future. The only variable that is harder to keep under control is the occurrence of something like those two.”

  ”But they have no power.”

  ”They don't, but they should be watched... studied...new calculations should be made, on the hypothesis that someone like them could multiply. Now tell me something else: have you made more measurements recently?”

  ”Of course. The crystals are evolving, as you said. It won't take long until they enter the tertiary phase.”

  ”Perfect. Now please contact our IT team. I want them to isolate and destroy that program from the sub. I didn't take it into account up till now. That synthetic bastard showed up from nowhere.”

  Again, noises and rustles were heard, suggesting that Leonard might have stood up and was ready to go.

  ”I still don't get why we're complicating our lives with those two.” he muttered.

  ”I've told you already: they are what we need
for simulations. They are nobody, but they are good for math. If I'm thinking right, they're really perfect. Just as most of the population here, they have no idea about technology or history. Also, they have no resources.”

  The noises faded.

  ”Ulysses, are you sure they don't realise that they're being watched? And they can not hear us?”

  “Timea, I know what I'm doing. I understand it's hard for you, but have a little faith in me.”

  “I didn't think I would ever say this, but watch out for yourself. It seems that they want to destroy you.”

  A laugh almost human was heard from the speakers:

  ”If their team is terrestrial, then I have nothing to fear!”

  ”So, for the moment, we are kind of safe.” Timea whispered. ”I wonder what he meant by tertiary phase?”

  ”I don't know. Up to now, there was the phase when they issued the singular seismic wave. Then this phase, in which they release the... klonyc waves or whatever Gabriel called them...” Ryan answered.

  ”In known physics, there are no such waves. That's impossible.” Ulysses intervened.

  ”It would be impossible here on Earth. Let's get back ... so we're talking about this moment when the crystals affect people, they end them practically. It looks like another phase is coming. What could that mean?”

  Timea stepped in:

  ”At this point, the crystals affect people who are nearby. They also need time to take full effect. The waves they emit do not go through water. So most likely, in the tertiary phase, at least one of these things will change. Nothing can convince me that there is any chance that the situation will change for the better.”