The Jovian Manifesto (The Formist Series Book 2)

by Matthew S Williams

  Auriga’s message, while insulting, didn’t really indicate guilt. If his counterpart wasn’t involved, he needed to get him back in the fold. Right now, all the factions dedicated to making their worlds green had to be committed to the same goal. For that to happen, someone had to be pointing them in the right direction and ensuring that things were unfolding properly.

  Emile became aware of the music playing in the background again. The orchestra was once again reaching a fevered pitch. The martial rhythms felt at once calming and invigorating. Alas, he needed quiet to think clearly.

  “Ganesha, terminate the music,” he ordered. It did. Taking his seat once more, Emile cleared away the other messages before him and opened up his personal comlink.

  [Chaput, come to my office, right now,] he ordered.

  It didn’t take long for his chief of security to arrive. He looked moderately concerned when the door opened to admit him. Hands behind his back, he stepped inside the room carefully and addressed the Formist leader.

  “What’s the problem, Doctor?”

  “Where is Mr. Adler?”

  “He and his colleagues are still on Vesta,” said Chaput. “They expressed some desire for privacy during their retreat.”

  “Yes, I know,” replied Emile, smiling coolly. “But I need you to raise him immediately. And tell him that matters are afoot, ones that require that he and his team be prepared for another job, post-haste.”

  “Right away,” Chaput replied. “Anything else?”

  “Yes, one more thing.” Emile touched his fingertips together, forming a steeple in front of his face. “I need you to get in contact with some of our people in Ishtar. The Solar Council’s meeting. We’ll need some insight into the proceedings. Some indication of what they have to say about the events in the Jovian system. Let them know that success in this will be compensated handsomely.”

  Chaput turned on his heel and promptly left. Left alone, Emile decided to draft a response to Auriga. Unlike his counterpart on Venus, he could be counted on to be punctual when replying to communications. With the initial steps taken, there was the little matter of the challenge Auriga had issued. Something like that couldn’t go unanswered.

  “Ganesha, I want to compose a message to Ishtar, using the secure channel.”

  The voice replied. “Channel open. You may begin when ready.”

  Emile pushed himself up from his seat. The following statement was something he wanted to be standing for.

  “Hello again, Doctor Auriga. I received your last communiqué. And, might I say, I was rather disappointed with the content. We embarked on a plan together that we knew would serve us both immensely. While ensuring that plan, we have all been forced to take certain decisive actions. However, if either of us chooses to pursue unilateral action at this point, the detriment will be to all. We need containment in this situation, and I believe we can only obtain that by working together. I advise you to rethink your current position, and to remember our previous arrangement. Take care, friend. I hope to hear from you soon.”

  He paused for a second, then signed it verbally.

  “Doctor Emile Chandrasekhar, Sarak Lovelock.”

  Ganesha chimed positively, indicating that the message was received in full. “Transmitting now, Doctor. Estimated arrival time, 33 minutes, based on our current distance.”

  Emile smiled to himself. While he couldn’t claim to be in control of the situation yet, he felt confidence he would again. And not a moment too soon either. If Emile and his people could retain control at this point in the game, they might as well abandon their plans for Mars. They couldn’t see to the transformation of entire worlds through speeches and appeals to reason. They had to take control and direct events towards the desired outcome.

  This was something Pinter had never understood, and the reason he needed to be removed. Soon enough, Emile would rid Lovelock of all traces of him as well. The future would remember his name, but within the facility, it would be forgotten.

  SIX

  THE ROOM THE COUNCIL had chosen for the meeting wasn’t entirely spacious. However, with the aid of some helpful quantum chromodynamics, the cozy surroundings were rapidly replaced by something a little more fitting. The walls were replaced by a series of trees, low hanging branches thick with pink-white blossoms. The floor turned to grass and brown earth, with some lovely sculptured, bits of wooden furniture. These were positioned in a small circle in the central clearing, where the meeting would be taking place.

  Gallego felt a twinge of familiarity. Elenko noticed the look on her face and asked. “Recognize this, do you?”

  “It’s a scene from Tao Hua Yuan, if I’m not mistaken.” Gallego looked at her old mentor knowingly. “An interesting choice.”

  “The Peach Blossom Spring, by Tao Yuanming,” Elenko confirmed. “I can think of no better place for people to meet and discuss an outside world that is embroiled in conflict.”

  “I wonder if they’ll pick up on the symbolism,” said Gallego.

  Elenko shrugged, suggesting that such things were beyond her concern. Too late, Gallego realized that this was another thing she shared with her old mentor. The constant need to demonstrate an affluence in the written classics, regardless of whether or not others could relate.

  Pushing the thought aside, she took one of the seats and tried to make herself comfortable in its wood frame. The Heilig environment was simulating the seat perfectly - rigid cellulose fibers that didn’t give or contour themselves in response to her presence. Its appearance also made it look like it truly was dated to the Three Kingdoms period.

  Authenticity at the expense of comfort.

  Elenko sat next to her. Crossing her legs before her, she placed her hands on the armrests, looking gently to Gallego. “Nervous?” she asked.

  Gallego would have laughed, if there was anything funny about the question.

  “Why should I be nervous?” she shot back. “It’s not like an old friend asked me to travel millions of kilometers to sit in on a meeting with some of the most distinguished minds in existence. And it’s not like the fate of the Solar System hangs in the balance.”

  Elenko laughed. Gallego continued.

  “Did I leave out the part where I’m being asked to engage in some high-risk venture?”

  Elenko stopped laughing and promptly retorted. “I can tell you for a fact that what you’re saying isn’t true.”

  “Really?”

  “Of course,” Elenko replied. “No one ever accused anyone on the Solar Council of being distinguished.”

  Gallego scoffed, despite her best efforts. Laughter at this point would only undermine her position. As she’d told Elenko earlier, the likelihood of her agreeing to go to the Jovian system was negligible, regardless of any promises the Council would make to her.

  Within seconds, the first of many anticipated guests appeared. Even after many years, Gallego recognized the familiar face of Councilor Fionn, the esteemed representative of Mars. He was followed shortly thereafter by a handful of younger Martians, only a few of which Gallego recognized. When Fionn saw them, he cast his arms wide and smiled graciously.

  “Xenia! Good to see you again.”

  Elenko stood from her seat and took his hands in hers. “And you too, Alastair. I thank you for coming in person.”

  To this, Fionn responded with a look of mock-disgust. “Given the circumstances, I wasn’t about to send a proxy. I never much trusted those things anyway.” Fionn looked at Gallego next, and his expression turned to a frown. “Xenia, I’m not sure I’ve had the pleasure of meeting your associate here.”

  Before Elenko could do her the honor of an introduction, Gallego extended her hand.

  “Veronika Gallego,” she said. “Councilor Elenko and I are old friends. We’ve met before. However, I was a mere aide to the Councilor at the time.”

  Fionn immediately looked embarrassed, placing his hand to his chest. “My apologies, Mrs. Gallego. I really should have remembered.”


  “It’s quite All right, Councilor. I’m quite forgettable.”

  Elenko laughed uneasily at the remark and placed her hand on Gallego’s shoulder, gently urging her to stop talking. Elenko offered Fionn the seat directly to her right, which he happily accepted. Gallego took her seat as well and vowed to remain quiet while the other guests arrived.

  One by one, they entered the simulated environment, entering the blossom-covered clearing as if they were stepping though the wall of a bubble. Here too, the faces were a combination of those Gallego recognized and those she couldn’t place.

  There was Councilor Kian Odawa of Earth, dressed in a two-piece ensemble of blue and green. A golden sash hung from his shoulder to his hip, with the crest of Earth’s continents over his heart. He was followed by Councilor Arkady Bertrand-Fischer of Luna, who wore a sparkling opal gown composed of spun regolith. Then there was Ulen Batbayar of the Low Earth Orbit Nations. For her choice of vestments, she wore a flowing grey robe of woven diamond fibers.

  All in all, they were a quintessential gathering of Extros. Some of the finest in the System.

  Others, who represented various polities within the Solar System were either recent additions to the Council, or people Gallego wouldn’t remember without consulting her neural loom. A quick search of her synaptic backups would fill the gaps in her memory, but that was unnecessary at the moment. She would learn of their identities and importance the old-fashioned way during the meeting.

  Even Fionn and Elenko didn’t bother to go through the tedious process of introducing everyone. As soon as every member of the Council was present and accounted for, Elenko invited them to sit. Once everyone was settled in, she got right down to business.

  “I thank you all for coming,” she said. “It’s of great importance that we have a chance to address recent developments, and to discuss how we intend to proceed before things truly get out of hand.”

  Elenko waved her hand in front of her. The gesture called up a large holomap in the center of their sitting circle. In the center, a large orange-yellow globe burned, surrounded by representations of the Solar Planets. She gestured again, and the map zoomed in on the Jovian system. Jupiter’s large, mottled disc hung in the background, while in the foreground, the four globes representing the Galilean moons were plotted. One more gesture, and the icy white-brown globe of Europa became the focal point.

  The enlarged globe suddenly became more detailed, with surface features and the lights of settlements appearing. Gallego recognized the major ones. In the northern hemisphere, the sprawling settlement of Tyre was visible. Southeast of that was Cadmus. Towards the left side of the globe was the southern settlement of Ebla.

  “A few standard months ago, a political essay turned up on the Jovian network. All attempts to trace its origin indicated that it first appeared here, on Europa. We cannot be more specific about its location, because unfortunately, the document has spread to multiple networks like wildfire. After reaching Ganymede and Callisto’s own networks, it popped up on the Survey, and has even reached the Cronian and Uranian worlds.

  “As you all know, this essay made some rather serious allegations about the leaders of the Formists. Chief among them is the accusation that they had constructed a plot to forcibly depopulate the Outer Worlds of Callisto and Titan. In addition, it offered a time line of events that characterized several incidents on that moon, ranging from the kidnapping of a native-Martian by the name of Doctor David Lee, to an outbreak of violence about a year ago that left many Cronians, as well as two citizens of the Inner Worlds, dead.”

  Fionn raised a hand, offering to interject. Elenko nodded to him. “These individuals were Doctor Janis Amaru and a former investigator named Jeremiah Ward. It’s worth noting they were both in the employ of Emile Chandrasekhar at the time.”

  “So, noted,” Elenko replied, returning to her briefing. “After months in circulation, this essay has earned the moniker ‘The Jovian Manifesto’, a reflection of its origins and a good summation of its intent. In addition to detailing a possible plot by the Formists, it has indicated that unless Doctor Emile Chandrasekhar is arrested, they’ll release damning evidence that supports the allegations. Whether or not they’re true, the Manifesto has caused a significant increase in agitation and has led to organized protests and labor strikes throughout the Jovian and Cronian systems. You could say it has become a catalyst for discontent in the Outer Worlds.”

  Elenko gestured again, causing the map to shift focus onto another Jovian world. Now the mottled and cratered globe of Ganymede was the focus. A reticle formed around the glowing mass that was Selket, one of the moon’s largest settlements.

  “A few standard weeks ago, the situation became much worse. An attack was perpetrated against several members of the Selket Constabulary. While there are many unresolved questions about the attack, the evidence all appears to implicate the Children of Jove. In response, the Jovian authorities have commenced a crackdown against this and other radical Jovian groups. Similar measures are being enacted by the Cronian authorities, who were already reeling from the events of the previous year. In short, the Outer Worlds are in a state of crisis, and there doesn’t not appear to be any resolution in sight.”

  Elenko paused for a moment, letting the other Councilors take in her words. Some used the opportunity to summon a foglet, holding their hands up and waiting as glasses of bubbly cava materialized in them. Gallego didn’t blame them for wanting to take in some spirits. None could deny the gravity of the situation, or the challenge that it represented.

  When someone other than Elenko finally chose to speak, it was Councilor Odawa of Earth.

  “If I may, I would like to acknowledge the elephant in the room.”

  “What is that?” asked Elenko.

  Odawa shifted uncomfortably in his seat. It wasn’t the rigid wood making him uncomfortable though. It was the frank reality he conveyed.

  “We’re talking about escalation here, aren’t we? We anticipate that this attack is merely the first of many, the beginning of a full-scale revolt against the Jovian government. And I think it’s fair to say that as the Jovians go, so too will the Cronians and Uranians follow.”

  “Indeed,” said Batbayar. “Groups like the Aquilines and Centimanes have been advocating revolution for years.

  “One moment,” urged Fionn. “As our esteemed colleague indicated, there are many unresolved questions about this attack. We’ve all seen the evidence and know that it’s highly dubious. It feels more likely to me that this attack was perpetrated by a third party to make it look like it was the work of Jovian radicals.”

  “And who might you suspect of doing that?” asked Odawa.

  “That’s a good question,” replied Fionn, “and it’s one I’m currently looking into. Unfortunately, I have yet to find anything that would resemble concrete evidence.”

  “And while you look, the situation has the potential for becoming exponentially worse,” said Bertrand-Fischer. “Whether or not this was the work of the Children of Jove or some other group, they clearly knew what the outcome would be. An attack of this nature has spurred the authorities to begin cracking down on the local population. This will fuel resentment and drive more people into the hands of the Children of Jove, the Aquiline Front, and any other group that takes issue with how things are run out there.”

  “In other words, we’re looking at a potential cycle of violence,” Batbayar summarized, her face becoming rather grave. “The current climate of repression will give way to more attacks, which will lead the state to enact even tighter emergency measures. And so on and so forth.”

  “Civil war,” uttered Fionn.

  Odawa nodded in agreement. “Do we even need to discuss what that will mean for us, the people who depend upon stability for the sake of so much commerce?” he asked. “If the people in the Outer Worlds start killing each other, how long will it be before their governments call on us to provide military aid?”

  No further comments foll
owed. Beyond that stark assessment, nothing more needed to be said. In fact, the mood that hung in the air was so brittle at the moment that it felt like one more word would shatter everything.

  It was a lot to take in. It was only because Elenko had run her through it beforehand that Gallego had had a chance to digest it. As the other faces either looked crestfallen or stunned, she felt her mind racing to consider the incongruities. Elenko and Fionn were correct. A few things didn’t add up, and she had the feeling that behind all the things they did know, something far more sinister was happening.

  It didn’t take long before Gallego found herself humming thoughtfully. She almost immediately regretted it, since Elenko picked up on it too.

  “Mrs. Gallego? Would you care to comment?”

  Gallego was caught off guard by the question and stuttered. “Oh, I -”

  “I’m sorry,” Odawa interrupted. “Who exactly are you?”

  Before Gallego could reply, Elenko came to her aid. “This is Veronika Gallego, a long-time associate of mine, and a one-time member to the Cytherean Council. Since leaving us, she has become a master engineer and has spent many years traveling from one end of the System to the other. Her qualifications are without question and her experience makes her an asset. For these reasons, I have asked her here, so she could offer her insights.”

  “Insights, hmmm?” Bertrand-Fischer asked. He leaned forward in his seat, eyeing Gallego closely. “And what insights can you offer on the current situation?”

  Gallego looked at Elenko, who simply smiled back at her. She had wanted to avoid any participation in the proceedings. Any attempt on her part to show interest would only be interpreted as willingness to get involved. But the way the Councilor from Luna was questioning her, she couldn’t help but feel like she was being challenged.