The Stream

by Mark White

  'Go on then,' I said. 'Ow, yes you definitely need practise.' Actually it was pretty painless, but I wasn't going to give her credit.

  'Feel anything?' she asked.

  'Just a bit of a prick,' I said.

  'No change there then. Right, my turn', she said, rolling up her sleeve and injecting herself. 'Painless, you wimp.'

  'Right, put this on,' she said, passing me what looked like an old fashioned wristwatch.

  'Is that it? Is that the Sink?' I asked.

  'Yes, and fully ruggedised too. As a cunning disguise, it tells the time as well,' she said, putting hers on.

  'Can I get it with a different colour strap? This one clashes with my eyes,' I asked. Well she started it.

  'I'll ask Safira next time I meet her,' she replied. 'OK, there's private cars coming to pick us up out front to take us to the rendezvous. They should be here in around thirty minutes. I had trouble getting anyone to come out this early in the morning. I thought it was safer for us to travel separately, less suspicious.'

  'OK, great. I'll just pop back to my desk and get my bag, and I've got an old photo of Colin in my desk drawer I'd like to take,' I said.

  'You still miss him, don't you?' she asked.

  'Yes of course. I know there's no going back, it's in the past now, but we had some good times. He'll always be part of me, and I bear him no ill will now, despite how things ended,' I said.

  'I understand, it's nice to take a memento of your old life with you, I guess?' she asked.

  'Yes, I just feel that I want to have something with me to keep some emotional attachment to this planet, no matter where I end up,' I said. I'm glad she didn't ask me what caused the breakup with Colin, that's still too painful to discuss.

  'Right, we should be about our business. It should take us about an hour to get to the rendezvous where my contact should be waiting to take you to the space port. It's more-or-less on the way to my base. I just wanted to make sure you got away safely,' she said.

  'Thanks, it could be a while before we see each other again in person. By then of course we could both be Dry,' I said, the realisation suddenly sinking in. I know Geraldine is more used to it, but those Dry moments when we had our meetings were very disconcerting. It was bearable, knowing I could just walk away and I'd be back to normal. But now, there's no paddling back to the Stream. I really hope I will be able to adjust.

  'See you soon Kofi, take care,' she said as we parted.

  I sat for a few minutes, rifling through my desk drawers to make sure there weren't any more personal items I wanted to take with me. No, just the photo of Colin. It was taken on our honeymoon, all those years ago. How life has changed since then. How Colin has changed. And how life is about to change once more. I just need to wait for a few more minutes, and the car should be here for me. I sat just looking at the photo and reminiscing. Life turned out so differently from our dreams back then.

  'Hello Kofi, I'm glad I managed to catch you. Is that your ex-husband, Colin?' said a voice from behind me. Fuuuuuck. Damon wasn't supposed to be here. I let my guard down.

  I looked around and smiled at him. Checking round the office, it was still empty, there was no-one else here yet.

  'Yes, although I'm sure I never mentioned his name to anyone here. You're in early, I heard you were off having a meeting with Gulzari,' I said. I moved my hands slowly under my desk, feeling for the button. I pinged the Stream. Still connected. Fuck.

  FEOS: Tell Geraldine what's happened please Safira, if I don't get out.

  'I didn't know that was public knowledge either. I told Gulzari I had something more urgent to take care of here today. Something that couldn't wait,' he continued in a monotone that matched mine. He stared at me with emotionless eyes. Ping. Still connected. My fingers found the button. I didn't feel reassured.

  'So what's so urgent you have to come in this time of day?' I asked, hoping it wasn't the bleeding obvious answer. I suddenly came over very dizzy, queasy even. What was that? Is that the nanovirus at work? Am I about to be disconnected?

  'You know why I'm here Kofi. It pains me greatly, but I cannot let the knowledge you have be spread any further,' he said, feigning a distraught expression. Ping. Still connected.

  'What knowledge? I don't understand,' I said stalling as much as I could. Keep him talking. Ping. Still connected.

  'I know you've viewed Mauro Sosa's final pool. You know how he died. You know how HOME deaths occur. You know how you must die. Resistance is futile,' he said, smirking to himself.

  'Why didn't you just delete his pool?' I asked, trying to keep the conversation going. Ping. Still connected.

  'I wanted to believe the story you told me, Kofi. I do like you. I wanted to trust you. If you had no further interest in HOME deaths for your report, you wouldn't have panicked so much when you heard of his death. Your speed in getting his final pool confirmed my worst fears. Neither you nor Geraldine can be trusted. You cannot question or put at risk our vision for the safety of humanity. I know you mean well, but you must be stopped. That is why I am here,' he said. That's good, he wants to talk. Ping. Still connected.

  'What about Geraldine?' I asked.

  'I will attend to her next. I know where her car will arrive and when. Yours has just arrived by the way. Sorry the driver will have had wasted journey,' he said.

  'Won't that arouse suspicion? Both of us dying on the same day, and shortly after Mauro, who was working with us. That's going to raise some eyebrows,' I said. Ping. Still connected.

  Quick message to Geraldine. 'Damon here. He's coming for you next. My car is here. Use it. Run. I'll stall as long as I can.'

  'It's going to be a tragedy. You and Geraldine, on a trip together, killed in a car crash after a catastrophic failure of the self-drive system, with the failsafe driver being too drunk to take over. The car will be burnt out, your remains will be hardly identifiable. It will shock the world. I'll make sure you both get good funerals, it's the least I can do,' he replied.

  'That's very kind of you, you seem to have thought of everything,' I replied. Ping. Still connected. Shit.

  'I do my best. I'm sorry but I have to draw an end to this conversation. I need to see Geraldine. I truly am sorry Kofi. It has been a pleasure knowing you,' he said.

  'Wait, so who is it that you work for? I must know before I die,' I said, knowing that the bad guys can never stop talking when they're about to win.

  Message from Geraldine: 'PRESS THE BUTTON AND RUN. Stick to original car plan.'

  I pressed the button. The effect was, well, not too subtle.

  The fire alarm sirens went off. The main lights went off, leaving only emergency luminescence. All electrical equipment around died, sparks flying from them. The large presentation screen on the wall burst into flames. My coffee machine exploded. That wasn't what caught my main attention though.

  In front of me, Damon's face went blank, a lifeless expression on his face. Then he crumpled and collapsed to the floor very heavily. There was no sign of life. He looked dead. What the…

  Message from Geraldine: 'I SAID RUN! I think he's disabled but I can't be sure.'

  OK, OK. Give a guy a chance to be surprised when he thought he was about to die. I picked up my bag, threw the photo in it and ran to the front of the building. Disabled? Odd choice of word.

  The car was waiting for me still. Thank Jove. I jumped in the back and said 'Drive quickly, go!'

  A mumbled voice came from the front 'Keep your hair on sir, the world's not just about to end.'

  I was about to shout at him and tell him that his was if he didn't get a move on, but he started to pull away.

  Ping. Still connected. Message to Geraldine: 'In car and on my way. What happened?'

  I've got an hour to get to the rendezvous. I hope my Stream drops out soon. I'm not going to feel safe until it does. Geraldine's got some explaining to do. That was quite a spectacular exit.

  Ping. Still connected. Failed to deliver message to Geraldine Mander.
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  Shit. Is she OK? Has she disconnected? Or has she received the HOME signal?

  FEOS: Lost contact with Geraldine. Hope she's OK.

  Ping. Still connected. Come on.

  Ping. Still connected.

  Ping.

  [Pool logging force terminated]

  Personal Log: Kofi Albus - 18th Sextilis 227PD

  'OK, so how do I get this thing to work? I thought it was supposed to be intuitive. Looks like the Safirans aren't perfect. We're going to be screwed if this doesn't work,' I said.

  'It's already working Kofi,' said Geraldine. 'Look, it's recording there, under Personal Log.'

  'Oh fuck. Recording you say? How do I edit it? I'd like to delete that bit,' I said, sounding embarrassed.

  'I don't know. I'm not sure you can,' she said.

  'Oh well. Personal Log? Can't we call it something better than that? Sounds a bit, well, old fashioned,' I said.

  'Well we had Pools recorded in the Stream. What do we record in the Sink? Washing Up Bowls? Plugs? Or go really old fashioned and have Blogs?' she replied, not really taking me seriously.

  'Could combine the last two and have Plogs. Sounds better than Personal Log,' I said.

  'Really? Does it? Oh, if you insist,' she said, sighing. 'I think you can configure the default name in the Settings if you must.'

  'Ah yes, Plog, there we go. I guess that only applies to new ones? You going to do the same?' I asked.

  'Yes, and must I? Oh OK, just to keep the peace. Now, can we focus on staying alive?' she said.

  'Sorry, it's just such a relief to see you again. When I couldn't connect to you in the car, I feared the worst. Then my Stream went out and I was all alone - more alone that I've ever felt in my life. I'm trying to ignore it for now, and pretend I can walk outside and it will be back but I'm not sure I've really accepted that it's gone. It's been with me all my life, now there's just a void. And I haven't been able to contact Safira yet either, I hope she's not having problems with Raj,' I said.

  'Don't worry, you'll adapt. Yes it will be hard at first, but trust me, we're designed to be Dry as a species,' she said. 'Safira's fine too. She's here with me talking via my Sink. We've been catching up ever since I got access to it. It's been a long time.'

  'Is there a problem with her communicating with my Sink? Should I be worried?' I asked.

  'No, Safira says hi, she'll chat with you soon. She also says that she may be immortal, but she's not omnipresent, nor unfortunately omnipotent. She can only talk to us one at a time,' Geraldine replied.

  'OK, makes sense.' Damn, I'm still talking like Damon. Which reminds me. 'So what happened to Damon? Is he dead?'

  'Not really, but I don't think he was really alive in the first place, at least not in the traditional sense. I had my suspicions, but what happened when you pressed the button confirmed it,' she said.

  'What's do you mean?' I asked, not really keeping up. I hate it when someone knows something that I should have seen.

  'Remember the projects that Raj started on AI and humaniform robots? I think they delivered results too. I think Damon is an android. The fact that he collapsed when I sent a large EMP through the room confirms that. I'm not sure it permanently put him out of action, but it certainly fried a few circuits in the meantime,' he said.

  'That was quite a leap of faith. If he hadn't been an android, I'd never have escaped,' I said, realising how lucky I'd been, at the same time as realising how much I owed my life to Geraldine's brilliance.

  'I know, I'm sorry. In my defence, I'd arranged to install it before I knew he could kill on command - I thought that just the noise and confusion might have given you time to escape if I was wrong. If, of course, you'd taken notice of my instructions to run as soon as you pressed it,' she said, glaring disapprovingly, but affectionately.

  'I might have run faster if I knew what was going to happen,' I retorted.

  'Sorry, I like my surprises. Anyway, it wasn't the only evidence I had that he might be an android. There was something familiar about him I couldn't quite put my finger on. Then I realised what it was - the way he spoke. I ran it through a vocal analyser, and it gave exactly the match I was worrying about. For example, did you notice how often he starts a reply by saying "Makes sense" or something similar? Know who else use to do that? Raj Tamboli of course. There are lots of other similarities too, like the way he occasionally uses unusual words' she said.

  'Makes sense,' I said, trying to hide my shock with misplaced humour. I wish I'd realised that. 'So are you saying that was Raj? Could we have killed him?' I asked.

  'I highly doubt we've killed him. He wouldn't put all his consciousness into one vulnerable receptacle. I don't know of his capabilities, but it could have been a downloaded copy of his personality in the android. More likely it was an independent AI personality based on Raj as a template. Immaterial really, we should assume Raj is alive - and that all Lictors are androids who report directly to Raj. There may be others,' she said.

  'Shit, so who can we trust?' I said.

  'Well I trust you. I trust Safira. I trust my other agents. Once you're off the planet and I'm in my base, hopefully it won't be so important for us. I've got an EMP system installed there, I won't let my other agents in until they've been tested. We'll be OK. Let's get safe, and regroup with Safira to plan our next move,' she said.

  'We're not exactly in a position of strength are we?' I said.

  'No, but we're alive. We can get to positions of relative safety. We now know what we're fighting against. We have a purpose. We must survive. We cannot let the Safirans down, nor the rest of humanity. Whatever happens it will be tough for all, but we must not give up our freedom, or the freedom of the Confluvium. We must not fail,' she said, her voice getting more strident and emotional as she continued.

  'I'll do everything I can, and more,' I said, stating the impossible. 'We are depending on the Safirans for a solution aren't we? I don't like being reliant on a Deus Ex Machina, even if we do know it will take one of two forms; kick out Raj, or disconnect everyone from the Stream' I said.

  'Safira says they will do their part. They will not let us down,' relayed Geraldine.

  'Thank you Safira,' I said, pausing. 'Geraldine?'

  'Yes, Kofi?'

  'You take care of yourself, won't you? I'd forgotten how good friends we used to be. I've enjoyed spending time with you again. I don't want this to be our last moment together,' I said, my voice breaking up. I was shocked to see tears forming in her eyes, and felt them welling up in mine too. It's like we're teenagers again.

  'I hope it won't be our last time, Kofi. I too have enjoyed spending time with you again, more than I can say. You've helped restore my faith in humanity and helped me keep a grip on reality. And a sense of humour. Thank you. The Confluvium owes you a bigger debt than you can ever know,' she said, visibly moved, but trying to pull herself together.

  'Thank you Geraldine, but you're the one everybody needs to thank. Um, I don't know what else to say,' I said, failing to hold myself together. I leaned forward and hugged her. Hard.

  'You should say goodbye. Your lift to the space port is here. We cannot risk wasting any more time. Safira says she will contact you on the journey once we have discussed our plans further on the way to my base,' she said.

  'So soon? Damn. Very well, goodbye Geraldine. It's been an honour to work with you. Here's to when we meet again,' I said, hugging her once more. With that, I walked outside the building to meet the unnamed agent who would deliver me to my new life.

  Geraldine wasn't exaggerating, the maintenance berth is somewhat cosy. I can stand in the middle of the room, and touch two walls and the ceiling. One step in either direction, and I can touch the other walls. There's a bed, and a chair. I've strapped myself into the chair ready for launch. Is it rough? I've no idea, I've not taken much notice of take-offs these days. I never thought I'd be doing it.

  So the time of researching and working out what's happening is over. Now we flee, but
we know what needs to be done, and who we're fighting. The first phase is over, and we're still here. If we succeed there will be chaos, but freedom and safety for the Safirans. If we lose, the world will live on in peaceful ignorance of their lack of freedom while the Safirans die. Until the Safirans lose patience that is, and I'm not sure I want to be around for that. We must not fail.

  To Pollux…

  Part 3: Fugio

  Plog: Kofi Albus - 19th Sextilis 227PD

  Well that was a bit rougher than I hoped. I guess making it a gentle take-off is a bit of a luxury for a ship doesn't normally have passengers. I expect the engineers who normally sit here have a bit more training, or at least a bit more padding. I think I blacked out after a while, and when I came to, decided it was a better option to sleep it off. Now I'm awake, aching, and wishing I could go back to sleep again.

  No sign of Safira yet, I really hope she gets in touch soon. I must admit I'm struggling a bit, here alone, in a confined space, and with no access to the Stream. I've found that closing my eyes and breathing slowly and deeply helps when the panic starts to rise. I remember advice to think happy thoughts when feeling worried, so I tried thinking back to life with Colin in our early years. That worked fine, until my thoughts then came forward to the more recent past; remembering the arguments, the betrayal, the separation. It took my mind off the feeling of claustrophobia, but replaced it with anger and depression. I'm not ashamed to say that I've cried a couple of times. I've a few days before I get to Pollux, so I may as well indulge and feel sorry for myself for a while. Hopefully I can pull myself together before I get there.

  I'm not sure where the claustrophobia comes from. I've not had any symptoms of it before. I think it's the combination of the small room, but more than anything, the lack of the Stream. Except for those few brief moments with Geraldine in the Dry room, it's been with me my whole life. The world suddenly seems a very small place. No depth, no colour. I'm living in a monochrome world, alone, until the day I die.