Hope frowned. “I’ve never known that to be true. The bad’s always there, like a virus, but—”
“Also, Owain might go through a whole new learning experience in the field,” said Holly. “Do you know, he’s done his entire career here on Earth? In the Guild Hall? Right here. I can’t wait to see what he’ll be like in an environment surrounded by a nano swarm.” She bent over, collecting Hartwig’s bracelet, and hid it under her robes.
Hope ran a hand over her face. Sleep. Sleep is good, Hope. You should get some before we go to Osaka. “Okay,” she said. “I’m ready.”
Ottavia gave her a wink, then turned away to look out the window. Hartwig shuddered, then began mid-rant. “Like a bug!” he shouted. “You are my Engineer! We are Engineers, Baedeker! We are not the emperor’s puppets. Why, I’ve a mind to—”
“Okay,” said Hope. “I’ll go.”
“What?”
“You want someone to go to Osaka,” said Hope. “You don’t want me here underfoot. I get it. I’ll go.”
Hartwig blinked. “You will?”
“I need a team,” said Hope. That was a lie. Hope had been to Osaka a hundred times alone since landing back on Earth. “Osaka is a risky place.” That was true. Osaka was full of tiny death robots. “So I want Holly. She’s my friend. And I want Owain. And, uh. I know it’s a lot to ask, but I’d like to borrow Ottavia.”
“You what?” said Owain.
“See,” said Hope. “Holly I trust. But I trust Owain to prove my math. And Ottavia has an outsider’s perspective.”
“No,” said Hartwig.
“Or, I could not go,” said Hope. “That’s fine too.”
“This emperor will be the death of me,” said Hartwig.
• • •
The shuttle that took them to Osaka was a low-orbit type. It blasted off the Anchorage pad, sending them up to nudge the hard black. Not enough out there to be called air. Too much to be called space. Fusion drives fired, sending them across the tiny distance between the Americas and Japan. Not enough time to get a drink, or any sleep, but Hope didn’t mind. Her face was plastered to the window, looking out at the stars.
The beautiful blue-green curve of Earth stretched below them, the light fuzz of atmosphere around the edges. Spacecraft soared above Hope, tails of fire behind them. Hope had a hand pressed to the window without realizing it, and she thought: the Tyche. Her ship, her home. Hope wanted to know where she was. Where her friends were. How they were getting on.
Then the shuttle tipped, nosing back towards the crust. The fire of re-entry, the shudder of the shuttle as it descended. Wisps of clouds as they entered atmosphere again, the rattle of Owain’s glass against his drink holder. Japan, industry hugging farmland, a patchwork of opposites, below them. The shuttle raced towards the Osaka Guild Archeology and Research Zone, a dark smudge on the horizon. Nothing was alive there. Nothing human, anyway. The shuttle passed over the massive walls that separated the rest of Japan from a war zone, then descended to touch down on a low-slung pad.
Hope looked out through her rig’s visor, taking in the state of the shuttle’s other occupants. She saw Owain, sweat running down his face, the air wicking inside his own visor unable to keep up. Holly, looking relaxed and casual inside her own rig, the red and yellow ribbons she’d attached at the shoulder armature points dangling like restless snakes. And Ottavia, a sleek-looking ship suit on, still done in the white of the Empire’s Bulwark. Ottavia had a smile on that looked at least twenty percent feral cat, her face flushed with excitement. She met Hope’s eyes. “Ain’t this cool?”
Hope frowned. “Outside this shuttle are a million nanobots that want to eat you from the lungs out. That’s not cool.”
“It kinda is,” said Ottavia. “Chad doesn’t let us fight robots.”
“Chad’s smart,” said Hope. She picked up the drone she’d been working on in her spare time. It had tiny Endless field generators for silent lift. Hope had attached small thrusters to it, allowing movement in any direction. It also had microlaser mounts on it, which served a dual purpose. In one of the rare times after she’d grabbed a little sleep, she’d painted it pink to match her hair, and in a careless hand had stenciled Guardian One on both sides. She tossed it into the air, the small drone’s optics coming online, Endless fields holding it steady. Light lazed out from it, mapping the shuttle around them. It bleeped a happy chime, which meant no death nanites here, boss.
“What’s that?” said Owain. His voice was pitched high and shrill, and he cleared his throat. “I mean, what is that for? I know what it is. It’s a drone. Of course. I mean, what do you have a drone for?”
“Interspecies warfare,” suggested Holly.
“It clears the way,” said Hope. She didn’t want to elaborate on how she had a drone ready-made for the purpose of clearing away hostile nanobots, because that would lead to a series of uncomfortable questions she didn’t want to answer. “We ready?”
“One sec,” said Ottavia. She raised a hand, placing her glove to the side of her helmet. “It’s quiet here.”
“That’s because everyone’s dead,” said Hope.
“Yes,” said Ottavia. “I’ve never been to a place this quiet before.”
“I have,” said Hope, and pressed the shuttle’s airlock door open. Her rig’s lights led the way, the dust and debris of Osaka swirling around her. Sun was fading from the sky, the march of night replacing the warmth of the day. The pad around them was scuffed and worn but clean, the marks of many landings evident. It led to a building of a different design to the structures around it. Osaka predated the war hundreds of years ago. Most of the buildings were drifting from I’m-a-building and into I’m-a-pile-of-stones, the hands of time ungentle with them. But the structure attached to the landing pad was well-lit, a holo stage outside proclaiming this to be the GUILD ARCHEOLOGY AND RESEARCH LAB ONE.
There was only one. The Guild didn’t need two. But, because they were Engineers, they planned for scale.
She stepped down from the shuttle, her rig’s visor flashing a warning. Top right of her vision, it said NANITE SWARM DETECTED. Then it chatted to the drone, which rushed past Hope, green light painting the ceramicrete of the pad. When it got five meters from her, the green turned an angry red, tiny bright lances of a cutting laser spitting at the ceramicrete a hundred times a second.
“What’s it doing?” said Owain.
“Killing all the things that will kill you,” said Hope. “Just like my bracelet, it works fine.”
“Ouch,” said Ottavia. “She’s got you cold, sport.”
Owain gave them a glare, then strode forward.
“Um,” said Hope, causing him to pause. “Look, I mean you’re an Engineer, too. But unnecessary risks? They’re bad. So maybe let the drone mop the floor.” She walked past Owain, the drone leading the way, green laser light turning red at frequent intervals as it cleared the tiny nanites from the surfaces they walked.
Hope reached the entrance to the Archeology Lab, the doors hissing open as she reached them. Odd. Power’s on. Systems still work. The drone joined her, along with her three companions. The door sealed behind them, and a hum reached her through her rig’s mics. Nothing happened, except for the interior door opening. Hope walked on in.
Owain cleared his throat. “Hang about. This is broken. We should have been scanned and cleaned.”
“We were scanned,” said Holly. “No cleaning needed.” She pointed to Hope’s drone. “Guardian One is on the job.”
“I hate other people’s code,” said Hope, and hoped they understood what she meant. Just one of those nanites would be enough to give you a bad day, and she wasn’t taking chances. If it was just her life, maybe, but there was much more at stake now.
The entrance foyer was as Guild as Guild could be. White, clean, everything labeled. There was a map spun up on a 2D panel that took up an entire wall, bright light showing YOU ARE HERE! along with other destinations in the facility. Things like SERVER ROOM and CAFET
ERIA. The only thing missing from the entrance area was people. Engineers, even surly ones, should walk around, telling Hope don’t touch that or are you some kind of moron? Nothing, just a big, empty, white, and clean area.
“No one here at all,” said Ottavia.
“Bracelets,” said Holly.
“Nah,” said Ottavia. “Bracelets, I can still tell someone’s there. It’s not perfect, yeah? With enough time, I can get in.”
“You can?” said Hope. She thought of Nate’s black sword, the design of which she’d used to create the bracelets. “This is why I hate relying on other people’s code.”
“Not your fault,” said Ottavia, flashing a grin. “It’s just, it’s a complex problem to solve.”
“I’ll get there,” said Hope. “Let’s see what killed all the people. I bet it’s insects.”
“I bet it’s not,” said Ottavia. “I’d hear them too. Although there’s something…” Her voice trailed off.
“Like what?” said Owain, his voice getting shrill again.
“Ghosts,” said Ottavia, with a wink. “They’ll come for us all.”
“Hey, fuck you,” said Owain.
“Snappy,” said Holly. “I see why Hartwig keeps you around.”
“Because of my dedication?” said Owain.
“No,” said Holly. “Your lack of originality.”
“I think we should go here,” said Hope, poking a finger at the map. Under her finger was the area marked SERVER ROOM.
“Why?” said Owain. “It’s not where I’d hold a party.”
“Imagine,” said Hope, then paused. “No, Holly’s right. That’s too tricky for you.”
“What’s that supposed to—”
“So,” said Hope. “If you were an Engineer, and your life’s work needed protecting, what would you do?”
“Protect it,” said Ottavia.
“Exactly,” said Hope. “And this facility is all about the server room. Predictive models. Extrapolation of knowns from the unknowns.” She waved a hand, struggling to find the words. “Stuff.”
“We’re going to die,” said Owain, like it was a new, uncomfortable idea that had only just occurred to him. “We’re on a Guild mission with an idiot leader.”
Hope said, “You can stay here.” She set off through the facility. Doors opened before her, the automated systems recognizing her Guild rank and clearance provided by her rig. It felt like the facility had been waiting for her, a legion of people bowing before her as she walked through. She didn’t like the feeling of subservience to the systems. Hope wanted more … interaction, something to talk with. Maybe, if she was lucky, she’d get that soon enough.
The server room doors opened just like all the others, but inside, blackness. Not a light. No blinking servers, no hum of machinery. Her rig confirmed all systems dead but picked up low level heat from within. Low level heat wasn’t an amazing thing to find, with all the systems off. The floor inside was blanketed with it, in a circular area hidden behind the remains of server racks. Hope paused at the doorway. She opened her rig’s overlay, checking out the room’s wiring fabric.
Or, that’s what she wanted it to do. The interior of the server room was empty of wiring, which would explain why there was no power, no lights, and a bunch of collapsing racks. No metal. Just plastics and ceramicrete. Holly was at her elbow. “What took all the wiring?” she said.
“I can think of a few things,” said Hope, in a way she hoped sounded non-specific and lofty enough to pass for standard Engineer arrogance. “I’m more curious about the heat map on the ground.”
“I’m out of here,” said Owain.
“Okay,” said Hope, absently. “Ottavia?”
“Yeah,” said Ottavia, from where she leaned against the wall. Her stance said just-chillin-and-waitin-for-the-action-to-start. Hope imagined that without a suit on, she’d have been cleaning her fingernails with a blade.
“You know how, before, you said there were ghosts?” said Hope.
“Yeah.”
“What did you mean?” asked Hope.
“Esper stuff,” said Ottavia.
“Do not tell me I wouldn’t understand,” said Hope. “I shipped with Grace. She’s my family. I understand a lot more than just Engineer stuff.”
“Okay,” said Ottavia. “There are echoes. You know how you have a memory of a thing, like when you leave a room to do something, but forget what it was?”
“Event boundary,” said Hope.
“You what?” said Ottavia.
“Or ‘event model’ if you want to be super specific,” said Hope. “I know what you mean.”
“Okay,” said Ottavia, but she’d stood up straight, no longer leaning against the wall. Like she was paying attention to Hope for the first time. “This place is like that. There’s an event boundary around it. The memory of a bunch of things I can’t quite … see.”
“I’m definitely out of here,” said Owain, who hadn’t moved a micron despite his words.
“Is there like a catalogue of esper powers?” said Hope. “That would be useful.”
“We’re working on it,” said Ottavia. “Some of us are better than others at the usual.”
“What’s the usual, just by the by?” said Holly.
“The unawakened can read and speak thoughts,” said Ottavia. “The Awakened—”
“Awakened?” said Holly.
Ottavia sighed. “Not the time or the place.”
“The nanites I made,” said Hope. “I hate using someone else’s code.”
“Those,” said Ottavia. “They rewire our brains. Unlock latent potential.”
“I saw what the Ezeroc did to Grace,” said Hope. “I used nanites in her blood to map the changes, and then … made a program for it.”
“You did that?” Ottavia whistled. “You are first class, Baedeker. That stuff hurt like a motherfucker.”
“Sorry,” said Hope. “I haven’t got all the bugs out yet. I need … I guess, a little more time. Some sleep. Something.”
“Anyway,” said Ottavia. “After we’re Awakened, we gain a common set of gifts. Telekinesis. Most of us become empaths. But for a few, there are … additives.”
“You can see the past,” said Hope.
“Yes,” said Ottavia. “It’s why Chad sent me here, despite the whole machines-not-people thing. Where there were people, there’s the … what did you call it?”
“Event boundary,” said Hope. “It’s a fascinating evolutionary model. It means there's more to memory than what you paid attention to, when it happened, and how hard you tried to remember. It supports the concept of human intelligence relating to some quantum basis, which is—”
“So,” said Holly, turning to Ottavia. “What happened here?”
“Everyone died,” said Ottavia. “Near as I can tell. Their ghosts whisper to me.”
“Fuck this noise,” said Owain. “This is superstitious bullshit. There’s just a downed power coupling or something. We’ll find it, turn everything back on, and we’ll be home before dinner. Event boundary. Seeing ghosts. Fucking quantum fuckery. It’s bullshit! You hear me?” And he turned, stalking off, back the way they’d come.
“He’s not wrong,” said Holly. “This is bullshit.” She held up a hand to forestall Ottavia’s objections. “Not you. This.” She jerked a thumb at the server room. “The amount of wiring, power couplings, distribution junctions, and other stuff in there? You’d need to pull the walls off to get at it all. And the walls are fine.”
“That would be true if it was a person getting at it,” said Hope. “It wouldn’t be true if it was something else.”
“Nanites don’t do this, Hope,” said Holly. “They consume people from the lungs out.”
“I didn’t say it was nanites,” said Hope.
“What could it be?” said Holly.
Hope shrugged, walking into the server room. She rounded a line of racks, something crackling under her feet. Hope looked down, her rig’s lights picking out somethi
ng fibrous on the ground. She bent over, picking it up. Her rig was already mapping it, working out what it was and where it came from, but Hope knew what it was. She’d seen it before, except hundreds of them, attached to other things. “Oh,” she said. “They’re here.”
Ottavia was at her side. “That what I think it is?”
“If you think it’s a piece of Ezeroc chitin, then yes,” said Hope. She dropped the piece of Ezeroc exoskeleton to the ground, continuing on through the server racks. Her rig’s mics picked up the hiss of steel, and she saw Ottavia had drawn a simple pale blade from a sheath. Nanoblade, so thin the light goes right through it. If you were going to cut something, that would be an excellent tool for the job. Hope continued on, rounding the line of servers and into the big area beyond.
Spread on the ground, like a carpet of boils, were hundreds of Ezeroc eggs. The servers that should have been in the middle of the area were gone. Not even the racks remained here, just space filled with eggs. But the ruined racks bordering the area were left and resting against them were what was left of the Guild Engineers who had run this place. Not many, only ten people left, bodies sucked dry, feeding tubes leading from open mouths in pulsating lines to an array of broken chitin. The broken chitin was arrayed around a hole in the Archeology Lab’s wall, Osaka visible outside.
“Where’s the Queen?” said Ottavia, her voice a whisper.
“That’s not the right question,” said Hope. “The obvious answer to that is ‘not here,’ but it’s far from the most important question.”
“Where are the servers?” said Holly.
“Close,” said Hope, wishing she wasn’t so tired. If she’d got a little more sleep, she’d be able to look at this from all angles. As it was, she had one question. “There’s a hole. Right there.”
“So?” said Ottavia. “Queen could have busted out. They’re big.”
“Sure,” said Hope. “But why haven’t the nanites here eaten the people?”
CHAPTER FOUR
THE SHUDDER OF jump shook the pod, rattling El’s teeth together. Her chipped tooth seemed minor compared to the memory of the Troy’s destruction. The starlight of real space juddered into place around her. The pod was so small, it felt like she was floating in a bathtub in space, the hard black right at her side, waiting for her to step out. Maybe the hard black would have a towel.
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