‘Thanks for that. It didn’t fail, it was sabotaged.’
‘I read the report. Magdigan was an ambitious man, but none of us ever thought he would do anything like that.’
‘So,’ Ella said in a musing tone, ‘if you devised Aneka’s conditioning, you knew what she would and wouldn’t do when she was found. That’s why you trusted her so much.’
‘I didn’t know precisely, because the imprint was not completed, but I knew what I had planned, and what her mind was like before it began. I could make a better than educated guess, so I trusted her, yes, even before the Mental Sciences department analysed her. Yrimtan was a different case. Magdigan changed the imprint used on her, enforced greater belief in her purpose than I felt was prudent or necessary. I believe that is why she came out the way she did, based on your description of her. When the Xinti turned on the other races and her belief in them broke, all she had left was her purpose.’
‘So you don’t think I’ll end up as insane as her if I live that long?’ Aneka asked.
‘There’s no way of knowing.’ Winter gave her a smile. ‘You don’t have her psychological baggage.’
‘I’ve got baggage all of my own.’
‘Precisely.’
‘Okay… What do we do now?’
‘I’m still formulating a plan,’ Winter replied. ‘Things have become very interesting while you were travelling here. Currently, the FSA is investigating me as a Xinti agent, and your secret has been revealed.’
Aneka stared at her. Ella let out a choking sound which was indecipherable if it was a word. Finally Aneka managed, ‘Oh shit.’
~~~
‘At least Kat and Dillon didn’t seem upset about it,’ Ella commented when they had finished watching the news reports from New Earth.
‘I’m still going to apologise to them for keeping it a secret,’ Aneka replied. ‘I’m glad your mother knew about it before this came out.’ Having finished watching, she was lying back on the huge bed which occupied one room in their suite.
Ella got up from her seat and wandered over to the bed. ‘Yes, so am I. And you didn’t have a choice.’
‘I had a choice. It wasn’t a very good one, but I could have defied Winter and told them.’
‘And if she’d found out she’d have had to have you tried for treason.’
‘Huh.’ Aneka looked up at the ceiling. ‘Winter? Can you hear me?’
There was a slight pause and then, ‘You called my name?’ The voice came from speakers somewhere in the room.
‘There wasn’t anything in those reports about Janna.’
‘The news channels have not connected the dots and gone looking for her. I have reports that she is safe. She was worried about Sharissa, obviously, but now that that situation is largely resolved I’d imagine she is fine.’
‘Aside from worrying about Ella.’
‘I can arrange for her to be told you are both safe.’
Aneka looked at Ella. ‘I think it would be better if she knows as little as possible for now. If she knows something, someone might decide to try to get it from her.’
Ella sagged a little. ‘Yeah… You’re right. I don’t like her worrying, but you’re right.’
Aneka gave her a weak, sympathetic smile. ‘What’s your analysis on the reaction to my outing, Winter?’
‘The majority of people have been rather sympathetic after I arranged for more details of your past to be made public. Your behaviour since waking up has endeared you to many. There is, however, a stronger negative reaction as well. I have quietly arranged for your apartment’s security to be enhanced. Katelyn and Dillon will be none the wiser unless they need to know.’
‘You’re protecting their place too?’ Ella asked.
‘I’m avoiding a repeat of the Delaney incident, so yes. On the plus side, if you are ever forced to defend yourself, Aneka, you can basically pull out all the stops.’ There was a tiny pause and then, ‘Could I ask a favour?’
‘Uh…’
‘Justine is a little… confused. Could I suggest she come to see you?’
‘She’s confused?’ Ella asked, obviously confused herself. ‘I mean, sure, but…’
‘I think it’s best if she explains herself. I’ll leave you to it if you have no more questions?’
‘You’re not listening anyway?’ Aneka asked.
‘I’m respecting your privacy. If you ask for me, I’ll respond.’
The door chimed a few seconds later and Ella opened the door to a dazed-looking Justine. Ella ushered her in and they sat her down on the edge of the bed, mostly because it would be less far to fall; she looked like her legs might give out.
‘I went to the computer ops room,’ she explained, her voice softer than usual, ‘to upload my memories so that Winter would know everything that happened.’ She turned her head slowly to look at Aneka. ‘She says she has a solution to your armour issue. She… uh… She said she’d sort something out soon. Anyway, I thought that was going to be it for me. I mean, I’ve done my job and the safe house is… not a safe house anymore. So I thought I’d be resynchronised. I’m not the only Justine, you see? There’s one on New Earth now, but she’s a modern copy of Winter.’
‘But you’re still you,’ Ella said. ‘I mean, you’re not Winter. I mean…’
‘She said she wasn’t going to do it,’ Justine said. ‘She said I should stay as me, that she valued my independence too much.’
‘Isn’t that a good thing?’ Aneka said as gently as she could manage.
‘Yes. I mean, I guess so. I just… I’d resigned myself to not being me anymore. I suppose…’ She swallowed. ‘I guess I’d psyched myself up to die and now I’m not going to.’
Ella crouched down in front of her and put a hand on her knee. ‘It’s a shock.’ Justine nodded dumbly. ‘You knew this was going to happen before we even left Odanari, right? That’s why you were so keen to indulge me. One more fling before your end? You’ll be fine. Just give it some time to sink in. You’re a real person, not a mental clone of someone else. I’m really impressed with Winter for making that decision.’
‘Isn’t there a bar in this place?’ Aneka said, grinning. ‘I say we go find it and you two can get drunk. You’ll feel much better when you’re nursing a hangover tomorrow.’
23.9.527 FSC.
‘Synchronised regurgitation,’ Winter said.
‘Well, they have to take turns, there’s only one toilet,’ Aneka replied.
‘True, I just didn’t think it was possible.’
‘They’re both talented women. Does coffee really make you hyperactive?’
‘Me? Well, technically I can’t drink coffee. It would probably short something out. My bodies have an artificially created genome and their biochemistry is different from that of a normal Jenlay. A lot of biochemicals have an unusual effect on them.’
Aneka giggled. ‘Alcohol doesn’t seem to have a variant effect.’
‘Huh, no. She just drank far too much, and Ella…’
‘Is Ella.’
‘Indeed. Caffeine does actually interact with the neurochemistry of my avatars producing an effect… It’s rather like feeding a child a kilo of sugar.’
The sounds of retching stopped and a second later there was the sound of the shower running. ‘Looks like they’re over the puking in the loo phase.’
‘I doubt there was anything left to puke. Such a descriptive word, I haven’t heard it in centuries.’
‘I get that a lot. I suppose you were actually around to hear all this idiomatic stuff I come out with when it was current idiom.’
‘I’ve tried my best not to look like I knew what you were talking about.’
‘I think you succeeded. Though you did get my Catholic schoolgirl reference.’
The room’s speakers produced a throaty laugh. ‘I enjoyed that character.’
‘Well, your secret is out, or part of it anyway. I think you’re going to have to play that kind of role a lot more often.’
‘True. Every cloud has a silver lining, I suppose.’
‘You know, I do still prefer to talk to you face to face…’
‘I was hoping you’d say that. I’ve got a number of new bodies prepared and I’d like to see what people think of them before I start assigning them duties.’
Aneka laughed. ‘Like a fashion parade for genetics?’
‘Something like that, yes.’
‘I think Ella’s recovering from her hangover. They’ve been in that shower for a while.’ Aneka started to slip out of her clothes. ‘So bring whichever body you want to try on first, and do it quickly or you’ll miss out on the fun.’
‘I’ll be right down.’
Yorkbridge Mid-town.
Justine examined her daily update from Winter, from herself, in a way. She noted that Aneka, Ella, and another version of herself had made it to G3069, but her instructions were to keep the information quiet for now.
She had little to report herself. The ever-shifting world of twenty-hour news broadcasting had had nothing new to run regarding either Winter or Aneka for a couple of days, and had shifted its attention to other matters. Headlining at the moment was the news that well-known star of innumerable sex comedies, Ursula Handerford, was ending her three-year partnership. There was a lot of speculation regarding who she might hook up with next and she was feeding it by refusing to give interviews. The news channels were full of it with only the most serious ones still showing anything which really concerned Justine.
Consolidated Media was still rehashing old material, but their main push was a sympathetic view of Aneka’s situation. Justine was rather pleased with that, especially since she had fed them a lot of the material in a way she was fairly sure would result in that outcome.
Winter’s situation was not so easy. Justine had no instructions to reveal more about what Winter actually was, and she was not sure that doing so would have the same effect anyway. No, it seemed as though the best course of action would be for Winter to go further underground in her operations rather than coming clean.
Justine made the recommendation.
G3069.
‘How many bodies is that?’ Ella asked.
Winter was currently trying out a tall, big-chested woman with long, scarlet hair, prancing around the room to demonstrate her poise and flexibility.
‘This is number eight,’ Aneka said. She was lying on a chaise longue, as were Ella and Justine, in what Winter called the brothel. It had a boudoir sort of feel to it, lots of hanging drapes in red and purple silk and the various couches, and the lighting was dim and had a warm, reddish tint to it.
‘I like this one,’ Justine said. ‘She looks… mischievous.’
‘You’ve liked all of them,’ Aneka pointed out. ‘Winter, you told Justine that you had some sort of solution for my armour?’
‘Oh,’ Winter said. ‘Yes, I did, and I have. I’ll send it down with Number Nine.’ Number Eight tripped off toward the door.
‘How many do you think she’s got?’ Ella asked. ‘I like Seven. Seven was…’
‘Tall, shapely and blonde,’ Aneka said. ‘And neither of you two got the reference. I’m fairly sure she put that in just for me, though if she’s the seventh of nine I’m going to be giggling.’
‘I was considering twelve,’ Winter said from the room speakers, ‘but I wasn’t sure whether “there are twelve models” would hit any buttons.’
‘Battlestar Galactica? I wasn’t a big fan, in either of the incarnations. Alan loved the updated version. I thought the pilot was good. The space battles anyway.’
‘I’m glad I stuck with just nine for now then,’ said Number Nine as she walked in. This one was younger-looking than most of the others, a fresh-faced, slim-figured teenager with short, platinum blonde hair and bright, sparkling, blue eyes.
Aneka giggled. ‘Couldn’t resist, huh?’
‘No. Even if neither Justine nor Ella get the joke.’ She skipped over to Aneka and handed her a plastic bundle. ‘You’ll need some training, but Al can download a program from my network which can provide you with a basic level of skill in the suit’s operation.’
Aneka unrolled the garment and found herself looking at a rebuild of the suit Ella had given her. She could tell it was a rebuild because there was no large hole in the back. ‘Uh, Winter, I’ve never needed any special skill to use this before…’
‘Put it on. I made a few modifications. I hope you don’t mind me using your design, Ella?’
‘No,’ Ella replied. ‘I’m glad you did. I was a little annoyed when she went and ruined the last one.’
‘It wasn’t exactly my fault,’ Aneka replied. She had stripped already and was pulling the suit up her legs. ‘I didn’t mean to get shot in the back.’
‘I don’t think anyone ever does,’ Winter replied. ‘You’re lucky that a direct hit from an antimatter blaster isn’t enough to kill you. Your training in vacuum suits should be sufficient to get you through the basics.’
Aneka closed the seal over her left shoulder and neck. The collar seemed a little heavier than before, as though there was a band of metal woven into it. With the seal closed, an interface window appeared in-vision and she frowned. ‘It’s got some sort of computer built into it. It’s powered.’
‘Indeed,’ Winter said. ‘Al should be able to interface to it, but it won’t really show its colours until you activate it.’
‘Al,’ Aneka said silently, ‘you have it interfaced?’
‘I have. The suit is essentially dormant. The computer is not as complex as mine, but quite powerful. The suit’s functions are listed and are… quite extensive.’
‘It’s not exactly covering.’
‘It is. I’ll initiate the activation sequence.’
Aneka was about to say something when she felt something shifting around her neck. It was a weird feeling, as though water was crawling over her skin. She looked down to see something black and metallic running quickly down across her breasts under the Ultraskin. ‘What the…?’ she began, and was cut off as the same black oil slick crawled over her lips.
‘Breathe normally,’ Winter said, ‘through your nose. The suit filters contaminants and can extract oxygen from aerated water. You’ll need an air mask for vacuum, or you can operate on your internal air supply.’
The sensation as the fluid crawled over her eyes was incredibly creepy and Aneka found herself fighting back panic, but just as her vision was completely obscured it was replaced by the view through the suit’s sensors. It was at least as detailed as Al’s normal radio and light sensing capabilities, and her view had the normal multi-spectral overlay. Her lips were sealed shut by whatever it was the suit was made from, but she found she could breathe easily through her plugged nostrils.
On the other hand, speaking was out. ‘Al, can you connect me to Winter’s communications network?’
‘Done.’
‘Okay,’ she said in her head, hearing her voice coming from the room’s speakers. She looked down at her arms, seeing them covered in a faintly crystalline, metallic material. ‘Okay, I’m in the gimp suit and it’s… quite comfortable once it’s in place. I take it it’s quite resilient?’
‘It should take most of the bite out of a blast like the one you took on Odanari,’ Winter told her. ‘It’s a form of living metal, nanotech battle armour with a distributed computer system integrated throughout, adaptive camouflage, surface sensors for the majority of wavelengths as high as ultraviolet and power for a month of operation.’ The teenager turned toward Ella. ‘Is that sufficient protection, Ella?’
‘I think so,’ Ella replied, grinning. ‘And it looks amazing.’
‘Good,’ Winter replied. ‘When one goes to war, one should do so in style.’
~~~
‘Do you think she meant it?’ Ella asked, her voice soft enough that Aneka could barely hear it, even though the redhead was lying against her side. ‘War. Do you think she really meant that?’
‘It’s a kind of wa
r,’ Aneka replied. ‘Right now it’s kind of a cold one.’
‘I remember that. America and the Soviet Union facing off without really fighting. It’s not the same though. Winter’s powerful, but she’s hardly a superpower.’
‘I’m not sure that’s what she meant.’
‘Then what?’
‘Well, assuming we’re right about the Herosians being behind the shipping attacks…’
‘Pretty much a given.’
‘Then they’re doing it for a reason. Hitting tech supplies, weapon shipments… They’re trying to weaken their opposition. Eventually they’ll want to move things up a notch.’
‘You think they would? I mean, would they really do that?’
‘If they thought they could win. At least, that’s the way I see it from what I know about them. I’ve had pretty limited experience of Herosians. I think I know more about the Torem, and that’s not saying much.’
Ella shifted slightly, uncomfortable, but not physically. ‘I can’t believe they’d start a war. But maybe I just don’t want to believe it.’
‘Maybe. I don’t want to either, but I have to consider it as a possibility. And another possibility is that it wasn’t Xinti who attacked Negral.’
‘You think the Herosians did it?!’
‘They’ve got Xinti tech. They got it from somewhere, including the site on Idridia. What if they found a partly functional battleship?’
Ella was silent for a second. ‘The assault on Herosia didn’t go all the Xinti’s way. The Herosians put up as much of a defence as they could manage. They always said they killed two battleships there.’
‘Herosia? That’s supposed to be an asteroid belt.’
‘Uh-huh. The Herosians declared it a Site of Cultural Significance. No one has been allowed to go there in five centuries.’
‘So they could have been quietly mining it for Xinti technology ever since.’
‘There… and any of several dozen sites we think they found and never told us about, plus more we don’t know anything about.’
The Winter War Page 26
