Carmen displayed a list of ships and displayed their positions in orbit across his field of vision, “Amongst the dozens of ships that are now trying to leave orbit there were only three that fit that description, but one of them left just a few seconds after the attack.”
“I want her ordered to stop and care taken when she’s searched. I suspect the crews from the attacking ships weren’t on them when they exploded and are looking to make good their escape in the general confusion. Send servitor androids to do the searching as I have a nasty feeling the ship will be rigged to blow. Also, warn Thomas not to let any freighters or other ships near his fleet and to watch out for fake distress calls, too.”
“Done. All the family is safely accounted for, with most choosing to stay here for the moment,” Carmen informed him. “Lt Collinson is on his way and will be here in a few minutes. He apologises for the delay but he’d been caught up in the confusion and unable to get to a tube.”
“Fine. Continue to monitor planetary communications. When the Barons arrive, please have them wait in the adjoining room. I don’t want to have to explain things twenty times.”
He turned his attention to damage reports coming into the War Room from across Wayland’s continents, checking for casualties amongst the civilian population. Relieved to see the precautions put in place earlier after his return from Kiyami had proved prescient, Gallagher turned his attention to how he was going to get additional news on what was happening in the wider Empire, now that he was cut off. He sat and thought for a few minutes, then struck his forehead with the palm of his hand.
“Of course, you idiot,” he exclaimed out loud, remembering an event from decades ago that he’d tried hard to forget. “Carmen, put me through on a secure channel to Vimes at the Imperial Bank…”
Scene 11, Skye, Scotland. Trading Places
Karen had almost finished her packing and was trying to figure out whether or not to change for the journey, when Adam popped his head around the door, making her start.
“Do you need any help, Karen?” he asked, looking at the case lying open on the bed. “You do know we can provide you with anything you need once we get home, don’t you?”
Karen nodded, “Yes, I remembered but if I leave anything here then Alastair and Flora will expect me to come back for it at some time and when I don’t they’ll get worried, so it’s best if I take it all.”
Adam nodded. “Have you finished the message or did you want me to help with that?” he asked.
Karen placed the last item, a thick blue woollen sweater, into the case and closed the lid. “No, but you can sit on this case so I can zip it up.” She saw the quizzical look on his face. “Use the zip to close the bag,” she exclaimed. “I suppose the boot will be on the other fo…” she stopped herself. “What I mean, is that once we leave it’ll be me that doesn’t know where anything is or what you are talking about and I won’t have a companion in my brain to explain. How am I going to relearn everything without going nuts? That means crazy, Adam. I don’t actually turn into a nut.”
“But you will. No, not turn into a nut.” He smiled. “Everyone has a basic implant, otherwise, how can they pay for anything, switch on lights, know where things are…” Adam stopped, realising that neither he nor his mother had explained to Karen this aspect of leaving. “It’s a quick, painless procedure and yours will be a state of the art model, just like mothers. Don’t worry about learning how to use it, it’s completely integrated and intuitive.”
He got off the case and held her close, sensing she was having doubts and wanting to reassure her that everything would be alright. “I promise, everything will be fine. I’ll be by your side all the time and before you know it we’ll be home and I’ll be the one showing you around.”
Adam kissed her forehead, then hugged hard, talking into her hair. “I’ll take the case and put it by the front door, you talk to Vimes in the other room and he’ll print up what you want to say to your aunt and uncle using that wireless printer in the study. OK?”
Karen nodded and followed Adam into the hall, then walked into the kitchen, feeling a little silly as she began talking to the radio. “Will I ever get used to this?” she thought to herself, as Vimes began making suggestions as to what she might wish to say or explain.
Fifteen minutes later, Karen finished reading the printed letter, and at Vimes suggestion added a final sentence in her own handwriting so that the letter was obviously from her and not just a forged signature. Vimes promised that he would make sure her aunt and uncle received regular updates from her and she would be able to read letters from them too, but when she asked how he’d told her the method would remain secret so she had to accept him at his word.
She felt a slight draught behind her and sensed the front door had just been opened. Realising that it was now time to leave, she looked around the kitchen for a final time, feeling a sense of adventure and anticipation, tinged with sadness at the possibility she might never return.
Adam walked in and took her hand, only noticing how cold hers had become once it was held in his warm grip.
“How are we going to get to your ship?” she asked, “will we have to walk back to the lifeboat or something?”
“No, nothing like that at all. Come on, follow me,” he pulled her gently towards the door, sensing her nervousness. They stepped out onto the small patio outside and she locked the front door, popping the keys through its letterbox. She looked at her case, sitting a few yards away on the gravel drive, next to the carryall Adam had used when they’d first arrived a few weeks ago. She thought they looked a little forlorn, sitting alone on the wide drive. She heard the rattle of her car’s diesel engine start up and watched as Christine reversed it from around from the side of the house to where they were standing. The window dropped down to reveal her smiling face.
“Adam put the bags in the car boot, then get in the back seat. Karen, you can sit up front with me. Nice car, by the way. They’ve come a long way since I last drove one.”
A somewhat shocked Karen did as she was told, feeling a little annoyed that Christine had driven the car without her permission. “Silly girl,” she thought to herself, “what was I going to do with it anyway? I couldn’t leave it here and it would look really suspicious if I just dumped it somewhere. At least she’s thinking ahead.”
The boot slammed shut and Adam got in the rear, not bothering to do up his seatbelt until seeing the look on his mother’s face, then making sure he was secured. Karen wasn’t so sure about Christine’s abilities, so also made sure hers was done up. After letting Karen have one last look at the white house, Christine accelerated away, the car’s traction control having to fight against the loose gravel before gaining grip, eliciting a smile and a mumbled “sorry” from her to Karen. Over the cattle grid, they turned right on the main road and Christine accelerated hard up the hill towards the centre of Struan.
“Where are we going?” Karen asked, turning to Christine who was concentrating on the road ahead, a wide smile on her face, obviously enjoying driving again. “When was the last time you drove?”
Christine chuckled, a genuine warmth in the sound. She turned briefly, taking her eyes momentarily off the road ahead to answer.
“Twenty years, give or take a month or so. I don’t count driving back on Capital; it’s mostly done by the vehicles themselves or the cities AI’s, so this is a bit of a treat.”
Christine turned away, looking again at the road ahead. “You know, Karen, this is far more fun than flying a spaceship between planets. Truly it is. Now, we are going a couple of miles to the stone age Broch just on the other side of the village where there’s a deserted straight stretch of road we can use.”
Shortly, the car’s radio came on, speaking with the familiar voice of Vimes. “No cars for the next five minutes, Christine, clear in both directions, ETA thirty seconds. Karen, you might want to look ahead once we pass the school coming up on your right. What comes next should be interesting.”
From behind, Karen felt Adam’s hand rest gently on her right shoulder, reassuring her everything would be fine. She covered it with her left and smiled, but didn’t turn around, not wanting to miss what would happen next. Ahead, everything appeared normal, apart from a slight fuzziness on the road in the near distance. Suddenly, as if a light had been switched on in a darkened room, a large bulbous silver shape appeared directly ahead, about two hundred yards distant, hovering a short height off the tarmac. A large opening became visible and a ramp extended itself down onto the road. Inside, little could be seen as the walls appeared smooth and devoid of any decoration or artifacts.
Christine slowed down a little as she neared the ramp, then, with a slight bump, they were inside and she braked hard, throwing them all forward until the seatbelts restrained their forward momentum. For an instant, light in the ship’s hold dimmed as the ramp retracted and the hull re-established itself, before the internal lighting came on, bathing the interior in a natural seeming warmth.
“You brought your favourite yacht then,” Adam stated, rather than asked his mother, already opening the door. Karen sat still, unsure what to do next.
Christine patted her knee, saying, “Come on, Karen, unless you want to miss something few of this planet have ever seen. Follow me.” With that, she opened the door and got out, not looking to see if Karen would follow.
Karen unbuckled and followed her around to the driver’s side where Adam and Karen were waiting for her. She pointed at the boot, “What about my bags?” she began before being interrupted by Christine.
“A servitor will look after them, don’t worry. Come on,” she replied, turning to the wall, which opened an exit for them into the interior compartments. Karen followed, not knowing what she would see when inside. Disappointingly, it wasn’t full of the high-tech equipment, beeps and blinking displays she had half expected, instead there was a comfortable looking wide passageway hung with ordinary paintings and neutral coloured walls. Looking up, the ceiling looked as if there was nothing between her and the sky outside. She sniffed, noticing a fresh, pine-like scent pervading the corridor.
Adam, noticing her look up and momentary distraction, reached for her hand and spoke, “That’s a hologrammatic, real-time display of the sky outside. The scent is that of Capital, my…I mean our, home… come on” He gently pulled her further along the corridor towards a door where Christine was already standing, smiling at them.
Christine stepped to one side as Karen approached, sweeping her right arm towards the now open door, leading to the control room. “Welcome aboard, Karen. Please sit on the left-hand chair. I’ll take the one on the right so Adam can sit next to you in the middle,” gesturing towards the three chairs which were rising out of the floor, each a different size and tailored to their exact shape. Karen sat into her designated chair, finding it extremely comfortable.
“The ship assessed your shape and weight when you came on board and designed them to fit you,” explained Adam as he sat down next to her, having noticed the look of surprise on her face when she sat down. Soft metallic straps formed themselves into a five-point harness, gently but persistently forcing her legs apart as they joined together along her hips and down from her shoulders. The curved wall in front lit up into a perfect copy of the view outside, even down to the sound of wind and birds. As she watched, the scene outside shifted as she felt herself being lifted up as the ship rose.
Christine, in the command chair, welcomed her merging with the ship, instinctively becoming aware of the nearest vehicles and nearby living creatures as the sensors updated her world view. The front of the yacht dipped down slightly as the nose swung ninety degrees to the left and accelerated gently out towards the coast, only a mile away. Inside, Karen was entranced, seeing the island from a completely new viewpoint for the first time.
“Wow, this is something else. It’s better than that Soarin ride at Disney,” was all she could say to Adam as he leant across to talk to her, not quite believing this was really happening. He reached out and took her hand again, noting it was damp with excitement.
“Prepare yourself, we are going to accelerate into orbit,” Christine warned Karen, noting that Adam was only now merging with the yacht himself. She sent him a private message, then gave her ship it’s flight instructions. Karen could feel a gentle pressure behind her and noted how smooth the flight upwards was. Brought up looking at shuttle launches and films like Apollo 13, she had expected noise and shaking and was surprised that apart from the gentle pressure and the view outside, she wouldn’t have known they were moving at all. Quickly, the view began to change and she could see the Earth’s curvature, the sky suddenly darkening as they passed into orbit. Below, her home planet began to resemble nothing more than a giant blue-green wall.
She looked across Adam, towards Christine, asking her, “Can anybody see us, like on radar or something?” a little apprehensive about being slapped down for asking a silly question, but the answer that came back was very matter of fact with no hint of condescension.
“No, Karen. We are cloaked and invisible to anything available to twenty-first century Earth technology. We are not even visible to the naked eye although you might have noticed the slight misting we approached the hanger bay earlier. That’s the effect of the cloak.”
Karen turned away to look again at the view. She suspected Christine and Adam were giving her a grand tour around the planet despite their desire to get home. Whatever their reasons, she was very grateful. “Will I ever see this again?” she asked herself sadly, wondering what the future would hold for her. Below, the planet sped passed underneath at an increasing pace as the ship built up speed until suddenly, the gentle pressure went away and the restraints around her retracted back into the seat. Free to stand up, she sat still, not knowing what to do next, until Adam, who hadn’t released her hand, guided her out and gently led her towards a door. Christine remained in her seat, seemingly oblivious to everything, looking as if she was listening to something.
“Is she alright?” Karen asked Adam, nodding towards his mother.
“What, oh, yes, she’s fine, just catching up on the ship's status and giving it instructions for the trip back. While she was in the house with us, the ship and Vimes would have been updating records from the last time she was here, uploading entertainment programmes, music, that sort of thing. I expect mother is looking up what’s happened to old friends and places while she has the chance. It’s so much easier for her now, with the Internet and everything being connected.”
They reached the door, which opened silently, allowing them to enter. Inside was a comfortable looking reclining seat with a slightly bulbous top where someone's head would be if they lay down. The walls were a light grey colour, warm in hue, not at all cold looking. Karen couldn’t identify a light source, but still, the room was well lit.
“This will be your room for the journey back, but before we arrive you will need an implant. The chair will do it all for you while you sleep so lie down, close your eyes and when you open them it will be to a whole new world.” He kissed her gently and she responded, a bit more forcefully than she had wanted to, her body having taken over from her head for a moment.
After several seconds, it was Adam that disengaged first. “As you said earlier, Wow. What was that for?” he asked her.
“For being here with me. For wanting me here and caring enough not to leave me behind.” She looked him in the eyes, pressing herself close and kissing him again, but more gently this time. Now, neither of them wanted to be the first to stop until Adam regretfully pulled back and looked at her face.
“She must be scared out of her wits but isn’t complaining or making any sort of fuss,” he thought to himself, impressed by her bravery, “I just hope she can adapt for I don’t want to lose her.”
He led Karen to the recliner, indicating that she should lie down. Karen hesitated for a second, then did so, expecting something to happen immediately.
“When does it sta
rt? “ she asked Adam. He smiled at her, not saying anything. She felt tired after all the excitement of the day and closed her eyes for a second…
“Wakey, wakey, Karen,” the familiar voice of Vimes spoke in her head. Karen sprang upright, looking around for where the sound was coming from, noticing the room looked subtly different. The voice spoke again, “Don’t worry, I’m here to help.”
“Where’s Adam, why wasn’t he here to wake me up?” she asked, looking around the room hopeful that he might walk in. “Your voice sounds so near, where are you speaking to me from?” she said, a little nervous what the answer might be.
“You know the answer to that, Karen, “ came his voice, but this time from within the room. “Really, don’t worry. Christine’s done you a singular honour by allowing me to interface with your implant for a while, until such time as you are completely integrated into our society. If you really don’t want me I’ll leave, but before you decide, give it a day or so.”
“So I can speak to you out loud, or in my head?” she asked, trying both methods,
“Either will do,” Vimes replied, “it’s completely up to you.”
“Can you read my mind?” she asked.
“Good question, Karen. Yes and no. Yes, insofar as if you deliberately speak the words in your head then I can hear them. Deeper thoughts or where there is no conscious thought at all; then no. You will soon learn how to marshall your private thoughts or you can adjust the settings so your implant only picks up those where you consciously make an effort to interact with it. The choice is yours. I’m not like your regular, top of the line model either. I can think for myself and, as you have noticed, have a real personality. Now, any questions?”
Imperium: Revelation: Book Two in the Imperium Trilogy Page 9
