She looked around, the half moon and cloudless night providing just enough illumination for her to make out familiar landmarks. The nearby chemical factory was lit up for the night shift, the lights ready to be switched off at a moments notice should the air-raid warning sound, a rare occurrence these days. Apart from the swish of the wind through the long grass and the faint rustle of leaves in the few trees nearby, here in the open fields, everything was silent and still.
“What happens next, Alex? Do I click my heels twice and end up in Kansas or wherever, like in that film we saw at the Heathway cinema last month, or does your spaceship come down and pick us up?” she asked, not able to keep the excitement out of her voice, looking eagerly at his face for answers.
“Take my hand, Christine,” he said, retracting the gauntlet so she could hold his real flesh. Christine did so and moved closer to him. “It’s already here, look…”
The air in front of them shimmered for a second, then resolved itself into a long, dark shape that towered above her and ran for dozens of yards away on each side, blocking out what little light there was and her view of the factory. Christine looked hard to discern where it started or ended, but the dark hull merged easily into the night. She bent down low and could see underneath and over to the railway line. She straightened, just as a doorway opened in the featureless side, twenty or so foot above her and a ramp of some kind glided down, resolving itself into a flight of stairs that irresistibly beckoned to her sense of adventure. It was a good job Alexander had hold of her hand, for it was only that which stopped Christine from running up the stairs and entering the spaceship before him.
Christine watched, entranced, as a light came on in the doorway above, just light enough to illuminate the stairs. She looked at Alexander expectantly, eager to go in, despite being mindful this was all completely alien to her, both literally and figuratively.
Alexander had a moment of inspiration, then bent down and swept his wife up into his arm again, then began walking up the stairs. Reaching the top, before walking inside, he looked down at her happy, excited face.
“Wife of mine, welcome to your new home and the start of your second life,” and with that, he carried her over the threshold.
Scene 31, Capital
Karen exited the transit tube with the rest of the royal party and blinked in the transition from subdued artificial lighting to bright sunshine outside. The early morning weather was clear and balmy, hinting of a warm, bordering on hot, day ahead once the thin cloud had been burned off by the sun.
A short walk ahead of her lay a massive yacht, obviously designed to both impress and fight, which would be her home for the next few weeks. She realised it had to be similar in size to a small cruise ship back on Earth, and she wondered how it could possibly lift itself from the ground and fly into space, making a mental note to ask Vimes later in the day. It was positioned close to the edge of the Marine Spaceport, and as she walked towards it from the transit tube exit, in the distance Karen could make out the museum where she had been measured for her armoured suit, details of which were now safely stored in the yachts memory vaults.
Reaching the entrance, Christine and Karen walked through the wide doorway, the younger woman one step behind, learning quickly that no matter how close she might potentially be to the Empress, in public she had to show deference, especially as her status was still to be confirmed.
Behind them followed a number of Diplomats and sundry officials, one or two looking familiar, Karen having seen them before, trailing Christine around the Palace, their constant presence reminding her of medical students following a Consultant around a hospital ward. Vimes had helpfully overlaid a list of names to the faces in her vision, with a brief description of their function, but removed them when she made it plain she currently wasn’t all that interested. Inside, the yacht was luxuriously furnished, with artworks and statuary everywhere, contrasting with the more spartan interiors she had seen in yachts used by the royal family when not on official business. One particularly large statue made Karen wonder if it was under the control of Vimes or the yacht’s AI, remembering when Christine had explained about what happened during the recent failed assassination attempt on her life. She asked Vimes, only to be told “what do you think?” which made her smile, finding her companions friendly sarcasm quite funny, even if it could become a little wearing at times.
As this was a diplomatic mission, the yacht was slightly more crowded than she had become accustomed to when flying before with Adam or Christine. Whereas before, android servitors had attended to Karen’s needs, on this yacht human staff had taken over, although from the way they looked and moved Karen was sure all of them had seen or were still in Naval service and the staffing duties were simply a cover.
The royal party reached a junction in the corridor, at which point Vimes told her to leave them and go explore the ship on her own. Unlike the other times she had travelled in a spaceship, today Karen hadn’t been asked to sit on the command deck, nor was her presence required at the briefing the Empress had just called now that everyone was on board, although she had privately messaged Karen and arranged a get together in a few hours time once they were well underway.
Her presence not required, and feeling a little lost at what to do now, Karen found herself an unoccupied room and instructed Vimes to turn all the walls and ceiling into an unobstructed view of the exterior so she could watch as the yacht took off and transitioned from the atmosphere and into the blackness of space. She wondered if the novelty of flying into space would ever wear off, hoping that no matter how many times she might do it in the future, she would always feel this excitement.
It wasn’t long before the acceleration warning was given and shortly afterwards, strapped into a comfortable seat, the yacht lifted gracefully from the spaceport and began accelerating through the atmosphere. As it angled over the capital city she realised how little of it could be seen on the surface when compared to the vast expanse below ground. In the distance, she caught a glimpse of the Palace, nestled next to the vast forest and hugging the coast. It wasn’t long before the curvature of the planet could be clearly seen and as the yacht steadily increased speed, rising higher and entering space, she could see the extent of the planet’s atmosphere, a thin, precious band closely hugging the surface. It came to her then, that if only everyone on Earth could witness just how thin and vulnerable their atmosphere was, people might take more care of what they pumped into it.
Outside, the view shifted again as the pilot angled the yacht away from the planet and out towards the moon, intending to add a little additional speed by slingshotting around it, a manoeuvre Karen was looking forward to, wondering wistfully if she would ever get a chance to do the same around Earth’s moon. The day previously, she’d arranged with Vimes to send a message to her aunt and uncle on Skye, letting them know she was fine and had also sent a letter of resignation to the Hospital in Inverness, telling them to keep her pay in lieu of notice. All the same, she felt she had let them down and was a little sad at not being able to say goodbye properly to her friends and colleagues.
“Vimes,” she asked the ceiling, mimicking the way Christine spoke to him, “be a good chap and tell me I’m not dreaming or that I haven’t made a huge mistake in doing this.”
She was expecting the usual chuckle or humorous comeback from her companion, so was surprised when he did neither, instead, he seemed quite serious.
“I can’t, Karen. You know now how Adam feels about you, despite your relationship being quite sudden, but then look at all those people who knew their partners for years before marrying yet still ended up getting divorced and bitter. In my admittedly long experience, true love, when it finally comes to someone, makes itself plain. Adam is headstrong and stubborn, but since meeting you I have seen a real change in him. Now, was this all down to you? Even I don’t know the answer to that question. As to what will happen in the future, your guess is as good as mine.” He paused for a few moments, but wh
en Karen said nothing, he continued, “As to the fate of the Doone family and the rebellion, the odds are in their favour, but they need some quick victories to make the other Empires think twice about either continuing their support for Duke Frederick or deciding to join with him. Christine and Alexander are acutely aware of this and the tenor of the upcoming battles will reflect this.”
“Upcoming battles?” Karen asked, “Can you tell me anything about them, Vimes?”
“My apologies, Karen, but for the moment, no. What I can say, however, is that while you and Christine are meeting with the Felidae Empress, Alexander and Adam will be getting ready for a major engagement. They will await news that the Felidae will stay neutral in this and when the message comes in, will make their move against a major system. The outcome of this engagement will go a long way in determining how the rest of the campaign will go.”
While listening to Vimes, Karen stared out into space, the illusion almost perfect. Ahead, the moon was almost imperceptibly growing larger. Behind, Capital could now be seen as an enormous ball, occasional flashes visible as a ship entered the atmosphere, heading towards the commercial spaceports. At the extreme edge of the globe, lightning was clearly visible and she watched the intermittent flashes for a few minutes until the planet’s rotation and distance took them away.
“What did you just say, Vimes?” she asked, her attention pulled away from the almost hypnotic view.
“I said, with your permission, I believe it’s time we begin your combat training. I can start integrating artificial muscle memory into your nervous and autonomic systems on the journey to the Jump Point. If we start tonight, by the time we arrive your body will believe it can fight, although true integration and long-term consolidation can only take place with real practice.”
“Combat training!” Karen exclaimed. “I know Adam and I discussed it, but do I really have to?”
“No, but if you ever wish to be taken seriously as a possible Empress, you will be expected to handle that battle suit of yours and be prepared to fight for the Empire. Ours is a martial society, Karen. In an uncertain universe, with rival empires everywhere, we cannot afford the luxury of pacifism, at least, not if we want to remain free. You have almost certainly heard the Earth expression “leading from the front” and this applies to the nobility of our Empire. Think of yourself as a medieval monarch, a warrior Queen leading from the front to earn and keep the respect of your army. That is a much closer analogy than comparing yourself to the purely ceremonial and powerless kings and queens of your own time, bedecked with ribbons and medals they haven’t earned in battle. I always wondered how they can look any real soldier in the eye without feeling shame.”
“My, you are the bitter one today, Vimes. This artificial muscle memory training, can it also be used to learn something else, like how to play a musical instrument?” she asked, “I always wanted to learn how to play the piano but never got around to it. Can it?”
This time, Vimes did chuckle. “To a degree, Karen, but let’s put it this way, you would never be a concert pianist unless you practised hard. It’s not a way for lazy people to learn things, nor is it normally readily available to the public, requiring as it does a degree of implant integration only a select few have access to.
“How does it work? I am a Doctor, remember, so you can get technical.”
“While you sleep, amongst other things, the implant triggers repetitive synaptic firing and strengthens the connections between the primary motor area and basal ganglia, using a template designed for your brain based on pathways recorded from people with the required skills. Here, I will download the full schematics for you to read at your leisure.”
Immediately, Karen could sense the data coming in and made a mental note to read it later, her medical side fascinated by this particular bit of technology.
“While you are in the mood to answer questions, Vimes, how exactly does the Jump Point work? Adam tried to explain it to me but it was very technical. Can you give me a simplified version?
“There’s nothing simple about it, Karen. You would need to have an understanding of physics to rival Einstein, Hawking or Feynman to fully grasp the mechanics behind it, but as you asked so nicely I will endeavour to explain, but you will also need to do some extensive reading up on the theories behind it.”
Vimes paused before continuing, Karen thinking it was probably for dramatic effect.
“Quantum Attraction is an offshoot of Quantum Entanglement. Simply put, every electron in the universe around you is connected to each other in the Quantum Universe, which lies beneath the one we perceive around us as linear creatures. Every part of our universe has a unique Quantum Signature, which if known, allows us to artificially cause the departure and destination points to merge, the lesser automatically moving to the greater, using the Quantum Universe as the transit medium. Jump Points are naturally occurring regions in space which facilitate the Jumping, varying in size and number depending on many factors, not least the gravitational field generated by the systems sun.” Vimes paused again. “Are you following me so far?”
“I think so. Please continue.”
“Jump Stations generate the QA fields required for a ship to Jump to its destination. Only Imperial Naval ships and the private yachts of Dukes are permitted to have Jump capable engines enabling them to Jump from a Jump Point without using the Station. Everyone else must use the Stations services. For the system to work, the Quantum Signature of the destination Jump Point must be known. This slows down expansion to new systems, as the Signatures can only be mapped by sending probes through normal, relativistic space, a process taking many years. There, I hope this has made matters a little clearer.”
Karen nodded, “A little, Vimes, thank you. It makes me realise yet again how much I have to learn.”
“Remember, you have a much longer lifespan to look forward to, Karen. As you age, your mental facilities will increase, not dull as would have been the case if you had remained on Earth, although in the future you would be advised to watch out for a tendency towards arrogance or over-confidence, both potential by-products of longevity.”
Karen sat quietly, trying to take in what she had just been told, all the while looking out at the approaching moon, now noticeably larger. The journey to this systems only Jump Point was many days away and she resolved to use the travel time to read up and familiarise herself with as many things as she could, including trying out her new fighting skills, if the reality of what Vimes had told her about muscle memory was as good as it sounded. Apart from several years learning Kissaki-Kai Karate as a teenager, she had no real experience at fighting whatsoever, apart from avoiding the odd punch from a drunk or helping the orderlies and nursing staff wrestle a druggie to the floor while on duty in Inverness Hospital.
“This should be an interesting experience,” she told herself, “so much to learn, but with so much time to do it in.”
Vimes, sensing her inner reflection, remained quiet, and left her alone with her thoughts.
The days on board came and went, some quicker than others, depending on what she was doing and whether Christine had any free time to talk with her. For the first few days, Karen didn’t notice any changes in herself, despite Vimes insisting the muscle memory training was going well and confirming she was proving a suitable patient for his ministrations, but on the fourth morning she found herself looking at things in a different way, for example, walking into a room and looking immediately for the exits or places that would provide cover if attacked. Vimes explained that the muscle memories of a trained fighter were not simply how the body moved but where they positioned themselves in a room or battlefield.
“Most people go through life with their threat-level set to zero, blithely unaware of what is going on around them, “ he responded, in answer to a question from her, “and as a result find themselves hesitating or freezing when attacked or in a dangerous situation they weren’t prepared for. Think back to Earth and all those people who you
see walking around listening to headphones or trying to read their mobile phones, totally oblivious to their surroundings, walking into people or stepping out into the road without thinking. Their threat level is at zero and this makes them vulnerable. The trained Marine or martial artist will try to be aware of their surroundings at all times, watching who enters or leaves a room, assessing their threat level, where the exits are, all the time looking for the telltale signs that something is not quite right.”
“But surely that leads to paranoia, Vimes?” she responded, “going through life thinking you are in danger is silly.”
“After a while, it becomes second nature and you do it almost without conscious effort. Your current feelings will pass and soon you will not even notice them on a conscious level. I will warn you when the more dangerous pathways are established. That way you can try and avoid people for a day or two.”
“More dangerous, why, what do you mean?”
“What happens if you unknowingly touch a hot plate?” he asked her.
“I’d snatch my hand away without thinking,” Karen replied, “Oh, I get it now, you don’t want me reacting in a dangerous way to a sudden gesture or tap on the shoulder.”
“Correct, Karen. The best way to integrate all of this is to go to the gym and try out the Kata’s and responses that have been downloaded. I will prompt you with a name of an exercise and you’ll find yourself following the pattern automatically. You should also consider building some muscle mass and strength. Shall I schedule some time aside each day for your practice, together with a Marine combat instructor?”
“If you must, Vimes, if you must, but I draw the line at ending up looking like Arnold Scharzenneger.”
“When everything’s arranged, I’ll be back,” chortled Vimes, imitating the actor's voice, causing Karen to roll her eyes in mock disgust.
Imperium: Revelation: Book Two in the Imperium Trilogy Page 35
