Miranda's Demons

by Ian Miller

  "That figures," came a dry voice from the rear. "A gutless little bully, probably totally devoid of talent or inspiration."

  "Who said that!" Munro said angrily, as he turned around as if expecting to find someone hiding under a plant.

  "You could try guessing," the android said coldly. "As a hint to such a gutless wonder, try counting up the number of people on this side of the dome."

  "What . . .?" Munro spluttered.

  "Why don't you get to the point?" Darian interrupted.

  "Yes, well, as I said, Theppot will be run by some of my men. You will deliver the following schedule of goods –"

  "For which you will pay what?" Darian said with a forced smile. He was trying to remain calm, or at least appear to be calm.

  "I'll let you live," Munro said. "If you don't, we'll destroy your domes."

  "We?" the android said quizzically, "or you?"

  "I don't know where you got this can from," Munro said, turning to Rintoul, "but if you don't control that lump of metal . . .?"

  "I believe that was a threat," the android said calmly as it stepped towards Munro. "The question is, you stupid lump of excrement, can you carry it out?"

  "Why you –" Munro jumped up, and pulled a pistol out from under his jacket. But when it was half out, a steel hand caught it, and pulled the gun clear.

  "The rules were, no weapons," the android said. "You wish to break the rules? If you do, I shall break your arm, and then we'll get onto some other parts."

  Munro stared at the android, and for the first time a sign of fear crossed his face.

  "Yes, fear! I see it," the android almost gloated. It threw the gun across the dome, then suddenly reached out and effortlessly lifted Munro. "I'll tell you what," the android said. "Let's play, see who gets scared first. You try to carry out your threat, and by trying you liberate me. You know what that means?"

  "Wh what?"

  "I'll pull your limbs off. I will show you fear."

  "You . . . you're a . . ."

  "You will liberate the first of the Munros," the android explained. "You know, I really hated and despised myself, but compared with you, I feel like a gem! I will show you fear, and I can deal with you any time. There are thousands of me, and we can self-replicate. We live in a vacuum, and you don't." By this time, Tony Munro was beginning to shake. The android stared at this for almost a minute, then continued, "To think that I haven't terrorized anyone for hundreds of years." He shook his head, and continued, "I'm bored! That's what I am. And to think that I'm more or less responsible for you. I'm really starting to despise myself again."

  "Get the android to put him down," the M'starn officer said to Rintoul. The M'starn officer had been watching what had gone on with almost interest. "We have enough power that you and your settlement could be destroyed, but I concede the problem, and perhaps we don't want to waste time on it."

  "Please," Darian said calmly, although he had no idea what would happen, "put him down."

  The android thumped Munro back into his chair, and backed away two paces.

  "You may kill us eventually," Darian started to the M'starn officer, "but we shall fight, and –"

  "You seem different from the others of your species I have run into," the M'starn officer interrupted. "I assure you we have the power to destroy you, but I think you know that, and still you will not subjugate yourselves. Also, it is true your androids could provide a significant problem. Accordingly, I shall offer you the option of neutrality, provided that you trade with the Hellas settlement."

  "For?"

  "You will arrange the prices with Mr Munro here," the M'starn officer said coldly, "in cash or in kind. They must be reasonable, and similar to prices prior to our arrival, unless there are cost grounds to change them. If you request goods in kind, they must have been available prior to our arrival." He paused and turned towards Munro. "You will honour the neutrality, you will meet the prices with appropriate goods or cash or I will find an alternative use for you. Do you understand?"

  "But . . ."

  "No buts. I gave you an order out there regarding weapons, and you deliberately disobeyed it." The M'starn stared at Munro, then continued, "Some might have put the blame on me, accusing me of lack of honour. That I will not tolerate. I am half inclined to leave you to that android, to see what actually happens, but I also concede that that might mean I have to have more contact with your miserable lot, and that is disagreeable to me."

  "Look, I don't know what you mean but –"

  "Then let me explain," the M'starn officer said coldly. "Disobey me again, and all deals are off." The officer then turned towards Rintoul, and nodded. "I respect honour when I see it. If you wish, we shall discuss terms of neutrality. If you keep to your side of the deal, I shall ensure the other side is kept. What do you say?"

  "I accept," Rintoul said calmly.

  "The gardening androids will honour the terms," the android added, then stepped back and returned to watering plants.

  " . . . and so," Rintoul explained, "I did what I thought was right at the time and . . ."

  "You did well, bearing in mind your resources," Gaius added with a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

  "The problem is," Darian said firmly, "I have to continue to honour that promise."

  "That is not a problem," Gaius assured him. "Your promise said nothing about restricting your borders?"

  "Well, no," Darian replied with a puzzled look, "but neutrality hardly includes sending out forces to enlarge territory."

  "Perhaps not," Gaius said with a smile, "but suppose Hellas, say, voted to be neutral, and offered food and other supplies on your terms, say, cash and carry?"

  "I'm not sure I understand?" Darian frowned. "I thought they had rebelled?"

  "They have," Gaius said, "but the rebels can't stay there. On the other hand, there are a number of farmers and so on who want nothing more than to be left alone. I'm suggesting those who remain behind come under the protection and governance of Theppot."

  "Why would the Brownshirts accept that?"

  "Wrong question," Gaius pointed out. "Would the M'starn accept that? I think they would, at least until all this is over. They really don't care. The M'starn collaborators have a base at Syrtis Major, the rebels have one in the Valles Marineris, and the other main settlements can be neutral until these other two forces can sort themselves out. This is in everyone's interests because it maintains the food producing domes."

  "A very civilized war," Darian remarked, "but why will this work? The M'starn don't even know about this scheme."

  "Because we have captured one of them," Gaius replied. "I'll bring him to Theppot, and you can give him access to your communication gear so he can arrange for the M'starn to collect him. Once a time and place is agreed, you may inform the M'starn that I shall promise free passage for one ship for this particular purpose."

  "Again, very civilized, but why?"

  "Because we can't feed him. We simply don't have adequate supplies of the food his species needs, and it is not my intention to be unnecessarily brutal. Secondly, it gives us an opportunity to get a message through to his home base."

  "Saying what?

  "First, it will let them know of this changed agreement, and the fact that you are the intermediary will show them you are keeping strictly neutral. I shall also give the M'starn officer a message suggesting that he and his kind go back to where they came from."

  "Will that work?"

  "Probably not, but it doesn't hurt to try. So, now you are neutral," Gaius grinned as he stood up, "I'd better get out of here. You'd better come up to Hellas soon, to be introduced to your new empire!"

  Chapter 6

  The total population of the three major settlements of Mars was approximately seventy thousand, and on most assessments Mars was under populated. The problem was that emigration to Mars was essentially irreversible. Early return to Earth was too expensive to contemplate, while long exposure to the lower Martian gravity made any return qui
te uncomfortable. There were limited exports to Earth, and accordingly most of the goods desired by the Martian settlers had to be made on Mars. While Earth donated information, luxuries on Mars had to be designed and made mainly by Martians. Accordingly, their lifestyle was, perhaps, a little more Spartan than was acceptable to many Terrans. Emigration to Mars was a life sentence of commitment to living in the confinement of the domes. Only at Hellas was the dome large enough for woods to grow. Living on Mars was a commitment to red. Only in the domes was there any significant green, and it was only after being on Mars for any period of time was the soothing effect of green genuinely appreciated.

  The curse of Mars was all pervading, even for the cactus. After all the difficulties of getting a plant to grow outside were overcome, the plants had to be made red-black to protect against the all-pervading ultraviolet light. Even the spores were red, although this was more accidental than deliberate. Thus outside the Hellas dome, even though the floor of the basin was covered with the cacti, the view was unyielding red in various shade of darkness, apart from the occasional gardening android which walked between plants watering and ensuring reproduction occurred.

  Never had so many sombre settlers been in the same place at the same time. They had been liberated, which had pleased most of them, however, as Karl Groza had noted, "Liberated to what? Power and wealth to the new liberators, if history is anything to go by." This question had spread like wildfire, and they were drawn like depressed moths to the flames of the great Hellas sports dome to meet their fate.

  Gaius was the first to speak. He outlined what had happened, and then continued, "The M'starn have reached an agreement, in the interests of the food supply on Mars. Neither side can gain if the food supply or the domes are destroyed, and to prevent that happening, absolute neutrality for Hellas is promised until one party defeats the other. Hellas will be neutral, and the M'starn have promised to honour that neutrality. All settlers who remain here must take no further part in hostilities, and must trade with either party provided appropriate payment is made. As from today, any settler may take sides, but if they do they must leave Hellas, and return only to trade. The previous collaborators are free to go wherever they wish, those wishing to oppose them will go with the convoy being assembled under the leadership of Misako Shibatu. Those who do neither shall remain here and produce food, to be sold to either party. So choose. Now your future is in your hands."

  There followed almost half an hour that should have been quite boring, however the Hellenes remained. First, to general booing and hissing, an invitation was made for a representative of the M'starn collaborators to speak. None stepped forward.

  At that moment, a small group under Troy Munro entered the Transport centre, to be greeted by one Theppotian, who was standing beside a transporter that was having its fuel cells cleaned out and refilled by fresh electrolyte. "You wish to leave Hellas?" the Theppotian asked. "If so, since there're only twenty of you, you qualify for one transporter. Take that one over there. It has been refuelled." He pointed to what was clearly an older and slower transporter.

  "I'll take what I want," Munro said in an arrogant tone. In his hand he held something roughly the size and shape of a baseball bat.

  "You can't take any transporter other than that one," the Theppotian said. He stood his ground, but he was shaking a little, and he was clearly frightened.

  "You think so?" Munro sneered. "And who's going to stop me?"

  "I shall." From behind the transporter an android stepped out. "I have been instructed to keep these excrement free," it explained, "and that is an over-riding programming instruction." It then stepped out and placed itself between Munro and the Theppotian. "Please hit me with that," it said. "Please!"

  "What?" Munro asked in surprise.

  "I suppose such a talentless lump of excrement needs an explanation," the android shrugged. "It's quite simple. My programming has been given a simple 'if' statement. Specifically, if anybody hits me, I am permitted ten minutes fun with them. So, please, don't be a spoilsport. Don't you realize I haven't burned a hand off someone for over a hundred and twenty years?"

  As the Theppotian was to recount for years and years, nobody ever moved faster into a decrepit transporter than Troy Munro.

  In the absence of a speaker on behalf of the collaborators, Misako took to the podium. At first she was very nervous, and was totally surprised, then overwhelmed, by the applause she received. She had prepared her speech well, but somehow nothing prepared her for the sight of all the settlers cheering her. She finally started her speech, explaining, at first haltingly, but then with gathered confidence, what was required for those wishing to make the trek. The older settlers, the farmers, the fabricators, and people involved in the supply of essential goods should remain. Those who wished to come would be required to undergo military training, and would have to be prepared to fight, however they could also bring family with them. She then proceeded to explain what they should bring with them, what they should leave behind, and where they should register for the trek. She then finished with a plea for those who wished to oppose the Brownshirts to come with her. There was further applause as she stood down.

  Darian Rintoul then took to the podium, and with a wistful smile, shrugged and said, "Now, that's a hard act to follow." There was a little laughter, then he continued, "There are no guarantees," he said, "but we believe that we can protect your belongings. There are a number of warehouses here made of steel, and we have given specific programming instructions to the gardening androids to protect the contents." This was not strictly true. Gaius had told him to say that, and Marcellus had supplied the appropriate programming. "I do not believe anybody can overpower the androids, and they never sleep, so your goods should be safe." That part was true. The probability of anyone overpowering the androids and getting away with anything was, according to Marcellus, so close to zero as to be ignorable. "Accordingly, those who depart to either base may leave belongings there until the issue is decided.

  "For the intermediate period, the usual functions of Hellas will continue as well as possible. We request that the small number of police that Hellas supports should remain, and we request that people like schoolteachers go wherever the children end up, and these people should not register until that is known.

  "For this period Theppot has undertaken to ensure that a full supply of pharmaceuticals and other essentials are available in Hellas, and we shall try to supply full medical and other services. That will include electrical and mechanical, but for maintenance purposes only. Two Theppotian engineers will reside here to maintain dome services, and if anyone has any special requests, please let me know.

  "Finally, as you know, Theppot cannot participate in this war. We made certain promises in return for neutrality, and we intend to keep them. However, we can now make another promise, and that is that if the collaborators do not respect our neutrality, and that includes respecting your property, then we and the androids shall become involved. So, for those who are departing with Misako Shibatu, good luck to you."

  "And there's one-eyed neutrality," Groza was heard to mumble. "We're sort of on your side, but we're hardly likely to put ourselves out."

  "Yeah, well let's see what sort of a hero you turn out to be!" someone nearby countered.

  Groza turned and saw scowling faces. He suddenly realized he had very little choice. "Yes, well I'm off to register now," he said. "Any of you care to follow?"

  Misako had always wondered how many people would come on the trek when there was the option of staying at Hellas and awaiting developments. What happened was a complete surprise to her. There, leading a recruitment drive, was Karl Groza, a man she had always despised as a perpetual malcontent. Groza, having effectively been trapped by his own mouth into going, was going to make certain that he was not going alone. As someone remarked, rather perceptively, if Groza was to be safely at the rear, he needed an awful lot of others up front. Nevertheless, even if his motives were less than pure, t
he effect was dramatic: most of the male settlers of military age were goaded into enlisting. Misako now had a further problem: overcrowding on the transporters, as those leaving wanted to bring wives and children.

  At first everything was straightforward. She allocated people to transporters based on their ethnicity. This would make the problem of feeding the treckers easier, as all those preferring Italian food would be on the Italian transporter. It was just as she began to feel rather pleased with herself that the first of the problems arose. These problems seemed relatively trivial, but their numbers began to increase dramatically, and often solutions to different problems were mutually exclusive. She had an enormous pool of goodwill to work with, and most people wanted to help. Unfortunately, as Haruhiko remarked wryly, wanting to help and actually being able to help seldom came together in the same person. The main problem was to control the enthusiasm, to ensure that everything that should be brought was, and that it was packed in such a way as to survive the journey. Telling people they had to leave treasured objects behind was so painful, for everybody knew that anything brought from Earth could not be replaced.

  A number of settlers had criticized Theppot previously, but now the presence of their representatives was appreciated. Without them, the organization of the plantings would have presented an insurmountable problem. Hellas had seasons, the Martian year was approximately twice that of the Earth year, and because the orbit of Mars was more elliptical, the southern summer was short relative to the winter. While giant space mirrors ameliorated the problems, spring was a time when certain activities had to be carried out, and while survival might be guaranteed, a pleasant standard of living depended critically on the experience brought to the decisions at this time. Because of the expertise of a scientific base, Theppotian advice was always desirable, but now it meant the difference between life being worth living or not when the settlers returned.

  Departure day arrived. Even with the goodwill, Misako was amazed to find how long it took to get the convoy started. There were a number of last-minute changes of heart as to whether to stay or go, which meant transporter allocations had to change. Some people wanted last minute checks on their valued belongings, some wanted to water their plants for the last time, while many of the families wanted to switch transporters to be with friends, or even to have the children with their friends. Misako had to agree that the better they could accommodate these wishes, the easier the long journey would be. Eventually, Misako declared that a morning start would be impossible, and a lunch was organized.