by Ian Miller
"Don't knock sociodynamics," Gaius replied, as he placed his hand on hers. "It's what they did with it that was wrong. In one sense sociodynamics is a bit like quantum mechanics. If you have the right inputs, you can make reasonable predictions for a very large assembly. It is theoretically impossible to predict the outcome on one person, or where one person becomes critical, and they should know that."
"I see," Natasha said slowly. "At least I suppose I see."
"I doubt it," Gaius laughed harshly. "The real value of their sociodynamics is to use it on them at that time."
"What do you mean?"
"Why did they have this little meeting? And why were you, Lucilla and myself conveniently somewhere else?"
"So we wouldn't change the outcome," Natasha shrugged.
"So we wouldn't ask why they were doing it!" Gaius snorted.
"And why were they?
"Completely separate reasons," Gaius said slowly. "The Ulsians wanted you to stay on the ship because that involved them in the least effort. The Ranhynn wanted you away from Earth to slow its development. The Krothians needed to buy time for forces from their home planet to turn up. Each side thought you were receiving an offer you couldn't turn down, effectively a gift from the gods, and they would each get what they wanted . The Ranhynn would get a slowly developing planet that would be dealt with in the course of time. The Ulsians got the sloth they seem to need, and the Krothians would get their time, so they could be here with strength at the critical time."
"So when I turned them down?"
"The Ulsians got egg on their faces," Gaius smiled, "especially when I showed some of them the Ulsian training code on ethics. Your action was the ancient Ulsian recommended one: duty before self, acceptance of responsibility for situations you have created. They were quite embarrassed to find out your actions were more Ulsian than theirs."
"And the Ranhynn?"
"They are the real problem. They are motivated more than anything else by position. They saw you turn down a position in their society, to go back to a much more primitive one. Why?"
"I would have thought that's obvious!"
"Not from their point of view. They concluded that you wanted to take advantage of this technology leap, the information you had, and your newfound military muscle, to carve out a gigantic position for yourself in Terran history. They thought you wished to become Natasha the Great. They couldn't wait to set off for home."
"But that's ridiculous."
"Then go and tell them! That's why everyone wants you to go. Merely by appearing, their conclusion will be proved wrong. If you are the chief negotiator, the official Terran representative, with a little luck this whole mess could be cleared up quickly. And of possible Terran representatives, you alone have the stature."
"The stature?"
"During the crisis, you effectively ran the Terran war effort. You discovered the chinks in the enemy armour that allowed the Terran forces to be effective, and you are now in a position to become one of the most influential persons in Terran society. The signal to the Ranhynn is that Earth has sent its most influential and capable person on this mission. Your coming means Earth is taking this expedition as seriously as possible, and, of course, that their conclusions about your personal military ambitions are totally wrong."
"Earth doesn't even know about the mission," Natasha pointed out wryly.
"But they will know about the goal of it, and they will work towards it," Gaius pointed out, "at least as long as you leave the appropriate message."
"And suppose they don't take any notice?"
"It's up to Marisa and her family to coax them."
"Marisa? Why her? Isn't that asking too much?"
"Not at all. Her family is very influential in South America. Furthermore, she'll be in a very special position, as she and Harry will be the Terran representatives to the Ulsian outpost. That will make her very important."
"And what have you got cooked up for Harry?" Natasha asked curiously. "You seem to have this all worked out."
"Harry has a simple task," Gaius shrugged. "All he has to do is to lead the research team that will discover the secrets of the inertial equivalence unit. By doing that, he should also devise the secrets of the more advanced motors. At that point you cannot be kept from interstellar travel."
"That's simple?"
"It's very difficult," Gaius laughed, "and if he succeeds, Terran society will be the fastest ever to make this jump. It's true he's found some clues, but he's taken them far further than could reasonably be expected. Gelempt thinks he has as good as a thirty per cent chance of getting there, and over ninety per cent chance of getting to the inertial equivalence unit."
"And if he does?"
"If Earth can come to an agreement with the Ranhynn, Earth could expect to be admitted to the greater Planetary Federation, and Earth would have contact with other alien cultures."
"And if he cannot?"
"It depends. He might even be given another clue."
"Doesn't this go against the Ulsian non-interference ethic?"
"Perhaps it salves their conscience," Gaius said wistfully. "Perhaps they think it restores the balance."
"What does that mean?"
"There has been some debate that by taking me, they cost Earth up to two thousand years," Gaius smiled. "I doubt it, but I'm not going to disillusion them. I'll tell you about it some other time. If the Ulsians want to guide, let them."
"And if Harry fails, and we wanted to go into space with what we've got?"
"The Ulsians would advise against it," Gaius shrugged, "but as long as you didn't go to a Ranhyn system, and if your proposed expedition had a reasonable chance of success, I suppose you wouldn't be stopped. If the star you'd chosen had no planets, or was occupied, you'd get a strong hint to reselect your target."
"I see."
"Natasha," Gaius said earnestly, "you will come to lead these negotiations?"
"Did you mean what you said about me before?"
"Of course I did," came the almost frustrated reply.
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
"I thought you knew," came the surprised reply. "You're very intelligent. I thought you knew how good you are."
"I didn't know you thought so. I've never really known where I stand with you!"
"Oh," Gaius interrupted. He stood to his fullest height and stretched out his arms. "I'm sorry. Natasha. Truly thou art extraordinarily talented. Thy bravery, intelligence –"
"Stop it!" Natasha laughed. "I'm coming. Don't make it any harder for me than it already is."
Chapter 26
". . . and Commissioner Kotchetkova was one of the few who stood against the greed of Munro, a man so greedy he would sell his planet, his civilization, his culture, and for what?
"Power! Power over anyone left on this planet who did not fear him. What manner of man he was defies comprehension. He wished to rule totally, yet he wished to achieve nothing. A man as devoid of friends as he was devoid of ideas, a man whose wealth was so great he had no idea how great, a man who had power over so many he had no idea who they were, a man who cared for nothing, except more. Not for any purpose, merely to have more. Even the misery he inflicted on others in gaining more really mattered little to him. Perhaps he was inherently evil. Perhaps it was his environment. These things we do not know, but what we do know is that it was this environment that gave him the opportunity to do this evil. This environment must be irreversibly changed, so that never again can any person have such power over others. Citizens of Earth, the days of the Corporations as we know them are over.
"Do not fear the consequences. Do not fear you will lose your placid lifestyle. You will, but you will gain far more than you can ever lose. In the words of Commissioner Kotchetkova, a person must be responsible for his or her own actions, rewarded fairly for achievement, but must never fear the whim, the spite, the envy, the pettiness, the greed, or the plain inefficiency of others. A daunting task to devise a means of achieving
this seemingly impossible ideal.
"Citizens," Harry paused to look into the camera, "we are fortunate that Commissioner Kotchetkova has shown the way. I have here her last work, a plan to help make this planet a better place to live on, a place that one day, perhaps, will be seen as sufficiently worthy to take its rightful place amongst the truly great civilizations of the galaxy. Citizens, this path will not be easy. But it is much easier now that Munro is gone.
"I said before, few people did not fear Munro. Very few dared stand against him. One who did was Commissioner Kotchetkova. One evening, late at night, she was brought flowers. Her one mistake was to be a woman, to accept and arrange those flowers. She paid with her life. After she has given so much for this planet, do not let this sacrifice be in vain.
"Commissioner Kotchetkova," Harry said as he stepped back, to address the coffin, which now began to move. The adagio of Beethoven's third symphony began. "Commissioner, we salute your memory, we salute the brave and selfless person who rescued this planet in time of need, who even now," and Harry held the manuscript up high, "continues to serve her planet. Farewell, Commissioner. We trust that when we meet again, we shall be considered truly worthy to have been entrusted with this task."
* * *
"And how many people will see through that last crack?" Natasha murmured, more to herself than to Gaius, as she turned off the recording device.
"I think I might be having a bad influence on him," Gaius replied, shaking his head slightly. "I'm ready to take a small wager he was not expecting us to be listening to that. He probably thought we'd already left."
"And when are we going?"
"As soon as you've finished putting together whatever you want to be included in that document."
"Hoping that nobody notices the late alterations," Natasha mused.
"Trusting that nobody looked," Gaius grinned. "What Harry was waving around was an empty folder."
"Wasn't that a risk?" asked Natasha, with a note of alarm.
"The funeral of a heroine is a most solemn occasion," Gaius replied. "Even in Earth's more tasteless periods, nobody would insist on examining the document during the funeral. In a few days, however, curiosity will require the first statements to be issued. No, the important thing that Harry established then was that the document exists. It can be released piecemeal over the next few weeks, then the original can be enshrined somewhere. When you come back in about twenty-five years, you'll be famous, and young Harry'll be somewhat older than you."
"That'll take a little getting used to," Natasha smiled.
"More so for him," Gaius shrugged, "because you see he will be older than you. He will live the next twenty-five years. We shall live only a few days during the travelling. It's not hibernation. Literally, our bodies will only experience a few days of time. In a sense it's like time travel, except it's one way."
"It'll be amusing to see Harry grey-haired, bespectacled –"
"You may be disappointed," Gaius warned. "If he does the sorts of things we hope he will, the Ulsians will make an offer to him and Marisa. If he accepts, his physiological aging will be slowed. But he will still live those twenty-five years."
"And in the meantime?" Natasha asked dubiously.
"What do you mean?"
"I'll be alone on a ship for –"
"Think of it as hibernation. Katya will see you comfortably on your bed, you'll drift off to sleep, and when you wake up, you'll be decelerating into the Epsilon Eridani solar system. Oh, and when you wake up, you'll feel some strange sensations in your head. That's the language teacher. You'll wake up fluent, or at least as fluent as you can be with your vocal chords, in the Ranhynn language, and also in Ulsian."
"So Kazyn won't be able to say things behind my back?"
"You'll be able to surprise him if he does."
"That'll pique him!"
"Perhaps, but that's the price he'll have to pay for his tremendous stature in Ranhynn society."
"Oh?"
"You see, he's the one who'll vouch for you, to affirm how important you are. In a sense, he introduces Terrans to the Ranhynn society."
"And that'll make him rather important?"
"The young females of his clan will be falling over themselves to have him acknowledge an egg," Gaius smiled.
"Acknowledge an egg? Oh, you mean, like getting married?"
"Wait until you get there," Gaius smiled. "In the meantime, you'd better concentrate on your writing. After all, as you pointed out, there's a limit to how long after your funeral you can keep adding further last words."
"I've finished," Natasha said with a touch of triumph. "Gelempt is going to modify them slightly, but he tells me he's very pleased, and he says any more will only complicate the issue too much."
"Good! Then let us dine, be entertained, get thoroughly content, then we shall set off."
"I've asked Katya to arrange some traditional Russian food . . ." Natasha started tentatively.
"Excellent!" Gaius interrupted. "Natasha, apart from formal Ulsian rank, which does have to be taken into consideration in battle, if for no other reason than that the ships themselves are required to follow it, we're of equal importance. I don't want you feeling somehow inferior –"
"I don't!" Natasha almost shouted.
"That's good. I just thought you might've been feeling defensive again. You've no need to, and you mustn't."
"I wasn't," Natasha protested, then added more quietly, "all the same, I appreciate what you just said. I've also invited Lucilla to the meal."
"That's very kind of you."
"If this expedition is as dangerous as some have suggested," Natasha said, "we have to trust each other, and now is the time to get started."
"Indeed it is," Gaius agreed. He turned away slightly and stared at the wall. According to that prophecy, there were to be two women in his life. The second, the ugliest of all, was not going to be any closer. He was a man out of his time.
Author's Note.
Thank you for reading this. If you enjoyed it, why not write a review? Such reviews really help authors.
Miranda's Demons was first written toward the end of the 1980s, in part because I was fascinated by the images and information sent back by Voyager 2 about the Uranian system, and in particular, about Miranda. The image on the cover is of Miranda, and the Chevron can be clearly seen. The image is thus due to NASA/JPL, and is one of only two available. NASA and JPL did a magnificent job in making Voyager 2 work so successfully, and I wanted to try to show the general audience something about the science. Similarly, the features of Mars are as known at that time, and the naming of the Martian objects comes from "The Atlas of Mars" [R. M. Batson, P. M. Bridges and J. L. Inge, (1979) NASA SP 438]. My efforts may not mean much in the overall scope of things, but I would like them to be my tribute to NASA.
As with many of my previous books, I have tried to maintain the concept of showing what science and invention are about, only this time the issue is not how some part of science works, but rather suggestions as to how discoveries might be made. Do not take some of the futuristic technology too seriously, but on the other hand, thinking about how people work on discovering science may encourage younger readers to consider science as a future.
I also run a blog, which discusses some of these issues, and is at http://ianmillerblog.wordpress.com.
As can be seen, this story is not quite finished. That is because the future never stops, and the next in the series, Ranh, will be finished some time towards the early part of 2016. Read all about my take on a truly alien culture, and dodging dinosaurs.
My novels form what I call a future history. Each are intended to stand alone, although books in the First Contact trilogy are probably better read in sequence. Each of these books also features a different form of governance, although the First Contact trilogy is essentially one form, because it was conceived as one book. Thus the Gaius Claudius Scaevola trilogy shows how Scaevola got into the position he finds himself in Miranda's De
mons. The First Contact trilogy shows how the form of government in Miranda's Demons, and its inherent problems, came to be, as well as how the Jonathon Munros came to be. Troubles and Red Gold are set during the formation of the Federation and the giant corporations. This could not happen now, but Puppeteer proposes a situation that cannot be discounted, and what other outcomes would you expect? These other fictional books are:
Puppeteer Set in 2030, thanks to excessive government debt and an energy shortage, terrorism and corruption are rife. Governments are failing because they do not have the money to do what has to be done, thanks to debt servicing. It should not be allowed to happen, yet look at Greece. The Puppeteer attempt to shock society into reform, but things do not go according to plan.
Troubles Set in 2050, an anarchic society is coming out of the energy crisis, thanks to the invention of fusion power. As civilization rises from the ashes, those who move fast and ruthlessly will accumulate great wealth. The aged and decaying infrastructure is gold, life is cheap, and winners take all.
Red Gold Set in 2070, it covers the colonization of Mars, fraud, and when a scientific discovery is made that makes Mars viable, the fraud is exposed. However, the fraudster also has the only guns on Mars, and men to use them.
A Face on Cydonia The first of the First Contact trilogy. When the rock winks, the question is, how, and eventually a disparate party set out to prove this rock has nothing to do with aliens, but instead each discovers exactly what they do not want to find. It also describes how evil has entered an entrenched corporate society.
Dreams Defiled shows how all their ambitions come to nothing, but the evil grows.
Jonathon Munros The conclusion of the trilogy, where machines begin self-reproduction and threaten the world, and where Jonathon Munro achieves immortality.
Athene's Prophecy is the first book in the Gaius Claudius Scaevola trilogy, in which Scaevola is sent on a quest to save civilization far into the future. Besides discovering some science and learning military strategy, he must survive the erratic rule of Caligulae and prevent a Jewish Roman war.
