She threw aside furniture and rocks, dreading what she might find, then sank to the ground, her back against a wall with tears streaming down her face. In her confusion, she thought the Warlord had somehow singled out her grandmother, and in an act of revenge, bombed her apartment. She realized how ridiculous it was. Kabutai has left New Rome alone for now. He’s never been here, and anyway, he has much bigger things on his plate—like subjugating the entire human species. Someone else is responsible for this.
Amid her sorrow, she felt the sparks moving, attempting to calm her, bring her mind back to an unemotional state. No! She pushed against them. I am human. It is my right to feel sorrow, to grieve. The sparks retreated, and gloom descended.
#
One elderly police officer lounged in a chair with his feet on a desk reading his virtual newspaper. He seemed surprised to see Hickory standing at the counter and sauntered over.
“What can I do for you miss?”
Hickory looked around the small room. “Here on your own?”
He gave her a rueful smile. “Afraid so. If you’re looking to report a crime, you need to get in touch with the City Patrol. The nearest public video box is in Via Livorno.” He gestured in the general direction of the door. “They look after most of the policing these days. But if you want someone to talk to the kids about road safety, I’m your man.” He grinned broadly.
“I’m looking for information. There’s been some sort of incident on Via Domenichino.”
The smile left his face and he turned away. “I’m sorry, miss, I can’t help you. That’s City Patrol business. You need to speak to them.”
“My grandmother lives there, and I can’t find her. Her name is Maria Lucerne. Please, tell me what happened.” Intuitively, she knew he was being evasive. She used her empathic power to get the answers she needed. “She’s dead, isn’t she?” She saw the confirmation in his eyes.
He leaned over the counter, looked to one side and back, then whispered. “Look, I’m sorry for your loss, but if the black shirts think I’m stepping on their toes, I’m history. I can tell you, there was a disturbance, a protest march that got out of hand. Maria Lucerne was spotted on surveillance linking arms with some known agitators. When the black shirts went to the building to arrest them, she resisted.”
“So, they killed her.”
“Look, you didn’t get it from me, all right?” he called after her as she turned on her heels and headed for the door.
#
Cortherien drew the smoke from his Sobranie into his lungs with evident satisfaction. “No point in my giving up now. I’m far too old, even if this Warlord person goes away.” He leaned back in his armchair and studied Hickory. “Something has changed with you, Hickory. You look different.”
“I think escaping from the tropics for a few days is what does it.” Hickory and the old man had never been friends, although, she admitted to herself, that’s probably more down to me than him. She would never have imagined him as a confidant, but that’s what had transpired. He’d been keeping her across developments since she and the Mitanni had arrived on Earth.
“Hmm…funny, I had a feeling you wanted to get back there as soon as you can.” He raised one eyebrow.
A pink blush rose above her collar, but she kept her lips firmly closed. Business is one thing, personal matters quite another.
The Prefect sighed. “How are Aslexis and his people anyway? They’re far better off in the Australian bush than here. This city has become a madhouse. People see aliens and alien sympathizers on every street corner.” He waved the smoke from his face.
Hickory couldn’t prevent the bite in her voice. “What has the politburo done about it? Aren’t they the ones supposed to keep the people safe?”
“Merrik has become even more dictatorial since she assumed the presidency. Her police are everywhere. Honest citizens are having their assets confiscated and put in jail without trial. It’s a disgrace, but Merrik claims it’s necessary in current climes.” He dragged on his Sobranie and glanced at the antique clock on the wall. “Time to call the Admiral.” He dialed up the holoscreen.
The transmission from the Jabberwocky was fuzzy and at times pixilated, and the Admiral’s voice was intermittent. He turned and spoke to someone out of vision, and the picture improved.
“That’s the best we’ll get, hope you’re receiving okay, Prefect?”
“We hear you, Admiral. How is the battle going? We’re all praying for you down here—”
Hickory interrupted. “Admiral what can you tell us about the President-elect, is she alive?”
The Admiral looked startled. “What makes you ask a question like that, Captain?”
Cortherien stared at her, bewildered.
Hickory’s face clouded with anger. “Admiral, there’s no time to play games. You need to put your cards on the table; otherwise, I walk out of here now. If we’re all going to die, I’ve better ways to spend my last few days than sitting around here talking. In the last twenty-four hours, Angela Merrik attempted to subdue Kabutai, and she failed. Tell me what happened.”
The Admiral folded his arms and stared at her for a moment then stretched straight and swept his hair back from his forehead. “Okay. I don’t know how you could know, but you’re right. Angela Merrik is an empath of considerable power. She engaged the Warlord in some kind of mental joust but was overcome. She’s suffering from minor cerebral damage, but she’s survived and asks to meet with you.”
“Why does she want to talk to me?” Hickory felt it quite possible Merrik was responsible for the death of her grandmother. She may not have pulled the trigger, but her orders could have led to it. As far as Hickory was concerned, that put Merrik on a par with the Warlord in terms of their propensity for evil.
The Admiral’s eye twitched out of control. “The Bikashi have issued an ultimatum. They will wipe out Earth’s population unless we volunteer to do it for them.”
“God preserve us. What does that mean?” The residue from Cortherien’s cigarette lay perfectly formed on the ashtray.
“Exactly what I say. They will indiscriminately kill all but five million men, women, and children unless we agree to manage the process on their behalf.”
“The process of extermination,” said Hickory.
Cortherien looked from one to the other, his face ashen. “What—we become Gods to decide the fate of every person on Earth? We choose who lives and who dies? We can’t do that. It’s a horrific idea.”
The Admiral scratched at a sore on his arm, then balled his hands into fists. “I’d prefer a fight to the finish, but we have a responsibility to those who survive this holocaust. And the president—”
“Why does she want to see me?” Hickory persisted. She knew the answer but wanted to test the Admiral. The mental struggle between Merrik and Kabutai had been ferocious. The waves of pain and hatred they’d generated over control of the Sword was what had immobilized her while she’d waited for her plane in Melbourne. She felt small in the face of such power, then she remembered her grandmother. Strangely, the thought of revenge strengthened her.
“I told her you were the only human to have held the Sword of Connat sèra Hagar. I also told her you had fought two powerful aliens who wielded the Sword and beat them.”
True on the face of it, perhaps, but I also fled from Kabutai without so much as raising my own sword, such is the power of the Warlord.
The Admiral wore a wry grin. “I also told her you were the one person on Earth who might possibly defeat the Warlord, and that you are my daughter.”
#
Hickory took a few quick breaths and strode up the steps leading to the New World Government offices and negotiated the security protocols. The presidential suite was on the third floor, and her presence was recorded as she arrived at each level. Four City Police, armed with automatic weapons, stood guard outside the final doorway. They nodded and stood aside to let Hickory enter.
The large room was decorated with a blac
k and silver motif throughout. Minimalist paintings covered the walls from end to end, and a tempered glass desk with an inlaid chrome pattern sat in front of the windows overlooking the courtyard. Angela Merrik switched off her virtual screen and stood to greet Hickory.
The aura of power exuding from Merrik was daunting despite the president’s tiny figure. But Hickory also sensed flaws, scrapes, burns, and abrasions—all psychic wounds from her recent battle with the Warlord. The Admiral had said she was recovering, but it would be a slow process, and Merrik was unlikely ever again to reach the level of dynamism she’d once exhibited.
Long fair hair tied up in the style of a double Dutch braided topknot, and a cream business suit gave her a professional image. She extended long slender fingers to Hickory. “So, this is the woman who will save mankind.”
Hickory ignored the outstretched hand and waited until it was withdrawn.
Merrik raised an eyebrow, her dark eyes glittering in her pale face, and gestured toward a chaise lounge resting on a plush white carpet. “Here will be more comfortable.”
Merrik sat on a chair opposite Hickory, crossed her legs, and leaned closer to her. “Your father speaks highly of you. I sense you are an empath like myself.”
Hickory felt the attempt to engage her mind and raised her mental barriers. “No, Madam President. I make it a policy never to enter another’s brain. In my view, it’s an invasion of privacy and unnecessary anyway. In face-to-face communication with humans and other advanced species, I use my empathic sense to guide me, never to manipulate.”
“Isn’t that a waste of your gift? Think of what you could achieve if you used your empathic sense to its fullest extent.”
“Perhaps, but I do not seek power, only truth. I believe there’s no point in possessing power if it’s not used wisely and for the good of those weaker than you.”
“Ah, a ‘do-gooder.’ How quaint. But you are young still. You will come ’round to my way of thinking over time.”
“Is that the same way of thinking that kills old ladies who have a different viewpoint to your own?” She felt the anger rise uncontrollably, and let the sparks work to calm her.
Merrik frowned at her, then realization lit her eyes. “Maria Lucerne—you are related to her?”
“We were related. My grandmother died at the hands of your so-called City Patrol.”
“I’m sorry, I was told of the incident but didn’t put the two names together. There was a riot and I issued an order to arrest the perpetrators. Their leaders were hiding in a building on Via Domenichino. Satellite surveyance led us to believe they were building a bomb.
“We took the steps necessary to apprehend the terrorists and protect the public. Unfortunately, Maria Lucerne was in the room below and was killed when the terrorists detonated the bomb.” She leaned closer still. “But however sad this must be for you, and however much I regret the incident, we have a greater matter to deal with. You must not allow your feelings for your grandmother to cloud your thinking.”
Hickory wiped the moisture from her eyes, and stood, glaring at her. According to the local police, her grandmother’s death had been no accident, but was shot while resisting arrest. Despite the sympathetic overture, she didn’t trust Merrik. Something in her mind had been jolted out of place and now no longer fit well with the whole. “How did Kabutai seem to you?”
Merrik’s eyes clouded over. “He was…surprisingly lucid, given his torturous union with the Sword. His mind is still strong. He asked after you. Seemed to believe you and he had unfinished business.”
“The only dealings I will have with him is to watch as he destroys himself. The Sword is not meant for him.”
“Ah, yes, the fabled Segniori. But, are you certain they were the makers of the Sword of Connat? Perhaps they themselves were mere custodians, and the Sword was born in an even earlier time? I would pay you well for any information you can give me concerning the creation of the Sword.”
Hickory felt the subtle empathic suggestion and something else. Merrik’s mind was dark. Why would she be interested in the Segniori? The Warlord perhaps, but not her. She swallowed her bile and pushed away the hatred for the woman. “Tell me about your battle with Kabutai.”
Merrik shrugged. “I will not discuss it. It is a painful memory. Suffice to say the Warlord was too strong for me.”
Hickory stiffened. The vivid mental images present in Merrik’s mind had seeped through to hers and collided with her energy sparks. The sparks became excited and began transmitting those same images to the limbic portion of Hickory’s brain, the part responsible for her enhanced empathic capability.
Merrik’s simplistic conclusion was an attempt to divert her from the truth. The aftermath of the war remained with her. In combat with Kabutai, she had attempted to capture the Warlord’s mind by setting a trap with her own. Instead, she’d been ensnared, and the Warlord now controlled her. “You are in his service.” She stated it flatly, disappointed. Regardless of Merrik’s machinations, her nefarious intent and the murder of her grandmother, she was still the President of Earth. She had attempted to subdue the Warlord, not for any altruistic reason, but for personal gain and because of her own greed. Hickory felt like she would throw up. “What did he promise you?”
Merrik’s head drooped for a moment, then her eyes rose to meet hers. She smiled icily. “You would indeed make a formidable opponent, but no match for Kabutai. The Warlord’s power is too great. He cannot be defeated, but he invites you to join him as I have. You will be my deputy. Together we will govern Earth to his wishes, and he will reward us in ways you cannot imagine. He has shown me a vision of his future kingdom; Earth will become a garden once more. There will be order in all things.”
“You would be the architect who brings to life his dreams of turning Earth into a wasteland where the Bikashi hunt humanity and turn them into slaves of the Empire?”
Both women stood to face each other. Hickory could sense the sparks just below the fifth layer of her skin, prepared to protect her from an attack by the powerful empath.
Merrik dismissed her. “Very well, you may leave. Perhaps you will reconsider my offer when London burns and he turns his mind to New York.”
CHAPTER 29
Particles
Hickory woke with a fright and slammed shut the barriers to her mind. The energy sparks swirled to protect her. Kabutai. Almost immediately, she realized the intrusion was too faint for a direct attack by the Warlord and concentrated on identifying the source. Merrik. The president had attempted to infiltrate her dreams and gain control of her thought processes. She pushed back forcibly and heard an echoing cry of anguish fade into the distance. I guess she fears going back to her master empty-handed.
She showered and dressed, then called Aslexis to make sure he was safe.
“A Bikashi troop carrier flew overhead this morning. They circled for an hour before moving away. The tribe retreated inside the cave. I don’t think they spotted us.”
“They’ll keep searching. They know if they capture you guys, I’m vulnerable.” She told him of her grandmother’s death. “Please be careful. I don’t want to lose you too.”
“Look after yourself, Hickory. Love you.”
She disconnected, then called Gareth on her video chat. “Please tell me you have some good news.”
Gareth laughed. “Good news and bad news, I’m afraid. The good news is we are making progress. The bad news is I need to give you a short refresher in high energy physics, so you’ll understand what’s happened. You know modern particle physics research is focused on studying the behavior and composition of subatomic particles such as electrons, protons, and neutrons. Then, in the twentieth century, scientists discovered protons and neutrons were composed of smaller particles they called quarks. How am I going so far?”
“Yeah, I remember.”
“In the lab, particles are fired through accelerators creating collisions to produce elementary particles like photons, neutrinos, and muons, as
well as a wide range of exotics like tachyons that travel faster than light. However, the dynamics of particles is also governed by quantum mechanics in that they exhibit wave-particle duality. That is, they display particle-like behavior under certain experimental conditions and wave-like behavior in others. Until the turn of this century, all particles and their observed interactions could be described almost entirely by a quantum field theory called the Standard Model which has sixty-two elementary particles. Quarks can also combine to form composite particles, accounting for the hundreds of other species of particles discovered since the 1960s.”
“Okay, Gareth, where are you going with this?”
“Stick with me, almost there. Almost all the experimental tests conducted to date comply with the Standard Model, but not quite. Particle physicists now believe it is an incomplete description of nature and that a more fundamental theory called the Grand Unified Theory, leading to a Theory of Everything will be discovered soon.” He took a deep breath. “When bombarded by electrons, your black box produced seventy-two previously unknown exotic particles.” The excitement in his voice was unmistakable. He frowned at Hickory, disappointed she didn’t share his enthusiasm. “Come on, can’t you see it? Your energy sparks are not the key to unlocking the box, the box is the controlling engine for the energy sparks.”
Hickory’s mind whirled as she struggled to grasp what Gareth was telling her. “So, if we find out how to activate the Box, we can use it to enhance the functionality of the sparks, which—”
“Will increase their properties by any number of factors outside the bounds of known science.”
#
Gareth had been optimistic about his chances of solving the problem, muttering something about using PORO to help solve billions of complex number equations. They didn’t know what kind of functionality the box-enhanced sparks could usefully present, only that there would be countless options to explore. The energy sparks in her body were almost as excited as Gareth, which seemed a good sign.
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