The Swarm

by Frank Schätzing

  'Leon's a good friend. He'll manage.'

  Weaver nodded and looked at him enquiringly. She'd realised that this was a non-conversation. 'Are you all right?' she asked.

  'Fine.' Johanson took her by the arm. 'I've just had the most amazing idea about what we're going to say in this big new message. Fancy a stroll on the roof?'

  'Well, actually, I was-'

  'It'll only take ten minutes. I just want to hear what you think. Seems like I've been shut inside for days. I need some fresh air.'

  'Are you sure you'll be warm enough?'

  Johanson glanced down. He was wearing a sweater and jeans. His thick down jacket was in the lab. 'I'm toughening myself up,' he said.

  'Any particular reason?'

  'Stops you getting flu. Keeps you young. Helps you deal with stupid questions.' He was raising his voice. Go easy, he told himself 'Listen, I have to talk to someone about it. It was your computer program that made me think of it. But it doesn't seem right to discuss it on the ramp. Won't you come outside?'

  'Well, in that case, sure.'

  They walked up through the tunnel and into the island. Johanson had to make a real effort not to keep checking for hidden cameras and bugs. He knew he wouldn't spot them anyway. Instead he said brightly, 'Jude's right, of course. We mustn't be overhasty. I reckon we'll need at least a couple of days to figure it out, but what I was thinking was…'

  And so he went on. He kept producing intelligent-sounding nonsense, all the while pushing Weaver gently out of the island and into the open. Gesticulating expansively, he strode out in front of her until he came to one of the helicopter landing points on the starboard side of the vessel. It was colder and windier than usual. A veil of mist had descended on the ocean, and the swell had increased. The waves rolled beneath them like primitive mammals, grey and sluggish, exhaling a dank salty vapour into the air. Johanson was cold, but an inner fury seemed to warm him.

  'Sigur,' said Weaver, 'I don't know what you mean.'

  Johanson turned his face into the wind. 'That makes two of us. Look, I don't suppose they can hear us out here – you'd have to go to extraordinary lengths to eavesdrop on the flight deck.'

  Weaver peered at him in confusion. 'What are you talking about?'

  I've got my memory back, Karen. I know what happened the night before last.'

  'Have you found the door?'

  'No. But I can guarantee it's there.'

  He outlined what had happened. Weaver listened to him intently. Her expression didn't flicker. 'So you're saying we've got a fifth column on board.'

  'Yes.'

  'But what would be the point?'

  'Remember what Jude said? We mustn't be too hasty. Think about it! You, Leon, Sam, Murray, me, Sue – and Mick, I suppose – we've all been working flat out to furnish them with a description of the yrr. OK, maybe we're kidding ourselves, maybe we've got it wrong – but on balance it doesn't seem likely. In fact, all the evidence suggests that we're right in our assumptions about what kind of intelligence we're dealing with and how it works. So why, after we've worked day and night are we supposed to slow down?'

  'Because they don't need us any more,' Weaver said flatly. 'Because Mick's already working on it with another bunch of people in a different lab.'

  'We're only here to supply the information.' Johanson nodded. 'We've served our purpose.'

  'But I don't get it.' What project could Mick be working on that doesn't fit with ours? I mean, we don't have much choice – our only option is to try to make peace with the yrr. What else could he be aiming for?'

  'Evidently there's a rival initiative, and Mick's playing a double game. But you can bet he's not in charge.'

  'Who is, then?'

  'Jude.'

  'You were suspicious of her from the start, huh?'

  'The feeling was mutual. I think we both realised early on that we're not the sort to be taken for a ride. There was always something not quite right about her – but I couldn't think of a single good reason for not believing what she said.'

  'So what now?' asked Weaver.

  'I've had time to clear my mind,' said Johanson, hugging his chest to keep warm. 'Jude's going to see us standing here. She's bound to be keeping tabs on me. She won't know for sure what we're talking about, but she'll be aware of the possibility that my memory might return. She's running out of time. That speech this morning was to get us off her back. If she's got her own plan of action, she's got to strike now.'

  'In other words, we need to find out what they're up to as soon as we can.' Weaver thought for a second. 'Why don't we mobilise the others?'

  'It's too risky. She'd notice straight away. The whole ship is bound to be crawling with bugs. They'd lock us up and throw away the key. No, if there's a way of pushing her into a corner, I intend to find it. I want to know what's going on here, and for that I'll need your help.'

  'What do you want me to do?'

  'Find Rubin and get him to talk, while I deal with Jude.'

  'Any idea where he might be?'

  'I expect he's in that shady lab of his. At least I know where it is now, but don't ask me how you get there. We'll have to hope he's kicking around somewhere else on the boat.' Johanson sighed. 'It all sounds like something out of a bad film, doesn't it? Most likely I'm the one who's cracking up. If it turns out that I'm paranoid, I'll have plenty of time later to eat my words. Right now, I mean to find out what's going on.'

  'You're not paranoid, Sigur.'

  Johanson gave her a grateful smile. 'Let's go back in.'

  Walking through the island and down the ramp, they kept up a steady stream of soundbites about message encryption and peaceful dialogue. 'Well, I'm off to see Leon,' said Weaver. 'I can't wait to hear what he says. After lunch we'll get started on that program. Who knows? We may even have it running by this afternoon.'

  'Excellent,' said Johanson. I'll catch you later.' He watched Weaver disappear, then climbed down a companionway to 02 LEVEL and went into the CIC, where Crowe and Shankar were sitting at their computers. 'What are you two up to?' he asked.

  'Thinking,' said Crowe, from inside her usual cloud of smoke. 'Any progress with the pheromone?'

  'Sue's in the process of synthesising the next batch. We must have about two dozen ampoules by now.'

  'Then you're doing better than we are. We're starting to lose our faith in math. Maybe it isn't the path to salvation.' Shankar gave a wry grin. 'Besides, their arithmetic seems better than ours.'

  'Any other ideas?'

  'Emotion.' Crowe expelled the smoke through her nostrils. 'Weird, huh? Trying to appeal to the yrr's feelings – after all we know about them. But if yrr-emotion is based on biochemistry…'

  'Like human emotion,' Shankar chipped in.

  '. . . then the pheromone might be able to help us. Thank you, Murray. I don't need to be told that love is merely chemistry.'

  'Felt any chemical attraction lately, Sigur?' said Shankar, idly.

  'Right now I've got enough sparks flying of my own. You haven't seen Jude, have you?'

  'She was in the LFOC just now,' said Crowe.

  'Thanks.'

  'Oh, and Mick was looking for you.'

  'Mick?'

  'He and Li were chatting, and then he said something about heading down to the lab. He left a few minutes ago.'

  'Oh, good,' he said. 'He can help us synthesise the pheromone, provided he doesn't get any more migraines, poor guy.'

  'He should take up smoking,' said Crowe. 'It's great for headaches.'

  Johanson grinned and walked over to the LFOC. Most of the electronic data had been diverted there so that Crowe and Shankar were not distracted in the CIC. Low rustling noises, then the occasional click or whistle came from the speakers. The silhouette of a dolphin passed over one of the screens. Greywolf had evidently released the fleet again.

  No sign of Li, Peak or Vanderbilt. Johanson checked out the JIC. It was empty, as were the other control and command rooms. He debated whether to lo
ok in the officers' mess, but he'd probably only find soldiers or some of Vanderbilt's agents. Li might be in the gym or her cabin. He didn't have time to search the whole vessel.

  If Rubin was on his way to the lab, Weaver would flush him out. He had to speak to Li first.

  Fine, he thought. If I can't find you, you'll have to find me. He made his way unhurriedly to his cabin, went in and positioned himself in the middle of the room.

  'Hello, Jude,' he said.

  He wondered where the cameras and mikes were hidden.

  'You'll never guess what I just remembered. There's an extra lab above the main one. Rubin likes to go there when he's suffering from his migraines. Maybe you could tell me what he does there. Apart from beating up his colleagues.'

  His eyes swept over the furniture, the lamps, the TV set…

  'I guessed you're weren't going to volunteer the information, so I took a few precautions. If you're not careful, I'll tell the rest of the team what I've remembered, and there'll be nothing you can do.' That was laying it on a bit thick, but he needed to grab her attention. 'Is that what you want, Jude? Or how about you, Sal? Oh, sorry, Jack, I'd almost forgotten you were there. Any views?'

  He took slow, deliberate paces round the room. 'I can wait, you know. The question is, can you? I doubt it.' He shrugged. 'Of course, we could always keep the whole thing quiet. Maybe your intentions are honourable and that's why you've got Rubin working in a ghost lab. I'd love to know that it's all in the interests of international security. But I don't take too kindly to being knocked out. You understand that, don't you, Jude?'

  What if Li couldn't care less? She might not even be listening.

  Oh, she was listening to him, all right. He knew she was.

  Jude, you treated Mick to his very own deep-sea simulation chamber. I know it's smaller than the main one, but I can't help wondering what he's doing with it that he couldn't do with ours. I hope you haven't joined forces with the yrr behind our backs. I'm sorry, but you're going to have to help me make sense of this, because to tell you the truth I-'

  'Dr Johanson.'

  He spun around. Peak's tall frame filled the open door.

  'Well, what a surprise,' Johanson said softly. 'Good old Sal. Can I offer you a cup of tea?'

  'Jude wants to speak to you.'

  'Oh, really?' The corners of Johanson's mouth twitched. 'I wonder what she wants.'

  WEAVER

  Oliviera was leaving the containment facility with a metal carry-case in her hand when Weaver walked in. 'Have you seen Mick?'

  'Nope, just pheromones.' Oliviera lifted the case for her to see. It was an open-sided wire cage with racks for samples. Row upon row of glass tubes containing a colourless fluid were lined up inside. 'He called here earlier, though, and threatened to come down. I should think he'll be here any moment.'

  'Yrr-scent?' asked Weaver, indicating the test-tubes.

  'Yes – we'll be sprinkling a few drops of it into the tank this afternoon. Who knows? Maybe we'll persuade those cells to aggregate. If so, our theory will be gospel, so to speak.' Oliviera glanced around the lab. 'You haven't seen Sigur, have you?'

  'I was just chatting to him on the flight deck. He's had some interesting ideas about the next message. It should make life easier for Sam. Anyway, I'll come back later.'

  'No problem.'

  Weaver considered. She could take a look round the hangar deck, but if Johanson's suspicions were right, she would only draw attention to herself. Besides, the forbidden door was scarcely going to open while she was snooping around outside.

  She continued down the tunnel to the well deck.

  The basin was almost full, the remaining technicians from Roscovitz's team supervising the process. She spotted Greywolf and Anawak in the water.

  'Have you let the dolphins out?' she called.

  Anawak hauled himself out. 'Yes.' He walked over to her. 'What've you been up to?'

  'Not much. I think we're all trying to gather our thoughts.'

  'We could do that together, if you like,' he said softly.

  She met his gaze and realised just how much she wanted to throw her arms round him. To forget the whole awful business and do what should have been done a long time ago.

  But none of them could escape the situation. And there was Greywolf, who'd lost Licia…

  She gave a fleeting smile.

  03 LEVEL

  Peak and Johanson made their way up through the vessel, cut across part of the hospital and went down a passageway. They turned off to the side, and came to a door.

  'What do you call this place, anyway?' asked Johanson, as Peak's fingers darted over the keypad. It made an electronic beeping noise, then the door swung open. The passageway continued on the other side.

  'That's the CIC overhead,' said Peak.

  Johanson tried to get his bearings. It was difficult to picture the layout of the vessel. If the CIC was above them, the secret lab was probably underneath.

  They stopped in front of a second door. This time Peak had to scan his retina before they were allowed in. Johanson stepped into a room almost identical to the CIC, even down to its electronic hum. There was a low murmur of voices. At least a dozen people were at work. Monitors lined the walls, showing satellite images and footage from cameras – sections of the vehicle ramp, Buchanan and Anderson in the bridge, the flight and hangar decks. Johanson also spotted Crowe and Shankar in the CIC, Weaver talking to Anawak and Greywolf in the well deck, and Oliviera working in the lab. Additional monitors showed the insides of all the cabins, including his, the camera mounted above the door. He must have given them some great footage, delivering his monologue from the centre of the room.

  Li and Vanderbilt were sitting at a large table lit from below. The commander-in-chief stood up.

  'Hello, Jude,' Johanson said cheerily. 'Nice place you've got here.'

  'Sigur.' She smiled back. 'We owe you an apology.'

  'Oh, don't mention it.' Johanson marvelled at his surroundings. 'I must say, I'm impressed. I guess all good things come in twos.'

  'I can show you the schematics if you like.'

  'I'd settle for an explanation.'

  'And you shall have one.' Li did her best to look sheepish. 'But, first, let me assure you of how deeply sorry I am about the incident that led you here. Rubin should never have hit you.'

  'I'm not interested in what he did. What's he doing now? What's he up to in that lab?'

  'He's looking for a toxin,' said Vanderbilt.

  'For a…'Johanson swallowed. 'A toxin?'

  'Come on, Sigur.' Li wrung her hands. 'We couldn't rely on resolving this peacefully. I know how terrible this must sound – as if we've been operating behind your back and abusing your trust, but… well, we didn't want to push you in the wrong direction. To learn more about the yrr, it was imperative to get you working on a peaceful solution. And you've all done well. But you'd never have made such headway if we'd told you we were developing a weapon.'

  'What weapon?'

  'War and peace are two different ballgames. If you're working towards peace, it doesn't do to be thinking of war. Mick's exploring the alternative to peace – with the help of your research, of course.'

  'He's developing a toxin to kill them?'

  'Would you rather we'd commissioned you to do it?' said Vanderbilt.

  'Now, look here,' said Johanson, 'our brief was to make contact. To persuade them to halt the attack. Not to destroy them.'

  'You're a dreamer,' Vanderbilt said contemptuously.

  'But we can do it, Jack. For God's sake, we can…'Johanson was dismayed.

  'You can, can you? How?'

  'We've learned so much in so little time. There's bound to be a way.'

  'And if there isn't?'

  'We could have discussed it together. I thought we were a team.'

  'Sigur.' Li looked serious. 'There's no clear provision for what we're doing in the UN resolution. I'm well aware that we're supposed to be making contact – and t
hat's what we're trying to do. On the other hand, I don't think we'd cause anyone much heartache if we wiped out the enemy. Don't you think it's an option we need to consider?'

  Johanson stared at her. 'Well, yes – but why the charade?'

  'Because high command doesn't trust you,' said Li. 'You might make a fuss. People get their ideas about scientists from the movies. They think scientists are intent on protecting and studying other life-forms, even if they turn out to be evil and dangerous…'

  'The movies? The kind where the army blows up everything in sight?'

  'That proves our point,' said Vanderbilt. He ran his hand over his belly.

  'Please be reasonable, Sigur…'

  'You're telling me that you went to all this trouble just because you thought we'd react like characters in a film?'

  'No,' said Li, firmly. 'Of course not. It was a question of focusing your attention on finding out about the yrr and making contact.'

  Johanson's hand swept round the room, taking in the banks of monitors.

  'So why are you spying on us?'

  'Rubin made a mistake that night,' Li said insistently. 'He had no right to hit you. Our surveillance systems are here for your safety. We kept the military side of the mission secret because we didn't want to unsettle the rest of the team and distract you from your work.'

  'And what exactly is the purpose of our work?' Johanson was almost touching Li, staring into her eyes. 'To make peace – or be duped into providing you with all the necessary information to launch a military offensive that you've been planning from the start?'

  'We had to keep both options open.'

  'How far has Mick got with the military one?'

  'He's had a few ideas that seem promising, but nothing concrete.' Li took a deep breath. 'I'd like to ask you in the interests of international security not to tell any of the others what you've heard. Give us time to tell them ourselves. It would be wrong to jeopardise their work when billions of people are depending on it. Soon we'll be able to cooperate as one team on both options. You've achieved the seemingly impossible – you've given our enemy a face. Once the message is ready, there'll be no more need for secrecy. And when we start working together on a weapon, we'll do so in the hope that we'll never have to-'