As Above, So Below
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We stared down from the castle battlements.
‘What the hell has happened to the immune system!?’ I asked. ‘It seems to be so much more highly evolved and powerful.’
South smiled. ‘In fact it was I who nudged them in this new direction by encouraging their highest systems to become more directly involved in this ‘campaign’.’
‘Why?’
‘A SWISH receptive to the notion of negotiation would proceed more cautiously, give us more time – and I think we need it! Also, if Alex fails, the negotiations will become real, and I intend to save my neck, one way or another.’
I reflected on this. ‘Assuming that you and SWISH can work something out, where does that leave me?’ I felt perturbed by South’s shift of emphasis towards some kind of negotiated settlement. Did she secretly doubt Alex’s resolve, his determination to see this through, no matter what!?
‘You will remain bound by your locked-in syndrome.’
‘Oh, that’s great!’
South regarded me. ‘It might not be all that bad. When this is all over the immune system may want to call upon your services again.’
‘Really!? Don’t they have their own negotiators?’
South laughed. ‘No, it’s a new designation, I made it up. As I said, I thought the old brute needed a little finesse. A skilled negotiator would be a great asset. Their original intention was simply to break into this house, smash the antenna and isolate the component thalami, but now, even as we speak, the high command is discussing the possible benefits of retrieving the antenna intact. Naturally, they will require modifications – they will have to rid it of sentience first.’
‘i.e. – you.’
‘Precisely. The system is very interested in the outcome of these ‘negotiations’, talks they only assume are genuine, and when they are complete you will hand over an intact antenna, one that is free of awareness. The immune system will be most impressed!’
‘And this could happen? Even if you fail to secure Dai’s thalamus?’
‘I would have to vacate the antenna, and that is not impossible. The trick will lie in convincing SWISH that I can be trusted in my new home.’
‘Where would you move to?’
South drew back somewhat: ‘We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, but I have a few ideas...’
I pondered the notion of working for SWISH ...I couldn’t quite see it, somehow. ‘So, apart from dealing with you, just what would a “species-wide” immune system want with a negotiator? Come to think of it, what does a species-wide immune system actually do!?’
‘So many different things: combat disease–’
‘I thought regular immune systems did that.’
‘Yes, but sometimes they need help: for example, in the ongoing battle against influenza.’
‘Huh, seriously?’
‘Of course! Without intervention from a species-wide system that can relay and disseminate the various local immunity solutions, this virus and many other pathogens would gain the upper hand. It is the same for all species. Without it, multicellular life would just get devoured. It would never have evolved in the first place.’
I was sceptical. ‘Hmm, interesting, but surely the immune system won’t expect me to negotiate with a virus!’
‘It might, but it is more likely to require your assistance in controlling the spread of nuclear and chemical weapons, or perhaps in any dealings with ET.’
‘How the hell does the immune system control the spread of nuclear weapons!?’
‘It doesn’t. Not effectively, anyway, although it is making some progress here. It mainly relies on the unconscious form of telepathy that holds these dream spheres together, a cumbersome tool at the best of times. It needs more conscious human control to help focus their efforts, so you would be invaluable to them, in my opinion, as would be the antenna.’
‘Woof!’
South and I turned to regard Brock. He was wearing one of those leather flying caps and regarding my laptop intently.
‘He’s identified Dai’s geographical location!’ declared South with a beaming smile. Then turning to the dog: ‘Relay the information to Mr. Stanton. But be careful! We do not wish to alert SWISH and jeopardise the ceasefire.’
‘Woof.’
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