Aneka smiled and prepared herself to chat about Federation versus Old Earth culture. Well, it was better than politics.
Part Five: Quint
Yorkbridge Mid-town, New Earth, 22.12.524 FSC.
Yorkbridge was just as Aneka remembered it. It seemed like years since they had last walked through the streets of the city’s Mid-town district, but they were pleasantly familiar. Buildings stretched above them into the mist which seemed to pervade the middle levels. The population still looked like members of a cyberpunk dystopian street gang, but acted like model citizens. The brickwork was still grimy, the signs were still in Latin and Hani script giving a Chinatown feel to the place, and the underground trains were still too clean for the subway of a bustling city.
‘I have contacted the computer at the apartment,’ Al said as they rode the lift up from ground level. ‘Janna has already arrived there and is waiting. Should I inform her that we are on our way?’
‘Your mother is home,’ Aneka said aloud. ‘Want Al to let her know we’re coming?’
Ella shook her head. ‘She’ll be bouncing up and down on the doorstep if we do. We’ll keep the hugging and worrying inside.’
Aneka grinned. Ella loved her mother, more than a typical daughter in all probability. When Ella had lost her sight it had been Janna who had sacrificed everything short of her life to get them to New Earth and organise the operations needed to get her daughter back to a seeing, beautiful young woman. It was not that Ella felt indebted to Janna. It was more like Janna had demonstrated, very clearly, how much she loved Ella and it was hard not to return that love. That was especially true when you were someone like Ella. She was, however, well aware of her mother’s faults.
The lift opened and they walked out onto the upper level where their flat was. Below them the mist obscured the streets and it seemed that they were crossing a metal bridge above the clouds as they crossed from one side of a roadway to another and Ella opened the door to the block. Kat and Dillon, their neighbours, lived on the lower floor, but were nowhere to be seen. That suited Aneka who wanted to be inside and home more than anything. Up a flight of stairs and the apartment door opened, and there was a gasp from inside and then Ella had to drop her cases to catch Janna who was flying at her.
Mother and daughter looked almost identical at first glance. Janna had dark hair, almost black, instead of Ella’s red, and she had brown eyes. Janna’s features were a little harder and definitely more careworn than Ella’s. The most apparent difference was Janna’s chest; she was an exotic dancer, a good one, and she had more than a handful in the breast department while her daughter had inherited very little of that. But they both had the same sort of personality. What Janna was thinking tended to be written on her face and right now that was incredible joy mixed with relief.
‘I was so worried about you,’ Janna said, not letting go of her daughter. ‘Both of you. It was all over the news, and I contacted the university and the Administration, and then there was no word at all…’
‘We’re fine, Mom,’ Ella said. ‘Really we are.’
‘Well, yes… Now you’re fine, but…’
‘Nothing bad happened, not really. I wasn’t even injured when the ship was taken and… our hosts were really nice. It was almost like a holiday. Could you let go so I can breathe?’
Giggling, Janna freed her daughter and picked up her bags. ‘Don’t think you’re getting away without a hug, Aneka,’ she said as she started for the bedroom. ‘I’m dropping these off first though. I started some coffee brewing about five minutes ago, it should be fresh and after that press conference I expect you’ll need some.’ The dancer strutted away, her behind clad in a pair of very short shorts swinging as she went. Her top was a draped flurry of golden cloth kept attached to her by a string, which was the only thing keeping her back from nudity.
The conference had been a success as far as the Administration was concerned. They had got over the basic story they wanted to push. The Xinti were gone, extinct, but a group of AIs originally created by Xinti scientists were seeking to make contact and open diplomatic channels. The assembled media had gone nuts, of course, and Aneka had had to fend off the brunt of the questions. The more serious media channels were interested in the technological and social changes such a meeting of races might cause, but the angle most of the reporters were interested in was the personal one. Aneka had been kidnapped by Xinti and now found herself at the head of a diplomatic delegation for them.
Aneka dumped her own bag and headed for the kitchen, not worrying about being neat. The bag thudded heavily as it hit the floor; Aneka’s guns had been transferred out of the trunk and into a large, heavy-duty Bi-weave carryall. She was either going to have to hide them, or hope that Janna was moderately open-minded about enormous guns.
‘I’m sure Janna has no problems with enormous guns,’ Al commented dryly. ‘Yours, while not enormous, are certainly shapely and I’m sure she likes them.’
‘Your slang dictionary is up to spec then,’ Aneka replied, heading for the small kitchen area to get coffee into her hands before Janna reappeared.
‘I must say,’ Janna said as she stalked out of the bedroom on her six-inch stiletto heels, ‘I was a little surprised to hear you defending Xinti, Aneka. I expected you to be their worst enemy…’
‘They aren’t actually Xinti, Janna,’ Aneka interrupted. ‘They’re artificial intelligences. They were originally created by the Xinti, but they aren’t quite the same… Want to meet one?’
Halfway across the broad lounge to where Aneka had not quite managed to get coffee into a mug, Janna stopped, her eyes widening. ‘There’s one here?!’
‘Kind of,’ Ella supplied. She looked over at Aneka. ‘We should check in with her. I think she gets kind of lonesome.’
‘Yeah… Computer, initiate connection to the FScV Garnet Hyde with my identity code and a grade-four encryption algorithm.’
The walls of the room, which had been displaying a slowly shifting geometric pattern, rippled and the beach scene Ella favoured as a backdrop replaced it. The soft rushing sound of waves on a stony beach came from the speakers, followed by Aggy’s voice. ‘Oh this is really quite a nice environment, Ella. I approve. I hope you don’t mind me using it.’ Her golden figure appeared to walk up from the ‘beach’ to the edge of the room and she gave them all a smile, ignoring the fact that Janna’s mouth was hanging open.
‘Aggy,’ Ella said, ‘this is my mother, Janna. Mom, this is Aggy. She was the computer on the ship that took Aneka from Old Earth, the Agroa Gar, and now she’s the ship’s computer aboard the Garnet Hyde. She’s a Xinti-built AI.’
Janna mustered her stage skills and closed her mouth. ‘Uh, hello Aggy. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.’
‘Thank you, Miss Narrows.’
‘Janna, otherwise it gets very confusing. I… don’t believe I’ve ever met an AI before, never mind one built by the Xinti.’
‘I understand that Jenlay are often wary of volitional artificial intelligences,’ Aggy said. ‘I assure you that I am quite safe.’ Her face shifted into a grin. ‘Currently I am several thousand miles away and here only as a virtual reality construct.’
‘Aggy has impressed both our pilots with her handling of the Garnet Hyde,’ Aneka put in. ‘The rest of the team have come to rely on her as a personal assistant. And she’s pretty good company.’
‘In that case,’ Janna said, ‘would you like to join me in the kitchen? I got some food in and I was going to cook for these two. They can relax and decide what they can tell me while we chat.’
Ella giggled. ‘Just remember, Mom, she’s only an image.’
Janna started towards the kitchen, Aggy walking around the wall to meet her. ‘Yes, but what an image.’
23.12.524 FSC.
Janna had been very good the night before, probably because her daughter had been missing for so long and the worry had not subsided. When Aneka found her puttering around the kitchen in the morning wea
ring a G-string and high heels, the look she got suggested that Janna had recovered. Thankful she had thought to put a wrap on, Aneka headed in to get coffee.
‘Ella still asleep?’ Janna asked.
‘Uh-huh, and she’ll probably wake up feeling worse for wear.’
‘She has a terrible head for alcohol.’ Janna giggled. ‘But she does have amazing taste in women.’
‘Thank you.’
‘She’ll probably be out for another hour at least.’
‘Possibly, yes.’ Aneka could see where the woman’s mind was going. It had to be Janna’s biggest flaw; if Ella viewed sex as a recreation it was because Janna had taught her that. She saw nothing wrong with bedding her daughter’s partners, the female ones anyway, and she did not seem to like taking no for an answer.
‘We could take a shower…’
Aneka sighed. ‘Janna… You’re gorgeous, sexy. I’ve seen you dance so I know you’re, uh, very flexible. It’s just that you’re Ella’s mother. I know that hasn’t bothered her other girlfriends, but I’m not from this culture. I don’t see it that way.’ She paused, not sure whether she should continue, but… ‘And I don’t think Ella really wants you bedding her partners either. She would never say anything to you. She loves you, and she’ll keep loving you no matter what you do, but she doesn’t like it.’ She took a nervous sip of her coffee and looked up at the dark-haired woman who looked so much like Ella.
There was not even a hint of embarrassment, no shame. Janna took a drink from her own coffee mug, and then said, ‘I have waited about fifty years for someone to say that to me.’
Aneka blinked. ‘Sorry?’
‘It started with a girl called Arabella. Ella brought her to see me and the vacuous bitch couldn’t keep her eyes off my tits. I thought, “If Ella sticks with her, the bimbo will be cheating on her constantly,” so I asked Arabella to go to bed with me and she jumped at the chance. They broke up. Not immediately, but soon after. Ella found her in bed with another student. After that I’ve propositioned every girl she’s picked up waiting for just one of them to say no.’ She reached forward, her hand stroking over Aneka’s cheek. ‘Vashma but she lucked out with you. Not only do you turn me down, but you have the guts to tell me what I’m doing is wrong. And you’re the first one in two decades I’d actually have liked to have said yes.’
Aneka opened her mouth, then closed it, and then she said, ‘From what Ella says, I’m missing out on an experience, but I’d be feeling guilty the entire time.’
Janna lowered her voice. ‘You know how her friends Kat and Dillon are always filming their exploits? I saw one of those. She doesn’t know, so not a word. You aren’t missing out on a damn thing, hon. Don’t you tell her I said so or I’ll have to deny it.’
Aneka laughed. ‘Not a word.’
There was a groan from the bedroom doorway. ‘What’s funny?’ Ella groaned. ‘And why does it have to be so loud?’
‘Janna was just telling me funny stories about you as a kid,’ Aneka lied.
‘Oh, not the ice cream sandwich?’
‘Oh yes,’ Aneka replied, grinning. She looked at Janna. ‘I’ll get the painkillers if you pour her some coffee.’
‘Of course,’ Janna replied, ‘and then we can have a nice fried breakfast.’
Ella let out a groan loud enough to make her head hurt.
Tristar Township, 24.12.524 FSC.
Gillian Gilroy lived in what Aneka thought of as a gated community on the south-west side of Yorkbridge. It was a subway ride and a walk from Mid-town, and Aneka was glad she did not have to carry much. Her carryall was now stuffed with the presents that had been bought the day before, the costumes she had made for herself and Ella, and her two new machine pistols. She was not actually expecting to need the last two additions to the list, but she also believed that it was better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them.
It was almost dark when they arrived at the low building with its perfectly manicured lawn, and Monkey, Delta, and Bashford were already there. Gillian met them at the door wearing an iridescent, blue gown which hung from her left shoulder loosely enough that it threatened to reveal her right breast whenever she moved, and was split from the right hip all the way down. She smiled brightly at the three women on her doorstep. ‘Welcome. You must be Janna, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you. Come in, all of you. The others should be here soon.’
Aneka walked in behind Ella and her mother. This was not going to be a family Christmas like the ones she had had on Old Earth, that was for sure. There was going to be plenty of drinking, that was also for sure. The following day she was going to cook a meal for anyone still around, though that was not exactly going to be a Christmas dinner in the form she remembered. They had decided to hand out presents just after midnight, and it had been arranged a little more like a ‘Secret Santa’ system since buying gifts for everyone would have been hard to arrange in the time they had. She was pretty sure that there was going to be infinitely more sex at this party as well; drink and Jenlay tended to lead inexorably towards copulation of one form or another. Despite all that, it was going to be a party, at Christmas, and she was going to enjoy it and avoid the melancholy that had afflicted her the year before.
Monkey and Delta were in the hot tub at the back of the house, and Delta went quite pink at being introduced to Ella’s mother while naked. Quite why Aneka could not understand since Janna, who had had to buy a suitable dress for the party, was clad in an indecently short tube of silver fishnet and ridiculously high, silver heels.
Half an hour later everyone else had arrived: first Drake and Shannon, then Wallace, and finally Cassandra. Janna, who worked in the sex industry if New Earth could be said to have one, had obviously seen a fair number of Eroticon androids and was a little surprised when one turned up to the party. She was also adept enough at reading people to realise very quickly that Cassandra was not typical of her model.
‘Another AI,’ Janna said once the introductions were made. ‘I go my whole life without meeting one and then I get two in a week.’
‘She met Aggy when we got home,’ Aneka explained.
Cassandra nodded. ‘I am a little different. She was designed, I’m emergent. I woke up by accident, if you will.’
‘Oh,’ Janna said as though this made all the difference, ‘then you’re really no different from a Jenlay. Most Jenlay don’t ever wake up so you’re actually better.’
After that the party got underway properly. Gillian had set up the wall screen in the lounge to play various non-stop videos. Mostly they were the ludicrous sex comedies so popular as entertainment these days, but there were a few sitcoms from one of the channels which specialised in something different. Most importantly for Aneka, Bashford had brought several crates of the beer he brewed. Beer which actually tasted like beer. The only people who would drink it were Aneka and him, so they had it all to themselves, or that was the theory. Janna tried some, declared that it was ‘interesting,’ and then helped consume it. There was still plenty to go around. Ella was sitting in the lounge watching TV and giggling at everything after two glasses of wine.
At some point Aneka found herself sitting out on the patio with Drake. Monkey and Delta were back in the hot tub nearby, but paying them no attention at all. Drake was amused, but not making any comments.
‘You’re on your own,’ Aneka said.
‘I lent Shannon out to Janna,’ Drake replied. ‘I’d join in, but I recall that she’s not into men.’
‘Ella thinks it’s something to do with how she got the money to get the two of them off Harriamon and pay the medical bills.’
‘She’s a remarkable woman.’
‘She is. Less of a ditz than I first gave her credit for too.’ Drake looked across at her, an eyebrow rising. ‘Ditz is… scatter-brained.’
‘Ah. Good word. Have you had any trouble with reporters?’
‘No, none. I know Aggy’s been monitoring the news channels. She hasn’t repor
ted anything aside from rehashes of the stuff we presented at the press conference.’
‘Shannon was approached by someone claiming to be from Consolidated Federal. Said she would pay well for detailed information.’
Aneka frowned. Consolidated Federal Media was probably the largest media company in the Federation. Very well respected. ‘That seems unlikely. Surely they wouldn’t risk a ban.’
‘That’s what we thought. Turns out they’ve never heard of this woman. I ran it past Federal Security and they say no one called Patrice Bogary is currently on New Earth. The only person they could find of that name died six months ago on Lerada Three.’
‘Fake identity,’ Aneka mused. ‘Some other agency making sure they couldn’t be traced?’
‘That’s what the FSA thinks.’
‘What did she look like?’
‘Ah well, that’s another thing. The best description Shannon could give was tall, very attractive, and blonde. That’s not much to go on.’
‘Shannon’s normally more observant than that.’
‘Yes, she is. But if you see or are approached by someone like that, make sure you get a good picture of her stored in that photographic memory of yours.’
‘I can’t really avoid it.’
‘Huh.’ He gave her a grin. ‘Enough serious gopi. This is a party and that gate guard isn’t letting any reporters in to bother us. I don’t think I’m nearly drunk enough anyway.’ He got to his feet and headed for the house.
Aneka stayed where she was, leaning back in her chair to look up at the sky. There was next to no light pollution in Yorkbridge and there were no clouds. The stars shone bright in the black above her, flickering slightly due to atmospheric distortion. Even this close to midnight it was still warm; New Earth tended to have an average temperature close to tropical Old Earth, and very stable weather since there were no moons. It was a beautiful night, though not very much like Christmas in England.
The Cold Steel Mind Page 26
