Birth of the Alliance

by Alex Albrinck

  “We’ll take care of her, Archie. But you’ll need to find your own shirt.”

  Archibald grinned weakly. He carried Eva to her assigned room and ensured she was sleeping comfortably on the bed. After a short trip to his own room to retrieve a fresh shirt, he returned to his post.

  Ashley smiled at him. Archibald blinked. “What? Did I do something?”

  Ashley lowered her eyes back to the desk, but her smile remained. “I liked your outfit better when you left.”

  Archibald blushed.

  ●●●

  Eva woke several hours later, uncertain as to where she was. She found a warm plate of food and, sensing no hostile Energy around, ate her fill. She was momentarily surprised to find blood on her clothing… and then she remembered Judith. Realization dawned. She’d made it to the green room, but had lost consciousness due to the immense expenditure of Energy required to complete the dual teleportation effort.

  That meant Judith should be here as well.

  Eva opened the door to the bathroom and found fresh clothing. A note near the clothing confirmed that Judith had arrived in time for life-saving surgery and blood transfusion. Relieved, she took a long, hot shower, donned the fresh clothing provided for her, and tossed the bloodied outfit into the trash chute. Refreshed and cleaned, she walked out, got directions to the hospital wing, and headed that way.

  The hospital wing was structured in a fashion similar to the teleportation wing, but on a large scale. Rooms for patients ringed a central hub area with a desk, where trained Alliance healers milled about.

  One of the healers looked up and spotted Eva, and a smile crossed her face. “Hello, Eva.”

  Eva nodded by way of greeting. "How is Judith?”

  “Alive, thanks to you. If you’d gotten her here even ten minutes later… I’m not sure we’d be making that statement.” She nodded toward a room to Eva's right. “She should be awake. Go on in.”

  Eva felt a wave of relief wash over her. She walked into Judith’s room and came to a sudden stop. Judith looked up with a weak smile. Her coloring had returned, she was clean, and her Energy levels were strong once more.

  But the lower portion of her right arm was gone.

  Judith noticed Eva’s stare. “It’s gone," she said simply. “It had been severed so completely that there was nothing they could do to save it.”

  “I wasn’t fast enough,” whispered Eva. “I should have gotten you here sooner. I—”

  “You saved my life.” Judith's voice was stern. “Do not start doubting yourself, Eva. I’m alive today because you did act quickly. You drained yourself to get me here, risking your life to save mine on a max teleport. They told me they’d never seen anyone that empty before. And the healers… they told me my arm was gone as soon as Athos’ sword cut through it.”

  Eva looked away. Knowing Judith was right and feeling she was right were two very different things. She’d wonder about what she could have done differently for a very long time.

  “I’m able to leave in a couple of hours and hop the next submarine back to the Cavern. Would you go with me? I’d like to have a familiar face with me when I arrive there with… well, you know.” She glanced down at the stub of her arm.

  Eva nodded. “Absolutely. Let me send a quick message to my team.”

  The conversation with the Squad that had been on location to rescue Judith was hurried and tearful. All were thrilled that Judith had survived, aghast that the amputation had been unsalvageable, and awed at Eva’s max teleport efforts. One of the Squad members told her the human television stations had reported a small earthquake where she’d teleported, and several trees had bent nearly forty-five degrees away from the impact point.

  Yet more reasons to avoid doing what she’d done except in extreme emergencies.

  “I’m escorting Judith back to the Cavern to help her get settled there, and then I’ll be back for our debriefing.”

  “We’ve got things under control here. Take your time.”

  The submarine was only partially filled, containing only three other passengers. They had returned at their planned times from long-term Outside missions, and had stowed numerous pieces of luggage within the storage bays. They couldn’t help but notice Judith's injury, and came over to offer their sympathies and words of encouragement. As one of the Firsts, Judith was known by all members of the Alliance, and held a special place of well-earned reverence. Judith accepted their words with thanks, but Eva could sense the discomfort the woman felt with her injury. In a society where perfect health and eternal youth were both the norm, a woman missing half her arm would stand out. While Eva doubted she’d be shunned or otherwise shamed through word or deed, excessive sympathy would be nearly as painful for the proud woman… and much harder to stop.

  The submarine berthed at the dock outside the tunnel, and the passengers aboard the submarine teleported to the shuttle pod waiting nearby. That short hop was a far less strenuous effort than Eva’s last teleportation effort, and it was a relief to exit the displacement at her desired location and remain conscious in the process. The five rode the remainder of the way to the Cavern in silence. Eva watched Judith, who looked out the clear walls of the pod, looking at the neon lighting of the tracks that had served Alliance members for centuries. A small waft of air pushed a lock of Judith’s hair to the side, and Eva saw the single tear rolling down the woman’s cheek.

  When the pod stopped, they waited until the other passengers left before teleporting to the sandy beach. Judith looked around, as if she’d never been to the Cavern before. Eva watched as Judith looked at the artificial rivers, felt the cool, fragrant breeze brush her skin. Eva wondered if the Cavern seemed different to Judith now, as foreign a place as the original near-empty cave would seem now to those looking at the Cavern today. Judith glanced at Eva, and they began the walk to Judith’s home.

  Will spotted them and walked briskly toward the two women. “Judith! I’ve been waiting for you!”

  Judith stopped. “Waiting for me? Why?” She tried to tuck the stump under her other arm.

  “I heard what happened.” Will’s face filled with concern; he knew injuries and deaths would happen in the natural course of events, and would happen even without the Hunters’ and Assassin’s efforts. Seeing his long-time friend maimed was a clear cause of pain for Will. “We’ve got something in the lab that I think you’ll want to see.” His face broke into a wide grin, and Judith felt his contagious enthusiasm.

  Judith shrugged. “I guess it can’t hurt to take a short detour.”

  The trio headed to the research labs dominating the rear third of the Cavern's space, and Will led them to a room near the back. Aaron stood waiting in the lab, and his face broke into a grim smile as Judith entered. “I’m glad to see you, Judith. When we heard happened… we feared we might never see you again.”

  Judith nodded once. “Thank you for your concern. I’ll… I’ll manage, I suppose.”

  Aaron nodded, and then grinned. “We’ve just completed testing a new process that I think you’ll appreciate.”

  Judith looked somewhat miffed, glancing down at her amputated limb. “Oh? Is it something I can do? Still?”

  Aaron nodded. “We’ve been able to clone human cells, and we’re able to regrow vital organs, repair skin lost to burns… and regrow limbs.”

  Judith stared at him. “Wait. You mean… I can get the rest of my arm back? And my hand?”

  Aaron nodded, and his contagious smile brought out similar looks of happiness on the faces of the two women. “That’s exactly what I mean. We have the technology to do that, and we finished testing it out just a week or so ago. I hoped we wouldn’t need to use it for a long time, but when word came in about what had happened, I realized we’d have a chance to use it to do some good right away.” He arched an eyebrow. “Interested?”

  Judith stared at him. “Are you kidding? How… when… what do I need to do?”

  Aaron gestured at a body-sized tube. “That container
analyzes your body structure to identify anything that might need repair, and will then ask to take key cell samples—totally painless, by the way—and then use the cell samples to build copies it uses to repair the injury. It will basically regrow your arm from the… current end point outward to your hand and fingers. It will use measurements from your other arm to ensure everything is the proper length, though the coding in your cellular DNA will explain the correct length to the machine even without that data.”

  Judith's eyes were wide, but it was not a look of fear this time. It was one of wonder.

  Eva spoke up. “How long does it take?”

  Aaron looked thoughtful. “I suspect it will take somewhere between four and six hours. It may take more time, but we don’t have a lot of usage yet to help us measure time. That’s a good thing, though. Anyway, if you need to get something to eat first, a book to read, or—”

  “I’m ready now,” Judith replied. And she stepped forward into the body pod, ensuring that her head, arms, and legs fit into the appropriate slots. The cover closed upon her, a clear glass that enabled her to see out… and for those in the room to see in.

  Flashing diagrams revealed the computer’s accurate diagnosis of Judith’s major injury, and after a gentle scraping of the skin near the point of the amputation, they were able to watch with deep fascination as the arm began to grow back, one fractional inch at a time.

  They saw Judith’s eyes widen and then her face broke out into a grin. “It tickles!”

  Will glanced at Eva. He knew the woman well enough to know she’d feel responsible about the loss of the limb. It was something Will himself would have felt in that circumstance. The look of genuine relief on her face was priceless.

  He was struck by a thought and turned his attention to Aaron. “So, what are the practical limitations of this technology?”

  “Meaning…”

  “Meaning… how much of someone’s body would you need to start with to make them whole? And how much could you regrow?”

  Aaron thought for a moment. “Right now? Judith’s injury is probably at the outer limits of our capability. Eventually, though, with the right catalog of base cells from a person, we could rebuild any part of them. Actually… we could rebuild all of them.”

  Will considered that. “All of them? Like… you could scrape a few cells and make a complete copy of them? Would the copy be exactly like the original? Same memories, same personality…”

  “I’m not sure,” Aaron admitted. “We’ve not considered taking it to that extreme, to be honest. We’re mostly interested in fixing situations like Judith’s. Is there actual interest in creating full copies of living people?”

  “I’m… not sure, not yet,” Will admitted. “But I have something coming up where that ability would be useful. If your schedule permits, could you look into testing it out?”

  Aaron nodded slowly. “I’ll see what I can do, but I don’t know how long it will take to get to that level of sophistication.” He paused for a moment. “If I may ask… what situation might you be in where you’d need copies of living people?”

  Will’s face was grim. “One where we’d need to fool people into believing they were seeing something they weren’t.”

  Aaron’s look of confusion failed to elicit any further elaboration on the topic from Will. Sensing he’d get nothing further, Aaron turned and joined Will and Eva in watching the miracle unfold before them. Judith’s arm would be as good as new in just a few hours.

  XXIII

  Insertion

  1982 A.D.

  For all of its successes, the Defense Squad had proved to be of limited long-term value. As Eva noted on a regular basis, the Squads stationed throughout the world had to win the battle every time. The Hunters only had to win once. If the Defense Squad won, the Hunters would try again. If the Hunters won? Their target was lost to them forever.

  Or were they?

  “What I’m saying is that their patterns of behavior before and after capture are standardized,” Adam said. “We should use that predictability against them. That’s the best way to make this work.” Adam folded his arms and glanced around the table, trying to ascertain the level of interest in his plan.

  “This would be exceptionally risky,” Will said.

  “But there’s quite a bit of merit to it, and much we’d all gain from a successful implementation,” Hope added, drumming her fingers on the table.

  “I suspect your father would have approved.” Eva’s face was expressionless as always, but Will thought he could detect a hint of pride in her voice at Adam’s idea.

  “Actually… my father was the inspiration of the idea,” Adam admitted.

  “Oh?” Will’s question was accompanied by his standard eyebrow arch.

  Adam nodded. “He was part of the Aliomenti’s deepest ranks of leadership, knew all of their secrets. That means he was probably always under suspicion: Tyrants like Arthur are always suspicious of anyone who’s free to roam around with that level of access. They fear that type of freedom. I suspect Arthur was even more suspicious of his upper echelon when he realized secrets were being leaked to us.” He glanced around the table. “That’s why I think they wouldn’t bother themselves about their prisoners. How could prisoners, locked up in those Energy-deprivation cells, find Aliomenti secrets and get them back to the Alliance? Or more to the point, how could some prisoners be responsible for the escapes of other prisoners?”

  “I don’t know if a lot of people would be willing to do this,” Will warned.

  “We don’t need many,” Adam replied. “As few as three to five people can make a huge impact. I’d spread them out so that they go in over the next few decades.”

  Silence descended upon the room as they considered Adam’s idea.

  Adam had proposed something radically different. They would intentionally draw the Hunters’ attention to specific members of the Alliance. Those individuals would be fitted with some of their latest technologies, and with that technological edge they’d be able to free many of the Alliance members who’d been long-term captives of the Aliomenti and uncover Aliomenti secrets and weaknesses.

  From inside Aliomenti Headquarters.

  "So… these volunteers… they’d remain prisoners of the Aliomenti forever?” Hope asked. “That’s an enormous sacrifice to ask of anyone.”

  Adam considered that. “That’s one of the advantages of planting someone of our choosing within their Headquarters and staggering when we send them out. When the second person goes, they’ll make it a priority to release their predecessor, as will each volunteer thereafter. Yes, they’ll be there for a number of years, but it won’t be the centuries some have already suffered through. Some of those long-term captives are especially well-loved here. We’ll probably have more volunteers than we can handle because it will mean the chance to free those held in bondage.”

  Eva frowned. “We still have the issue of the killing of humans. If we do this, I’m concerned that the breakouts and second defections will accelerate the intensity and frequency of Hunts.”

  Will nodded in agreement. “I find the idea of planting our people on the inside to initiate escapes appealing in and of itself, but would like to understand how we can address Eva’s concern. I’m also interested in the technology used to counter the restraints the Aliomenti have in place to imprison our people.”

  “As to the technology, our lab guys have been working on several of these items for quite some time. They’ve studied how scutarium works and have, of course, managed to create similar artificial effects in our labs; that's how we've had enough to line the inside of so many of our facilities and safe houses throughout the world, and how we’ve built clothing used to mask Energy outside those safe places. They’ve also managed to replicate the materials the Aliomenti use in their cells, a material which is a non-human version of what Aramis does.”

  “Aramis is human?” Hope quipped, eliciting chuckles around the table.

  Adam smiled. “I
n other words, we’re familiar with the approaches used to control Energy’s movement. We asked a different question: how could you use that knowledge to reverse the effects of any of those materials within a confined space? That is, if you were in the Cavern, how could you still leak Energy out?”

  “I hope we’ve not spent a lot of time testing that here," Will said.

  “We have, actually,” Adam replied, meeting Will’s gaze. Will frowned. “Understand, Will, that’s the best way to learn where the weaknesses in our system are found. Knowing how to break through the lining goes a long way to helping us find the weak spots and to shore those up. It’s a technological version of the Machiavelli quote about keeping your friends close but your enemies closer. We have to try to break our own defenses to prepare ourselves for what the Aliomenti are going to try to do if they ever find us. We don’t know that they’re aware of scutarium, for example, but eventually they’re going to realize that our people have an uncanny ability to ‘go dark’ on the Energy front. They’ll ask why. Perhaps it’s not a huge concern right now; they aren’t lacking for Alliance members who make mistakes and reveal themselves sufficiently to be Hunted. If that well runs dry, however, they will wonder. They will ask questions, especially of any Alliance prisoners. They will figure it out. It may not be today. It may take centuries. But at some point… well, it’s best to be prepared.”

  Will nodded slowly. “I’d never thought about that, but it’s something my company’s security expert always taught me as well. Think like your opponent, identify how they’ll try to break you, and then counter their action before they execute. I like the thinking. But… I’d advise setting up isolated test locations. We don’t want the Cavern, ports, or safe houses compromised.” He paused. “What were the other interesting questions asked?”

  “To the point of this conversation: if someone was caught inside one of those dampering prison cells, how could we counter the effects so that they could rebuild their Energy and escape? The scutarium is only effective on areas it covers, and since our people do need to breathe and eat, there will always be openings in a scutarium suit. That’s all it takes for a dampering cell to work. Which means…”