The farmer went rolling onto the gravel. He groaned and tried to get up, then slumped back down.
"That's right," A gray-haired woman in an apron dusted her hands, scowling at him. "You want to drink here? You learn how to behave."
The farmer swore, got to his feet, and limped away. In the open verandah tea house, men turned back to their drinks and dice.
Meng and Suyin exchanged looks. The short old lady shifted her scowl to Suyin.
"Hello Arzu," Suyin smiled broadly.
"Hmph! You again," The old lady turned and went back inside.
"Are you sure about this?" asked Meng.
"Of course. Let’s have some tea."
They sat down at an open table. People stared at them, none of their expressions were friendly.
"It doesn't smell like anyone’s having tea," said Meng.
"It's not tea that she brews."
The old lady returned with a pitcher and two, chipped, tea cups. She poured them each half a cup. Meng sniffed his and almost gagged.
"Too strong for you?" Arzu asked.
"No, no, just - unexpected."
She smiled with brown peg teeth.
"Won't the Constabulary shut you down?" asked Suyin sipping from her own cup. They spoke in Mandarin and drew more stares.
"Three times," she held up the fingers. "Always, I build a new still. I can always find the parts: some copper tubing, a plastic barrel, a buried line I can tap for power. Everyone wants to drink. Even some constables - they pretend not to know me whenever anyone else is around."
"You are operating openly," said Meng. "Have you set up an arrangement with the constabulary?"
"No," she shook her covered head. "They’ve given up. And if they shut me down, I will just start again, like I always do. Like in Xinjiang."
"You ran a still in Xinjiang?" asked Suyin. "I didn't know that."
"Once. It needed too much water, and I could not afford the bribes. It was better than farming though. You always had to start again in Xinjiang."
"You were a farmer?" asked Meng, the 'tea' was growing on him.
She shook her head this way and that. "I was whatever I needed to be. I worked on my parents’ field till the desert took it. Then my husband's field until the desert took that. Then some potatoes in a refugee camp. I couldn't get the water for them though. The aid workers didn't want us growing our own food."
"Why not?"
"Because then we wouldn’t need the aid workers. So instead, I starting using my tent to catch mist. I would freeze in the nights, but in the mornings I had water to sell. You always find something. You can always keep going." eyes prematurely aged, winked.
"We need your help Arzu, but I don't think we should talk here," said Suyin.
"It's all right Colonel," she replied. "Nobody cares anymore if I talk to Chinese intelligence officers."
"Are you sure about that? Don't put yourself in danger."
Arzu scowled again. "Not all Muslims are terrorists, Colonel. And there are no terrorists in this village."
"We have good reason to believe that there are."
"I would know about them. Up here, I know everything about everyone. There are only a thousand of us."
"Then maybe, they're people who don’t realize what they are getting into. Can you help us find those people?"
"Yes. But you might find that describes most people, here. Look at where we ended up."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
The madrassa was in a prefab hall next to the village mosque. All the buildings in the village center were prefabs. A grant winning, Icelandic architecture firm designed them. Legitimacy came from a focus group of bewildered but charmingly diverse natives. Their bid was selected in the end by white privilege-free, random lottery.
The self-repairing streets were clean: school children hunted and stabbed refuse with sticks. They wore reflective vests, and dragged yellow, bio-plastic, trash bags. Electric tractors bounced by, pulling trailers of produce and top soil (E2's prime exports). Their drivers stared as they passed the outsiders, unsmiling. A (somehow) stray dog slept on the steps. It looked up seeing the visitors, then stretched and wagged its tail.
"Come on Tohti," Arzu wagged her finger. "You can say more, you are the most outspoken student here. These nice people came all the way from Earth to hear what you have to say."
"There is nothing to say," said the young man, stiffly. He wore a prayer cap, his beard was long and thick. "I have not heard or seen anything. We are all good Moslems here; we don't want to create trouble. We are all very grateful to be here. No one wants to be sent back down."
"No one is going to deport you," said Suyin holding up her hand. "That's not our job, and we are here to help and protect this community. With what you know, we can help protect all of you."
"Madam, our students study the Quran. We have no extremists here."
"Anangni sikey![lxvi] You are the number one extremist!"
"How dare you speak to me like that!"
"None of the girls want young, handsome, Tohti Kusen here," Arzu scorned gleefully. "Do you know why? Because he'll make them cover their heads, and lock them away where other men can't see them. To protect them, of course - "
"I like how proud you are, of how little you know about your own religion."
" - So he is on the Internet for hours and hours, talking to good, obedient, Moslem girls."
"What?" Suyin asked. She and Meng shared a look.
"So?" Tohti glared.
"These girls, do you talk to them through video, or do you just message?" she asked.
"What business is that of yours?"
"Do you do video, or do you just message?"
"I - we message."
"Only messaging?"
"And sometimes pictures. They won't do video, they are shy. I'm not some pervert - we discuss Islam and the Quran. They very educated."
"They are bots," said Meng. "Recruitment bots. Extremists use them to lure in young men - and women."
"Please. I think I can tell a bot from a person, thank you."
"No," Meng shook his head. "You can't. No one can anymore. How did you find them?"
"And do you know anyone else who - talks to girls online?" asked Suyin. "These sorts of girls?"
"I don't know. I have not heard or seen anything. We are good Moslems and -. ah! What the? You old bitch! AH!"
"Please," Meng looked away, "please stop slapping him."
Arzu held her hand like a biblical tablet, judgment ready. "Listen you selfie-taking, self-righteous, shit. You want to talk about the Quran? You've let snakes into this garden, into my garden. You're going to tell us everything you know, or I'm going to tear out your rib, and make something better than you. A woman. Do you understand?"
Tohti glared, his whole face red (some bits, redder).
"Oh yeah? You think you can take me?" The old lady beckoned, kung fu style. "Come at me Toh'."
"Maybe," Suyin stepped between them, "we should look at this a different way? If anyone you know - any friends - are being manipulated by bots, then we can be sure that whoever is running those bots has an agenda. One they can't be honest and open with, yes? Which means it can't be good for your friends, agreed?"
Tohti said nothing.
"Snotty preachy shit, not saying much now, eh?" Arzu peeked around Suyin, fists held up like a boxer's.
"Please don't slap him," said Meng.
"It's not a slap he's going to get."
"Do something about her!" Tohti yelled.
"We have no authority here," Meng shrugged. "And we're not police, anyway."
"Bitch, I'm the police!" Arzu raised her fists. "If you don't talk, a lot of angry men are going to come visit you and all your friends. Angry men who want their tea. So talk, Tohti. Either talk now, or talk later. I don't mind either way."
"There's - there's a few of us," he said at last. "We didn't do anything wrong. We never did anything wrong."
"Who? Who did you talk to?" asked S
uyin.
"A mujahid. They're good people. They care about us, about all Moslems."
"You just spoke to just him? He's your contact?"
"Yes, his name is Amir."
"Has he asked your group to do anything?"
"Little things. Like showing support on social media, and starting our own message group. He showed us how the West and the Big Five spy on us. He taught us how to protect our privacy and stay anonymous."
"Has he had any other contact with you?"
"He sent us a card. A real, physical one. His daughter made it for us."
"Where is it?"
"At my friend's house. We have our meetings there."
"Can you take us there?"
As they began walking, Meng looked over to Arzu.
"What's wrong?" he asked. "You look quite sad."
"I was hoping he'd talk later."
The edge of the village center.
It was back to rustic houses, though data/water lines poked through brickwork. Some goats were eating paper notices off a bulletin board. An old lady sat outside her house, watching her grandchildren playing. The youngest stopped and stared; Suyin smiled and waved at her. The child giggled and waved back furiously.
"That's the house," said Tohti pointing.
"Your friend normally leaves all the lights on?" asked Suyin.
"They must have had a late night."
"It's three in the afternoon."
"Pathetic!" grouched Arzu. "The laziness of young people!"
They reached the house and Tohti knocked on the door. He cocked his head and frowned.
"The door sounds different."
Tohti knocked again, harder. Then Meng did too.
"You're right, it's like it's made of plastic," he said.
"Are you okay in there?" Tohti yelled. "I've brought - some people."
"Something is wrong." said Suyin, her hand went to her pistol. "Tohti don't - "
Tohti shoulder-rammed the door, it broke like an eggshell and he fell right through. Inside it was dark, even with the lights on. Arzu stepped in and bent over the man, Meng ran his finger over the jagged door-shell. His hand came away with black, snot-thick, slime.
"What the hell is - "
"Colonel, don't come any closer," he held up his clean hand. Arzu and Tohti stood - they were covered in the black slime. "It's the same stuff we found in Yemen."
"Disgusting!" Arzu stepped out, wiping her hands on her apron. "Everything inside is covered with it, even the walls."
"What happened? What happened to my friends?" Slimed Tohti scratched his arm. Then he scratched it again, harder. Then his back. "It's burning!"
"Some sort of chemical?" Arzu rubbed her hands together. "It does burn."
"It's still active," said Meng. He shook his hand, "fuck, it hurts."
"Just stay there, I'll get you some medical attention," she pulled out her phone.
Tohti swore, and tore his shirt off. His back and chest was red, as if badly sun burned. On the floor, his shirt started to smoke. He screamed and started clawing his face.
"Hey take it easy," said Meng. "Don't panic. Don't panic."
Smoke hissed from between his fingers. Tohti started screaming, his skin coming away on his hands. His eyeballs were bleeding.
"Don't - oh dear," then he started scratching his hand and arm. He drew blood came away under his nails.
"Meng! You - "
"Go child, go!" Arzu hands left stains on her clothes. She started tearing blood. "Run!"
"I'm not leaving!" she yelled above Tohti's screaming. "I'm not leaving anyone!"
"You have to," Meng put his arm around Arzu, the old lady started coughing but didn't stop. "Just get as far away from us as you can."
"Meng what are you doing!"
"Can't talk. Hurts."
Wincing blood, he grabbed Arzu and stepped back into the dissolving house.
"Come back! What - Meng!"
The roof of the house collapsed in. A huge cloud of black mist rose up over it, and drifted towards the village center.
"Take us! Take us!"
Suyin looked back over her shoulder. Three men and a woman had cleared the burning barricade and entered the bay. They ran towards her, their skin and clothes dripping black slime.
"Stay back!" she stepped away from the docking hatch, aimed, fired. The floor sparked before the lead runner, and they stopped.
"You have to help us!" wailed the woman, her clothes were steaming. "Take us in your ship!"
"You're infected!"
One man started running again. The others followed.
"Stop!"
The first fell forward, blood spraying out his back. The second she shot through the throat. The third took three rounds before he went down. The woman grabbed at the gun as Suyin shot her in the face.
"Shit!" Suyin looked at the black slime smeared on her left hand. "Oh you bitch!"
Beyond the bay she heard an explosion. Through the windows, the air had turned to smog. Debris smacked off the glass, spider-webbing it.
Her left hand began stinging.
"Fuck this," she put down her gun, and tore a strip off her sleeve with her good hand. "Fuck these people," she tied it skin-whitening tight, around her bad wrist. "And fuck this place!"
She picked up the pistol, pressed it into place, and shot her hand off.
"We have detached from E2 Glavnaya," said the AI. "Shall I return us to Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center?[lxvii] Madam? Colonel Suyin Lee, shall I return us to Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center?"
"No," Suyin managed. "Can't go to Earth. Can't risk spreading it." she glanced at her stump, then grimaced and looked away. "Where are the nearest - the nearest nanotechnologists?"
"Colonel, do you mean what facility with someone of that specialization, we can reach the soonest? In two hours I can put us on a transfer orbit to Paul Dirac City. It also currently supports the most, off-world, registered members of the International Association of Nanotechnology. We would reach there in another six hours. Shall I plan the burn?"
"Oh God," she looked at her reflection in the canopy. Her face was pale and armored in sweat. "Oh God I even look like I feel."
"Colonel Suyin Lee?"
She opened a bay and pulled out the first aid kit. She gave the blood clotting factor a good shake, and sprayed most of it over the stump. Then she squeezed rapid flesh gel over it, it felt ice cold and numb. The outside turned grey as it hardened against the air.
"Madam? Colonel Suyin Lee, shall I take us to Paul Dirac City?"
She wrapped the stump with a entire roll of gauze. It wasn't so terrible if she didn't see bone. She looked outside at E2, they were about a two hundred meters from it now. Most of the lights had gone out. Through the glass end cap she could only see black smoke.
"There seems to be some difficulty on E2 Glavnaya."
"You could say that," she opened a squeeze bag of rehydration solution and drained it in big gulps. It was glucose-sweet, the wrapper spun away as she tore open another one.
"In two hours I can put us on a transfer orbit to Paul Dirac City. We would reach there in another six hours. Shall I plan the burn?"
"Plan it," she laid her head back. "Tell Jiuquan what's going on. As - as best you can. I guess."
"Planning burn," the AI replied. The tiny shuttle begun turning about on its reaction wheels. "I do not understand what I need to relay to Jiuquan Mission Control. Can you elaborate Colonel?"
But she was already asleep.
Political Review
Daryl Spektorov, V
"Has it landed yet?" The scientist’s eyes were wide. "Is it finally goddamn here yet?"
Ken Brown didn't have formal prison wear, but they all knew to do what they could. Aziz and Jones in laundry had been cursing the entire week. Who was so important that even the indentured help needed to look good?
"It's landed." said the second scientist, Doctor Johnson, the man in charge when no other men in charge were here.
&nbs
p; "How can you tell?" Asked the first scientist, Doctor Simmons from Earth. "Shouldn't we have heard it? Or felt it? It's a big boat. It's a very big boat."
The video feed in the canteen cut to the main landing pad. An atmosphere-capable ship thrice the size of the resupply freighter, had anchored its harpoons into the self-healing pad. Some of the engineers in the mess hall started clapping.
"Any of you Einsteins going to tell us who the fuck is visiting now?" asked one prisoner. It was Jose Jimenez, Brown’s roommate. They all stood ranked like North Korean soldiers at a parade, scientists and prisoners alike.
"Is it the President?" asked another. "I bet it's the President. Hey guys we're all getting pardoned!"
"Shut up, Conner."
A walkway gantry tube extended and sealed against the ship. About 10 minutes later, they heard people coming down the hallway.
Dr. Henrikson, who had already been around for a week, entered the mess first. Behind him came a group of scientists Ken had never seen before. They carried suitcases and folded, plastic-wrapped, pressure suits over their arms. They talked with the easy friendship of strangers suddenly spending several days together.
"Shit." said Jose.
Behind them came a group of large men and women. They carried duffel bags and gas-powered flechette rifles. They took in the room quickly, sizing up everyone. Several put down their bags and moved about the room, securing exits. They tapped ear pieces and spoke in German. Brown noticed the security cameras, normally off, were panning and judging them again.
"Hey Connor," said Jose, "You think the President came here to pardon us with bullets?"
"Take it easy Jose," said Doctor Johnson. "They're just private security."
"Against what, Navy SEALs? You going to tell us what the fuck is going on now?"
Lastly a group of suits came in. Cameras flashed and a film crew kept just ahead. The heart of the group stopped, smiled, and waved.
"Mother fucker!" Jose clapped along with everyone else. Some of the engineers cheered, even some of the prisoners. Ken was one.
"Good morning everyone," said Spektorov. "I’m so sorry we couldn’t let you know that I was coming. There's a lot of people who want to see us fail. We didn't want to risk any interference from them. As you can see, there are a lot of new faces here with me. These here are some of the world's best nanotechnologists. Frankly, I think they are the best, because, like you, they’ve got the guts to come up here, to change the world. Give them a round!"
The Hundred Gram Mission Page 23
