Fox sighed. ‘Okay, keep checking, but I think we’re going to find they all went willingly. This whole thing is just so messed up.’
‘From the reports I’ve been seeing,’ Rossi said, ‘I’d tend to agree. Let’s hope this eases off now. We’re past perihelion and the world’s still here.’
‘I have a bad feeling that we won’t be done with this until the damn comet is back out in deep space. Or at least when you can’t see it any more.’
~~~
‘Pythia has catalogued and recorded one hundred and seventy-three bodies,’ Kit said. She, along with Fox, was watching Pythia’s crawler frame connecting up to the building’s computer system, which was in the basement and appeared to be rather advanced for a weirdass semi-religious group living in a disused apartment block in Tulsa. ‘That in itself is interesting since the lowest estimate on the number of people dwelling here was one hundred and eighty-six.’
‘The high estimate?’ Fox asked.
‘Two hundred. The modal figure was one hundred and ninety-two. Of course, in the protectorates people come and go with alarming regularity, but this group is believed to be relatively static.’
‘So, we could have some missing. Request any surveillance NAPA have on this area for the last week. They have a few fixed cameras around Tulsa and I know they do overflights. We’ll be looking for a mass exodus, probably within the last day. If it’s earlier, or just dribs and drabs, then the missing ones were just unwilling to go through with it. What I want to know right now is what are this bunch doing with a high-end server?’
‘A new one,’ Kit said, nodding. ‘This is a nine thousand RE. Rowthorne Electronics started shipping them no more than eighteen months ago. Generally, they are used for high-performance database applications. Rowthorne have a number of patents based around high-speed access to storage media.’
‘Okay… Pythia, let me know when you’ve got into that thing and have an idea of what they were doing with it.’
Pythia’s voice came from the speakers on the cyberframe. ‘Of course, Miss Meridian. The security on the system is quite strong, however. It could take a while.’
‘See where you can get. If it’s getting unreasonable, we’ll see about shipping the entire thing to New York and let Jackson’s people pull it apart.’
~~~
‘I have cracked the security on the server, Miss Meridian,’ Pythia announced.
Fox was sitting in the back of the vertol with a charging belt strapped around her hips. Thankfully, it worked by induction and a pair of jeans were not a problem. ‘Well done, Pythia,’ Fox said. ‘Is that a little hint of pride I heard in your voice?’
‘No, Miss Meridian. I am only a class three and incapable of pride.’
‘That is not entirely true, Pythia,’ Kit said via her gynoid. ‘Class three AIs are quite capable of developing emotional expression. They simply have difficulty understanding emotions. Pride is a relatively easy emotion to understand and a quite useful one given the task-oriented nature of your job.’
‘In that case, I shall endeavour to feel some pride in a job well done.’
‘Good,’ Fox said.
‘Not that I have done so before, obviously.’
‘Obviously. Have you got anything?’
‘There are a number of databases on the server. I have a list of the members which contains data regarding their current location and identification photographs. I have reconciled the images captured by my remotes with that database and have determined that there are twenty-one individuals missing that the database indicates should be here.’
‘Do we have any idea when they left?’
‘No, but the records list the comings and goings of the people here. A few people have left and returned, more than once in some cases. Seventeen of the twenty-one are long-term members, many of them going back to the start of the group. None of those missing are marked as having left. I believe that indicates that they were here recently. There is another interesting thing about the servers, however. I am attempting to check, but it appears that a lot of data has been deleted within the last few days. The deletion was done with a military-grade, fractal deletion program. Someone did not want anyone knowing what they were storing here.’
Fox frowned. ‘What are a bunch of religious nuts doing with a military-grade deletion system? Okay, have we got any workstations around the site, personal computers, wearables, basically anything which might be used to access those servers?’
‘A few, yes. You suspect there may be data cached on some of those machines?’
‘It’s worth a look. Kit, check with NAPA that we can get those items and analyse them. Good work, Pythia.’
‘Thank you, Miss Meridian. I believe I shall be proud of myself for a few nanoseconds before continuing with my work.’
Fox and Kit smirked. ‘I think you’re allowed that. But only a few nanoseconds,’ Fox said.
‘Of course, Miss Meridian.’
~~~
‘Weather?’ Fox asked as she prepped the vertol for take-off.
‘No projections of tornados,’ Pythia replied from the cabin speakers. ‘Weather is expected to be clear, with some possibility of low-altitude turbulence.’
‘Typical.’
‘It’s going to be hot in Topeka,’ Kit predicted.
‘The current temperature in Topeka is thirty-four point five Celsius,’ Pythia supplied.
‘I’ll melt.’
‘That is highly unlikely, Kit. Your cyberframe is built to withstand a human-normal range of temperatures.’
‘That was a joke, Pythia. Humans often say they will melt in hot weather, though they are, in fact, more likely to combust, and that would require a far higher temperature. I believe the reference is to the considerable amount of sweat produced to lower their internal body temperature.’
‘Something like that,’ Fox said, smirking. ‘We’re cleared for take-off, so let’s get moving.’ Shifting the engines to vertical flight, she pushed the throttle forward and was rewarded with the whine of the two engines winding up. In a few seconds, they would be in the air and flying north.
Pythia let Fox get through the difficult part and into level flight before she spoke again. Partially, this was so as not to disturb Fox, though Pythia knew she could handle a little multitasking. Partially, it was because Pythia monitored the take-off, even though she was quite sure Fox was capable of handling it herself.
‘There is something in the server files I recovered which is not painting a clear picture,’ Pythia said.
‘Oh?’
‘They were using the system as an email relay and the store-and-forward database was not erased. There are several personal emails in the database which appear to have been sent out to family members in remote locations. Suicide notes, though they generally do not give an explicit indication that the sender is planning to die. More than seventy percent of these messages make some reference to “Eden.”’
‘As in “garden of?”’
‘Unclear. Interestingly, “Eden” stems from a Hebrew term which has been translated as “pleasure,” which may indicate that the Children of the Pleasure Garden are the Children of the Garden of Eden.’
‘Well, isn’t that the case for all humans? If you believe that sort of thing.’
‘I’m afraid that theology is not a component of my skill set. The references in the emails, however, seem to be speaking of Eden as an existing place. One person specifically indicates that “some have been chosen to go to Eden, but I haven’t.” Another says that “the chosen are going up to Eden this week and I see no point in staying here.” I did do a quick internet search and discovered a concept known as the Rapture, a time before the Tribulation where saints and those of sufficient faith would be carried up to Heaven, or perhaps taken to a specific place on Earth. It depends who is telling the story.’
‘Huh. There was this scientist I met in Africa who pointed out that humans probably evolved there, so that was where the Garden of Ed
en was located. It’s the Desert of Eden now and not an especially nice place to visit, never mind live in. And you said the chosen were going up to Eden… Kit, run a search for stations named Eden, or with Eden as a root of their name. Oh, and ask NAPA and the UNTPP to put a watch out for those twenty-one missing cult members. I suspect that those are your chosen right there.’
Topeka Agri-Zone, Kansas Belt.
‘So, that’s the angle,’ Fox said. ‘We’ve got another of these mass suicides, but this bunch seemed to be working to get to a place called Eden which they had to go up to. Kit can’t find anything of that name. Or, actually, she can find various things with some connection to that name, but none of them come up as connected to this cult or especially unusual.’
‘I’m aware of four habitats with names like “New Eden” or similar.’ Jason’s voice came back after a couple of seconds, and Fox quietly cursed the delay and started entertaining plans of a trip to L1 in the near future. ‘Generally, these are small colonies based around the idea of a self-sustaining, agricultural station. One of them was founded by a Christian group, but most have no specific religious affiliation. You wish me to look for this specific station?’
‘I think it might be worth looking into. You should get the request to watch for the missing cultists at some point. If you spot one moving through Prokhorov, maybe you could ask where Eden is.’
The delay was a little shorter: Jason had started speaking, knowing that he had a second or so of grace before he spoke over her. ‘That request has been received and processed. If we see them, we will detain them.’ Then there was a little pause. ‘I am not holding my breath, mon chère. There are many ways to reach a station in Earth orbit which would never come near Prokhorov or show up on official records, and more than a few to reach more distant locations.’
‘I know. You have to have hope, right? Any news from up there?’
‘Ah! Things are becoming… interesting. We have further rumours of the ghost ships, more sightings. No one ever seems to have seen one themselves, of course, but then the rumour is that if you see one, you are doomed. Then there is the matter of the Chinese mine explosion. It has been confirmed that the bomber was on both the UNTPP and Chinese Ministry for Public Security watch lists as a probable UA member. The MPS had him designated as a full member. Someone screwed up when they allowed him near that mining town.’
‘They sure did,’ Fox said when there was a long enough pause for her to suspect Jason had stopped. ‘UA, China, and explosives are a bad mixture.’
‘Yes, and we are on alert in case there is some planned large-scale action by United Anarchy. However, there were a number of other suicides in the same town at the time of the explosion. The alert has been raised because we must, but we strongly suspect that this man was not acting for UA when he blew up the mine. He may have been affected by the Eschaton meme just like the others.’
‘Okay… I’ll leave you to saving the world then, love. You stay safe up there, okay?’
‘Always, mon chère,’ Jason said, and the connection cut off.
And Fox turned her attention across the table and smiled at her mother and father. ‘Sorry. Figured I’d get most of the work out of the way before I sat down and did the daughterly visit thing.’
‘It is after seven,’ Andrea said with a look of concern on her face. ‘You should take some time to relax. Kit said you were up at six this morning.’
‘Well, yeah, but… infomorph in a military cyberframe. It’s not like I get tired. However, the reason I decided to break the trip back by stopping off here is partially so that I don’t spend my entire day either flying or looking at dead bodies.’
‘There were a lot?’ Jonathan asked.
‘Yeah,’ Fox replied, nodding. ‘That was the biggest one I’ve heard of.’
‘One hundred and seventy-three,’ Kit said. Her gynoid was sitting at the table in the kitchen of the Meridian home having rather gleefully ridden on the back of a Q-bug behind Fox as she drove from the airport. ‘It is the largest number of deaths in a single incident that we have numbers for.’
Jonathan grimaced and shook his head, but then his lips curled into a slightly forced grin. ‘Still not sure I can get used to the idea of you being in there, Kit.’
‘It took me a little time to get used to not having a tail.’ Kit accepted the change of subject without comment. She had a feeling the more local event would come up later, but for now, the situation called for small talk. ‘I find having this avatar available to be very useful, however. I would not be without it, even if it does not have a tail.’
‘It looks so real,’ Andrea said. ‘Is it the same as Fox’s?’
‘Nu-huh,’ Fox replied. ‘That’s a customised, civilian-model frame based on the Sylph gynoids MarTech Technologies make. Basically, she’s a sexbot, but Terri assures me that she only used that frame because it’s one of the most human the company produces.’
Jonathan raised an eyebrow. ‘That’s a modern sex robot? I remember the really early ones with the rubber skin and the blank expressions.’
Kit giggled. ‘My skin is not quite as good as Fox’s, but it is certainly better than rubber.’
‘I think the Sylphs use the same skin as my arm had when it was just that I’d had replaced,’ Fox said. ‘Same quality anyway. It’s the only erotic model MarTech produce.’
‘The only gynoid,’ Kit corrected. ‘The android version is called the Satyr. Both are rarely sold for purely erotic use due to the quality of production and sculpting, and the capacity for a high-performance computer.’
‘How much does one of those cost?’ Jonathan asked. His cheeks reddened a little as both wife and daughter looked at him. ‘Just curious.’ He patted Andrea’s shoulder with a smile. ‘Got my own sex doll right here.’
‘I did not need to hear that!’ Fox squeaked.
‘The base model is two hundred thousand dollars,’ Kit said. She was obviously trying to keep a smirk from breaking out. ‘However, custom sculpting can take that to two hundred and fifty, a computer suitable for running a class four AI is another… three thousand, and an AI of my model would be another one hundred thousand with additional training adding to the cost. At a minimum, you would be looking at around three hundred and thirty thousand.’
‘A little too much for something intended for the bedroom,’ Jonathan said.
‘Oh, a model like that could handle general housekeeping and administrative tasks, help with the parties you throw, and I’m sure a package could be put together to provide help in your fields. It’s a very versatile frame.’
‘I’m sure it is,’ Andrea said, giving a little sniff of disdain which was almost certainly put on for her husband’s benefit.
Kit, however, gave Andrea a smouldering look and added, ‘Very versatile.’ Andrea went bright crimson but, unfortunately for Fox, appeared to be flattered more than horrified.
‘Kit, quit coming on to my mother,’ Fox said. ‘You’ll give me a complex. Or nightmares.’
‘Don’t be silly, Fox. You know you don’t dream.’
~~~
‘So, you had the work done?’ Fox asked, her eyes on her father. Since she had last seen him, he had got a little younger. Not really, obviously, but a few signs of age had been erased from his face.
‘Not much,’ Andrea said. ‘Skin smoothing, a little work on his eyelids.’
‘Like you said in March, the procedures are safe and easy,’ Jonathan said. ‘Andy’s worth a little effort.’
‘And you had the cornrows taken out,’ Fox said, waving a finger at Andrea’s hair. It was just as red and gorgeous as ever, perhaps more so now that it hung straight to the bottom of her shoulder blades. At the front, it was long enough to cover her breasts, but she seemed to have developed the habit of tucking it back behind her right ear, so only her left breast, also covered by the thin camisole top she was wearing, was hidden.
‘I felt like a change,’ Andrea replied. ‘I considered cutting it short, like y
ours, but Jonathan does like my hair long, so…’
‘Always envied your hair. The colour’s more vibrant than mine. I guess mine is distinctive, but yours is more… coppery. And I could never grow it to any length without getting split ends every time I looked away. I think it was a lifestyle thing. The places I tended to spend my time in were bad for your hair.’
‘Oh, I have to be a little careful with it, but–’
Kit’s appearance, in kitsune-avatar form, beside the lounge chairs they had retired to, cut Andrea off. ‘Excuse the interruption,’ Kit said, ‘and the double appearance’ – she gave her gynoid avatar a nod and received one back – ‘but I thought you might wish to know that Daniel Berkewitz is currently on IB-Eighty-three. He is giving an interview regarding the suicides Ray Rogers is dealing with.’
‘Make sure we’ve got that recorded, please,’ Fox said. ‘Belle usually watches that channel. She knows I have an interest.’
Kit nodded and vanished again.
‘Daniel has been appearing on the news channels quite frequently recently,’ Andrea said. ‘I don’t watch the religious channels, but he’s been fronting a fairly big campaign for the Church of God’s Mind ever since…’
‘The beginning of June,’ Jonathan supplied. ‘Not long after you did your publicity about Project Akh. I’m pretty sure it was prompted by that. Then this suicide-pact thing happens.’
‘I’m going to drop in and see Ray first thing,’ Fox said. ‘Check everything’s working as planned. This is the first really big investigation we’ve had to handle in the area.’
‘Yes,’ Andrea agreed. ‘You were right about serious crime in Topeka. When it’s come down to it, we’ve had to investigate two rapes and a murder in the last month, and in all cases the first responders were able to handle most of the work before Ray or his partner got there. The murderer was the victim’s husband, and the rapes were down to drunk boyfriends. But this mass suicide…’ She trailed off, shaking her head.
‘Even there,’ Jonathan said, ‘the feedback we got suggests that the support vests were invaluable in doing the basic analysis work.’
Eden Burning (Fox Meridian Book 7) Page 9
