by Jon Chaisson
“I remember those well,” Madeleine nodded. She reached out and covered Caren's hand with hers, squeezing it slightly as she did. “The Vigil masses are what kept us all together. A young priest — Reverend Edward Miriam, who runs St. Patrick's now — he was the one who started the masses during that time. Damn near saved our souls back then.”
“He's been missing for the last month,” Poe said. “Since the attack on his church. No one seems to know where he is.”
Madeleine let out something like a pitiful moan and dropped her head slightly, and remained that way for a good minute or so, lost in thought and sadness. Poe and Caren understood and politely withdrew, letting her come to terms with the news. She must have gotten to know the man personally after all that had happened. Many of the veterans of that uprising kept in close touch with each other, even if they rarely spoke of it. It was much like Meraladian soulsensing; they never forgot the spirits they fought alongside back then.
“He's here,” Madeleine said suddenly, lifting her head, her eyes bright again. “I can't pinpoint where, but I sense him clearly. He's still here — on Gharra, I mean. He’s only in hiding.”
Caren goggled at her. “Madeleine, I had no idea you could do that!”
Madeleine winked at her. “Now you do, hon. I am Mendaihu Gharra, just like your parents, just like you and Denni. Edward must have a reason for hiding, so I would not worry about him, nor would I go out of my way to find him.” Smiling again, she picked up her coffee and finished it. “But I'm distracting myself from what I wanted to say. We were talking about your graffiti. Now, let me tell you a story behind those words. Our distinguished Councillor James was there at the time, I believe, at that final push at the Tower.
“We'd heard the call from Junna Kariktasi, a powerful Mendaihu and one of the leading resistance leaders of the day. No one really knows where he'd gotten the intel from, though the popular rumor is that he'd found a few cho-nyhndah willing to assist.
“The version I'd heard, edha Kariktasi had been told or had found out about a Shenaihu nuhm'ndah leader who had plans to attack the Mirades Tower. He'd learned about the artificial intelligence there, Shirai. She was in her fourth beta version at the time, but coming very close to complete sentience in alpha mode. This man wanted to take over Shirai and corrupt her, turn her into a weapon that could conceivably corrupt every other piece of machinery in existence on Earth, by way of a living, sentient virus.
“Now, as far-fetched as that seems, it's more believable once you realize that Shirai is, in fact, sentient by way of a soul — a fact accepted by the leaders of at least five major Gharné religions, I should add — and that her soul could, in fact, be corrupted by way of an awakening as cho-nyhndah. Alec, I see your logic circuits churning there, but let me explain:
“There are cho-nyhndah like yourselves, like Denni, and many others, who are able to control their dual selves. For instance, you, Alec, might be able to channel your Shenaihu half to understand your enemy more clearly. This is largely in part because you were awakened by a professional, Nehalé Usarai. Only someone of his ability, or barring that, the One of All Sacred, can awaken someone so cleanly.
“As for Shirai...well, she was well protected by her creators and a mess of Mendaihu standing outside the doors, but that wouldn't have stopped them influencing her in other ways. That was when a group of young techs and maybe a councillor or two set up shop on Sachers Island and began a group called Vigil. They were given the duty of protecting her by electronic means. I hear the group still exists, though I have never known anyone who had been a part of any incarnation of it.
“Edha Kariktasi had called us all from within, this ragtag group of Mendaihu from all over Bridgetown, to come in and protect Shirai at all costs. Me? I didn't think twice about it. It was an honor to be called. We all gathered our respective parishes, a good number of us going to St. Patrick's in Branden Hill. I remember Reverend Miriam saying mass that morning. I saw your parents there, you were with them, Caren. I don’t know where they’d gone off to after that. But I was relieved to see them after the fact.
“So! Standing guard at the foot of the Mirades Tower, we waited for the sun to rise, eight hundred of us flanking the north side, still more elsewhere in Tower Park. Reinforcements were at the ready, waiting in Branden Hill. Over three thousand Mendaihu Gharra congregated in one place. Imagine the energy levels that day!
“If fate lie anywhere, it was at the north side of the Mirades Tower. It was still dark, but the Shenaihu nuhm’ndah had arrived. Numbers had them at nearly a thousand, ready to break through. They made their way down North Main Street, rather than exit Light all at once — that would have been potentially fatal for all involved.
“The chaos started when they set foot in the park. Goddess...it still bothers me now, to realize the lengths they went to, to corrupt Shirai. They knew that simply entering her databank floors by means of Lightwalking was an exercise in futility. Too many barriers. We'd already built a psychic wall around her to complement the Special Forces units surrounding her. They had to get through the front lines first.
“Well...the fight lasted four full hours before they withdrew. Both sides probably could have gone on for hours more, but there were casualties everywhere and we had to take stock. I was still on both feet at that time, tending to the injured. I had a middling education in soulhealing by then, so the least I could do was calm their nerves as the field doctors did their thing.
“Two hours later...”
She took a deep breath, and lifted her eyes to the two of them. Caren in particular.
“Two hours later, at eleven in the morning, the Shenaihu waved the flag of truce. It surprised all of us, since we were so on edge, half expecting them to attack us while we were still working triage. But they came with a warning, and this warning has set the tone for the 'guarded indifference' that is so prevalent today. I still remember its words exactly:
“'Keep in mind, brothers' — brothers, he said. I’m not sure why he used eicho and not kinléshi, which makes more sense — 'Keep in mind, brothers, that we seek the same goals as you. We seek to find the One of All Sacred. There, our paths will diverge. We will seek the One to dissolve this universe and create anew, as it is the only way we shall ever live in Peace, Love and Light. We will return. Here, on this green, lies fate.'
“I memorized those words because I felt I should. I am passing it on to you now, though I'm sure you must have figured out their motives by now. But that's where I first heard that phrase, 'here lies fate.' I thought it was an odd turn of phrase, but now it makes sense. I can only guess that they plan on attacking the Mirades Tower to corrupt Shirai again.”
With a final, slow breath, she smiled warmly at them. “I've wasted enough of your time, my dear sehnadha. I should have let the both of you go a half hour ago. Go, now. And remember what I've told you. And Caren...you have such a lovely sister. Take good care of her.”
Poe drove down Krieger Avenue towards Headquarters, still unsure of what to say. He'd known Madeleine Jakes for at least as long as he'd known Caren. He'd always figured she was a devoted family friend from way back, nothing more. Now she'd revealed herself to be a Mendaihu Gharra who understood more about Seasons of Embodiment than she let on. He had the vague sense that she was looking out for them in some way, and not just as a Mendaihu.
Caren had taken it all in stride, as if this surprising news was nothing new to her. Perhaps she'd figured it out a long time ago, and this only confirmed it. She was busy scribbling something onto her portable vidmat, and by a quick glance, he saw she was searching the ARU site on a side screen. She was writing with a flourish, scrolling down with her left thumb while she wrote, so he chose not to interrupt.
“Summary of what Madeleine said,” Caren said without lifting her eyes.
Poe grinned. “Good idea.”
“You could have asked.”
“You would have yelled at me for interrupting. You think we could use any of that?”
>
“Don't see why not.” She finished off with a sweeping of her vidmat stylus and saved the document to her cloud. “Not to change the subject, but I meant to tell you what happened to Matthew last night.”
“Now what did he do?” he asked. “I know he’s been flat out these last few weeks, but please tell me he didn’t do anything stupid.”
“Watch the road, Alec,” she pointed ahead. “You’re not going to like this, but it seems Saisshalé caught up with him last night. Nearly drained him, too. Little prick fought back though, managed to keep himself from serious damage like the others. Long story short, Saisshalé screwed with his head, fucked with his system, and literally left him out to dry. And get this: he went so far as to call the BMPD to have him brought in. North Main collared him just past two in the morning.”
“You're kidding,” he said, caught somewhere between a gasp and a nervous laugh. “Does that mean...?”
“It gets better,” she continued. “Not three hours later, Rieflin himself gets the arrest overturned, and hands him over to one Dylan Farraway for safekeeping in the ARU lockup at Branden Hill.”
He stared ahead in a daze, not quite sure how to process all that.
“The Governor gave him to Farraway, Poe. He's in our holding. He’s safe and exactly where he needs to be right now.”
“Dare I ask what he's being held for?”
“Farraway got creative,” Caren said, flashing him a grin. “Psychic felony, sensed and admitted…basically reading Mendaihu minds for ill-gotten gains,” she said with a hint of amusement. “Low-level charge, enough that the CNF won't be called for it, but enough to have him held until his court case. Which is as yet unscheduled at this time.”
Poe started laughing. “That poor bastard,” he said.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Disconnect
Caren and Poe entered their office to find their team two already there, hard at work. Sheila sat at Caren's desk, busily typing away at the desk keyboard as Nick leaned against the far wall, arms crossed and head down. They were more irritated than concerned about their absence. “Where the hell have you two been?” Sheila asked, lifting her head and huffing at them. “Farraway’s been paging us every half hour, looking for you.”
“We called in,” Poe offered. “Did Cilla forget to tag us?”
“You were on the clock, but no status,” she said. “Said you were doing interviews.” She raised an eyebrow and hummed again, her fingers tapping the desk impatiently. “Anything we should know about?”
Caren looked at the clock hung above her desk. It was eleven already. They’d spent over two hours talking with Madeleine. It had gone by so quickly they hadn't even noticed. “Personal,” she said.
“Previous Embodiments, then?” Nick asked. He pushed himself off the wall and strolled over to Poe’s desk. He leaned up against it, shoving his fists in his pockets with a scowl. “Good,” he said. The word came out like a bark. “Let's hope you found something the other agencies haven't, because we haven't much time.”
Caren waved her hands at them. “Alright, enough with the drama. What’s got into you two?”
“We are screwed,” Sheila said. “The whole ARU is. Rieflin plans to shut down the Edwin-Akandia Energy Sensor Device in a week’s time.”
Poe stopped short and twitched. “Are you fucking serious? What the hell is he trying to prove?”
“Officially it’s a maintenance issue,” Sheila said. “But everyone knows that’s bullshit. He knows what’s coming, and he’s scared as hell. He’s trying to keep damage to a minimum. He knows it’s a weak point, and he knows it could be corrupted. If anyone can get at it, then no one will.”
The room turned cold. Goddess, what was that man thinking? Did he not realize just how many ARU and police officers depended on the Edwin-Akandia? Hell, Caren wouldn’t have seen Saisshalé that day if it hadn’t been for Cilla using the ESD. She may have rarely used it, but it had saved countless lives since it went live twenty years ago.
In a perverse way, it explained why Matthew had been handed over to Farraway so quickly. Rieflin must have planned this shutdown long before today. He must have realized that if this Embodiment season was escalating this quickly, he wanted to take out all the loopholes while he still had the chance. And Matthew as the last piece. He was in ARU hands now, because Rieflin couldn’t get rid of him, not yet. He was too valuable to everyone. The ARU was the only entity he could trust with the job.
“He’s going to call Governor Privilege, isn’t he,” Poe growled. His fists were still at his sides, knuckles growing whiter by the moment. Caren could now feel the anger emanating from his spirit.
“He was given the okay from the Provincial Governor's Council early this morning,” Sheila said. “Just before you called in. We didn’t tell you because we thought you were logged in. It’s all over the ARU comms. Oh, and get this: he's also been given permission by the Free World Provinces President, as well as some key members of the CNF.”
“Pashyo,” he said, his voice a forced calm. “No one on the CNF would call this a safe or logical move. Are we supposed to wait for Special Forces to march in when it all goes to shit?”
“That’s still up in the air,” Nick said. “Personally, I think we’re safe for now — Nandahya Mirades is still his equal, and she won’t let that happen. That doesn’t mean General Phillips won’t break that agreement and do something stupid, however. In the meantime, we've got one week to put our affairs in order. This means you two had better finish up your Mendaihu training, or we’re all screwed.”
Caren bristled. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Ask Farraway,” he said.
Caren groaned, rubbing her eyes with her thumb and forefinger in an attempt to stay calm. Anger welled up inside her — not Shenaihu irritation, not Mendaihu annoyance, but human frustration — to the point that she wanted to tear the office apart. She glanced quickly at fragile inanimate objects lying around — data crystals, cell phones, computer monitors...she was desperate to take anything and just hurl it against the wall, and so much the better if Governor Rieflin was standing in the way. Instead, she let out a loud curse and slammed her fist the wall.
“Calm down, Caren. Go and talk to Farraway,” Sheila said as calmly as possible. “He specifically asked for the two of you. He's already briefed us on what’s expected for Nick and myself when —”
“That's not the point!” Caren barked. “This is Rieflin's personal problem! He shouldn’t be putting the rest of us in danger. He doesn't get it. He’s thinking of himself!”
“We've gone over this —” Sheila started.
“No, we haven’t,” she said as patiently as she could. “Don’t you get it? Poe and I, we may be able to hold our own, the two of you, Kai and Ashan. Even Christine and Anando. But we need to work together now, don’t you get it? It’s not…” Goddess, how was she going to explain this? She exhaled, shaking her head. “Look — the point is that we need to be connected. We need all the damned help we can get, and unplugging the ESD is going to be suicide. This isn’t about me. This is about our fellow officers who…who…” Her words died there, her anger depleted.
Nick. Damn it all, he might have his own strength, but he was going to be the first of the dead, and she couldn’t bear to handle that. She looked up at him —
“Anando...?” Nick said slowly, cocking an eyebrow. “How does he fit in?”
His question took her off guard and she could not find words.
“Connections,” Poe finished, to her relief. “Like my connection to Vigil. Anando knows Nehalé Usarai, he's studied under him for a few years now. He knows a lot about what got us in this mess in the first place. Added to the fact that he's second in charge down at Moulding Warehouse.”
Thanks, Caren said within, only to him. Her anger had already subsided, the vitriol behind her words leaving before she could utter any more. Perhaps it was for the best, if she and Poe were going to meet with Farraway. It would be stupi
d and senseless to release a tirade of words that meant nothing.
“You really think Rieflin’s that bad?” Sheila asked.
Caren laughed bitterly. “Sure, he's a great politician, but he knows next to nothing about how the Mendaihu and the Shenaihu work. I highly doubt if he'll ever understand it. I could be wrong; maybe he's been Awakened as well, I don't know. But he's going to kill us all if he thinks he can solve this particular problem using conventional means.”
“Point taken,” Sheila said. “But again, he's got Nandahya Mirades on his side. She'd take control of those matters, or at least coach him on it.”
“That's not enough,” she countered. “He'll be acting alone. He's ultimately responsible for the actions that the Provincial Governor's Council takes. I'm sorry, but I don't trust him that far.” She forced herself to keep from saying anything else, because she knew she'd sound elitist, which was not what she wanted to do. She'd promised herself early on that she would never think of herself anything more than human, even if she did acquire her Mendaihu traits through bloodline.
“Well, neither do we,” Sheila said. “But that doesn't mean that we should exclude him from whatever happens. That's out of our hands.”
“So what should we do, then?”
Nick cleared his throat and leaned forward. “Go see Farraway.”
Caren cursed again, knowing he was right.
Chief Inspector Dylan Farraway steepled his fingers against his lips and rested his chin on his thumbs, his brow deeply furrowed as he listened patiently to Caren and Poe’s concerns. He agreed with them fully, even though he admitted it was out of his hands. Caren had a hard time believing that, but chose not to cause a scene. Not just yet, anyway.
“Come on, chief. You know he's just tying up our hands,” Poe offered. “I'm really having a problem believing Rieflin would pull something like this on his own. He’s either scared or he's being pushed into this position. I'll say this much: he may not be the best choice to lead this province, but he's not a weak man. He’s not stupid.”
