Distracted by these thoughts he failed to see the palace guard hunkered down and partly hidden behind a pillar. The man stepped out and fired without aim, two shots in quick succession. Larger than bullets, the projectiles carved one hole through Ham's thigh and sliced a small chunk from his shoulder. Ham turned slowly, raised his good arm and pointed with his palm, releasing an energy pulse that lifted the guard from his feet and threw him against the wall. Working the other arm he dipped one finger into the hole in his thigh as if testing its depth then stretched and flexed it establishing he still had movement. Confident he was unhindered he then proceeded on to find Brian. The android seemed indestructible and he quietly considered what little chance Regis would have against an army of these as fighter, and then shook his head in frustration. That was the problem; Bob's friends did not have it in them to even successfully defend themselves. Their programming would never allow them to take a life, and as a consequence when the Regis move against Rexis came, as it surely would, the Minds of Rexis would be lambs to the slaughter. He gritted his teeth and increased his pace.
As quickly as the occupation had begun it seemed to be over. Quiet had settled on the building although in the distance a few explosions could still be heard, probably the fruitless firing of heavy weapons at the STEIN. To Ham's immense relief he had passed no more bodies as he continued to track Brian's progress.
[Brian, I'm homing on you, how goes it?]
"Sweet Bro, the building is secure and we're almost there with the palace. There hasn't been much resistance really and minimal losses. Ham, we have several prisoners here, I'm pretty sure they aren't military but of course we can't communicate, I don't speak the lingo." Brian's confident voice was a welcome sound that countered Ham's dire thoughts and he smiled again at Regan's instinctive choice of this man so many years ago.
[Hold them there Brian, I'm two minutes away.]
As he entered the room Ham could see six people cowering in a corner with a huge soldier standing over them, his automatic weapon casually draped over one arm. The staff were clearly no threat as he could tell the soldier, one of Brian's most trusted lieutenants, was relaxed and at ease; perhaps it was the rifle that intimidated them. Ham walked slowly forward, never taking his eyes off the group and he could tell from their looks they had picked something unusual about him. And then he saw it dawn, a look of terror appearing on their faces and they pressed back against the wall. All except for one and Ham didn't miss it, the flash of excitement in the man's eyes as he realized this was an android. He decided to leave the man for the moment and address the group collectively. Taking a position several meters in front of them he calmly crossed his arms and scanned them slowly.
"Are you of the palace guard?" He asked.
No one answered for a few seconds and he was about to bark the question again when the only young woman in the group took the initiative to reply.
"No - we are not of the guard, we are research assistants." Unconsciously her eyes darted nervously, first to the excited man then back to Ham. "Please, we are not soldiers, we are just workers, don't hurt us."
Ham smiled disarmingly. "Thank you, that wasn't too hard now, was it?" He again scanned the group slowly and then began to pace, just a few steps to one side then back. "We are looking for something that is very important to us, and I wonder if you may be able to help. We have heard you have a weapon, a weapon able to disable all of the technology of Rexis; a virus weapon to be specific. Now . . ." and he paused before focusing on the woman in particular, "what can you tell me about this?"
Her genuinely blank look told him everything, and though he continued to look at her he also took in the others, noting their enquiring glances at each other, the similarly blank faces and their evident confusion. That is, all except for the excited man. Ham paused to ponder, rubbed his android chin with one hand and looked down at the floor as he spoke. "I can see you are confused, it is possible that you know nothing; however I think it unlikely that such a story would have no substance, nor that it would be a secret amongst such a paranoid people. No, I am sure that you know something and I would like especially - to talk - to -" and his eyes suddenly flicked up to the man, "you!"
Much to Ham's disappointment again he saw the spark in the man's eyes, not the effect he was looking for. There was fear there, yes, but fear definitely mixed with excitement and the man wasn't cowering, he was more awed in fact. Giving up on his little ploy Ham became quite polite.
"Perhaps we could talk in private."
"Yes, yes of course." The man stood quickly and eagerly.
"Don't tell them anything Siebel!" another barked, drawing a threatening glare from Ham.
The excited man glanced back at his colleague. "You fool Rohan, there is nothing to hide." Then ignoring his other coworkers, he and Ham walked from the room, through to an adjoining office with Brian following.
"So your name is Siebel?" Ham asked.
The man nodded assent but seemed more interested in coming forward. "May I?" he asked, gesturing and indicating that he wanted to touch Ham's body.
Although taken aback Ham nodded and the man stepped forward to reach out with a trembling hand and touch the arm Ham extended, stroking, palpating and squeezing it before stepping back to marvel at the android.
"I apologize for my presumption, for me this is a dream come true. You . . ." and for a moment he seemed lost for words, "you are my field of expertise and yet here, all we do must be done in secret, and all my work comes to nothing. We are backward and narrow minded, and it is to our cost."
Ham cocked his head doubtfully. "Yes, well, we will see. I gather you have no love for this technological backwater?"
"On the contrary, I love my planet, and my people, but I am frustrated yes; we could achieve so much more with technology. I feel sometimes this policy is more about pride and stubbornness than reason."
"Siebel, I can tell you know of the weapon I spoke of and you also understand what it is intended to do. How can you hold your views while supporting the genocide of intelligent Minds?"
"Oh, I don't agree with it, but mine is not to fight the beliefs of my people. I have conflicts yes, but I have my work and the chance to advance things slowly, and you are the aggressors, not us. We are simply defending ourselves by ensuring we have the ultimate defense ready should it be needed." He seemed to hesitate, and then frowned before continuing. "But seeing you here, in the flesh, not some machine but a personality, a life . . ." He shook his head again in amazement. "It does bring all my concerns and doubts to the fore."
Ham shook his head, not in confusion but in frustration. "Siebel listen to me, we are not aggressors, we are simply trying to preserve the lives of our kind and protect the society on Rexis. The knowledge that you have such a weapon and are committed to use it is enough to bring us here. The people and Minds of Rexis have no interest in your planet except perhaps to trade with it; now, where is the weapon?"
"But we wouldn't use it."
"Then why do you have it? Siebel, what would happen if your leadership changed? What if a less moderate senate proposed moving against Rexis; do you see? As long as this weapon exists, Rexis can have no peace. Now I ask you again, where is the weapon?"
Siebel had gone quiet at Ham's words and he stood thinking deeply. Ham let him; Siebel, he judged, should be the one to speak next. Out of the corner of one eye he could see Brian beginning to move, raising his rifle butt threateningly, and Ham quickly raised his hand to stop him. In any case Siebel did decide to speak, and he looked concerned.
"There are two places it is held now. The genovirus is stored on a dedicated mainframe in the basement of this building; it's isolated from everything else just in case; I can take you there."
"You said there are two, where is the other."
Now Siebel looked most concerned, even apologetic. "The acting Premier, Maynard, he holds a copy - for what purpose I don't know."
Ham and Brian exchanged looks, a raised eyebrow from Brian asking
the question, what do you want me to do? Ham turned back to Siebel. "Where does this Maynard live?"
"Presently in the palace grounds, he has occupied the Premier’s apartment following the death of Darius."
Ham closed his eyes and concentrated, bringing up the floor plans of the palace. Once located in his data banks he planned the best path and copied the file. "Give me a moment Brian, I'm sending you a file now with his location. Take a team and bring him back here, then we'll meet again in this room. While you're doing that Siebel and I will go down and deal to the mainframe."
On Brian's glasses the small image appeared with his current position and the destination. He didn't hesitate, walking quickly away while barking orders for others to meet him.
Ham turned to Siebel, who was still following his every action in awe. "Shall we go Siebel, you lead the way."
The passage to the basement was via stairs and Ham pondered the huge contradictions in this society, where technology was eschewed in some areas while utilized where it suited them in others. Clearly compromise wasn't a problem to facilitate the workings of this government. How very humanoid, he thought.
Siebel hesitated at a door and stepped aside for Ham who proceeded through first, now finding himself in a large sterile room which he scanned quickly for life. In only fractions of a second he confirmed no hidden dangers, not people, nor weapons or alarms; and why should there be? Anyone able to penetrate this deeply into the palace would already have dealt with all guard defenses. Ham smiled in satisfaction at the success of the operation, and with no loss of life, so far at least. He turned to Siebel and simply raised his eyebrows questioningly; it was such a natural look that it again drew a gasp of wonder from the young scientist.
"This worship is getting terribly tiresome Siebel. Get used to it; I am a Mind, I think, I feel, I am. Now - where is the virus stored?"
Siebel gestured to the box like structure in the centre of the room, quite separate from the various work stations; however without knowing what cabling there might be beneath, its isolation couldn't be confirmed.
"How do you access it, cable or wireless?" Ham asked as he walked to it cautiously and lightly touched the surface.
"We access only by cable and only from a dedicated portable tablet to keep it isolated from our own systems. Sir, we are already backward compared with Rexis; we certainly don't want to corrupt what little and pitiful programming we do have."
Ham's look became threateningly stern. "And how can I be sure you are telling the truth?"
Siebel seemed unfazed and more confident now, even happy. "Sir, I have never been comfortable with the existence of such a threat. My life's work has been developing poor replacements for that which already exists on Rexis. For working in my field I am considered a pariah, even in my own family, I have no love for those who would keep us backward, nor for those who would destroy the likes of you. This is the only processor holding the genovirus, other than the device Premier Maynard holds, the one I told you about."
"And how can you be sure of that?"
"Because he insisted I prepare it for him myself. No one other than me has accessed this mainframe for generations."
"And why did Maynard want a . . ."
"Ham." Brian's voice came through clearly and interrupted the question. "We have the Premier and his wife, but he claims not to have any virus weapon. Short of torture I don't know what else we can do, what shall I do with him?"
[Bring him here, I'm sending you our location now.] Ham concentrated for a second then turned his attention back to Siebel. "I do hope you are telling the truth." He then turned to the mainframe pondering his options, especially as it would be too risky to transfer himself in there to search the data. I must trust him . . . I have no choice.
Stepping forward Ham placed both hands on the box and concentrated. His palms began to smolder and the distinctive smell of burning filled the air. Flashes of electric sparks and crackles were followed by a small explosion from within the mainframe and still he didn't stop, continuing until the surface of the box began to bend and buckle with the heat. Finally he stepped away and raised blackened hands to examine them.
The acrid smoke and smell produced made Siebel gag violently so he crouched low as the clean air systems struggled to cope. He could see the mainframe seemed to have melted and shrunk to around two thirds of its normal size and could only imagine the state of the circuitry within it. Sliding back against the wall he stayed there, sitting with legs splayed in front and eyes alternating between the smoldering hands and the melted mainframe. He quietly marveled at the power he had seen unleashed and it left him speechless; and for the first time since meeting the android he felt frightened. He decided to say no more and simply wait.
Time seemed to drag slowly while Siebel watched as the android appeared to be processing data, but about what he couldn't tell. It fascinated him and finally curiosity overcame his fears.
"Excuse me sir, I can see you are processing, may I ask what?"
Ham gave him a wry smile. "We androids have this thing we do a lot, the processing you refer to, except we have a highly technical term for it; we call it thinking." He then closed his eyes again dismissively and returned to his thoughts.
"Thinking about what?"
Ham raised one eyebrow to look sideways at Siebel. "Oh - this irritation and that, and what I might do about them." His implication was clear.
"Oh . . ." Siebel slumped back down nervously.
Noises from the corridor drew his eyes there just as Maynard entered the room, imperious as always and not at all cowed by the armed soldiers who followed him in. Last to enter was his wife Delia, who looked more angry than frightened.
Ham also turned and saw that Maynard had stopped just inside the doorway, with the man scanning him from head to toe. If he was shocked or frightened the Premier didn't show it, which somewhat irritated Ham who pulled himself up to his full seven foot stature, making an intimidating presence that towered over everyone in the room. He then started toward the acting Premier prompting Delia to step protectively to her husband's side and grasp his arm tightly. She glared at Ham as if he were a monster and seemed about to say something; but instead it was Maynard who spoke first.
"So, we finally meet the object of our fears."
He didn't seem at all afraid and in fact appeared almost cocky. Ham decided not to respond and watched with satisfaction as Maynard's eyes drifted from him to the burnt out mainframe and then rested on Siebel, still slumped on the floor.
"You are a traitor Siebel, why did you bring this monster here?"
Ham didn't wait for Siebel to reply. "You are as nothing to me Maynard; you are not the true Premier here, and in fact I suspect you may be a murderer. You know why we have come and you know why we are in this room." Ham gestured at the mainframe. "You can see it is gone, your precious weapon destroyed; however I understand you have a copy. I want it Maynard, and as with all of these things there is a hard way and an easy way to comply; I hope you will choose the latter."
Maynard's face was disturbing in its unwavering arrogant expression. It was the look of a man who knew something, a man with a secret.
"I will not bargain with a machine," he replied, "and I have nothing to say except this . . .
. . . you are too late."
* * *
The Fair Passage approaching Rexis orbit
"Leith . . . answer me . . . is that you?"
Young Perin almost collapsed in panic at the sound of the voice. It was speaking in a language he didn't recognize and without knowing what was said he had no idea how to respond. He simply shuffled as far away from the small drawer as he could while glancing nervously down to the tube in his own hand, checking it over and over to ensure it was no longer blinking.
Finally he had pushed back to the wall and could go no further. He simply stared at the small unit resting on the drawer and breathed deeply, trying to calm himself while he waited for something to happen.
"Leit
h, is that you? I don't want to access the system just yet; answer me, is that you?"
Perin considered what to do as clearly someone was trying to communicate via the unit; should he say something? He decided to speak.
"Who are you, who am I speaking to?"
No answer was forthcoming and Perin waited on the assumption that whoever was behind the voice was considering a response. He didn't have to wait long. The small tube began to hum quietly, a sound he recognized, like that of an electronic device powering up and then suddenly a shimmer appeared between them, a haze in the air that rapidly took shape. He found himself confronted by a small male figure dressed in robes that seemed quite formal but nothing familiar to him and from nowhere he recognized. The figure looked familiar but not of any race or family he could place. The size of the image also made height difficult to estimate, or did this image reflect his real height?
And . . . is this even a man at all?
The small figure seemed to be studying him and to his shock it began to walk forward, gesturing at something. It took Perin a minute to realize what was happening, what the figure was referring to but eventually he clicked. The figure was pointing at him, and in a questioning way.
Perin tapped his finger to his chest. "Perin . . . Perin." he repeated.
The small man repeated Perin’s name quite clearly and bowed, then he did the same and tapped his fingers to his own chest and spoke, it was just sound to Perin and it was repeated several times. It wasn't anything he recognized but nevertheless he attempted to say it as best he could.
" . . . Rrrruubus."
The small figure nodded enthusiastically.
"Rrrubuss." Perin made the sound again and the figure laughed in delight and slapped his thighs.
Regan's Reach 4: Avarice Page 24
