Witnessed by any but his compatriot and sister, such words from a mouth as apparently young as his would have seemed foolish and pretentious.
They were each nearly a decade beyond one-hundred years lived. By the chronometer.
Taken another way, they were each about twenty-five, their heads crammed full of memories of a life unremembered. Lived, then unlived and reeducated.
The military-enforced rules for regression would hold for the average, and even the less-than-average, human. And, only criminals for now. But there were exceptions. Although only two.
They had availed themselves of their privilege, youthening before the opportunity slipped away, as they had foreseen it would. Or, at least, it was no longer convenient, and no longer their secret. They would have to set up new arrangements to obtain the renewal, flying out to Rim station. An annoyance, but it would not be needed for years now. Money, and their power, would pave a smooth road when they needed it, in any case.
One effect that the reform plan was having on her was an introspective one. She was dubious. “I still feel a bit odd about it. We both know the great benefits it’s going to offer: criminals reformed, painful memories erased, youth recaptured. And you’re right of course; it is humanity’s dream come true. What bothers me is: up to now it’s been just the two of us, and now we are going to make this about hundreds of thousands. What kind of unforeseeable impact might this have? Are we also erasing something of who we are? I mean… it’s our memories and experiences that make us what we are. The pain that these people suffer in their individual lives is the construction material for character building.
“Why is this needed? What about any advances in criminal reform from the standpoint of psychology? Teaching a sense of right and wrong? After all, if we can take someone back to a time before they made a poor choice, and guide their thinking to choose right, as we define it, why can’t we show them the error of their ways after the fact? With their memories of the crime intact? It would help us ladle on a healthy dose of shame and regret.
“We aren’t undoing the damage done to their victims.” Her tone spoke of the injustice in this. “Why shouldn’t the perpetrators feel remorse? It has been known to work wonders, you know. And without the consequence of the action—the action that we now will, preemptively, talk them out of—what says that they won’t re-offend once we deem them reformed by the new standard?
“You know, all the negative reinforcement that leads to crime can, and usually does, start in childhood. Are we going to start a preschool for all of these criminals that get regressed that far back?”
He took this lead back into the conversation. “Oh, you haven’t heard? The decision to do just that has already been made. The first prison that’s on the Reform Program is being converted to a childcare and boarding school. Where have you been?” he said jokingly. “It’s all over the news.”
“That sounds charming.” Her heavy sarcasm, ignored his facetiousness. Despite her self-centered nature, the idea of children growing up as orphans in a converted prison was atrocious to her.
He considered his sibling. “Look, I know how smart you are.” He didn’t even sound condescending. “You make good points. Maybe your woman’s intuition deserves some respect. But you know humanity as well as I do, we love a short-cut.
“This is a popular idea that has immediately gained worldwide support and acceptance. The ghosts’ appearance-trick is helping with that in the long run. Now that there is this esoteric understanding between Man and the Elementals, the world has no fear of them, other than the standard fear of what they don’t understand. And, as long as it’s not them, people are more than willing for someone who has committed a crime to deal with a little fear of regression.
“At the same time, it’s seen as a humane punishment by the vast majority, not raising the moral question of the right to put someone to death. Certain groups are touting it as ‘Man’s next evolutionary step’. I don’t believe that, and I’m sure that you don’t, so my goal would be to discourage that and keep the fear aura. We want it to be a deterrent, as much as a punishment and solution.”
He went on as she weighed his elocutions. “The ghosts tell us, through the various contacts that we have, that it is far better than the death penalty, which resulted in a de facto release of those individuals.”
She nodded, “That’s true enough. It would be unconscionable and self-destructive were we to continue that practice, knowing that we were simply setting them loose to terrorize realms that we don’t yet fully understand. But—and this is a big but—we also have, from our otherworldly counterparts, the knowledge of the Akashic Record. This record sounds too important to me to go messing with. Which is exactly what we do by these actions. What about that?” She fixed him with a challenging stare.
He had either already considered this, or he saw no reason to consider it at all, saying simply, “Seems to me that, on those levels, it isn’t really up to us. If we were going to do something that would irreversibly damage reality, I believe these ‘higher powers’ would step in.”
She didn’t buy it. “You know that we pulled our own bacon out on this one, don’t you?” Ardently, she said, “I’m sorry, but I don’t see The Hand of God in this rescue. The consequences of the Elemental interaction just happened to give us what we needed to save ourselves: the link to the ghosts, and their plan. And Quilliam Spence’s alien? That was just luck, if what Spence says is true. Yes, men and woman would’ve died out there in space without that intervention, but that’s nothing compared to where we were headed with a growing energy imbalance in the universe.” She fixed him with a stare. He met it with a blank expression. Knowing him so well, she interpreted it properly as surprise. “You didn’t think I knew about the Elementals’ dark-matter-carrier aspect, did you?”
He wasn’t too bothered. “Well, I didn’t tell you. Who did?”
“I know you don’t think that I rely on you for my information. Where would that put me? Anyway, I don’t know what the tipping point would’ve been, but we would have found it sooner or later. We’re on our own—higher intelligence or no. We have to do the right thing, or we’re doomed.”
This time he seemed to consider what she said, but then responded, “Mmm, maybe, but think of it this way, if the worst happened, you would have never known it.” He gave her a patronizing smile. She could see that she would get nowhere with her arguments.
He sensed her back down, and labeled it defeat. Letting it lie, he ascribed a magnanimousness to himself. Casually, he changed the subject back to where they had sidetracked. “Think of our relationship with the Elementals as a partnership—because, in fact, it is. They make amends for the loss of the souls, and we give them some of the sweet energy that makes up our essence in exchange for having imprisoned them. The public viewpoint is that we are removing the crime from the criminal with the help of a benevolent species that shares our universe. It has captured the imagination of the world.”
He then gave a nod to the points she had made earlier. “Time will tell if any of your concerns hold water. Even then, if this reform method doesn’t work out, we will likely make excuses for a long time before we go back to any older technology, like mass incarceration—probably about the time that our first remade world will be ready for colonization. I imagine there will be many options for how to handle criminals in the brave new future.” He thought about his company’s latest project world, of its excessive gravity, and whether it might serve as a fitting penal colony.
He went on after barely a pause. “Me, I’m the optimist to your pessimist. I’ve been disappointed in mankind before, but I’m sure that mankind has surprised you on occasion. Let’s call it a wash—we come out fine in the end. In any case, I like my way of seeing things. Besides, it’s not like we’re traveling back in time to change the past; the individual’s changes have no paradoxical effects. It’s a no-lose situation as far as anyone can
tell.”
She said evenly, “Very pretty speech.” He grinned his response. She ignored his self-satisfaction. “I’m glad that everyone’s happy. There’s nothing that I can do about it anyway. No one could stop this rolling ball now.” She couldn’t help but feel just a little sour; she’d put her one powerful vote in against it, and his equally weighted vote the other way had cancelled it out. Her voice had been largely ignored and put down, just as he had done now.
Everybody was a born-again New Ageist all of a sudden. The cynic’s and conservative’s voices were drowned out by the praise that the majority was lauding upon the lawmakers who held the technique in high regard.
She changed the subject. “Speaking of ghosts, is there any news of the crew that was lost with the Rapscallion?”
“Oh yes. Word is that the crewmembers, who were the regrown individuals, did not show up on the other side, nor did the two crewmembers that were regressed to fetuses. The only true survivor is the woman used by the Elemental as the conduit. The ghosts say she’s doing okay over there; they’re helping her recover, bringing her back from the edge of sanity.
“In fact, according to the few ghost witnesses we could find, the special soldiers seemed to go insane before the ship was destroyed. The Elementals had no effect on them otherwise. They weren’t consumed a second time. That supports what some believe; that their souls are gone after they are regressed the first time, regrown or not.”
She was nonplussed. “Gone? Excuse me. Wouldn’t that have some impact on this decision to use the Elementals to the ends proposed?”
“Possibly, if it is taken as you appear to take it. Myself, I believe that it just supports the idea of rehabilitation. Maybe the part of the Soul that is responsible for the evil done by a criminal, maybe that is the piece that is removed.”
“I think that you are assuming a great deal too much.”
He nodded thoughtfully, as if he gave some credence to her concerns, but responded, “We will go ahead, as planned. As I said, time will tell.”
They would both be around, possessing an age between twenty and thirty, soulless or otherwise, continuing to witness and guide from behind the scenes.
CHAPTER 99
EVENT: DAY 54, Epilogue
Garrison followed a winding path through the crowd toward Dominique.
He paused as he saw her hands reach out to clasp other hands: Admiral Sumner. He couldn’t make out their conversation over the noise in the meeting hall; there was great deal of congratulatory chatter adding to the din. The assembled group consisted of cadets and their peers and parents, and a cadre of officers who had been awarded promotions. The joviality and ease that pervaded the environment was markedly different from the stiff formality of the ceremonies just past.
People milled about the hall, which was still filled with banquet tables peppered with the remnants of the final dessert course and coffee service. Bus persons excused themselves as they pushed portable stations between the tables, collecting dishes and dropping them, food and all, into the new reprocessors, which emitted a high pitched whine.
Slowly the crowd was moving out of the dining hall and into the adjacent reception area. The feeling of the space changed to a more utilitarian one; tablecloths removed, tables rolled away.
A path opened between Garrison and Dominique. The admiral was laughing and Dominique had a trace of a smile on her lips.
Sumner glanced over as Garrison started toward them again. “Ah, Captain Bartell, what a nice surprise. The two heroes of the day back together again. For the life of me, Captain, I cannot imagine you turning down the commission we offered. What is so appealing about the USUCC that we could not entice you away?”
Bartell kept it simple and diplomatic. “I suppose I have to finish things I start. Guess I’m not done there yet.”
“Well, by that standard, you left the Multi-Military Patrol a bit prematurely, didn’t you?”
Garrison wasn’t about to get into a policy disagreement with him; Admiral Sumner was Dominique’s peer now. He had not yet made eye contact with her, though he was aware of her gaze. “I suppose we all have different definitions of what constitutes an ending.” He said it for both Sumner and Dominique. Garrison looked at her then and could see that she had heard his statement with the meaning he had intended. She gave him a warm smile, and a meaningful nod. To her, his comment was a question; she had answered it. Their relationship had moved to a new phase of respect and camaraderie.
The silent communication went over the admiral’s head as he responded, “We would love to pair you two for other missions in the future. I hope that might be possible?”
Garrison looked back at Dominique for half-a-second, and then they both laughed out loud.
Sumner smiled at their exchange with a puzzled look. Garrison answered the man’s question, “Yes sir, I would welcome another opportunity to work with Admiral Astra.”
For the occasion, Dominique wore regal dress whites. Her now-long golden hair was pulled into a neat ponytail, highlighting the new, glittering epaulettes on her shoulders. She chimed in with a good-natured dig, “Yes, Captain, I would love you to serve under me sometime,” making a joke referring to the way their last mission had started out, and their updated, relative titles.
She had not intended sexual innuendo but Garrison took that meaning first and a wave of heat swept fleetingly over him. His face warmed in the flash-recall of their encounters, but immediately her meaning dawned and he laughed weakly. “Oh, yeah, very funny.”
If Admiral Sumner had any clue to the unspoken conversation between them, he politely disregarded the deeper exchange. “Well, I’m sure if we do manage to pair you up, we’ll give you equal status as before. You make a good team.”
They were nearly the last guests in the large room, now competing to be heard over the cleaning crews. The admiral changed to a more business-like tone, fixing Dominique with a serious look. “You have heard about Prisoner Swan, haven’t you?”
“I know what had been discussed, but that’s all. Have they done it, then?” she asked, uncertain whether she wanted to know.
Garrison listened intently; he wanted to hear this.
Sumner said, “Yes. You’ll notice that I did not call him Admiral. As far as he knows, much of his life—that we are aware of—never happened. He will receive no reprimand or punishment, and his file will be sealed as a science-research-only record. Swan will have no information about his previous future. That’s what we’ve dubbed it. He has been told an agreed upon, standard story, that he has ‘suffered a mental break and is being treated for this’. There is a bigger story that has been scripted for the psych doc, which will be laid out in the course of the behavioral therapy. The doctor is digging in to see what past issues might have sent him down his path.
“It’s fascinating really. I find it hard to have any ill will toward the man; well, young man now—an earlier Clarence Swan. He’ll receive counseling for the mental and emotional damage of his childhood, as it’s discovered. These events are much fresher for him now. One complication that we’re working with is the parents thing. In his case, they’re both dead, which is convenient for us, but it’s going to keep coming up as we perform the procedure on younger patients.
“We’ll experiment with different stories for different candidates. Maybe even interview them before the regression; see if they could tell us what would be believable. Bit of a twisting road.
“Oddly enough, Swan is a pioneer. The work to be done with him, and others, will bear its fruit over the next decade or so. We expect this longer return on the investment; it will take time to understand just how effective the psychology of the new treatments will be. But even if things don’t turn out as we expect, we will still be learning some important things along the lines of the Nature versus Nurture arguments.”
Dominique listened with mixed emotions; the man in question no
longer had any idea who Dominique Astra was. That much was comforting to her. “Just do me a favor, sir.”
“What’s that?”
“Please make sure that his path never crosses mine. I do not wish to be any part of the question.”
“I understand, Admiral Astra, you have my word. I see no reason that you two should meet.”
Garrison was fascinated by the story, but was waiting for something he hadn’t heard. “What about BUMP, is he going to be kept out?”
Sumner looked thoughtful. “At this time, we have decided to see what he chooses for himself. After all, his own character guided to him to the military in the first place; we want to see what this process has done to his self-guidance. I assure you that he will be under constant scrutiny, whatever path he chooses.” He added, “Especially, if it’s a military one.”
“It’s not my decision to make,” Dominique commented, “but I would keep him out of positions of power. I’ll never be able to trust him, no matter how reformed. Based on everything I know now, I feel that there are some traits that you cannot simply train out of a person. Things that he carried in from his past lives, which have to be acted out to be dealt with.”
Sumner thought for a moment. Garrison could see that the admiral did want to go down that path. “I don’t suppose we can please everyone. I imagine there will still be those who will ask for punishment in any case. That makes no sense, of course, just a waste of money if we then end up erasing the memory of the punishment. The vindictive streak is strong in some people though.”
In Garrison’s opinion, his response was evasive. The man didn’t seem to want to talk about esoteric realities.
Anyway,” the admiral continued, “some of these things are still academic. Time will tell.”
His tone changed again, to one of final salutations. “Well, Admiral Astra—Dominique; Captain Bartell, I’ve got to get back planetside. Good luck to both of you in your careers.”
Parallel Extinction (Extinction Encounters Book 1) Page 49
