The Price of Wisdom

by Shannah Jay

  'Let me stay with him,' she said, trying to stop weeping. 'Just for a moment. Please!'

  'You heard the Exec. You're confined to your own quarters. Solitary. No communication between you two.'

  'But I need to talk to Kerem.' She grasped Sim's arm, digging her fingers in. 'Please. Just a few words. Please, Sim.'

  He gently removed her hand. 'Sorry, but I have my orders.' As they walked past Kerem, he asked suddenly. 'Why didn't you open up Soo's quarters again for Robler?'

  'I couldn't. I activated the prime emergency system she'd set up as we left. No one short of a Confex Sector Leader with a master override authorisation could get in there now. Soo was - she still is, I suppose - a brilliant com-engineer.'

  'Robler will be mad about this for days. You should have told him when you first found a way in.'

  'He's mad – period.' She didn’t care whether Robler heard this or not.

  'He’s just - very upset,' Sim said, choosing his words carefully. 'We've been on this satellite for a long time. And he's got sole responsibility. It's not easy for him, you know. It's not easy for any of us. We’re all suffering from this long incarceration.’

  Meera refused to soften what she’d said or cloak it in diplomatic language. 'He's mad and you know it. Totally insane. Even the machine recognised that when it refused to inject me. Why can't you acknowledge it? Why are people still obeying him?'

  Sim pushed her into her cabin, disconnected the com-system from outside, an action usually only undertaken for repairs and maintenance, and walked away. He passed Kerem being taken to his quarters, still looking disoriented after the stasis-stun. He hurried past, wishing this were not happening, wishing he’d never joined Confex.

  Unlike Kerem he’d remained firm in his resolve to obey Robler until the Confex rescue team arrived, after which he intended to make any complaints necessary. He and Jarna had discussed it many times. They didn’t wish to lay themselves open to prosecution or lose the huge bonuses they’d have earned during their enforced stay on the satellite. Those bonuses would provide enough credit for them to return home and live in luxury for the rest of their lives. Confex Central was always very generous with employees who got trapped in difficult situations, though Sim had never before heard of anyone being trapped for this long.

  But as he sat in his quarters, trying to regain his equilibrium, the memory of Meera's distress made him worry about whether he’d be able to keep to his plan. Never in all his life had he envisaged himself disobeying his Exec - never until now.

  If the machine considered Robler unstable, though, it was best to be prepared. He might be forced to intervene. Logically it might be the only thing to do. But he hoped desperately that it would never come to that.

  ***

  That night Meera cautiously tapped out the signal on the special mechanical com-equipment, another of Soo's inventions, which Meera had installed to link her quarters with Kerem's. It functioned independently of the main system. She’d wondered if she was over-reacting when she installed it, but now she could only be thankful she’d taken that precaution.

  'Kerem?' she whispered, keeping her voice low and moving her lips as little as possible.

  A tapped signal said Kerem was listening. They'd agreed to verbalise as little as possible if they ever had to use this equipment.

  She swallowed, trying to bring moisture into her throat. She was both thirsty and hungry now, for she'd been locked in her quarters for several hours without the use of standard facilities. Small quarters they were, too. She wasn't one of the technical experts, but a crew member. She was starting to feel as if the walls were closing in on her, even though she’d told herself not to be so fanciful.

  Identification established, she tapped three times, using a code of actions they'd devised.

  Kerem's single tap signalled agreement.

  Then Meera began the actions which would, if Confex believed Robler's story instead of hers, lose her all her accrued pay and get her dismissed from the service - and probably prosecuted for mutiny, too. Her face was bleak as she used some of the other com-tricks she'd learned from Soo's records to let herself out of her quarters.

  She still wondered why Soo had left that message for her when she fled from the satellite to go down to the planet, a message giving Meera the access code to Soo's records, a code denied to everyone else. It couldn't, surely, be because Meera had seen Soo leaving and said nothing. Soo must

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  have done it before she left.

  Kerem joined her in the corridor. 'Met,' he mouthed silently.

  Meera sighed, but agreed. Using a variety of system subversion tricks from Soo's repertoire to hide their passing, the two of them began to make their way to the medi-centre. There, working in silence, they released Met from stasis restraint.

  'Shh!' Meera moved closer to Met and whispered, 'We're going down to the planet. Join us?'

  He stood very still, trying to think it through logically. Obviously several hours had passed since he'd been put under restraint. He looked at the two grim faces. 'What happened after Robler stunned me?'

  'He tried to drug and interrogate Meera in the medi-centre to find out how to get into Soo's quarters. The diagnosis-system refused to obey his orders. There's apparently an override built in for irrational Execs and the diagnosis-system has some autonomy in that area.'

  Meera shivered at the memory. She didn't think she'd ever forget the terror she'd felt as she lay bound and helpless in the medi-centre, or the humiliation of her body's reactions. Coming here again had brought it all back. And after the system had refused to obey Robler's orders, she’d been even more frightened. She wasn't quite sure what he’d intended to do to extract the information from her without drugs, but she’d been sure somehow that it’d involve pain. And that he’d enjoy it.

  'Hurry up and decide,' Kerem urged. 'We took a risk stopping to get you.'

  Met took a deep breath and nodded. 'All right. I'll come. How?'

  Kerem shrugged. 'Lifeship.'

  Met looked doubtful. 'Possible?'

  'Hope so.' Kerem shrugged and led the way out of the medi-centre. They moved quietly along the narrow side passageways near the food production units. Turning one corner they bumped into Fran, a quiet woman who kept mostly to this area, which was her main responsibility. She’d retreated into this small world within a world as her way of coping with Robler and the situation, and they’d all learned to leave her alone.

  Meera opened her mouth to plead that Fran not give them away, but Fran shook her head, mouthed the words, 'Good luck' and turned aside.

  Kerem sighed in relief.

  There were only three lifeships left now in the main hold, since Davred had taken one for his escape. Robler had caused that one to crash on the planet. Kerem moved towards the nearest vessel -

  nothing to choose between them, since they hadn't dared advertise their intentions by putting any of their possessions inside.

  Within minutes he and Meera were installed in the tiny pilot's cabin, with Met in the lower personnel area beneath them.

  'Ready?' Kerem asked.

  Meera nodded. Fear cramped her into a tight bundle of nerves as the lifeship slid forward towards the launchport. She couldn't speak, could hardly breathe. What if Robler re-captured them?

  All take-off procedures followed the usual pattern, but it seemed to the three fugitives to take longer than usual. None of them spoke. What was there to say?

  'Five seconds to launch,' said a quiet, metallic voice from the ship-com.

  A red light blinked on the screen and Meera gasped at the sight of it.

  'Sorry, but I really can't let you go.' Robler chuckled. 'I thought I'd give you a small taste of freedom first. Such a pity to spoil your little game. But did you really think I hadn't anticipated this after the others left the same way?'

  'How will you get us out of the lifeship and back into the satellite?' demanded Meera. 'Why would you even want to? Just let us
go, in the name of sanity, Robler.'

  ' You dare to use the word sanity?' Robler mocked. 'I've already noted in the official Exec log that you're displaying signs of a disturbed mind, all three of you. I've noted with regret that I might not have made the correct decision when I refused to let us all go under stasis. I shall be so humbly apologetic when the Confex Rescue Team gets here. Oh, and I shall wipe this conversation off the com-records before then, of course.' If Confex ever reached the satellite. Somehow he couldn't really believe they would now, though.

  Meera had tears in her eyes as she reached out her hand to Kerem. Below them, Met was staring bitterly at the walls of the small lower cabin, shoulders hunched. Things could surely not get any worse.

  He couldn’t see Confex disbelieving a man with such a distinguished career as Robler.

  'Flood the lifeship with sleep gas!' Robler ordered calmly.

  'Goodbye,' Meera said loudly. Kerem and Met echoed her words. They waited for unconsciousness to sweep them away, knowing they probably wouldn’t wake up again until Confex released them from stasis restraint.

  ' Order denied! ' said that cool metal voice.

  'What!' Robler's voice had become harsh, throbbing with rage. 'What do you mean, order denied.'

  ' The act is irrational. No enemy is attacking the satellite. The passengers in the lifeship are displaying no signs of violence, nor do their life readings show anything wrong, mentally or physically, except for severe tension, which is a normal reaction to this type of situation. '

  There was a blare of static, then the com-voice took on an in-ship conference tone, so that only the three people in the lifeship were speaking to one another and Robler was excluded. You could always tell the difference by a certain flatness of tone. ' Why are you trying to leave the satellite, Meera, Kerem, Met? '

  Meera let out her breath in a whoosh of relief.

  'Because of Robler's irrational behaviour,' Kerem replied. 'We're afraid he'll put us under stasis restraint - or even harm us. If you remember, during the last daytime period you had to deny him access to drugs which he was going to force on Meera.'

  There was silence for what seemed like an eternity, then the com-system asked, ' Where do you wish to go? '

  'Down to the planet.'

  ' No base has been set up there. You would be in grave danger. '

  Meera watched Kerem lean forward, as if to get closer and speak confidentially. Funny how you did that instinctively, even when talking to a machine.

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  'There is no official base on Sunrise,' he agreed, 'but Davred Hollunby has established a settlement in the High Alder, well away from Those of the Serpent. We’d be safe there.'

  ' Please put your thumb on the test pad and repeat that. '

  Meera watched as Kerem did this, almost holding her breath as she waited for the com-system to analyse his body's chemical response for truth probability and fit the results into its logic paradigm.

  ' Please put your thumb on the test pad now, Meera, ' that polite voice insisted. 'Then please do the same when I give you the signal, Met.'

  Another long wait. Not for the chemical analysis, which was almost instantaneous, but for the logic paradigm to run itself through the com-system control program, and then run a repeat. Com-systems still worked more slowly than human brains when trying to make decisions on their own and they generally 'thought' things through at least twice.

  'Request is reasonable in the circumstances. ' It reeled off a set of probability statistics about its decision, then said, 'Please resume your flight positions. Take-off in ten seconds.'

  Meera did as it ordered, letting tears flow down her cheeks. She felt Kerem's hand pat hers once, then they were in take-off mode.

  The com-system didn’t bring Robler into the communication link again, so the lifeship slid quietly out of the satellite and began its journey down to the planet. It all happened so quietly and smoothly that it was an anticlimax after the hours of strife and tension.

  'Is this really happening?' Meera asked, as time passed. 'Can com-systems really override Execs?'

  Met's voice came to them from the cabin below. 'I'm astonished at its existence.'

  'There's hope for us afterwards,' Kerem said. 'If it can override Robler in this course of action, I doubt the system will delete the recordings at his say-so, either. Or launch any missiles at us.'

  'Or use tractor beams on us,' Met agreed.

  'I'm a little nervous about living down on the planet,’ Meera said. ‘I haven't had much to do with primitives before.'

  'Davred didn’t consider these people primitive, just different,' Kerem said. 'And in any case, it would be impolite to use that word about our hosts. He believed that Those of the Sisterhood had gone down another evolutionary path to us - by choice. And he was very strongly drawn to their Quest. I remember him once calling it the Quest for Peace and Wisdom. That seems a most reasonable aim to me. I shall be interested to meet them in person.'

  'Well, we don't seem to be the target of any attacks, so we'll soon see what the people of Sunrise are like,' Met chimed in. 'But hadn't we better try to contact Davred now?'

  CHAPTER 13 PORTALS IN DANGER

  It was fortunate indeed that Herra was standing near the portal when it vibrated into life, for the shape that rose from the water was the one they all dreaded, a serpent's head, narrow eyes gleaming in the dark face. But it was larger than a serpent's head, far larger. Rock serpents never grew this large.

  ' Brother, look down! ' she murmured and pointed her hand to concentrate her will.

  The shape rumbled with deep subliminal sound and arched upwards from the water, hissing.

  Herra didn’t move. She could feel the creature's hatred beating against her, so she called to mind a memory of Quinna's twin sons as they had been when they were young and used that to send out a burst of joy.

  The dark shape quivered, uttered a deep rumbling groan, as if the joy gave it pain, and slowly sank back into the water.

  ' Dear Brother, it's found a way to use the portals! ' she gasped when the evil miasma it left behind had dissipated.

  She waited there until she was sure the Serpent wasn’t hovering nearby, till the air felt clean again.

  Just as she was turning to leave, she felt the portal's energies surging. Not again! she thought. But as she turned, she saw three SS'Habi come into sight on one of their sleds flashing blue light.

  The sled settled down on the ground near the pool and the light beneath it faded.

  She knew the largest of the visitors, had met the Elder SS'Habi many times, but not for some years.

  For the first time she noticed that the yellow-tinged fur was more white than grey now, and that the Elder SS'Habi was moving slowly, as if her limbs were stiff.

  'Greetings, Elder Ssisster.'

  'Welcome to the High Alder, Elder SS'Habi. It's a pleasure to see you.'

  'Iss no pleasure. Iss great need.'

  Herra waited.

  'Sserpent iss growing sstronger. Can ssometimes use portals.'

  Distress was radiating from the Elder SS'Habi, for like the deleff whom they served, the SS'Habi were very peaceful beings, to whom violence was quite literally painful. A new generation of deleff had been bred now, who could face and fight against violence, but even for them it was difficult.

  'High Deleffal summoned thiss unworthy sservant today. Sserpent's actions are dissturbing the alignments. Could not come through thiss portal when Sserpent was trying to use it.'

  'That's very bad,' Herra agreed. It was always difficult to understand the deleff and the way they interacted with her world, but she’d had come to the conclusion while she was in Dsheresh Vale that the land of the deleff was slightly out of alignment with the rest of the planet. Davred agreed with her.

  He said that from the satellite there was no sign of life to the west of the wildwoods, no sign of the Sandrims or the Tanglewoods, just a vast barren landscape.

  And when
deleff died, she rather suspected that they moved on to another plane of existence, something like the Ladder of Life she herself believed in. The deleff, however, managed to remain in contact with those still living their first lives on Sunrise, though only when the two planes were in some sort of further alignment. Those who had moved on were tutors, leaders, many things to the living deleff. That was why you met the High Council in a special area, a place of contact which disturbed all human senses till even Herra, with all her Enhancement, had collapsed with the strain.

  She wished sometimes that her own people had such mentors from those who’d climbed higher on

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  the ladder of life. How wonderful it would be to ask the advice of the other Manifestations of the God in these times of trouble. The Lord Terraccalliss, for example, who had always been her own favourite, or the Illustrious Deverith, first of the Manifestations.

  The Elder SS'Habi's voice interrupted her musings. 'Watch musst be kept at all the portals. The Sserpent is sstill not sstrong enough as it comes through to overcome watchers from the Kindred, or deleff.' It hissed and chittered under its breath in its own language, as SS'Habi did when they were upset.

  'The Serpent just tried to come through this portal,' Herra told it. 'If I hadn't been on watch, it would have succeeded. We shall watch all the portals we know of from now on.'

  'Iss time to show you all those in the High Alder. All musst be watched. Will ssend deleff. Will train Kindred how to deal with Sserpent's manifestation in portals. Iss to your agreement?'

  'Yes. We definitely agree.' If the SS'Habi were worried, then trouble was escalating again. Well, Herra hadn’t expected life to continue for ever in the peaceful way it had for the past twelve years. That had been a bonus she had not expected, time to train Katia and Davred, time to watch Taslyn grow into a beautiful young woman, time to try to moderate the wilfulness of Petur, whose early upbringing in the ways of the Serpent had left a taint that was still there, whatever the Kindred did to eradicate it.