“Mmm. Maybe. So how many Friends of the People are there?”
“The number of them is only meaningful when taken in context with the number of People and the size of our civilisation. You will have a lot of privileged information as a Friend of the People which may not be shared with anyone else. What I am telling you about the phase shift protection and about the People’s civilisation is privileged and may not be shared. I hope you realise the trust I am putting in you Mark. I believe you will not betray that trust. You are the only Friend of the People in this galaxy. There are over one trillion People in this galaxy alone, although only a few ever leave the Habitats.”
“Habitats? No, forget it, we’ll come to that later. So the people have colonies in other galaxies. That’s impressive to be able to travel so far.”
“We do not have colonies in some galaxies. If you were to characterise our spread throughout the universe that way, then this galaxy is just another colony. The People inhabit trillions of galaxies in what is effectively an infinite universe, so putting a number to the Friends of the People is meaningless. With such a widespread civilisation, our perspective on things like measuring time and the flow of history is inevitably different to other species.”
“I think I may need to take some time to to get my head round that. The People are in trillions of galaxies?” Mark shook his head. “How many have you been to?”
“I consider this galaxy to be my home. It is where I originated from and where I have spent most of my life, but I have been to thirteen thousand eight hundred and twenty-two other galaxies, according to my AI. I don’t remember them all of course, but my AI has all my memories if I wish to recall any of them.”
“Bloody hell. How old are you?”
“In my terms I have lived a long and eventful life and I intend to live a great deal longer. In your terms, in the way you measure time, I originated about nine billion years ago.”
“What! You can’t be nine billion years old! Nothing lives that long! Not even the stars!”
“Mark, we do not age. Nothing can harm us. If we choose, we can live until the end of the universe. That applies to you too now.”
“Fuck me.” Mark said quietly.
“That may be enough for now.” Alan said. “It says much for you, and for my judgement in you, that you have taken this so calmly.”
“Er, yeah. There is one thing. You told me some time ago that you don’t get involved, but you’ve been getting pretty involved in this. Are you a maverick, going against what the People do?”
“It is generally thought that we, the People, don’t get involved and that is a belief we encourage. The reality is more complex. I have put forward the situation to the People, and it has been agreed that I should do everything necessary to ensure the failure of Tk'ng Dach Rrn without seeming to be the cause of his downfall. We have overwhelming power compared to all the other civilisations we have encountered throughout the known universe, but we don’t want to rule the universe, or the galaxy. We are in an invidious position Mark. We fear what we would become if we intervene, we fear what we would become if we stand by and do nothing.”
“You think Tk'ng Dach Rrn’s attempt to take over the galaxy is that important?”
“In the context of the history of the galaxy it is not significant. In the context of the Peoples civilisation it is not even noticeable. However, if Tk'ng Dach Rrn succeeds it will lead to the suffering of trillions of people over hundreds of thousands of years. We are in a dilemma. We do not want to play at being gods, directing the course of this galaxy’s history, but we do not want to stand by and watch such a horrendous sequence of events unfold.”
“So what are you, or should I say, we, going to do about it.”
“I don’t know Mark. We only provide assistance. We have no history of conflict. If you have any ideas that Sally’s army, or anyone else’s can implement, we, the People, which you are now part of, will do what we can to assist.”
“I have the beginning of an idea, but tell me more about the phase shift protection first. If it can withstand the buffeting from a nuclear explosion at ground zero, how would it handle it if I walked into a wall, if it was set at the same level of interaction?”
“You would simply walk through the wall, leaving a large hole.”
“Interesting. And if the wall was made of metal?”
“The wall would not stop the phase protection from its course. The wall would fail in a manner determined by its physical properties.”
“So I would walk through that too?”
“Yes, but wouldn’t it be easier to find a door?”
“Yes. Now if somehow I found myself chained up…”
“I do hope this has nothing to do with any kind of recreational sexual activity. You mammals have a reputation.”
Mark smiled. “I didn’t realise you were such a prude Alan, but no, this is strictly business. As I was saying, if I found myself chained up and didn’t want to be, how would the phase protection deal with that?”
“This is the sort of situation an Archivist has to deal with from time to time. I found myself in that position on Earth in fifteenth century Spain. I was taken captive by the Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición, or Spanish inquisition. They were supposed to give seven days notice before questioning suspects but not, apparently, if they suspect you of being a demon. Anyway, it doesn’t matter what you are chained or tied up with. If your phase shift protection is set for the correct interaction, it would seem to you that they were gossamer. A word of warning though. If you are in a primitive culture, do this with caution, preferably when you are alone. Otherwise it will draw unwanted attention to you.”
“I wasn’t thinking about a primitive culture. Just one more thing, can you supply me with a concealed weapon?”
“What sort of weapon, a blade of some kind?”
“No, something powerful, and with a bit more range than the thing you had delivered to me on Gnn’Ath. Thanks for that, by the way.”
“How concealed would you like it to be?”
“As much as possible. Undetectable would be ideal.”
“How do you feel about another implant?”
Mark could feel the blood draining from his face. “Not great, what had you got in mind?”
“A miniaturised version of the weapon that I sent you, implanted in your forearm. You control it via your AI. When you deploy it, the discharge barrel emerges and fires from your wrist beneath your hand, so it is also concealed in use. Look.” Alan lifted his upper right arm and tilted his hand up. A small white tube dropped down from his wrist.
Mark felt a bit more blood drain from his face and was starting to feel a bit faint. This surprised him, considering all the mayhem, blood and body parts he had seen in the last few days, and the almost casual attitude he had developed towards killing enemy soldiers.
“Does it hurt when you do that?” Mark asked.
“You won’t feel anything. It works on the same principal as the other weapon, with a shaped energy pulse, but this has a range of sixty metres. It dissipates after that so if your target is only just out of range it will be completely unharmed. You can fire single shots or you can fire it continuously with a repeat rate of about four per second.”
“I’ve seen what it does to a body, what does it do if it hits something solid, like a door or a wall?”
“The same thing. The pulse expands into a spherical containment field with a radius of about ten centimetres. It then shrinks whatever is in the containment field into a small capsule of dense matter, which evaporates over about twenty hours.”
“Do these make energy field armour collapse like the pulses from a Mark Eight?” Mark asked.
“Energy field armour is transparent to this weapon. The only thing which stops it is phase shift protection.”
Mark gulped. “OK, I have a plan. When can you do the implant?”
“Now if you like, but you will have to practise with it before using it in the field.
I will prepare a suitable firing range for you. Needless to say, this weapon is only known to the People. You must not reveal the existence of it to anyone, however close or trustworthy they are.”
Mark smiled. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell Sally.”
An Unwelcoming Return
Having recovered from the weapon being implanted, Mark practised with it in the firing range. By the time he had finished, deploying and firing the weapon were second nature. Alan was right, it didn’t hurt, in fact he couldn’t feel it at all.
Mark checked that Alan was in the Command Centre and blinked in to see him.
“I’m ready now.” Mark said. “I’ll need you to take us to Tk'ng Dach Rrn’s headquarters. You know where they are, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
“Just a thought, if you know where he is, why don’t you just go there and blow up the planet or something?”
“That would be a bit too much interference.”
“But it’s OK for me to go there as a Friend of the People? I am effectively one of the People, using People’s technology, and you know what I am planning?”
“I don’t know the details of what you are planning but I can assume what the outcome will be. You are a Friend of the People and, as you say, you are effectively one of the People. But you are not of the People, so your moral compass is different to ours. I know that you will do the right thing.”
“I’m going to brief Sally on the mission. I’ll contact you when we are ready to go.”
“However badly wrong your plan goes I know you will not be harmed, but be careful not to cause any harm to come to your friends.”
Mark paused for a moment and thought about that. He had made a lot of friends in the few days since he had left Earth, and yet in all his years on Earth he hadn’t made any. He shrugged and blinked to the team quarters.
When Mark arrived in the team quarters he found it empty. He stepped out and down the wide corridor to Sally’s quarters. The door opened as he approached and he walked in.
Sally sat at her desk, a map of Gnn’Ath on the screen in front of her. Most of the map was coloured green with a few small red blobs.
Sally turned to look at him. “So you are still alive. Thanks for keeping in touch.” She turned back to the screen.
“Er, yeah. Sorry, I’ve been busy. But I did send a message.”
“And I really appreciate the effort you made.” Sally said, with her back to him.
There was a stony silence for what seemed like hours, but was only a few moments.
“Don’t you want to know what happened to me?” Mark asked.
“You got out of there and survived. Well done.” Sally answered, still with her back to him, in an uninterested tone of voice.
“Oh shit Sally. I know I should have spoken to you, but I didn’t know what to say. It was all a bit overwhelming. It sort of messes your mind up when you are standing next to a fusion bomb when it goes off.”
Sally turned around in her seat. “You were standing next to it when it detonated? You couldn’t have been. That bomb flattened the city and left a bloody great crater of fused concrete and soil. If you had been there you wouldn’t even be atoms now.”
“You remember saying you were no expert on the People, but as a friend of the People I would become as untouchable as they are?”
“What’s that got to do with it?”
“You were right. I have discovered it includes becoming untouchable when you are standing next to a fusion bomb when it goes off.”
“Hmm.” Sally stood up, walked over to him and punched him in the mouth.
Mark fell back and could taste blood in his mouth. “Fuck, Sally. I think you’ve loosened one of my teeth!”
“Kate! You’re supposed to protect me by setting the phase shift interaction level!” Mark said to his AI.
“Yes, but you deserved that.” His AI replied.
Sally tilted her head to one side. “You don’t seem that untouchable.”
Mark smiled, even though it made his split lip hurt. “My AI said I deserved that.”
“Yes you bloody well did you thoughtless bastard. What really happened.” Sally demanded. She was clearly furious with him.
“My AI knows nothing about defusing fusion bombs and it turns out that neither do I. Remind me of that if I ever think about trying it again. I tried to disable the timer and caused the bomb to detonate. I was bending over it at the time. I survived that due to the People’s technology Alan had implanted without telling me. My AI called down transport from Mother and I came up to discuss what had happened with Alan. He explained a bit about what it meant to be a friend of the People. Although come to think of it, he didn’t explain why he had made me one. I must remember to ask him.”
“And you went to see Alan rather than coming to me?”
“I don’t know if you have ever been bending over a fusion bomb when it detonates? Probably not I guess. I can assure you that it shakes you up a bit. Mentally, I mean. Physically, I didn’t feel a thing. I thought I was dead at first. Then, when I could see what was going on around me, that I was standing ankle deep in boiling slag which was getting deeper as it started to slide back in from the sides of the crater, and that there was a firestorm of superheated hurricane force wind whirling round dropping rubble the size of cows around me, I thought I was in some level of Dante’s hell. While I was sitting in the liquid slag…”
“You sat down in boiling slag?” Sally interrupted him in a disbelieving voice.
“Well, it wasn’t doing anything to my feet. Look.” Mark said, lifting his right foot. “It hasn’t even scorched my boots. As I was saying, while I was sitting there waiting for a demon to turn up, my AI asked me if a wanted a lift. As there were no demons in sight, I thought I’d visit the next best thing - Alan.”
“That all sounds unlikely.”
“Get your AI to check with my AI, I’ll give it permission to access my AI’s memory.”
After a few seconds, Sally said “Oh. You really were standing next to the bomb when it went off.” She sat down on an armchair, looking shocked. “But you should have got in touch with me. When it detonated, I thought you were dead. The shock wave caught up with us and almost brought us down. We all thought you were dead. Orange hasn’t spoken since.”
“I’m sorry Sally. I’m just not used to this sort of thing. I’ve spent my life with no one close to me. I’m just an IT geek without any friends. So doing the right thing by my friends and someone I love...”
“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Mark thought. “Why did I say that! Mark - you are a complete twat!”
“Someone you love?” Echoed Sally, with a slight smile on her lips. “Now who would that be? I’m guessing it’s not Simon or Orange. Could it be Mike?”
“Oh fuck off Sally. You know what I mean. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say it. Can we just pretend I never said it?” Mark pleaded.
“Too late now,” Sally said, with a proper smile now. “The secrets out. Not that it was much of a secret anyway. I’ve had so many commiserations from people about losing you. Everybody knows how we feel about each other.”
She stood up and hugged Mark close to her. “If you do that to me again.” She growled, “I’ll come to an arrangement with your AI and I will fucking kill you.”
“You say the most romantic things.” Mark whispered back.
“So what’s next?” Sally asked.
“Ah. Well, I have a plan that will put a stop to this for good.”
“You want to stop this hugging?” Sally asked.
“To put a stop to this war.”
Sally stiffened and stepped back. “This war had its seeds over four thousand years ago and has been slowly escalating ever since. How do you propose to stop it now?”
“By cutting off the head of the snake. My plan will work, but you’re not going to like it.”
“I don’t like it already and I haven’t heard it yet. We don’t know where Tk'ng Dach Rrn is, but our intellige
nce is that he is on a heavily defended stronghold planet, and his personal guard are an elite troop of some kind of big, nasty reptiles. If we could get to wherever he is, our casualties would be unacceptably high.”
“I know where he is. I will get us taken there and I don’t plan for us to have many casualties. I’m not sure what will happen when Tk'ng Dach Rrn’s army find out he is dead, but we can quarantine his planetary stronghold or storm it with Ants.”
“And how exactly do you plan to get close enough to Tk'ng Dach Rrn to kill him?”
“Now this is the bit you really won’t like.”
The Mad Plan
Sally called the team together to a briefing room hear Mark’s plan. Within a few minutes they had all blinked in. Simon looked unsteady on his feet and weaved across the floor before dropping into a chair. Mike walked slowly in with a dreamy look on her face. Orange strode in looking his usual self, Ti’rrk had the same air of calmness she always had.
“Simon, get your filters on and sober up quickly. Mike, have you taken recreational drugs?”
“Of course.” Drawled Mike.
“You get your blood cleaned up too. Now he has finally recognised that he is a natural warrior, Mark thinks he can conquer the universe and he’s got some kind of mad plan he wants to tell us about. When I’ve turned it down, you can go back on R and R but I want you all sober first.”
“I’m glad to see you are alive Mark.” Orange said.
“Yeah, me too.” Simon slurred.
“Mmm. Well I don’t know what happened to you but I hope it hasn’t made you any more stupid than you were to start with.” Mike said in a lazy, dreamy voice.
Unwilling From Earth Page 34
