Spinward Fringe Broadcast 7: Framework

by Randolph Lalonde

  “A real laugh riot,” Wheeler said. “The Victory Machine led you to everything you and Collins needed to take over, and get your cash cult going. I got that part of the story.”

  “Cash cult,” Hampon repeated. “It had a ring to it. Now it’s a real religion, with immortality, paradise, and at long last we have our hell.” He pointed to Pandem and Eve couldn’t help but wonder what he could possibly mean. There was nothing hellish about the world aside from its history, the humans there were restoring it faster than she could have expected.

  Lister Hampon continued on as small robots approached him from several parts of the room and started to clean him up. “’There is a darkness coming.’ The Victory Machine laid that on thicker and thicker and Collins and I made progress. Then it elaborated. Humans have been testing the boundaries of polite science for as long as there has been a record, and we finally ventured into something that we should never have even considered. A Regent Galactic company tried to make dragons out of unborn Edxi, and they were successful. Can you imagine? Dragons! Real dragons for amusement parks and pets that you could train in their long adolescence of thirty five, sometimes more than forty years. When they start into maturity they’d become ill and die. Now that’s a forward thinking product.

  The edxi found out about it. The Exile went in search for evidence and thanks to Alice Valent, who was just a messenger in all this – something Meunez never understood – Zarrick the Exile found it. It doesn’t matter that Regent Galactic’s subsidiary closed the project out years ago.It didn’t matter that there were other companies, even secret arms of governments, that were researching the edxi just as closely. It didn’t even matter that thousands of people were killed by edxi in minor acts of retribution, things no human would see as trespassing, or other violations. That wasn’t appropriate retribution for humans corrupting their children. They demanded more. Whoever was controlling the Victory Machine knew it, and they gave me all the directions I needed to do one thing: save humanity.”

  “It’s true,” Clark said. “What’s about to happen must happen. There is no other way.”

  A broad shape with mechanical tendrils reaching in all directions with barbs and dim lights faded into existence near Pandem. Eve had difficulty judging, but it looked almost as large as the Overlord II, kilometres in depth, and even wider. “We don’t even know how they do that,” Hampon said. “Take all the readings you want, try to follow them through whatever faster than light solution they’re using, and you won’t discover a thing about how they move through the universe.”

  “We can fight,” Eve said. “My Fleet numbers in the millions.”

  “They can be anywhere!” Hampon cried. “They aren’t even from this galaxy. The worlds they rule have been under their control for hundreds of years, and every guess we make points to them having faster than light technology for even longer. They may have even been in space long enough for it to inform their evolutionary path, thousands of years. This is what humans fear, the ravenous foe that appears out of nowhere. The one we cannot fight, where fear is the only correct emotional response. We put ourselves here, to clear the way so they can have Pandem, and we make sure people like those Freegrounders can’t stand in the way. The Victory Machine was so adamant about them, the well-intentioned ones who would puff up their chests and declare a ‘just war’ against the edxi. Maybe they would make a few kills, perhaps they’d even fight off the first wave, but that would bring more retribution, more consumption.”

  Vessels of all shapes began emerging from the main ship by the dozen, all directed at the planet. “What are they going to do on Pandem?” Eve asked, looking at Clark, whose fists were clenched.

  “They are taking it as a brood world,” Clark said.

  “Interesting thing about edxi,” Hampon said, smiling and nodding at Clark. The robots had managed to clean him and another brought a long white cloak fringed with silver. “They’re mindless animals, like a cross between something insect and lizard for the first thirty or forty years. Mothers lay dozens of eggs, and they wait for them to mature before dropping them on a planet like this, where there’s a good hunting ground, water, and a lot of land. They return decades later as their fittest, surviving young are entering maturity and becoming intelligent. They demanded three worlds just like this so far. The other two will be ready within the year. The Order’s recruiting centres are spreading by the day. Even on worlds where they are on the verge of declaring war on Regent Galactic and the Order of Eden, we have places where people can go and step onto the path to immortality, to eternal grace.”

  Eve watched the vessels as they moved towards Pandem. The mother ship kept launching them, and there were hundreds. Her stomach was becoming increasingly uneasy as she remembered the people she saw briefly when she visited. The girl with the beautiful eyes would become prey along with all the rest of them. “Hell,” she said to herself quietly. The mindless, savage young of the edxi would hunt and eat.

  “It was a big hit with other religions,” Hampon said. “It’s a perfect fit for ours. We won’t tell anyone about this, of course, but word will leak out. It’ll be rumour, a dark myth. We’ll tell our followers that rebels destroyed Pandem while we keep prying eyes away. Regardless, this is the place followers think of when they fear they are not achieving enough in the Order. This is the rumour that will make them serve us until they are worn down to the bone.”

  “The Holocaust Virus did enough damage, we have to suffer this now?” Wheeler said. “I remember the galaxy before you turned most of my favourite cities into ghost towns, it was a good place to be.”

  “That’s something that couldn’t have worked out more perfectly,” Hampon said. “The edxi would have demanded death, and were on the verge of invading, starting with the worlds that were hardest hit by our virus. We did it for them, and when they saw the death toll brought on by the Holocaust Virus, they were impressed. Humanity will survive in spite of the cost. It’s what we do.”

  “You enjoyed it,” Clark said. “You enjoy this.”

  “This is power, boy,” Hampon replied. “This is the quest for the ultimate, most primal good, self preservation. Who else could do this?”

  “Someone who didn’t enjoy it,” Clark said, taking a step forward. “I know everything you know, and I can feel myself breaking inside. You are eager. You are evil.” He took another step.

  “Gua-“ was all Hampon managed to say before Clark raised his hand and stopped his mouth from working.

  “I’m going to rewrite you, Hampon,” Clark said. “I know how the work has to continue, and I’ll do it without taking pleasure. I even know the next thing you were going to do, and you were going to send Wheeler. I’m going to send you with him, as his lap dog, and you’re going to love it.”

  “No,” Hampon managed.

  “You saw what Freeground did to me, how they programmed me to fight for my nation without question. I can’t think of anything worse.”

  Two guards standing on the second balcony raised their rifles. Clark leapt up and crossed the distance so quickly that Eve almost missed it. The guards were in his hands like dolls an instant later, and he threw them to the deck hard enough to rattle it under Eve’s feet. “You don’t want to challenge me,” Clark said as he let himself drop to the ground. “The galaxy hasn’t seen anything like me yet, and I hope it never does again. I’m taking this freak’s place,” he said as he crossed to where Hampon stood as though stuck to the ground. His eyes were filled with fear, and Eve couldn’t help but smile.

  “Help me,” Hampon said as Clark’s enlarged hand engulfed most of his head. His long, black claws dangled past his chin.

  “Goodbye, Hampon,” Clark said. “Your hateful personality might remain, but you’ll aspire to different things. Things that will keep your urges working in the right direction.”

  Clark closed his eyes and Hampon shuddered for long seconds before he was released. “Take him, get him close enough to Jacob Valent to kill him,” he said to W
heeler. “If Jacob doesn’t die, then he’ll get too close and discover the edxians too early. It’ll lead to those things taking their ships into the core worlds. Lister’s going to be in a daze for a while, but he’ll follow you.” The Beast named Clark slowly moved to the seat in the middle.

  “What’s to stop me from dropping him in the nearest sun and moving on?” Wheeler asked.

  “I can find you,” the Beast said. “I can find anyone within the reach of the Order of Eden network, just like Hampon. I know how to rip you to pieces, Wheeler, you’re an inferior model. Never forget it. I’m also in debt to you, so when you’re finished delivering Hampon, go do whatever you want. Start over with one ship, and an idiot first mate. Don’t come back to the Order unless you’re ready to serve, and don’t go back to Freeground for any reason.”

  “Fair enough,” Wheeler said, grabbing Hampon’s arm. “This way, Freak. Time to get back to the Ferryman, I miss being on my own ship.” He nodded at Eve briefly and said, “nice meeting you, Goddess, good luck with the new regime.”

  Eve stared as the Beast sat down on the edge of the black seat. She didn’t know what to say, and didn’t have the first clue as to what to do or what to expect next. She glanced at the body at her feet and had a thought. “I know he was a clone, but can I cremate him properly? There are people who may want to pay respects. He had a short life, but he was revered.”

  “Take the Order, take your Fleet,” Clark said. “The galaxy won’t understand this. There will be war whether they find out about this or not. I want you to fight alongside me. So we can keep them from interfering with this,” he said, gesturing towards Pandem. “No one can interfere. If you want to save humans from themselves, like I overheard when I was in your head, then that’s how you do it.”

  “By killing them,” Eve said.

  “By only killing when we must, so our real enemies don’t take too many. This isn’t a choice I could have made, but it was the right choice. Now we have to deal with it. Someone has to keep convincing the Order that they’re on the true path, so your success has to overshadow what we lose. We need a goddess. You need to give them immortality when they excel, and send them to hell when they fail.”

  Four guards approached with a stretcher and waited for her orders. Eve looked at the Beast once more and nodded. “I’ll be your goddess. I’ll help you fight this war.”

  “I’ll be watching,” said the Beast.

  “I know,” Eve replied. She motioned for the soldiers to pick up the Child Prophet’s body and they efficiently loaded him onto the stretcher and followed her out of the chamber.

  Chapter 41

  The Expendable Few

  The need to avoid people in order to keep life simple hadn’t plagued Ayan since she was at the Academy, at least not to the extent that she experienced as she walked past Liam Grady, who was supervising the storage of survival supplies as they came in from the shuttles. He wasn’t just dealing with the Triton’s extra supplies, but the towers of crates they’d extracted from the Enforcer. Getting past him wasn’t hard, but when he smiled at a glance in her direction, she couldn’t help but grin back and blush.

  “I don’t have time for this,” she grumbled as she marched up the entry ramp into the Clever Dream. Its engines were still cooling from three quick runs to the Triton.

  “Pardon, Miss?” asked Sergeant Jenny Machad. She and Victor were relentless in staying within sight.

  “Nothing,” Ayan said. “Just talking to myself.”

  Two guards stood beside Trent Davi and Remmy Sands along the side of the main hallway in the Clever Dream. She pointed at them with her index and middle fingers and said; “You two, with me.” She looked to their guardians. “You two are back on regular duty.”

  “Yes, Ma’am,” the guards replied before filing out of the Clever Dream.

  Remmy Sands and Trent Davi followed Ayan into the captain’s quarters, where she sat down on the edge of the large bed and motioned for them to sit on the seat in the middle. Jenny sat down on a small sofa-seat at the side, pulling her sidearm out and letting it rest on her lap, while Victor stood beside the door, his rifle held across his chest.

  “The Sunspire dropped you off here,” Ayan said to the pair sitting in the middle of the room.

  “Yes, Ma’am,” Remmy Sands replied, “and it’s good to see you. If I can take a moment to say, you’re more beautiful than in any of the holos.”

  “Oh my God!” Ayan said, “I don’t have any bloody time for this!” She was aware that she was more aggravated with her own distractions than with the flattery from the small man who offered it. “You, Sands, I’ll have you shut up until Davi fills me in.”

  “I prefer Remmy, actually,” he replied sheepishly.

  Ayan shot him a warning look and pointed at him, ignoring a snicker from Jenny’s side of the room. She looked to Trent Davi and took a breath. “So, what’s the Sunspire doing here, who’s commanding her, and where are they now? I can’t raise them on comms and their transponder isn’t showing up in the area.”

  “You can call me Davi, Commander,” he replied calmly. “She’s Captain McPatrick’s command, and I’m afraid they wouldn’t tell us a thing. We were shuttled to a station on the edge of the Rega Gain system, they bought us a ticket to Tamber, gave us a few local credits, and we came here. All I can say for sure is that they moved on, out of the system.”

  “Captain McPatrick?” Ayan asked as she looked it up on her comm unit. To her surprise she discovered that it was Oz’s uncle. She’d heard of him, a severe man who was the very example of a Fleet commander, but she’d never met him. “What’s his mission?”

  “I can’t say at this point, Ma’am. They stopped telling us anything once our mission came to an end, and they put us into isolation,” Davi said. “We’re scapegoats for action that went sour.”

  “I was there for the whole thing,” Remmy said cautiously. “Saw more first hand than my friend here, I can explain.”

  “It’s true,” Davi said. “He’s got more of the story than I do.”

  “Then let’s hear it, but keep it short, we’re expecting an invasion sometime after oh-nine-hundred and I’d like a few hours’ sleep before then,” Ayan said, loosening her collar and leaning back. The mattress adjusted to support her.

  Jason Everin entered quietly and took a seat across from Jenny on the other side of the cabin, looking the newcomers up and down.

  Davi and Remmy looked at each other warily for a moment. “We’ve got the very best timing,” Remmy said sardonically.

  “Could’ve been worse,” Davi replied. “We could have landed after the action.”

  “That’s better, in my book,” Remmy said.

  “What? Miss the fun? I’m here to sign up.”

  Remmy shook his head and returned his attention to Ayan. “It’s like this: the Puritan Party got into power awhile ago thanks to a whole bunch of voters who thought they would deliver on making Freeground safe again, protect us from evil viruses and big bad military machines run by bigger corporations. They did, sure, a little, but they really only finished plans that were already in place by Freeground Fleet, and then instituted a whole bunch of rules that would get us citizens breeding, staying, and not looking at the awesome imported entertainment coming in from the universe.”

  “They censored pretty much everything, with the main focus being news,” Davi said.

  “Right, news, like that was what they were really afraid of,” Remmy said, rolling his eyes. “One of the biggest things they didn’t want people to see was the crew from the First Light. We’re big fans, by the way, because you let the genie out of the bottle, saw the galaxy and survived. They wanted to turn the clock back, to when everyone thought Freeground was the safest place to be and didn’t want crazy stuff like talking pets and the Stellarnet. It didn’t work. People left in droves since they knew that the galaxy wasn’t as nasty as they wanted us to believe. A lot of people even paid their hundred thousand and headed to a Regent Gal
actic world, something we’ve just started finding out in the last few weeks.”

  “To cut Remmy here short,” Davi interrupted. “Anyone who didn’t fit in with the Puritan Party’s social breeding program, or wanted to look past Freeground territory, was watched. The military was cleaned up first.”

  “Yeah, and if you had different views, started living your life too loud, then you’d end up jailed or sent away. Then there’s my buddy Clark. He was in line to step onto the bridge of a carrier when his sister was busted for trying to join the Order. They put him into mental treatment, set him up with a girlfriend named Isabel, a new sense of duty, and they packed all his pain away. His sister was executed, but until Doctor Marcelles, who changed his sex and renamed himself Omira, released his mind, he couldn’t feel a damn thing. The crap they put in his head, a control and monitoring circuit, pretty much killed him, so Omira set him up with an upgrade. The latest framework technology got installed into Clark, and we didn’t even really know how much it would change him. All Mary, Izzie, and I really cared about was his survival. You following?”

  Ayan was, but there were questions. She’d want a lot more detail, but Remmy’s motor-mouth telling of his story fit the time they had. “Doctor Marcelles is Doctor Omira Marcelles now,” she said. “And the Puritan Party is proving right everyone who thought having them as a majority government was a bad thing. You, Clark, and a few others were rounded up and jailed?”

  “Well, she actually goes by Omira Gerring now, and, well, we weren’t jailed by the end,” Remmy said. “We were put into service. A few people, Doctor Anderson being one, and Captain McPatrick being another, were put in charge of a program to put all us misfit toys to work.”

  “By misfit toys, he means people rejected from the Freeground Military,” Davi said.

  “Right, anyway, we got the job of taking the Sunspire back, since it went all agro and started killing ships wandering into its territory. Davi here and Clark were leaders in the battle, I was one of the hackers who had to wipe out the messed up AI code. We lost a lot of people getting on, but we did it. Then they put us out there again, to look for Doctor Marcelles. We found him, well, her, but anyway, she led us to her old research ship. Big secrets to killing framework soldiers, developments in the tech, info on some nasty aliens and crap-tons of other info I haven’t even gotten through yet was there for the taking, but there was also some really ugly stuff I just can’t un-see. There were frameworks being eaten by alien bugs that were getting a bellyful because as they-“