The Wizard of Chiron

[Raging Mouse]

Chapter 31: Meetings


See Domai.

He was sitting on a bench on top of Free Drone Central's external shell. Despite being several hundred meters above the ground, the wind was only a slight breeze. It had too little power to grab at his short hair, but it's touch was pleasant on the parts of his face not covered by the breather. Up here, where only his personal assistant and guard and a select few others followed, he could relax. His posture was restful, and his face seemed much older and shaped by hard work and great struggle.

So different from the image on the holovisions, Dorothy thought. Her long hair was easily gripped by the wind, and the breather she was wearing felt uncomfortable.

The leader of the Free Drones seemed to radiate comfort and calm, and overall the atmosphere was relaxed.

"Officially, I have eight hours of work. Same as all Free Drone citizens. But that is never enough, and I'd hate to delegate any more than I already have. So I try to find the most comfortable places for the extra work that has to be done. About fifty years back or so I tried working up here for the first time, and ever since, the sound of Planet's winds has been my number one choice whenever I need to relax. And the view is stunning, of course. I'd practice hang-gliding, but it's considered dangerous enough to be showing lack of responsibility to the Free Drones."

He sighed. "Anyway, everybody have understood my reason for being up here, and they tend to leave me undisturbed unless some emergency occurs. Also, up here it's very hard to eavesdrop or hide listening-devices without being detected. Up here we can talk freely. I want you to understand this."

He waited until both Dorothy and Steiner had nodded. Then he leaned forward. "Now, what is so special about you, Dorothy? What do you have that is so precious? And don't give me that same answer about your father. I won't believe you."

Dorothy was taken aback. "I.. I.." Steiner interrupted. "Why do you ask so?"

Domai leaned back again. "Two days ago, when you had left Morgan Entertainment, a diplomat from the Cybernetic Consciousness approached me with an unusual proposal. They'd withdraw from around Morgan Entertainment if we asked Zakharov to surrender Dorothy to them. He claimed that Zakharov was keeping you from being reunited with your parents. But thanks to our close cooperation with the Data-Angels we are quite aware of the Consciousness' desire for talents, so naturally I didn't believe him and told him to disappear. But diplomatically. Further, the diplomat almost admitted they were behind the kidnappings, even though it's one of the Consciousness' most defended secrets. So I wonder: Why are the Cyborgs so eager to get you that they jeopardize their entire talent-extrection program? It's not only the University they target, you see."

Steiner sighed and scratched his head. "I can't tell you much without permission from Zakharov. But.. Dorothy has successfully resisted one attempt at merging with the Consciousness. I suppose they are quite concerned this ability might spread."

Domai nodded. "That could seriously endanger their further expansion." He was silent for some time. "But you already admitted this isn't everything. However, it's enough for the moment. There's a group of probe trainees leaving for the Data-Angels in two weeks' time, and you can travel together with them. In return, I might ask you for a favour some time in the future. Okay?"

Steiner nodded. "All right. By the way, what was the name of the diplomat?"

"Rita Gamma-206. A quite charismatic woman." Domai noticed how pale Dorothy had gone. "Do you know her?"

Steiner nodded grimly. "She's a probe-operative, and the very person that managed to trick Dorothy into attempting a merger. Last time I saw her she was participating in the attempted kidnapping of Dorothy, and the successful kidnapping of Dorothy's parents. She's bad news."

Domai frowned. "Oh dear." He turned to his assistance. "Alert the covert-ops center. She must be under constant surveillance."

Steiner gaped. "She's still here?"

Domai shrugged. "Why not? Sounds like the University Counterintelligence knows her face; so she changed target faction. We have a very low ratio of talents in our cities, so we haven't been that good targets up to now, I suppose. It will give us an opportunity to study the Consciousness and it's techniques, as I'm sure she'll try to find new subjects for merging." He smiled. "Your presence has already been beneficial, since we now know the danger she represents. You will be rewarded somehow." He nodded. "I think that concludes our business. If you have any further need to contact me, go to Jasonian. He's usually able to get a message through."

He stood up and shook hands with Steiner. Then he turned to Dorothy. "The family is important within the Free Drones, and we believe in defending it. So I hope you someday will be able to see your parents again with their minds freed from the Consciousness."

Dorothy nodded. "Thank you."

After Steiner and Dorothy had gone, Domai admired the view for a moment. Then he sighed, and signalled to his assitant. "All right. Show me the magnetic survey-chart of area fifteen again..."

Now see Rita Gamma-206 Koskinen sit down at a table in one of Free Drone Central's local restaurants.

Few non-merged actually believed there was a Consciousness. They thought the Cyborgs were merely mind-controlled by individual algorithms. Some, like the Believers, thought the entire faction actually was quasi-religious, and that their praise of logic above emotions was the result of some obscure philosophy. But those, again like the Believers, usually had almost no contact with the Cyborgs.

Those who knew better generally let the topic lie; it was too unsettling to ponder deeply on the consequences such a Consciousness could have. They might sometimes stop and ask themselves; 'exactly what is the consciousness?' 'Is there really some entity or system governing Cybernetic society in general, and perhaps even influencing the actions of specific individuals?' Those few who continued still down the path of questions -usually people paid to think like this- found several new questions: 'Where, exactly, does it reside? What is it's speed of reaction? Since it, supposedly, consists of every merged individual of the Cyborgs, how does it think? The distances involved are extreme, after all. And what, exactly, is it's psychological profile?'

The Consciousness, of course, did exist. And not only as a metaphor, or even only Cybernetic. All humans knew of mass-psychology, and had expressions like 'the community', 'people could talk', or 'the voice of the crowd'. General opinion, in other words. Megatrends.

But the merged algorithms were what made the Cyborgs stand out from this crowd of crowds. Theoretically every algorithm was networked to every other algorithm, but practically this would be true only if every single member of the Consciousness was connected to a true network via MMI. The algorithmic parts of the merged individuals did communicate by other means, however. Simple face-to-face talking, or watching Cybernetic HV-programs, was enough. It was slow and didn't manage to relay data flawlessly, but it was enough to mimic the behaviour of two neurons in a mind. And these two 'neurons' were in contact with several others..

The fact that the Consciousness was strategically macchiavellian, but tactically pacifistic, had been deduced quickly. The Cyborgs had participated in numerous short-lived human/human vendettas with the Gaians and the University, and had occasionally lost a city or two as the borders shifted back and forth. The opposition found, to their surprise, that no merged individuals continued to resist when it was obvious one of their cities under siege was about to fall.

A simple explanation: Dead brains would not support the Consciousness. The short-term goal was, of course, to make the Cybernetic Consciousness the most powerful faction on Planet. But the main goal of the Consciousness was survival, and Cyborg society recognized the fact that there could be a day when an unmerged human would be the leader of all Cyborgs. The scenario was to be avoided at all costs, but even so.. it was possible. So, to minimize the damage caused by a conquered Consciousness, all merged Cyborgs usually surrendered when their city was conquered, and then worked on for the new administration as if nothing had happened.

Of course, the new administration seldom left them totally unmolested, but the University and the Gaians did generally respect the human rights -declaration. To decrease the mistrust, the Consciousness split in two, divided simply by the fact that there was a national border between the two halves (the conquered city and rest of the Consciousness). Most 'neural communication' of the Consciousness occurred face-to-face, during normal talk, so the boundary was effective as long as it was closed. And if the relations between the Cyborgs and the invading faction thawed, allowing people to travel, or if the city was recaptured, the two different Consciousnesses fused into one.

Having an algorithm with strange ideas about communication in your head gave secondary benefits as well. Rita opened the menu on a page at random, and looked over the top of it. She saw a man at another table do the same. Then the man's eyes started darting this way and that, apparently at random, but Rita's algorithm could translate:

"Message sixty-one from Armand: Subject Dorothy Parks presumed in University territory. Maintain standard intensity of talent -acquisition program. Use reserve assets to find data on location of Dorothy Parks. Message ends."

She responded. "Message to Armand: Message sixty-one received and understood. Message ends."

"Would you like to order now, madame?"

Rita glanced up at the waiter. "Yes, please; I'll have your marinated xenoannelids."

"And to drink?"

"Mineral water."

If there ever was any doubt that humans were unwelcome guests of this world then any attempt at eating the indigenous flora or fauna quickly did away with it. The biochemistries simply were too alien. Even when most of the alien proteins had been disintegrated by extreme amounts of cooking there were some chemical traces left that were unhealthy for humans to ingest, but alcohol dissolved them effectively. The end product was edible, but not very pretty to look at, and connoisseurs regularly varied the recipe, or relaxed the guidelines for safe amounts of cooking, to find out what Planet really tasted like. Opinions were of course varied, with an end-product so removed from it's original state, and ranged from 'interesting' to 'nauseating'.

To Rita's mind it was nothing but nutrition. Her merged algorithm made sure it tasted good, since it would give plenty of the necessary ingredients of life in correct proportions. She did, however, note the excellently arranged fig-leaves on the plate, and the innovative positioning of parsley around the mound of purplish-grey goo that was the actual food. The cook knew his decorating, and had an eye for detail and order.

She (literally) made a mental note to include him as a candidate for the talent-acquisition program. Then she summoned the waiter to pay her bill, pushed her chair back, stood up and exited the restaurant. The Free Drone agent following her every move had no idea something out of an ordinary meal had occurred.


End of chapter 31.

[Raging Mouse]

Chapter 32: The Road and The Guide


Dorothy studied the map with interest. "Why is it called that?"

Jim smiled. "It's a pun on names. It's actually the name for our route, and involves several different roads." He indicated a dotted line on the map. "It begins here, at Morgan Processing, and ends at Morgan Construction, close to the Data-Angel border. From those we get bricks, right? And the Morganite colour of choice is yellow. A yellow brick road."

Steiner looked approvingly at the map. "It passes by four cities, none of them that large, and keeps clear of Morgan Industries. Perfect. Only problem is, it follows the coast. Less dirctions to run in if we are detected."

Jim chuckled. "You forget who you're travelling with. I can enter most ports on Planet and find someone ready to help. Water is no barrier on this journey."

"I'm slightly stupid, right? Who are our travelling companions?"

"Eight promising probe-cadets led by a seasoned Data-Angel probe-operative. You won't know the cadets' real names, and they'll decide for themselves what they'd like to be called. It's both a silly tradition and a reasonable defense against the possibility of capture and interrogation. They'll 'earn' the right to use their real names once they've been on a handful of actual missions. And the Data-Angel's name; well, whatever he fancies at the moment."

The two weeks had gone by quickly. With most of the continent at war, the need for entertainment was at an all-time high, and downtown Free Drone Central looked like a collision between a fun-fair and a carnival. The contrast between worrying over the latest news from the fronts by day and seeking fun and laughter by night fitted well in with the rest of the contradictions in the Free Drones' nature.

And now the time to leave had come. Dorothy, Jim and Sebastian had travelled by mag-tube to Spanner Works early this morning, after an awkward farewell by Balbo and Laysa. Domai hadn't contacted them any further, but Jasonian had delivered his best wishes.

Right now they would meet the team and find out the details of the trip. Spanner Works was mainly a garrison-city, since it was as close to the morgan borders as possible. Morgan Processing was less than three hundred kilometers away. So far only small skirmishes involving recon units had erupted in the intervening terrain, as the two countries probed for an opening in each others' defenses, and so the route was as safe as possible, all things considered. But the Free Drones had prepared for eventual hostilities, and Spanner Works had a command center in it's garrison for better maintenance of it's forces. The three soon-to-be travellers stood in front of the center's five-storey surface structures. Jim could tell Dorothy that underground were sixty additional floors; high enough for vehicles of war to navigate and wide enough to house several hectares of simulated wilderness on one single floor.

Sebastian turned to Jim. "What next? Do we go in or what?"

Jim shook his head. "The officer who gave me this map said to wait outside. Someone will meet us."

Dorothy was uncertain. She had a nagging feeling something was wrong. Like, for instance, who was this man standing by her side? The stranger had approached several minutes ago and listened to the group's discussion with interest, yet neither Jim nor Sebastian seemed to notice. Dorothy hadn't really bothered about him much either, and it was beginning to worry her. Surely there was something odd about not minding a stranger intruding on a discussion? And he hadn't uttered a sound, only listened.

Dorothy found she had great trouble deciding what to do about him. She became annoyed, gathered her willpower and faced the man. The action was inexplicably draining, and she had to take some deep breaths before speaking. The man was watching her with an expression halfway between mirth and satisfaction.

"Excuse me, but who are you?"

Sebastian and Jim didn't look up from the map. The man quenched a half-formed grin and assumed a neutral expression. "Call me Merlin. Or, if you prefer my honorary name, the Wizard of Chiron."

"Merlin? That can't be your real name. Are you the Data-Angel we're supposed to meet?"

He nodded. A weight seemed to lift from Dorothy's thoughts, and she tugged on Jim's arm.

"Jim! This is Merlin; the Data-Angel!"

Jim glanced briefly at Dorothy and nodded. "Yes, that's good", he mumbled and returned to discussing the route with Sebastian. Dorothy gazed at him wide-eyed, while Merlin chuckled.

"A Data-Angel I am, and a probe-operative too, but look again at me, Dorothy! Do you see a single electronic gadget? Am I wearing a pocket computer? Do I have a sixty-channel commlink? No. So what am I?"

Dorothy shook her head in confusion. "I- I- maybe you left them in your room.."

Merlin sniffed and shook his head slightly. "Guess again." And let me give you a hint.

Dorothy's eyes widened. She was certain the last sentence had reached her mind without entering her ears. Merlin nodded slightly.

"I am a telepath. Not an empath, or a spiritual healer, or anything else, but a true psionicist. If there's a flaw in my skills it's my tendency to brag about them." He gave an embarrassed chuckle. "Sorry about the introduction, but I like to awe people. I've found it pays to do that."

Jim and Sebastian straightened up from the map, seemingly satisfied with whatever they had discussed. Dorothy tried tugging Jim's sleeve again. "Jim, this is Merlin. The Data-Angel."

Jim glanced down at Dorothy, and then gazed at Merlin. He seemed quite surprised. "I'm so sorry, I should've been paying attention to my surroundings. Nice to meet you.. uh, what did Dorothy say.. Merlin? As in the wizard?"

Merlin held out his hand. "Indeed. Of course, I'm interested in knowing exactly which one of the five hundred and sixteen different wizards named Merlin you are referring to."

Jim shook hands with him. "The one and only; fabled King Arthur's protector."

Merlin raised his eyebrows. "Really? Well, I chose the name while watching a bad holovid. That Merlin was another one altogether. But.. I've studied the name since, and the persons myth and Morgan Entertainment have presented with it. So, yes, nowadays it refers to aforementioned wizard of albion." He turned to Sebastian and held out his hand again. "Good day, lieutenant Steiner. How is life treating you?"

Sebastian flashed a brief smile. "With concrete baseball-bats at the moment. So.. the Angels have a psionics-program?"

"Well done, Lieutenant! What betrayed me? I know you didn't pay attention when I talked to Dorothy.."

"The University has it's own psionics-experiments, of course, and one thing we have learned is; few psionicists bother to clean up their subjects' memories. So you'll 'wake up' with a recollection of doing something really stupid.. Know yourself well enough, and you'll know you've been manipulated. But if I know you people well enough you probably stole your program off someone.."

"We didn't have to. The Gaians were kind enough to show us some of their best tricks.. In fact, I was one of the probe-operatives to receive tutelage.. Anyway, they've had several opportunities to regret it since. But, lady and gentlemen, shall we proceed.."

He led them to a door into the command center. Once past the standard trio of security-stations the ground floor adapted the atmosphere of a corporate office, except for all the military uniforms. Merlin led them to an elevator and bade them enter. There was only one button inside the elevator, and it flashed briefly green as he pressed it. Jim shook his head.

"This elevator takes you to only one floor?"

"Only one, yes, but any one nevertheless. It takes me only to the floor I am authorized to visit; anyone else using this elevator would go to another floor or to the detention cells, depending on their clearance or lack of it. I don't see the point of it myself."

"Surely it makes life difficult for anyone trying to break into another floor? I suppose there's no other way but the elevators?"

Merlin shrugged. "There's no other way you or I could reach, but for a telekinetic it's as difficult to pass as cobweb. Yes, I hear you say, you'd have to be some freak to unlock the doors since even lifting a coffee-mug is a challenge. But hey, I can push around any number of electrons. And that's all it takes in this day and age. You must understand, the Free Drones haven't studied psionics. They think it's not worth the effort." He grinned. "We made them believe that."

Sebastian's eyes gleamed, and he smiled slightly. "I haven't met a faction before that hugs you and stabs you in the back at the same time."

Jim nudged him. "I've met them, and they think it's your own fault if you didn't prepare for the possibility of the dagger. Beware the ides of march, you know."

Sebastian nodded. The elevator slowed down and bumped to a halt, and the doors opened. Beyond it was a hybrid of a military parking lot and goods-storage. There were actual shelves, among the piles of crates and heaps of barrels, containing readily assembled combat vehicles; the room was high enough to allow stacks four vehicles high. One of the first things Dorothy saw was the roof-mounted rails; a powerful-looking crane was slowly inching its way along them, with an armored truck swinging at the end of it's chain.

A lieutenant was standing right outside the elevator doors. He nodded at Merlin and glanced briefly at Sebastian, Jim and Dorothy while comparing entries on a notepad to a pile of miscellaneous equipment of a table.

"You three! You're the hangers-on of the probe-team, right? Then this is your equipment minus your stealth-suits. I'll recite this list and you'll pack the items I mention into these two bags. The girl will carry whatever she can. Once everything's packed I'll take you to the fitting station, where you'll get your suits and helmets." He waited until Jim and Sebastian both had grabbed a bag and were waiting by the pile of equipment. Then he started shouting out the entries on his list, checking them off one last time as the corresponding items were packed.

Merlin watched, slightly amused, as the bags were packed. Then he glanced at Dorothy. Do you know what a stealth-suit is? Dorothy's forehead furrowed as she lined up her answer in her head, and Merlin smiled. [/I]Good first try at passive telepathic communication. I'll teach you how to do it properly if we've got time during the trip. But for now, just nod or shake your head. Don't bother with explaining; I'll find out what you mean if I'm unsure.[/I]

Dorothy gave a short nod and then shook her head vigorously. Merlin nodded. That's good. Well, you've seen some spy-holos haven't you? The probe-operative puts on an extra shirt and long-johns, and voila! He's invisible to every infrared camera and radar there is. Yes? Well, the truth is a lot less effective and several orders of magnitude more bulky. Put on more equipment than an ice-hockey goalie and you might not show up on their radar this time around. It's not a very dependable piece of clothing, but a probe-team needs all the equipment it can get. Now, that was the indoor -version. What we will wear is the outdoor version, with integrated nitrogen-filters and weather insulation.

Dorothy was surprised to hear his telepathic sigh. With that description you'll get a basic idea why it's a good idea to make sure the suit fits. You wouldn't be able to move otherwise. Another sigh echoed through Dorothy's head. Another untruth is how you use the suit. Since the suit's radar- and IR-stealth is uncertain you'd be a fool to stroll right past the radar-dish or camera. You're much safer at the outer edge of the surveillance-equipment's field of view. That's why the suit has several active and passive IR- and radar -sensors, further increasing it's bulk. And, of course, it assumes the same approximate colour and pattern as the nearest surface, in order to fool visual inspection.

Merlin turned to watch Jim and Sebastian for a while. They were busy inspecting an atmospheric tent for any damage. He turned back to Dorothy as the lieutenant shouted out the next item on the list, a miniature atmosphere purifier. I have a Data-Angel stealth-suit. It's less bulky than the Free Drone version you'll receive, but it is still a pain to wear. Also, I can monitor the sensors' output and control the suit's functions with telepathic commands; I don't need an MMI or, planet forbid, manual controls to do that. You, however, will have to learn manual contro-

Dorothy frowned and shook her head. Merlin was silent for some time. You have an MMI? Lucky for you. The adapter won't be a problem. Anyway, the actual travelling will happen using a rover with atmospheric sealing. But we'll still wear our suits inside it, in case of an emergency.

The lieutenant lowered his notepad and nodded. "All right, that's your equipment packed. Follow me, and we'll get you some stealth-suits.

An hour later Dorothy walked back and forth a bit to get the feel of her stealth-suit and test it's functions. It was heavy and clumsy, no doubt about that, and when she tried on the helmet she found it severely restricted her field of vision and blocked out all external sounds. An internal headset with microphone allowed communication with the rest of the team, and Dorothy could also use her MMI for this.

Sebastian and Jim had both worn stealth-suits before. They spent a little time exploring the variations of these suits to the ones they were used to, and once they felt comfortable they watched Dorothy and gave her some advice on how to conserve energy while wearing the suit.

Merlin, who was also watching her, nodded with satisfaction. "One advantage you do have over us adults is your size; it presents a significantly smaller profile to any scanners, thus increasing your odds of staying undetected. Well, if you're all ready now, I think it's time to meet the rest of the team and get going." He smiled. "The team doesn't know yet that you are coming along. It will be a test of how they quickly adapt to a new situation."

He led them back to the elevator. Dorothy had expected to return to the surface, and the elevator indeed climbed higher, but it stopped while yet underground and the doors opened onto a cavernous garage. Row upon row of different vehicles could be seen, with an occasional mechanic in between. Virtually every variation of the rover used for warfare was represented, usually in both tracked and wheeled versions and some also with amphibious capability. The garage was huge- Dorothy could see a pair of armored terraformers, ten meters high, and they barely reached halfway to the ceiling.

They walked among the various vehicles, the purpose of some obvious while others were only with difficulty linked in any way to warfare, until they reached two large transport rovers; squat, wide vehicles with eight large wheels. Eight men and women clad in stealth-suits were inspecting the rovers. They looked up as Merlin called out a greeting and approached.

"Cadets, I'd like you to meet Dorothy Parks, Lieutenant Sebastian Steiner and Jim Sturlasson alias Seven-Seas-Jimmy." Merlin nodded at each person as he presented them. "And these are my current charges; may I present Static, whose expertise is communications and navigating, Sparky, electronics and optics, Data, programming and electronic warfare, Biff, weapons and equipment, Grinder, mechanics and vehicles, Mercury, demolition and sniping, Sister, medicine and surgery and finally Hatchet, the tactician and their future boss."

A general shaking of hands plus some small-talk took place until Merlin bade them to listen. "Cadets, these three will be joining us, and you are ordered to provide reasonable assistance and protection to them during the journey. Since both lieutenant Steiner and Jim are veterans of previous probe-teams they should be able to look after themselves, so the main concern will be Dorothy. She's very smart and will learn quickly, however. Now, there's twelve of us and the rovers take eight people each. Hatchet, assign us to the vehicles."

The probe-trainees were still digesting the fact that they had additional companions, but Hatchet, a short, dark man in his twenties, visibly pushed his musings aside and nodded at Merlin. "Sparky, Data, Biff, Grinder, Mercury and Sister, you take one rover. Grinder will drive and Data will man the radio-gear. I will drive the second rover and Static will operate it's comm-links. Merlin, Sebastian, Jim and Dorothy; you will also travel in the second rover."

"Good. Let's go."


Soon the two rovers drive to a vehicle elevator big enough to lift both to the surface at the same time. A large trapdoor opens up above them, and the vehicles emerge in the light of Planet's afternoon. After some final checks they dwindle to mere clouds of dust racing towards the horizon.


End of chapter 32.

[Raging Mouse]

Chapter 33: Losing hope.


See the burning remains of Morgan Entertainment.

"Are those the last ones?"

"They are the last ones we'll be able to send, sir."

Eternal Spark inspected the train of refugees with a somber mood. "This is my city. I've worked for several years to bring it to the Free Drones, and the position of mayor was my reward." He turned around and let his gaze wander over the monitors showing live images from the aerial cameras. A seemingly endless stream of Cybernetic troops was pouring into the ruined perimeter of the city. "And now these powergrabbers are seizing it." He let out a sigh. His aide needed no explanation to understand how he felt.

"Maybe you'll be back one day, sir."

"Look at the monitors, Planet be damned! What's left to return to?"

"There's still a population of two thousand here. The city will survive."

"A city will survive. Whatever it will be, it won't be Morgan Entertainment anymore."

A drawn-out boom and the sound of shifting rubble with sporadic cracks from nearby buildings reminded Spark that he was not out of harm's way. He stretched and turned away from the monitors. "We're leaving. Tell those who still can to detach from the fighting and retreat as fast as possible."

The aide nodded and hurried away. Spark signalled a couple of soldiers who started packing the monitors and recall the spyplanes. He walked over to his rover, and as he approached he heard the beeping from the comm-link. He entered quickly, sealed the cockpit and removed his breather. Then he opened the comm-link and saw Jasonian looking back at him from the monitor.

"Hello, Spark. Damn bad luck with Morgan Entertainment, but that's how things can go. Anyway, you aren't the only one retreating at the moment. We've got word that the University has lost four cities since the war started, and they are trying to build some new ones as far away from the cyborgs as possible; out in their archipelago. Of course, that puts them in the line of fire from the Pirates. And we're not far behind; five of our cities are under siege by either Morganite or Cyborg forces, and I want you and your troops to reinforce the closest one; Liberty Plant."

Spark nodded and started the rover, his own troubles now in the past. "My ETA will be two days. Will they survive that long?"

"Sure. They're besieged by Morganite forces, and there's no sign of an attempt to finish the siege yet."

"That's odd. You'd expect the Cyborgs to tell them to strike while the odds are reasonable."

"Indeed. I can't tell you details, but we've observed several occasions where the Consciousness has withheld critical information from both the Gaians and the Morganites."

Spark's mood brightened. "Is their alliance falling apart, maybe?"

"Hardly. The Consciousness is really making an effort to keep both the Gaians and the Morganites happy in each others' company. We've detected no sign of any discontent."

"Then what's the point? They're hurting their own war-effort."

"We don't know yet. We'll find out when it hits us, I suppose."

Spark grimaced slightly while steering the Rover around a pile of rubble. "I've taken enouth hits already, thank you very much."

"I know what you mean. Well, I wish you luck."

"Ditto." Spark closed the comm-link.


See the calm interior of a gaming hall at Alpha Prime.

Alert. Approaching entity recognized as Vasily Beta-9. This might be the opportunity you need, Lewis. Remember not to let your emotions show.

Thank you, I've argued with enough idiots over some insignificant detail or other in some new theory of mine to become good at that, Lewis thought. He was studying a game of chess, played by two merged talents, in order to improve his own game. Lewis was officially a member of the Consciousness now, and his type of genius was easily boosted by the Algorithm, so he had to work hard to keep up the illusion. While Kappa-44 could give some good advice, the algorithm was of far less help than a true merged one.

Lewis made no move to show he had noticed Vasily until the man stopped in front of him. Then Lewis looked up at him with a blank expression. "Vasily Beta-9. Alias Beta. Why do you approach me?"

Beta gave Lewis a searching look. "Your merger was unlikely. I am curious as to how it was done."

"I was tricked. The Consciousness is a master of intrigue, and my independent intellect was no match in the end." Your performance is satisfactory so far, Kappa told him.

"Really? Yet it falls short of my own skills, and not because I would have more calculating power, but because I see more options at every moment a choice has to be made." He grinned. "And don't argue that the Consciousness sees every logical choice, because it isn't true. I have studied the matter intensely."

"How is it lacking?"

"In imagination. It always plays safe! That's no road to success, since there's some brilliant risk-takers out there, at the head of the other factions, who can reap much bigger rewards from every opportunity with an action that would defy common logic. Fundamentally, it's the Consciousness' urge to survive that prohibits the taking of unnecessary risks, but I am convinced it will be it's undoing in the long run."

Are you getting all this? Lewis wondered. Vasily Beta-9 is displaying seriously aberrant behaviour, but it is not yet enough to warrant action. You must gather more data.

"Why do you tell me this? I am part of the Consciousness, as are you. It is the ultimate dictator of our actions, and we cannot digress from it's goals."

"You are wrong. I am not chained by the Consciousness; I am offering to free you from it's influence. Let's build a new Cybernetic order; one that doesn't shirk any opportunity." Beta straightened up and swept his right arm in a wide arc. "All this could be put to so much more efficient use, if only someone with the right prerequisites would assume control. And that person is me. I am the future, Lewis Kappa-44, and I am offering you a part in it since I know you are very talented and have some revolutionizing ideas. I could even give you my greatest gift; teach you how to expand your own mind to incorporate other bodies. The initial process is very difficult, but in the end all efforts are extremely rewarding."

He looked down at Lewis again. "You don't have to give me an answer right now. But hurry nevertheless, for I shall seize command over the Cybernetic Consciousness momentarily and will not tolerate hesitation. And remember- try to warn anyone and your life will be forfeit."

How about now, Lewis thought. Yes. That is more than enough; the Consciousness will be satisfied. try to dismiss him quickly.

"I am not convinced yet. I know you have the capacity to lie, and I will not even attempt to discern your possible motives. I will, as you would say, play it safe. You will have my answer once it is clear to me."

The beginnings of a smile twitched for an instant on Beta's face, but his eyes remained cold. "How disappointing. But my offer still stands, should you be able to break your mould and leap to a favourable conclusion. Until then."

Beta turned around abruptly and walked away. You should hurry to contact Bearcat Omega-seven, Kappa-44 told him. Not yet, Lewis thought. Let's wait until Beta is out of sight. Why would he look back? Because wasting no time to stop him is very logical.

Beta turned his head and glanced back at Lewis over his shoulder, causing Lewis to grin inwardly. See? Yes. But you have only proved he is a very talented schemer. You cannot claim to be able to tell what conclusions he will draw from your actions. An educated guess will suffice.

He let his gaze wander over the game-hall.

Do you see any other Beta-entities, Kappa? No. There are no Beta-entities in this room that I can identify. Well, I'm not taking any chances. Let's wait some more and then take a detour to central admin.

Ten minutes later one of the players gave up (but Lewis couldn't see why), and a new game was started. Lewis walked away to the nearest public comm-link and called Bearcat Omega-Seven.

"Bearcat, I am ready."

A short moment of silence followed. "Meet me at the entrance to central admin."

Lewis found the nearest intra-rail station, and the trip to central admin was short. Bearcat was waiting at the rail-station. "Have you witnessed enough to convince Kappa-44?"

"That's what it says."

Bearcat was silent for some time. "Such a scenario as this is unusual."

Lewis' brow furrowed. "That's your way of saying you're concerned?"

More silence. "That is a satisfactory approximation. Yes, you could say I am 'concerned'. To be exact, the likelyhood of these events was considered so infitesimal that any detailed planning of contingencies was considered a waste of resources until abundant processing power would become available. But as the Consciousness expanded and research accelerated, we have always had too little."

"So now you're reduced to making up plans as you go along, eh? That must be stressful..."

Bearcat didn't bother to answer, instead walking down the tunnel to the thirteenth core. Lewis followed him, whistling softly.

"Lewis, you are uncharacteristically relaxed today. What is the matter?"

"Well, a thought struck me as I was travelling here." He whistled another short tune.

"And the thought is.." Being merged tended to increase people's patience.

"What? Oh, yes. Is there anything at all preventing this Beta from assimilating persons and algorithms from other classes? Say, Kappa- or Omega-algorithms?"

Bearcat stopped. "I see where your line of thought leads."

"Right. So who's to say that, even though the thirteenth core won't have any Beta-algorithms present right now, any of those bigwigs aren't really another incantation of Beta?"

"Their behavioural patterns change."

"That's no certain indicator. I managed to fool Beta into believing I had been merged -I think- and you people, including Beta, are much better at acting than I. You don't get nervous."

"Then; Beta seemingly believes you are truly merged."

"So maybe he hadn't expanded outside the betas yet, back then. Anyway, I get the feeling your government usually doesn't engage in careless small-talk. So Beta wouldn't have found out in the interim. No; there's a real possibility that he/she/it has infiltrated the inner circle."

Bearcat was silent. "Then we have reached a cul-de-sac. We must warn the inner circle, and there's a very high probability that Beta will find out." More silence. "Let's return to the entrance. I intend to summon all the military forces and probe-teams I can muster. Based on Beta's estimated total influence it won't be enough to keep the inner circle safe, but it might give us time to.. evacuate. That this very action might alert Beta is a risk I am authorized to take."

Lewis followed Bearcat silently back to the mouth of the tunnel, brooding over his words. Bearcat probably had a much more exact general picture of how influential Beta was, and the rogue algorithm would have to be mighty indeed to cause Bearcat to plan for evacuation of the inner circle. Lewis' worries over his immediate future were disrupted as Bearcat grabbed his shoulder.

"Are you ready? I cannot guarantee your safety once we inform the inner circle, as my first priority will be to protect them. Stay close to me and watch my back in case the situation turns threatening."

Lewis nodded, and they walked back into the tunnel.


End of chapter 33.