Pierze said he would comply, and wanted to get back to get started with the brain stem analysis. When they had split up Manuel wanted to go in again.
Konrad
He had the usual wait before Prometheus contacted him but at least he now understood why. They walked along a river bank while Konrad explained how Pierze was going to expedite the brain stem work, and this was welcome news. “I wanted to ask, if instead of having to wait to find a third head, they could use Tirishev in any way?”
“Yes I did mention this should be done. Obviously they need further guidance. With the already severed head or corpse it is painstaking work, but obviously not dangerous. With a living person there is a risk. They are looking for a microcellular implant in the brain stem, which is uniquely keyed to the particular person who has had the treatment. There is a difference between those of high resistance and the conventional type.”
Konrad interrupted. “I think there is something else you should know. They already know of this variation in resistance, and they have pinpointed what has to be resisted – neurogenic pulses.”
Prometheus seemed greatly relieved. “Excellent, in that case they should find Tirishev’s implant by deep scan procedures. I will give you the typical settings for his level, but please stress to them to search in a predesigned grid. They must then limit the exposure of unsuccessful scanning to three minutes, and at least intervals of two hours, otherwise he could suffer permanent damage. Now that you have raised the term neurogenic pulse, I would like you to convey to your people that this is sufficient to control compliant subjects. Neurogenic streams are necessary for highly resistant individuals, and that is why they will find a link if they scan successfully with Tirishev. Finally, this discovery will eventually lead them to realise that the protestors are the tip of the iceberg. There are many thousands already controlled by simple and regular pulses. That is why time is short.”
“Jesus. I’m sorry but I must ask you this as it seems we are highly dependent on each other. Were you formerly a scientist working for the Iberian government?”
“No, I cannot risk telling you more, but I have never worked for the Iberian government in any capacity. I have thought about how you could help me in trying to identify who brought me here. It is highly probable that it was someone in the SACRED organisation or in their undercover employment. If you can possibly arrange to record voices, beginning at the top of the pyramid, I will be able to instruct you on how to embed them in media which you can bring into Futureworld. Sorry I must go.”
Konrad had meant to ask if it would be useful for him to track down some of the names he had been given, while he was in Futureworld. There was too much to do on the outside, and he thought it could be a risky venture, even though he had at last gained his promotion in Central Security. He called into that office to settle into his new desk, catch up with paperwork and generally ensure his game play looked normal. One of his new assignments was to the current think tank on Orient’s activity on the Moon.
Chapter 20
The Borderlands
Because of Boniek’s almost exclusive procurement of the master mercenary’s recruits from this region, it was noted that their appearance was very different to the cosmopolitan population of the area around the elevator they were guarding. They had Oriental rather than Iberian features, and the stark contrast together with the recent Moon launches had spread concern amongst the local inhabitants. News of this had filtered its way through to Pierze and he typically arranged to be brought up to date with the origins of these people. The process ultimately led to him having a personal lecture from an expert on the historical derivation of Orient. Just as Iberia had come into its current position by a number of decisive campaigns, beginning with the Spanish Armada, so Orient had a similar pivotal beginning.
The lecturer began. “Our story begins with the Mongols.” Pierze had an overflowing in-tray and wondered – ‘why in hell have I recruited this eccentric old history anorak at such a critical time?’ He made a mental note to switch him off, if after five minutes, he could have got it all from history books - at his leisure. The lecturer would have been exceedingly tall without the combined effects of age and gravity. His spine was severely curved and his long, straggling white hair compounded the urge to rate him as a walking anachronism. Pierze lowered his expectation by asking for a summary first, and then he would ask for expansion of the most interesting parts. The old man nodded and continued.
“The geographical picture must be understood to fully appreciate the enormity of the achievement of these nomadic hordes, and perhaps more importantly, how it has influenced where we are today. There is a corridor now in existence, which more than any other feature defines how the empire of the Mongol Khans was a catalyst for the aggregate we now call Orient.” Pierze’s interest clicked up a notch.
“From Northern Kazakhstan, which borders with Southern Russia, around the Caspian Sea, through Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and finally Pakistan, we see this corridor. It is known as the buffer zone or as some people would say, ‘no-man’s land’ between Iberia and Orient. It has for many decades been the lubrication which has helped dissipate friction between the superpowers. However, this is well known, but the historical cause is not, and the price being paid for it even less well realised. Genghis Khan, originally known as Temujin, was born in 1167. He lived in a world of continual conflict between rival clans inhabiting the steppe or grassland, which stretched from well inside Eastern Russia to Europe as it was known at that time. This grassland was an important element in the future conquests as it was suited to swift raids and skilled horsemen. Having somehow managed to forge a paternalistic rule over the warring clans, the new name of Genghis Khan was bestowed upon him. It roughly translated to ‘All Encompassing Chief’. Never having enjoyed this kind of unity in living memory, the Mongols began to expand their influence in 1206. Within nine years he had made major gains in China and indeed taken Beijing. By 1220 he had also spread into India. Three years later Crimea and parts of Southern Russia fell to the unstoppable Mongol tactics. The great Khan died in 1227 and one of his sons succeeded to carry forward the ever expanding empire. Ogedei Khan made one of his first tasks a tribute to Genghis, by turning the modest headquarters of the nomadic people into a bristling, modern, shining example of their power. He named it Karakorum. In 1235 he ordered his armies into Europe, after overwhelming Korea and more of China. By 1241 inroads had been made into Poland, Germanic states, and Hungary. After his death there was a lot of wrangling over the leadership, which eventually fell to a grandson of Genghis Khan - Kublai, who became the next great Khan. In 1252 he re-opened the Eastern Front and by 1267 underlined his ambition by transferring the headquarters from Karakorum to Beijing, and simultaneously gave his grandfather the posthumous Chinese title of T’ai Tsu – meaning Grand Progenitor. The expansion had at last begun to run out of steam and this hiatus resulted in internal squabbles which were placated by declaring three independent regions. The Western province was ruled by Hulagu, and he had the embarrassment of suffering the first real defeat for the Golden Hordes, as they had become known. In Mesopotamia he was pushed back by the Baybars, thus preserving Palestine for the Mamelukes. This loss indirectly produced the major turning point in history for this part of the world. Unrest spread like wildfire and although the guilty were never found, a plot to assassinate Kublai Khan succeeded. The subsequent vacuum preceded inevitable shrinkage of the greatest empire the world had seen since Alexander the Great.
“Now Snr. Pierze, think about the territories the Mongols brought to heel at the zenith, and you will find that it covers the core of what has become Orient today. The culture of this hegemony was largely destroyed by the marauding hordes, as they did not tolerate what they did not understand. What they left behind was an enforced clean slate. As their day was done the Mongols slowly receded to this corridor we talked of at the beginning. It was not their point of origin and this has always been a source
of simmering hatred with them and their descendants over the succeeding centuries. The period we are talking about predates the rise of Iberia, and here is another salient point. The squeeze which arose from that Republican machine ensured the hatred was re-focussed on these Western butchers. They could not reclaim, in their opinion, the rightful ownership of lands now recovered and controlled by China. At least these rebuttals came from a people who were partially intermixed with their own blood. China used this very effectively to limit levels of two-way migration. The scourge from the West however continued to decimate their numbers; it was the only feasible way to get at the Chinese. Centuries of to and fro between the emergent superpowers eventually drew a line in the sand, but the line was figuratively, if not actually, a line of Mongol descendants. I think this may be what you were concerned about. If what you say is correct about your defence of the space elevator being dependent on a force, which is exclusively drawn from mercenaries of the Borderlands, I believe you are right to be suspicious. The anti-Iberian character is hard wired into their DNA.”
Pierze was both fascinated and on the verge of panic. “Thank you Professor. Would you be so kind as to leave hard copy of your lecture with my PA; your fee will be fully reimbursed.” The old man trailed out of the office looking considerably taller than when he entered.
Pierze’s meeting with Gretz had just become top of his ‘do now’ list. He made contact through intermediaries, as would be the case with humdrum diplomatic agendas, so as not to plant ideas of urgency or worry at the request. He conveyed the feeling that is was a perfect gap in his diary, because he was already scheduled to be in Swiss Iberia for other reasons. It apparently worked, and Gretz made time, but his two co-owners were understandably occupied with their respective defence plans. Pierze seized this as an opportunity to speak to Gretz before the meeting. “I know you have not been happy with the government’s response to sharing this burden with you and I would like to re-visit the subject, as I have some leverage I can exercise on this.” This was met with genuine enthusiasm by Gretz and he set aside the whole day for Pierze’s visit.
Reflecting on the Professor’s hard copy of the lecture, he cycled through all the possibilities he could think of, from this borderland army merely being temporary monetary employment of seasoned ‘Legionnaires’, to the most complex of conspiracy theories. He knew already that he had to broker a visit to the elevator to clarify his thinking. First he would make a call. “Professor Castillo, I have had some rather disconnected thoughts since you briefed me on the Borderlands. This Rojo-Negro Mano humanitarian group, as you know, had their banner displayed on the torso in Berlina. The group is dismayed about this. Do you have any idea why perpetrators of such a brutal killing would do this?”
“This is on the very edge of my expertise, and would involve a lot of speculation, but I believe I know what you suspect. The refugees from the Western checkpoints of Orient flood into these lands and cause many difficulties for the indigenous population. They believe the traffic would diminish if Rojo-Negro Mano was not there, and therefore see it as an instrument of convenience for Iberia. If your question requires an answer free from speculation, it is absolutely certain that if Rojo-Negro Mano was not protected by Iberian border forces, they would be attacked.”
Pierze was happy with the reply. He was however furious following a communication from one of his field officers. He had despatched several teams to shadow and this time protect the seven individuals whose names he had received from Manuel. His officer suggested he got to a Northern Iberiana TV news channel immediately. The graphic horror of the scene was magnified by the news reader explaining that the tragedy had happened only an hour ago. The location was on a section of the ring-road of the Eastern seaboard city of Santa Constanza. The carnage on the motorway stretched back for almost a mile and the tailback much further. The police were cagey but had to admit the details which had precipitated Pierze’s anger. Seven individuals had handcuffed themselves to one another and made a circle. It was assumed that they had leapt from a flyover into the oblivion of high speed oncoming traffic. The bodies of the suicide victims were in various multiples or fractions of the individual victims. The camera moved on to one such shot, two and a half people were embedded in the front of a massive truck and the handcuffed ‘half’ attached to the duo, consisted of the leg, arm and a chunk of the torso. What appeared to be the rest was spread like paste, over at least thirty yards of surrounding road. The head of this or another victim was coated on to a car tyre, the police officer pointed to an eye which was stuck in the tread. Two more parts of the corpses were smeared on the central barrier, and that police officer indicated that the dismemberment had been more severe because the handcuffs were on both wrists and ankles of all seven. The task of piecing these bodies together was going to be very time consuming. A further torso was stretched out like dough, to almost double its original length and had a hand of another attached to one side, and an arm plus a foot on the other side. So far as the police and ambulance service could ascertain, the resulting pile up would run into hundreds of casualties, some in traffic which had ploughed into vehicles on the other carriageway which were going in the opposite direction.
This story would occupy prime time all day and the questions would accumulate well ahead of any answers, even if those answers were known. Pierze had tried to act swiftly in tracking down the seven, because Manuel had claimed time was short, but he couldn’t have anticipated they would all be together and in a part of the Republic which hadn’t yet experienced such induced suicide. Furthermore, none of the seven were born or domiciled in that region. He was going to be mired in deflecting accusations of presiding over increasing anarchy within Iberia. He flew to meet Gretz.
*
Manuel and Butragueno agreed that he needed to get more from Prometheus, but this was derailed by an incoming call from his mother. “Manolo, I’m afraid I have terrible news, your father is dead.” She waited for a response. Manuel’s first reaction was that such news was not so terrible. She continued. “He has foll..done what Konrad... I can’t bring myself to say it out loud. He died the same way.”
She couldn’t continue in a coherent manner, and Manuel intervened. “Mama, I’m so sorry. I’ll come as soon as possible. Please don’t speak to the media until I get there. I love you Mama.”
Butragueno was in a quandary. There was something troubling Manuel deeply and yet the way he dispassionately talked of Antonio’s death was eclipsed by his worry about his mother’s emotional state. She resisted the urge to pry or just embrace him in his present turmoil. She was therefore taken aback when he did exactly that. He sobbed while trying to maintain control, squeezing her to him again and again. Her own resistance gave way and she responded, whispering, “Your mother needs you, she’s alone and you need her don’t you?”
He quietly said, “Yes, I’ve needed her for a very long time. Sit down El. There’s something I’ve carried with me for so long now, and it will probably re-unite me with my mother. I must however, avoid it spilling into the media, it could kill her.”
He indicated that he wanted to spare his mother some of the fallout from Antonio’s actions, both present and past, but that would only be possible if he could run another person to ground. “I’ll make a quick entry to Futureworld and then go to Madrid. I’ll talk more about Madrid when I exit.”
Konrad
This time it did not take long for Prometheus to join him. Konrad wasted no time. “You’ve seen what happened in Northern Iberiana, did you have any idea this was the intention?”
“Let’s catch a bus to the central station, there is more cover there.” When they had alighted and began to mingle with the throng of commuters Prometheus replied. “No I had no idea. I only get the names, codes and encryption requirements, before I have to begin transmitting the pulses, or the stream, if the subject is resistant. What the instruction means is known only to whoever sends it to me. The accompanying authorisation with the instru
ction I receive is ‘Omnia’, but that is obviously a tag. This incident illustrates that even I have underestimated the acceleration implied. Do you know if the police there have recovered any undamaged heads?”
Konrad shook his head. “I don’t know, but I fear the investigating authority and Pierze in particular won’t be overtly asking about this until the media frenzy begins to subside. Do you have more names then?”
“Not yet, but they will come. You must enter more regularly if we are to act in time.”
Konrad agreed. “One further thing, do you recall any programme that Konrad, er I, was working on with Hector Sidibe? I can’t rid myself of this feeling that we discussed it before my suicide.”
The reply was not long in coming. “Yes, and it also involved Rossi. The process I mentioned last time about the microcellular implant was the subject. This tiny transceiver had to be fitted on Earth of course, and resistant subjects were abducted in order to carry out the installation. Once fitted, they could be sent neurogenic streams to regularly suppress memory of it. During their more lucid periods they tried to track down the implant source by contacting hundreds of protestors in Futureworld. This had two consequences. First, it alerted whoever is sponsoring this technique, and also it was the genesis of the resistance movement. And now this resistance is being systematically eradicated. When you asked me if I was in fact some missing scientist, I later thought that this could be ‘Omnia’. It fits, and I am now thinking that it was him or her that the resistance was after.”