Jake raised a hand. “I’ll explain it to you in terms you can understand, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Great. Now, first of all, the planet is Maxis’ personal property.”
“Is that legal? I thought you couldn’t buy planets. I mean, I tried, once, but...”
Jake cleared his throat. “May I continue?”
“Oh, sorry.”
“Thank you. In point of fact, no, you can’t buy planets. At least not planets that have potential, like Antioch Two and its mineral wealth. You see, Evvie, Maxis’ grandfather lied to his employers about the value of the planet’s potential, and he proceeded to buy it at auction. Instead of owning some worthless rock, he bought one of the richest worlds in human space for almost nothing.”
“Sounds bad.”
“It was beyond bad. It was illegal. Now the world and its wealth belongs to one person, Sordius Maxis. What’s more, Maxis is paying bribes all over the galaxy to hide this fact, to hide how badly he treats the people working for him, and to hide some of his other schemes to fatten his bank accounts. On top of all that, the way he operates his planet isn’t as good as it should be.”
“Isn’t that obvious? He’s a dictator.”
“No, not in the way you’re thinking. His equipment is old, his refinery isn’t turning out as much as it should or could, and the way he keeps everyone in line is limiting how much everyone could be making from such a mineral-rich planet.”
“Oh. Still sounds like a bad man to me.”
“He is, Evvie. The point is he’s bad in more than just the usual ways.”
“Okay, well, that’s fine. What are we going to do about it?”
“We’re going to oust him from power.”
“How? I mean, are we gonna just blast him from space?”
“No. We can’t shoot him from space.”
“Why not? I mean, if he’s the problem...”
“For one thing, we couldn’t pick him off like that. Not while he’s in the dome. Either we’d hurt people we don’t want to, or we’d miss and alert him that we were there. Besides, this isn’t about getting one man. There’s a system that we have to get rid of. That’s why this is a ‘revolution’ and not a ‘coup.’”
“So what do we do?”
“Well, we get the people to want Maxis out. We undermine his leadership, and tell the people under him what’s really going on.”
“That doesn’t sound very exciting, Jake.”
“Don’t worry. It will get exciting as time goes on. I know patience isn’t one of your virtues, Evvie, but you will have to be patient. You will have a role to play, I assure you.”
“Great. Just so long as it doesn’t involve boring stuff.”
Jake sighed. What have I gotten myself into, he wondered.
Eight
Revolutions For Dummies
“Are you certain she’s busy?” Jake asked Odin.
“I am assisting her, Jake. Contact the Rosens.”
“Right.”
Jake didn’t usually open connections on his own; he let Odin take care of that. But this time the computer was busy helping Evvie learn a fact or two about waging revolutions. Fortunately Jake wasn’t a complete novice, and Odin had left a clear path to follow. In moments the Rosens appeared on the small screen in front of him.
“I’ve got some good news, and some not so good news,” he began. “The good news is my other job is done. At this moment my ship is in orbit over Antioch Two. It’s now time to get the ball rolling.”
“Thank goodness,” Clarissa said with obvious relief.
“The not so good news is I have a partner. Evvie Martini, to be precise.”
“Evvie’s going to help us?”
“In a limited capacity. I had to agree to let her help to keep her people from talking about this.”
“Oh, well, that’s fine. I think we’d be excited to have a big star like hers on our side.”
“If you say so. Oh, I had to let her take the media rights to the story.”
“What story?”
“This story. The story of the revolution.”
“Oh. Well, I don’t think that will be a problem.”
“So long as we’re free,” Daniel added.
“If you say so,” Jake said. “Okay, the reason for this call is simple. We need to figure out how we’re going to carry out this revolution.”
“What’s to figure out?” Clarissa asked. “We fight Maxis until we win.”
“How do we fight him?”
“What about weapons?” Daniel asked.
“What about them?” Jake responded.
“Well, aren’t you going to get us any? Do we have to buy them?”
Jake’s first thought was to tell Daniel that he didn’t trust the younger man with anything more lethal than paper. That would be far too rude. Tempting as it was to verbally smack the couple around, Jake didn’t want to hurt his big chance at permanent semiretirement.
“You said to fight,” he said to the couple. “Fight who, specifically?”
“Well, Maxis and cronies.”
“The guardbots,” Clarissa added.
“Okay. Now, you can’t shoot at a guardbot from the front. It will see you carrying and fire first. Right?”
“Oh, right.” Daniel’s face lit up. “We shoot them from behind!”
“Okay, so you shoot one from behind and take it out. Don’t you think Maxis and his pals are going to notice that someone’s blasted one of his guardbots? Don’t you think that’s going to make him a wee bit suspicious?”
“Oh, yeah, I guess so.”
“Now, suppose you decide you’re going to go after all the guardbots at once. When are you going to do that? Are you going to have a few dozen people not show up at their jobs one day? Wouldn’t that be suspicious?”
“Well, what about at night?” Clarissa asked.
“The guardbots don’t sleep,” Jake replied. “The first one shot will set off alarms. Or do you plan to sneak all these people into position, at night, to take out every bot? How exactly are you going to accomplish this without anyone in main control noticing all this movement?”
“We could rise up at lunch, or...” Daniel’s face fell. “Oh. We’d only be on one level.”
Jake smiled. “There you go. Maxis could just call up guardbots from the other levels to fight it out with you. Now do you start to see the problem?”
“So how are we going to fight?”
“There won’t be any fighting. It’s too risky. Think about this: some people might not side with you if you start shooting bots, let alone shooting real human beings. They might even decide to fight against you. Don’t forget, shooting and missing can create damage. You don’t want to start your new regime by sinking what few credits you have into repair and replacement costs, do you?
“There are just too many risks with staging a violent revolt. If we’re to install a nicer leadership we’ll have to do it with peaceful, nonviolent methods of revolution.”
“Okay,” Daniel said, “so what would those methods be?”
“Well, first of all we’ve got to get the people riled up. We’ve got some final scans to do up here; maybe they’ll give us a tactic to employ. The next thing we’ll do try to undermine Maxis’ control.”
“Labor actions?”
“No. I think a little propaganda might be in order. Let me tell you two something. Maxis isn’t just a repressive ruler. He’s also a corrupt con artist who’s tossing bribes right and left. You remember I asked you about what happens to retirees? Well, Maxis and the retirement center your seniors move to are ripping off you and the authorities, and making a fat file of credits in the bargain. Odin and I have uncovered several other schemes like that one.”
“So how does that help us?”
“Maxis is getting rich at your expense. Doesn’t that make you mad?”
“You’re right, it does.”
“Here’s something else to make you mad. Your mining and r
efining operations are using old equipment. If Maxis spent a little more on that, instead of lining his pockets, you’d have a more productive operation.”
“If he wasn’t treating us like rocks,” Clarissa said, “we’d be making more and living better lives.”
“Precisely. We’ll not only get that message out, but we’ll repeat it over and over until the people are so pissed off that rallying them won’t be a problem. We’ll use that message to get someone in Maxis’ inner circle on our side. Once everything’s nice and unstable, we’ll give a small push, and that’ll be that.”
“Great. So what do we do?”
“Be patient for a little longer. Give me a few days to put a few things in order, and start undermining Maxis from our end. Don’t do anything until I tell you to.”
“It is our revolution.”
“Yes, ours, Clarissa. Mine as well as yours. Follow my lead, and I promise this will end up the way you want it to. Okay?”
“Okay, Jake.”
“Good. Hang on, and I’ll be in touch. Bye.”
As the image of the Rosens faded, Jake thought, Now to figure out how to get this particular ball rolling.
***
The next morning Jake was in the lower part of the bridge, angrily tapping his foot. Behind him on the large bridge screen was a three-dimensional view of the main dome on Antioch Two. It had been five minutes since he’d asked his partner to join him, and Evvie still hadn’t appeared. “Call her again,” he asked Odin.
“I’m here,” she said as she walked up. “I had to get ready. Jeez, Jake, don’t you know it takes women time to get themselves ready to face the day?”
Jake sighed. “Just sit down, and pay attention to the screen.”
“What is that?”
“The layout of the main dome.”
“Nice. The colors are a bit bland. And I have seen those projections before.”
“Evvie, sit down.”
“Why?”
“It’s part of waging a revolution, Evvie. It’s called ‘mission planning.’ We sit, we look at this, and we try to figure out what to do first.”
“Why do I have to be here?”
“You want the publicity, you have to participate.”
Evvie heaved a sigh then sat down. She glanced at the image for exactly one second. “Where’s the armory?”
“They don’t have one,” Jake said.
“Why not?”
“The guardbots.”
“Oh. So there aren’t any guards we can bribe? No weapons we can take?”
“No.”
“Maxis does have a personal guard,” Odin added, “but it only consists of twelve persons, and only four are on duty per shift. These persons appear to be armed with sidearms. I found no traces of heavy weaponry.”
“As could be expected,” Jake said.
“What about the drug plant?” Evvie asked. “Y’know, where they make the drugs to suppress the rebelling urges in the people?”
Jake rolled his eyes. Well, at least she’s managed to do some research about revolutions after agreeing to help. Too bad for her “research” is watching hokey old videos and not reading actual history.
“Evvie, something like that only occurs in fiction. Reality is not like that.”
“Actually, Jake, you are incorrect,” Odin interrupted. “I call your attention to that large room on level six.”
“That’s food processing.”
“Yes. I previously discovered hardware and software tied into the main food processing systems. I investigated these thoroughly. They are used for the specific purpose of injecting chemicals into a food supply system.”
That explains why Odin hedged a couple days ago, Jake mused.
“Such systems are typical of mental institutions housing dangerous individuals,” Odin continued. “They prevent ordinary nurses, visitors, and other unqualified personnel from being placed in threatening situations. They are admirable safety measures, accepted by every civilized government.”
“Okay. What are they doing here?”
“Since there are no facilities for housing the mentally ill, the only logical conclusion is that these systems are used to inject chemicals into the workers’ food and drink.”
“Y’see?” Evvie said.
Jake ignored her. “So what chemical or chemicals are being injected, Odin?”
“I was able to uncover shipping records for only one chemical. The medical name for the substance is Lypinisan Oh-Five. The more common name is ‘Relaxafin.’”
“Oh, my God.”
“What?” Evvie asked.
“Relaxafin. Those commercials? Y’know, the hokey ones with those formerly hyperactive kids being all nice and quiet?” He impersonated the actress who played the grateful mother in the spots. “‘It’s given my child his peace back.’” He then did eerily passive kid. “‘I can work with others now.’” He shook his head. “Those commercials have consistently been criticized by almost everyone as the worst broadcast spots for four years running.”
“By who? I mean, they work, don’t they?”
“Only in the cheesiest, stupidest way possible. The only campaign that anywhere close to being that annoying is the one for that colonial building chain that uses that beaver.”
Evvie shuddered visibly. “Don’t mention that, please. That beaver creeps me out. I once had this dream...”
“Please. No.”
“But...”
“No. Odin, is Maxis using that operation for what I think he’s using it for?”
“It appears that it’s being used to repress anger, and therefore to repress any unrest or dissension.”
“Is this drug being injected in dangerous amounts?”
“Actually, it’s being used in dosages well below average, and only in the adult population. That suggests the drug is being used as a minor control on the population’s mental state. I should add that Relaxafin is comparatively expensive. That might also be a factor in the small dosages used.”
“Geez. He can’t be a little more imaginative?”
“What do you mean?”
“Never mind. Odin, what might happen if the people stop taking their current doses of Relaxafin?”
“Nothing for roughly three to four weeks. Studies show it takes about that long for the human body to circulate out prolonged exposure to the drug. Then from four to six weeks after ingestion has stopped, the body’s adrenaline flow increases to higher than normal levels. In human beings this increase lasts from three to five days. At that point the mental state returns to a more normal pattern.”
Jake shook his head and pondered the situation. What happens when life begins to imitate art? When the bad guys don’t come up with original ways to hurt people, but instead rely on ancient videos and stereotypes for their strategies? When everyone’s acting, even when they’re living real life?
Do I really want an answer to those questions? No. They’re giving me a headache and a profound sense of despair.
And anyway, if Maxis isn’t smart enough to figure out what a stereotype he is, he won’t see the end coming. That means beating an idiot.
Maybe this state of affairs isn’t as bad as it seems.
Evvie finally broke his train of thought by saying, “Okay, so we hit that plant. It’s gonna take awhile for people to get angry. What do we do until then?”
When in Rome, Jake thought, speak with an English accent. “We rally the populace to our side. But first things first. You said you wanted to take part in this revolution. Well, I can’t take out that plant on my own.”
“I don’t know. I mean, I’m not supposed to get myself into any danger.”
“Okay. I’m sure one of the Rosens could help. Of course, the video will have to accurately reflect their help in this attack and not yours. I’m sure...”
“Hold it. You mean if I stay out you’ll insist that I be kept out when the video gets shot?”
Jake smiled. “Lack of accuracy in drama is not tolerated
, Evvie. Unless you don’t mind getting bad reviews for fudging the facts.”
Evvie nodded firmly. “As long as I’m not in any serious danger, I think I should go and help you out. Y’know, do my part. I mean, I did sign on. Gotta take some risks for freedom and all that, right?”
***
Jake once heard someone in some forum say without fear of contradiction, “Technology creates more problems than it solves.” In his experience the reverse was just as true: tech solved as many problems as it created. That was certainly the case when he and Evvie took out the drug injection system.
The first problem was that of the lone guard in main control. The guard had in front of him a variety of displays and screens to observe what went on throughout the domes of the planet. Among those screens was one connected to the cameras trained on the food processing plant, where the injection system was located.
This part presented two problems. The first was the guard himself, and the second the data stream from the cameras. The second was the easiest to deal with. Odin could access the control system, intercept the data stream, and send a new stream down the pipe that showed nothing going on. That way no one reviewing the data later would see the attack on the equipment. There would be a pause of a second or two as Odin cut into the stream, and the guard could spot such a pause and get suspicious.
Luckily it was the just the one man to deal with, and the ship was equipped to handle such situations. In the inventory was a mechabug, an artificial insect designed and built for stealthy operations. Among the mechabug’s uses was spraying things into the air. Jake had sleeping gas put into its tiny container, and programmed it to spread the gas once it materialized.
“Do they have bugs down there?” Evvie asked as Jake placed the device on the teleport platform.
“Doesn’t matter. It will appear under the guard’s chair. It flies without making noise, and it’s smart enough not to let it be seen. The guy won’t know it’s there.”
Jake teleported the tiny machine down to the control room. He tapped into a motion sensor on the mechabug and waited. About five minutes later the sensor indicated that the guard’s head had moved downward towards the console in front of him. Jake turned on an audio sensor; the sound of nasal snoring blared over the sound system.
“Phase one complete,” he said. “Time for phase two.”
He brought the mechabug back to the ship and teleported it to its place in the armory. He handed Evvie his perscomp, and together they stepped onto the platform.
“New data stream being transmitted,” Odin reported.