“I suppose it’s possible. Making sure that I was able to react to the Ganymede story included the basic methodology of producing the pathogenic organism. If the cooperative effort of our three species produces a refinement of cyborg branching to a compatible template, the Primedes could benefit in a different but novel way from the temporal paradox. I will get to work on this with Christophe and Bianca Fleming immediately.”
This decision had depended on some compromise from all parties and helped retain the motivation of the recent gain of their Seattle stronghold.
The responsibilities were split. Albert, Christophe and Bianca began to sketch in the requirements for the designer organism. Cleopatra and Attila set up a development team at the city power grid to replace the re-energising booths with a portable charging capability. Atlas didn’t want to waste another minute and led his kin into skirmishes with loyalists to the southeast of Seattle. They wanted to bring more Hulks and weapons under the control of the rebel army. The breakout from the city was crucial to retaining critical mass of the offensive during Alexander’s move on to the back foot.
*
Harley surprised everyone after he contacted Hilda. She had told him that the boy had developed whooping cough and was not well at all. The local doctor was having difficulty in obtaining appropriate medication, but James was apparently over the worst. Harley was devastated by the news, but before he could reply, Hilda said that the villagers were all scouring pharmacies between Brackendale and Vancouver. He gave her the contact number for Rodriguez and said he would help. When Harley appeared at the bio-lab unexpectedly, the team asked why he had come instead of concentrating on the campaign issues.
“I am doing exactly that. Your research is going to need guinea pigs to test out your circuit eaters in a real situation. I can’t ask anyone else to volunteer for this, so here I am. I know what you’re going to say, so don’t bother, my mind is made up. Furthermore you will need a volunteer who is to represent the Borg elite, and I have one of those in mind. Tolstoy doesn’t have any further strategic benefit to offer, other than becoming our wooden horse of Troy. He can be part of the delivery system.” Christophe smiled at Harley and brushed aside any latent challenge from Bianca.
“Great, can I ask what has provoked such a shift in your moral objection?”
“The isolated plight of a helpless infant in Brackendale has persuaded me that injustice is part of a natural order, just as it is a consequence of a ruthless war. We must end the suffering as soon as possible. I have deluded myself once again into believing we could fight a clean campaign. Let’s get this done.”
*
Alexander sat with his closest aides to discuss the latest position on the stadium massacre and the back-up to his scorched earth policy around Seattle. The location of the stadium had been debated many times and the final choice had been partly dependent on the ease of rounding up one hundred thousand participants. Mexico City was selected because it also offered a salutary lesson right on the doorstep of a rebel hotspot. This proximity to the wave of fear was deemed to be powerful propaganda. The meeting was interrupted by a call from one of Alexander’s field commanders.
“Sir, I have had communication from the defeated commander in Seattle. He asked me to pass his request to you. Apparently he has been shunted around by several other contacts before he got to me.”
Alexander knew and trusted the field commander as much as he trusted anyone. “Who are we talking about?”
“His designation is Attila, and he has always been a leader by example, rather than exclusively by command. He is highly respected by his subordinates and I have never found him wanting in any respect.”
“What does he want?”
“He was captured with most of the Seattle garrison and his message is from the rebel command. He emphasised that he was only a messenger and not representing or advising the course of action proposed.”
“Go on.”
“These Seattle rebels also have Tolstoy in custody. They want to trade his freedom for a moratorium on the stadium execution. It sounds as if they recognise their domestiques are stuck in a different kind of ring, one without the means to expand without the booths. Attila has been told to ask for a reply by tomorrow, as he has been given to understand that if we disregard the offer, then the rebels will reciprocate with broadcasts of mass killing of Hulks in Seattle. He assures me they mean to demonstrate just how weak the Hulks are in comparison with these Neanderthals we have been hearing about. Attila has met with them at close quarters and describes them as fearsome adversaries. He has also been informed that if agreement to postpone mass slaughter is not reached quickly, the rebels have means of producing thousands of Neanderthals at a faster rate than we can supply Hulks.”
“And the point of your call is?”
“I repeat Sir, I am only a messenger. If you are asking my opinion I will comply.”
“What benefit do we have in freeing Tolstoy?”
“None that can’t be achieved in replicating his template by your instruction Sir, but I have often wondered why you did not order such a replacement. I assumed that you felt it was unnecessary.”
Alexander did value the flexibility to have a ruthless Chief of Staff, and the option to show compassion in overruling him when the situation demanded strategic thinking space. He knew this meant as much to his own forces as it did to those domestiques about to join the rebels. “Tell me about your subordinates, what would they want you to do if you were now the captives of the rebels?”
“They would obviously want to avoid mass execution. Dying in action is more honourable than being passively sacrificed.”
“What do they think of the practice of our mass executions?”
“The same Sir, they will never comment openly, but a commander must know how his soldiers feel on such issues. Some are more disturbed by the stadium killings than others, but they are still capable of fulfilling their duty.”
“And you?”
“Exactly the same Sir, I would rather engage the enemy than cull civilians, even if we were outnumbered. However, it is not my province to debate such policy.”
“Nevertheless, your opinion is important. I see no merit in simply creating another Tolstoy as a replacement of a failure. I can see temporary merit in ‘rescuing’ him and extracting an appropriate apology for his carelessness, which cost us Seattle. It would be preferable to have him cut down by us than see him offer propaganda momentum to the rebels by him being culled at their hand. That would be powerful ammunition for their recruitment drive. I am willing to accept the offer in principle. By that I mean postponing the stadium programme by another week. However I must know how we identify and collect Tolstoy. Find this out and get back to me.”
Alexander was quite pleased that this offer had fallen into his lap, not least because the initial timescale was too tight and there were murmurings of the sacrificial lambs being chosen without proper checks on their fit to the original selection criteria. Many loyalist citizens had been incarcerated by mistake, and this had the potential to sow the seeds of doubt amongst the rank and file of Alexander’s army.
Chapter 25
The bio-lab experiments were proceeding concurrent with a trebling of the Neanderthal contingent, all of which would be fast-forwarded. This was considered necessary in the event of Atlas’ incursions outside Seattle suffering heavy losses.
Harley was observing Albert and Bianca. “How do you know what will happen to this designer organism if it does eliminate our enemy? What will it attack next?”
Albert responded unconvincingly. “Yes, that could become a concern, but the finalisation of the pathogen will be conducted by me alone. The Primede text was clear on this. I have to insert a predetermined vulnerability into the template.”
Bianca asked how he knew it would work. He ignored the question until it was re-phrased by Harley. “I think we should discuss this later. I’m not avoiding the question, I will leave you to decide who to enlighten
with my reply. Now can we get on please?”
They had garnered a range of Borg spare parts for the initial trials, and when these experiments had yielded a satisfactory result, it would be time to decide on whether to infect Harley and Tolstoy.
There was also progress on the prototype portable charging system. Cleopatra was spearheading this work, thus allowing Attila the freedom as demanded, to participate in the tortuous communication route with Alexander’s chosen delegate. The most promising concept was the employment of a small ultra-violet receptor which could initiate excitation in molecular structures, and although the molecules were designed to react with one another, they were prevented by a blocking agent. The resultant ‘frustration’ in the form of kinetic energy was collected and directed to a mini-converter. Interfacing this with the Borg polarity input module mimicked a solar generator. It was however, not confined to sunlight as a primary source of UV. Indeed, commercial ultra-violet tubes were more efficient. Human preoccupation with getting a tan had withered long ago, with the onset of the dissipation of the ozone layer. These tubes had been designated as redundant technology by the creators of the Borg, and now they could actually become the indirect saviours of domestiques. Cleopatra followed Harley’s example and was first to volunteer to use the prototype.
*
Atlas had headed south and met no resistance until the group reached the outskirts of Tacoma. Even then their scouts reported only skeleton patrols. He decided to take these out one at a time. This was the Neanderthals’ first skirmish in which they were in total control of the tactics and resultant decisions. They opted for recovering weapons as the priority. Taking more prisoners was not helpful if they had to be marched back to Seattle to be modified. They were utterly ruthless in executing their sequence of eliminating just enough Hulks to get the remainder to surrender. They then gathered up the working DPBs, and instantly fragmented the rest of the Hulks. They acquired more than two hundred weapons before making more night reconnaissance of the Hulk forces in and around central Tacoma. Atlas’ decision was to wait and continue to observe. It became clear that Alexander’s edict to destroy all re-energising booths was only strictly applied to rural areas and suburbs. Town centres saw the defensive garrisons posted around the booths. The destruction of each booth was thought to be the last act before any evacuation which became inevitable. Atlas thought carefully about this and then contacted Cleopatra.
“How close are you to creating your portable charger? I ask because it occurs to me that we have two options here. We could probably take Tacoma now, but that would almost certainly result in the booths being lost. If you’re confident that you don’t need them, it could be an advantage to allow the Hulks’ booths to be destroyed, as long as they don’t know you have an alternative. The fact that they are facing only Neanderthals may convince them that the domestiques are incapacitated.”
Cleopatra agreed. “At least in the present situation it makes sense. I’m highly confident we can make this prototype work. The prospect of retreating Hulks fighting one another over re-energising stations appeals to me.”
Atlas now had all of his recruits waving a DPB in each hand. “This mission is a ‘kill on sight’ command. We take Tacoma. What happens to the weapons and the booths is secondary.”
Operating at night, and attacking one booth area at a time with rotating fire, completely confused the Hulks. Atlas had divided his resource into groups which operated like a Catherine Wheel. As the first discharged their DPB’s they moved and the second revolved part way into position from behind. Repeating this gave them the advantage of continual fire, as the first in the wheel had time for their weapons to cool before the next discharge, thus avoiding overheating. The second advantage employed by Atlas was to approach from the direction of lowest property density. The Hulks were defending a fixed point and the Neanderthal fire was targeted at buildings as well as operatives. The collapsing, fragmented dwellings engulfed the defenders. The other booth locations were informed of the Neanderthal tsunami and were advised to flee after destroying the re-energising equipment. Atlas had lost only two soldiers, in the taking of Tacoma. He suggested to Cleopatra that they would hold their gain, and requested reinforcements in the shape of the burgeoning dropout army. She acknowledged this and said there would also be more of their own kin sent within days, from Christophe’s vial produce. “They will leave here as soon as we are sure they understand the situation, but you will have to train them on arrival.”
The fleeing Hulks did not want to face the wrath of Alexander and headed due south toward Portland. The overall commander of the Tacoma defence force told his equivalent in Portland that the Neanderthals were tactically smart, and limitless in number. “Unless we have some defence against our own DPBs, we will all be dematerialised. We can’t win this way, and where is our leader? They have their leader conducting the battle. He sees everything and motivates the troops by sharing the risk.”
This gross exaggeration, as often happens, created the beginning of a wedge between the ideology of the Fuhrer and the sacrificial role of the individual soldier. After discussing the practical options they were facing, the stark choice was one of gallant and loyal oblivion, or pragmatic alignment with who they perceived would be the victors. It wasn’t solely the life or death rationale which influenced the final decision. Alexander had been right, some of the loyalist forces were not happy with the reinstated cull of dissident civilians. The two commanders found it difficult to process their own logic path. They led their recruits out of Portland and headed for Tacoma under a white flag. When they arrived, and Atlas was satisfied they were genuinely opposed to the cleansing objective, he contacted Cleopatra again.
“They have apparently not destroyed the booths in Portland. You should send some domestiques so that this can be verified. These two commanders are offering their services to our cause. I’ll wait until your scouts tell me that the booths are still operational before considering their proposal, and then sending the two of them to you. I will keep their forces under guard in Tacoma until you decide what to do. I’m not experienced enough to judge their motive in running away, then returning to surrender. It’s very confusing.”
*
While Bianca was getting coffee for Christophe and herself, Harley took the opportunity to badger Albert about his certainty over nullifying the effect of the designer organism, once it had exhausted its usefulness. It wasn’t quite what he expected to hear.
“In one sentence, this has already been tested by the Primedes.”
“How can that be? You said they were already engaged in a struggle with cyborgs which wasn’t going too well. Why haven’t they used your technique?”
“They did, but weren’t ruthless enough, and they neutralised the organism before total eradication was achieved. It was a compassionate decision and for a few decades it appeared that it was justified. However, the cyborgs began to flourish under their guise of having reformed. During this period, they worked tirelessly on an immunity module for any repeat of this kind of pathogen. That is why the Primedes would purge Earth of all cyborgs whenever they decide to come back. It is insurance against such entities ever having been invented, and that is a direct consequence of their current campaign not going to plan.”
“Albert, I must say I have problems sifting through the various bits of data you have provided, and determining which to believe. You seem to have been burdened with a mendacious gene. I’ve come to that conclusion because you only pass on these dubious morsels on a need to know basis. If this latest declaration is true, why should rebel Borg like me assist them to wipe us out? It would surely be logically more pragmatic to join the High Command and cleanse the planet of humans.”
“Maybe, but you won’t do that. Are you going to pass my revelation on to others? If you are, then it will possibly compromise my work. If Alexander was to get advance warning it may allow him to devise a solution. Think over your dilemma from the standpoint that if the Earth is settled, and do
mestiques have a proven history of contributing to such stability, the Primedes may reconsider their natural desire to eliminate cyborgs altogether. That will not happen if the loyalists are still around. It is a slender chance to be weighed up against no chance. It’s a difficult call. Please let me know what you decide, and until I hear to the contrary I’ll assume I should carry on with my work.”
*
Harley left the lab and called Hilda. She was jubilant that James was improving, and that this trend was assisted by Rodriguez’ swift action in getting medication to her house very quickly, after being told of the child’s condition. Pacing around the building, in which Cleopatra was pioneering the portable chargers, Harley debated whether it was appropriate to share Albert’s latest crumb of little comfort. He eventually accepted that true leadership came with the responsibility of choosing one difficult route over another, and it was not possible to process every personal quandary through a committee.
He heard of the potential defection of the Portland Hulks from Cleopatra and asked her to keep him posted. “I think it would be wise to keep this from Alexander’s spies. The longer he suspects nothing, the more time we have to inflict the pathogen on our brethren.”
“So, you’ve made peace with yourself over this?”
“I suppose so. Many things have changed since I set off for Jupiter space. I have lost much of my innocence, and only the next few weeks will determine if I have also shed an equal share of naivety.”
He hurried back to the lab and informed Albert that he was going to accept his advice. “When do we expect the organism to be ready for my participation?”
“It depends on how long it takes Bianca to set up a steady replication environment. The rest is known to me and requires minimal proving tests. I would estimate that about four days from now we will need to infect Tolstoy. Your turn will come after we see signs of the commencement of his personal struggle.”
“Good, I have also been thinking of a delivery method for the organism, other than through Tolstoy. We can discuss it any time you are ready.”