Christophe seemed to concur, and the verdicts of both Nap and Jos were endorsed by Bianca. It was agreed, but Christophe had the last word.
“Let’s get to it immediately. Bianca, can you get the cloning preparation equipment set up? I will begin rounding up donors, and Nap, Jos, and Albert will work together on the selection process. Sorry Albert, but after your recent duplicity we can’t have you working alone. Don’t screw up this chance to begin redeeming yourself. Is that understood?”
A resigned nod was all that preceded the awkward moment for Albert to summon the humility to apparently offer such an olive branch to his kin. Harley was sufficiently relieved to go to the broadcast studio to study any reports of significant spread of the contagion. With the vaccine production for the bubonic pestilence back on stream he wanted to announce the imminent equivalent for the cybernetic pathogen. In the meantime, he had received a very favourable response to his suggestion of decentralisation of control to City states during this phase of emergency. The vast majority of citizens embraced the principle that smaller groups could find accord easier than a monolith such as the High Command. Harley asked Cleopatra to accompany him to Brackendale to see James, while the hiatus of the antigen design hovered over the political landscape. He was relaxed, yet something was bothering him. He looked skyward and gazed at the brightest stars. Had he possibly missed something on Ganymede? Was Albert’s paranoia completely brought on by loneliness, or had he discovered something which had triggered the onset of this almost theological cause, in which he was suspended? He unsettled himself by recognising that such acute conditions were not banished by a single session of exposure and subsequent threat.
*
The welcome in Brackendale was low key, nevertheless it was a welcome. When they finally arrived at Hilda’s dwelling, Harley and Cleopatra were amazed at the change in James since they last saw him. His eyes were bright and he wanted to touch these strange beings. They took him into the forest and pointed out many other unfamiliar creatures. The evening sunlight filtering through the trees was a pleasure to behold compared to the rubble and strewn bodies of the cities. Harley turned to Cleopatra and suggested that they now faced a new challenge.
“It’s over fifty years since humans finally abandoned the last vestiges of capitalism. After the century of preparation it didn’t really deliver the goals they imagined, and it is said that this was at the heart of the rift between them and our species. Everyone having apparent equality and subsistence credit, which is calculated by an algorithm of arbitrary assessment, may only work for a period. The problem arises out of changing circumstances which have to be addressed. Pretty soon there is a distrust of the complexity within the algorithm. The fact that there is no poverty, such as that which was found within the capitalist model, just isn’t enough. Humans miss incentive and reward, and they seem to be more interested in the differences amongst their population than the similarities. The centralised system which replaced capitalism suited cyborgs so well. And I believe it was the wellspring for considering humans to be an inferior, freeloading burden. The present peace, and hopefully the success of an antigen will have a lifespan of cooperation. We must be prepared for separatist emergence well before it happens.”
Cleopatra urged him to put these philosophical challenges aside during their short break. However, she knew he was right. The restoration of harmony was part of a cycle, just as the disappearance of the ozone layer was. They set off on their return as the gloom pushed the fading sun below the horizon. They met Hilda on the way. “Cameron Rodriguez needs to speak with you. He says it is urgent and wants you to contact him as soon as possible.”
They had intended staying a second night but it was not to be. “Cam, what can I do for you?”
“It’s more a case of what you can do to get vaccine to us. Vancouver has had pretty low infection rates, but the disposal of Hulk carcases has ignited a significant increase. I think it might be wise to keep humans away from these disposal sites. We desperately need to receive more medication.”
“I will check out the situation, we’ll leave now. I’ll get back to you Cameron.”
He turned to Cleopatra. “I wasn’t involved in disposing of Hulks, but you were. We should have both been cleared before we came here. I suggest we travel back separately, taking Hilda and James with us. We know there is vaccine in Portland, so can you go there and obtain a small amount? I’ll have James checked out in Tacoma and wait for you there. We both need to be tested before we leave, just to be sure.”
They nervously awaited the results. Bringing the plague to an area already deficient in vaccine would turn their newly acquired popularity into open hostility. Relief came within the hour, they were both clean. They set off on their separate tasks.
*
The pattern of the pathogen multiplication was becoming evident and logical. The Cape infection rate was virtually zero because of the nuclear purge, but a circular band on the radius of the blast was very high. This was thought to be due to weakened circuitry of those Borg, caused by collateral electromagnetic interference. It was a gifted gateway for avian-delivered death, and coincidentally with perfect timing. The remaining pattern was actually no pattern, other than sporadic clumps of pathogen virility. Widening the picture from the Western Atlantic states, there were minor clusters of symptoms but as yet few fatalities. Harley seriously regretted his advocacy of using birds to bring one war to an end, and spawning another. Although migrations of the avian carriers were predictable, controlling the effect of their droppings was a different matter. He could only hope that Albert had been truthful about the effectiveness of the antigen, and more importantly the prediction that without compliant hosts, the pathogen would become extinct.
He was met in Tacoma by Christophe. He could tell by the facial expression that there was bad news.
“Firstly, I need to bring you up to date with the antigen programme. The team has exceeded expectations in terms of the time taken to construct the pathogen’s nemesis. It is also more efficient than I could have imagined. In short it is ready to go. We are debating the means of application, as it has to be delivered directly to an individual, unlike the pathogen.”
“What is the bad news Christophe? You seem to be even more edgy than when you were stoked with You2Me. Surely the application of the antigen is not beyond the imagination of the group who developed it. We knew we’d have to do this. Albert, Bianca or Nap and Jos must have some suggestions, and your career has been in this field. What is the problem?”
“This morning I did have a plan, and when I arrived at the lab, Bianca was distraught, she was inconsolable. Without uttering another word she opened the clean room door. Albert has hung himself. She left him in that room last night when she went home. She found the door locked from the inside this morning. The security men had to break the door down because he’d altered the code.”
Harley was stunned and failed to respond. Christophe continued. “Nap and Jos have disappeared without a trace. It is now a matter of urgency that we find them.”
“Why would that be our main priority? Can’t you and Bianca concentrate on the antigen application first?”
Christophe handed Harley a piece of paper.
“It was found inside the locked clean room.”
Harley read it aloud. “I’m sorry for all of the trouble I’ve caused. I have been obsessed with helping my creators, and also the humans they have nurtured over the millennia. I may have conveniently created blind spots with regard to cyborgs, and Harley in particular has been sympathetic in seeing my situation differently. However, once I had helped to produce the antigen, I could no longer live with the accusation in which you believe I made up the scenario of the Primedes’ predicament. Nap and Jos must have told you what you wanted to hear. Despite this I‘ve always said you must visit Ganymede again. The truth is there. When you perform my autopsy, evidence of oxygen toxicity will be obvious. Everything considered, I knew for certain that I was on borrowed time,
and I implore you to question Nap and Jos again. I also posthumously withdraw my request to create more of my kind. It was the final straw when I realised I was but one strand of Primede agenda. Judged by the variance between myself and the other two who have come from the vial, I shudder to think what else there is in there. I hope I have restored some of my credibility with Harley, and I wish for a better outcome than the one I was programmed to execute. Albert.”
They looked at one another and the silence endured. Finally, Harley realised just how upset Christophe was over his bullying relationship with Albert.
“I do see the urgency now Christophe. I advise you and Bianca to continue with the antigen application. That’s what Albert would want from you. I will organise the search for the others. I’m not going to ignore his plea for a return to Ganymede either. It’s just a question of when it can be arranged. I have to go back there, because there is obviously something we did miss.”
*
The search was initiated via the broadcast links, and it went global. It was put across as the two missing persons being required to help with the investigation into Albert’s suicide. It wasn’t thought prudent to introduce the complexity of extra-terrestrial conspiracy theory into the public domain just yet. Harley wracked his interrogative module to no avail in trying to predict where Nap and Jos were likely to have gone. As the days went by they were no nearer finding them, and the search became counter-productive with multiple bogus sightings.
Christophe and Bianca had decided to use a ‘carwash’ principle to apply the antigen. The Borg carcass would be opened up and internally sprayed with a suspension of the targeted B-cells in liquid nitrogen. The initial freezing effect on the circuitry would be followed by evaporation of nitrogen gas, leaving an even spread of the antigen. In this way it was hoped that all circuits would receive treatment. For those individuals with advanced damage, the spread would be halted, and then replacement units could be installed. The methodology and design criteria of the pathogen killer were transmitted around the world. This information that the antigen had been approved was broadcast to all citizens, presumably including Nap and Jos, if they were still alive.
Chapter 30
Following Albert’s concern over the variation in the bits of DNA in the Primede vial, it was placed in the highest security location. Only Harley and Christophe had the entry codes. The search for Nap and Jos was finally called off, at least for the present. The inflow of results indicated that the antigen was successful. There had been many who were too damaged to benefit from the cure, and some of them were domestiques from the ranks of Cleopatra’s and Attila’s units. This indicated that the deviant character of domestiques, in relation to immunity, was still not completely understood.
Harley wanted to know just how much of what Albert had said was true, and therefore why Nap and Jos tried to humiliate him. Because they hadn’t responded to the call to help explain Albert’s suicide, and they had eluded the search, he wondered about whether they had been killed, kidnapped, or simply didn’t want to be found. He spoke with Christophe again.
“It’s going to take several months to prepare another craft for a return to Ganymede. Do you want to join me?”
“Yes, I do owe that to Albert. I pushed him over the edge, so I must know the truth. I suppose you have heard about his autopsy?”
“No, I’ve been visiting the recovering domestiques from our campaign. It has been a very harrowing experience. I feel just as bad about this as I did about my decision to employ the birds to spread the pathogen. I was convinced that the rebel domestiques would have the same immunity as I have. We both have a lot of soul-searching to do Christophe. You mentioned the autopsy.”
“Albert was in the mid-phase of pulmonary failure. He wasn’t lying about that, and I’m beginning to think we will find further proof of his veracity on Ganymede. It also begs the question of the agenda of Nap and Jos. I’ve questioned the Neanderthals, domestiques, and humans they socialised with, and they all say they were a laid back, friendly couple. Albert was the only one they didn’t get along with. There is something we aren’t seeing Harley, can’t we speed up the return to Ganymede?”
“Not really, the return to freedom and reconstruction is what the citizens are embracing right now. It’s what so many died for. We must be patient.”
*
The Neanderthals were, as usual at the forefront of rebuilding the Tacoma and Seattle infrastructure. Their limitless energy and strength won them frequent accolades which were bordering on worship. They had found time for recreational activity, judging by their prodigious numbers of pregnant females. Atlas believed he had sown his seed in at least eight of them. Monogamy was obviously not a priority, yet there was no evidence of jealousy or mortal combat amongst the males to gain favour of the opposite sex. Even allowing for the forthcoming early termination of the first generation, they were on course for narrowing the gap in their numbers to those of the other species.
*
Nap and Jos had made it to Helena, deep in the Rocky Mountains. There had been a few scary moments because of the travel restrictions still being in place. The euphoria of the war being over came to their aid many times. They told the sparse enforcement officials that with Jos sporting her maternal bump, they needed to get to her parents’ home for the actual birth. Everyone wished them well and some even offered them transport. They came across as a very plausible couple who wanted to take in the astonishing majestic beauty of the mountain routes, and preferred to use local public transport for each memorable stage. This bending of the rules was a mutually acceptable accord.
Having decided to settle for a period in Helena, they let themselves be known as Jake and Primrose. As well as ditching their previous names, they wove a new tapestry of ambition. Jake said that his father had passed away and left him a roughly-sketched family tree. They had decided to trek north from Boulder, to search for any surviving members from their lineage. They were seen as pioneers, having braved the probability of being arrested by the loyalists during the final phase of the war. They used the fictitious family name of Jefferson, and quickly established that they had no known living relatives in Helena itself. When they declared they would have to move on again, a mountain woodsman took pity on them and suggested they should wait until Primrose had delivered her baby. He said they could use a cabin on his land, and promised them sustenance in exchange for Jake helping with the chores. This was perfect for their needs. The elevated site eased their breathing difficulty, having oxygen-thin air. Primrose wanted a natural birth. They had the desired seclusion and ample time to consider how to implement their embedded plan. They had no doubts, it had been ordained. The birth would signal the next steps.
*
Cleopatra had obtained the vaccine for James from Portland. There was enough to treat other infants in Tacoma who may have been at risk. Harley had spent a lot of his time getting the production of the vaccine back up to levels which eventually translated into optimism that the plague was receding.
*
Four months of peace had also brought forth changes, some subtle, others extremely obvious. Atlas was now ‘very old’ and frail. With such a large frame, the effect of gravity was much greater, and his increasingly curved spine demoted him from the colossus he once was to a relatively gentle giant. He had many contemporaries who were also making their final preparations. Harley and Cleopatra never ceased to be amazed at the demeanour of the species. From day one they had participated in everything on offer with such enthusiasm, and had asked for little in return. This ‘Pharaoh-like’ ceremonial advance to the afterlife didn’t seem out of character. It had the air of fulfilment. Atlas spoke to them, sporting his perennial boyish smile.
“Harley and Cleopatra, it is so good to see you again. I wanted to ask a favour. Will you do me the honour of speaking at my funeral?”
They were both ‘embarrassed’ and tried to protest that it would be some time before he succumbed to mortality.
; “That would be wonderful if it was true. We have never tried to fool one another, and it will not begin now. I would just like you to pledge your support for my people after I’m gone. At the beginning of my life, a few months ago, I could not have logically predicted that we would prevail against the loyalists, yet I believed we would. That good luck must not be wasted, and I want you, Harley, to reinforce that as my final request. You gave us life and purpose. We came back from the dead. If you don’t speak at the celebration, I may come back a second time to ask for an explanation.”
Harley nodded and felt the need to configure an appropriately humble facial expression, and though such a dermal contortion was beyond him, the emotion in Atlas’ eyes told him that the thought was recognised and appreciated.
*
Mr. Kelly’s kindness to Jake and Primrose was repaid with interest. He was the first to be invited to afternoon tea. The strong brew contained a carefully measured amount of sedative, and Wilson Kelly never knew he’d been infused with Primede DNA, which the affable duo had purloined from the vial while they were supposedly helping to create the antigen. As there was such a strong overlap with human DNA, they had been able to cloak a bridging agent in the converter serum. Wilson would feel no change for a few weeks and then he would gradually be fed with more serum. Ultimately he would join in their secretive assimilation of humans. It was a remarkably effortless means to supplant existing human character with a designer version, and pretty much undetectable. The birth was near, and in her present condition Primrose was not able to walk up the mountain each day to reach the thinner air. It was going to be touch and go as to whether she would survive the natal trauma.
*
Harley had been given good news about the new X-711 craft assembly. It would be ready to go through proving trials in two weeks. He had delayed thinking about the crew until he’d been informed that they were near to departure time. There was good reason; he wanted the same crew as before, and didn’t want to disclose all of the justification criteria too early. He checked out Cameron Rodriguez first. Michaela didn’t want him to go, and he couldn’t disclose why he felt he had to comply with the request. It caused a major rift in their relationship when he signed up. It took a few days to run Nero, Beethoven and Anton to ground. Harley and Christophe made up the six. The briefing was met with disbelief initially, and yet they all shared the notion that they had left Ganymede prematurely because of their fear of inevitable escalation to conflict on Earth. Nero in particular did remember thinking at the time that the glass smooth walls were concealing something, but the multitude of inscriptions convinced him that it was only spare writing space.