Birth of the Alliance (33 page)

He sensed Hope walking toward him, and sitting down next to him. “Eva’s talking to him privately. She asked me to come find you while she does that. I know you’re frustrated, Will, and I am as well. I can’t deny it. But as strange as it seems, we have a
lot
of time. We don’t know how long it took Adam to come around to our cause in the history you remember; for all we know, it took him a decade. But we’re still left with plenty of time to bring him on board. And there’s plenty that we can do in the interim.”

Will looked at her, his face and mood sullen. “I struggle to believe the man I just witnessed will provide the input and action required to match what I remember. Perhaps I’m remembering a history where the original Adam survived after all.” He pulled his knees to his chin and wrapped his arms around his legs. “Perhaps his death really was that major change we couldn’t anticipate that changes everything.”

Hope leaned in closer. “We don’t know that, though. We've not gotten anything from either diary to indicate what happened in the past, to tell us if this is what happened the last time.”

“But the lack of information from the diaries doesn’t tell us anything. If this is what happened, telling us that the original Adam’s death was what had always happened, telling us to expect his son’s intransigence… knowing that is hardly going to motivate us right now, is it? And if the original Adam didn’t die, they’d have no reason to bring it up. Whether this is what happened or it isn’t, we’re not going to be told about it from the future.”

Hope put her hand on his arm. “All I’m saying is this: Let’s give Eva some time to work on him, Will. You might recall that she can be very persuasive when she wishes.”

Will gave her a faint smile. “What’s being asked of Adam isn’t something I’d want taken on by a man who has to be
sold
on the mission. If it’s not something he wants to do, something he demands to do; then what happens when the going gets tough? What happens when he has to do something difficult, or make a difficult decision? He can’t run to Eva to complain and have her sell him once more on the need to continue. If
that’s
his motivation, those continual pep talks? It only takes Eva failing
once
for everything to fall apart. We can’t trust this to someone likely to wilt under pressure.”

Hope sighed. “I’m electing to be patient now, Will, just as we did when we buried the original Adam years ago. We still have too much to do, regardless of the younger Adam’s choices. I’m not giving up. Not until they bury
me.
”

“I guess I need to get some more patience. Maybe I used it all up over the past nine centuries.” He sighed, and offered her a faint smile. “Got any extra you can sell me?”

Hope shook her head. “I’m afraid I need all the patience I have to deal with the stubborn men in my life.” She gave him a playful punch in the arm. Will winced in pain, but she’d managed to break his sour mood, at least enough to get him motivated to move again.”

Peter walked by, spotted them, and trotted over. “So, lots of us have been talking about the new people here, and want to know if we’ve understood everything correctly. This new Adam’s existence means that reversing the ambrosia is definitely possible? And that we now have an understanding of the approach?”

Hope nodded. “Yes. We were just discussing it, because it’s not an easy solution, and right now it still wouldn’t be available to everyone… perhaps not to
anyone
. But we’ll have enough information that we can work on fixing that, rather than the previous research that looked in the wrong places.” She thought for a moment. “Our newest recruits will have any easier time of it, so we’ll start setting up meetings about the approach soon to walk through everything.”

Hope glanced at Will, who had resumed his gloomy expression, and poked at him. He frowned, and glanced at Peter. “Hope’s right. They talked to us first since they knew us best, but we’ll start to get the word out. Most people won’t be able to use the technique right away, though. It’s going to take a lot of time to really get this to work for everyone.” He frowned.

“Ah, but I suspect that there’s a technology we can develop to work out those kinks, right?” Peter grinned. “And time is something we’ve all got in spades. We’re not shooting in the dark now, and that’s what’s important.” He started backing away. “I’m going to go let everyone know. Can’t wait to hear how this will work!” He bounded off.

Will watched him leave. “I’d argue that Peter is the first Aliomenti child since Elizabeth.” He couldn't help but laugh.

“Will?”

He spun around. Adam stood there, with Eva at his side. She wore her usual expressionless face. Adam, in contrast, wore the expression of someone who had seen a new reality, whose life has changed in one transcendent instant. Will was familiar with that expression; he’d seen it hundreds of times with each new recruit as they felt their Energy flow for the first time. Life truly would never be the same for them.

“I came to apologize, Will.” Adam said. He shook his head, eyes downcast. Will’s empathy picked up only one emotion: shame. “Everything that you and Hope told me… it was overwhelming, and it seemed like such an immense amount of work and catching up to do that… well, it scared me.”

“That’s understandable,” Hope said her voice soothing and calm. “When I learned that truth, I was absolutely terrified. And I had nearly a thousand years to live before any of this planning needed to happen.”

Adam’s eyes flicked toward Hope before his gaze returned to the ground. “That’s a generous attitude. Was my reaction understandable? Yes. But was it acceptable? No. You were right, Will. My father would have been ashamed of me for even suggesting that I might not be part of this. He told me about you, told me about Hope, and made it clear to me that the greatest thing anyone can be involved in is something both of you are pursuing with a passion. I shouldn’t have been terrified. No, I should have been
honored
to be asked to be part of this, to be trusted with your secret, Will.” He glanced at Eva. “My motivation, my courage to act, has always been there. Sometimes, though, you need a reminder, not of the
what
, but of the
why
. Thankfully, she provided that reminder, one I’ll never need to hear again.” He nodded at Eva before returning his gaze to Will. “My father promised to help you see this through, and he was willing to die to make sure both of you lived. It would be an insult to his memory for his death to have been in vain. I owe it to him, and to both of you, to give this my all.”

He held out his hand to Will. “Partners?”

Will hesitated.

Was this the same man who had shrunk before this duty just moments earlier? He spoke of courage and motivation, and used the memory of his father as his cause to fight through. Was that enough? Will thought of his own father, and wondered if he’d believe in a cause so strongly because that man had done so. He doubted it. But his disappointment with his upbringing had been the fire he’d needed to transform his life, and those of others. Perhaps, just perhaps, the reference to young Adam as a coward who had shamed his own father’s memory had been the similar spark.

He looked deep into Adam’s eyes, listened to the emotions his empathic Energy received. He saw nothing but determination and fearlessness, a belief in a greater good even Will couldn’t see. This man in front of him was, finally, the man he’d meet again in the future.

And that was the man he needed.

Will clasped Adam's hand the two men shook.

“Partners.”

XX

Home

1975 A.D.

“The Assassin does not waste movement when provided with a kill assignment,” Eva said. The Cavern engineering team watched as she sketched a conceptual diagram on the holographic display behind her. “With the assistance of the Hunters he locates his target, with his well-developed empathic push Energy skills lures them somewhere he cannot be seen, and then inflicts the killing wound immediately. Once isolated, we believe that his empathy push turns to a sensation of overwhelming terror, which has the effect of keeping the victim from crying out. The kill stroke is always the same: a straight thrust with a sword no more than two feet in length, directly into the vital organ region of the torso.” She paused. “We do not believe he taunts or tortures his victims while they live, but we do have reason to believe that he may elect to watch them die before he departs the premises.”

Will spoke. “The Assassin does do his victims the… courtesy… of looking them in the eye when he stabs them. He’s a more civilized killer than those from bygone days.”

Eva looked up from the holographic design board, surprised to see that Will had joined their discussion. The labs were large, open rooms inside one of the largest buildings within the Cavern, and the design encouraged mingling and sharing of ideas and insights. The air was chilled, both to cool the ever-growing amount of electronic and computer equipment, and to aid the researchers in staying awake and focused as they worked to solve complex problems. The building possessed a curious combination of odors: soldering guns burning, formaldehyde preserving cells, refrigerant used to chill the blood used to research ambrosia cleansing techniques, and the sweat of researchers frustrated in the pursuit of their goals.

This meeting room boasted one of their more advanced design tools: a holographic screen that allowed researchers to draw concepts, move them around, and add three dimensions to their conceptual pictures. It was in high demand, and though everyone enjoyed playing with the technology, all had made a concerted effort to keep time in the design room to a minimum. They’d considered deploying the technology through the research labs, but most of the resident researchers admitted that having a single system of this sort forced them to focus and avoid distractions.

Will looked more closely at the images Eva had been discussing. “That looks like body armor.”

Eva nodded. “That is correct, Will.” She gave a faint smile. “The designs do account for the possibility that cowards like Arthur Lowell choose to bloody their own hands, though we know that has a low likelihood of occurrence.”

Eva and Adam—young Adam, the son—were spending additional time in the Cavern, far more than Will suspected either had ever intended. Though far younger then Eva, Adam was still older than the members of the Alliance. He also had absorbed significant amounts of intelligence and insight about the Aliomenti elites from his father, who’d been part of their inner circle before being confirmed a traitor and killed. Eva had known Arthur even long than Will, since he’d been a very human youth. She’d captured her personal observations on Arthur, as well as the significant intelligence on the Hunters and the Assassin that witnesses and the few survivors were able to provide, to devise defensive technologies designed to increase odds of survival in the event of an attack. Since she'd nearly died in a manner reminiscent of the Assassin’s preferred method of execution, she was well-suited and highly motivated to provide insights and ideas to counter those efforts.

Will, who himself had survived—or would survive—just such an attack, was interested in their approaches as well. He gestured at the hologram. “Please continue. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“As I was noting to the team, Will, we do have an advantage in that we know how the Assassin and, where necessary, the Hunters choose to kill. They use blades and stab through the torso. They do not use firearms, and they do not aim for killing strikes below the waist or above the shoulders. Our intent is to build some type of body armor that looks like regular clothing. That armor will feature advanced technology that can protect the wearer in the event the Aliomenti attempt to inflict fatal wounds. There are recent human innovations which provided us with the initial basis of the idea.”

Will nodded. “So, it’s something like a bulletproof vest, then?” The Alliance had made it a point to remain aware of news events and, more critically, innovations in the human world. They had no issue with borrowing ideas from humans, any more than they had concerns with sharing their own advances in their subtle manner.

The Aliomenti would accept no such two-way innovation.

“It is similar, but not exactly the same. You see, we want the attacker to believe that the murder attempt was successful. Creating a vest which would cause the blade to bounce away would be simple. However, if that happened, the Assassin would respond by going after the legs or, worse, the neck and head. We want them to believe that the stabbing effort produced the desired effect to discourage those extra efforts.”

Will frowned. “I’m not sure I follow. How can you make that work? Some type of illusion?”

Eva shook her head. “This team has created a new technology for working with metal. Historically, you heat the necessary quantity of metal until it is in liquid form. You then transfer that molten metal to a form, a substance able to withstand the temperatures. The mold provides shape to the liquid as it cools. This has been the approach for centuries. However, we are working with something that does not require all of those steps. Rather than heating metal and shaping it while it is hot and malleable, this technology allows them to create a mold for the metal which accepts room temperature metal directly. When this metal is pushed into the special molds, it shapes the metal just as though the metal had been heated until in a liquid state. The technique does not use heat, and would thus be safe to wear. It works by tearing the inserted metal apart at an atomic level and allows the atoms to reform themselves into the shape provided by the mold.”