Dadr'Ba (18 page)

Gi’Ya not willing to remain and watch the dying one, turned back around the curtain and closed her mind to wait out the last moments, the ushers clearly distraught by the scene followed suit.

It bothered Gi’Ya significantly. Waiting for death, death with no passing, saddening but not the mortal sin of the death of an adult member of Dadr’Ba society.

As with others in the past, the death of this youth is God’s work, God’s choice, viewed by the Church as the same choice that was made over eight-hundred years ago, when God choose who was worthy of survival and who wasn’t.

Finally, Gi’Ya cautiously opened her mind and sensing the pain of the dying one was gone, she walked out around the corner of the curtains within sight of the initiates and froze. She couldn’t believe her eyes, or her mind, she didn’t know what to do, in all of her eight-hundred-plus years she had never seen this, there’s no precedent and no protocol what to do.

P’Ko was awake and kneeling next to the initiate who should have died. The dying one lay relaxed, no longer in the pain arched pre-death strained-rigor-mortis, breathing even and regular, the posture of those seeking their way, P’Ko sat back as Gi’Ya rushed forward.

“What did you do?” Gi’Ya exclaimed in a harsh whisper straining to keep from screaming.

“Ne needed help, ne was dying.” Said P’Ko emphatically.

“How did you know; how did you do this?” pressed Gi’Ya in the same harsh whisper but without the underlying scream.

P’Ko, uncertainly, “I’ve… I’ve been there; I’ve been lost before.”

“Just now? But there wasn’t time; you couldn’t have!” said Gi’Ya trying to understand what had just happened, trying to figure out how P’Ko did the impossible.

“No, before.”

“Get away!” Gi’Ya commanded, loud enough to startle the ushers standing nearby. None of the rest of the initiates had yet recovered, she pointed to a spot on the far corner of the stage, apart from the rest. P’Ko still on his knees scooted over to the place indicated, away from the one he had just helped.

Gi’Ya for an instant wished she there was a soldier nearby; her first impulse was to have it take this abomination away; she didn’t know where but just away. She wasn’t fearful of P’Ko, she sensed no threat or maliciousness from P’Ko, but she was scared, terrified of what this would lead to and what the consequences will be.

P’Ko had just unknowingly shattered one of the Churches commandments, and it was her fault.

“Sit there, face that way and don’t move, don’t do anything,” Gi’Ya commanded. P’Ko puzzled, sat quietly, cold, hungry, wet with and smelling of vomit, gazed off in the direction indicated dejected and wondered.

P’Ko didn’t know what he’d done wrong; he had, contrary to his nature acted on impulse when he saw the young initiate dying. P’Ko wasn’t fully recovered from the shock himself, and hadn’t yet regained all of his pre-touch (shock) memory. When he saw the dying one, he acted on impulse. He saw and felt the initiates excruciating pain and the underlying drift towards the abyss of death. The initiate only needed a little help to relax, thereby slowing down the spin just enough to recognize nir’s center, a prerequisite necessary to spot the distant star that would guide their way out.

Slowly, Gi’Ya reclaimed her composure and began cautioning the initiates as they recovered against helping the others still finding their way, doing her best to ignore P’Ko.

Gi’Ya searched for a way out of this debacle; it may be that P’Ko had, technically, Gi’Ya hoped, not violated the prohibition against helping someone find their way, but only kept the initiate from dying, then let them find their way. The initiate, though more slowly than all the others, looked on the right path. Perhaps P’Ko had only prevented the initiate from dying outright. This is sure to create a stir within the Church. If condemned, what would the penalty be? Or if accepted how it would settle against all those like this one that the Church has let die in the past? Gi’Ya didn’t know what the outcome would be.

There had been, thankfully, rarely, Touch of God Ceremony compromises, but due to the nature of the event, prior knowledge had little actual impact on the ceremony, the charge used to induce the experience far exceeded that necessary to cause temporary memory loss. Advance knowledge about what to expect did nothing to help initiates find their way because, theoretically, if the charge is calculated right, the knowledge is unavailable during the ceremony.

Could the charge P’Ko received have been wrong? Mitigated by clothing or something? P’Ko was made to stay in his corner stage isolation long after the ceremony while all these possibilities were investigated. The others waited as well, but were allowed to talk quietly among themselves; they had all been given cleaning cloths and something to eat and drink.

After what seemed like hours, and the video recordings and data were analyzed nothing abnormal was discovered, P’Ko had no explanation for what happened or why he recovered so fast, only that he had inexplicably experienced it before but couldn’t recall when or where.

When questioned, he described the event precisely and with the same perceived time span, or lack thereof, like any other initiate. P’Ko experienced it the same as anyone else, but the external time was much, much shorter.

Review of surveillance video of the event showed that he seized and convulsed and fell exactly as all the others did. Spectral analysis of P’Ko as he was ‘touched’ showed conclusively that the charge, higher than the average and calculated precisely for P’Ko was correct and achieved the desired effect. Only P’Ko was down a little more than a minute before recovering, long enough for Gi’Ya and the Ushers to come out from behind the curtains, check on them and then return behind the curtains to avoid watching the dying one.

P’Ko along with the others were finally released and sent home to wait for their bio-mod. He went home feeling like he was being closely watched. Which prevented him from contacting Su’Zi, even in Vr’Chm. He tried her psychically, but with his current frustration and limited psychic abilities, all he got across was that he was alright, and he would contact her as soon as he could.

P’Ko spent the time listening to music, playing games and going on jobs with his ba. Perhaps impacted by what he experienced in the Touch of God ceremony, P’Ko grew closer to his ba, as the weeks passed, he gained more respect for his father and began to see him more as a real person and an equal more than ever before.

Dr. Za’Ga sat at the small desk in the corner of her apartment, staring at the bio-mod order before her; this is going to be a complicated one. It’s good that Z’Shi sent her the encrypted message, giving Za’Ga plenty of time to prepare.

Za’Ga remembered P’Ko; she had performed a side job on P’Ko when he was a young Ko’Ka. Unfortunately, her diagnosis proved false, and the illegal mod to improve P’Ko’s cognitive capability didn’t resolve his learning difficulty. The problem had to be emotional or psychological stemming from the birth trauma P’Ko’s parents described. Unfortunately, Za’Ga didn’t learn of the birth trauma till after the failure of the procedure, and she started investigating possible reasons why the procedure failed.

Za’Ga felt bad; she should have asked more questions before the procedure and possibly avoided the costly mistake. However, she did what she could to lessen the financial impact on P’Ko’s parents. It proved cheaper to leave the mod in place and offer a partial refund to the family than to attempt to remove the mod.

Regarding P’Ko’s prognosis and treatment, options are limited. The easiest and cheapest treatment for psychological problems is total reprogramming, which wipes out any trace of the parents and grandparents imprint partial reprogramming is accomplished through reprogramming sessions with a specialist and are very time-consuming and costly. Way beyond P’Ko’s parents means to pay.

Dr. Za’Ga recommended the wait and see approach. It’s possible that P’Ko’s learning difficulties and possible emotional or psychological problems would resolve themselves and apparently they have.

Now, as Za’Ga reviewed P’Ko’s records she was pleasantly surprised to discover that P’Ko looked very much like he had solved the problems that plagued him in his youth and was going to amount to something. Za’Ga knew that many, perhaps the majority of U’Te’s become just another component, in the giant machine that is Dadr’Ba working all day. Only to go home to a small capsule flat to recharge, execute optimization utilities, return to work the following day, and perform their pre-determined functions

Upon reflection, Dr. Za’Ga realized that the mere fact that P’Ko’s parents had risked everything to obtain the illegal cognitive enhancement for their son meant something. P’Ko was unique. Za’Ga remembered that day, the desperation, the hope and when the procedure failed the despair that P’Ko’s parents felt. She felt the emotion too, the desire and the danger she put herself and all those involved in, the risk of performing the illegal procedure. But she had been taking risks as long as she could remember, quietly and discreetly supporting people in need whenever she got the chance.

Za’Ga didn’t consider herself part of the resistance. But by performing P’Ko’s side job, along with all those other mods that she’s performed, and continues to perform, were then and are now, in direct violation of CA rules. By the CA’s standards, she and all of her cohorts, as well as their families, are members of the resistance.

Without exception, all the people that Za’Ga helps are peaceful, hardworking contributors to Dadr’Ba and its mission, they only want a good happy life and wouldn’t dream of doing anything in direct conflict with the CA and the mission of Dadr’Ba.

As it turned out, P’Ko grew up and stayed off CASS’s radar screen. Za’Ga lived with the constant fear that one of her “unauthorized bio-mods” would be discovered. She was careful however to perform a fair number of illegal bio-mods for D’En’s, as an insurance policy. She kept records, and if her activities were discovered, a good number of D’En’s would be in as much trouble as the U’Te’s and Mi’Nr’s that she helped.

Za’Ga reviewed P’Ko’s bio-mod order after P’Ko received a standing ovation at the graduation, she wasn’t surprised that P’Ko’s order included a CASS directed passive tracking and surveillance nanobot injection but, thankfully, no active tracking/surveillance or override implants.

When ordered to install active implants, on a suspect believed to be associated with the resistance, she would install substandard units, or install it in such a way that it wouldn’t work properly, and she’d let the resistance know that the implants were there and who had them.

Then, the resistance would know what type of implant is installed and who has them. Then they can decide what to do, they usually inoculated them, but sometimes they used them to feed false or misleading information to the CASS.

Za’Ga had very quietly and carefully provided the resistance with a nano-bot vaccine that effectively disables the nano-bots and she assists the resistance in developing detection equipment for these and other bio-mod ordered surveillance devices.  

This time, Za’Ga knew without contacting the resistance how to handle CASS’s nanobot injection request. The message from Z’Shi would have been enough, but was doubled when she saw in the Bio-Mod order, the code indicating who P’Ko’s mentor was going to be.

It was her friend, and own mentor, Z’Shi. The nanobot injection that P’Ko would get is from a specific lot, known only to a few people and reserved for Z’Shi’s Lr’Lng’s.

If tested they gave the appearance of working but didn’t actually work. Za’Ga wasn’t sure exactly how they’re disabled, something with the sensory input or output, or it could be with the storage or retrieval mechanism. It could even be a combination of other factors. Za’Ga didn’t know how, she just knows that she’s used them for years, and they’ve never worked, and they’ve never been detected, yet.

But then, everyone that has them is in a trusted, prestigious position subject to additional scrutiny. If the CASS figured out the secret behind these defective nanobots a lot of high-level people would become suspect. If P’Ko’s malfunctioning nanobots were detected they’d probably be dismissed as a one-off occurrence and not jeopardize Z’Shi’s network.    

Reviewing the Bio-mod order, Za’Ga saw that P’Ko’s bio-mod will be very extensive. Taking a machine that was designed to operate at a normal temperature, gravity, and atmospheric environment. And configuring it to operate at temperatures approaching absolute zero, in gravity twice its design spec, and in atmospheric pressures ranging over several orders of magnitude, that are sometimes explosive and caustic will be no easy task.

Fortunately, there is a template to follow; the Mi’Nr’s are designed for these environments.

The easiest way to achieve P’Ko’s mods would be just to transfer P’Ko’s cognitive components into a Bo’R chassis, which may have been what the CA intended her to do, but if she did that it would almost certainly change P’Ko’s personality, destroying P’Ko and creating someone or something new.

The task facing Za’Ga will be to achieve the mods without making P’Ko unrecognizable as P’Ko, without breaking his mind/body link and change who he is.

Za’Ga knew of many instances of a personality change brought on by a bio-mod, most of the time she does nothing to avoid the change, bio-mods have been happening long enough that most people understand and expect the personality changes, this time, she knew she had to be careful.

To complicate things further Za’Ga needed to attempt to weigh in the personality change often brought on by graduation and, especially the Touch of God Ceremony. They’ve been known to alter a person’s personality and sense of self, as much or more so than changes brought forth by biomods. It all depends on the person.

Za’Ga had seen something as simple as a tattoo change a person from meek to a confident outspoken individual. This time, since the bio-mods are so extensive, Za’Ga felt that not paying close attention to keeping P’Ko’s outward appearance the same, would result in killing him.

P’Ko’s order didn’t list any tattoos, they are a waste of credits here, he will undoubtedly get those down in the mines. He will get new, tougher skin, including an enhanced touch/temp sensor map with subcutaneous fuel stores, his new skin will be unavoidably the darker Bo’R’s tone due to the increased carbon fiber content, but Za’Ga picked the lightest tone available, a noticeable change but not strikingly so. She’ll follow P’Ko’s underlying facial features selection to a tee.

The worst part is going to be getting the new skin to fit P’Ko’s frame; it’s going to take a lot of work cutting, splicing and seaming P’Ko’s skin and sensors, will cost a lot more than what was estimated in the Bio-Mod order, in just the time cost alone.

Za’Ga used computer modeling to optimize the changes necessary, maximized use of recycled components, and had her robotic micro-manipulator assistant make the critical sensor splices, triple checking the function of each splice.  

P’Ko requested lighter hair color than the norm for a Bo’R, a color more closely matching his parents. It will make him feel more like himself, but will make him stand out in the mining camps. But his hair color and skin tone will be covered by his work uniform. But nothing can disguise his height. His height will cause him to stand out in the mining camps like a candle burning in a cave. Shortening him would solve some structural issues with dealing with a high gravity of Zone Three and especially zone four, but changing his height on top of all the other changes would create too great a risk to his personal identity.

P’Ko is very likely to meet with conflict and opposition. Extra height and reach will make it easier for him to defend himself and could save his life. Za’Ga ran some calculations and decided that if she keeps P’Ko slim, U’Te like, compared to the stockier Bo’R, it will offset the weight from his height.

Then adjusting the doping of the carbon fiber resin, increase the layers, his limbs should be strong and light enough to handle the higher gravity environments while keeping nearly the same height. Za’Ga ran the parameters through the design algorithm, then through the performance simulator. She made the necessary adjustments, checked the results, then sent the instructions to the three-dimensional printer/fabricator/kiln to begin work.   

Physically, P’Ko will become a new person. Dr. Za’Ga crafted the changes to ensure that they are not readily apparent. P’Ko won’t be notified or told about his new capabilities. It’ll be better that he discovers and learns about them on his own, over time, which should lessen the impact on his personality. Za’Ga was proud of the work she just finished thinking that it will live up to the expectations of all the people that gave P’Ko a standing ovation at graduation.

Tso’Lo
[73]
, Za’Ga’s mate for over 100 years, interrupted “Za’Ga. You’ve been working on that bio-mod since I got home, you didn’t even notice me when I came in.”

“I’m sorry” Za’Ga responded, “I need a break, let’s go for a walk.”

Dr. Za’Ga and Tso’Lo started off on one of their regular routes, this one, chosen to stay distant from the CA surveillance system, allowing them to talk without being overheard. They talked about the meaning of life, hopes, dreams, and what it might be like on O’M. Never a word was told about each other’s work. Za’Ga liked it that way, and she thought that Tso’Lo liked it too.