Heirs of Earth (24 page)

“I’m here because...” She hesitated. “I’m here to try to save the survivors. We have to stop the Starfish or they’ll kill everyone.”

IS THAT SUCH A BAD THING?

“Of course it is, if you’re one of the ones being killed.”

SURVIVAL IS ALL, THEN.

“Not
all,
obviously, but under these circumstances I think it’s a justifiable goal.”

TELL ME YOUR NAME, the voice insisted.

She looked around at the illusion of the orchard. The lines of trees seemed to stretch off to infinity, and she had no doubt whatsoever that she would not leave that illusion without the help from the owner of the voice—and that meant cooperating with it in its games.

She sighed. “Very well. My name is Thor.”

NO, IT’S NOT, said the Nexus. A strong wind blew through the orchard, bending all of the trees back and forth in a gentle fashion.
ACCORDING TO YOUR MEMORIES, YOUR NAME IS CARYL HATZIS.

“Yes, but I’m not
the
Caryl Hatzis. I’m an engram—a copy. There are lots of us, so we differentiate by naming ourselves after the colony we come from. That’s why I’m called Thor. The same with Gou Mang, Inari, Yu-qiang...”

She trailed off, sensing that her answer was failing to satisfy the Nexus.

“Only the real Caryl Hatzis can use that name,” she said.

YES.

Silence followed the simple affirmative. She waited uncomfortably for the Nexus to say something else, but there was only the wind through her hair and the sound of wood creaking.

“Well?” she said. “So what? Whatever this means to you, it’s not exactly a great revelation to me. Sol is the template on which all her engrams were based; she had the name first. Big deal. That doesn’t mean she’s the best of us, or that she should automatically be in charge.”

OR THAT SHE
DESERVES
THE NAME.

She opened her mouth, then closed it.
FUCK YOU, she thought, I KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING.

IF YOU KNOW WHERE I’M GOING, the Nexus asked, blatantly reading her mind, WHY DON’T YOU ACKNOWLEDGE IT TO YOURSELF?

“Because it’s not important!” Her rubber cheeks felt hot and suffocating; she wished she could tear off the mask and be herself.

AH, BUT IT IS IMPORTANT, the voice argued. COMMUNICATION DEPENDS CRITICALLY UPON INITIAL CONDITIONS. I CHOOSE
TO KNOW WHAT THOSE CONDITIONS ARE BEFORE I BEGIN THE PROCESS OF SEEING WHERE THEY LEAD. IF YOU CHOOSE TO OBFUSCATE THEM, THEN I WILL TERMINATE THIS DISCUSSION NOW.

Thor bit down on an angry retort, even though it didn’t matter anyway. The Nexus could read her every thought as it happened, so there was no hiding what she wanted to say. And somehow, realizing that, she was put at ease. There was nothing she could hide from the Nexus, and therefore there was no shame in admitting what it already knew.

“My name is Caryl Hatzis,” she said. “And if truth be known, I wish I was the only one.”

A warm breeze rustled the leaves of the trees around her.

THE DETERMINATION TO BE CARYL HATZIS IS VERY PROMINENT IN YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS THOUGHTS, said the Nexus. WHY DO YOU THINK THAT IS?

Thor shrugged. “I guess I’m just programmed that way. The engrams were written with a strong sense of self, to counteract programming fudges. We believe we are who we’re told we are because to believe otherwise might tear us apart.” She thought of Alander and the identity breakdown all of his engrams had suffered. “Sometimes it causes problems.”

THE ALGORITHM IS UNSUBTLE BUT EFFECTIVE IF YOU ARE NOT EXPOSED TO OTHERS OF YOUR OWN KIND, WHO ALSO SHARE THE SAME DELUSION. CONFLICT IS AMELIORATED BY THE EXISTENCE OF YOUR TEMPLATE PERSONALITY, BUT IT IS KEPT MERELY LATENT AND CONTINUES TO ERODE BENEATH THE SURFACE. IN TIMES OF STRESS, IT MAY RISE TO THE FORE. OR IT MAY RESULT IN UNPREDICTABLE BEHAVIOR. THE FACT THAT YOUR ORIGINAL HAS TAMPERED WITH YOUR PROGRAMMING DOES NOT HELP.

A new anger abruptly washed through her. “She’s
what
?”

THE ORIGINAL CARYL HATZIS HAS SUBTLY ALTERED A HANDFUL OF YOUR OPERATIONAL PARAMETERS, THE NEXUS CASUALLY EXPLAINED, THUS ALLOWING YOU SOME SMALL FREEDOM FROM PERSONALITY CONSTRAINTS. YOU ARE FLEXIBLE IN WAYS YOU
WERE NOT DESIGNED TO BE. GIVEN THE RANDOM NATURE OF THESE ALTERATIONS, I SUGGEST THAT THEY WERE MADE HAPHAZARDLY, PERHAPS ONE OF MANY SUCH CHANGES ENACTED ON ALL YOUR FELLOW ENGRAMS. THE ORIGINAL CARYL HATZIS MAY BE SEEKING TO EXTEND YOUR WORKING LIFE BY INTRODUCING THE EQUIVALENT OF MUTATIONS AT THE MOST BASIC LEVEL.

Most of what the Nexus had to say wasn’t even registering. “She’s
changed
me?”

CHANGED THE WAY YOUR OVERSEER BALANCES YOUR IMPERATIVES. IN YOU, YOUR DESIRE TO BE CARYL HATZIS IS STRONGER THAN IT SHOULD BE. THIS RESULTS IN A POWERFUL DRIVE TO SUPPLANT THE OTHERS, WHICH MANIFESTS AS HOSTILITY AND AMBITION. THESE ARE ARGUABLY BENEFICIAL TRAITS IN TIMES OF CONFLICT, BUT THEY ARE NOT CONDUCIVE TO COMMUNICATION. THE NEXUS PAUSED SIGNIFICANTLY.
I AM MERELY POINTING THIS OUT. I DO NOT THREATEN YOUR IDENTITY NOR YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR TEMPLATE PERSONALITY. I WISH TO CONVERSE WITH YOU IN A RATIONAL WAY, WITH NO CONFUSION OVER YOUR MOTIVES.

She was unable to speak for some time. Thoughts swirled through her mind like storm clouds in fast motion. She felt as though the soft underbelly of her psyche had been laid bare and poked with electrodes. Yes, she resented Sol for being the one to whom everyone aspired, and for making her feel second-rate and inadequate—and she could live with that. But to find out that it was Sol herself who had made her feel that way—who had reached into her mind and fucked around with her operational parameters, the very processes that made her
her—
that made her sick to the stomach. What had Sol done to her other engrams? To everyone? Were they all just marionettes dancing for her amusement? Was Sol setting herself up to become like the Praxis, a supermind surrounded by slaves attendant to her every desire?

“What about
your
motives?” she asked the Nexus, seeking a way out of the turmoil filling her mind. “If we’re going to communicate, shouldn’t we start talking about
you
at some point?”

I AM NOT THE SUPPLICANT IN THIS RELATIONSHIP, IT SAID
DISMISSIVELY. I AM NOT COMING TO YOU FOR SUCCOR. I HAVE
THE UPPER HAND IN THIS SITUATION, AND I DO NOT INTEND TO LOSE THAT BY DIVULGING INFORMATION TO YOU. MAKE NO MISTAKE, CARYL HATZIS: WE ARE NOT EQUALS, NOR SHALL WE EVER BE.

“Then what is this? Are you just toying with me? Killing a little time?’

ON THE CONTRARY. I AM LEARNING MANY THINGS ABOUT THE WAY YOU OPERATE THAT I COULD NOT FROM TAKING A STATIC SNAPSHOT OF YOUR MIND. NO MATTER HOW SUPERIOR I AM, THERE ARE DETAILS OF PROCESS THAT CAN ONLY BE OBSERVED, NOT PREDICTED. THE EVOLUTION OF THINGS IS THE ULTIMATE STUDY FOR ANY INTELLIGENT LIFE-FORM. WHAT YOU HAVE TO OFFER ME IS FAR LESS INTERESTING THAN THE WAY YOU OFFER IT. IF INFORMATION DOES NOT FLOW, IT IS DEAD. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?

She thought she might be beginning to. No matter how far advanced a mind could be, no matter how much it knew about the way things were, it could still be interested in the unfolding of things. In the narrative, in the story. In
her
story...

YOUR STORY HAS COME TO AN END, CARYL HATZIS OF THOR.

“Don’t write me off too soon,” she said defiantly. “I’m not dead yet.”

THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE. YOUR BODY IS NO LONGER FUNCTIONING, AND WHEN THIS CONVERSATION IS OVER I WILL ERASE YOUR PATTERN FROM MY MIND ALTOGETHER. YOU WILL CEASE TO EXIST AS A CONSTRUCT OF THIS VIRTUAL WORLD.

“Cease... ?” Her stomach sank at the words. “But why?” she asked feebly. “What have I done to make you want to kill me?”

YOU HAVE DONE NOTHING, CARYL HATZIS, replied the Nexus. YOU HAVE DONE NOTHING, AND YOU ARE NOTHING TO ME. YOUR FATE IN NO WAY CHANGES WHAT I AM OR WHAT I MUST DO, AND I HAVE NO COMPUNCTION ABOUT KILLING YOUR BODY TO ACCESS YOUR MIND. YOU ARE BUT AN INSECT ATTEMPTING TO ALTER THE MOTION OF CONTINENTS. NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU STRAIN AND PUSH, YOU WILL HAVE NO EFFECT WHATSOEVER.

“Butterfly wings,” she said, desperately trying to think of a counterargument. “Small things
can
make a difference.”

CHAOS CANNOT BE CONTROLLED. THE BUTTERFLY CANNOT KNOW AS IT BEATS ITS WINGS THAT IT WILL CREATE A STORM ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD.

“But it can try!” She struggled to think past the fact that her life hung in the balance. “And if it tries in an interesting way, doesn’t that count for something? Doesn’t its narrative become interesting?”

OF COURSE. THIS IS WHY I QUESTIONED YOUR MOTIVES EARLIER. I MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN HELPING SOMEONE WHOSE MOTIVES ARE MORE THAN JUST ASPIRING TO BE THE TOP OF HER PRIVATE HEAP, BUT I HAVE NO INTEREST IN MEDDLING IN INDIVIDUAL VENDETTAS.

“Then why are you still talking to me if you have no interest? Why haven’t you erased me already?”

I AM NOT UTTERLY WITHOUT WHAT YOU WOULD CALL COMPASSION. THERE REMAINS A SHRED OF INTEREST IN YOUR FATE AND THE FATE OF YOUR COMPANIONS.

Thor felt infinitely weary and utterly drained. What did the Nexus want of her, for fuck’s sake? She had been more honest with it than she was with anyone—perhaps even herself. It could read her mind itself rather than drag her through this ridiculous charade. Why didn’t it just decide and be done with it, and put her out of her misery?

“Look, who
are
you?” she asked after a few seconds. “Can’t you at least tell me that much, before you’re done with me?”

WOULD IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

“Of course it would! If you’re one of the Starfish, then you already know what I came here to tell. At least I could die knowing that I got the message through. But if you’re not, if you’re just another underling getting in the way, then...” She halted, unsure what to say.

THEN YOU’LL BE ANGRY AND FRUSTRATED, the Nexus finished for her. AND YOU’LL STILL BE UNABLE TO ACCEPT THE
INEVITABLE.

That seemed to sum it up well enough. But again the feeling of pointlessness to the whole conversation rose up in her. Why use words when the Nexus knew her thoughts as they occurred to her?

THERE’S ALWAYS A POINT, CARYL HATZIS. YOUR BEING HERE HAS A POINT; MY TALKING TO YOU HAS A POINT. THAT POINT IS AN INTERSECTION, A LOCUS OF CONNECTION. THE DYNAMICS OF EXCHANGE ARE VERY DIFFERENT TO THE IMPOSITION OF ORDER. BY GIVING YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE MY MIND, I FEEL THAT I HAVE AT LEAST ACTED FAIRLY, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE NATURAL PROCESSES OF LIFE.

She shook her head, feeling very much out of her depth.

“And
have
I changed your mind?”

NO, YOU HAVEN’T.

“So this was nothing more than a diversion for you, then, before you go off and destroy another of our colonies. Is that it?”

She thought she almost heard a sigh in the brief silence that followed,
LISTEN TO ME, CARYL HATZIS, the Nexus said finally. THE INFORMATION YOU HAVE GIVEN ME MAY BE VERY IMPORTANT. THE CONCLUSION YOU HAVE REACHED—THAT THE SYSTEM YOU CALL PI-1 URSA MAJOR CONTAINS SOMETHING ANOMALOUS—SEEMS INESCAPABLE IN THE FACE OF THE DATA YOU HAVE COLLECTED. MUCH OF IT IS CIRCUMSTANTIAL BUT PERSUASIVE NONETHELESS: AN ENIGMATIC FLYBY DECADES AGO, SEVERAL SCOUT VESSELS DESTROYED IN MORE RECENT TIMES. IT INDICATES A CHANGE OF TACTICS ON THE BEHALF OF THOSE WE FOLLOW, THE ONES YOU CALL THE SPINNERS, AND THAT, IF TRUE, IS A MOMENTOUS DEVELOPMENT. WE HAVE BEEN LOCKED IN AN EMBRACE THAT BEGAN LONG BEFORE YOUR RACE EXISTED. CHANGE IS SLOW AND SUBTLE, BUT ONCE BEGUN CAN UNFOLD IN AN INSTANT. YOU MAY BE A CATALYST OF A KIND WE HAVE NOT SEEN FOR MANY TENS OF THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

“Then ... you
are
one of the Starfish?”

NO, I’M NOT.

Despite the coolness of the thoughts that flowed directly through her mind, it did little to sweep aside her confusion.

BUT I AM CLOSER TO THEM THAN ANY OF THE OTHERS YOU ENCOUNTERED BEFORE. THERE IS, AS ONE OF YOUR NUMBER SURMISED, A RICH ECOLOGY OF LIFE CLUSTERING AROUND THIS GREAT MIGRATION. THERE ARE NUMEROUS CONNECTIONS AND LEVELS: IT IS A MAGNIFICENT ENVIRONMENT FOR ONE SUCH AS MYSELF, WHO THRIVES ON PROCESS. THOSE PROCESSES GOVERN MY EXISTENCE HERE: I EXIST TO FACILITATE INFORMATION FLOW. IN THAT SENSE YOU ARE FORTUNATE. HAD ANOTHER NICHE DWELLER FOUND YOU, YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN DESTROYED OUT OF HAND.

“So you’re saying we happened across the right person to help us?”

I AM INTERESTED IN YOUR STORY, CARYL HATZIS, BUT I HAVE MY OWN NEEDS TO SERVE. I CAN ASSIST YOU, OR I CAN DISMISS YOU, KILL YOU. THOSE ARE MY OPTIONS. IF I DO NOT REGARD YOUR QUEST TO BE WORTHY, THEN I CAN HARDLY LET YOU WANDER AROUND UNCHECKED.

“Then why not help us? If you can read my thoughts and have already been listening in on my crew, then you already know that our quest is worthy.”

BUT IN ORDER TO HELP YOU, CARYL HATZIS, I MUST FIRST KILL YOU.

A protest rose in her thoughts, but the Nexus caught it before she had even uttered a single syllable.

PLEASE, LET ME FINISH. YOU MUST HEAR ME OUT BEFORE I DECIDE. THEN IT WILL BE YOUR TURN TO MAKE THE DECISION. YOU THINK YOU KNOW THE STARFISH AND THEIR MOTIVATIONS. YOU TELL YOURSELF THAT YOU CAN’T POSSIBLY KNOW, BUT YOU BELIEVE THAT YOU DO, REGARDLESS. YOU ARE AS INCAPABLE OF KNOWING THEM AS I AM, AND I AM THE MOST ADVANCED INTELLIGENCE YOUR SPECIES HAS EVER ENCOUNTERED, INCLUDING THE ONES YOU CALL THE GIFTS. THE ASSUMPTION THAT YOU KNOW THEM IS BLINDING YOU, CRIPPLING YOU. YOU MUST SEE WHAT I SEE BEFORE YOU CAN PROCEED.

THOSE YOU CALL THE STARFISH ARE UNKNOWN TO ALL WHO TRAVEL WITH THEM. I HAVE SERVED THEM FOR MANY THOUSANDS OF YOUR YEARS, AND I AM NO CLOSER TO KNOWING THEM THAN YOU ARE. THE ONLY ADVANTAGE I HAVE OVER YOU IS A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF EXPERIENCE WITH THEM: OBSERVING THEIR WAYS, THEIR PATTERNS, THEIR METHODS. WHAT GOES ON BEHIND THOSE FACTS, WHAT PROCESSES DRIVE THEM, IS A MYSTERY WE MAY NEVER ANSWER. FOR ALL WE KNOW, THEY MIGHT NOT EVEN EXIST ANYMORE: THE MIGRATION COULD CONTINUE WITHOUT THEM QUITE EASILY, FOR WE NICHE DWELLERS CAN CARRY OUT OUR TASKS FOR CENTURIES WITHOUT REQUIRING INSTRUCTION OR DIRECTION.

WHAT HAPPENS AT THE TOP OF THE CHAIN IS A MYSTERY. I HAVE DEALINGS WITH BEINGS HIGHER UP THE ECOLOGICAL LADDER IN THE MIGRATION, AND THEY TOO REPORT THAT THEY HAVE NO CONTACT WITH THE STARFISH. PERHAPS WE
ARE
THE STARFISH OURSELVES: ALL THE NICHES COMBINING AS ONE TO FORM A SYNERGISTIC SOCIAL ORGANISM THAT SOMEHOW RETAINS COHERENCE AND STABILITY DESPITE ITS MANY DIVERSE COMPONENTS. I DON’T KNOW, AND MY IGNORANCE IS AS GREAT AS YOURS IN THESE MATTERS.