Heirs of the New Earth (21 page)

"Neither is the Cluster,” interjected Fire. “What we need is understanding."

"What would a tool-builder offer you?” asked Manuel.

Richard exhaled and a spout of water washed over the deck, drenching both Fire and Manuel. “John Mark Ellis and Jerome Ellis offered me friendship. Beyond that, I do not know what a tool builder could offer me. I have no need for tools, no desire to build."

Fire's eyes narrowed. “Why not?” she asked.

"What have tools given you?” asked Richard. Again he swam away a short distance, circled around and came back. Manuel sensed the whale was growing restless.

"Tools give us the means to support ourselves,” said Manuel. He rubbed his hands through his hair, trying to think. “They give us the means to feed ourselves."

"My teeth and jaw do that for me,” said Richard matter-of-factly.

"Tools have allowed us to travel far, to explore,” suggested Fire. “Without tools, we couldn't have built this boat to be out here with you."

"That is true,” said Richard. “But why must you be out here? What drove land apes to leave their migratory paths?"

"Curiosity,” said Manuel slowly. “The desire to learn and pass knowledge from one generation to another."

Richard slipped below the water and came up on the other side of the boat. Fire stepped over to the opposite rail. Manuel, beginning to shiver as a slight breeze picked up, joined her. “What you describe is like the songs of the humpbacks,” said the whale after some moments of silence.

"Except it's different,” said Fire. “The humpbacks make a living record of their travels. With pencil and paper we can write down our thoughts. With books and computers, we can store our thoughts for generations to come. I can read the exact thoughts of my grandmothers and great grandmothers if I choose."

Richard exhaled again and slipped under the water, saying, “the cycle resumes.” Manuel looked back over the opposite rail to see if Richard reappeared, but he didn't. “Is that it?” he asked. Fire shrugged. Noticing Manuel's shivering, she went to the cabinet and retrieved two towels and wrapped one around his shoulders.

"Humpbacks have a living memory,” said Manuel as he started to warm up. He looked up at the sky. Above, wispy cirrus clouds were thickening into overcast. “Living memories are passed down through oral tradition. They change with time. Things are forgotten; things are added. What if the Cluster's memory is like the whales'?"

"How can that be?” asked Fire. “From everything G'Liat and John Mark said, it seems that the Cluster is little more than a giant computer itself."

"But it's also alive,” said Manuel slowly. He tugged at the end of his mustache and looked over at the boat's control panel. “Even computers have data taken off and new data written in its place."

Fire and Manuel were startled as a voice issued from the translator box. “The cycle continues.” Returning to the starboard rail, they saw Richard again. “You said that G'Liat is here on Earth?"

Fire and Manuel looked at each other, then back at the whale. “Yes,” said Fire.

"I must speak with him. You have posed several interesting ideas, but they are difficult to understand. Whales understand not the ways of land apes nor understand the ways of space. Perhaps G'Liat can help me understand. Then, perhaps I can help more. I am concerned for John Mark Ellis. I will help, if I can.” Before Fire or Manuel could say anything else, the whale said, “the cycle resumes,” and slipped back under the water.

"I think that was it,” said Fire. She stepped back to the wheel and turned the boat around, back toward Nantucket Island.

Kirsten was surprised that G'Liat had not simply killed Gibbs. She had enough friends on colony worlds such as Alpha Coma and stationed aboard ships throughout the galaxy that had she a gun in hand, she would have been tempted to pull the trigger herself. However, G'Liat explained that Gibbs was more useful alive than dead. Kirsten wasn't quite certain how to interpret that, but agreed with Swan's assessment that there might be some way to persuade Gibbs to help them from the inside. Even so, Kirsten felt no desire to stay with Gibbs any longer. “I don't know about either of you,” she said once Gibbs fell back into his trance, “but, I want to get back to Nantucket."

Swan chewed his lower lip for a moment, then looked up at Kirsten. “I want to go with you, but there's something I need to do here.” G'Liat looked up with keen interest and Swan suddenly felt the need to get out from under the warrior's gaze.

"Let's take a walk,” suggested Kirsten.

Though he showed no outward emotion, G'Liat continued to watch as Kirsten and Swan left the apartment.

As they walked down the hall and rode in the elevator, Swan told Kirsten about the resistance.

"It sounds like a lost cause,” said Kirsten as they stepped out of the building into the glaring Arizona sun.

Swan swallowed hard. “Probably,” he admitted. He took a few steps down the street and looked around at the buildings, then up to the blue sky. “I never thought I'd see blue sky in Arizona,” he mused. He held out his arms. “Out beyond the city there's desert—a little, anyway—and maybe Saguaro cactus can grow and Palo Verde trees can provide a little shade again. Maybe the scent of mesquite will perfume the air after a monsoon rain."

"It's a beautiful thought,” said Kirsten with a slight smile.

Swan dropped his arms to his side. “I can't change what the Cluster has done, but Earth belongs to humans—not just the ones who live here, but those humans on the colonies as well—not just to mindless zombies like Tim Gibbs, but to those that will appreciate the sights and smells.” He looked down to the ground then back up to Kirsten. “You are doing your part to stop the Cluster. I have to do my part. My part is helping the resistance here in Arizona.” He stepped forward and took her hands. “The problem is, I can't do it alone. I need Manuel or Mark—if he's awake again—to get a message to Ellison Firebrandt on Sufiro.” Swan reached into his shirt pocket, took out a piece of paper and a pen and wrote a note, then handed it to Kirsten.

"I'll do my best,” said Kirsten as she folded the paper and put it in her pocket. She turned back toward the apartment building, but noticed that Swan had not joined her. “Aren't you coming?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Lock up when you leave. I just want to take a walk."

Kirsten smiled a little sadly, then nodded and went back into the building. She and G'Liat traveled back to the island aboard the ship the Rd'dyggian warrior had chartered. During the short journey, Kirsten found herself staring at the pilot, Rizonex. She wondered how much he knew and what he thought of the situation with the Cluster. She looked at his hands resting on the console along with G'Liat's. Through the computer, the two Rd'dyggians could share their thoughts without vocalizing. It was likely that the pilot knew everything that G'Liat did.

Landing at the island's spaceport, they were once again greeted by old Charlie Rogers, who all-too-cheerily drove the two back to the Ellis house. G'Liat went to the door while Kirsten tried to pay. “No need for friends of John Mark to pay me. It's my pleasure to have some company,” said Charlie.

Kirsten joined G'Liat at the door, unlocked it and stepped inside then smiled when she saw John Mark sitting at the table having lunch with Dr. Cooper. She stepped across the room and put her arms around him from behind. “I'm glad to see you back,” she whispered in his ear. She then frowned as she saw the dour look on his face.

Mark reached up and patted Kirsten's hand. “It's good to see you,” he said, gently. “It's just that Coffin's in trouble. I think he's dying."

Dr. Cooper looked down at her plate. “And I'm afraid I didn't help any.” She looked back up at Kirsten. “I gave Mark Proxom as we discussed."

G'Liat entered and pushed the door closed. Mark Ellis nodded acknowledgement at the tall warrior. “I'm glad to see you back,” he said. “The Cluster's building something big at the center of the galaxy and we need all the help we can get."

"We know,” said G'Liat, somberly. He explained what they had learned from Timothy Gibbs and Kirsten reported what they had learned from the
Sanson.

"Didn't Edmund Swan come back with you?” asked Mark, once they finished their narrative.

Kirsten cast a meaningful glance at G'Liat then looked back at Mark. “He decided he needed to stay behind,” she said simply.

"I suspect he's been asked to join a resistance movement,” said the warrior bluntly. “A futile gesture, though. The only way to defeat the Cluster is to pool our resources."

Mark looked at Kirsten who simply nodded acknowledgment that G'Liat had guessed correctly.

Mark and Kirsten sat down on the couch, next to each other. The captain took out a cigar, but after a sharp look both from Kirsten and Eva, he didn't light it. Instead, he simply held it in his teeth as they discussed what they had learned. “What I don't understand,” said Mark around the cigar, “was exactly what happened to me. It was like I was in some strange dream world."

"Undoubtedly you were,” said G'Liat. Stooped over, he moved around the remaining chair around the coffee table and sat. “Somehow the Cluster seems able to copy your memories, your thoughts, everything that makes you an individual and place that essence into themselves."

"Then how was I able to move from one location to the other?” asked Mark, removing the cigar from his mouth. “I gather that I was talking to Gibbs aboard a Cluster that was orbiting the Earth. However, there's another Cluster—maybe two, now—at the center of the galaxy."

G'Liat inclined his head in a very human-like gesture. “The Clusters must have some way to communicate with each other. It's probably an EQ channel like we use for starship communication."

"You mean my ‘spirit’ found a way to ride from one Cluster to another?” asked Mark, his brow creased.

"Like a data packet being transferred from one computer to another,” affirmed G'Liat. Kirsten had a feeling that if the giant warrior were capable of shrugging, he would have.

Mark stood and stepped over to the fireplace. In spite of Kirsten and Dr. Cooper's silent objections, he lit the cigar. Kirsten sighed and looked around the room. Her eyes finally settled on the stairs. “So, what do we do about Coffin?” she asked. “If he's in trouble, I'm guessing that means that Ms. Meiji at Mao is in trouble, as are others. Their minds may be alive in the Cluster but what happens if their bodies die here on Earth?"

"We need to do something,” said G'Liat, standing. “If the Cluster is simply copying humans’ personality and memory matrix, it's possible that the data still exists in the brains of those humans here on Earth. Could injecting the humans here on Earth with Proxom cause them to revive?"

Eva gasped. “What would that mean? Would that mean that there were suddenly two copies of a person—one in the person's body and one copied in the Cluster's memory?"

"Possibly,” said G'Liat, flatly. “It would explain certain ... observations. A person who is under the influence of an orbiting Cluster is having data transferred back and forth—a copy is being made as they work. Those on the more distant Clusters are simply too far away.” He started to move toward the door.

"Where are you going?” asked Kirsten.

"Back to the ship,” he said, opening the door. “It has been a long and tiring day and I wish to consult the shipboard computer, to see if I can learn more about the properties of Proxom and refresh my memory on brain transfer experiments.” With that, the warrior left, closing the door behind him.

Mark exhaled a small cloud of smoke with a sigh. “He is right. We need to know more, before we proceed, but I think there's an easy way to get that information."

"The Titans,” said Kirsten, as though reading Mark's thoughts. “We can be there tomorrow on the
Sanson
. Edmund Swan also wants us to get a message to your grandfather. From Titan, we could jump out of the solar system, send the message and be back within the hour. What are we waiting for?"

"I want to go back,” said Mark, stepping toward the kitchen table. “I want to see if there's anything I can do to help Coffin and the others from within. It seems like I'm able to move from one Cluster to the others better than most. I might be able to do something to help."

Kirsten smiled. “I understand. We can send Simon to Titan."

Mark took his cigar and tossed it into the fireplace. “Let's wait for Mom and Manuel to get back and see what they've learned from Richard. She might want to go to Titan as well.” The captain stroked his mustache thinking about his mother's last foray to Titan and how she'd managed to break into the Titans’ computer system to learn about their connection to the Cluster in the first place. “In the meantime, I think I could use some fresh air.” He looked to Kirsten. “Care to go for a walk?"

"I'd love to,” she said.

After Mark and Kirsten left on their walk, Eva Cooper found herself alone. She went upstairs to check on Coffin. Finding his condition unchanged, she realized she could use some fresh air as well. She went out the front door and walked to the white picket fence that surrounded the Ellis family house. She looked both directions and decided to turn right—back toward the spaceport.

As she walked, Eva drank in the surrounding landscape. Her ancestors were American and she found the sense of history—the Americana—that surrounded her both comforting and somehow discomfiting. She stopped briefly at a Revolutionary War memorial and took in the names of those from Nantucket that died to end the oppression of the British Crown. She quickly moved on, thinking how few they were compared to the number that died overnight as a result of the Cluster.

Half a mile from Ellis’ house, the buildings began to thin out and Eva found herself on a slight grassy incline. She continued walking until she came to a large windmill sitting in the middle of a field. A plaque on the building identified it as the “Old Mill” and went on to describe that inside was a millstone where wheat was ground into flour. She looked up at the blades of the windmill and the gray sky beyond and found herself thinking about President Walker and crops that needed tending. Walking around the Old Mill, she found a door and tried it. Unfortunately, the door was locked and she couldn't see the millstone within. Even so, she found herself considering that even the best crops get ground into powder.