Nexus (24 page)

  Feng lifted his eyes from his food to the horizon.

  "Definitely coming this way," Feng said. "Rain here again in half an hour."

  A thought struck Kade.
Why don't you leave China? Why not come to the US? 

  Shu snorted mentally.
I'd be even less free in your country. My government doesn't object to posthumans, so long as the first posthumans are Chinese. They want control. Fools. As if such beings will be bound by nationality.

  Her name is Ling,
she sent him.
It means "compassion."

  She's the leverage they have over you?
he asked.

  She's part of it,
Shu replied.

  Kade caught a glimpse of something else, then. An image of Shu, a younger Shu, a pregnant Shu, her belly huge, in a surgical theatre, her skull shaven, frightened, alone, in pain, about to go through something no one else had yet survived… And then something so huge it sent him reeling. A network of processors, vast computing power, vast storage. An incredible mind, epic in scope, something that subsumed Su-Yong Shu, stretched beyond her.

  "Oh my god." He said it out loud, before he could control himself.

  "Yes, it's beautiful." She was staring out at the sky, covering his gaffe.

  Is that you?
he asked her.
You're an upload? You were sick… Is that it? You were forced to try. And you succeeded. You're the first digital being…

  His mind was spinning. He was trying to make sense of the glimpse he'd seen.

  She didn't answer for a moment. Kade felt the dread and awe climb up his spine, set the hairs on the back of his neck on end, chilling him even in the warm Bangkok night.

  Please,
she replied,
I shouldn't have let you see that. The less you know, the safer for both of us.

  They sat in silence for a while, watching the lightning illuminate the eastern sky.

  "I think you should come visit my lab in Shanghai," Shu said aloud. "And perhaps your collaborator Rangan Shankari as well. You'll get to see the lab, meet the other postdocs and graduate students, some of the other faculty. We can get a better sense if there would be a good fit."

  Say yes,
she urged him.
Your masters will believe you've done your part. We'll have time to discuss more later.

  Thank you, Kade sent to her.
 

  "I think that's a wonderful idea. Thank you for the invitation." 

  The check came. 

  Feng went to fetch the car, left them watching the storm approaching on the horizon. Lightning struck again, closer. Thunder boomed seconds later. Raindrops touched the far side of the river.

  "Come, Kade," Shu said a few minutes later. "Feng will have the car by now. We can drop you off at your next engagement." He felt her release him fully, then. His body and his mind were his once more. It felt good.

  The Opal pulled around, glistening in the rain that was now beginning to fall. Feng held open the door for Shu, and then for Kade, and then they were on their way. They drove in silence for a few moments, before Shu reached out to him again.

  Kade considered that.

  I'm on the side of peace,
he sent,
and freedom. 

  Shu mentally chuckled.
You are so naïve. 

  Kade didn't reply. Wet, neon-streaked streets slid by outside the car's windows.

  Do I have a choice?
he asked her.

  False memories. Again. Yet she was right.

  Will I forget what just happened?
he asked her.

  Kade sighed. There was no way around this.

  OK,
he sent her.
Let's get on with it.

  He opened his mind to her. Her thoughts flowed into him, suffused him, pressed all else aside. Consciousness receded.

  When he came to, he felt the same. Then she showed him, and he understood. He remembered the truth. And he remembered an alternate event, just a slight twist on what had actually happened.

  It awed him. In minutes she'd made a change to his mind of a subtlety and sophistication he wouldn't have believed possible. His mind could be completely hers, Kade realized. Shu could do anything with him that she wanted. The scope of her ability to manipulate his mind was staggering.

  She was posthuman already.

 

Wats watched through the scope of the rifle as the man with the all-too-familiar face left Shu and Kade and headed back to the car. Wats used the scope to capture images of that face and video of his gait. Who was this man who was driving Shu?

  Could he be wrong on the face? He didn't think so. The last man to wear that face had made a powerful impression. He'd killed four heavily augmented special forces Marines with his bare hands before they'd taken him down. That wasn't something Wats was likely to forget.

  Could this be the reason the ERD had sent Kade here? Did it have to do with this man? With Shu?

  If so, why Kade?

  And did this have anything to do with the monk who'd followed Kade and Cataranes to their hotel the night before?

  The unknowns were piling up.

  The car was coming around to the front of the restaurant now. Wats packed up his gear and prepared to follow.

 
 

Shu studied Kade as the glossy black Opal pulled up in front of the Wild at Heart bar where the neuroscience students' mixer was to be held.

  "Here you go," Feng said as he opened the door for the boy to exit. "Door to door service!"

  "That was very stimulating, Kade," Shu told him. "Let's talk soon."

  "It was, Dr Shu. Thank you for dinner. I'll be in touch on the dates for the Shanghai visit." He shook her hand and turned. "And it was good to meet you, Feng. I'm glad we talked." Kade nodded, held up his hand in salutation, and was gone.

  Feng got back into the driver's seat.

  Thoughts?
Shu asked him.

  Feng put the car in gear, looked both ways, cautiously eased back into the riotous traffic of Bangkok. Shu knew he was taking the time to collect himself, to be sure he knew his own mind before he answered her. Always so careful, after all this time.

  I made them that way, she reminded herself.

  The boy is dangerous,
Feng sent to her.
He poses a great risk.

  He could be a great asset,
Shu replied.
He's done impressive work to have come so far so fast.

  Is that the only reason?
Feng asked.

  He knew her too well. The old anger rose up. The painful memories. Yang Wei, her mentor, burning to death in that limo, a victim of the CIA. Along with…

  Nausea struck her. Her hand went unbidden to her belly. She forced herself to pull it away. This body was a traitor. Anger was better than sorrow.

  Feng was silent for a moment, then spoke into her mind.
You could compel him. 

  Shu chuckled. Was Feng testing her?

  She felt Feng's satisfaction with her answer. If it was a test, she'd passed. The line between loyalty and compulsion remained clear.

  Perhaps.
 

  Feng refused to accept just how unassailable she'd become.

  They can inconvenience you,
he sent.
Greatly.

  Yes,
she replied.
That they can.

  They can perhaps goad our masters into hurting you,
Feng went on.
Or worse. 

  It was a possibility. One that bore more safeguards against it.

  So what do you recommend?
she asked.

  Feng was silent for a moment, threading the Opal through wet Bangkok traffic.

  You mean that we should liberate him?
she asked.
Or that we should kill him? 

  Feng was silent again.

  Feng took his time replying.

  What they do not know of, they need not agree to,
he sent.
Accidents happen. Bangkok is a dangerous place.

  You've become so hard, Feng,
she sent him.
You would kill this boy? An innocent?

  What about the woman, the agent he's with?
 

  Feng considered.
Challenging. Not impossible.

  You may not have that choice,
Feng replied.
We must all act within the choices we are given.

  Su-Yong Shu leaned back into the plush seat of the Opal, and contemplated.

The Wild at Heart bar was a sprawling three-story club in the heart of Bangkok's tourist district. It was 9pm, halfway into the 8pm to 10pm mixer, and the place was packed with students attending the conference. Kade meandered through the throng, lost in thought. What had he expected of Shu? That she'd be completely innocent of what the ERD had accused her of? That she'd be a monster?

  She was neither. The opportunity she was offering him was beyond his wildest dreams. Could he accept it? Could he fool the ERD? Could he live with himself if his work was weaponized, was used to harm innocents?

  Could he become posthuman? A demigod? An immortal?

  He got in line for a drink, peeled off two hundred-baht bills for something strong and alcoholic. The Nexus link on his phone came alive before the drink reached his lips.

  [sam] Welcome back. Meet me on the roof.

  Kade shrugged and made his way to the roof, downing his drink as he went. Show time. Again.

  He found Sam with her back to the party, looking out onto the street and the chaotic, rain-soaked capital of Thailand.

  "Hey."

  "Hi there." She smiled at him, put her hand on his arm.

  [sam] Put your arm around me.
  [kade] What?
  [sam] Just do it.

  She turned back to the street, leaning against the banister. Kade grimaced, put his arm around her, joined her in leaning out for a view. Sam pressed her body closer. The rain made the night almost cool. Her body was distinctly warm, and firm, and curved under his hand… [sam] Give me your other hand.

  [sam] I need a few drops of your blood. [kade] What?