SHIAM Conspiracy- Book 1 (6 page)

The comm continued to blast away from the
front dash.

“
Yes sir, folks, that was Purple Dragon
with their new release ‘On The Far Side Of The Second Moon’. We’ll
continue with our night of electro explosions, but first the newest
news brief for the hour.”

The loud sing-song voice of the DJ was
replaced by a deeper, more somber voice of the newsman.

“
It’s day two of the big storm!”
Dramatic pause.
“Two nights ago our twin cities were hit by a
freakish storm and it refuses to leave! Meteorologists are puzzled
over the strange phenomena as it seems that the electrical storm
has become stationary over the metropolitan area in spite of
prevailing winds and air currents. While the weather experts remain
puzzled, several occult scholars have come forward with concerns
that this bizarre weather is due to some sort of disturbance within
the ethereal layer surrounding our city. We’ve spoken with Dr.
Galen Raghnall, Master Wizard of the Institute of Occult and
Paranormal Sciences. He confirmed that a disturbance does, indeed,
seem to exist in the ethereal layer. This is what he had to
say.”

“
Two days ago,”
Dr. Raghnall began.
The deep resonance of the wizard’s voice seemed to immediately
reach out to Zak, pulling his attention toward the words being
spoken.
“Our Dimensional Reality Department noted a strong
disturbance within the ethereal layer of our world. The source of
this disturbance seems to be centered somewhere within the greater
Sol Kappur area, but we are unable at this time to discover the
exact location or cause for this disturbance. We are doing
everything...”

The idea may not have taken shape had it not
been for the allure of Dr. Raghnall’s voice just as Zak wrestled
with the mystery of the Grimrok theft. The storm began two days
ago. The Grimrok break-in happened sometime on the evening before.
Was it more than a coincidence? It was a crazy thought. Zak wasn’t
even certain why it had come to him.

The timing of the two events kept pushing
into his thoughts. Logically he kept rejecting the idea that one
had anything to do with the other. What possible connection could
there be between the weather and the theft of an android?

It was too farfetched to even consider.

Never the less, the words of Dr. Raghnall
continue to pull at him.
“...a strong disturbance within the
ethereal layer...”

Or was it too farfetched?

He had detected
something
at the
Grimrok building. Well, he was fairly certain he had detected it
anyway. It had been so weak that it was little more than a
suggestion. Or maybe it was only his imagination. He remained
unsure. The RAAID unit hadn’t picked anything up. But then, Zak’s
Elvish blood had managed to outperform the unit before. Sometimes
you had to rely on your own abilities rather than machines. That
being said, he was still too uncertain of what it was he’d
felt.

Zak had never met Dr. Raghnall, but he
regularly used the services of the Institute of Occult and
Paranormal Sciences. The use of integrated magic had become an
indispensable part of a well-planned network security system. Since
Zak refused to have anything to do with magic beyond his own
sporadic ability to detect it, he regularly subcontracted the
magical aspects of his network configurations to the Institute.
Maybe he should call in the Institute on this one. Their trained
sorcerers could perhaps detect more than his untrained, and often
limited, abilities could.

He decided to contact the Institute when he
got back to his loft and request a sorcerer. Their services
guaranteed confidentiality, so it should not be an issue with
Grimrok. He leaned back in his seat and shifted his attention to
the rest of the newscast.

“
Tension mounted once again today between
Orkensha Nations and the Aragne Commonwealth over land claims
concerning the Akkasson Mountain Range. Stretching from the
Gwainroch Sea in the north to the Kusanar Ocean in the south, the
Akkasson Mountains have been the subject of ongoing dispute between
our country and the Orkensha for thousands of years.

“
The Akkasson Mountains make up the entire
eastern border of the Aragne Commonwealth, while also falling
within the borders of the Orkensha provinces of Orkkanta, Dhann Khi
and Bh’ag Mur. The rich ore deposits located within the Akkasson
range have always been an essential resource for both nations. The
contention of ownership of the mountain range only intensified when
large deposits of arganite ore were discovered.

“
While Prime Minister Sarte has been
working diligently to find a peaceful resolution to the land
dispute with the Orkensha, many of Aragne’s energy corporations are
criticizing the Prime Minister for his willingness to compromise.
Sol Corp and Mega Thrust, Aragne’s two leading corporations in the
energy field, have been particularly critical of the Prime
Minister’s efforts. Representatives from both corporations have
come forward to state that it is vital to both our domestic
well-being and to the continued expansion of our interstellar
commerce for us to take our rightful possession of the Akkasson
Mountain Range.

“
In a related story, Aragne Minister of
Defense, Gerold Hakkim, released a statement early today accusing
the Orkensha Nations of escalating tensions between our two nations
by continuing its build-up of military strength inside the Kelthar
Pass. He went on to say that the Orkensha Nations have no right of
claim along the western edge of the Mountain Range. Minister Hakkim
concluded his statement by saying that the Aragne military is fully
prepared to defend our borders against any threat...”

Zak’s pulse quickened as he listened. The
bastard Orks were going to keep pushing until things went too far.
His hatred for them was automatic and had been a part of him for a
lot of years. That part of him would welcome war against the
Orkensha. He’d be more than willing to re-enlist and do another
stint in the military if it came to that.

“Yeah, right on!” Kam’s entire body was as
animated as some spastic cartoon character. “We’re gonna kick some
Ork ass, hoohoo!”

The kid’s comment snapped things back into
perspective for Zak. In spite of the open wound he’d lived with all
these years, which sustained his hatred of the Orks, he understood
that war was not a preferred choice. He’d been there and done that
and there had been nothing glorious or heroic about it. War was
brutal and barbaric. And more death would not bring back those who
died before.

Zak shook his head as he watched the kid from
the back seat. He figured him as a v-warrior. Too many hours of
virtual war games and now he thought he was macho. If the kid was
afraid of the Zone, he sure didn’t want to ever go to war against
the Orkensha.

“
...Prime Minister Sarte, however, assured
the Orkensha government that Minister Hakkim’s statement was in no
way a threat and that he remains totally committed to settling the
current border dispute by diplomatic and peaceful means.

“
While the energy corporations may not
agree with the Prime Minister’s commitment to a peaceful solution
with the Orkenhsa, the latest polls indicate that Aragne voters
continue to support the Prime Minister. With the elections only
days away, Prime Minister Sarte gained several more points and now
enjoys a forty-four percent rating in the polls.

“
Senator Jayme Donovan moved up two points
in the polls to a thirty percent rating, which inches him ahead of
Representative Collin Martel, who trails the polls with twenty-one
percent.

“
When this election campaign began it
appeared as though it was going to be a much closer race between
the Freedom Party candidate, Torrin Kapp, and the Prime Minister.
But the sudden and tragic death of Senator Kapp in a car accident a
month ago changed all that. The Freedom Party’s popularity has
dropped drastically with the appointment of Representative Collin
Martel to take Senator Kapp’s place...”

Zak was pleased to hear that the Prime
Minister was still on top. Sarte was the only logical candidate for
the country. Zak had met Jayme Donovan while still in ASID. He was
a pretentious, self-absorbed, superficial man in Zak’s opinion. As
for Collin Martel... Well, the Freedom Party lost any chance for
victory with the death of Torrin Kapp.

The subject of the news changed and Zak
became less interested in listening, although it was difficult not
to considering the volume of the comm.

“
...Adan Eirubadhon, a spokesman for EAST
Group, said today that the organization intends to lobby in
Parliament with the hope to convince the government to make the
manufacturing and sale of androids illegal...”

“Right on!” Kam said, as animated now as he
had been while listening to the electro music before. “Screw those
metal headed SHIAM. Gather every last one of the fraggin’ things up
and melt ‘em down!”

EAST Group had initially been an Elvish
organization, although lately it had gained in popularity and was
becoming a more inter-racial affiliation. Its members objected to
the development of artificial intelligence, particularly when it
mimicked sentient intelligence. That made the EAST Group the sworn
enemy of the SHIAM. Zak didn’t entirely disagree with their
sentiment, or Kam’s for that matter. The SHIAM had the potential to
become a very real threat to Aragne society. Initially SHIAM had
been used primarily to replace Human workers in performing
hazardous jobs. They were used extensively within the mining and
nuclear energy industries. But it hadn’t taken long for other areas
of commerce to see the value of a Human-like work force minus the
Human factor.

The use of SHIAM labor was steadily
increasing within the manufacturing sector. And lately they were
showing up even retail and service industries. Cabbies had been hit
particularly hard by this new trend, as there were now more SHIAM
cab drivers than Human drivers in Sol Kappur. More and more
businesses were finding the idea of having a work force free of
unions and labor laws appealing. Where it was all heading, Zak had
no idea. But he did know that the situation was potentially
dangerous. You can only push people so far before they decide to
push back. EAST Group was the first indication of that.

As he gazed out the window at the hypnotic
glitter of city lights, Zak tried to relax his mental tension with
little success. The missing SHIAM was further proof of the
potential danger androids posed. It was out there loose somewhere,
without any safety protocols.

“
...Now, on to sports. Big news from the
Aragne Football League today. The Sol Kappur Dragons announced that
they have closed a deal that will send quarterback Jeramia Bonn to
the Tiersep Tigers in exchange for defensive end Josef Gharu and
linebacker Torrence Tailor. The trade surprised..
.”

“All right! Josef Gharu is ass kickin’, man!”
The kid was still fluttering around in his seat like a butterfly on
joy juice.

As they travelled on the lightning flashes
increased. If the lightning grew much worse, the city would be
closing the upper travel lanes again. Rolls of thunder could now be
heard over the blaring music that had once again repossessed the
air waves. Kam continued to gyrate as though he was made of rubber
and his entire nervous system had short-circuited.

It was not difficult to distinguish the Zone
from the rest of the city even in the darkness. While Sol Kappur
proper was considered second class to its twin in the west, as a
whole it had not become totally derelict. For the most part the
city streets were kept reasonably clean and its buildings were kept
in some semblance of repair. This was not the case within the Zone.
Nearly every building suffered from acute neglect. Glass was broken
out of windows, brick and mortar were crumbling from walls, and
garbage lined the streets and alleyways. It was here where the poor
of the city lived. Human, Elf, Goblin, Ork, Dwarf...this was the
true melting pot of the city, where people came together in
despair. This was the Zone.

From the height they were cruising, Zak could
see three burning buildings within a five block radius. Reddish
orange smudged the cloud filled night sky in several areas beyond,
suggesting more fires in other neighborhoods. Numerous sets of
flashing emergency lights were speeding through the surrounding
network of streets. Emergency crews were out in full force.

“Oh, shit!” Kam said as they crossed Krune
Street.

If it looked like a battle zone, it was
because it was. Gangs ruled the streets, corruption and crime being
a way of life within this corroded community. The innocent
suffered, while the violent and corrupt prospered. The police
worked diligently in an attempt to contain this social disease, but
it was a futile effort that barely held the infection in check.

“Man, looks like shit’s hitting the fan in
the ol’ Zone tonight,” the kid observed in a voice much less brazen
than his words. “It’s all those damn Goblins and Orks, ya know. We
should’ve never let them immigrate here. Let ‘em stay in their own
fraggin’ country.”

Kam was still ranting when he turned east on
Krull Street. He found even more to complain about when Zak told
him to drop the cab down to twenty-five meters, well within range
of anyone with a notion to take pot shots at them from the four and
five story buildings that lined their path.

Flashes of lightning made the desolate
neighborhood appear even more sinister. The plus side of inclement
weather was that it tended to reduce the number of predators
roaming the streets. That being said, Zak was still able to spot
shadowed groups here and there, moving within the darkness of the
streets. They came upon several abandoned cars along the curbs
below, windshields smashed, hoods and roofs dented and misshapen.
Just ahead Krull Street dead-ended as it intersected with Jarvis
Road. Underworld was located in an oversized basement on the
southwest corner.