System Seven (39 page)

Sean leaned forward.
“Of course we get it. I wonder, though, if
you
get it, the rest of it.”

Austin’s defenses
deployed, a presence in the room.

Cathbad explained.
“Imagine Johan goes into the dream world, seeking Kaiya. Powerful draw, he’d
be. Good chance, if she’s still in Saoghal, she’d be drawn to him, to his
dream. But so would
they
. Think, Austin.
Announcing his presence in the least understood aspect of our reality is not a
good plan, son.”

“You know he’s more
powerful than any of them.”

“We know he’s
been
more powerful than them. What if
they learn to mimic him? Reproduce his methods? That’s what we seek to do.
Maybe they’ve done it, or will. Then what? Then he’s exposed unnecessarily,
forced to fight his way clear, just to survive. Which is why I must ask you:
would risking the loss of Johan now for the sake of one beloved person be your
best advice to the Family?”

A chasm yawned wide,
separating the two men. In the depths between lay the unwelcome truth that Austin
couldn’t face. Wouldn’t. He left the couch and strode to the candles.

“That wasn’t part of
the deal, Cathbad. Edward knows it. You know it.”

Sean stood. “There
isn’t time to–”

Cathbad raised a hand
for silence. “Austin. It is true. That promise was made. And now I ask you,
will you be patient while we position ourselves to take advantage of the
element of surprise? What little we have must be capitalized here and now, at
the start. You know this, you get it. You risk much by asking Johan to expose
himself to search for Kaiya. Will you consider waiting?”

The leader of the Runa
Korda knew how to lead, how to make a man follow. There seemed but one option
in the moment –

–No.
If not now, when? How long could Kaiya survive before going beyond? And
what then? The reality of losing Kaiya struck.
Gone forever
. Forever was for their love, not for their separation.
Guilt would mar the rest of his days if he didn’t do what he could right now.

He faced Cathbad. “I
regret Mug’s loss, I truly do. I’ll carry his death to my grave. But on this, I
must say no. Johan is the master of dreams, he is what the prophecies said. He
can do it, and he can bring her back. That is
not
asking too much.”

Johan stood at the
fire, staring at the glowing embers but following every word.

Cathbad went to Austin.
“Yes, Johan is that, but the prophecies do not say what will be.
How
he uses his power now could end this
before it begins. Is that what you really want? If Mug’s death is heavy upon
you, what will the Korda’s fall feel like? I’ll not even mention the rest of
the world. Are you prepared to lose Kaiya and your father as a result of your
desire to rescue them? You and Johan are the Change. You are
both
needed. Think, son,
think
.”

It wasn’t fair. Damn
near everything was stacked against Kaiya. Could she hold on? Was she even
still in Saoghal?

“Fucking
hell
.” He spun and strode to the
windows.

Kaiya would say it
herself: it was about the world, not her. It was about a civilization’s fate on
a rock spinning in space, about billions of lives, both present and future.
Fate pinned him to the moment, to a hellish choice. Reason settled in, an acid
cloud eating away hope for Kaiya. He couldn’t ask Johan to expose himself now.
The best he could do was bury anxiety and fear and entrust her fate to the
hands of a higher power.

He closed his eyes,
holding her dearly in his heart and mind.
I
give her to thee, so that she may be safe and free
. Somehow it felt right,
despite the uncertainty and pain.

“What are the Dejitaru
supposed to do?” he asked.

Johan answered,
“They’d be given a free pass. All networks spanning the planet would be open to
them. Financial centers, banking networks, civil, government and military
systems, on public and private networks. Information would be filtered, replaced, and massaged to set the stage.
Totem would do most of the actual work, of course, far beyond what the Dejitaru
could do alone, but the work would appear done by men.”

“Global chaos is
required to bring about the kind of change they seek.” Sean said from the desk.
“The fallout from the Dejitaru’s work would include depositions, scandal,
coups, and assassinations. Political upheaval would quickly reshape governments
and corporations to the highest levels, led by Comannda surrogates in positions
of power. Advanced terrorism would be leveraged to prepare the justification
needed for widespread martial law. It’s all poised right now and would occur
over the span of months only. Beyond that, wars both civil and foreign would be
selectively waged to plunge regions into isolation. Communications –
satellites, internet, phone service – all would be segmented and access
strictly controlled at the military level. The borders of the lands would be
imposed upon the internet. Purely an exercise in domino effect on their part.
All of it would act as the perfect silencer of truth, no matter how loudly we
shout at that point. This is the level of division they’ve long sought. Their
System Seven.”

“System Seven?” Austin
asked, remembering the dream of the factory machines. They’d called out
‘SYS-TEM’ over and over. “Why seven?”

“Because six systems
have been implemented prior,” Cathbad answered.

“And just how long
have they had these systems?”

“Second century before
Christ. Think Sumeria. Think introduction of law, of military, and most
importantly, of government.”

“Fuckers.” He saw his
own reflection in the narrow window. Unseen beyond the hills, Glasgow and the
surrounding villages formed a group mind where contentment pervaded the bulk of
the harmonies. He withdrew quickly and considered what was to come. Man would
fall further from the chance at awareness and into the throes of war and circumstance.
All to maintain control.

“What are we supposed
to do? The three of us.”

“You are the knives, Austin.
We are the surgeons.” Cathbad gestured. “The cancer is widespread but we’ve
monitored the growth so we know where to act.”

Sean signaled
agreement. “You don’t live under a tree for two thousand years without learning
a thing or two about its branches.”

He turned to Cathbad.
“Where do we start?”

A smile of gratitude
formed on Cathbad’s lips. “You are a good soul, Austin. We start by stopping
the Dejitaru and cracking the Comannda network. Now,” he motioned to Williams,
“it’s time to welcome you into the Family as three of our own. Traditions bind
us and serve us well, this one especially so.”

Williams retreated to
the desk and received three thick pieces of paper from Sean. He came around and
gave one to each. Old and yellowed to near brown, the scripts were faded and
cracked in places.

Cathbad returned to
the fire and bade Austin to sit with his friends.

“You’ve sworn and
demonstrated allegiance. You know the enemy. You’ve come face to face with them
and made it away, on Raon’s land and in the waters of Saoghal. You’ve shown
mastery of the secrets and have proven trustworthy. You understand the world’s
fate hangs in a balance more dire than ever before, and yet you stand ready
despite the danger. You have true souls, worthy of our respect and love.” He
grew grim and focused on Austin and Johan. “They know you two exist and they
will act. First to take you, and failing that, to destroy you. Anki, you remain
a secret but one they will uncover. They will see you as an empath first but
will figure things out. You will become a target as well, count on it.”

“Is this predicted?”
Anki asked.

“Yes, as far as the
welets go. The rise of the Change, the return of the helper, the start of
Conflict.”

“And what then? What
is seen of the outcome?”

“Only great chaos, the
potential of which is too much to read. The outcome relies upon our actions.
Now those,” he indicated the parchments they held, “are the commandments of the
Celtics, one of the last truly spirited civilizations. The words may seem
fanciful to you now but in time and with the grace of the Creator, you’ll come
to understand their meaning. Please, read them with me now.”

As one, they read.

“Give thou thine heart
to the wild magic, to the Lord and the Lady of Nature, beyond any consideration
of this world.

“Do not covet large or
small, do not despise weakling or poor, semblance of evil allow not near thee,
never give nor earn thou shame.

“The Ancient Harmonies
are given thee, understand them early and prove, be one with the power of the
elements, put behind thee dishonor and lies.

“Be loyal to the Lord
of the Wild Wood, be true to the Lady of the Stars, be true to thine own self
besides, true to the magic of Nature above all else.

“Do not thou curse
anyone, lest thou threefold cursed shouldst be, and shouldst thou travel ocean
and earth, follow the very step of the ancient trackways.”

Crackle from the fire
punctured the silence that followed.

Cathbad was again far
away, treading memories, only this time he shared them with the others in a
vision. Mug stood in front of the lodge at Cutler Fell, beside the great fire,
for the first time declaring the same commandments as his own. Mug’s loss, the latest,
brought to life all the others gone before him, a gathering of the fallen. Of
all the death caused by the Comannda, that of the Family hurt the most. Only
the knowledge they’d lived lives a hundred times fuller than most brought any
respite.

“You are welcome to
the Runa Korda, to the Family. Your arrival was seen long before your dream of
life began and I’m honored and grateful for your presence. What you bring to
our future remains unknown. We can only guide you towards the goal, which is to
safely ease the Comannda’s grasp on humanity. They ought not be the hoarders of
knowledge and of good life. Forced ignorance and shame must be removed so that
the great design can flourish. Man’s rightful evolution must be untethered and
allowed to be. Truth and eventual peace must reign.”

• • •

Austin stood in the
dark chill of early morning, hands in pockets, forty paces into the green
clover. Ground fog spilled down from the hills and flowed around Cullstone’s
sides into the meadow where he stood. A quarter moon glowed through the milky
haze above. The odd, repetitive call of a bird carried from the wooded
hillside.

He felt the hacker’s
meta ahead of the footfalls. Johan appeared, several paces off.

“Damn beautiful, isn’t
it?” Johan asked.

Kaiya’s eyes stared
back from the moon. “Yes. Beautiful.”

“They kept me from my
own promise, you know.”

He looked over.
“What’s that?”

Johan told the story
of Sakuma’s grandson and of his promise to save the boy in exchange for the
Comannda’s plans. “Edward forbade I look for him. Too much exposure.”

“Jesus, that sucks.”
He stared at the moon. “I’m not sure I can just sit here knowing Kaiya needs
me.”

“You won’t have to.
I’m going to look for her. Tonight.”

“What? Are you nuts?”
He looked back at the castle. “Or did they approve? I mean–”

“We aren’t talking
about this, we’re dreaming. They have no idea.”

Austin struggled with
the sudden juxtaposition to dream and with Johan’s display of control. He’d
forced him into a dream state while standing outside.

“And the bràthair? They
monitor us.”

“They see a version of
this in mine, randomness in yours.”

“Um, okay. This is
nuts. What if Cathbad is right? What if the Comannda track you down?”

“Anything’s possible,
but I’ve been studying this realm, especially where it overlaps with the waking
world. I feel how it works. I’ve given them the leg up they need, I’ve been
doing what they want. I’m all for taking apart the Comannda, but I’ll be damned
if I’m going to be the Korda’s puppet at all times. I’m going after her and the
boy. Ryota is innocent and I gave my word. I’m going to teach Cathbad
my
word means something.”

Fear rose. “So does
their warning, Johan. You could take down everything doing this. The Comannda
have
nukes
, man. Millions of people
could die. Think about it. Really think.”

The meadow darkened
and rain began to fall in heavy drops. Austin held out his hand and looked up,
shocked to see the moon a crimson red. A blood-red drop spattered against his
wrist.

“Forget the nukes,”
Johan said. “They won’t use them. Not over this. They don’t really know what
they’re up against yet.
We’re
the
Change, Austin. I do my part, you do yours. Cathbad was right, timing is
everything and I’m not waiting around. If we don’t press them, they’ll never
look for Ryota and they’ll let Kaiya die. This way, they’ll look for Ryota.
They’ll find his body but may need your help to recover it. Do this for me and
I’ll bring Kaiya back if she’s not already gone. I won’t let them decide her
fate any more than I’d let the Comannda. It starts now. I’ll find you when I
have Ryota. Be open to me. Be ready to work with me.”