Alliance (9 page)

“
All right,” says Konoa.
He glances at the papers before him, like they are note cards he is
reading from, before returning his gaze to look at me. “As I said,
the Foundation is an ancient, but benevolent, organization. We have
existed for eons and have worked behind the scenes for many years,
with very few ever knowing of our existence outside of the
organization itself.”

“
Are you affiliated with
any governments?” I ask. “Do you work with King Waran-Una, for
example? Are you allied with the Knights of Se-Dela or the Just
Order of Witches and Wizards?”

“
We are associated with
no one but ourselves,” says Konoa. “I mean, of course, we have
agents in all of those organizations who keep us up-to-date on the
various happenings within those groups, but officially we have no
allies. It is the only way we can do what we do, as our secrecy
allows us to do things that public organizations
cannot.”

Konoa speaks in a way that makes it seem
like he expects me to agree with him. The other agents are nodding
along, as if to confirm what he is saying, but I find the lack of
accountability that this Foundation has to be problematic, to say
the least. He may claim that his organization is benevolent, but he
offers no proof or evidence to support that claim.

Still, logic dictates that this is not a
good time to argue with these agents about the morality of their
organization. First, I must gather information; then I can act.

“
What type of threats
does the Foundation typically battle?” I ask. “Criminals?
Terrorists? Out of control wildlife? Natural disasters?
What?”

“
A little bit of all of
that,” says Konoa. “But our true conflict is with another
organization that is as old as ours. It is that organization that
Jornan ah Kona also belongs to, the same group that has framed you
for the murder of all of those innocent Knights you were working
with.”

“
What is this
organization called?” I ask. “Can you tell me that?”

“
It is one of the few
things that the Head approves of us answering, so yes,” says Konoa.
“The name of this other organization is Reunification. And unlike
us, they are actually up to no good; no, I would say they are even
planning to do evil, which is why we fight against
them.”

As I always do, I run the name
'Reunification' through the mobile Database, even though by now I
am starting to suspect that this is a pointless chore. And it is,
because the term comes up with no results.

So I say, “What evil is this
'Reunification' planning to do?”

“
That's information we
can't give you at the moment,” says Konoa. “But rest assured that,
if they succeed, it will cause untold suffering for billions of
people on both Dela and Xeeo. Trust me on that.”

I do not see how I am supposed to trust
someone who refuses to give me the full and complete facts about
this, but I decide that I will do more investigating later. Who
knows, maybe I will even get a chance to speak with an actual
Reunification member, who may be able to tell me what their true
goals are.

“
Now I believe we have
told you all we are allowed to tell you,” says Konoa. “So I hope
you have a better understanding of the situation you are
in.”

“
Barely,” I say. I
gesture at myself. “You still have not explained what you mean when
you say that I was 'framed' for the murder of those Knights. How
could I be framed? When did this happen? How do I know you are
telling the truth?”

“
Ah, yes,” says Konoa.
He nods at the witch. “Will you please show J997 his wanted
poster?”

The witch, without saying a word, taps a
piece of paper on the table in front of her. As soon as she does,
the paper vanishes into thin air, only to reappear a second later
in front of me. I catch it before it falls to the ground and then
peer at it more closely.

It is a thin sheet of paper, brown and
wrinkly, as if it had been balled up at some point. In the center
of it is an artist's sketch of me, and quite an accurate one, too.
It even has the tiny dent above my left optic, the one I have never
been able to get rid of. It is a sketch of my head, and nothing
more, but the head is all I need to see that it is indeed supposed
to be me.

Underneath my picture is my identification
number—J997, in large, blocky letters—followed by a string of
digits that is supposed to be my bounty, which is apparently 20,000
delanes according to this poster. I quickly convert the 20,000
delanes to Xeeonite digits and discover that it is roughly 30,000
Xeeonite digits; a fairly high number for any individual
bounty.

I look up from the poster and notice how
the Foundation agents are watching me, as if awaiting my response.
I do not know what response they expect from me; maybe rage, but if
so, they are going to be disappointed, because I cannot feel anger
at all.

“
Well, I see that this
poster appears to be legitimate,” I say, rolling it up into a tube
as I speak. “But I still do not understand why everyone believes
that I killed those Knights. I thought everyone would blame their
deaths on Jornan and her lizard humanoid servants, not on
me.”

“
Because by the time the
bodies were found, Jornan and her minions were long gone,” says
Konoa. He sighs. “The other Knights who investigated the murders of
their brethren noticed that you were missing and unaccounted for.
Because the wounds on the corpses look like the kind of wounds a
robot would inflict on a human, they assumed you did
it.”

“
That still does not
make sense to me,” I say. “Are they ignoring Jornan now, even
though she was also there when they were killed?”

“
They aren't just
blaming you,” says Konoa. “The official story is that you and
Jornan worked together to kill the Knights. Either you joined
Jornan entirely out of your own free will or you were reprogrammed
by her to help her and fled after killing the Knights you were
working with; in either case, you are wanted by the Knights of
Se-Dela and most of the Delanian public hates you.”

“
But what about my
fellow J bots and the Xeeonite government?” I ask. “Do they know
about my disappearance? Do they agree with the Knights' conclusion?
Have they sent anyone to try to find me?”

“
A few J bots were sent
to aid in the investigation when it became clear you were missing,”
says Konoa. “They disagreed with the conclusion, but have been
unable to offer an alternative explanation for your disappearance.
So they returned to Xeeo, where the Database has decided that you
are not worth the trouble of rescuing.”

That I understand. In addition to being
the largest electronic archive on Xeeo, the Database also acts as
the Chief of the J bots, as our leader, making decisions for the
whole force, not just a few J bots here and there. That the
Database has apparently decided that I am no longer worth rescuing
is grim news, but understandable, because if what the Foundation
agents say is true, then I doubt very much that my fellow J bots
can find me even if they try their hardest.

“
But what about Sir
Alart?” I say. “Surely he can vouch for my innocence, can't he?
That is, if he survived against Jornan and her minions.”

“
Sir Alart did indeed
survive and in fact is the Knight who started the investigation,
because he initially discovered the corpses of his allies,” says
Konoa. He flips through some of his papers, which appears to be a
habit more than anything. “Sir Alart has argued for your innocence,
but no on believes him, especially since he was not there to
witness whether you did or did not kill them. He may be the only
ally you have on this world, but that doesn't mean
much.”

I say nothing in response to that. It's
good that Sir Alart is defending me, but I understand why Konoa
does not think much of it.

“
So if you were to walk
out of this building and make your way back to, say, Ra-Dela, you
would be arrested on the spot by any Knights on duty,” says Konoa.
“Or maybe get captured by a greedy bounty hunter looking for a
quick delane on your way there. So I hope you understand why we
cannot let you leave, at least right now.”

“
I understand,” I say,
nodding. “But that does not mean I think you made the right
decision. I can prove my innocence because I recorded the details
of that night in my head, in my memory banks.”

I tap the side of my head as I say, “All I
need to do is return to Xeeo and reconnect with the Database. It
will then be able to display my memories of the incident onto a
telescreen, which we can then show to the Knights of Se-Dela to
clear my name. A brilliant plan, yes?”

Unfortunately, none of the Foundation
agents appear entirely excited about my plan, even though it seems
entirely rational and foolproof to me. That tells me that there
must be some other variable I am overlooking, but what it is, I do
not know.

Then Konoa looks down at his papers and
says, “While that is certainly not the worst plan I have ever
heard, it is unlikely to work.”

“
Unlikely?” says Rozan.
He laughs. “I'd say it's
impossible
to work, given the
circumstances.”

“
Impossible?” I repeat.
“Why would you say that? After all, this is not merely hearsay. I
can offer actual footage of the night when the lizard creatures
attacked us. There is no way that any reasonable being could
possibly dispute my story if they see my memories.”

“
I said 'given the
circumstances,'” Rozan says. He rubs his forehead. “And given the
current circumstances, the peoples of Dela are likely to think you
doctored the footage to make yourself appear innocent, while the
peoples of Xeeo will defend you. I'm not saying this could lead to
a war between worlds, but—”

“
It won't, although I
doubt it will help relations between the worlds, either,” says
Konoa, glaring at Rozan as if to tell him to shut up. “The problem
is that the Delanians are pretty skeptical of recorded footage of
any sort. As Rozan said, they will think you altered it to make you
appear innocent, and I doubt any of them will listen to any
arguments to the contrary.”

What Konoa says is true. I know for a fact
that most Delanians do not trust Xeeonite recording tech, even
though many Delanians are eager to use our other types of
technology for their own uses. Konoa's warning is worth listening
to, even though it paints his own people in a bad light (assuming
Konoa is even Delanian; while he does appear to speak Delan very
well, that does not mean he is a native of this world).

“
Also,” Rozan adds,
“you've recorded some memories of Palos, who, like the rest of us,
technically doesn't even exist. Letting you go out and show
everyone your memories would expose us, which isn't a real
possibility for us at the moment.”

“
Is that the true reason
you do not want to let me go?” I ask, folding my arms across my
chest. “Because you do not want the rest of society to find out
about you?”

“
It is one reason,” says
Konoa, nodding. “The Head has worked hard to keep us under the
radar and she does not want all of her hard work undone by a single
robot like yourself.”

“
But if you are indeed
good, then why operate in the shadows?” I ask. “Why not work
directly with the J bots and the Knights of Se-Dela, among other
public organizations dedicated to fighting for justice? They might
be useful allies in your conflict with Reunification.”

“
You're starting to ask
questions we can't answer again,” says Rozan. “You know that, don't
you?”

I frown. “I do now, although that does not
erase the validity of my questions.”

“
It may very well not,”
says Konoa, “but as Rozan says, we can't answer that. You'll just
have to trust us.”

“
I cannot fully trust
people or organizations that do not exist in the Database,” I say.
I reach behind myself and feel the door, but it is still locked by
the witch's skyras energy. “Not until you tell me everything about
this organization, even though I know you won't.”

“
We don't need to,” says
Rozan. He rests his short legs on the floor and leans forward,
resting his elbows on the table as he looks at me. “After all, you
aren't even an agent like the rest of us. You're just a guest, and
an annoying one at that.”

“
Then what will you do
with me?” I ask. I gesture at the stone room we all stand in. “Put
me in another room with magic straps? Keep me as your prisoner in
this place? Will I ever be allowed to leave this building under my
own free will?”

“
Only the Head can
answer that,” says Konoa. “But for now, yes, you have to stay here.
You know too much about us that it would be foolish for us to let
you go, even if we wiped your memory clean first.”

“
But I must report back
to the Database,” I say. “I do not think you Foundation agents
understand how urgent it is for me to do so.”

“
We don't care,” says
Rozan, rolling his eyes. “Now, we've answered your questions, so I
think it's time we put you back where you—”

Rozan is interrupted by a powerful surge
of skyras in this room that even I can tell is not from any of the
Foundation members present here. Before I can locate the surge's
source, a massive pinkish light bursts into existence over the
table. Its sudden appearance causes some of the agents to jump out
of their seats, although I notice that Konoa and the witch stay
seated, despite the astonished expressions on their faces.