Collective Mind (37 page)

Link
hailed a taxi. Bikie got out halfway and set off on foot. Isaac also decided to
walk, he was in no hurry and felt the needed to settle his nerves a bit. After
all, at the final moment, the luck turned its back on them. The operation had
failed miserably. Who knew what was happening to Pellegrini now? Isaac tried to
reassure himself that they couldn’t do anything to him. The security guard
could have imagined it all, couldn’t he? Ingenious as he was, Pellegrini would
wriggle out of it, he was sure. Besides, he was not linked to the team in any
way.

Only
now, when Pellegrini was in danger, did Isaac start worrying about him and
finally felt that he was a full-fledged member of the team. Any remaining
traces of dislike and distrust were now a thing of the past.

Pondering
over what questions the commissioner might be asked, Isaac, who admittedly knew
nothing about the police system and how it worked, was probably missing lots of
important details. Probably there were heaps of different ways for them to get
caught. Starting with any paper trail that might have been left after his
interrogations in France and ending with the fact that Pascal, a Veggie, had
flown to America.

 Pascal’s
administrator could have suspected something; Link could have been caught on
camera and identified. Or maybe Pellegrini himself had been under suspicion for
a long time.

An
hour later, when Isaac reached the hotel, he called Bikie.

“Everything’s
cool,” Bikie told him. “Total calm at the hotel so far. Link and I are in a
café on the corner of Madison and Fifty-Second.

“I’ll
be right there,” Isaac said.

A
few seconds later they were sitting together at an inconspicuous corner table
in a small diner. They had coffee and the waiter brought sandwiches, but no one
felt like eating.

“What
are we going to do, Isaac?” Bikie asked. “Any ideas?”

In
moments of danger and uncertainty like this, Isaac automatically found himself
holding the reins again.

“Let’s
wait for Pellegrini first,” said the Professor. “Then it will be clear how
badly our cover has been blown. Maybe everything is just fine, or maybe we need
to flee.”

Isaac
was aware of Pellegrini’s importance for the whole operation and his specific
role in the team. Things really did feel a bit calmer with him around, he
brought a definite core of strength by rapidly devising a detailed
minute-by-minute plans.

“We
have to get into the ‘-2’ level, otherwise nothing is going to work. That’s for
certain. Today’s the opening, the conference is on for two more days. Then the
museum will be operating as normal. There’s no point in leaving New York. We
can’t get to the Russian and Chinese servers anyway, and the French one is no
good. The only server we have any chance of getting to and hacking is here. So
we can’t despair. When we came here, we weren’t counting on any conference and
a week ago we didn’t have Pellegrini either. Basically nothing has changed. We
just have more information,” said Isaac, trying to cheer everyone up.

“Do
you have any ideas about how to get into minus two?” Link inquired.

“No.
But we still have time. Plenty of it. We have money. There are three of us,
it’s too soon to write off the commissioner, plus there’s Pascal in France,
your assistant can come if needs be. We can look for allies here. There are
loads of options, we’ll come up with something.”

“We’ll
get over-exposed at the Guggenheim very quickly if we go there every day,”
Bikie remarked. “It would be good to find someone on the inside who would help
us. You could try working on that chick, for instance. She liked you.”

“No,
I’m not going to. She’s not likely to have access to the level we need, and I’m
certainly not prepared to give her any assignments. I didn’t spot any
particular intelligence in her eyes.”

***

Isaac
got a brief text from Pellegrini, who wrote: “Everything’s OK. Will be there
soon”.

“Excellent.
The commissioner’s fine,” Isaac gasped in relief. “Let’s not make any plans
until we’ve heard his news.”

But
the commissioner only called Isaac two hours later.

“Hello?”
Isaac asked in the most casual voice he could manage. He was all set to add:
“You have a wrong number.”

“Everything’s
fine,” he heard in reply. “Where do I go?”

“Madison
and Fifty-Second. Starbucks.”

Bikie
looked up in surprise.

“There
it is. Opposite,” Isaac explained. “From here we have a clear view of the
entrance. If he doesn’t come alone, we leave.”

“OK.”

Fortunately
Pellegrini was alone. Bikie ran to the Starbucks to fetch him and the
commissioner told them what happened.

He
had actually visited level minus two. Not for long, only half an hour, but long
enough to get some info. He was taken to an office. There were no real
problems, they only asked him a few questions, all standard.

“Of
course, I was outraged by the way security had acted and the fact that I would
miss the conference presentations,” the commissioner told them. “In the end,
they let me go quickly and showed me to the conference hall. I had to stay
there until lunch to avoid rousing suspicion.

“All
the signs are that our server is on level minus two. While they were taking me
back, I asked to go to the bathroom. It was at the end of the corridor, so I
examined almost half the level. That’s definitely where we need to go. They
download creativity there too, I saw a notice on the door along with some
posters with instructions. That’s in the left section of the corridor, looking
from the elevator.”

“Thanks,
commissioner. That’s all very important, thank you, Luca.” It was first time
Isaac had called Pellegrini simply by his first name. “Very useful
information.”

“Let’s
meet in the lobby this evening,” Bikie suggested. “I’m tired, my head’s on the blink.
Want to take a walk.”

Everyone
agreed. They all wanted to be alone with their thoughts. Isaac remembered about
Vicky again. What a pity it was already evening in Monaco and he couldn’t phone
the hospital. Maybe she had already come round?

That
evening Michelle wanted to come to see Isaac again and offer support. He wasn’t
in the mood.

“Isaac,
why don’t I book us a ‘spa break for two’?” she suggested.

“OK.
But not today. Let’s see about tomorrow.”

“There’s
a really good salon. You’re bound to like it, you need a bit of rest and
relaxation.”

“A
spa break for two? A good salon? So you’ve already been there?” asked Isaac,
getting worked up.

“Good
grief, yes I have! With a girlfriend! Don’t wind yourself up. Why are you so
edgy?”

“I
implore you, go back to Monaco. The last thing we need is to fight.” But after
hearing about the girlfriend, Isaac calmed down.

The
salon and spa really were magnificent. And Michelle in a short little robe was
super-sexy. They spent five hours there, and these were probably the best hours
of Isaac’s life. He had to hand it to Michelle – despite her shrewd petulance
and a habit of doing everything her way, he thought he ought to trust this
unwomanly passion of hers for making independent decisions.

The
team spent a few days thinking about what to do next. The conference had been
over for two days now so that opportunity had finally been missed.

Pellegrini’s
official trip came to an end and he flew back, promising to come back
immediately as soon as he was needed. Isaac saw him off to the airport.

Pellegrini
promised to promptly initiate paternity testing for Happies’ children with
creativity and they agreed to stay in touch. Isaac had no doubt that now the
head of the Orange Energy Department was more concerned with how to defeat a
new target – UNICOMA, which meant, the commissioner’s steely grip and
proficiency have been channeled in the right direction.

Michelle
had also had to fly back to Europe on some urgent business. Isaac was upset. He
missed her, but on the other hand, without a plan he was sullen and too
intense, his mood wasn’t conducive to a romantic relationship. On the contrary,
he could spoil everything, as usual, so he thought it was for the good.

Pascal
had already set something up in case there were problems. They decided not to
discuss the details on the phone.

With
no business in hand, Isaac decided to visit the Guggenheim again. He wanted to
take a look at how it was on usual days, see how many people there were, and
all the rest of it. The girl who measured orange energy recognized him again
and enquired if he had come back to download his OE after all. Isaac replied
that he was still considering it, just had a couple of problems to deal with
first.

“Go
for it, mister, with a fee as large as yours, I wouldn’t think for long. It’s
simpler to download your energy and forget all your problems. With a huge
payout like that!”

Isaac
stared at her, but didn’t respond, just thanked her for her advice and strode
quickly out of the museum. He had been struck by a sudden inspiration.

As
soon as Isaac was out of the building, he called Bikie, with trembling fingers
that could barely hit the right keys.

“Bikie!
I got it! I have a plan! A plan! And it’s simple – you won’t believe it!” Isaac
exclaimed joyfully. “I’ll get a taxi and will be there in twenty minutes. Call
the Professor.”

“I’ll
download my OE,” Isaac declared triumphantly when they were all together.

He
saw that they didn’t understand anything, so he explained.

“When
I go to download my OE, I’ll be right beside the server. I’ll take the hacking
device with me. We will install a timer on it, to activate it a little bit
later. Well, I’ll be a Veggie, I won’t be able to press the button! To keep it
short, the device will hack into the server, and the OE I have just downloaded
will come back to me. And to all the others.”

The
Professor and Bikie looked at him with their mouths open. In their eyes, he saw
amazement and perplexity. And admiration too.

“Are
you sure you’re not putting us on?” Bikie asked

“No,
no spoof. All serious. How do you like the idea?” Isaac’s voice sounded full of
pep.

“Isaac,
you’re nuts. It could be very dangerous!” Bikie sounded shocked. “How do you
know, maybe the reservoir is screened off somehow? What if the hack doesn’t
work? What if during the process there’s an explosion?”

“No,
the hack will work, and there definitely won’t be any explosion,” Link said
calmly. “I guarantee that. It’s an excellent plan. And the reservoir isn’t
screened, that’s for sure. Why would they screen it, who from? And I’m not just
talking theory. The experiment with Pascal worked, didn’t it?”

“Then
it’s decided, and we start preparing,” Isaac summed up. “Link, it’s up to you
to modify the device and install the timer. We’ll register Bikie as my
chaperone, I’ll fill out the contract.”

“Well,
okay, let’s keep the plan as it is. I agree. Only let’s swap,” suddenly said
Bikie.

“Swap?
With you? What for?”

“Well,
think about it,” Bikie explained. “If you’re ready to do it, why shouldn’t I
be? There’s a risk, but I consider it acceptable. I want to download instead of
you.”

“But
why do you want to, what’s the point?”

“Well,
you see… Let’s put it that way… You know I’m poor. Even if we do finally
complete our mission and they don’t clap us in jail... Pascal has a fortune.
You have your anti-rain device, you’ll sell it soon and get rich. But I still
have nothing, the same as before, you know? Maybe we’ll save the world – and
then? I don’t even have an apartment to live in. I want to earn something at
the end of the day. I want money. And I see how to get it. I’ll sell my OE.
We’ll cash the earnings quickly, the moment I sign the donor contract. And I’ll
be rich! I don’t think UNICOMA will go broke instantly because we hack in. My
OE will come back and I’ll still have the money. Like Pascal.”

“Well,
Bikie, you’re certainly no fool,” the Professor put in. “I’m for it.”

Isaac
thought about it. What Bikie said made sense. After all, in order to put the
plan into action, it didn’t matter who went to download, him or Bikie.

“And,
even if something goes wrong… I know you, Isaac, you won’t stop and you’ll
never abandon me. Sooner or later you’ll hack the system. So maybe I’ll spend a
year as a Veggie, so what? I’ll never earn that kind of money in my life. I’ll
give you a couple of my contacts, reliable guys from among hackers, they’ll
help out if need be. I’ll write into the contract that I want to live near
Paris and appoint you as my administrator. We already know how to snatch a
single Veggie’s OE from there. And if something goes wrong, it will be a lot
harder without you. You’re our main man, after all.”

“And
well, you see, to tell you the truth it’s not even money. I want to know for
sure what I am capable of. It’s the first time in my life I’ve gone cross-
current. Before I used to crtiticize, judge, ignore, but I still remained part
of the system. Even when you came, I went with the flow, but the flow, this
time, was yours. What I want to know is that I also can call the shots.

It
is easy to stay aside because no one will arrest you, you won’t have problems
with the police or at work. And you can hope that someone will do it all. But
what if this someone just doesn’t exist? It’s you or no one.  No nice guy is
coming over to solve your problems. You or no one.

You
say that  tomorrow I’ll become a revolutioner, liberator, Julian Assange.
Tomorrow. I’ll fix my computer, make some money, fix my catarrh… Always
tomorrow. Assange is my hero. But I haven’t been able to be like him, I guess,
just not enough balls, that’s it.

He
paid the full price, he was never wrong, never had any excuses for tomorrow. He
just did his stuff, no matter what, wasn’t scared to go against the power of
the US and their secret services. And I? I guess I would have never made up my
mind, but with your help, I got a chance. I even like the idea of some risk, it
makes it all real, not like conquering summits on helicopters. That’s why this
victory for me will be not just ours, but mine. My Olympic gold medal.

What
a chance! Lady Luck smiled at me!

Remembering
my previous achievements… All I did was I got into a fight twice. That’s all! I
have never gone to a demonstration, never spat at a drug dealer’s face, haven’t
put a slob into his place, never kicked a sleeping cop. I was the one who
created the world where I lived. Doing nothing, ignoring, letting it go and got
what I deserved.

I
never told you that I had gone to work in the bar as a bruiser in order to
purify my conscience from the weight of my own silence. As if there was a real
risk and drive…

But
this was a lie, an excuse. I’ve never touched anyone there. Hey, that’s Monte
Carlo, what fights are you talking about?

To
download my OE will be my identification. My life check-point. I want to do
that. Even if this risk is not that big, I don’t want to share it. It’s mine.”

Bike
was speaking disconnectedly, brokenly, repeating things again, which, however,
made him sound more sincere. Everyone was listening in silence, not
interrupting.

“Well,
that’s it. Wanted to tell you this because I respect you a lot. And you too,
Professor”- he finished.

“All
right, Bikie,” Isaac agreed. “Have it your way.”

However,
Isaac felt alarmed and sick at heart. If he was prepared to risk himself, than
all right. But when it came to Bikie, he saw all sorts of dangers looming up.
He still felt bad for Pascal and now it was hard for him to risk his other
friend. The doubts whether it was rational to destroy the system returned.

“We’ll
prepare it thoroughly, Bikie, and I swear I’ll never abandon you among the
Veggies!” Isaac pulled himself together.

The
two friends hugged and Link felt slightly envious watching this firm
friendship. He was famous and respected, but in more than sixty years of life,
he’d never had a friend like this, as solid as a rock, to cover his back.

So
now they had the simplest and least criminal version of a hack. Before this
their thoughts had circled round different versions of a multi-stage invasion.
Isaac had even theoretically considered an armed assault and taking hostages.
But getting into download OE was a breeze.

They
summed up the plan as Link went off to his room to assemble and test the timer.
He had to buy an extra couple of small parts.

Isaac
consulted Wolanski on how to cash a check quickly, explaining that Bikie was
going to sell his OE. It turned out there was no problem: it took ten minutes
at the most and could be done from an ordinary phone. The banking system had
updated its technologies following the appearance of UNICOMA.

Talking
to Peter on the phone this time was much easier - they could get by without
hints and code words. The downloading was planned for three days later, so they
could prepare for everything without rushing. In the end, Isaac hinted to Peter
that this time it would all be over. One minute thirty two seconds. Isaac noticed
that Peter didn’t hang up cowardly again, as before.

Then
Isaac dialed the number of the hospital. At last there was joyful news for him:
Vicky had been brought out of her coma!

He
was not able to talk to her, she would not regain her speech fully for a couple
of days, but they could already text each other. In his happiness, Isaac
immediately called Pascal, who promised to deliver flowers and a phone to Vicky
within an hour.

And
even though it was not her voice but only a text, Isaac finally got the first
words from her in six months. “Isaac, my dear brother, thank you. Come back
soon, I miss you terribly!”

Isaac
had tears in his eyes. It was good that Vicky could not see him. He blubbered
like a little child as he sent her text after text with trembling hands, after
waiting so long for her to be able to answer. She was alive and she was talking
to him! Herself! His beloved little Vicky.

***

Bikie
went out first thing in the morning and was missing for almost the whole day.
He said he was going to stroll around the city, drop into Central Park, have a
beer and maybe pick someone up to round things off.

He
felt like he was going in for surgery: he realized that they’d rescued Pascal,
so it was all reversible, and even if everything didn’t go right, there was
still hope for him to return to normal in the future. But getting downloaded
was still repulsive. What if his memory was totally erased?

Early
in the evening, Bikie pulled himself together, called Isaac, and they went to
the museum, where they were shown to the familiar minus one level.

“Hello,
I’ve come to fill out a contract,” Bikie began briskly.

“Good
evening”, the manager said with a smile. “Have you already filled out the
questionnaire?”

“I’ve
even done the test already,” Bikie said and took out the sheet of paper that
was printed for him after the measurement in the museum. “Make a note please,
that I will be accompanied by my friend, Isaac Leroy. After the downloading
we’ll go back to our hotel, and then fly to Paris.”

“Are
you French?” the girl asked.

“Uh-huh.
Can we go back independently?”

“Yes,
of course, there is a provision for that.”

“And
can I make an addition to the contract?”

The
girl picked up the certificate with Bikie’s test results and raised her
eyebrows in surprise. 49020 HITs, almost five stars. They didn’t see that level
of OE very often.

“What
kind of addition?” she asked.

“One
little condition. They have to give me the check before the downloading. I’ve
never held that kind of money!”

“That’s
no problem!” The girl smiled. Another weirdo here. Downloaders usually
preferred a wire transfer to their bank account. But weirdness was pretty
common among people with high levels of OE. You could never guess what
eccentric ideas they would come up with.

All
the necessary points, including payment of the fee by check were entered in the
contract. Bikie signed it and one copy of the agreement went into his breast
pocket.