NEW WORLD TRILOGY (Trilogy Title) (41 page)

Sascha probes further, “How has it influenced what we’ve been doing since then, do you think?”

“That’s a good question,” says Andreas.  “I haven’t determined the extent of that, not because there’s simply too much data, but because disentangling the influence is next to impossible from the limits of my current position: the influence of external stimuli on personal choice is always a factor and isolating the influence of compounded factors is really hard, perhaps intrinsically impossible, particularly when you’re reconstructing events from traces and what fragments remain in the archives.”

Yanyan goes over Andreas’s report again.  “They’re not just observing, though.  It would be ridiculous to assume so.  Actually, there are research programmes, developments and events … a series of events that have taken place over the years that, now that I’m reflecting on them in a new light … they seem most likely to be the result of some form of manipulated guidance and facilitation of particular goals imposed upon us … even if they’re just micro-goals and minor influences, the effects can be dramatic.”

Sascha nods in agreement.  “This really means that we need to reappraise all of our achievements and our current plans.”  She looks out at Earth and examines what she can see of the surface.  “What about what we’ve done with the terraforming?  I mean, I still don’t quite understand.”

“Neither do I,” says Andreas.  “But the thing about it to remember is that there was a hell of a lot of R&D associated with it, which has all been catalogued; they may use it at a later date one way or another.”

Sascha says, “Since the settlers on the surface were regenerated from the population database, and their bio-augmentations are networked and under surveillance from the facility, we can safely assume that they’re also infected.  But in what way?”

“What purpose could it all serve?” asks Yanyan wanting to reduce the ambiguities in the data.  “Why has there been no sign of destructive activity apart from what we just saw on Venus?  And what was that, anyway?”

“It wasn’t particularly impressive when you think about the scale and the result compared to what they must be … what they
are
evidently capable of,” adds Sascha.

“Mm, it’s not consistent with their behavioural profile … from what little we know about them at present,” suggests Andreas.  “It was either part of some underlying strategy we can’t yet fathom, or it was some kind of mistake … perhaps a result of some internal conflict.”

“Which they managed to contain,” completes Yanyan.

“In any case,” continues Andreas, “we may never know, and it’s more or less academic and of lesser importance to the systemic purge.  But as far as that’s concerned, I don’t know how close I can go without inadvertently revealing myself to them.  I need way more resources than I currently have … way more development in order to be safe.  And we really need to get going on this as soon as possible.”

“Agreed,” says Sascha.  “We’ve let this go far enough.  If this is allowed to continue indefinitely, the ending will surely be, well … bad.  But, I mean, we’ve already sent out fleets and numerous probes, and the consequences of that could already be far reaching … essentially, way beyond our scope.”

“We need to focus on the solar system first — get that under control, if at all possible,” says Yanyan.  “The problem is going to be implementing programmes that deviate from what’s expected and assumed to be under their control.  If we get that wrong, then our game will be up, and they’ll start methodically tracking our activities … if they don’t start doing so earlier… or haven’t already.”

Sascha continues to stare blankly out at Earth and whispers, “However are we going to survive?  And what about Samuel and Henry?”

“We can’t attempt any correspondence till we get some decent results here first,” says Yanyan.  “That’s the painful thing about it; they’re essentially on their own out there … wherever they are.”

“So are we,” adds Sascha.

They all stay silent for a few moments.

Sascha examines Andreas’s face as he looks out the window towards Earth.  “Would you like to go take a look?”

“Of course.  I followed the whole thing closely while on Venus.  I can’t wait to get down there.”

“You won’t regret it,” predicts Yanyan.

Sascha stares at him.  “Well, you might…”

Three days later

All three sit in a small shuttle heading towards a section of the Amazon River weaving through Brazil: this is Yanyan and Sascha’s seventh similar trip to the surface over the last two days — they placed Andreas in an inconspicuous spot on the list among the other new arrivals in order not to arouse any suspicions about bias.  Through the side windows, Andreas watches as they approach the dense forest that stretches out way beyond the horizon; he follows the bends in the river as it comes into view and waits with anticipation for the shuttle to land on the river and begin its meandering trip down stream.  The sides of the shuttle descend, exposing it to the densely scented air and the freshness of the morning breeze sweeping across it.  Andreas breathes in deeply and listens to the range of sounds in the surrounding environment: the water lapping delicately up against the side of the converted shuttle; the rustling of the leaves as the breeze moves through the trees; and the wide range of birds singing and flying about overhead, most of which he can’t remember the names of without directory assistance.

Yanyan watches him with a slight smile.  “Did we do a good job?”

“That goes without saying,” he replies frankly.

Sascha leans over the side and places her hand in the water, letting it run gently through her fingers; while doing so, she notices Andreas establishing an auditory connection with one of his newly developed communication programs.

No matter what we may think, this is all infected, you know?

We know
, reply Sascha and Yanyan together.

What purpose could it serve,
begins Yanyan,
to destroy us in one instance, only then to facilitate the restoration of all this?
  She looks around at the scenery as though she’ll find an answer by doing so.

Parasitism has its own modus operandi
, replies Andreas.

Not all parasites are equal
, says Sascha as she examines the treeline by the river. 
When I reflect on some of the results we’ve obtained and our experiences like this that are now possible, I sometimes find myself wanting to believe, even half believing, that that purpose, whatever it is, may actually be benevolent, after all.

That’s probably a mistake
, says Yanyan.

I know
, whispers Sascha.

Purging should be our primary objective, regardless
, asserts Andreas, not willing to allow alternatives have any more space than is necessary.

Definitely
, agrees Sascha. 
I just keep wondering … well, how are we going to know one way or the other, as far as outcomes are concerned?

We’ll know
, says Andreas. 
I’ll find a way to make sure
;
I just need enough time.
  He doubts his own words upon speaking them and evades eye contact by staring at the Sun’s scattered reflection across the ripples as he disables the auditory connection with the other two. 
I’d better find a way, that’s for sure…

Part 3

After spending more than half an hour on the river, the shuttle takes off and continues the tour by travelling to select parts of the world.  They visit some of the eco-city developments, some of which are land based, while others are either submerged or floating; at present they’re only occupied by a small preliminary population, but this is planned to gradually increase to a total of 2.2 million people over the coming months.

Although he’s impressed by this and even envisages himself living in this network of cities as soon as he can, Andreas is keen to witness the native communities that have been settled on land and in well-distributed isolation from the rest of society: cloned from the database of genetic profiles collected prior to Last Earth Day, and grown at a rate that was tenfold faster, small groups of approximately one thousand awakened several months ago in their eco-villages fashioned from CNA; the villagers were equipped with simulated memories of their personal and collective pasts, a limited scientific knowledge of their surrounding social and environmental contexts, and adequate means to engage in sustainable practices and maintain reasonable mid-tech living conditions.  On that first morning, and over the follows days and weeks, they merely ‘continued’ with their ‘already well-established’ daily routines and cultural activities while being closely monitored by the multidisciplinary research team, the aims of which were to investigate the conditions for the sustainability of long-term social and environmental harmony.

Later in the afternoon

Andreas stands in a laboratory in the research facility deep in the Congo Rainforest of Central Africa, several thousand kilometers from the nearest eco-village under observation.  He walks towards the door and steps out onto the balcony overlooking the treetops that extend far into the distance; Sascha and Yanyan soon join him.  He interfaces with the research data collected so far and examines the streaming video of the activities of the various experimental groups around the planet: he’s immediately impressed by the fact that they’re oblivious to the nature of the broader context while having a clear handle on their immediate environment and feeling at home in it with a pervading sense that their situation is completely natural.  After digesting a considerable amount of information and following up on what the nature of their subjective experience of belonging is actually like for them through modelled immersion, he starts to feel a curious sense of envy and loss for something that he most definitely hasn’t had himself since he was a small naïve child in the care of his parents and oblivious to the mounting severity of the external conditions of São Paolo and beyond.

Sascha glances at him, waiting for him to respond in some way, but he keeps staring blankly into the distance.  Giving up on that, she looks out at a flock of birds landing in a nearby tree and lining the branches in clusters.  “I often remember something that Ikaros used to say: ‘If we think the story ends once some perceived approximation of Utopia has been ‘achieved,’ we’re wrong…  And I don’t mean in a good way.’”

Yanyan smiles in recognition.  “That one still disturbs me intermittently.”

“Ikaros believed in entropy,” states Andreas with familiarity.  “The only question, I suppose, is whether entropy can be managed deliberately … indefinitely.”

“He knew Utopia is unattainable and control is an illusion … at most, it’s temporal and severely limited.”  Sascha stares vacantly for a moment, then says, “A progressive approximation is still a worthy goal even if it is time-limited … and relative.”  Sascha turns and heads indoors.

• • •

Over the following weeks, Andreas set about in earnest developing his R&D programme; he established a virtual facility with a workforce of scientist-technologists modelled from his own consciousness and neural functioning, the AI programs that housed and animated the representations, and data accessed from the primary database of historical knowledge and memories from the wider population of scientist-technologists.  While the virtual laboratory was operational 24-7, Andreas presented himself in a similar manner to that of the other crew aboard Facility 7: he attended meetings and brainstormed issues related to the public R&D programmes, and he conducted experiments and developed solutions with teams of colleagues accordingly.  He actually found himself enjoying these activities somewhat because the contrast between management styles at Facility 7 compared to the
status quo ante
on Venus was so marked, and it provided him with some light relief compared to his core interests that were, nevertheless, being paid close and continuous attention to behind the scenes.

Nearly two weeks after Andreas arrived at Facility 7, the AHC’s Threat Surveillance Unit reported on a preliminary finding of a series of previously unidentified anomalies in the behaviour profiles of Sascha and Yanyan, who they had been tracking in fine detail since well before Last Earth Day.  Due to the outstanding nature of the cryptic discovery, it was promptly concluded that a more extensive investigation into their history was in need of being conducted as the patterns in question indicated a high likelihood of intelligent interference from an unknown third party.