Regan's Reach (16 page)

Mary continued, "Off the record Hayden
is shocked and appalled. To USDynamics a contract is a contract and he has no
doubts about who their true allies are. He also mentioned rumors of a McCall
revelation on his show tonight. Hayden's convinced McCall has some other agenda
and one thing is certain, that show has USDynamics and Hayden Joyce in
particular right in their sights. Publicly Hayden is going to have to play it
very carefully. His last words to me were ‘if I'm here much longer’."

"Then its best we give USD a little
space for the moment," Kevin said. "If anyone is questioned about our
relationship, say nothing. We don't want to give anyone a sound bite that links
our two names, not for the moment anyway. In summary then, as far as Arteis is
concerned, we're out of the States. Now we get on with business as planned and
wait. It's their move."

*

FBC Newsroom, New York

"Well, well, well. How quickly things
change. Welcome to Business Focus, ladies and gentlemen, and do I have news for
you! Little birds are singing and the song is all about cyber terrorism."
McCall could hardly contain himself as he grinned at the camera.

"I'm John McCall and this evening we're
going to be looking at cyber terrorism and the reported links with STEIN
Arteis. As proud global citizens, ladies and gentlemen, how would it look for
the United States to become the source of cyber attacks on another friendly
world power? Inconceivable you say? Well, inside sources report our great
nations’ reputation has been compromised in just that way. How? By the very
Arteis systems we were discussing only a few weeks ago. You all know my
experience with that company. They appear aggressive, avaricious and over
confident. That, it seems, is STEIN.

Secondly I ask, how could a once great
corporation like USDynamics have allowed their brand to become tarnished by association
with Arteis? What am I talking about? Don't go away. These and other important
questions will be examined when we come back. . . ."

His earpiece chirped, "You're off
John. Back in twenty five . . ."

The screen flashed to the sponsors ads.

*

USDynamics Head Office, Washington

"So, what can you tell me?" The
voice barked and poor reception made it crackle.

"Not much. The board is going to tough
it out. Everyone's agreed to stick to script and get on with the business. No
one is to mention Arteis, anywhere, and all press contact is to be handled by
Joyce."

"And what is the board saying about
Joyce?"

"Publicly, they're backing him.
Privately . . . well, I'd say his support is slipping. How long he can last
with the share price tanking is anyone's guess. I'd keep the pressure on."

"Hmm . . . that other thing we were
talking about, your man in IT. Can you get to him?"

"Shit, this is getting risky! The more
people involved the more chance I'll get hung. Yes, he's still there but I
haven't brought him in on this. Hopefully we won't have to?"

"Good to know. But I think we will
need him. I'll let you know. In the meantime it might pay to get in touch with
him. Strengthen the contact, that sort of thing. Stay close to your phone."

"I'll get on to it, but I'm not happy.
Oh, and one more thing, off the record, Arteis is still active in here. For the
moment anyway . . . I'd let your friends know if I were you."

"Thanks, talk soon."

A click and the cheap mobile went dead. The
young man checked that the call was recorded and then stowed it. Smiling, he
made for his lunch date. Everything was going just nicely.

*

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington DC

President Sarah Allen, Vice President Jim
Walker and Secretary of State Anne Marshall sat together in the Oval Office.

The tension was palpable and President Allen
in particular was clearly agitated.

"Jim," she asked, "how did
this become such a shit storm? It was supposed to be tidily dealt with in
private. Neither STEIN nor USDynamics deserve this; we're supposed to be
business friendly for Christ's sake! How did it get out, particularly with that
spin on things? I hold you personally accountable."

"Sarah, I've no idea what sources
McCall has or even if he's just flying kites . . ."

"Flying kites, shit, he had so much
detail he'd need to be clairvoyant to get so much right. Don't give me that.
There's a leak and I want them, now!” She got to her feet and stomped around
her desk angrily, smacking her hand down on the desk top as she turned back to
the pair. "Have we paid them out Anne?"

Anne jumped, startled, she had been deep in
thought. "Yes . . . yes, a bit steep but maybe we got off lucky, we couldn't
afford for this to be paraded through the courts for months, there's an
election coming."

"Well, at least we acted honorably in
that. God, how did we get this bloated in debt? They've got this country by the
throat."

Anne leant forward, beating her fist into
her hand. "I'm concerned about the Chinese agenda here, Sarah. They're
playing cagey on this for sure. I don't think they've revealed everything they're
after. We need to be careful that we don't get cherry picked here."

Jim Walker was quick to jump in. "You're
overreacting Anne. The delegates have been perfectly open and we've got a great
deal. The Arteis thing is small fry."

The President raised her hand to stop him
and glared. "Sure, the Arteis deal isn't big in the scheme of things, but
is that what they're really after? There's something else going on here."
She wasn't convinced and leant forward on the desk, clearly rattled. "Jim.
. . . close it down. I want no more comment about this. Are we clear?"

The meeting was clearly over and Sarah
Allen wanted this to go away, period! As Walker and Marshall left the office
Sarah was already chewing over the meeting in her mind.
Anne was
uncharacteristically quiet. What's up?

*

The Ship

Regan lay on her bunk staring at the
ceiling. The stubble now growing on her head itched annoyingly, but even though
it irritated she was determined to leave it growing, for now anyway.

The two weeks since the blow up with Ham
had been uncomfortable. Settling into a regular routine that maintained a
cordial relationship without the long, quite intimate conversations they had
both enjoyed before the operation. Growing her hair was an act of defiant
independence but, she did wonder, at what cost? The more her doubts developed
the more she threw herself into gym and track workouts to burn off tension.

Lying there Regan ran her hands down over
her rock hard stomach. The hard work was restoring a look and fitness level she
hadn't enjoyed since her days of competing and she liked it. Twice each day she
worked with Marin, in the morning massaging and manipulating his legs and arms
to keep him loose. In the evening she would bathe him, some substitute for the
conversations she would previously have enjoyed with Ham before bed. She
worried more and more about the consequences for Marin from the long period of
immobility and whether he would ever fully recover. In the afternoons she spent
hours at the screen at her desk, reviewing information from Earth stored in the
ship. Politics, business, science, she studied anything that took her fancy on
the day. It was voyeuristic but she found it fascinating and informative. As often
as Ham would let her she stole regular views of documents on Dahlian society,
science, and engineering. Despite this, the workings of the warp drive and IVSD
displacer remained a mystery and the list of things she didn't understand about
their technology grew by the day. It was a constant source of frustration.

"It's too much." she found
herself saying out loud.

"What's too much?" Ham's voice
broke into her thoughts.

Regan paused, a dull ache in her chest. "All
the things I don't, can't understand. I want to take it in. It's my nature to
want to understand things, to work them out, like a puzzle. But, well, there's
just too much. Too many questions and not enough answers."

Silence . . . then Ham offered, "Regan,
you know where the answers are if you want them."

"Ham," . . . She struggled with
her thoughts . . . "I've missed our talks."

" . . . Stop . . ." Ham
interjected. "We both know it's my fault."

"No, that's not fair Ham, it takes two
to tango, but what's done is done and I want back what we had."

"You want to reverse the operation?"

"No way, I don't want anyone playing
around in there again. I just want to enjoy what we were starting to develop
before. Not talking is not helpful. I want you to know I have still got your
back, I understand I'm your backup and I'm ok with that now. I really did mean
it when I said that. I just didn't expect . . ."

"I know. So, where do we go from here?"

"I've decided I need to get off my
backside and stop moping. I'm thinking a run now would be a good start. Then I'm
going to shave this god awful stubble off, I can't stand the feeling of it. How
does that sound?"

Ham displayed Regan's favorite view on the
level five walls as she pounded round her track. He could draw on everything
from documentary footage to home video, anything that had been stored or posted
online. When she asked about Australia he instantly accessed a cyclist's helmet
cam footage of one of her favorite runs when visiting Sydney. It was the sea
pathway from Woolloomooloo to Circular Quay past the Opera House. Ham had the
footage in both directions so she jogged happily enjoying the sights, even
running as far as the Sydney Harbour Bridge before turning around and heading
back. On the return when reaching Circular Quay she decided that she'd had
enough and walked off for a shower. After her customary twenty minute rotation
Regan found herself standing in front of the mirror considering how she would
remove the stubble.

"Wondering what to do?" Ham asked.
"You don't have to do this for me, you know."

"It's not that Ham, I've been stubborn
about this long enough, and I'm just wondering how to shave it. I haven't seen
anything like a shaver here and Marin clearly doesn't need one."

"Marin takes a regular mild medication
that inhibits the growth completely. He does have a paste that dissolves hair
at the root. It would be a long time since he used any but it's in his room."

"Is it safe for me?" She asked,
already moving through to Marin's room which she hadn't seen since her first
day on ship.

"I can't see anything in your species
physiology that would indicate a problem. Human DNA varies only fractionally
from Marin's and very little from any of the other humanoid species I have
records on. You're closer to Marin than an ape, though you might wonder when
you meet him."

She chuckled as she entered the incredibly
messy room. "How come this room is so untidy when everywhere else on the
ship is always clean?"

"This is his area. He likes his own
space so I leave it just as it is."

"Where do I look Ham?"

A short search and she found the tube. It
took only five more minutes back in her bathroom and the stubble was rinsing
off like gel into the sink. Regan dried her head and regarded the reflection.
I
can live with that
she thought,
will everyone else?
Walking back to
her room to dress she considered how comfortable she'd become walking around
nude.
I'm a naturist!
She laughed and then realized how much happier she
already felt having made the decision to move on.

Regan headed straight for control, a level
she had been avoiding as much as possible for some time even though it was
stupid, Ham after all was everywhere. Still, she missed being there, as control
had become the place she associated most with their conversations. Wanting to
punish him she had ended up hurting herself. Taking a coffee from the galley
she walked through to the screen, took her regular chair and got straight down
to business.

"So Ham, what can this thing do for me?"
and she touched her head pointedly.

"Hmm, well it does lift your
intelligence above average, which could be useful."

Regan glared.

"Too soon? O . . . K."

"Well," Ham tried again, "Let's
see . . ." [We can do this] "How about that!" Ham sounded
exceptionally pleased with himself.

"I don't get it, do what?" Regan
was confused.

[Do this!]

Regan paused, looking around and displaying
her habitual cock of the head. There wasn't any sound . . . was there?

"Do that again." she asked.

[Regan I'm sub-vocalizing to you. You
receive it and understand just as if you heard it. You can do it too but it
might take some practice. Just think as if you were speaking to me. Your
subconscious needs to be in control and you'll get better at it as the habit
develops; give it a try]

"You're kidding me!" Regan concentrated
. . . nothing.

"It's not working."

"You can do it - Think of a poem or
something that you know well. Then just think of me and say it in your head
without framing the words consciously. Remember to keep your mouth shut, that'll
be a challenge."

"You will keep my friend, you will
keep!" Regan shook her head. Then, as she knew a poem was in there she
tried to blurt it out in her mind, as if speaking to Ham but without thinking
or saying the words.

[Maryhadalittlelamb!] Breathe [It'sfleecewaswhiteassnow!]
[Itfollowedhertoschool one day] Breathe [and a big yellow dog ate it!]

There followed a moment of pregnant
silence. Regan shrugged her shoulders and looked baffled.

Finally Ham responded. [Really, that's the
best you could come up with? Not something like; the quality of mercy is not
strained. It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon this place beneath; something
like that maybe?]

[Hey, I thought I did pretty good to
remember that one] She couldn't tell if her subbing was working but it felt
right!

[That's the problem with you babe, you're all
looks, no class.]

[You know the big advantage I have over you
Ham?]

[What's that?]

[Looks.]

[Touche.]

"Ham, I have to admit this is amazing,
what are the limitations?" Regan sounded excited.

[We can do this anywhere around the ship
and anywhere there is wireless contact of whatever sort. As long as there is a
means of communicating wirelessly - satellite, 6G, Bluetooth, whatever is
available. If it's got a signal, we can link and that gives you access to the
ship in most places.]

"Wow! What could I do in a casino with
this? Dangerous!"

"Regan, that is seriously messed up.
You're already one of the richest people on your planet and your first thought
is about using this for gambling!"

"Oh it's just fantasy, a game like in
the movies; I don't care about the money."

"Yeah right, it's easy not to care
when you've got plenty. Last time I looked at the data, most people don't seem
to have enough and very few with money seem to care."

"You're getting into an interesting
moral area there Ham, but perhaps that's a conversation for a different time?"

Regan again tried sub-vocalizing [You said
earlier I knew where the answers were, you meant your backup right?]

[You're getting good at this.] Ham sounded
pleased.

"Just practicing the sub vocal thing,
but am I right about the backup?"

"Yes . . . partly. If we're not in
range of the ship where all the data is stored then you only have access to the
latest me and the limited amount of information that is carried as a part of my
personality. Plus I can store in advance any information relevant to the task
you might be performing provided I have time to download it before separation
from contact with the ship. However, as I'm also effectively with you then if
you access the implant, the me that is there can wirelessly connect with any
system it can reach. That me may not be in contact with the ship but I'm smart
enough to hack any system in Dahlia - trust me, Earth would be no problem."

Regan shook her head, trying to come to
grips with the information. "Just to be clear here, you're not riding me,
like a horse?"

It was too tempting for Ham to resist, "More
like a mahout with an elephant . . ." he waited, "sorry, too far
again? I shouldn't joke so much. To answer your question, the backup is a
passenger yes. But picture the passenger to be in a closed booth. You, and only
you, can communicate and exchange information with the passenger by sub-vocalizing.
The passenger is blind and dormant unless you choose to communicate or open the
curtains. Until the moment of engagement with you the passenger stays dormant,
a backup. Bear in mind when I say passenger, we're always talking about me.
When you come back within range of the ship or any other time we are in contact
then I will constantly update, and the two of me merge to become the new one.

Of course, as long as we're here, the me
that is in the ship or communicating with you from the ship is like an annoying
fly. You can't get rid of me!"

To Regan this was at the same time simple
and bewildering. She decided to stick with simple.

[Ham, I think I can live with that. . . . welcome
aboard]

*

"Regan?"

"Yo!"

"You may like to see this; we've
briefly come out of FTL and I need to make a course change."

"Definitely, I'm on my way up."

She was ready to start the morning workout
with Marin having just set everything up but Regan figured it wouldn't hurt to
get coffee and take a break.
Marin will still be there when I get back.
After
two weeks of only seeing the inside of the ship the chance to view another part
of the galaxy was not something she wanted to miss. As she walked to the elevator
and proceeded to control she continued the conversation with Ham.

"Why do we need to change course
anyway?"

"So we don't hit anything; it's a bit
difficult to swerve in FTL. The courses I plot are based on history. When we're
in FTL we travel in a straight line so if anything appeared in our path we'd be
worse than mince meat. Well, you'd be the meat dish but you get the picture.
The chances of that happening are miniscule but when you do know there could be
obstacles between you and your destination it's only smart to stay well clear.
Like if you're captaining a ship, and you know there's a reef on the map why
shave past just because you can? It's not worth the risk when you know there's
plenty of ocean space to work with. It's the same in space but more so because
in FTL we can't even see what's coming. From past experience we know certain
lines are object free. So we follow those lines like walking in the steps of
others through a minefield. Different lines could be safe too of course, but
not having taken them, who knows? In our case we'll take three lines into our
destination and we'll come out in the arrival zone for ships returning from
Earth trips. It should be obstacle free."