The End of All Things (37 page)

“No matter what, the Earth is fucked,” Rigney said. “Excuse the language, but that’s the gist of what I’m hearing from you.”

I looked over to Abumwe. “There is another option.”

“Tell us,” Egan said.

“Before I do, a question for the two of you,” Abumwe said. “Are we agreed that the goal here is survival, not a win?”

“I don’t understand the question,” Egan said.

“I don’t believe that, Colonel,” Abumwe said, and stared fixedly at Egan. “I think you know very well what I mean. We four in this room can indulge in the luxury of being utterly honest with each other. So we don’t have to pretend that we don’t know that the Colonial Union, as it exists now, is headed for collapse. If we’re not destroyed by Equilibrium or the Conclave, we’ll tear ourselves apart. It’s already happening.

“We don’t have to pretend that we don’t know the structure and organization of the Colonial Union itself is unsupportable as it’s currently constructed. We don’t have to pretend that there’s any way we get the Earth back into the role it played for us before. We don’t have to pretend that we are not staring our extinction in the face. We don’t have to pretend that any petty victories or side goals are important right now. What matters is that we agree that what we do here now is for the survival of
us,
of humanity. Not the Colonial Union as it is now. But of our species. We four have to agree to this, or there is simply no point in continuing this meeting.”

Egan and Rigney looked at each other. “We agree,” Egan said.

“And this agreement will be supported how?” Abumwe said. “If we are agreed that we are talking about survival, are we also agreed that we do what it takes to allow survival to happen?”

“Ambassador Abumwe,” Rigney said. “Tell us your plan. We’ll tell you how we can make it happen.”

“Very well,” Abumwe said.

*   *   *

“Thank you for attending this meeting,” Abumwe said, to the representatives of the nine colonies who were planning, in what they believed to be secret, to announce their independence.

“‘Attend,’ hell,” said Harilal Dwivedi, the representative from Huckleberry. “We were just about dragged out of our beds and forced to be here.” Several of the other representatives nodded in agreement.

“I do apologize,” Abumwe said. “Unfortunately time is of the essence. I am Ambassador Ode Abumwe.”

“Why are we here, Ambassador?” asked Neida Calderon, of Umbria.

“Representative Calderon, if you would look around at who else is here among you, I think you will have a good idea why you are here.”

The low-level muttering and complaining cut off abruptly. Abumwe was now very definitely the focus of all their attention.

“Yes, we know,” Abumwe said.

“Of course you know,” Dwivedi spat. He was clearly of the “when cornered, attack” school of rhetoric. “You have the prime minister of Khartoum in custody. I can’t imagine what you’ve done to him.”

Abumwe nodded to me. I went to a side door in the State Department conference room we were in and opened it. “Come on in,” I said.

Masahiko Okada walked out and sat down at the table with the representatives. They stared at him like he had three heads.

“Any more surprises, Ambassador Abumwe?” Calderon asked, after she stopped staring at Okada.

“In the interest of saving us all time, allow me to be brief,” Abumwe said.

“Please do,” Calderon said.

“Each of your worlds is planning to jointly announce your independence from the Colonial Union. The fact that each of you is in this room right now should indicate our awareness of your plans. We are also aware that each of your governments has been in discussion, either individually or severally, with an entity called Equilibrium, which has shared information with you and has, we believe, offered each of you protection against the Colonial Union when you declare your independence.”

Dwivedi opened his mouth to speak; Abumwe hit him with a hard stare. “This is not the moment to offer up excuses or rationalizations either for your desire for your independence or your fraternization with Equilibrium. We don’t have time for it, and quite bluntly at the moment we don’t care.”

Dwivedi closed his mouth, clearly annoyed.

“Equilibrium has been deceiving each of your governments,” Abumwe continued, and motioned to Okada. “In a moment Minister Okada here will detail to you how Equilibrium deceived him and his government and attacked a Colonial Defense Forces ship with the intent to pin the blame—and the punishment—on Khartoum and its government, for the purpose of galvanizing your governments into action. Not for your purposes, representatives. Not for the freedom you believe you seek. But for its own agenda, of which your planets and their fates are mere stepping-stones.

“With that in mind, the Colonial Union is making a request of each of you.”

“Let me guess,” Calderon said. “You don’t want us to declare our independence from the Colonial Union.”

Abumwe smiled one of her very rare smiles. “In fact, Representative Calderon, we very much want you to.”

Calderon looked uncertain for a moment and glanced around at the other representatives, who were equally confounded. “I don’t understand,” she said, finally.

“We want you to declare independence,” Abumwe said again.

“You
want
us to leave the Colonial Union,” Dwivedi said.

“No.”

“But you just said you want us to declare our independence.”

“Yes,” Abumwe said, and held up her hand before Dwivedi could complain further. “We do not want you to leave the Colonial Union. It is dangerous for each of us. But we ask each of you to follow through with your plan to declare independence. We need for Equilibrium to believe that your planets are going to go through with the plan you’ve already arranged.”

“And why is that?” Calderon asked.

“I can’t tell you,” Abumwe said. “Quite obviously your governments are not secure. We can’t tell you everything.”

“And what will happen when we declare independence?”

“The Colonial Union, quite predictably, will overreact and fill your sky with ships in order to intimidate you.”

“I’m failing to see the benefit to any of us in this plan,” Calderon said, wryly. She had, for whatever reason, assumed the leadership role for the assembled representatives.

“We want you to declare independence but not become independent,” Abumwe said. “We will respond with the appearance of force, not force itself.”

“You’re asking us to believe that the CDF won’t crush us flat.”

“If we wanted to do that we wouldn’t need to have this meeting,” Abumwe pointed out. “No. I’m offering you a way out of that eventuality. Make no mistake, Representatives. Any attempt to leave the Colonial Union will be met with force. We cannot afford to have your planets leave the union, and at the risk of sounding patronizing, we are absolutely certain you don’t appreciate the danger you are putting yourself into.” Abumwe motioned to Okada again. “Minister Okada here can speak to this from experience.”

“You want us to trust you. You might understand why it’s difficult for us to do that.”

“I’m not asking for your trust,” Abumwe said. “I’m making you an offer.”

“There’s not much you can offer us, Ambassador, if you’re already denying us our freedom.”

“Representative Calderon, let me suggest that it’s not freedom that you are looking for.”

“It’s not.”

“No.”

“What is it, then?”

“It’s control,” Abumwe said. “Which is what I am offering you.”

“Explain,” Calderon said, after a moment.

“You are all representatives to the Colonial Union government,” Abumwe said. “I don’t need to tell you how little that actually means in terms of how the Colonial Union is administered and its relationship to your home planets. At best you are responsible for the most minor of tasks. At worst you are ignored entirely.”

She stopped to let her comment take root. There were nods among the representatives.

“That is going to change. It has to change. The Colonial Union will need to rely on the colony worlds more than ever, including for soldiers, which it has never done before. It can no longer rule from the top down. Bluntly, it will need the consent of the governed. It will need to be ruled by the governed. It will need to be ruled by you.”

There was dead silence for a moment. Then:

“You’re
joking,
” Dwivedi said.

“No,” Abumwe said, looking at Calderon rather than the Huckleberry representative. “It’s been agreed to in principle. At the top. What we need now is a group of representatives willing to do the work to create a system that reflects the reality of our situation with the Conclave and others, along with a truly representative government.”

“You want us to draft a constitution,” Calderon said, only a little incredulously.

“Yes.”

“In exchange for this little act of subterfuge with our declarations of independence.”

“Yes,” Abumwe said.

“It’s that important.”

“Yes.”

“We’re going to need to consult with our governments,” Dwivedi said.

“No,” Abumwe said, and looked around. “I need to be clear about this.
There is no time
. We already know that you plan to announce your independence in as little as a couple of weeks. We need that timetable to continue. We need everything to run as if it’s already been decided. There can be no pause, no hint that anything has changed. You are your colony’s representative. Represent. Your decision here now will commit your planet and we will hold it to your decision. And one other thing: This decision must be unanimous. Either you are all in or none of you are.”

“You’re expecting us to create a viable system of interplanetary representative government right now,” Calderon said.

This got the faintest of smiles from Abumwe. “No. Details will wait. But you have to commit now.”

“How much time are you giving us?”

“You’ll have tonight,” Abumwe said. “I’ll be here to answer what questions I can. Okada is here to tell you about Khartoum’s experience with Equilibrium. It’s eleven
P.M.
now. By eight, I will either need your unanimous agreement or your refusal.”

“And if we refuse?”

“Then you refuse and everything becomes much harder and much more dangerous. For everyone,” Abumwe said. “I’m going to leave you for a few moments. I will be back to answer questions presently.” She walked out the side door I had brought Okada in from. I followed her.

“That was inspiring,” I said.

“Of all the things I need at the moment, Wilson, your sarcasm is not one of them,” she said.

“It’s only partly sarcasm,” I said. “Do you think they’ll commit?”

“I believe Calderon is convinced. I think she might be able to convince others.”

“And do you think the Colonial Union is actually going to agree to the changes you’ve just committed it to?”

“That’s Rigney and Egan’s department,” Abumwe said. “But none of us would be here if we didn’t already see the writing on the wall.”

“True enough,” I said.

“I need you to call in Hart Schmidt,” Abumwe said. “I need him to take your place in the room. I will brief him on everything.”

“All right,” I said. “What are you going to have me do?”

“I have two things I need you to do,” Abumwe said. “First, I need you to talk to Ocampo.”

“What about?”

“The whereabouts of Equilibrium. They fled from their base but that hasn’t stopped them from continuing their operations. We need to know where they are now.”

“He might not know,” I said.

“And he might. You need to ask him.”

“You’re the boss,” I said. “What’s the other thing?”

“I need you to go to Earth.”

“Interesting,” I said. “You know they don’t like us, right? As in, if one of our spaceships shows up above the planet, they’re likely to shoot it out of the sky. Not to mention it’ll take me several days to get there, with no reasonable expectation of getting back, once they shoot my ship out of the sky.”

“I expect you to solve all of these problems before you leave.”

“I admire your confidence in me.”

“Then don’t disappoint me, Wilson.”

*   *   *

Tyson Ocampo and I stood on a beach, watching the waves roll in and the seagulls circle overhead.

“It’s beautiful here,” Ocampo said, to me.

“I thought you might like it,” I replied.

“Which beach is this?”

“Cottesloe Beach. It’s near Perth, Australia.”

“Ah,” Ocampo said. “I’ve never been.”

“Well, it’s on Earth, so that’s understandable,” I said.

“Have you ever been?”

“Once,” I said. “I went to Perth on business and had a free day. Took the train over to it and spent the day watching the waves and drinking beer.”

Ocampo smiled. “We’re watching the waves, at least,” he said.

“Sorry about the lack of beer.”

“Lieutenant, when you’re not here, the simulation I see is of a small, square cell. It has three books in it, the titles of which rotate after I read them. I don’t get to choose the titles. There’s a single small screen on which is ported just enough entertainment material that I do not go entirely mad. Once a day they make a track appear so that I can give myself the appearance of physical exercise. My only visitor—aside from the occasional Colonial Union interrogator—is a chatbot which is not quite well programmed enough to give the appearance of being a person, and only serves to remind me that I am, well and truly, alone in my brain. Trust me. This beach is enough.”

I had nothing to say to that, so we continued watching the simulated waves of simulated Cottesloe Beach tumble onto the simulated shore, while the simulated birds reeled in the sky.

“I assume this is a reward,” Ocampo said. “For our last session.”

“As it turns out, you were entirely correct that a trap was being laid for the CDF ship at Khartoum,” I said. “My ship got to skip distance in a dangerously short time—we nearly overloaded the engines—and skipped directly into the attack. That was lucky timing.”

“The CDF didn’t send one of the ships it has on standby.”

“With all due respect, Secretary Ocampo, you’re a confirmed traitor, and you have a history of leading ships to their doom. They would not send their own ship, but they didn’t mind if we played Russian roulette with ours.”