More interesting were the number of implants each of them was loaded with. The central nervous column, running through the
centre of the body, had a number of attachments spliced into it, artificial fibres spread out through the tissue to form a
secondary nervous system. Biochemical devices were grafted on to glands and circulatory networks, supplementing organ functions.
Compact weapons cylinders were buried in limb muscles.
“The weapons I can understand,” Ruben said when Beaulieu displayed the images over the general communication link. “But the
rest seem redundant. Perhaps their organs still haven’t fully evolved to freefall conditions.”
“I disagree,” Cacus said. “Quantook-LOU doesn’t have the same degree of enhancements as the other five. I’d say his escort
are the Mosdva equivalent of our boosted mercenaries. They’ll be able to keep functioning even when they’re badly damaged.”
“It’s probably significant that Quantook-LOU’s physiological condition is generally superior to the others’,” Parker said.
“His bone structure is certainly thicker, and from what we can understand of his internal organs their biochemical functions
have a higher degree of efficiency. That suggests to me that he was actually bred. Fifteen thousand years isn’t long enough
for a full genetic evolutionary adaptation to freefall, there are just too many changes from a gravity environment to incorporate.”
“If you’re right, that would confirm an aristocracy-based social structure,” Cacus said. “Their whole administration class
would be an elite.”
“He does have a large amount of processors hardwired into what passes for his cortex,” Oski said. “A lot more than the soldiers.
They augment his memory and analytical abilities to a similar level as neural nanonics.”
“Physical and mental superiority,” Liol said. “That’s very fascist.”
“Only in human terms,” Ruben chided. “Imposing our values on xenocs and then going on to judge them is the height of conceit.”
“Pardon me,” Liol mumbled. He checked round the bridge to find Ashly and Dahybi grinning at the Edenist’s snobbery; Sarha
gave him a thumbs up.
“An aristocracy is historically arrogant,” Syrinx said. “If all the dominions are structured the same way, it would explain
why they are so quick to escalate their disagreements into war. The administration class would regard the soldiers as expendable.
Like everything else here, they are resources to be exploited to the advantage of the dominion.”
“Then where exactly do we fit into their neat little hierarchy?” Sarha asked.
“What we have is valuable to them,” Parker said. “What we are, is not. They will deal with us on that level only.”
Joshua slid through the lower deck hatch into the bridge, and settled onto his acceleration couch. He datavised the flight
computer for a systems review, and took over the command functions from Liol. “We’re ready,” he told Quantook-LOU. “Please
give us the location.”
One of the Mosdva’s electronic modules transmitted a stream of data.
“That’s one of the tangles in the web, nine hundred kilometres away,” Beaulieu said. She datavised a string of instructions
to the ELINT satellites, using the closest one to give the section a close scan. “The knot itself is approximately four kilometres
across, rising seventeen hundred metres above the disk’s median level. A lot of infrared seepage in the surrounding area.
Most of the knot’s web tubes are dead. The thermal exchange mechanisms around it are still functioning, but with a reduced
output.”
“Somebody’s still alive there,” Sarha said.
“Looks that way.”
“We have the position,” Joshua told Quantook-LOU. “What kind of acceleration can you withstand?”
There was a slight pause. “Thirty per cent of the acceleration you used when you approached Anthi-CL would be acceptable to
us,” Quantook-LOU said.
“Understood. Secure yourselves, please.” Joshua extended
Lady Mac
’s combat sensors and ordered the standard booms to retract. The crew went to combat alert status. A quick check of the lounge
sensors showed the six Mosdva prone on the cushion padding which Beaulieu and Dahybi had laid out for them on the decking.
It wasn’t worth igniting the fusion tubes. Joshua used the secondary drive to accelerate the starship at a tenth of a gee.
The vector he’d plotted took them out a hundred kilometres from the sunside, then curved across towards the knot.
“Gas plumes on this side as well,” Beaulieu warned. “They’re still fighting down there.”
Joshua called Quantook-LOU. “We can see there’s still a lot of conflict on Tojolt-HI. It would help to know if we are likely
to be attacked, and by what.”
“No Tojolt-HI dominion will attack this ship unless it appears you are leaving. If I have not secured your drive technology,
then our desperation will increase.”
“What form will an attack against us take? Do you have ships that can intercept us?”
“We have no ships other than the sunscoops which you have already seen. Energy-beam weapons will be used to damage you. I
would speculate that many dominions will be constructing fast automated vehicles. The speed which the
Lady Macbeth
can travel at has been studied. They will be swifter.”
Joshua looked round the bridge. “I’d say we don’t need to worry about missiles. It’s the lasers that trouble me. The dominions
have the kind of power generation capacity which makes our SD platforms look feeble.”
“But not on this side of the diskcity,” Beaulieu said. “Sensor scans have dropped considerably since we moved across the rim.
Ninety per cent of their systems are mounted on the darkside.”
“They can poke a laser through the foil quick enough,” Liol said.
“We’ll be watching for it,” Sarha told him.
“I’d still like to understand the circumstances,” Joshua said. “Quantook-LOU, can you tell me which dominions are allied with
Anthi-CL?”
“Outside our main alliance quartet, there is no longer any way of knowing. Your arrival has disrupted the dominions at every
level. The rim dominions search for allies among the centre. The centre dominions struggle among themselves as the old alliances
fall to be replaced by lies and unkeepable promises.”
“And we did all that?”
“For all our history, resources have been finite, and our society reflects this. Now you have come, and every resource has
suddenly become infinite. There can only be one dominion now.”
“How so?”
“We are in balance. The central dominions have larger areas than those of the rim, but the rim is where the new mass gathered
by the sunscoop ships is distributed from. Our value is therefore equal. Each rim dominion supplies its centrist allies with
mass, and the amount of mass which can be delivered is obviously dependant on the number of sunscoops. The number of sunscoop
ships which can be built is dependant on the size of the alliance. Their construction absorbs a fearsome quantity of our resources.
When a sunscoop fails to return, the quantity of mass available to the alliance is reduced, causing shortages and hardship
among the dominions. Then the alliance grows weak as dominions struggle against each other to obtain the level of mass they
require. That is when the distributors in each dominion move to forge new alliances that will allow them to regain their old
level of supply.”
“I understand,” Joshua said. “With our technology allowing you to bring new mass in from other star systems, the sunscoops
will not be able to compete. Every central Tojolt-HI dominion will turn to Anthi-CL to supply them with mass, becoming your
allies. Without a market, the other rim dominions will fail, and also be incorporated into the alliance.”
“And I will be the distributor of resources for all of Tojolt-HI.”
“Then why are the other dominions fighting you?”
Quantook-LOU raised his mid limbs a small distance against the gee force, slapping his torso feebly. “Because I do not yet
have your drive technology. As always they search for advantage. By reducing Anthi-CL to ruin, they will deprive me of the
resources to build starships. You will be forced to make the exchange with them.”
“But you said the alliances between the central dominions are unstable.”
“They are. The other distributors are greedy fools. They would destroy us all. The damage they have already caused to Tojolt-HI
is on a scale we have never endured before. It will take decades to repair everything.”
“So just tell them you have our drive. I’ll back you up. We can work out the details of the exchange later. That will stop
the destruction.”
“Anthi-CL’s allies know I have not yet acquired your starship drive. I maintain our primary alliance with the quartet by assuring
them that this venture to acquire astronomical data will result in triumph. In turn, they barter this information to gain
advantage should I fail. All of Tojolt-HI knows you have not yet exchanged the data with me. They watch to see the outcome
of this flight. Once I can signal Anthi-CL that I have the data to build your drive, our quartet alliance will solidify once
more. The other dominions will have no choice but to join with us. Faster-than-light travel has made our unification inevitable.
All of us know this. All that remains is the question of who shall become distributor of resources for Tojolt-HI. If it is
not me, then it will be another dominion’s distributor. That is why they will attack should you attempt to fly away.”
Joshua switched off the link to the lounge. “Opinions?”
“He’s very good,” Samuel said. “I think he’s realized you have a conscience, or at least some kind of ethical code. That’s
why our arrival is blamed as the cause of the diskcity war. We’re also under threat not to try and leave, otherwise we’ll
be shot. Everything he says is to his advantage.”
“The economic structure of Tojolt-HI certainly made sense,” Parker said. “That lends credence to the rest of the situation.”
“It’s certainly favourable for us,” Liol said. “Even if Quantook-LOU is exaggerating the political instability, everyone here
wants to be the one who gets ZTT from us. They’re prepared to go to war in order to give us what we want.”
“Pity we can’t use that to negotiate some kind of peace settlement,” Syrinx said. “I can’t help but feel very uncomfortable
about this.”
“We could simply beam the information across Tojolt-HI after we get a copy of the Tyrathca almanac,” Beaulieu suggested. “Even
if Quantook-LOU does get us the almanac data, and we give him ZTT technology, the physical aspect of their conflict will probably
continue as the consolidation into one dominion moves forward.”
“The irony of all this astounds me,” Ruben said.
“I fail to see how,” Syrinx replied quickly. “You must have a very black sense of humour to find this remotely funny.”
“I never said funny. But don’t you see what this discussion mirrors? This is how the Kiint must have debated our species when
we asked them for the solution to the beyond. To the Mosdva, faster-than-light travel is obviously the answer to all their
problems; they can have an infinite supply of mass, they can begin fresh colonies, and they can exterminate their old oppressors.
To them it is essential we supply it, and they are willing to risk everything to gain what we have. Yet for us, with our complete
understanding of ZTT, giving them the technology means releasing a genocidal crusade across this whole section of the galaxy,
as well as the possibility of the Confederation going to war against them at some time in the future. Which we would probably
lose, given their numbers.”
“If the Tyrathca don’t get us first,” Monica muttered out loud.
“Are you saying we shouldn’t give them ZTT?” Joshua asked.
“Think what will happen if we do.”
“We’ve been through this already. The Mosdva will probably get faster-than-light travel anyway, now they know it’s possible.”
“Just as the Kiint keep saying we have to find our own solution to the souls in the beyond now we know it exists.”
“Jesus! What do you want me to do?”
“Nothing now. We were right before: the question is one of timing. I think we got the answer wrong.”
“Maybe we did,” Syrinx said. “Though I’m not convinced. But this has made our future actions very clear cut. We have got to
solve the problem of possession and the beyond first. Only then will we be in a position to deal with the whole Tyrathca/Mosdva
issue. And the only way we can do that now is get to the Sleeping God.”
The ELINT satellites continued to show the war across Tojolt-HI’s darkside. Blowouts were occurring with increasing frequency,
sending long spumes of vapour and fluid racing out into space, propelling bodies along with them. Mosdva troops in armoured
spacesuits continued to scurry across the valleys and ridges of the darkside structure. Almost all train movement had ceased.
The heaviest fighting was conducted around the boundary of Anthi-CL and its neighbouring allies. As well as the blowouts decompressing
entire tubes, suited Mosdva shot at each other with beam and projectile weapons as they struggled to penetrate their enemy’s
territory and disable critical systems. The satellites were also picking up powerful flashes of energy among the tall thermal
dissipation towers as emplaced defensive lasers and masers swept across the ranks of advancing soldiers.
“But no nukes,” Beaulieu said. “At least not yet. I have picked up some small short-range missiles, but they use chemical
rockets and warheads. They’re not very successful; the lasers usually pick them off. Hardly surprising, the maximum acceleration
so far has been seven gees.”
“I wonder why they use chemical systems?” Monica asked. “One well-placed nuke would take out a whole dominion. They must have
the ability to build them. Quantook-LOU said they used to move asteroids around with them, just like we do.”
“We can ask Quantook-LOU if you like,” Joshua said.
“I’d rather not,” Samuel said. “I’d hate to put ideas in his head. In any case, you’re misrepresenting the nature of conflict
here. Everything is resource-based, even war. The aim must always be to kill an enemy’s population, but keep their web tubes
intact. Explosive decompression will have exactly that result every time, giving the victorious dominion room to expand. A
nuclear strike would obliterate a vast amount of the diskcity structure, while the shockwave would weaken even more.”