[This is a chapter from my latest novel, a sequel to The Fall of Doc Future and Skybreaker’s Call. The start is here, and links to my other work here. It can be read on its own, but contains spoilers for those two books. I try to post new chapters about every two weeks, and the next one is planned for around November 7th. I sometimes post short stories and vignettes on off weeks ]

Previous: Chapter 29

Flicker had managed, with DASI’s help, to craft a vaguely diplomatic-sounding but urgent request, and Doc had stopped taking apart the generator to set up a secure private connection. Ashil had chosen to remain when offered an escape from what was likely to be further awkwardness.

“I not explain well, so you embarrass, and you friend. I stay, help fix.”

Which was helping Flicker already.

Doc, on the other hand…

“What do you mean, you did tell me?” she said.

“When you were thirteen, and having all that trouble,” said Doc. "You asked if I’d ever had a non-disastrous intimate relationship. I told you that I’d spent a pleasant few weeks with a biologist I met after a trip to Southeast Asia, we ended it for practical reasons, and parted on good terms. Remember?“

"You didn’t say she wasn’t human!”

“Neither is your mother. And it wasn’t relevant–you were looking for reassurance.”

“Not relevant? At least Golden Valkyrie…” Flicker trailed off, unable to find a non-awkward way to express what she wanted to say.

Doc’s eyes narrowed. "At least she what? Looked human? I knew what kind of being I was letting in before I opened the door the first time–I was neither ignorant nor beguiled. Reckless, I’ll grant.“

Flicker scowled. "No wonder I wasn’t able to find out anything more.”

“And your habit of digging despite any requests otherwise was precisely why I avoided details–I didn’t want you to connect what I told you to Zirjack’s visit.”

“Why not? You told people about your car.”

“No details, and most thought I was being glib or flippant. Zirjack always intended to come back some day, so I didn’t want to complicate things politically.”

Flicker took a deep breath. "Okay. But the details are relevant now.“

"Are they?” Doc glanced at Ashil.

“Yes,” she said. "And I not diplomat. I laugh when I learn Flicker not know already. Very rude. But I can tell, if you not want.“

"Ah. Did Tiz talk to you?”

“Yes.”

“I see.” Doc sighed and looked back at Flicker. "Where to start…“

He pushed his goggles farther back on the top of his head and looked into the distance. "Lawspeaker Vanda–Zirjack’s wife–arranged a party after we recovered their children. It was diplomatic as well as celebratory, because I had a slight problem. The Grs'thnk had a long-running political debate about their hands-off policy for Earth–that was why the kidnappers came here.

"Zirjack didn’t think he’d have any trouble getting permission to take me back when I offered to go with him. But he didn’t know then just how smart I was, and I didn’t know the details of the technology transfer restrictions. And he was missing his chief engineer. So I helped his assistant engineer fix a few things on the way back. Not the engines or anything, but the vibration dampers and one of the grav sensors.”

“Engineer lost license for that,” said Ashil.

“He did? Damn.”

“He got back, but took long time. Sorry for interrupt.”

“That’s fine,” said Flicker. "Didn’t Zirjack make a joke about giving you a strong drink at that party?“ she said to Doc.

"It was just water and ethanol, nothing else organic. Because I was still suffering the aftereffects of a severe allergic reaction.” He shook his head. "I shot down three killbots, and the tree bleeding on me is what got me. I ran out of antihistamines, because I’d used some on the trip back. Zirjack had access to a pharmosynth, but the only human antihistamine whose structure I could remember was diphenhydramine.“

"The one that makes you loopy?”

“Indeed–that’s what made it memorable. But it was better than risking anaphylaxis, so that’s what I was on. Zirjack gave me the drink so I had an excuse to be loopy. I didn’t drink much of it, but it probably wouldn’t have mattered, because I did something inadvisable anyway.

"The endless parade of Grs'thnk politicians, diplomats, and their relatives got a little surreal, and I’m afraid I don’t remember much about it. I barely knew enough to safely exchange pleasantries with most of them. But there was one older fellow, ninety or so, who was a regional representative for the Neoprogressives. His hobby was restoring vintage grav cars, and he loved to talk about them–so much so that everyone else tended to avoid him. I thought that would be a great way to stay out of trouble, so I struck up a conversation with him. Algrathin, I think his name was.”

“Algarthin,” said Ashil. "He retired now, but still alive. Ketrik like him, because… Sorry.“ She looked down.

Flicker felt a sudden rush of empathy. "That’s okay, Ashil.”

Doc nodded. "Well, it turned out that the agreement being arranged to allow Zirjack to take me back relied on the implicit assumption that I was not the sort of fellow who could reverse engineer grav drive theory and practice from a look at one sensor, an off-hand remark about how grav drives were manufactured, and a detailed description of the peculiarities of a few early grav vehicles and how they were improved later.“

"Which you were.”

“Which I was. And did. Out loud and in public. There was a military technical analyst at the party, keeping a discreet eye on me, that nearly had a heart attack at that. The first hint I had that something was wrong was when Zirjack took me by the arm and firmly suggested that I needed to see a specialist for my allergy problem. And he knew just the right person.

"He explained on our flight over. In addition to taking care of my allergy, it was suddenly important that I be somewhere far away from any potential technology discussions and any gadgets I might be inclined to take apart. And not have access to their worldnet. For however long it took to repair the political damage and negotiate a new agreement. Which turned out to be two weeks.”

“I bet that was frustrating,” said Flicker.

“You’d think so,” Doc said, and smiled. "And that was how I ended up going on a two-week safari in the East Mokrith Nature Preserve with Tiz.“

*****

Stella studied the sociopolitical projections from the latest modeling run. It would be nice, whatever Flicker ended up doing, to be able to reassure her that keeping any intruding entities away from Earth would be sufficient to preserve human civilization relatively intact.

But the pessimistic scenarios could make the ‘relatively’ part very relative indeed, even in the near term.

The micropredictions of this model had been accurate so far–the biggest change was the large scale variance. She sighed. As Doc had put it, late one night in a moment of black humor, "If you aren’t crazy when you take over the world, don’t worry. Run it for a while and you will be.”

And she, DASI, and Black Swan had a limited time frame to operate in. The Grs'thnk aid mission was here to help humans–not any particular human nation or form of social organization. Current holders of political power or wealth weren’t necessarily going to keep it under the changes the Grs'thnk required for trade and economic aid, so most would try to bargain for concessions.

They weren’t going to get any. So they would stall, wherever they could–or reject the changes outright. While the Grs'thnk set up the infrastructure to handle mass immigration. And it was only a matter of time before people started to recognize that the vast majority of them would be better off in a Grs'thnk refugee enclave than wherever they were now. Even if it meant relocating to Greenland. And the Grs'thnk would provide free transport.

A favorite Grs'thnk response to recalcitrance at the top of a socioeconomic pyramid was to convince the bottom to move.

Most humans had no idea how bad the economic consequences would be for those who stayed–or what it would do to politics in democracies. And many would never understand or accept, because it conflicted too much with their worldview. That was going to be a particular problem in the United States. People might hate or fear Black Swan, but at least they understood what she was doing, or thought they did. Which was why she was pushing so hard, despite the disruption. The disruption was going to come anyway.

Stella felt the questioning touch of Yiskah’s telepathy, and disengaged from her Database interface. “Are they here?” she sent.

“In the parking lot,” replied Yiskah. “We should head down. Security will be nervous.”

Stella headed for the door of the main control room. "I can’t blame them. Jumping Spider is a nightmare for anyone in physical building security. And most of Doc’s guards have personal cause, because of the number of times she got past them undetected.“

A mental laugh from Yiskah. "They shouldn’t worry about that. She’s walking in the front door–with permission.”

Stella raised an eyebrow as she got on the elevator. Yiskah stood beside Eirik, who nodded politely.

Stella nodded back. “He was determined?”

“Reducing Flicker’s diplomatic load and social stress is part of his job, she’s busy, and he wants the practice. And Jumping Spider is going to meet an einherjar eventually. Best I be around when she does–because she will push.”

They arrived in the inner foyer in time to hear DASI announce “Identities verified. You may pass.” Jumping Spider strode through the scanner tunnel, stopped in front of them, and put her hands on her hips. Breakpoint ambled genially after her.

Jumping Spider’s costume covered her whole body, and was patterned to look provocative in a stylized way, while concealing far more than was apparent. But it was her voice, body language, and presence that decided the impression she made on people. Stella observed her with interest; this was the first time they’d met in person.

When Stella was nine, she’d been curious about Doc, in an abstract way. But the person she’d wanted to be like when she grew up was Jumping Spider. She fondly remembered watching all the vid footage she could get her hands on, to study how Jumping Spider handled dominance, misdirection, and keeping people off-balance. Now Stella was twenty-nine and Jumping Spider was fifty. She gave no sign of slowing down, or wanting to.

“Hello to both of you, and welcome,” Stella said.

Jumping Spider nodded to her, then stared at Eirik. "Well, well. I’d wonder why Doc is letting a demon run around his headquarters, but given the company you keep, I have to ask–aren’t you a bit worried you’ll end up as an afternoon snack? Or have you already had a personality transplant?“

"I am who I have been since I first awoke in the Wanderer’s Hall,” said Eirik, smiling gently. "I will not lose that while I live, by Flicker’s word. And Yiskah Eyetaker has claimed me as her privilege. So, no, I do not fear anything as I serve them, save failing in that.

“But others do.” He gestured at the guards at the inner security station, who were watching uneasily. "They know your way of flyting, but not when you will leave off, and wonder how Flicker, appearing at the moment of worst tension, might respond. So I must ask you something in return.

“The Trickster would often sow such tension, to inspire discord, or divert attention at the moment when breath eased, after words did not lead to weapons drawn. But you are in a friendly hall, among allies, with entry no longer discouraged. Do you continue regardless, for selfish joy, as he might?”

Eirik glanced at Stella, then back to Jumping Spider. "If so, perhaps it is you who should worry.“

Jumping Spider laughed, then looked at Yiskah. "What a marvelous fellow. Where did you find him?”

“He followed Flicker home,” said Yiskah, deadpan.

“And you asked if you could keep him?”

It was Eirik’s turn to laugh. "Eyetaker did not ask.“

Jumping Spider was expert at verbal barbs and innuendo–but so was Eirik. And he was an empath with several hundred years of experience. He could easily go on all day.

They didn’t have all day. Stella cleared her throat. "If you’re done for the moment, I have a few things I would like to discuss.”

“Yes,” said Jumping Spider. She turned to Breakpoint. "Yiskah is eager for that sparring match you promised, I can tell. Go on.“ She made a shooing gesture with her hand.

No such match had been discussed, as far as Stella knew. Breakpoint raised an eyebrow at Yiskah. "Are you?” he asked.

“Sure,” said Yiskah. "The second floor gym is free.“

The two of them headed for the stairs with Eirik, and Stella got on the elevator with Jumping Spider.

"How bad?” asked Stella, as soon as the doors closed.

“Bad. I asked Flicker to check on the Box because the dead ends we hit made me suspect Tabula Rasa. And he’d never have the resources to attempt an indirect viral assassination on his own, even if he wanted to–which he wouldn’t. He’s not crazy, and Flicker never did anything to him. Everything points to a deep cover group from an American TLA, using Tabula Rasa and leaving no electronic communication trail in order to hide from DASI. Which means hello again, Lost Years, unless we want to pretend they didn’t try. And Flicker won’t, will she?”

“No.”

“I know Doc set some kind of evidence threshold before she can go postal on the US intelligence community, because she wouldn’t agree to 'No, never’. How close is she to it?”

“Close enough that you might push it over. And DASI won’t lie to her.”

“Can you keep her on a leash, if it comes to that? I can only kill people so quickly, and there’s a limit to how many.”

“No. But I can demand extradition of those responsible, on pain of war, and tell her to wait until I’m done. She’ll listen, for the Volunteer’s sake.”

“Problem with that. Mr. Exploded Brain could well have been the only formal connection, because they were so paranoid about Doc. So the higher ups may not have any specifics.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll require a clean sweep of every dark group that DASI can’t verify as uninvolved if I have to. The legal system I’m operating under makes financing war crimes extraditable. Ignorance is no defense if your job includes proper supervision. Like the Intelligence Authorization Act mandates. So I can go after the President and everyone in Congress who voted for the last funding bill if they decide to make a stand on deniability.”

“You’ve been busy.”

“You have no idea. DASI and I have already worked out contingencies to prevent having to finish more than one war with the United States.”

“Heh. The Russians will be jealous.”

“Not if they fire a nuclear-tipped ABM at Black Swan first.”

“Oh, we’re going to have a fun afternoon. I can tell.”



Next: Chapter 31

