Absorption (14 page)

“Take your time thinking it over, Brett. Don’t let anyone pressure you if they don’t want to take responsibility for issuing orders.”

Barr lifted his hands to his face. Presumably he was removing his VR glasses, which were edited out of Brett’s view in favor of Barr’s eyes, which were scanned by a tiny camera inside the glasses. Barr politely walked out of the conference room instead of disconnecting, so Brett saw him leave via door instead of popping out of existence. Brett sat thinking in the empty room for a minute or so.

Brett closed his eyes, removed the glasses, then waited a few seconds before opening them again. This was the textbook way to remove VR glasses without getting dizzy, which he hadn’t bothered with in a long time.

Now he sat alone at a little section of conference table, facing the corner of the small room.

Ambassador Nocker said earnestly, “Doctor Johnson, I want to add my apologies to those you’ve already received for how you were treated at the Ulayn Herbirthday celebration.”

A butterfly fluttered outside the screen, which enclosed the same porch which had hosted their previous negotiations. Right now Brett felt no impulse to allow the beauty of nature to distract him from the endless talk. Nocker had put himself almost where Brett wanted him.

Brett leaned back against the carved wooden chair, trying to speak casually instead of sounding ready to pounce. “I can’t help wondering if you’re worried about the wrong thing. Yes I was made to feel isolated, but no big deal. What about all the other people there, manipulated into not seeing me, not noticing me, or making mistaken assumptions about me?”

Nocker frowned. “I don’t think you can really claim to speak for them. Many would regret the perversion of tradition, but few would feel personally victimized. Are we working round to another claim that we should be grateful to be liberated from the hive mind whose dangers we don’t fully appreciate?”

Put that way, it sounded silly, but Brett could do better. “Not quite. But if I tried to suggest some unseen dangers of the nanotechnological interface, it does seem you would assume any concern is based on a raw unreasoning fear by members of the Federalist Worlds.”

Nocker replied, “Not assume as such. But during these particular negotiations, you might not be too interested in dispassionately considering any criticisms we might offer of your political or military system.”

Damn. That was true. But Brett still had a point to make. “It does seem a lot of young people come here with unreasonable expectations, especially before the blockade went into effect. That seems to weight against your idea of blind fear.”

Nocker shook his head. “Wish fulfillment and fear fulfillment are two sides of the same coin.”

Suddenly Brett wondered if whatsisname – Tetsudo – included the verbal art of self defense. Nocker was turning everything around. Even so, Brett pressed ahead. “I’m considering Napoleon’s suggestion. Would anything I do get us beyond the notion that we’re driven by blind fear regarding Oceania instead of rational caution?”

Nocker hesitated – and Ames answered instead. “Not really. We’re not concerned about the emotions of one man, but of trillions. Napoleon’s offer to you was well meant, but in some ways it looks back to a time when Oceanians believed everyone would eagerly embrace our technology after it was shown to them. I respect tradition, but in some respects the old guard needs to give way to the new.”

Nocker turned to stare at Ames, and for the first time Brett wondered if different factions were represented by the two men. Before the older Oceanian could speak, Ames continued. “I realize how uncomfortable even the suggestion must have made you. I’m sorry for that, but assure you there was no ill intention. You can forget the whole thing.”

Somehow they had progressed from theories about the motivations of the Federalist Worlds to a discussion of Brett. The implication that the mere thought would unbalance him stung.

Williams answered for him. “I assure you Major Johnson will make his decision on policy grounds, and received the offer in good part. For the moment perhaps we should move on to …”

Brett tried to follow the discussion, but ideas crowded into his mind. Could a rift in the Oceanian government be exploited? In the bright morning sunlight the exploration of nanotechnology seemed more like an adventure and less like doom. Despite everything, he felt curious and a longing still lingered for the community he had witnessed. After a discussion with Napoleon, Ariel had indeed volunteered to help him get started. It would be fun to see her again, although Brett knew he wasn’t silly enough to let that weigh significantly in such a momentous decision.

When they finally wound up for the day, Brett wondered how much he had missed in his distraction. He hoped there wouldn’t be questions about it later. Colonel Barr had arranged another virtual conference for the afternoon.

“Major Johnson, this is Lieutenant General Pendergastman. He’s not in your chain of command, and you won’t be reporting to him, but I’ve invited him today to ask you a few questions.”

The sour expression on Colonel Barr’s face vanished quickly, but there were other clues to his feelings about Pendergastman. A one-star general could properly be referred to as ‘General Pendergastman,’ but Barr declined to do so. Then the emphasis on what Brett already knew, that he did not report to Pendergastman.

Brett shifted his attention to the general. Every crease in his uniform was sharp, and his mustache trimmed with military precision. Did Barr consider the man a martinet? Or did he believe the rumors about Pendergastman? There were certain interrogation techniques the Space Force tried hard to avoid, but which circumstances sometimes required in an emergency. Pendergastman was said to be an expert on these techniques, and a bit too comfortable using them.

The general said, “Senator Peterson suggested I speak with you.”

That raised the man a couple of notches in Brett’s estimation. “Sir, what can I help you with?”

Pendergastman replied, “Part of your mission is to find weaknesses in the Oceanian military which will make the war easier to win if it can’t be avoided. Tell me what you’ve found.”

Surely the general had talked this over with Barr – it hadn’t been too long since the previous conference where this was covered. Brett suspected Lieutenant General Pendergastman was leading up to something else, but he answered directly and didn’t try to leap ahead.

“General, our previous thoughts may have been headed in the wrong direction, looking for an urban or industrial bottleneck which we could plug. I understand their soldiers wear caps and hip booster boxes, just as the civilians do. I suspect the wireless communications between these devices isn’t too much different from that used by our own machines. An electromagnetic pulse at a critical moment could disrupt enemy operations. If they get more out of their equipment they must be more dependent on it and will take valuable time before they switch to ordinary means of communications. They could be quite dependent on nanotechnology, perhaps less able to operate as individuals, even after they recover from the shock.”

Pendergastman grunted. “Uh. It’s been tried – in use even when you worked on Roundhouse. The equipment is shielded, so it takes a big bang to effect even a limited area. And the soldiers recover faster than you think.”

Brett thought a moment. “I’ll keep working on it, but there’s something else I wanted to try meanwhile. I’m probably monitored, but I doubt all the people I’m interviewing are. One might cooperate. Even just going to a bookstore and buying some nonclassified books on the technology could get us more than expected.”

The general made the noise again. “Uh. That’s been done too. We had samples of the technology even before Roundhouse. Even a few people who knew how to use it. Emigration isn’t all one way, you know.”

Brett inhaled, took a moment to phase his comment carefully. “General, with respect, it seems like I could be given more classified background information than I have been to direct me in the right direction.”

No more grunts. Instead Pendergastman fixed his hard black eyes directly on Brett. “You’re not an intelligence analyst. Your orders involve the gathering of data, and it’s your job to find a way to do so.”

Brett replied cautiously, “Sir, it sounds almost as if you feel there’s only one way to do that job, and even though you’re not supposed to order me to use that way, you consider it implied in the instructions I have received.”

Colonel Barr grinned for a moment, then deliberately wiped it away. Presumably an electronic record of the conference would remain.

In a way Brett could understand the General’s point of view. Whatever Brett risked now could save many lives later. Either the man needed to do whatever he could to get around the prohibition from above, or his superiors had actively encouraged him to do anything short of issuing an official order.

But Brett didn’t like to be bullied. He sat waiting politely for the order which clearly would not come – for whatever reason.

All the General said was, “Do your job.”

Brett replied. “I will sir. I believe there is information you could clear me for that would enable me to do it more effectively.”

The other nodded curtly. Abruptly Brett saw complete darkness. The man had broken the connection.

“Come in,” Williams said.

Brett did so, wondering why Williams used this office. It had no windows. The climate controlled, artificially lit room might as well have been back on the Firestorm.

The desk was made of rosewood. A jade and onyx chess set stood off to the side, as if for decoration rather than use.

Brett said, “Nice chess set. Mind if I take a look?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

Brett picked up the jade king’s pawn and examined it briefly. He put it down two squares in front of the original position, amused to think a man who used a chess set for decoration would not recognize the implied challenge, let alone reply.

“Thanks for coming Brett. Senator Peterson got a personal message in the last set of courier drones. His private detectives have verified his son paid a smuggler to take him to Oceania.”

Brett considered this for a moment and shrugged. “Maybe the Oceanians forwarded the messages your predecessors gave to them, but Gregory didn’t like them. We can try again, but I’m sure the Senator would agree that right now his son is low on our list of priorities.”

Williams narrowed his eyes. “I’m sorry we started out on the wrong foot. I’ve underestimated you several times, but no matter how much of an idiot you think I am, if there’s one thing in the universe I know more about than you, its politics.”

“I’ve never called you an idiot.”

The Ambassador moved the queen’s pawn to the center of the board. He didn’t have to stretch since his chair had wheels. Brett considered the unusual choice seriously. Possibly Williams liked the center counter gambit. That was a rare bird, a random move from ignorance seemed more likely.

Although Williams had arranged the meeting, Brett had wanted to speak with him anyway. Colonel Barr had felt he should keep the Ambassador informed. Since the project wouldn’t be secret in any event, failing to notify him would antagonize him to no purpose.

“I may be putting Oceanian nanotechnology into my body.”

Williams looked blank for a moment. “They ordered you to do
what
?”

Brett found the tone of shock oddly gratifying. The Ambassador might talk as if Brett and the Space Force were war mongers, but if this were the cost of peace, Williams couldn’t even imagine paying it himself. Absently Brett captured the pawn.

“I sort of volunteered. It will show our position isn’t based on fear and ignorance.”

Brett left out the military and espionage potential of the project, since the Ambassador was unlikely to be helpful. Then he frowned at his own overstatement. He hadn’t decided yet, although it perversely appealed that Williams might talk of tolerance and acceptance and accuse him of wanting to start a war, but only Brett could bring himself to do something that might actually enhance mutual understanding.

The silence stretched. Finally Williams said, “Some think becoming part of the Oceanian worldnet can make people less than human. I can’t recall your exact words, but…”

Brett nodded. “If we can convince them it will be worth it. Many will die if there’s war.”

Every cloud had a silver lining. He had found a way to render the Ambassador speechless. Williams was a rather good chess player, and Brett took advantage of his astonishment. When his turn arrived, the Ambassador barely glanced at the board before moving, as if playing on autopilot.

Brett continued when it was clear the Ambassador wouldn’t speak. “Of course, from the moment the stuff enters my bloodstream, I’m suspect. Everyone will know to examine what I say very carefully. Assuming I’m still me, I may find some helpful insights.”

Until that moment, Brett hadn’t realized he had decided. He tried to remember all the things that had gone into that decision. Some of them might be silly or petty, but that was only human. Perhaps the results of his actions might justify his motives in retrospect. His weaknesses had enabled him to do the unthinkable as much as his strengths.

The Ambassador found his tongue at last. “I salute your courage. Your bravery is worth more than what I called my open mindedness.”