Darwin's Paradox (13 page)

“Zane.” Julie blew out a breath. “What’s that got to do with Proteus and me—”

“Networks of communication can make this viral population very small. And key ‘nodes’ may serve critical functions. Every veemeld in Icaria is a node in Proteus’s network, based on their affinity to communicate with Proteus and A.I.s through Interact-SYM. And you—well, you’re a
super
node, Julie.”

“This all sounds very Dystopian, Zane.” She narrowed her eyes skeptically. “You sure are talking out of turn a lot here...”

He flashed one of his bulletproof grins. “Not really. Since you left over a decade ago, Burke’s regime has taken a much softer approach to dystopian thinking. Chaos, complexity and network theories are all quietly in vogue again with scientists.”

That was twenty years too late for her father who’d been persecuted for promoting Fairweather’s heretical science, Julie thought soberly.

“Look.” Zane leaned forward, his grin gone and eyes suddenly deep. “What I’m saying is that you give off smells you’re not aware of sending; you send a million signals you’re unaware of, do a million things unconsciously. These are all communicated subtly, or not so subtly, from person to person. What makes you angry, sad, what makes you suddenly long for something...” He paused and she felt a jolt of adrenalin, thinking of Proteus and her longing to return to Icaria. “Think of the irrevocable change inside of you, your connection with autopoietic machines and how you passed Darwin on to your daughter...”

She leaned back against the lab workbench, suddenly breathless and weak-kneed at his mention of Angel and what it suggested. “We don’t know what Proteus wants,” she could barely breathe out the words.

Zane hiked his brows in response. “Listen Julie,” he said softly, “if we break the connection with the A.I.s, particularly through you and SAM, we also stop Darwin.”

Julie swallowed and stared at Zane for some time. This was what he was getting at! “SAM was my best friend, you know,” she admitted, looking down at the floor. She whispered, “I’ve never told anyone that.” Not even Daniel.

Zane nodded gravely. “SAM and I never did get along very well,” he admitted. “If I didn’t know better I’d have said SAM was peevish and downright rude.” He raised his brows and shrugged. “Maybe SAM changed since you knew it, since it teamed up with Proteus.” He lifted his hands to her in a gesture of emphasis. “It’s up to you, of course. But remember this: You’re probably the only person who can shut down the core and break that link, because only you may be able to talk SAM into letting you have access to the breach console. Only you can do it. For all of Icaria.”

She sighed. Terrific. Lay on the guilt trip. Save the world, Julie. Just kill your best friend to do it. But SAM wasn’t a friend anymore was he?

“Why should I believe that shutting SAM down will break the connection with Proteus? What evidence do you have that’ll convince me to kill SAM?”

Zane smiled suddenly. “Well, you, for instance.” She tilted her head and waited for him to explain. “You can only talk with Proteus when SAM’s around, right? When you’re in veemeld, right?”

He’d missed her dreamtime but the fact that he’d gotten the other part right annoyed her and sent a shaft of alarm through her gut. How in chaos did
he
know? She stood up suddenly and said brusquely, “Thanks for the information.”

“But, what are you going to do?” he stammered, all flustered. “You’re going to shut them down, right?” He looked desperate. “You’re going to do it, right?” He grabbed her arm.

She stared pointedly down at his restraining hand until he let go, embarrassed. “I don’t know, Zane,” she said, looking him directly in the eyes. “I just don’t know.” She turned to the door to the outer room where Tyers was waiting.

“I
trust that Nakita’s explained the problem to you,” Frank said, closing his suite door behind her as she entered the leisure room of his Pol Station office and left Tyers waiting in the hall. She felt Frank’s savage eyes undressing her as she sidled past him and smelled his sweat, sharp and oily like the drug he drank.

“He did,” Julie said, walking to the chairs and table in the center of the room but not sitting down. She turned to face him and leaned against the table with her backside and hands.

“So, I’ll get Aubry to supply you with the necessary information about impregnating the core—”

“I didn’t say I’d do it.”

His eyes froze on her like water on ice. “What do you mean?” His voice had grown stiff and she noticed his hands clench by his sides.

“I won’t do anything without a few assurances,” she said evenly. “Are you in the position to make them?”

His mouth slackened into a smirk. “That depends. What kind of assurances?”

“That my family and I will be left at peace in the heath. No more spies and no more attempts on our lives.”

His brows rose and a cold smile snaked across his lips. “Well, is that all you want?”

She folded her arms across her breast and studied his face, wondering if he was being sarcastic. “Can you do it? If not, who can?”

“Of course I can,” he scoffed, swinging a hand out with some annoyance. She’d piqued his sense of importance, obviously. “Consider it done,” he said. “Anything else?” He raised his head, let his eyes droop lazily and gave her a smug smile.

Julie narrowed her eyes. “Wait. Just like that? Okay, so you can call people like Tyers off. What about the assassins? Surely you didn’t send them too?”

He laughed sharply and, obviously realizing that this might take a while, dropped into a chair and indicated with a sarcastic sweep of his hand for her to take one as well. “No, of course not,” he retorted. “But I know who did.”

“Secret Pols,” she prompted, sliding like a cat into a seat across from him.

“No. Burke eradicated them all.”

“Dystopians, then.”

Another cold smile curled on his lips and he shook his head. “Most of them went along with the Secret Pols.”

She frowned. “Wait a minute. These attackers were carrying Secret Pol-issue weapons, like silent laser guns and assassin gun-mounts “

He nodded. “Impressive. You remembered. I only showed you once. Your pursuers may have come from a splinter group of old Dystopians. They call themselves the Vee-radicators. They’re terrorists, plain and simple. Some kind of extremist Luddite types. They belong to a growing sub-culture in the outer-city fringe that believe in self-mutilation,” he ended with a sour look of disgust. Julie remembered the scarred and mutilated face of the assassin she’d killed in the heath.

“Like the Dystopians before them, the Vee-radicators think you’re the worst thing since chaos,” Frank continued, pointing at her with a wagging finger. “You’re at the top of their ‘hit list’.” A sardonic smile smeared across his face. “Always in the fray, aren’t you? Anyway, they somehow got hold of a shipment of Secret Pol guns that Burke had made illegal in Icaria-5. We figure they got them from one of the other, less progressive Icarias.”

Perhaps Tyers hadn’t killed Aard after all. “So they killed Aard?”

“Aard?” Frank looked puzzled.

“Isaard Henigen. The Pol who was spying on me since day one.”

“Oh, Burke’s man. Yeah, Tyers told me about him. Pity.” Frank shrugged and didn’t look too put out by Aard’s demise. “Henigen disobeyed my orders not to return to the heath.”

“And because he did, I’m still alive to help you now,” she pointed out. “How’d these Vee-radicators find out where I was and why did they start trying to kill me just in the last few months?”

Frank leaned his head back and stretched, resting his arms along the back of the couch. He smiled to himself as if to a private joke.

“You do ask smart questions. You always did,” he said with a smug smile.

He obviously had no intention of answering it either, she thought. Okay, buddy. “So you can guarantee the elimination of the Vee-radicators?”

His eyes wrinkled with a sly smile. “Let’s just say, they won’t bother you anymore. That I can guarantee.”

She found that difficult to accept on faith alone. “Who’s your boss, Frank?” she demanded. “Is it Dykstra?”

He laughed in quick nervous spasms. “Of course not. Dykstra works for me in Covert Ops. He’s the one who found you and had Tyers bring you in.”

“Who’s the mayor of Icaria-5? Is it still Victor Burke?”

“No,” Frank said flatly. At least he was telling her some of the truth, she thought. Frank shook his head with a frown. “Since Burke brought me into his confidence and made me the Head Pol twelve years ago, he’s done a few good things, like get rid of the Secret Pols, most of whom were secretly Dystopians anyway. He also pretty much destroyed the actual Dystopian organization by arresting the ringleaders. Mind you, Darwin did more to stop the Dystopian movement by losing its lethal quality. Took the wind out of their sails, I guess...” He was referring to the major reason for their subversion against a government they considered feckless, corrupt and malignant: that it seemed to do nothing against Darwin.

Frank’s eyes glazed over for a moment and Julie pictured him, fighting the disease. It must have been the hardest and scariest thing he’d faced in his life, she thought, recalling his extreme dislike for sickness. He obviously blamed her for it. Were those dark circles under his eyes a permanent remnant of his fierce battle?

“But then, as time went by,” Frank went on, “things started to fall apart on Burke, like he was losing control of everything. His people, his A.I. network. He was never a man of action.” Frank shrugged. “Burke was strange and he made some stupid decisions. Then he got into some trouble and disappeared. One of the Circle members stepped in.”

Gaia. “And who’s that?” she asked, managing to keep her voice calm.

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Their image and voice is scrambled on my communications with them. The code name’s Gee. That’s all I know.” He grinned, almost embarrassed. “Honest.”

G, for Gaia, Julie thought. So, what had happened to Victor Burke? His disappearance seemed to play a key role in the recent debauchery of Icaria-5. His disappearance appeared linked to Icaria’s sudden interest in her, too. Or was it simply Gaia reeling Julie in, now that she’d reinstated herself?

Frank wasn’t sharing an awful lot with her, she realized. Keeping his cards close to his chest beneath a cavalier show. That was Frank’s hallmark, and he’d trapped many an unsuspecting prey with it. So Burke had eradicated the Secret Pols. There were still people like Tyers and Dykstra in Frank’s employ. Obviously some new breed of secret Pol. Did they, like the originals, also report to Gaia? Julie didn’t doubt it for a moment as she studied Frank’s arrogant face. He probably didn’t know it either, she thought. Just like the Head Pol before him. Even if he’d read her cube before giving it to Burke, Frank wouldn’t have made the connection between Icaria’s new mayor and Gaia. But something about what he’d said earlier suggested to her that he hadn’t perused her cube before surrendering it to Burke, so he knew nothing of Gaia’s conspiracy and the innocence of Julie’s father.

Frank leaned forward with an air of getting back on topic, trusting that he’d answered all her questions to her satisfaction. “So, will you do it? Disable the core for us?”

“I need to think about it. That’s what I told Zane.”

“What’s to think about?” He glowered, definitely annoyed with her. He leaned back again, sighed, then leaned forward suddenly. “The A.I.s have gone mad, Julie. They want to take over and we can’t let that happen. They’ll ruin Icaria. Make it into some cyber-dictatorship “

“Like the techno-slums of the inner-city?” she challenged. “Full of starving orphans barely living off nano-soup. Your government’s content with that situation. Just so long as it isn’t you—”

“You don’t understand,” he cut in. “It’s chaos in there.” Then he tipped his head with a sudden smirk, as if he’d changed his mind about something in mid-thought. His eyes glinted in a way that made her extremely uncomfortable. “Just like your hair,” he said. “Your hair was always wild like that. Unruly. Unmanageable. Untamable...like you.” His hand reached out.

“Terrific,” she muttered in disgust, jerking out of his grasp. She snapped to her feet and headed for the door.

“We’re more alike than you think,” he said, flying across the room to cut her off. “You and I share something very special.” She knew he meant Darwin and felt her chest tighten with guilt. “We’re meant for each other,” he whispered hoarsely. He moved closer to her still and barred the door, forcing her to back into the wall. She found herself focusing on the little space between his two front teeth. His eyes were dark, seething with anger and heat. Perhaps they did belong together, she reconsidered with lurid humor—fitting for a victim to victimize his attacker; then she was instantly both horrified and angry with herself for thinking that. She didn’t feel that guilty, she thought. He pushed so close she could feel his warm breath blowing on her face. It smelled rank, like rotten cabbage.

“Get out of my way,” she said, squirming to get around him.

“Why so coy all of a sudden?” he said, grinning through the side of his mouth. “You were pretty receptive in my bed last night “

“I was delirious!”

A feverish vision erupted in her mind: of clutching a man’s—Daniel’s—strong arms, of pressing her face into his chest, of being kissed and stroked. It hadn’t been a dream. And it certainly hadn’t been Daniel. Frank now leaned into her like the first time he’d brazenly seduced her so long ago in her uncle’s apartment. She smelled his scent, a mixture of sweet smoke and sweat and felt anger surging.

“I have a husband,” she huffed, pushing him off.

“Where?” His arms stretched out to block her from sliding sideways from him. “Besides, he’s not officially your husband,” he whispered menacingly. “You don’t have to worry about getting pregnant with me,” he quipped as if that was the reason for her rejection. “Like half of Icaria, my gametes are dead.”

“What?” she shrilled in exasperation.

He misunderstood the reason for her outburst. “Yeah. Our whole population’s going sterile. So, no complications.” He smirked conspiratorially.

“We’re not having this discussion,” she hissed, trying vainly to push him off again as he tilted his pelvis into hers.

“Fine,” he said. “No more talking.” His lips closed over hers.

With a burst of adrenalin she squirmed free, slithered under his arms and pushed away. Her chest heaved as her panic was suborned by growing fury.

“Don’t ever do that again!” she shrieked.

He looked momentarily embarrassed, but it didn’t last long. “Vee, you look beautiful when you’re mad. Those eyes just catch like a raging forest fire. And your face glows.” His laughter had an unpleasant edge to it. “Ah, Julie.” He shook his head slowly. “You really haven’t changed.”

Was he remembering all the times she’d succumbed so easily, so pathetically, under his casual and arrogant overtures? It had always been in some filthy lower level corridor or abandoned shop or side-stairwell, too...like the one she’d caught him in, humping some other girl.

“I have changed,” she spit back, fists clenching and unclenching at her sides. How had she ever let this insensitive animal seduce her in the first place? “And if you had the fortitude to get past your raging hormones, you’d have noticed that I have a family now. My home is the heath. I’m not an Icarian anymore and I don’t have time to play your childish games.”

His eyes flared with resentment, but he swiftly buried it and just smiled sadly. “Can’t blame an old guy for trying. There was a time when you welcomed my touch...” he trailed, looking uncharacteristically maudlin.

“I was a lot younger and...more foolish then,” she said curtly.

He didn’t flinch at her insulting words. Instead he surprised her with an apology, “I’m sorry, Julie. It’s just that you’re still a very sexy lady. Hey,” he shrugged and brought out his hands, giving her a sweeping appraisal, “more than ever.” He turned on one of those charming grins that used to melt her resolve. “No hard feelings? I promise to be a good boy. Truce?” His puppy-look, the same one that used to sway her to forgive him for anything, just made him look foolish now.

Yet she felt a small smile tug at her lips. “Okay. Truce.”

“Then you’ll do it? Shut down the core?”

She exhaled and willed her fists to unclench. “Yes. I’ll do it.” For her family. She refused to fail them like she had her sister.