James P. Hogan (30 page)

Korshak and Rikku, clad in the white tunics without cloaks of the junior-clerk rank, sat with the other novices at the back, several rows behind a block of darker robes that included Furch. The hall was almost full, permeated by a murmur of voices in subdued tones. However, a line of maybe a dozen or more seats was still empty, right at the front on the left-hand side. Korshak touched Rikku’s shoulder and indicated them with a nod of his head. “Who are those seats for? Any idea?”

“No, I haven’t. Must be a special category of some kind.”

“There don’t seem to be many in it.”

But even as Korshak spoke, a side door opened, and a line of robed figures with cowls covering their faces filed silently out and took their places in the empty row. He recognized them as the Genhedrin caste that he had seen in the refectory at lunch the day before.

Then a burly, bearded figure in a dark gray robe with the hood thrown back – Banker Lareda, no less – appeared from the wings and mounted the rostrum steps to commence the proceedings. He extended his arms, and with the exception of the row of Genehdrin, who continued to sit solemn and motionless, the hall rose. Korshak’s briefing the day before had prepared him for what to expect. The first item, led by Lareda in his resounding bass-baritone, was the Dollarian anthem, “Prevail and Prosper,” in keeping with the general spirit, somewhere between a hymn and a march, delivered by the entire company with full-throated fervor. Memorizing the words had been one of Korshak’s initial tasks, and he sang along with all the vigor and expression of an earnest believer and seeker at last finding his element. The chances had to be pretty good, he figured, that the place was monitored by recording cameras. Everyone then sat, and Lareda proceeded into a series of inspirational messages and announcements for the day that turned out to be the buildup for the principal dignitary to be appearing that morning, who had materialized from the rear and moved forward to the rostrum side of the stage as the introduction was made. Lareda then descended the steps and stood aside deferentially to make way for Archbanker Sorba. Applause was evidently not in order. The hall sat in rapt and expectant silence.

Sorba wore an ankle-length cope richly embroidered in gold and yellow, with a red cassock and skullcap. He had a white, flowing beard that reached to the top of his chest, and a pink, yet delicately formed face in which his eyes caught the hall lights to gleam like pinpoints of metal as he turned his head this way and that to emphasize a point or underline a pause, every move and tone studied and calculated. As one who had devoted many years of his life to mastering the arts of communication, persuasion, and suggestion, Korshak was impressed – and mindful of the effect it was having on those around him.

The first part of Sorba’s address reaffirmed some of the key articles of party doctrine, most of which Korshak was familiar with by now. The importance that the present administration was giving to unity and cooperativeness conflicted with the ideal of diversity stressed by the mission’s founders. The idea of people wanting to live in harmony sounded nice, but it stultified the spirit of aggressive self-reliance that the descendants on Hera would have to preserve if they were to have a viable future. The way to preserve it was through the dynamic of robust competition and the accompanying cultivation of excellence that had prevailed across the old world. From the Dollarian movement that would protect the vision of
Aurora
today would grow the power capable of building the new world tomorrow. That was the first time Korshak had heard it openly declared that the aim was to gain political power over the mission. He noted also that all the way through, Sorba made constant references to ancient Earth and its peoples, stressing their cultural and genetic heritage, and kinship to those present. It was an effective ploy for winning the sympathies of people in the present circumstances, alone in the vastness of space with only memories and records to link them them with their ancestral home.

At that point Sorba paused portentously and swept his eyes around the auditorium. His voice lightened to a more conversational tone. “Yesterday evening, I was talking with Banker Lareda, and he told me about a newcomer among us that he interviewed recently, who was drawn to the movement by a desire to learn more of the power that ruled over the old world. And this was very good. It’s a sign that our word is spreading and being listened to. However, this newcomer saw it purely as a secular technique, effective in attaining material accumulation and physical superiority in the battles of human affairs. He dismissed the reality of any higher source of inspiration and guidance because some of the other… shall we say ‘bodies’?… that we are obliged to share space with here on Etanne have professed simplistic beliefs, and used elementary deceptions in their attempts to promote them. I have heard this kind of thing before, and it disturbs me.”

Sorba paused to let the hall reflect on this, his arms braced, hands gripping the edges of the lectern at the front of the rostrum. “It disturbs me greatly, and I want to say a few words for the benefit of any others who may be harboring similar inclinations toward such a mistaken impression…. Can anyone really believe that a force with the potency to win over an entire planet, finally triumphing over all its adversaries and rivals, drew its strength from nothing more than ambitions of avarice and domination? Yes, it had the effect of satisfying such desires, but these were
effects
, not
causes
! In the same way, the fact of being alive gives rise to needs for us to eat and breathe, and the needs manifest themselves as desires that prompt us to appropriate action. Eating and breathing are not the causes of life, but serve the needs that are in its nature. And so it is in the nature of human cultures to expand and prevail, and it is this nature that derives from a higher plane of life that calls forth the actions that are appropriate to those ends.”

The whole audience was tense and silent as it took in the message. Sorba raised his hand and extended a finger for emphasis. “Let no one here be mistaken. The universe consists of more than the stars and nebulas and galaxies that we see extending away in whatever direction we look – however far into the unprobed depths of physical space they may extend! Because there is a realm that transcends physical space, from which flows powers that defy the limits that physical dimensions impose, and
this
is the source from which life and growth are driven. And here lie the roots of who and what we are.”

Rikku, who had an open viewpad on his knee and was making notes with a stylus, gave Korshak a quiet nudge, as if to say
I told you
.

On the rostrum, Sorba continued, “I will remind you of some of the things you have heard that you may have forgotten. The fiscal sages of the old order knew and were in communication with this reality. That was what gave them mastery over a whole world. Sofi, despite its material achievements, could never equal them. There are some of us today, who are rediscovering that reality. In our day-to-day routine – and especially in our dealings with others outside of the order – we tend not to discuss this side of our activities. This is partly because the time is not ripe yet for a proper understanding and acceptance of what we have to offer. And not least, to avoid our being thought guilty of the kinds of trickery resorted to by our neighbors, that I alluded to a moment ago.”

Sorba’s voice fell, drawing the last iotas of attention like a receding light. “But I will now share something with you that I would not normally divulge, even in a gathering such as this, because it is pertinent to what I have been saying. Those among us who have attained, shall we say, a deeper level of contact with the reality that lies beyond the senses, are sometimes privileged with knowledge that is not explainable within the framework of the perceived one-way cause-and-effect relationship that the nature of physical reality imposes. In short, events that have yet to come to pass can reveal themselves to us.” Sorba shrugged dismissively. “Among certain religious systems that I remember from past years on Earth, that entertained aspirations or pretenses of that nature, it was known as prophecy. We choose not to glorify ourselves with any such appellations, but accept it simply as a fact of the condition to which our explorations have led us.” He turned his head for a moment to gaze at the row of cowled Genhedrin.

“I’m sure I don’t have to remind anyone here of the serious situation we face as a result of our growing numbers and the finiteness of our material resources – a situation that will persist far into the future, beyond the lifetimes of any of us. Nor do I need to comment on the irresponsibility of the
Envoy
project, which intends to send an invaluable portion of those resources away to where they can be of no tangible use or benefit in helping to alleviate the situation. Many voices are being raised across Constellation to contest the decision. And yes, we add ours to them because it gains us sympathy and visibility, which advances our cause.”

A thoughtful expression came over Korshak’s face as his eyes followed Sorba’s to look again at the Genhedrin. The first problem he faced was determining the whereabouts of Tek. All members of the order were required to attend the daily General Meeting, he had been told.
All?
Right there, just a matter of yards away, was a perfect means for concealing a member of the company that might otherwise have trouble passing muster visually. Interesting.

Sorba continued, “But let me tell you now that, useful as they may be in elevating the public consciousness, the fears are ungrounded. So you may all sleep easily and devote your energies to other things. Why do I say this? Because the vision of the future that I have seen reveals that
Envoy
will not become a reality. Can I prove it to you? No, because demands for proof are applicable to the mechanical reality of matter and forces that we have risen beyond. It is something that I
know
with a certainty based on faith, which I am asking you to share. The same faith that gave the Dollar” – Sorba half turned and raised an arm to indicate the large $sign suspended above the stage —” hegemony over Earth. And the faith that will see it rise again one day, over Hera! I leave this message with you, so that when the reality unfolds as has been foreseen, then all of you, too, will believe.”

Sorba straightened up at the rostrum and looked squarely out at the hall.
“Prosper and Prevail!”

“AMEN!”
came the mass response.

Furch came up to Korshak and Rikku afterward, amid the figures milling and dispersing in the foyer outside the Assembly Hall doors. “What did you think?” he asked eagerly. His face was still radiant after the revelations.

“It exceeds all my dreams!” Rikku enthused. “I’ve truly arrived at my destiny.”

“Well, you did pick a somewhat exceptional day to begin.”

“No, I mean it.”

“And you, Shakor?”

“Can I wait until we see what happens with
Envoy
?” Korshak replied. He knew it wasn’t the right answer to give but said it anyway.

Furch looked at him reproachfully. “You know, you only erect your own barriers to advancement with such an attitude,” he said.

“I’m sure the company and support here will change it,” Rikku put in. “Remember, Shakor has had an unusual, solitary situation to contend with.”

“I’m glad that you understand,” Korshak acknowledged.

Furch was looking at him strangely, his head inclined to one side. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you were the newcomer that Archbanker Sorba was talking about just now,” he said. Korshak grinned faintly, shrugged, and said nothing.

“Well, Rikku and I have things to do this morning,” Furch told him. “Is there anything you need me to help you with?”

“No. I think that Banker Lareda has arranged for me to introduce myself in the workshops. My past experience should make me useful there.”

“Do you know the way?”

“I’m sure I can find it, thanks. And I have to collect some things from my cell first.”

“Very well, then. We’ll see you later, Shakor. Possibly at lunch.”

Korshak was tempted to say that he wasn’t up to prophesying things like that yet, but thought better of it.

He made his way through to the dormitory section of narrow passages and doors, and ascended two levels to the tiny cell he had been given, designed to accommodate two but with no other occupant at present. It contained two cots, chairs, closets, and standard viewpads for use as study terminals, a shared table and set of shelves, and a washbasin. Inside, he closed the door, made sure it was secure, and then retrieved his bag from inside the closet he was using and set it down on one of the cots. Lois had obtained it from Lubanov’s people somehow and shown him how to use it.

It had the look of being well used, and was of a modest-size backpack design, as would be appropriate for anyone spending time on a place like Plantation. One of the things that was unusual about it, however, was the adjustment slide on the right-hand strap, which, when pressed the right way, opened out on one edge and came away as a flat box-shape with one of its sides open – like a pair of square, parallel jaws. Korshak detached it and turned to the table where the two viewpads were lying. Taking one of them, he turned it around and located the quartz aperture at the rear that the unit’s infrared signals passed through to communicate with equipment built into the room. He slipped the jaws around the edge of the viewpad, positioning it such that the aperture aligned with the interface disk on the inside of the hinge piece, and clipped the attachment tight.

One of the first things Korshak had discovered was that novices were not permitted regular phones – he wasn’t sure yet how far this might be the case with other ranks also. Lubanov’s people must have known it, too, which made Korshak suspect that more had transpired than Lubanov’s merely “wanting” to put somebody inside the Academy as Lois had been told. But the inmates needed to study, and if life was not to be made impossibly restricted, that would mean having access to the general Constellation web and the resources that it served. The model of viewpad provided in the novices’ cells didn’t include regular communications capability. However, to be usable it had to send command information into the web as well as return desired information from it. The attachment that Korshak had fitted over its input-output port enabled information from a chip built into the backpack slide to be multiplexed into the outgoing signal. Equipment operated by Lubanov’s office would detect an identifying header in the signal and extract whatever message had been piggybacked on it. The only thing needed now was a means of creating and inserting such a message, and of retrieving whatever came back the other way.