Manifestations (44 page)

Risom took one of the orbs between his fingers and held it up to his eye for a closer look. ‘I believe we can.’

‘I can’t let you leave.’

‘How long do you think you can hold me?’ He turned to walk away, but she pushed him back.

‘Let go.’

‘No.’

Small objects from around the room lifted up and hurled themselves at Tamsin. She knocked them down, throwing them back at him, but her hold on him was weakened and he stepped backward to where the girls were playing.

‘Stop,’ he ordered, grabbing Piri around the neck.

Tamsin dispelled her kinetics. The blocks and furniture she had raised to throw fell to the ground, clouding the floor with dust. Risom straightened up, keeping his arm locked around Piri.

‘Let her go.’

‘You’re weak, Tamsin. La Gréle has made you soft.’

‘Risom ...’

‘It’s alright, Tamsin. I forgive you. Chiggy and I will do what needs to be done. Just stay out of my way.’

‘Leave Piri here.’

‘Not until I’m safe.’ He began backing towards the door, carrying Piri roughly under his elbow. One step at a time, keeping his eye and his mind on what Tamsin was doing.

‘You’re bleeding,’ Tamsin called out.

‘Be quiet!’ Risom shouted. But he was. His lip was warm and wet. One lick confirmed it as blood. He touched his hand to his nostrils and it came away red. He collapsed, the satchel of baubles spilling out over the floor, and Piri crawled out from his loose grip.

She stood over him as his mind dimmed. ‘I’m sorry, Risom. I didn’t want to go with you.’

~ * ~

PIERRE JNR HAS RETURNED

~ * ~

‘Hello, Mother.’

A boy stood before her. Mary Kastonovich was swooning today. She got through days like these with her face in the cradle of her palms.

He held something out to her, a silver chain with a silver bauble on a jump ring.

‘That’s pretty.’

‘I made it for you.’

‘Where have you been?’ she asked him.

‘Everywhere.’

‘You left me ...’ she cried.

‘Don’t cry, Mother.’ Mary lost her pain. He’d never left her. Pierre had always been with her. ‘Here.’ He offered the necklace again.

‘I ...’ She lifted her hand weakly to her throat. ‘I can’t touch my neck.’

‘Let me help you.’ Pierre walked behind her chair.

She felt his little fingers take a hold on the lock. It went soft and then came in two. The pieces landed on the floor, grey and dead.

‘You —’
You saved me.

Hello, Mother.

You can hear me?

The silver chain was around her neck, cinched with kinetic hands. The bauble hung in the centre of her breasts.

‘Now I’ll always be with you.’

One by one Pierre went to the inmates of the island, dismantling their locks and replacing them with necklaces.

For an immeasurable breath they were a part of him. One and immense.

~ * ~

He awoke to Gock prodding him. Pete looked into his mind and saw the instructions the man had been given. ‘Get up,’ the proxy said.

‘Get up and go to the elevator. Yes, I heard it already,’ Pete said. ‘There is no need for you to speak.’

‘Gock will speak because he is told to. Now get up.’
Ah,
Pete thought.
That sounds like Ryu Shima. He must have more time now.

‘You’re back then, Prime?’ he asked.

‘Yes. I see some of our lessons didn’t stick. We will have to rectify that.’

Pete: Geof?

There was no response to his ping.

‘I am giving the orders, Mister Lazarus,’ Gock said.

‘Where are you sending me? Please, not back to the islands.’

‘Not yet. I have another use for you and your squad today.’

‘What has happened to Geof?’

‘Geof Ozenbach is no longer part of the hunt. Now get into your field set. Be ready in five minutes.’

Pete dressed in the soft armour they had given him. It was able to camouflage, but in default it was orange with grey piping on the seams so he was highly visible.

Arthur was waiting in the elevator, bruises already fading, and the swelling could only be noticed because of a greasy gel that made them shine. They ascended to the squib landing platform, where they found a large Services transport loaded with the full ten squad and the two skinbots. All were in fresh armour, replaced since Magnus Towers. Arthur saluted and climbed into his webbing. Gock shoved Pete forward.

‘Get moving.’

Don’t push too much, Gock. I can be a voice in your head too.

Pete caught Arthur looking at him disapprovingly.

As they flew, the details of the mission were plugged into their symbs. The file mostly contained street maps, photos of the area and records of the population.

‘What’s so scary about this place?’ Three pointed at some of the images. ‘It’s just a suburb street. Is there a psi nest there or something?’

‘Idiot,’ Seven answered him. ‘This is a relocation town. All these weirdies are ex-Örjians.’

‘Yurhg!’ The Endo bot made a face.

‘So what? What’s the big deal?’ Three persisted.

‘Once you go in, you never leave. Can’t you read?’

‘What, they take you prisoner?’

‘No. You just don’t want to go.’

‘And that’s bad? I can think of a few places I never want to leave.’

‘That’s enough questions, Three. Read your pack, we drop in ten minutes.’ Ten stood up and began highlighting the pertinent information and assigning details. ‘The ups don’t know what’s happening down there, but, judging from the observations, this sector has deliberately gone off the radar. We are taking these two in with us to find out if it was by choice or not.’ She pointed at the two psis. ‘We’re going to do better than Magnus Towers this time, aren’t we, gentlemen?’

Pete looked at her, trying to probe what she meant. ‘Yes, sir.’ Pete nodded.

‘We aren’t going to try discussing our way out of trouble, are we?’ she asked.

‘No, sir.’ Pete shook his head.

‘When you acquire a target you will pacify it?’

‘Yes, sir.’ Nodded.

‘Right. Aiko will take point and Endo will take the rear. The rest of us will form a shell around our two sniffers here. I want that thing to be a Roman fucking phalanx. Do you hear me?’

‘Yes, sir,’ the ten chorused.

‘There are ten thousand Citizens in Sector 261, and we are to do our utmost not to disturb their peace and tranquillity.’

‘Sir?’ Three put up his hand.

‘What is it?’

‘Is this Pierre Jnr?’

‘Three, I swear if you don’t stop —’ Ten cut herself off. She hadn’t considered it. ‘Look, we don’t know. But if it is, our job is simple. All we have to do is paint the target.’

‘And then what?’

‘It is against protocol to give high-level information to field agents. We’ll just stand aside.’

261, like the other four hundred and fifty-five relocation sectors, was part of a vast fractal design, built to a plan that resembled a fern frond, amongst hundreds of other fronds that were part of a larger plant. They landed in the narrow tip, the centre of the sector where the street narrowed and curved to end in a circle that was kept clear for Services.

They formed up close around the two psis and Pete could hardly see through the wall of armoured soldiers. They looked at each other. Arthur was shaking despite the drugs in his system.

Don’t be afraid,
Pete thought to him.

‘He’s here,’ Arthur whispered.
He’s everywhere.

Where is he?

I... I can’t tell
...
so strong.

Pete: Arthur says Pierre Jnr is here.

Command: Do you have a direction?

Pete: No. He must be too close. What do you want us to do?

Command: Commence grid walk.

Pete: All the people are looking at us.

Command: We see that. Try not to startle them. It looks like the whole population of 261 has stopped moving.

The topographical map showed the pings from the entire area. Ten thousand, seven hundred and twenty-two blue dots.

Pete: I don’t think this is a good idea.

Command: The Command is the Command.

‘Move out,’ Ten called and they started jogging to keep their place in the centre of the ring and not get stepped on.

The streets were quiet with only a few people out and about; a man hunched over restacking vending machines, people in their gardens with hoses, rakes and watering cans. They stopped to watch the soldiers walking down the middle of the road.

Ten: You two picking up anything?

Pete: Nothing new.

Arthur was looking at the ground and twisting back and forth.

Pete: Arthur isn’t coping.

Command: Focus on your task.

As they went, the residents began listlessly trailing after the squad. Doors opened on both sides of the streets and more people came out to watch them.

‘How are you feeling about this, Ten?’ Nine asked.

‘They’re getting a little too curious for my liking.’ They stopped the march and Ten amplified her voice for the crowd to hear. ‘Citizens, please stand aside. This is Services business. We request that you stay in your homes.’ Ten’s request was ignored, and more residents began approaching the squad. ‘What is wrong with these people?’ she asked, turning to Peter.

‘They’re not people any more,’ Arthur hissed.

Pete looked around, probing forward. He felt their seething rage, the constant clench of their anger and hate for themselves. The lust for destruction. Destroy, destroy. To see what survives. ‘They are messed up. They’re still conscious but ... they don’t want us to be here. It’s like a compulsion.’

Command: Is it like at the farm?

Pete: Yes. But not the same ... I can’t feel individuals.

At Ten’s signal they began moving forward. Every Citizen turned their feet as they passed and shuffled into the mob that now surrounded them. The space around the soldiers was slowly decreasing.

‘They are even uglier up close,’ Endo said.

‘Check it out. They’re not even looking at us.’ Aiko was right. She waved her weapon at them, but they didn’t react. Their bodies faced them, but slack necks kept their eyes to the road.

‘I don’t know about you all, but I just went in my suit,’ Three joked.

‘Keep it down, Three.’

‘Just trying to lighten the mood.’

At that moment, Arthur collapsed to the ground. He felt his insides fall to the road, and everyone in the squad then felt it as his empathy spilt out. They dropped to the tarmac, succumbing to the overflow of Arthur’s emotions.

‘Arthur?’ Pete knelt beside him, raising his block to cut off the feelings.

‘What’s wrong with him?’ Ten asked, teeth clenched.

‘Arthur, are you okay?’

‘I see him.’ Arthur was shaking all over as the symbiot saturated his system with calming chemicals. ‘Below. He is below.’

‘Eight. Sedate him.’

Eight turned from his position, shot Arthur with a dart and then knelt to attach a mask. The dark wave of his emotions faded from the soldiers and they stood up. One nightmare had passed, but another was shuffling forward.

Pete: What’s the command?

Command: Go down.

Pete: What’s down?

Blueprints of the sewers and access grid rushed into their queues.

‘Okay, squad. There is a maintenance post fifty metres to the north. Eight, you carry Arthur. The rest of you round off the arse of this formation and hussle.’

Together they jogged forward, Pete keeping pace so as not to get trampled by the MUs.

The twins took offensive and defensive positions. Aiko called out, ‘Hey, what happens if they don’t move? Are we allowed to push them?’

‘I think these fine Citizens need to take a lie-down,’ Endo added.

‘We have permission to gas. Filters on.’ The soldiers flicked their helmets to climate processing and their suits went hermetic. They could now operate up to thirty metres below water if necessary. One of them handed Pete a clear mask with a gas filter over the mouth. ‘I want an equal spread. The wind will push it north into the main crowd. Odds, then evens.’

The gas capsules spun as they flew through the air, releasing small purple pellets that began to sizzle as they touched oxygen. The gas seeds dropped on them and around them, steam rising, but the sector Citizens paid them no mind. The evens fired their volley, five more capsules loading the area with violet fog.

‘Yep, they’re dropping,’ Aiko reported. Pete couldn’t see it for himself, but from the soldiers he saw on infrared the bodies of the Citizens collapsing.