Manifestations (46 page)

The host was pinged by the on-site investigator that he had more to say. ‘Franky, you have something to add?’

‘Yes. My team has been looking into the blackouts for that particular sector and for the last few months the population there has completely disconnected from the Weave.’

‘You see. It’s a minor rebellion. Services will restore order in no time.’

‘If it was so minor, then why the lockdown on information?’

‘I think, with everything else going on in the world right now, it is natural to be cautious.’

‘Dare we suggest that this is another manifestation like the one in the Dome?’ Phillipe asked. The rest of the panel breathed in sharply. The host laughed. ‘Alright, no one wants to bite on that one. Well, informed or not, this new event is shaking the civic seating chart. This signals the end of Ryu Shima’s time in the hot seat as the Will puts its trust in Colonel Abercrombie Pinter. Isn’t that a blast from the past?’

They chuckled or clucked their tongues.

‘The decline began long before this most recent event,’ Ching said, again without a signal from the host. ‘I think we can map the precise moment that confidence in Ryu Shima was lost, to the Mexica Kronos outbreak.’

‘I think it began earlier. Shima’s rate of growth slowed down immediately after the rebellion was declared,’ Patricia Milling said, who had, until recently, been a Shima supporter.

Each of the speakers presented line charts and statistical analysis to their streams, validating their statements.

‘Three Kronos outbreaks, a rebellion in the Cape and the psi collections ... this must be stretching Services resources quite thinly, mustn’t it? I direct this one to you, Patricia,’ the host said, bringing in the fourth speaker, one of his regular civic commentators.

‘That’s true, Phillipe. It seems at any point now that Services may not be able to cope with another large incident. Colonel Pinter is inheriting quite a queue of problems.’

‘While we all know him from the history books, we’ve never known him as Prime of the World Union. What do you think he’ll do?’

‘Colonel Pinter knows how to command.’

‘In war, yes. We aren’t at war, Ching,’ Sandrina said.

‘Okay, that sounds like a good place to break. There’s plenty to discuss here. Let’s take five minutes to gather questions and come back to talk about what it might mean that the Scorpion has —’

~ * ~

Around the world screens went black.

All connections broke as every node in the network was shut down. The Weave was disconnected.