Poseidon's Wake (49 page)

‘There’s no way to beat him based on our present knowledge. We’ll be six to twelve hours behind him under the best possible circumstances, and we’re still in a better position than
Travertine
. Unless something goes seriously wrong with his plans, we can’t stop him reaching Poseidon. But that doesn’t mean we’ve exhausted our options.’

‘The solar collectors didn’t get us very far,’ Ru said.

‘We’re not done with them yet. Clearly, cutting power didn’t hurt Dakota as much as we’d hoped, but there are other possibilities – and Eunice still has a direct channel to the mirrors.’

‘For the moment,’ Eunice said. ‘But there’s data traffic to and from the other ship. Someone is having a good go at locking me out.’

‘Will they succeed?’ Vasin asked.

‘Not if I stay one step ahead of them.’

‘Make it two steps. We need all the advantages we can get. I’m not yet ready to use the mirrors in an offensive capacity, but I want that card in my hand when it’s needed.’

‘And when do we abandon negotiation and start hitting each other with increasingly large sticks?’ Ru said.

‘Only when we’ve exhausted all the other options,’ Vasin said. ‘But we’re not there yet. For now, I’d like to concentrate our efforts on a maximum appeal to Kanu’s better judgement. He may well be acting under duress, but that doesn’t mean he can’t resist Dakota if we give him sufficient encouragement.’

Ru looked sceptical. ‘Good luck with that.’

Vasin smiled tightly. ‘Goma – I propose that you be our main spokesperson from now on given the family connection, distant as it may prove to be. Eunice – do you have anything to contribute? You know Dakota better than any of us, presuming she’s still alive.’

‘After all the history between us, I’m the last person she’ll listen to. But Goma stands a chance of getting through to her. Make her remember Ndege – play on her conscience.’

‘You think she has one left?’ Vasin asked.

‘We all had a conscience when we arrived,’ Eunice said. ‘Even me.’

Over a span of hours,
Mposi
adjusted its trajectory. The alteration in their course was far too gradual to be perceptible to any of the crew, save for the shift in the position of the stars through the lander’s unshuttered windows. Paladin had been their previous objective; now it was displaced to one side, replaced by the blue crescent of Poseidon swinging close around Gliese 163.
Icebreaker
had maintained one gee all the while.

‘Kanu,’ Goma said, staring into the recording lens, ‘we see you moving. We have a fix on your ship and we believe you know your objective. I’m Goma, by the way. Gandhari already mentioned me, but I’ll say a little more about myself. I’m Ndege’s daughter, and my grandmother was Chiku Green. If I’m right, you must be my half-uncle, or one-third-uncle. I believe you were born to Chiku Yellow, back on Earth – at least, there’s a Kanu in the family tree who bears a distinct resemblance to you. That would make you Mposi’s brother – or half- or one-third-brother, depending how you want to cut it. Mposi was my uncle, and we both lived on Crucible. I knew him well, and he sometimes spoke of you – he liked to think you were living a much less complicated life than he was. If you’ve come here in response to the message about Ndege, then presumably you know of her as well. She was Mposi’s sister, my mother, and she was too old to come with us when we left Crucible.’

Goma paused and drew breath. What she had to speak of next was hard, a truth she had yet to fully internalise.

‘My mother is dead now – she died while I was crossing interstellar space to this system. But I am here instead – trying to be where she could not, trying to stand in her place. Kanu, I have to tell you about Uncle Mposi. He died – was murdered. But first I need a reply from you, to confirm that you can hear this.’

Icebreaker
’s position relative to
Mposi
dictated a four-minute time lag for round-trip communications, although that figure was decreasing as the gap between the ships narrowed. Five minutes passed, then six. Kanu had already stated his case – it was entirely possible that he would decline any further contact.

Goma was just starting to resign herself to the fact – and wondering how it would shape Vasin’s tactical decisions – when his response arrived. She studied his image, measuring it against her own idea of Akinya faces. He was one of them, without a doubt.

An older man, his face carried the unmistakable signatures of aquatic modification, notably a flattened nose and large, dark eyes that were almost seal-like. His hair was short, bristly and mostly white. He had a strong jaw and an even stronger neck, flaring out to merge into the broad musculature of his shoulders. His face was handsome, dignified – but in his expression there was also a world of worry and sadness, more than anyone ought to be made to bear.

‘Thank you for your communication, Goma,’ he said. ‘As you observe, we’re still on our way. Our drive flame must be very obvious to you so I won’t pretend that our goal is anything other than Poseidon. I know you have concerns about our expedition – so do we. But the truth is, we have no choice but to continue. Dakota has allowed me to speak freely of the conditions under which we’re travelling so that there need be no misunderstandings. It is paramount to her that she fulfil the Watchkeepers’ needs, and we are obliged to cooperate with her agenda. That said, we also came here to gather information – to find answers to questions. If cooperation with Dakota is the key to unlocking the secrets of the M-builders and the Watchkeepers, it does not feel like too great a price to pay. Sooner or later we must face our ignorance – it may as well be now. But I understand your fears.’ His handsome, familiar face softened. ‘May I say that I am sorry to hear about Ndege? I never knew her, but we knew of each other, and it always pleased me to think of my distant one-third-sister sharing a new world with Mposi. I am sorry that she could not be here with you, Goma. But you mention that Mposi is also dead, and you speak as if you knew each other well. May I hear more about him?’

Goma answered, ‘I’ll speak of Mposi. It’s hard, but I’ll do it. But I’d like to talk to Dakota, too, if that’s possible. Tell her I am Ndege’s daughter, and that I worked to help the Tantors. Tell her that I stand for Ndege – I am here because my mother could not be. Tell her also that I have helped bury two Risen, Sadalmelik and Achernar. I was with them as they passed into the Remembering. Will you do that for me, Kanu?’

The delay was almost unendurably long this time, and Goma was halfway to convincing herself that the window of communication had closed – that she had gambled too much on the mere fact of being Ndege’s offspring.

But Kanu responded, ‘Dakota will speak with you but not negotiate, because there is nothing to be negotiated. You have soured the terms of engagement with that little trick with the mirrors. But she still wishes to clarify her intentions – and to urge your continued non-interference.’ Irritation showed on his face. ‘This time lag is a nuisance to us all – it would be so much simpler if we could talk directly. I suppose you are too young to carry the necessary neural machinery for chinging?’

Goma looked at Vasin, unsure of Kanu’s meaning.

‘Virtual telepresence. “Virching”, or “chinging”, in one of the old pre-Babel languages. At a deep enough level of neural management, time lag can be edited out of your perceptual stream. But I haven’t heard anyone speak of such a thing for at least a century. It’s irrelevant. Even if Kanu still has the implants, you don’t. There’s no way to inhabit a shared consensual space if only one of you has the neuromachinery.’

‘We could meet him halfway, though,’ Eunice said. ‘One of your spacesuits will give Goma the immersive experience she needs, even if we can’t turn off her consciousness.’

‘There’s a better way?’ Loring said. ‘But we will need a little time to prepare for it. Tell Kanu that we are ready to arrange a meeting in a consensual space – Kanu’s free to set the parameters?’

‘But I don’t have the implants,’ Goma said.

‘You won’t need them – not for this.’

Goma understood what they had in mind when they opened the door.

‘No.’

But Vasin placed a hand on her shoulder. ‘Aiyana says it’s safe. What went wrong before can’t happen again.’

‘My word on this,’ Loring said, offering ver own hand to Goma. ‘I’ve dug into the deep architecture – locked in additional safeguards against rogue replication? Hard for you, I know. But if we want dialogue with Kanu, no other options.’

‘Not until we’re closer,’ Vasin said, ‘and I’d much rather not wait until then.’

The well stood before her. It had been altered from its usual default display configuration, no longer containing the figments of Gliese 163 and its clutch of worlds. Now the well appeared to be full of a semi-translucent pale gold syrup, like a very fine honey.

‘Doctor Andisa tells me,’ Vasin said, ‘that if one of us suffered a severe accident, we would have used the well as an emergency life-support medium. That’s one of its basic utilities.’

‘Burns, chemical exposure, vacuum, radiation contamination,’ Andisa said. ‘The nanomachinery in the well can adjust to provide a recuperative support medium for all of these injuries. Fortunately, we’ve not needed to use it until now.’

‘I am not injured,’ Goma stated, as if this needed to be spelled out.

‘But the support medium can also help us in other ways,’ Andisa said. ‘Had you been severely injured, the medium would allow us to address and access neural functions directly by infiltrating your central nervous system. It is programmed to do that, and the process is quite painless, if a little disorientating. Mainly, though, it will permit us to duplicate the basic protocols of ching.’ Andisa looked at her colleague, the physicist. ‘Aiyana and I have completed the tests.’

‘You mean you’ve put yourselves in it?’ This was Ru, asking over Goma’s shoulder.

‘No time for that?’ Loring said. ‘Infiltration and adjustment process takes several hours. Medium needs to work its way across the blood-brain barrier into deep brain structure? Best not to delay Goma’s immersion?’

‘Try it on me first, in that case,’ Ru said.

‘It’ll waste just as much time as trying it on myself or Andisa. Besides, your own nervous system is, shall we say, somewhat atypical?’

‘You mean it’s screwed up.’

‘Trying to think of a nice way to put it?’

‘Mine’s also atypical,’ Eunice said, ‘so you’d better hope it works for me as well.’

‘It would not be any quicker for you,’ Vasin said.

‘I know, and I’m not proposing that I go instead of Goma. But that well is easily big enough for two of us. At the very least she shouldn’t have to face this on her own.’

‘Establishing parallel interfaces? Going to be challenging—’ Loring began.

‘Then you’d better get started,’ Eunice said.

Goma’s throat was tight with apprehension. ‘How? When?’

‘As soon as you’re ready,’ Loring said. ‘The less encumbered you are, the better the proprioceptive immersion? But you need only strip down to your underwear.’

‘How do we breathe?’ Eunice asked.

‘The medium’s fully capable of supporting respiratory function, but you may find the transition uncomfortable?’ Loring began to open a sealed sterile container. ‘We have breather masks – they’ll fit over your mouth and nose, provide an airtight seal? You’ll still be able to speak.’

‘The masks sound clumsy to me.’

Ru glared at Eunice. ‘No one asked you.’

‘No,’ Goma said. ‘She’s right. All or nothing. Forget the masks, Aiyana. I can do this.’

Goma shed her outer layers of clothing, eyeing Eunice as she stripped down to a similar state of undress. Vasin gathered their clothes in two neat bundles. Goma believed Loring – the well had been made safe. Even if it malfunctioned, she was neither alone nor as helpless as Mposi had been. No harm could come to her. But it was impossible to rid herself of the feeling that the amber fluid still contained traces of him.

‘I’ll go first,’ Eunice said. ‘Wait until I’m fully immersed, breathing the fluid, before you join me. If there’s anything wrong with it, we’ll know soon enough.’

‘I should go first,’ Goma said.

‘Age has its privileges, dear.’

Eunice stepped over the rim of the well, pushed a foot into the medium – watching as it resisted and then yielded, behaving less like a fluid than a membrane. Once her foot reached the base of the well, she risked planting the other one beside it.

‘It’s all right. Warm, cloying, but no ill-effects. Yet.’

Eunice lowered herself slowly down onto her rump, knees bent against her chest. She maintained this position for a few seconds then began to stretch her legs out to their full extent. At the same time she allowed her arms to descend into the medium. Only her head and upper torso were not yet immersed.

‘In for a penny.’

She submerged herself. They could see her through the medium, blurred but still distinct. Her mouth was closed but her eyes open. She stayed like that for a few seconds then gaped her mouth wide. As the fluid pushed into her she released a few bubbles of air – human air, from human lungs – and gave a sharp but controlled twitch. Then she was still. They studied the rise and fall of her chest. She did not appear to be in distress, but then again this was Eunice. Her eyes remained open, oddly unblinking. She allowed a hand to rise above the surface, gloved with a clinging epidermis of the amber medium, and shaped her thumb and forefinger into an ‘O’.

‘She’s all right,’ Dr Andisa said. ‘It’ll be a while before we can communicate directly, but she’s going to be fine. You next, Goma.’

She made to move to the well, intending to follow suit, but Ru clutched her arm.

‘Are you sure about this?’

‘Not really.’

But Goma kissed Ru and allowed herself to slip from her grasp. Then she stepped into the well, one foot at a time. It was warm, as Eunice had said – the sensation was akin to pushing through jelly, the substance resistant at first, then yielding easily and obligingly to her movement. Less like being immersed in a liquid than pushing into a multitudinous crowd of tiny and obligingly helpful creatures. There was no sense of it doing her harm, no tingling or unpleasantness. She sat down and stretched out her legs. Then she lowered most of herself into the medium, side by side with Eunice.