She gestured to Becker. "This is your plan, Deputy Director. What do you say to the admiral's objections?"
Becker took a breath, tried to project calm.
"Admiral McWilliams is correct that this could go sideways. My commitment to you, Admiral, is that at the first hint that there's any chance of discovery of the mission, we'll abort it. What I weigh against the risks are the national security value of understanding the methods the Chinese have for coercion, the importance of keeping fourth-gen enhancements and Nexus 5 off the streets, and my personal passion for getting a loyal agent home in one piece. I'd think you'd understand that."
"I'd be touched if you showed half as much passion for the civil rights of ordinary Americans," McWilliams drawled back.
Becker flushed.
That prick.
People started talking at once, stumbling all over each other. CIA Director Alan Keyes threw up a hand in exasperation. Senator Engels chuckled in amusement. Maximilian Barnes just leaned back and watched it all, impassive.
"Quiet!" Pryce slammed her hand on the table this time.
Silence returned at once.
"Admiral McWilliams," she said. "Remember where you are, and keep your personal opinions contained."
She slowly scanned the room, as if daring anyone to make a sound. No one did.
"The President has made the elimination of transhuman and posthuman threats one of his top national security policies," Pryce said. "We serve to implement those policies. At the same time, we do not want to be seen as taking unauthorized military action inside Thailand. Given that, I'm going to recommend to the President that we move forward with this operation, under very specific conditions."
She lifted an elegantly manicured hand, locked eyes with Becker, counted off her conditions on dark-skinned fingers.
"First, no action against Su-Yong Shu unless you can provide concrete evidence of direct action by her against American forces and in violation of Copenhagen. Everything you have here is circumstantial. Get proof, and you'll have your clearance to go after her."
Becker nodded.
"Second, only stealthed equipment and only then under the cover of night. Third, no civilian casualties. Not a single one. You load non-lethal rounds and you only switch to lethal if there are no civilians anywhere in the area and you're returning lethal fire from your missing agents or another combatant. Fourth, absolutely zero, and I mean zero evidence of US involvement. This will not become an international incident, and this will not become an issue in the US this November. If there is even the slightest chance of detection, you abort immediately."
Becker nodded again. He didn't trust himself to speak.
Pryce scanned the room, looking each of them in the eye. ERD Enforcement Division Deputy Director Becker, Secretary of Homeland Security Hughes, ERD Director Duran, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Keyes, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs McWilliams, Secretary of State Abrams, Senate Oversight Committee Chairwoman Engels, Special Policy Advisor Maximilian Barnes.
"Are we all clear on this?"
McWilliams snorted. Barnes watched the room silently. Everyone else nodded, voiced their assent.
"Good," Pryce said. "I brief the President in less than an hour. Admiral McWilliams, you're welcome to accompany me and present the case against this mission. I'll let all of you know the President's decision immediately thereafter. Good day, gentlemen. Good day, Senator."
45
ANYONE
The symphony of mind finally ended. The thoughts of the greater mind went from thick braids to wispy tendrils and then to vapor, dissipating in a glorious sigh of contentment. Everyone opened their eyes, made respectful wais towards the altar.
Ananda gestured for Kade to remain as the others filed quietly out.
"How do you feel now?" Ananda asked him.
Kade considered himself, observed himself. "Better. Calmer. Tired."
Ananda nodded. "Good. This was just a beginning, but a good one. You will heal."
"Thank you," Kade said.
Ananda nodded again. "Su-Yong Shu will arrive to visit you tonight. It will be after midnight."
Shu was coming. He had so many questions for her. Was the anger what drove her on? Could she heal? Could she release her hatred?
"I'll see to it that you're awakened when she arrives," Ananda said.
Kade nodded his thanks.
"And tomorrow you move on."
Kade nodded again. Safety meant moving, for now. He would miss this place. There was so much he wanted to know.
"The things you're doing here…?" he asked. "The things you talked about at the conference. Where are you going with all this?"
Ananda smiled. "You've seen some of what goes on here. You've heard me speak. What does it seem like we're doing?"
"You're teaching monks to use Nexus, to integrate it permanently."
"Yes."
"You're showing them how to meditate together, how to synchronize their minds further."
"We're learning that together."
"You talked about group minds," Kade said. "About taking neuroscience from the individual to the group level."
"Yes."
"You're trying to make it real here."
Ananda held Kade's gaze with his own deep, dark eyes. "Yes."
"With you in charge?" Kade asked.
Ananda smiled slightly.
"I meant what I said about Buddhism being democratic. You've been part of the group mind. Is anyone in charge? Is any single neuron in charge in your brain?"
Kade nodded to himself. It had felt organic, emergent, self-directed, without any particular center. They were each pieces of the mind that emerged when they meditated. But how committed to that was Ananda?
"You are in charge, though."
Ananda looked at him calmly. "In the perceptions of outsiders, perhaps. But here? I'm the oldest. I have the most experience. My thoughts carry some weight. When our minds are apart I have certain authority. But when we are connected… the group mind contains me. I'm just one part of it. The decisions it makes are wiser and more just than the ones I can make alone. The insights it can glean and the truths it can reveal are deeper than those I can glimpse alone. I respect that. I am a piece of this, not its master."
Kade nodded to himself again.
"What you're working towards… Is it just for monks?" he asked. "Just for meditation?"
"For anyone who can master it. For any purpose they can put it to."
"Anyone?" Kade asked.
Ananda looked back at him impassively. "Anyone."