"But mastering it takes practice," Kade said. "It takes effort. Hours of meditation every day, for months – years."
"Yes."
"So this won't ever be in reach of most people."
"It's in reach of them, if they but expend the effort to grasp it."
Kade shook his head. "I mean, practically speaking, most people aren't going to meditate for hours each day."
Ananda nodded slowly. "True. Most will not be willing to expend the effort."
"And if there were a shortcut?"
"A shortcut such as the one that you have taken?" Ananda asked.
Kade nodded. "Something like that."
Ananda gazed at him, considering. "How long did it take you to learn to read?"
The question surprised Kade. "A year or two, I suppose."
"And to speak?" Ananda asked.
"Maybe two years?" Kade ventured.
"Imagine," Ananda said, "a world where it took most of a lifetime to learn to speak, to learn to read or write, where many never even reached that point."
Kade closed his eyes, tried to picture it.
"Imagine that you could show people a faster way," Ananda continued. "That in a year or two you could show them the basics of language, of literacy."
Kade imagined.
"Would you do it?" Ananda asked.
"Yes," Kade replied.
"Even though it would surely be used at times for profanity or vile speech?"
"Yes."
"Even though fools might read dangerous things written by bigger fools, might follow their instructions and hurt themselves or others?"
"Yes," Kade replied.
"Even though writing might be used to describe weapons that could be used to kill others?" Ananda asked.
"Yes," Kade said.
"Even though charismatic fascists might use the power of speech to stir people up, to incite violence, to stoke hatred, to create war?"
Kade swallowed. "Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I think people would use it for more good than harm."
"Is that the only reason?"
"And because I think it's just good. It's just good for people to be able to communicate more easily. It's just good for people to be smarter, to be more connected, to have access to more of each others' thoughts."
"Then you have my answer."
The old monk rose smoothly to his feet and padded silently out of the great hall.
Kade sat there alone, for long minutes, intensely aware of the weight of the fob on the chain around his neck. Eventually he rose painfully, crutched his way slowly out of the hall, and went to see if anything was left of dinner.
46
CALM BEFORE THE STORM
Becker got the call from Pryce less than an hour after the meeting ended. The President had approved the plan, with the conditions she had specified.
"Don't screw it up," Pryce told him.
Becker hung up and called the Boca Raton with the news. They were in business.
In his room, Kade turned off all net connectivity on his slate, then slowly eased the chain over his neck and slid the fob into place.
The fob drew power from the slate. It came alive in his mind, opened itself to his Nexus, connected him to the slate. A Nexus interface card. The one they'd printed for Wats, no doubt.
And on the same fob, data storage. A script. The sort of script he'd expected.
He lay back, and began to copy the Nexus files from his mind to the fob. He made a few small changes along the way, just in case.
Satisfied, he pulled it from the slate, hung it around his neck once more, let the slate connect to the net again, and lay down to sleep until Shu arrived.
• • • •
Su-Yong Shu said goodbye to the final guests at the VIP reception. It was nearly 11pm. The conference was ended. The post-conference workshops were ended. The post-workshop final reception was ended. Finally she could attend to important matters.
The black Opal rolled into sight. Feng got out, pulled open the door, lifted the umbrella against the night rain. Time to go.
"Stand by for flight operations," came the voice from the bridge.
Nichols watched nervously.
"Flight deck opening," said the bridge. "Flight elevators 1 and 2 engaging."
On the foredeck of the Boca Raton, nearly a third of the length of the hull was retracting, radar and sonar absorbent panels receding into the ship's belly, then sliding slowly and smoothly to the side to reveal the full forty-meter length of the forward combat deck, now configured entirely for flight operations.
Slowly, two fully fueled, armed, and loaded XH-83 Banshee stealth assault helicopters rose up into view. Each carried a pilot and six heavily armed and augmented Navy SEALs. The helicopters' folded-in rotors began to unfold into flight configuration. On the deck, their engine whine would be audible now, as their systems warmed up.
Fueling hoses decoupled from each chopper with a puff of out-gassed steam. Weapons checks completed, green across the board. Engines, green. Stealth, green. Electronic warfare, green. Nav, green. Flight, green.
The rotors locked into their fully expanded configuration.
"Go for rotor spin up," the bridge voice said.
They began to spin, lazily at first, then faster, then faster still. Downdraft flattened the seas to either side of the ship.
"Three seconds to clamp release. Two… One…"
The deck clamps released the landing gear of the choppers. As one, they rose up and forward, into the night sky.
"Banshees away," the bridge said. "C&C, you have the ball."
"Roger that, Bridge," Jane Kim replied. "C&C has the ball. C&C out."
In the air, the Banshees began to retract their landing gear. With the landing gear pulled in, the choppers would be nearly invisible to radar. Their chameleonware underbellies would make them blend into the dark sky to ground observers. It was midnight. The two choppers would fly low and fast, five meters off the surface, make their target around 1am, and be back with Lane and Cataranes a little after 2 o'clock.
"End flight operations," came from the bridge. "Elevators 1 and 2 to bays. Stealth hull closure in three… two… one…"
The radar and sonar absorbent hull of the great ship began to close over the combat hull once more.
Shu reclined in the plush rear seat of the Opal, slate in hand, following up on conversations and business from the conference and post-conference workshops. Sometimes she wondered why she came to these things.
They were almost to Ananda's mountain sanctuary, starting the winding trip up the mountain road. She'd been here only once before. Ananda's monks were of great interest to her. The abilities of a properly trained human mind never ceased to amaze her, even now. What they could do if they combined the best of her knowledge and Ananda's training methods…