“Joshua!” she shrieked happily. “What are you doing here?”
“Come to take you home.”
“Really?” Her eyes were rounded with optimism. “Back to the Confederation?”
“Yep, go pack your bags.”
Greetings, Joshua Calvert. This day is filled with much joyfulness. I am much content.
“Hi, Haile. You’ve grown.”
And you have strengthened.
He put Jay down. “Well what do you know, there’s hope for all of us.”
“It’s been fab here,” Jay said. “The providers give you everything you want, and that includes ice cream. You don’t need money.”
Two adult Kiint appeared on the black teleport circle. Tracy was coming down the steps from her chalet. Joshua eyed them all cautiously.
“And I’ve been to loads of planets in the arc. And met hundreds and hundreds of people.” Jay paused, sucking on her lower lip. “Is Mummy all right?”
“Uh, yeah. This is the hard part, Jay. She’s going to need a day or two before she can see you. Okay? So I’m going to take you back to Tranquillity, and then you can go back to Lalonde with all the others in a little while.”
She pouted. “And Father Horst?”
“And Father Horst,” he promised.
“Right. And you’re sure Mummy’s fine?”
“She is. She’s really looking forward to seeing you, too.”
Tracy stood behind Jay, and patted her on the head. “I’ve told you to wear a hat when you play out here.”
“Yes, Tracy.” The little girl pulled a face at Joshua.
He grinned back. “You go and pack. I just need to talk to Tracy for a moment. Then we’ll be off.”
“Come on, Haile.” Jay grabbed one of the Kiint’s tractamorphic limbs, and they hurried off towards the chalet.
Joshua’s grin faded when the youngsters were out of hearing. “Thanks for nothing,” he said to Tracy.
“We did what we could,” she said fiercely. “Don’t you judge us, Joshua Calvert.”
“The Corpus judges us, decides our fate.”
“None of us asked to be born. We’re more sinned against than sinners. And Richard Keaton saved your arse, as I recall.”
“So he did.”
“We would have made sure something survived. Humanity would have carried on.”
“But in whose image?”
“You’re proud of your current one, are you?”
“As a matter of fact, yes.”
She rubbed a white hand over her forehead. “I keep running comparisons. What the human race is compared to so many others.”
“Well don’t, it’s not your concern any more. We can find our own way now.” He turned to the adult Kiint. Hello Nang, Lieria.
Greetings, Joshua Calvert. And congratulations.
Thank you. Though this isn’t quite how I thought I’d spend my wedding night. I’d like Corpus to remove your observers and the data acquisition systems from the Confederation, please. Our future contact should be conducted on a more honest basis.
Corpus agrees. They will be removed.
And the medical help. We need that badly, right away.
Of course. It will be provided.
You could have helped us before.
Every race has the right, and obligation, to control its own destiny. The two cannot be separated.
I know, reap what you sow. We might be too aggressive, and not progress as fast as we ought, but I want Corpus to know I am immensely proud of our compassion. No matter how fabulous your technology is, what counts is how it’s used.
We acknowledge your criticism. It is one that is levelled at us constantly. Given our position it is inevitable.
He sighed and looked up at the arc again. We’ll get here eventually.
Of that we are sure. After all, you have already made a start.
Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery,joshua said.So I guess that means you’re not all bad after all.
Jay appeared on the chalet veranda carrying a bulging shoulder bag. She shouted and waved, then charged down the steps.
“Is her mother all right?” Tracy asked urgently.
“She’s treatable,” Joshua said. “That’s all I can say. I’ve stopped intervening now. It’s just too damn tempting. Not that the singularity would permit much more.”
“It doesn’t need any more. Corpus analysed what you’ve done. You made some smart moves. The current economic structure won’t survive.”
“I provided the opportunity for change, plus one small active measure. What happens after . . . well, let’s just say, I have faith.”
Jed and Beth stayed with Marie in the hospital waiting room. Beth wasn’t exactly overjoyed about that, she would have loved to see Tranquillity’s park. But Gari, Navar, and Webster were settled in the paediatric wing which wasn’t far away. She didn’t know what was going to happen to any of them next, but then right now that applied to a lot of the human race. There were worse places to be cast ashore.
The doctor who’d met the bus came out of the emergency treatment centre. “Marie?”
“Yes?” She looked up at him, bright with hope.
“I’m terribly sorry, there was nothing we could do.”
Marie’s mouth parted silently, she covered her face with her hands and started sobbing.
“What happened to him?” Beth said.
“There was some kind of nanonic filament web in his brain,” the doctor said. “Its molecular structure had broken down. Disintegration caused a massive amount of damage. In fact, I really don’t understand how he could have survived at all. You said he’s been with you for weeks?”
“Yes.”
“Ah well, we’ll do a postmortem, of course. But I doubt we’ll learn much. I think it’s a symptom of the times.”
“Thanks.”
The doctor smiled briskly. “The counselor will be along in a moment. Marie will have the best help possible to overcome this. Don’t you worry.”
“Great.” She saw the way Jed was looking at Marie, as though he wanted to be crying with her, or for her, sparing her the burden.
“Jed, we’re done here,” Beth said.
“What do you mean?” he asked in puzzlement.
“It’s over. Are you coming?”
He looked from her to Marie. “But we can’t leave her.”
“Why, Jed? What is she to us?”
“She was Kiera, she was everything we dreamed of, Beth, a new start, somewhere decent.”
“This is Marie Skibbow, and she’ll hate Kiera for the rest of her life.”
“We can’t give up now. The three of us can start Dead-night again, for real this time. There were thousands of people just like us who wanted what she promised. They’ll come again.”
“Right.” Beth turned and marched out of the waiting room, paying no heed to his braying calls behind her. She hurried for the lift, her heart lifting at the prospect of finally seeing the lush parkland with its sparkling circumfluous sea.
I’m young, I’m free, I’m in Tranquillity, and I’m definitely not going back to bloody Koblat.
It was a great beginning.
The Assembly Chamber was deathly silent as the vote was taken. The ambassadors on the floor were first to register.
From his seat at the Polity Council table, Samual Aleksandrovich watched the tally rise. There were several abstentions, of course, and the names were no surprise to him: Kulu, Oshanko, New Washington, Mazaliv, several of their close allies. No more than twenty, though, which made the First Admiral smile contentedly. In diplomatic terms that was as good as a censure motion in itself, a sharp warning to the larger powers.
The ambassadors of the Polity Council entered their vote. Samual Aleksandrovich was last, pressing the button in front of him, and seeing the last digit click over on the big board. Ridiculous anachronism, he thought, though certainly dramatic enough.
The Assembly speaker got to his feet and gave the President a nervous little bow. Olton Haaker stared straight ahead, not meeting anyone’s gaze.