No intro required here, folks. If you have just joined us on this offbeat misadventure then, aside from the fact that you are exceedingly welcome, I very much doubt you would want spoilers, so I would suggest you start at the beginning with the first episode. This advice especially applies to this episode, because this is the one with a whole load of character twists.
So don’t say I didn’t warn you, eh?
To briefly recap, in part five, Phoebe and Bryn got a little suspended and then found themselves being followed by a sinister black Tesla (as you do), only to discover that Phoebe’s flat had been broken into and certain digital storage devices pilfered. It happens, you know. Especially in stories like this. Phoebe didn’t seem to mind that at all, though. Bryn’s confusion is going to be taking a few more knocks in this episode as they make their little getaway. The equally sinister Alex, in the meantime, needs to pay Unofficial Katy an unofficial visit…
Katy knew they would be coming for her sometime. She was expecting the visit and the truth is, she had been looking forward to it.
Likewise, she was not surprised when her visitor was Alex.
She smiled at him across the table, allowed him to make the opening gambit.
“You may be interested to know,” he told her, “that according to the Professor, the metadata was mistaken. He’ll be making a statement to the press to that effect tomorrow. So another false alarm. No message from ETI.”
Katy wasn’t phased in the slightest. “How very predictable. I believe I even wrote about it. Which of course you already know. And now, I hear, so do millions of other people, too. How many is it, now, with pirate copies of my books?”
“That’s a fair point. It must be a little irksome though, not to be on the bestseller lists?”
“Not at all. It was never about the money. The beauty of E-books is that they’re just data files. Without copy protection people can simply share them with all their friends. Word of mouth does the rest. Social media, that is. Naturally you could try and shut down social media but, well, that would simply expose you, wouldn’t it? As does every other move you people are making.”
Alex snorted. “So, by that I’m to assume that you knew who I was all along?”
“Of course. Didn’t I say you look like one of the them? And giving me a word processor, for which I’m very grateful, by the way, was simply your easy way of finding out what I was writing.”
“No hard feelings, then?”
“None whatsoever. Danuih Fade is all about the wonders of the galactic civilisation that your species will miss out on if your quarantine remains. There’s motivation for you.”
“So it’s all the truth, then? About what’s out there?”
“Not at all. Most of it I just made up. I wouldn’t want to give you any spoilers now, would I?”
“Very clever.”
“Of course. And you’re doing a very good job, I have to say, of concealing your frustration. The fact that you can’t stop what’s about to happen. My writing wasn’t just predicting a message and when it would come, remember. I also wrote about how the bad guys would respond, about how they’ve infiltrated SETI and use that to try and cover things up and misinform the public. They are doing everything I said they would, aren’t they?”
Alex sighed, stared at her severely for a while, then leaned forward and said, tersely, “I wouldn’t be so smug about it if I were you. I presume they haven’t told you about your impending transfer to an open prison?”
Katy raised her eyebrows, “Oh? I see. And I presume I’ll be suffering some kind of fatal accident during transit?”
“Accidents happen.”
But then she smiled. “Good. I’ve been wanting to go home all my life.”
He sighed. “Then I’ll just bid you goodbye.” Then he stood up and turned to leave. But then turned around and smiled cruelly at her. “You may wish to know, however, that we’ll be paying a visit tomorrow to your accomplice, Miss Drake. Then we’ll see how she responds to enhanced interrogation.”
And then with a final sneer, his parting shot delivered, he strode towards the door.
“THE REVOLUTION’S COMING!!!” she shrieked as he slammed the door shut behind him.
And then smiled a little maniacally, and added as an afterthought, softly, “And there’s nothing you can do to stop it.”
When they bashed through the door to Phoebe’s apartment the following morning they found nobody there. The Professor entered last with an assistant, who proceeded to hack into Phoebe’s laptop. He was clearly an expert, for it didn’t take him very long.
Phoebe had left a false trail for him, an email confirming the purchase of some plane tickets to Auckland, New Zealand. She knew they would soon discover they never got on that particular plane, but it would buy them a good few precious hours before they found out where they’d really gone.
They had sneaked out in the witching hour and made their way to the train station, where they took the night train to Sydney, arriving several hours before dawn. From there they made their way to the airport where they boarded a plane to Singapore, the tickets having been bought with a credit card the bad guys didn’t know about. Of course they would get around to checking passenger lists in due course, and Phoebe still wanted them to think she was an amateur, but by that time they would be through Singapore customs and arrivals and well out of the airport. Finding them in that city would be a headache. They could’ve gone anywhere.
But that’s not where they would be.
Once the plane had taken off in the dawning light and ascended to cruising altitude, Bryn finally asked her what was really going on.
“When the Professor makes his announcement later they’ll upload the data to SETI@home, won’t they?”
“I guess.”
“Well, they won’t be uploading what they think they are. I created a mirror of the computer’s directory. The file they upload will be the original data, not their fabricated stuff. I also wrote an email, timed to send to a long list of addresses at the same time. I attached the original file to that email along with another short file explaining how to decipher the signal. That list isn’t just the local press, it’s all those SETI buffs and sci-fi fans and ufologists. And, whether they choose to run with it or not, some of the mainstream media outlets, including those of America’s enemies, Russia and China. It will be sent to their embassies, too, with clear instructions. And lastly, of course, the Secretary General of the United Nations. The message is, after all, addressed to him.”
“Really? What if he doesn’t acknowledge it?”
“He won’t have a choice. Russia and China will, and they’ll demand he acknowledges it, because it’s in their political interests to demand it. Even if they don’t believe it. At least, that’s what I hope will happen when this thing goes viral.”
Bryn was thoughtful for a few moments. “This is to do with what the message actually says, right?”
Phoebe nodded. “Yes. And I did promise to show you, didn’t I?”
“Yep.”
“Ok.” She reached into her bag and retrieved a tablet. “It’s all on there. And a story by Katy Major, the sci-fi writer who’s still in prison in England. You’ll understand why when you read it. It’s about how the bad guys will cover up a signal like this. That’s how they’ll expose themselves. Because they have no choice. And she’s been trending on social media for weeks now.”
Bryn took the tablet from her, clicked open the file and began to read.
And what he read, he read with accelerating horror.
The Professor’s assistant looked up at him and said, “That’s the hard drive version deleted. The only copy left will be on her cloud.”
“And how long will that take you to hack in?”
His assistant touch-typed a string of characters, then grinned up at him. “About that long.”
“Wow! I didn’t realise you were that good.”
“Actually, like with most amateurs she’s used the same password for pretty much everything. Likewise, as with most people, she chooses something simple to remember and something that means something to her. In this instance, her father’s name followed by the number 12. Which is how old she was when he died.”
“I see.”
“Here it is, see?” he pointed at the screen.
“Delete it then.”
He deleted it.
“What else is on there?”
“Well, this folder here looks like her thesis.”
“Delete it.”
The guy looked a little aghast. “Erm, that’s like, an entire three years’ work. And it’s got nothing to do with the signal.”
“I said, delete it. That’s an order.”
His assistant took a deep breath and sighed.
But he did what he was told. He knew better than not to.
They arrived in Singapore mid-morning, made their way unhindered out of the airport. Phoebe ignored the first cab and took the second. Five minutes later the taxi took a turn-off down a rarely used side road and, after another minute or so, pulled over behind another, unoccupied car. The driver turned around and smiled at them.
“This should do. No cameras.”
Phoebe smiled and nodded. Then turned to Bryn. “Come on. Time to change.”
Bryn looked utterly confused, but followed her out of the car. Their driver opened the boot to reveal two moderately sized pieces of luggage.
“Everything you need is in there,” he spoke plainly, like the professional he was, with a clear Russian tinge to his accent. “Complete change of clothes, basic disguises, new ID and passports and bank account details. No gun, however, I’m afraid. No chance of getting that through airport security.”
“But you’ll have weapons at the safehouse?”
“Of course. And I’ll be on the same plane as you. I’ll shadow you the whole way. Just in case.”
“Erm, Phoebe?” Bryn was concerned as much as confused now.
Phoebe glanced at her colleague, who simply nodded. Then she turned to Bryn and explained. “I’m not who you think I am. Well, I mean I am Phoebe Drake. That is my real name, and I am from New England.” Then she took a deep breath before continuing. “But I also work for the SVR. Russian foreign intelligence service.”
Bryn couldn’t help a sharp little laugh, as if that might make things a little easier to accept.
“Specifically, I’m a long-term sleeper agent. Able to act alone until I need an XF, like this.”
“Erm, XF?”
“Exfiltration. A quick escape, what we in the business call a Fade. Every agent has them pre-prepared. My mission was to infiltrate SETI, investigate and report on the enemy’s infiltration and prevent the enemy from covering up any ETI signal, if one happened. And if one didn’t happen, I was to create one myself at the appointed time.”
“Are you saying this isn’t a real signal? You made it?”
She paused and took a breath before answering. “Actually, no. I was going to, but then I discovered the authentic one. My version was going to be on the same date and time but from Centauri, at 1618 MHz, like the golden ratio, and just containing some music, some other references to the Voyager Golden Record and a full description of the planetary system at Centauri. The new Chinese space telescope got all the details about the system two months ago. They just haven’t made it public yet. So my message being seen to come before that and then the information confirmed by the telescope would, well, authenticate it.”
“So you know what that information is, then?”
“Yes. It’s a biosignature. That means there’s intelligent life there. Which also means confirmation of the Zoo Hypothesis, and obviously Tau Ceti. And that changes everything, doesn’t it?”
“I’d say that’s an understatement. It means we’re kind of surrounded.”
“Probably. Of course, I already explained what the effect on the world would be if it went public. America and its allies aren’t responding to diplomacy. They want war, because if they don’t have it then Russia and China will be the new superpower in the world, thanks to the Belt and Road Initiative, and America will sink into terminal decline. So they have no choice. And that means neither do I. I have to stop WW3. And that means inciting a revolution.”
“You don’t need to explain that. I get you. And for what it’s worth, I agree with you, the way things are going.”
“You know I wouldn’t blame you if you don’t want to get involved. My colleague here can keep you safe. But if you stayed in Australia they would’ve hurt you, even if you told them you didn’t know anything. I’m sorry I got you involved.”
Bryn didn’t really need any time to consider that decision. “Like I said, now we’ve got nuclear submarines hanging around our shores ‘cos of AUKUS that makes us a target. So the way I figure it, that’s a pretty easy decision. As long as, well -”
“Yes?”
“As long as you promise to tell me what’s going on from now on, eh?”
Phoebe laughed. “Promise.”
“So where are we going, then? Your colleague mentioned another plane?”
“Once we’ve changed, we’ll be switching cars to fool the cameras and then we’re going right back to the airport and we’re getting the next flight to London. There’s someone I have to go and visit there. And we have a safehouse in North London. We’ll be fine once we get there.”
“Speaking of which,” interrupted her colleague, “we should really be going.”
“Right.”
“Maybe you could let me see this message while you change?”
“Sure,” Phoebe said, and handed it over…
Don’t worry, reader dear. I promise you’ll get to find out what the message says next week, ok?
Yeah, I know, I’m as teasingly mischievous as Katy…
hes the baddie that seems like a goodie but there's scope for him to be either all the way through. a very engaging plot driver as he is the one that seems to believe the TRUTH ... Will he be a saviour or will he be a deceiver. Bit like Snape?
still well on the hook here....flapping