Ciao, SETI! Part 7/8
What must they think of us, and all the hurt that we do?
So, I do in fact get to say the word ‘penultimate’ again!
Here is the penultimate episode of this little saga.
It doesn’t require much of an intro from me. I’m sure you’ll be pleased to hear that.
For the previous episode, click there. In that episode, Phoebe & Bryn made their little exfiltration, and Alex visited Katy for one last time.
In this episode, finally, you, dearest reader, get to find out what the extraterrestrial message says.
I can’t say you are going to like it. But if you think about it, well, you really can’t blame us for thinking of you this way, now, can you?
On this day, of all days, when the vast majority of American voters are going to vote for either the blue evil or the red evil…
“Ok. Hold on.” Another of the Professor’s nameless colleagues cupped his hand over his phone and told him the bad news. “They never got on the plane to Auckland.”
“Smart girl. Are you saying we’ve lost them?”
“Not yet. Just delayed a little. We’ll start with the CCTV at Sydney Central and track their movements from there.”
“So, she’s not as amateurish as we thought. Keep me informed.”
“Sure.” He turned away and back to his phone, issuing further instructions.
The Professor, obviously, wasn’t happy. But then again, at least the original signal didn’t exist anymore. Maybe he would just let them go. Or maybe not. They could still cause trouble.
Another SETI colleague came over. “They’re ready.”
“Excellent.”
They wandered over to the little makeshift podium they’d set up outside the observatory, with that huge dish in the backdrop, facing the waiting press. The Professor took his position and began his address.
To the Secretary General of the United Nations…
“I hate this disguise. Makes me look like a dork.”
“That’s the point. You don’t look like you at all. Besides, you should count yourself lucky. Look at me…”
It is my unhappy duty to inform you, Sir, that the Council have unanimously agreed to implement my recommendation, to raise the quarantine level on Planet Danuih to the maximum, namely Dystopian Isolate… In practical terms, this status means you are confined to your own system…
“…It is with a heavy heart, I have to say, that once again we’ve got a false alarm. Almost certainly caused by electronic RFI. I say with a heavy heart, because everyone in SETI wants the next one to be the real deal. A genuine message from an extra-terrestrial intelligence to prove what every human being wants to know. That we are not alone…”
“It seems they boarded a plane for Singapore.”
“Do we have anyone in Singapore?”
“There’s a CIA station of course. Although we’d rather not have to involve those guys.”
“I really don’t think we have a choice. Inform them. Tell them to start with the CCTV. See if we can’t track them through the airport.”
“Sir.”
…We have been monitoring your development for a very long time. Since your ice age. We visited you then, and you were not afraid. But now, clearly, you are riven with xenophobia… You lived well then. But now, you have become a disappointment…
British Airways flight 618 to London Heathrow now boarding gate 24. Would all remaining passengers please proceed gate 24…
“Just smile, say nothing memorable, and act natural.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You’re a spy.”
“Shush.”
“Boarding passes, please.”
“Hi.” Phoebe handed it over. The security woman gave it a brief glance, tore off a page and handed the rest back. “Have a nice flight.”
“Thanks.”
Bryn just smiled, perhaps a little too broadly, and handed his over. She repeated the same gesture she’d done for a hundred other people in the previous thirty minutes. A hundred other people she would never have to think about or remember ever again.
“Have a nice flight, Sir.”
“Thanks.”
They got on the plane.
…Your attitude has made you become a very serious threat, to the trillion lifeforms in our sector, and to the planet you should call home. You don’t even call her by her true name…
We therefore have no choice but to intervene in this way. The protection of all planets and all life in our sector is our responsibility and our duty. And that includes yours…
“So what are you saying, Professor? That Miss Drake was, what, mistaken? She seemed pretty damn sure to me?”
“I’m afraid so. Everyone can make mistakes. Especially students. Of course we do not blame her. She got excited. Anyone would, in her position.”
“So where is she, then?”
The Professor swallowed. “I don’t know the answer to that question. But I do know that she and her colleague, Mr. Bradman, have been granted some time off, and I believe they decided to take a vacation together.”
“Are you sayin’ they’re an item?”
“Erm, I really can’t answer that one. Who knows, with young people today.”
“You know a whole load o’ folks are gonna be mighty disappointed this ain’t ayleens, Professor. Not least my own colleagues in our newspaper. We’ve been running with this story for some time, as you know. We were gettin’ pretty darn excited if I say so meself. And now you tell us it’s all a load of electronic whatever ya call it.”
“Electronic radiofrequency interference. Well, I can only offer my sincerest apologies.”
…We will prevent you from using your nuclear weapons. We will not allow you to do that to Danuih’s body. We will prevent you from developing further technology that could one day constitute a threat…
“I think we’ve lost them.”
“What? How could we just lose them?”
“They left the airport in a cab but then took a detour. No cameras. Presumably they switched vehicles too. It’ll take us hours to pick up their trail, maybe days, even if we can. Which is doubtful.”
“Nothing’s doubtful for the CIA. Tell them to keep looking. However long it takes.”
“You know, Professor, I think we’re dealing with a professional here.”
“That’s becoming abundantly clear.”
“Meaning this was all planned in advance.”
The Professor’s computer guy came over, with a very nervous and extremely concerned expression on his face.
“What is it now? More bad news, I’m assuming, by the looks of you.”
Instead of speaking, he just handed the tablet over.
“What am I looking at?”
“That’s not our signal on SETI@home. That’s the original.”
“What?!”
“It’s not our -”
“I heard you. So change it.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that. She created a mirror of the directory, which is now totally shredded, thanks to a hidden little program she inserted, designed to activate when we uploaded. Our version doesn’t exist anymore.”
“You’re telling me you can’t recover it? At all?”
“That’s what I’m saying. And this has gone viral already. If we try and change it now, everyone will know what we’ve done.”
“You don’t think it’s a bit late for that?”
“So what happens now?”
…You have brought shame to all of us. In our sector of this vast and awesome galaxy we are all a family. We are a multicultural galactic civilisation in which everyone co-exists peacefully. Even you, despite your ignorance, are a valued member of our civilisation. This is why it brings us such pain and such sorrow to watch you, your behaviour, your attitude, your descent. You have brought shame to us all…
“Sir, phone.”
The Professor took the phone. “Yes?”
It was Alex. You can’t hear what he’s saying.
“We’re on our way back to America. There’s no point staying here anymore… Then I expect to hear at least some good news when we arrive. Namely, that she’s been transferred for good…”
From a close, but comfortable distance Phoebe’s handler watched them pass safely through customs. He smiled to himself, and strolled through without incident. From there he followed them through arrivals, taking care not to make eye contact with any of the heavily armed security men with their submachine guns and their nervous glances, and then down into the London Underground. They would take the Piccadilly Line, and would not need to change trains. And he would keep a close eye on them from further down the same carriage. So far, they had not been followed. So far, so good.
“It’s gone viral, see.” Phoebe handed Bryn the smartphone. He whistled. She smiled.
The intercom gargled.
Customers are advised to make only necessary journeys. For your own safety please obey all security instructions issued. We also advise passengers to avoid the Victoria Line and the Northern Line. The Government would like to assure you the Army is in control of the situation and the area will be secure in due course. We apologise for the inconvenience.
“So,” Phoebe smiled, with the severity of satisfaction, “it has begun.”
The chatter in the carriage was incessant. Everyone glued to their phones for constant updates. The BBC had cancelled most of its scheduled programming for rolling news.
There were riots. To call it civil unrest is an understatement. Years of suppressed anger and injustice were pouring onto the streets. And not just in London.
Human beings do not appreciate dystopia.
An hour later they exited onto the Caledonian Road, a discreet little station away from the main thoroughfares, yet only a few thrown stones away from Holloway. And no cameras once they rounded the corner, at which point Phoebe’s handler joined them, smiling.
A few more leafy backstreets and they were safe.
Katy, in the vehicle holding area, about to be loaded into the back of the van by her two chaperones. They think it’s strange, her being so serene.
“Can you give us a minute, please?” Alex strides up to her. The two security men give them some space.
She turns to face him, and smiles. “I hear the revolution’s already starting. From Brighton to Liverpool, London to Leeds.”
“We’ll have it under control soon enough.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Human beings don’t like authoritarian governments impoverishing them and stripping away their human rights and their welfare state. For every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction.”
“Wouldn’t you have liked to have been around to see it?”
Katy shrugged. “I don’t need to see it. I know how this ends.”
“You were responsible for that signal, weren’t you? Or your accomplice. That message is almost word-for-word from one of your stories.”
“Of course it is. I’m a diplomat as much as an observer. Shame for you that you didn’t treat me accordingly.”
“Where is she?”
“I told you, I have no idea. But if I was you I’d leave her alone, otherwise QAI-TI will be forced to intervene.”
“Ah, your Quantum AI?”
“Transcending Interface. Just like I wrote her. She is an ever-vigilant guardian. She protects all us Visitors. She has swarms of nanobots at her control. If you even think about trying to torture anything out of me then she will tear you into a million pieces.”
Alex took her seriously. “That’s why I never thought about it,” he said, with honesty. “But if what you say is true, then why has she allowed you to be incarcerated for eighteen months?”
“Because it was meant to happen. Just like whatever is going to happen to me next, is also meant to happen.”
“So she’s not going to stop it? She’s not going to hurt those two men?”
Katy smiled again, with a curious, strange sense of affection, only just discernible. “Just like I told you, I’ve been wanting to go home all my life. And if you think that by killing me you can provoke a reprisal and portray us as hostile, you will find that you are gravely mistaken.”
Alex gave a short, half laugh, and then sighed. “Ok,” he said. “Well, have a safe journey.”
Katy smiled warmly back at him.
Because she could tell he meant it.
And then she climbed up into the van, they fastened her restraints to the bench, and then slammed the door shut behind her.
Alex watched them leave, as the evening darkness began to fall…
The end will come next week…
please can they hurry up and arrive
GRIPPING!