Savannah, Piedmont Republic
14 October, 2107 AD:
The envelope slipped under his door had no
stamp or return address, but what fried Drew's mind was its contents:
an invitation to the biggest thing to hit Savannah since Sherman's
March To The Sea.
He'd heard about the show the aliens were putting on. Hell, there
was no way to avoid it. It was all over the street-Ic'nichi this,
Ic'nichi that-Gawd, he was sick of hearing it. The humans and
aliens signed another treaty recently, and some Ic'nichi diplomats
were touring the Alliance of Nations trying to improve their
public image. They were in town for three nights of open forum
interviews at the old Civic Center, and you had to be God's nephew
to get in there. Only here was an ornate invitation addressed
to 'Master Andrew Jerome Dawson, esq.' in handwritten
gold ink. More perplexing-and ominous-was the attached note:
'Hope you can make it. You should find the discussion most interesting. About your condition, the restrooms are on the right at the main entrance.'
"Condition?" He tended to mutter
to himself when he was confused or worried, which was pretty
often. "What's this blubber? I got no 'condition'."
He held the invitation up to the dim light of his battered oil
lamp, and studied it from various angles, hoping further enlightenment
might be scribbled on the back. No such luck. "What they
have to say, huh?" Someone clearly wanted face time, and
what spooked him was where they wanted to meet. That whole 'hood
would be crawling with apes. Jeez, 'they' must walk down the
middle of the damned street. Something about that invitation filled him with a sense of dread all out of proportion to the mystery of it, but for the life of him he couldn't bring himself to do the sensible thing, and ignore it. Way out-freakin'.
He dithered for the longest time over it,
got chewed by his boss for not paying attention at work, wondering
what to do. At lunch he went off in a corner and studied the
enigma again. "What the hell is this?" he wondered.
"Why pick on me?"
As much as he denied it to himself, he was nobody: a loner; a
scrawny, acne-scarred misfit with no friends and no interest
in international affairs. He couldn't figure it. Who would go to
all that trouble? He was Downtown: the only people who knew he
existed were the apes who hounded him and the junkies he dealt
with. His first instinct was to go to ground somewhere deep,
deep down in the sewers where 'they'-whoever 'they'
were-couldn't find him. The more he thought about it, the more
freaked he got. But as shook as he was, the idea that someone
important wanted face time intrigued him. Whoever sent that envelope
clearly carried some horsepower, and what 'they' had to
say would interest him? Like it or not, he was hooked.
"Aw right, Master Andrew Jee-rome Dawson,
Esquire." The Boss ape at the third checkpoint in six blocks
gave him a hard look. "You're free t' go."
Drew gave him a sullen glare-they had history-and tried to keep
his hands steady as he zipped up his tattered 'Sharks' team jacket.
The late autumn night was brisk, and they'd about stripped him
naked right there on the sidewalk. There was an edgy silence,
then Drew stuck out his palm.
"My ticket?"
Boss ape frowned. "Ah'll jus' bet you stole this."
He pondered Drew's invitation suspiciously, then handed it back.
"Killed someone t' get it, sure. But, they tell me
you're on the list, which is th' only reason ah don't
slam yo' lousy ass."
"Maybe we should slam him jus' t' be sure, sarge?"
The other harness apes were hovering around close enough to unnerve
him, like they do. He was a welcome break from the tedium of
a chilly night.
Boss ape's calculating look was interrupted by another limousine
pulling up to the checkpoint. "Naw, we got enough t' do.
Another time, sure." No time for this scumbag, it seemed.
"Aw right, blubber, move it," Boss ape snarled, and
sent him packing.
Drew had a half-dozen biting remarks bottled up inside, but Boss
ape's eyes told him anything he said would get him slammed, sure.
He brushed a stringy lock of hair back under his cap, put his
head down and his hands in his jacket pockets, shivering in fear
and humiliation and the brisk October night as he headed down
the crumbling street.
"What the hell am I doing?" he mumbled for the umpteenth
time. Aside from the guv'ment compound, this was a bad place
to be in broad daylight, and no one in their right mind would
be caught here at night. Even Downtowners avoided this area.
The scavengers were laying low for the moment, not that it was
any comfort. There were apes everywhere; the sight of them made
him itch. What's worse, the militia with their automatic rifles
were patrolling the patch of overgrown woods that used to be
a city park. He could see them searching the bare trees with
infrared night scopes, hunting. A movement caught his eye: there
was a sniper on the roof of a half ruined tenement up the street.
This was a no-shit war zone!
"I gotta be crazy," he muttered as he eyed the mob
up ahead. There were limousines and carriages everywhere. The
bright lights and glitter made him painfully aware of how he
stood out in his faded jeans and team jacket. The plantation
class from miles around were headed for the Civic Center in sublime
disregard for the rats watching from the ruins. The few who noticed
regarded him with mixed curiosity and contempt. With all the
apes and militia around, they didn't need to worry.
Whoever sent that note, whatever 'they' wanted with him,
he was sure it couldn't be good. But as much as he wanted to
run, the mystery of the whole thing bugged him, nudging him along
as he dithered and fretted. What the hell did 'they' want
with him? That mysterious 'they' really pushed his buttons.
This whole thing had him floating, it was so unreal. He tried
to be invisible as he worked his way through the aristocratic
crowd converging on the crumbling slums of downtown Savannah.
The last obstacle, at the Civic Center entrance, was a team of
hard-case Alliance Protective Agency suits who made his skin
crawl like those harness apes could never hope to. "You
need to turn around now, idiot," he grumbled to himself
as they gave his invitation a suspicious going over...consulted
their list...whispered among themselves...talked to someone
on their radios...who came out to join the fun. Boss suit was
a short, thin man with frazzled hair and a limp, and his sour expression
said that 'Master Andrew Jee-rome Dawson, Esquire' was
important for reasons he was not happy about. If Drew didn't
know better, he'd swear this drink of water was expecting
him.
Drew was about ready to cave in when another limousine pulled
up to the steps. The local apes were all over it, with plenty
of 'yes-sir-no-sir' for its load of autocrats from one of the
suburban plantations. 'Bastards,' Drew cursed in the silent
rage of the dispossessed. 'Hope you burn.' What hurt worst
was how the apes jumped to open limo doors while treating him
like a dangerous animal. 'Hope you rot in hell,' he fumed
to himself. 'And I got something special for you, slutbitches.'
Rich fat-cats' ho's in sleek, skimpy threads, showing off for
their 'gentlemen'. They got plenty of 'yes-miss-no-miss' too.
That excitement past, the suits got back to him, and it soon
turned into an argument. The local Boss ape wanted to slam him,
supported by the APA suits who clearly didn't like the cut of
his jib. Boss suit stood up to them quietly but firmly, although
he didn't seem any happier about this than his people were. And
all the while more autocratic 'gentlemen' and their flashy ho's
styled past them without receiving a second glance.
The whole thing left Drew burning with impotent rage by time
they finally, reluctantly, let him in. "About damned well
time," he grumbled. His fear was submerged by anger again,
and whatever dirty work 'they' were up to, he wanted in.
He remembered something as he headed for the door. "Hey..."
he confronted Boss suit. "Where's the bucket?"
"Down there." He pondered Drew unhappily, then gestured
down a darkened hallway-to the right, as promised.
"You're hyperventilating," he muttered.
This was just too out-freakin'. "You'll pass out,
you keep it up." That scene at the entrance scared him white,
now his anger wore off. Why was Boss suit covering him? He sure
as hell didn't want to jack the Alliance Protective Agency.
Worse, his mysterious 'they' used the APA to run errands?
He about fainted when he belatedly caught that one. Angst battled
curiosity battled his well-honed survival instincts, making him
a nervous wreck.
"You better run, fool." That hall was a thousand klicks
long, uphill all the way, and darker than pharaoh's tomb. His
hands shook and his stomach churned as he crept along, wondering
if it was too late to back out. "Time to hit the sewers,"
he muttered. The one thing that kept him going was the thought
of doing those assholes some dirt, and even that was not so appealing
now.
It took forever, but he got to the end of the hall. No bucket:
he about bolted then. A right turn sent him further into the
stygian gloom, and the restroom doors were a short way down,
on his right, as promised. He dithered for a long time, finally
took a deep breath and...
"Mister Dawson," a soft voice came from behind him.
He jerked like he'd been stung, and looked around guiltily.
"Here, Mister Dawson, if you please."
The voice came from an office door on the other side of the hall.
The office was dark, the door open a crack. He stood there uncertainly,
frozen with fear. Fantasies of class revenge faded again as he
wondered what the hell to do?
"We need to chat, Mister Dawson." The voice was becoming
impatient.
Galvanized into shaky motion, he crept across the hall, eased
the door open, looked around anxiously, and went in.
The security lamps outside gave just enough
light for him to pick out the furniture. From what he could see,
the place seemed perfectly normal. There was a desk, some chairs,
some filing cabinets, all the usual...there was movement to his
left. Drew recoiled in terror, backing away behind the desk,
hands out before him as a vague animal shape emerged from the
gloom.
"That's better." The soft voice had a trace of a British
accent, pronouncing each word clearly. "Thank you for coming,
Mister Dawson."
Then the impossibility of it all soaked through his panic. There
were no dinosaurs any more, and they certainly wouldn't wear
neatly tailored gray suits and talk with old-school panache.
It never occurred to Drew that his mysterious 'they' might
not be human. Talk out-freakin'!
"...huh?...wha?..."
"You needn't be concerned, Mister Dawson," the alien
assured him. "We mean you no harm. We wish to ask a small
favor of you, if you would be so kind."
It took Drew a moment to absorb that, and another to comprehend
it. The alien studied him calmly across the desk, waiting for
him to pull himself together. It-he-was like a big lizard standing
on two legs; body stretched out flat, tail swaying left and right,
head up, triangular cats' ears alert, arms folded across his
chest. The lamplight glittered on his fine scales and the polished
insignia on his collar.
"Ah...I...w-what do you want?"
"Much better. I do hope we can work together. I dare
say you will find our gratitude most rewarding."
"Um..." As shaken as he was, that got his attention.
What could the Ic'nichi possibly want from him? More important,
what were they offering? "...rewarding?"
"Indeed." The alien reached into a pouch hung under
his belly-Drew noticed the strange-looking firearm next to it-and
drew out a card, which he passed over. "If you can run a
small errand for us in a timely and satisfactory
manner, this account will be credited with a million Alliance
Kroner."
Drew studied the plastic teller card like it was something from
another world, which it might as well have been for Downtowners
like him. A million Kroner? Total out-freakin'!
"Wha...what do you want?"
"You work as an orderly at the University Hospital."
That was not a question.
"...yeah..."
"And the human known as Admiral MacKenna is presently being
treated there."
"Yeah?"
"We understand he suffered a massive stroke, his condition
is hopeless, and his family has requested he be allowed to die."
"Um, yeah."
"Sad." The alien seemed genuinely hurt. "He was
a great leader, instrumental in building up your space fleet
during the Contact Crisis." He focussed on Drew again. "We
respect a formidable foe."
"So...what about it? Where do I come in?"
The alien shook off his funk, picked an object up off the floor,
and laid it on the desk between them. It was the size of a small
suitcase, with a molded handle and a hump on one side.
"This is a device for recording memories: a new technology;
a proposed education tool, actually. We used a local activist
group to delay the Admiral's demise with legal proceedings while
our courier made a fast trip home for this prototype." He
pulled a bowl shaped disk off the side of the case, and drew
out its thick connecting cable. "Place this on top of his
head, and push this button." He indicated the chin strap
and a large blue knob. "The process is painless, and takes
about twenty minutes. When done, return the device to us, and
your task will be complete."
"Hey, no way, boss." He finally realized that the alien's
gray suit was a uniform. This big lizard was military, and was
trying to recruit him as a spy. This was just too heavy
for his sewer rat instinct. "No chance, boss. I'm not your
boy."
"This is important, Mister Dawson, and you are the only
one in a position to help. As I said, you'll find our gratitude
most rewarding." He pushed the case forward a bit.
"Hey, I'm no spook, and I don't jack no alien Goldberg."
He wanted the hell out of there, but the alien had carefully
positioned himself in the way.
"Your racial fear of technology is understandable after
the Collapse, but I can assure you this 'Goldberg', as you put
it, is harmless."
"And I don't wanna jack them suits outside. How am I supposed
to get this thing past them?"
"Those 'suits' will not concern you. We have arranged a
limousine for your use."
"Not me, hombre. No chance."
"Your country has a very good record keeping system."
"...Huh?"
"A very good computerized records system, speaking
of technology." The alien eyed him closely. "Your police,
for example, know you steal pharmaceuticals from the hospital
and sell them on the underground market. It's all there in their
files. We understand they plan to arrest you shortly."
That sent another chill down Drew's spine. He thought he'd covered
his tracks so perfectly. Now the apes were on him, as well as
these aliens. They'd slam him for life! He had to run...but where?
And how, with no money? He felt the darkness closing in around
him, choking him, his panic rising like a tidal wave...
"Interesting thing, computerized records," the alien
mused. "So convenient, yet so vulnerable. It's amazing how
easily files can be inserted, reports amended,
financial transactions recorded." He gave Drew another
sharp look. "But then, files can be erased, reports
misplaced, records lost." He shoved the case
forward a bit more. "With the right incentive...and the
right technology."
'God, I'm in it,' Drew thought. And he'd been half-seduced
by that smooth talk. He stood petrified, eyes flicking back and
forth between the alien and the ominous gray case as he tried
desperately to think of a way out.
"Mister Dawson?"
"N-no, it's too risky, boss. Not gonna happen." As
scared as he was of the apes, jacking with this alien was too
much. "What's this all about, anyway?"
The alien sighed wearily and pondered him for a long moment.
"Perhaps it will help if you understand how important this
is," he said at last. "Your Admiral was the last of
a kind. He understood high-tech global warfare like no one who
hasn't fought through your Collapse can. Mercifully, you humans
are too depleted to fight wars like that any more, and we Ic'nichi
simply don't have the mindset for it. Your Admiral's memories
are a priceless resource which we hope to preserve."
"But...that's treason!" Hell of a time to come all
patriotic! "That'd tell you everything about our space fleet!
You lizards got a lot-a nerve comin' on like that!"
"I have been polite, Mister Dawson!" The alien
rocked back on his tail in indignation. "You can surely
offer the same courtesy. Humans use that term as a derogatory
slur. That was uncalled for." His ears were twitching this
way and that, which made him all the more intimidating.
"...sorry..."
"And for your information, we already know
about your space fleet. You have a grand total of nine starships,
only four of which are real combatants, and two of them are still
under construction. Our defense force alone outnumbers your entire
fleet three to one, and your flimsy, hastily armed transports
are no match for our patrol ships." He was regaining that
damned cool composure, coming down off his tail. "So you
can see we don't need the Admiral's secrets, except as an historical
record."
The silence stretched out as thick as the nighttime gloom. 'Well...yeah...that
may be,' Drew realized at last. The alien's relentless cool
was dampening his panic, allowing him to think it through. 'So...what
do I care, anyway? And why should I?'
The alien patted the case affectionately. "You may rest
assured we would not want this sort of knowledge to get around."
'...uh...yeah...' It was almost like he knew what Drew
was thinking. Out-freakin'.
"And it bears repeating, Mister Dawson, being on our good
side has its rewards."
'...yeah...'
There was another long, uncomfortable silence.
'So...what if they are up to something?' he told himself.
A million Kroner would take him a long, long way from here; all
the way to the Republic of Mendocino, out west. 'Their blubber
don't matter to me.'
The alien pushed the case forward until it rested against his
belly. "We will be here for two more nights. Return this
in that time, and we'll let that 'lizard' remark go by."
A million Kroner.
It hung in the air between them, as conspicuous as a torch-lit
parade. The silence stretched out again as the alien folded his
arms and waited for Drew's next move.
A million Kroner.
It was his way out: out of prison, out of Savannah, out of a
life of groveling poverty. His only way out.
'It'll be risky.' He made his choice without realizing,
and started talking himself into it. The Admiral was in Intensive
Care. He'd have to slip the gismo in in his laundry cart, and
hope the ward nurses didn't get suspicious while he puttered
around the Admiral's room for twenty eternal minutes.
A million Kroner.
It'd set him up like those rich plantation bastards. Yeah. He
reached hesitantly for the handle...
"Oh, and I recommend you don't try opening the case."
Drew froze again. He'd read enough spy novels to know what the
alien was hinting at.
A million Kroner.
He'd never have to mop up puke and piss again, ever.
'El Dawson Ranchero.' Yeah. Visions of autocratic excess
danced before his eyes, submerging his last lingering doubts.
'With a whole stable full of good-lookin' ho's.'
Yeah. Fuckit. 'Nuke Savannah, see if I care.' He picked
up the case. It was surprisingly heavy. 'Good bye Piedmont
Republic, and fuck you.'
The alien gave him a toothy smile.
- 