Things Fall Apart: Chapter 58

Okay, folks, this is shorter than usual, and (spoilers) ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. It's really only about half the chapter as it should be, but there's a bunch of stuff going on right now. It was important to me, though, to get something out, and this entire project has been an exercise in not letting perfect being the enemy of posted. If I get a chance, the rest will get done and posted before next Monday.

Newer York, 8 Tammuz 2541 AS

Knowing Gupta had read the briefing made this telling of the tale feel less like a litany of woe, somehow. The broad strokes, he already had, so Singer could focus on the things he was most going to be interested in. She told him about Chef's kerfuffle over his gumbo recipe. She let Cadotte narrate the story of Castor's and Pollux's rehabilitation, as much to give Cadotte something else to focus on right now as anything else. She recapped what she knew of Georgette's situation based on what Saito had told her, both before they left Aquila and in private afterward. She, Cadotte, and Alexander gave their perspectives on the interview with Lucas.

All told, it took maybe ten kiloseconds. Gupta was a good listener, and asked good questions that went beyond the technical. He seemed to really understand that Singer and her people saw these personalities as people, albeit with circumstances that were now increasingly troubling to think about.

Finally, Singer told the tale of trying to get Chef's opinion, ending with, "I had told Cadotte they could investigate with Castor and Pollux, but never found out..." she let it trail off and looked at her science officer.

Cadotte nodded. "I did send you a report, but it probably hit the same time we hit the system and we've had other things on our mind the last couple of days. Long and short of it was that the conversation was very similar, but with less swearing, as the one you had with Chef. The other real difference is they seemed more troubled by not being able to process things than you reported Chef being. Hard to tell if that's an artifact of their personalities in general, or of the fact that they seem to have more insight into their state of being than Chef has shown. You'll recall that they were able to talk freely about not knowing how much of their desire to serve was truly natural to their personalities, for example. That's not something I've ever really heard Chef question."

That seemed to be a natural end to the conversation. Around the table, Singer could see, and feel, people trying to digest it. Finally, Gupta said, "As...interesting as it's going to be to talk to Lucas, I think I'd like to have a look at Georgette. I don't have a full NDI with me here, but," he paused, and reached into a satchel Singer hadn't really noticed him coming in with, "I do have a hardened, isolated terminal here. I can at least look at the cartridge, decide whether it makes any sense to spin it up here at all."

There seemed to be a general agreement around the room, so Governor Silverman said, "While you get set up for that, I think this is a good time for a stretch. I can't speak for any of you but I need a bio break and then some more coffee."

Everyone seemed good with that idea, with Gupta rising first. "Let me get ahead of the crowd, please. I'd like to set up while everyone else takes their break." There were chuckles at this, and he slipped out of the room and down the hall at a fast walk.

Singer and her officers lingered a bit. Alexander still had the code to one of the other conference rooms, which, being on the other side of the building, offered a different vista of the core. Singer still wasn't tired of it, and was starting to seriously consider bending or even breaking her orders to avoid going downwell at Tau Ceti. She was feeling a very strong urge to take her boots off and sink her toes into real dirt, something she had pretty much never done.

They didn't really talk. They just stood, together, apart from the others. The door was open, and anyone could have joined them, but no one did. Everyone seemed to get that they just needed a few minutes like this.

Finally, almost as one, they turned back around and headed into Briefing One. Singer had expected Gupta to look thoughtful, maybe focused. He looked deeply troubled.

Admiral Donato was the last to return—Singer suspected he was checking on the ETA of Alexei Leonov and other such matters. She might continue to fault his sense of humor, but his diligence, not at all.

Silverman was still acting as chair, and said, "Well, Doctor? You look disturbed."

"I'm afraid I am. I'm sorry, Commander, I have to ask, but...you said there was a personality on this cartridge?"

Singer blinked. Possibly twice. Started to answer, then tripped over it. Finally, she said, "We assumed there was a personality on the cartridge. We told Georgette we were going to try to help her. She seemed to acquiesce, then the cartridge lit and ejected itself, and the ship went into autonomic mode. I gather you're about to tell us there is not, in fact, a personality on that cartridge."

Gupta nodded. "That is correct. There is an archive file, and a README. Your communication officer was kind enough to give me a time reference for Aquila's ship-time as it was last known so I could verify my suspicion. The timestamps fit when you were aboard to rescue the crew. So this is the cartridge Georgette created, I think, but she is not on it, at least, not as a live-suspended personality image. All that's on the node's local storage, as I said, is the archive and the README, which appears to be a video. I have not played it, yet. I thought it better if we all saw it, together, whatever it is."

Donato asked, "Do you think it's safe?"

Gupta nodded, "As safe as anything? This terminal's got all the latest countermeasures and detects nothing amiss with it. I've got a cable in my bag, so we could hardwire the video out to a physical monitor if you want to avoid wireless transmission or anything that implicates a network."

"That seems prudent," the admiral responded. "You understand I trust your judgment on these matters implicitly, but..."

"But it's your job to be paranoid," Gupta finished for him, with a smile. "Which is why I came prepared with a cable and other similar implements to keep things isolated. Give me a moment."

Gupta fished a long black cable out of his bag, picked up the terminal, and walked over to the wall-screen on one end. With the cables connected, he came back over to the table—Silverman made room for him so he could set the terminal down. "Ready?" It was directed at the room at large, but he most directly addressed Donato. Singer was, for the first time, understanding the subtle dance of responsibilities between Donato and Silverman, admiral and governor.

Donato nodded, and said, "Play it."