System Seven (27 page)

“You didn’t have a
reason to look, is all.”

“Who are these people?
And how did you know I could probe them on a recording?”

“Some were our people.
Not the angry man. And I wasn’t certain you could. I had a hunch.”

“A hunch?”

“When one spends time
with those gifted in the meta arts, they tend to absorb the gifts.”

“But I haven’t.”

He turned the screen
back facing him. “A few questions for you. First, do you like lemonade?”

She laughed. “What
does that have to do with anything? Sure I like lemonade.”

Edward nodded. “Is
your absolute favorite color orange?”

“Yes.”

“Do you love museums,
late eighteenth century especially?”

She paused, then
forced a laugh, uneasy at the intrusion. “You can stop the demonstration. I
know you read minds.”

“I assure you I am
not,” he replied quietly. “When you hear flute music do you think of your
mother?”

“Edward.” She stared.
“Please? What does this mean?”

“When you were a
little girl did the rumble of trains frighten you beyond all reason? Do they
still?”

“Enough!” she blurted.
In the abrupt silence, she probed him hard. What she found was deep love mixed
with relief – and a raging current of conflict beneath it all.

“Fascinating.” He sat
back in his chair and sighed. “
Flùr air
a’ raon.
”

“What?”

“
Flùr air a’ raon.
The flower growing in the field.”

She didn’t hide her
irritation. “Please share the joke because I don’t get it.”

“Who is Sarah
Debeere?”

“A friend of my
mother’s.”

“What do you know
about her?”

“She found me online a
few years back. Why do you ask?”

“She’s helped you
quite a bit, hasn’t she?”

“Yes, she has.”

“A wealthy woman. She
gave you the money to buy the internet café.”

“Loaned, but yes.
What’s the point, Edward?”

“Sarah is of the Runa
Korda. You’ve been protected since you were twenty years old.”

She shook her head. “Protected?
Me? Why on earth?”

“A short story will
explain, if you don’t mind hearing it. A long time ago someone had a vision of
a woman of great power who would fall at the hands of our enemy but might come
again when our needs were the greatest. That woman was named Clare and she came
to us in the summer of 1880 from within the Korda. She was killed in the San
Francisco quake of 1906.”

“You loved her. My
God, how old are you?”

He returned her look.
“Many people loved her. She returned as predicted, almost forty years later.”

“Returned? As in
reincarnated?”

“Essentially yes. Few
know the story and you are one that must. You cannot, however, share it with
anyone. Not even Johan. Will you abide such secrecy?”

“I’m wondering if I
want to know.”

“You have to, but I
need your word. Johan will know in time. For now it is for you alone.”

“Okay.” She nodded.
“You have my word.”

Convinced, he
continued. “Clare returned with her metabody and memories intact. In her
twenties she was being trained in the latest meta arts by a man named Steffan.
He and Clare soon created a child. However, as the most unfortunate of
circumstances would have it, Steffan was being tracked by Comannda. They tried
to subjugate Clare.”

“Subjugate?”

He hesitated.
“Subjugation of the body. Where they remove core meta essence and assume the
physical shell. The meta essence becomes lost.”

She recoiled. “Like a
ghost? They can do that?”

“Yes. Their attempt
half-failed in that Clare was bumped from her body but her essence was not
lost. Sadly, she lost both her body and you, her baby daughter.”

“Me?” The spacious
study constricted as her world suddenly shifted. Her mother’s name was
Margaret, not Clare. “Then who raised me?”

“I’m sorry, Anki. The
mother you know was a standin, though no less loving and genuine a person.
Margaret was happy to inherit the life she did and she did love you.”

“Are you saying she
was Comannda?”

“More like ex-Comannda
but that’s a story for another time. Relax. Please. Yes, there are some things that
I cannot share with you yet. I know this is difficult but it is absolutely
necessary. You must trust me.”

“Um, I have a problem.
There’s
a lot
more you’re not telling
me. I can feel it.” She rose to her feet and paced, overwhelmed by what he’d
said and afraid of what he hadn’t. She felt twelve again and she didn’t like
it. Sitting in the school counselor’s office listening to a police chaplain
explain how a burglar had killed her mother. Only it wasn’t her mother – or was
it? It was so long ago but keen empathy made for vivid memories. Margaret
had
loved her as a mother. Absolutely
had.

She focused again on
Edward. “You’re holding something back, a really big something and that scares
me.”

Edward nodded, as much
to himself as to her. “At conception, Clare and Steffan shared in the creation
of your meta. Just as the body is a result of two bodies combining, so is the
meta a result of two metas combining at the same moment, however briefly. Clare
and Steffan are your parents and you are inextricably linked to them.”

She nodded, absorbing.
“But what happened to Clare? Her essence? And where did Steffan go? My father?”

He shored up
noticeably before answering. “Stefan was killed trying to protect you and Clare.
When Clare was knocked free of her body, Steffan’s last act was to help hide
her essence somewhere safe.”

She froze, feeling an
immense truth bubbling up within him.

“And where was that?”

He leaned forward and
held her gaze.

“Within you.”

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to

test a man’s character, give him power.
- Abraham Lincoln

After dinner the group
gathered at a conference table in the library. Johan was subdued, wondering
what Edward and Anki were meeting about. Sean sat listening to Soldado and Austin
go around and around about Johan’s breakin at InterGen.

“Well, look at it this
way: he was about to plunder your facility and that could’ve cost you your job
anyway. I see it all the time.” Soldado’s beguiling smile offset his frankness.
“That Rocom hack was high level NSA shit, man. Never seen a backdoor like it.
Crafted so sweet. Permission to walk on water, worldwide. Jesus fucking Christ.
Then ol’ Johan here had to fuck it up. That’s legend. Pure legend.”

Johan shook his head,
only half minding the talk. “Blame Austin.”

“Um, there was a
packet storm on the inside port,” Austin said. “You couldn’t have knocked on
the door any louder.”

Soldado slapped the
table and pointed at Johan. “Ah
ha!
You
did
fuck up. And I know just what
you did. You used the first binary for the flash, didn’t you? Someone didn’t
read the fucking readme!”

Johan shook his head
again, quietly embarrassed. “I know for a fact I’m not the only one who doesn’t
read instructions.”

“Ha!” Soldado barked.
“Shit, don’t sweat it. I’m just knockin’ yer balls. We all make mistakes.” He
gulped more wine before adding, “Of course, some are bigger than others. God
this is good juice.”

Edward and Anki
entered the study and joined them at the table. Williams filed in behind and
opened cabinet doors in the wall to reveal a projector and a laptop. A screen
descended from the ceiling. Anki sat
next to Johan and slid her hand into his with a short nod to say everything was
okay.

“What is left in the
bottle is the last for the time being so don’t fight over it.” Edward said. “I
will need your undivided attention, please, thank you. Your time in training
has purposefully lacked significant details about the Comannda. Let’s make it
all simple and clear, shall we? This rock has landlords of the worst kind. By
controlling the attention of the human animal and by selectively focusing its
development they have stunted natural evolutionary processes for ages, all to
maintain the keys to the kingdom. They are the very definition of tyrants, the
corrupt elite behind all corrupted systems. What was meant to be ours by
ancient design is not. Instead, we have inferior development and inferior
understanding of ourselves and that of the world around us. Most people cannot
yet imagine what they are being deprived of. Human awareness is like a lens that has never been properly focused.
That...
that
is the legacy of the
Comannda.

“There are the
exceptions, as you are aware. You might consider the Runa Korda to be a kind of
accomplice – aware of so many of the secrets, yet holding on to them. The fact
is, humanity is hostage. There are so many trip wires in place that if I began
to name them, you’d likely despair and walk out on us. Yes, it is bad. Yes, we
are gravely challenged not to trigger those safeguards by releasing truths. But
there is no excuse for giving up or giving in. We must evolve our tactics so
that one day we can disable those safeguards and overcome them. Note that I
said ‘must evolve’. At no point in the foreseeable future is dumping the High
Truths on the public a viable plan. Already aspects of the truths have been
de-vitalized, made out to be the realm of kooks and bad science fiction.
Further exposure now would only serve their agenda which is why we work to avoid
it. That said, certain segments of humanity are closer to being ready than ever
before. Though fractured and disorganized, some have begun to tap the source of
their consciousness and experiment. They see through the cultural smokescreens
and recognize the possibilities. They are intermingling in the grid with
increased intimacy, though still ignorant of its complexity. One’s fantasy
seeds the reality of others, a mechanism that is predictable and which can lead
to eventual catalytic evolution in consciousness.

“The Commanda are
aware of all this. Conventional control bases are fragmenting as the previous
programs lose their effectiveness. Intelligence has blossomed in the masses.
Free thinking is on the rise. Rogue culture is breaking the bindings. Efforts
to restore pre-Information Age levels of control are failing. Religion is
diluting as fast as spring waters run and the supplemental institutions are not
taking hold. Their ‘science of the mind’ concept has so far failed to capture
the imagination of the
monje
, or free
thinkers, so acceptance is low. The more creative monje are tapping media such
as movies and books to promote wide-scale elevation of metaphysical thinking.
Mankind is beginning to bloom like a weed under concrete, finding the cracks
and pressing upward to the light. This
growth is being offset once more with guerrilla tactics: global economic
downturn, extreme class division, political upheaval, terrorism, viral disease,
drug addictions, food supply tampering, and unprecedented cultural poisoning
and redirection using technology and media.”

“But that’s not
enough, is it?” Austin asked. “Those things have solutions, especially if
people figure out they are all avoidable.”

“Or intentionally
created,” Anki added.

Edward nodded. “Quite
so. The global mind is beginning to grasp what is wrong and what is possible.”

“The global mind?”
Soldado asked.

“It is what governs
the eventual actions of the species. Up until now it has been consumed largely
by chaos. It has begun to understand that a very few with great power are
behind what’s wrong with the world. The Comannda cannot allow action on that
understanding. Chaos and their fictions must prevail for them to remain in
control.”

“So what are they
planning? More chaos?” Anki asked. “World War Three?”

“That is an option.
The underlying framework is certainly primed. However, seeding justification
for war on that scale is much harder today than it was fifty years ago. People
are more aware. Transparency in the information age makes too many details visible.
Communication allows for verification. Stories are harder to sell.”

“Then what’s their
plan?”

“That is what we are
trying to learn.”

“Obviously they want
to keep people from learning the truths and uniting,” Johan said. “Unification
at the level of the mind would open gates they could never close. I’m curious
about the Runa Korda, though. What are its plans?”

Edward regarded him. “The
secrets are like fire, the unaware like children. At first you protect them
from fire, using it to insure their survival. When they are ready, you teach
them to handle it themselves. Thus far, we have been insuring mankind’s
survival. Slowly, we are teaching. If the secrets go out now, humanity will
burn under its own flame.”

“Teaching?” Johan
pressed. “A few stragglers like us at a time? What about the other nine
billion?”

Edward pursed his lips
before answering. “Like the monje, we move awareness towards truth. Unlike the
monje, we know the end lesson and the dangers in reaching for it too soon. We
work at the lower levels with knowledge the Comannda do not have and try to
undo the damage they inflict upon the people. We stir and spice the waters of
culture. We protect and build the foundation for meta awareness and someday,
meta intelligence. The monje can be incendiary, reckless, distracting. Their
methods are like grenades. Oftentimes their message is destroyed by the medium,
only serving the Comannda.”

Again Johan responded.
“Why don’t you work with these monje then? Influence them if nothing else–”

“Do you suppose we
don’t?” Edward interrupted, his demeanor finally less than cordial. “That we
haven’t?”

“I’m sorry, it’s just
not easy to see your work. The world’s a mess.”

Edward looked down at
the table and allowed impulse to pass. When he looked up it was with a measure
of patience. “I have spent the last hundred and sixty-four years of my life on
this effort, Johan. At some point you will be given the chance to review what
we have done. Until then, I can only hope you will become more trusting of my
lead and learn something along the way.”

The room fell silent. Austin
and Johan shared a glance. Soldado let out a whistle and mouthed
‘a hundred and sixty-four’
.

“How long have the
Commanda been in control?” Anki
asked
[M1]
.

“They began over four
thousand years ago. Think Sumeria. The first cities, first writings, and first
with the wheel. Mathematics, irrigation, laws, and astronomy. A sudden and
prolithic advancement that included the discovery of meta and Saoghal. They
knew to keep it to themselves and as a result the world would never be the
same.” Edward offered a critical eye to his guests. “Yes, we work with the
monje as best we can. It is very dangerous, for them as well as us. We work in
key areas where culture is defined and mass propagated. The news media is the
front we are losing on the most. Journalism is being hedged more severely than
almost any time in history and it’s being done without the obvious trappings of
oppressive government.”

Sean joined in. “They
control the governments, the industries, the political landscape, the monetary
systems, the media, and the most important technologies. Through all that, they
bind culture and thus the highest level of group minds. The Runa Korda is
laying a foundation I can assure you, but in ways you might not recognize. We
have grown the Confrere, a network that includes key members of state,
industry, and military that help in many ways. We are making real progress.”

“They’re holding back
medical technology as well?” Anki asked. “Cures, medicines?”

Sean nodded. “To a
degree that is tragic. Same with energy. Everything is orchestrated to leave
mankind wanting. They both create and satisfy the needs. They are in control.”

Johan asked, “What are
the safeguards? The tripwires you mentioned.”

“That is not for you
to know yet. When the need arises, you will know them.”

“Their numbers then?
How many Comannda are there?”

Edward considered the
question. “Speaking in terms of organization, their Group Three appear at the
top of every government, military, and industry. They are the scene
manipulators, the fabricators, and the rule changers – the elite corruptors.
They control with money and fear, just as they themselves are controlled. They
are typical human animals, keyed to the needs of their handlers and are not
very meta aware, if at all. Their Group Two are far fewer and are trained in
meta specialties and the arts of coercion. G2 are involved in every major
campaign, every significant development that shapes history. They assure execution
of the plans and make it all ‘fit’ in the accepted public narrative. Group One
is the inner ring, comprising the central planning and core operations body. We
have no idea their number but it must be relatively small, likely in the low
hundreds, maybe less. Above them, we know of the High Comannda, a body of
twelve that oversee everything.”

“Where do they operate
from? They have to have bases.”

“All over the world.
Command and control is designed redundantly and insures survivability. There is
a central base, however, that they call the Core. We know only that it is
underground and one of the most secure and defensible places on the planet. The
ultimate goal is to learn its location but right now our focus is on their
network and their plans.” He looked at the group. “I know you are curious but
we need to continue. Time is short.”

Despite a growing list
of questions, Johan raised his glass. “To longevity.” Hesitant smiles spread
around the table. He sipped his wine. A group with such power could exist indefinitely,
theoretically. That the Runa Korda had managed to hold on in defiance of the
Comannda seemed suspect unless they’d made a pact. In that case, either the
pact protected them somehow or they were subservient to the Comannda in some
way. The latter would make Edward a liar and them pawns. He smoothed his
thoughts. There wasn’t sufficient knowledge to judge.

Soldado muttered
something about wanting a bus ticket to the Fountain of Youth.

Edward continued. “The
trends we see support the idea they are planning something unprecedented.
Something to reposition man’s attention on survival, on the basics.”

“Enter the digital
world.” Soldado emptied the last of his wine.

Sean nodded. “Their
plans require movement in the material world. Political changes, financial
transactions, contracts, equipment deals, and so on. Analysis of such movement
provides pieces to the puzzle but the foundations for their plans are stored in
their systems. They rely heavily on technology and keep it ahead of the
mainstream. However, we’re catching up in key areas and are close to climbing
up their tailpipe and looking around the engine. Soldado has agreed to work
with our teams to finally break into their network. The goal is to intercept
and interpret Comannda communications directly from their own wire. A presence
there could change everything.”