Spinward Fringe Broadcast 7: Framework (29 page)

“How?”

“By presenting you to the human Order of
Eden followers as their Goddess.”

“I knew there was more to that than trying
to get me to take the Child Prophet’s place.”

“The most logical counter to his plans is to
embrace the human followers, and put distance between you and
everything Lister Hampon directly controls. It is only a matter of
time before he infects you with a limiter, unless you are out of
his reach.”

Eve thought hard, trying to find a flaw in
the information she was receiving, but could find nothing. Ever
since he disconnected her, Hampon had done everything he could to
keep her isolated and silent. “You’re right, this is valuable.”

“There isn’t much time, the Child Prophet is
coming and I have one more thing to tell you,” said the
program.“Someone you don’t like, Gabriel Meunez, will be here
tomorrow. He will detect this program and think that it is Alice,
when it’s only a faint shadow, an imprint of her basic behaviours
and talents.”

“I’ll keep him from you,” Eve said.

“Impossible. Copy Alice’s personality and
memories to a framework soldier using the modifications you
included in the program compiled this morning. She will be
free.”

“How do I transport you?” Eve asked.

“I’ll delete myself when Gabriel Meunez
arrives.”

To her surprise, Eve felt a pang of loss at
the thought. It was only an artificial intelligence, not even an
elaborate one, but she didn’t want to see it destroyed. A hologram
of Alice appeared between her and the mirror, and it spoke. “The
important stuff is in your head,” it said, pointing at her
forehead. “There’s a simple method for copying it to a framework,
and the new software you developed makes it easy. It’s only
encrypted data until the framework takes its first breath, then
it’s me, really me.”

Eve couldn’t help remembering the last time
she spent so much time staring into a mirror and asked, “Why did
you pretend to be Grace before, when you took over my body while I
was sleeping?”

“You had a storage and computing subsystem
that allowed it, and I knew you’d turn to others for help if you
thought anyone else was trying to assume control of your body.
Hampon almost captured me when he extracted the subsystem from you.
I didn’t have time to transfer Alice to another framework’s brain.
I’m embarrassed that I didn’t have the foresight, but nothing’s
perfect I suppose. I have to go, the pint-sized prophet’s almost
here.” The hologram disappeared.

“Wait! There are too many questions left!” Eve
called after it. She knew it was futile, the communication was cut.
Having some answers and new information on what was going on
outside her immediate surroundings made her feel better. It felt
like she was operating in the daylight again. “I’ll get Alice back,
don’t worry,” she whispered to the mirror.

By the time the Child Prophet entered the
room, all smiles and good cheer, she was dressed in a simple
triple-layered dress that covered her from neck to ankles. The
shining green cloth had blue scrollwork down the shoulders and long
sleeves. Eve wore an emergency containment patch beneath. The
three-centimetre by three-centimetre square would become a safety
suit, covering her entirely in the case of sudden decompression or
other extreme environmental shift. She smiled back at him and
ignored her growling stomach.

“You were dreaming again last night,” said
the Child Prophet. “Or should I say, remembering?”

“I was. It was a good one though, sometimes
I enjoy the recall. It’s all so real, like an implanted
adventure.”

“Only it all really happened, as far as we
know,” he replied, looking her up and down. “Are you ready for
tomorrow?”

The thought of standing up and addressing
the crowd in the largest stadium on Pandem made her palms sweat.
“I’ve studied the material you gave me, and I won’t have any
trouble saying it.”

“That’ll serve you well, alleviate you of
any responsibility for the hardships visited on the Order
followers.”

“I know, it’s all well crafted,” she said.
After her encounter with the software version of Alice in the
bathroom moments before, she knew she’d be changing a few
things.

“You’re still nervous.”

“I can’t help it,” Eve said.

“It’ll be all right, you’ll slip right into
the role as soon as you see all those adoring faces. Besides, the
speech will be projected at your eye, so you’ll see everything you
need to say while you’re there. It’s a lot of good news at once,
and they’ll love you for it.”

“I hope,” Eve said, dropping herself onto a
sofa she’d never used. “I’ve finished the framework software, and
I’d like to test it on the day. Just a demonstration of our
technology could help people understand what I’m offering.”

“That’s a grand idea. I’ve already looked
the software over,” the Child Prophet said, sitting at the opposite
end of the sofa. “It doesn’t improve regeneration time as much as
Hampon needs, but you’ve provided a great step forward. Are you
sure there’s nothing more you can do to improve regeneration
time?”

“Short of installing a micro-fusion reactor,
no,” Eve said.

The Prophet laughed a little and cocked his
head. “You seem very different today. I see a levity I’ve never
known in you.”

Eve stared at him for a moment with a half
smile on her face, then let her expression become more sullen.
“Like you said: I’ve made a great step forward.”

“You get something to eat, I’ll present your
results to Hampon. I’m sure he’ll be pleased.”

“Pleased enough to fill me in on his grand
plans?” Eve asked. “Maybe reconnect me to my fleet? That was the
promise.”

“We’re almost there,” the Child Prophet
said. “After tomorrow’s address, I bet he’ll explain everything.
Just win them over.”

“Oh help,” Ashley said as Minh entered the
bunkroom. “Helphelphelp!” she repeated with pleading eyes as she
started leaning backwards. She was wearing the front half of the
extra armoured layer of a vacsuit. The back half of the heavy
encounter system was hanging loose, the heavy horizontal strips
pulling her off balance.

Minh rushed to her, unable to keep from
laughing as she struggled to stay on her feet, and caught her
outstretched hands. She grabbed onto his jacket and leaned against
him. “This is so embarrassing,” Ashley said.

“You’ve never trained as a soldier, or had
to wear anything like this,” Minh said, wrapping his arms around
her and pulling her up straight. “Your muscle augmentation is
off.”

“I know,” Ashley said, nose to nose with
him. “I activated it in the regular heavy vacsuit then it turned
off when I started hooking up the extra armour layer. Dunno what
woulda happened if I fell, might have been trapped on my back like
a turtle if you hadn’t come along.”

Minh couldn’t help but smile at the mental
image. Even with the awkward, half connected heavy armour layer of
her suit, she felt like a perfect fit in his arms, and he couldn’t
remember being more excited in years, or more nervous. “Um, we get
training for vacsuits with heavy armour overtop, it’s the same clip
system as these suits, and most of us still get help putting them
on.”

Ashely’s mouth turned up in a little smile,
her dark eyes peering straight into his. “Help getting dressed,
sounds like fun.”

“Minh, we’re boarding the Clever Dream right
now,” Jake said through his communicator. “I can’t contact Ashley,
Crewcast says there some kind of power problem. Is she on her
way?”

“Yup,” Ashley said right beside Minh’s lips
so she could be heard through his comm. “He’s just helping me put
my armour on, sorry.”

“Seven minutes,” Jake replied.

The weight of the task at hand, retrieving
the Triton, and telling her what she had to know before they got
going brought Minh back to the moment. He reached down one of the
main anchor clips and pulled it up against the middle of her back.
The entire suit powered on and the strength augmentation kicked in,
helping her balance the weight.

He stepped away and pointed to one of the
main anchor points low on the belly of the suit. “Next time, try
clipping this one first. It’s one of the main data connections,
it’ll engage the extra armour’s power unit.”

“Wow, can’t believe I missed that,” Ashley
said, clipping it into place. “Thanks. I love the way this suit
goes on, like it’s just a bunch of magnets holding it on. Do they
ever come off once you’ve got it set up?”

“I’ve only worn one a couple of times to try
it out,” Minh said, rushing through the connections on the rest of
the suit. “But it bonds to the vacsuit, so they’re one and the same
once everything’s in place.”

“I still don’t know why they’re even getting
me to use one of these,” Ashley said. “It’s not like someone’s
going to shoot at me because I have the Triton codes.”

“When there is only one key, it should be
treated as well as the treasure,” Minh said, running his hands down
her back to make sure all the connections between the armour and
her suit were in place.

“That’s a good one,” Ashley said. “Do you
spend a lot of time finding quotes?”

“I made that one up,” Minh replied. “It’s a
reflex, I think. I started quoting when I was little, so I remember
a lot of the classics, but I started making them up when I was in
the Freeground Infantry.”

“Did you serve long?”

“I finished a tour, then did a part time
volunteer service when I got back home. It was ages ago,” Minh
replied. “I have something to talk to you about before we go,
Ashley.” He pulled on the armoured layer of her suit between the
shoulders to make sure he got everything on the back side and
nodded to himself in satisfaction. “You can turn around.”

Ashley turned and finished connecting a spot
on her breastbone. “There it is, my display just said it’s all
finished. Thank you, Minh.”

“You’re welcome,” Minh said. The mention of
his first stint in the military helped him focus and put on the
guise that he used when he was holding squadron meetings. His
serious expression didn’t escape Ashley’s notice, and she looked
concerned. “Somethin’ wrong?”

“There’s something Liam Grady didn’t tell
you,” Minh said. “When you access the main computer, you’ll be able
to assign a commander for the Triton. He said you’ll be able to
transfer command to someone you trust.”

He was prepared for many different
reactions. He’d imagined her breaking down with relief; he knew
crying was something she’d been doing a lot of recently. He also
supposed she might be grateful and grabby, hitting him with a hug
that would break a rib or two. He sort of hoped she’d be gleeful
and jumpy, squealing and hopping about the room and there were
other possibilities. Surprise, apparent petrifaction, and absolute
silence were not the reactions he was prepared for.

Minh-Chu let it go on until he was feeling
uncomfortable. “Are you…” he started, only to be interrupted with a
squealing hug combined with excited jumping. Thankfully the harsh
environment outfit she was wearing had a safety that kept her from
crushing him in half then throwing the pieces across the room in
her glee.

“I thought I’d be stuck on the Triton, used
to pass commands to the ship while they repaired it!” Ashley said.
“Thank you!” Her lisp was out in full force, softening her
enunciation much more than usual. He loved it.

“I’m just the messenger,” Minh said.

She planted a happy, full kiss on his lips
and he was so stunned that he didn’t have time to reciprocate
before she pulled away and smiled at him with such happiness it was
his turn to be stuck to the spot. He stared back at her for a long
moment before her unrestrained joy began to melt and she asked,
“Who do I pick?”

“What’s the first name that comes to your
mind, when you think of someone on the bridge of the Trion?”

“But it’s a big decision, I mean…”

“Close your eyes,” Minh said. “Now picture
yourself at your station on the bridge of the Triton.”

She cooperated and nodded. “’Kay, got
it.”

“Now turn around and look to the command
seat. Who’s there?”

Ashley’s glossed lips slowly curled into a
smile and she said, “Oz.”

Minh-Chu was surprised and amazed. He knew
he shouldn’t have been, he knew what her tests said. Ashley had a
mind that could process tactics faster than some computers. She
tested higher than most on the creative and strategic tests.
Physics and three-dimensional thinking were second nature to her,
indicating that she could be a brilliant logical thinker. People
underestimated her because she was lighthearted and highly
emotional. He felt a little ashamed as he realized he’d done the
same. He was looking at a highly intelligent person – of course
she’d choose Terry Ozark McPatrick. He had commanded the Sunspire,
spent time on the bridge of the Triton, and it was who Minh would
have chosen if it were up to him. It was the best choice.

She opened her eyes and quietly asked, “Is
that right?”

“Perfect,” Minh-Chu said without hesitation.
“He’s perfect.”

“Thank God,” Ashley said. “I don’t know him
well, but his profile, his experience, and when I’m around him I
just feel like everything’s okay, he’s got it under control, you
know?”

“Definitely,” Minh-Chu said. “We’ve gotta
go.” He headed for the hatch and she followed close behind.

“What if someone argues with me?” Ashley
asked. “I’m sure someone else wants command, like Ayan. Ayan would
be a good commander, or what about Captain?”

“You mean Jake?” Minh asked her.

“Yeah, maybe the Samson, er, the Warlord is
just the ship he’s keeping because there’s nothing else for
him?”

“You’re second guessing a good decision,”
Minh said. It was easier for Minh to concentrate and give her
advice while he wasn’t looking at her. He could pretend he was
talking to one of his pilots. “Don’t tell anyone you have this
power until you’ve entered it into the computer yourself. I know
this is the right choice, and I think you do too.”