King's endgame, Arc 8 of "Gone with the Sun"

Chapter 113 The Boy

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Goldstein appeared at his elbow a little after Juno relayed Shepard's order for action stations, Overlord's equivalent of General Quarters:

"Captain. We need to be quick. The Reapers are following Archangel's bow shock, which is kind of ragged. Their speed is a little variable, but it's time."

"Very well. It's time for the Prothean to play his part." Shepard thereupon broke up the tactics discussion, ordered Matthews to his navigator position, and Hadley to the CIC. "Goldstein, can you get Javik on the comm? Tell him he can stay in the cargo bay if he wants. But I think he'll want a finger on the button."

Seconds later the galactic map ceded to the glowering avatar of vengeance.

"Javik."

"Captain. You wanted to speak to me?"

"Yes. Shortly, I expect you will have a chance at the last Reaper. I just wanted to bring you up to speed on two things. First up, Juno reminded me last night of something. She suspects from the shape of the husks, from the fact that Harbinger was front and center in the Battle for Earth, and from your descriptions of prior races such as the Inusannon, that Reaper ascension is a FIFO, or more exactly a LILO, stack. Only their proxies were from the previous cycle."

"Meaning?"

"Translating from the AI-speak, the oldest, most experienced Reapers engage in battle first, and run things. First in, first out. Last in last out. Got that?"

"Trivial."

"Next, the recent ones, the babies of least experience, come to battle last, except that their husks are the foot-soldiers of the next cycle. You see what that implies."

"The last Reaper might be the Prothean one."

"Exactly. That means one more thing, with a bearing on your actions today."

"And what is that?"

"There may well be a rather large number of Collector drones descending to ground when they attack. You are no longer the last Prothean. The Collectors may be a source of genetic variability. Please bear that in mind."

"Noted. There is still more than one Reaper, also."

"Leave that to me. I may leave the last Reaper to you."

Bait and Hook

Overlord's underwing missiles were still present. Juno, who performed the original test firings of that model, had no qualms about fingering a machine instead of a planet.

The problem was that in this case the planet would be co-incident with targets:
"Shepard, this will put Fort Archangel's garrison at risk."

"I know. So do they. This is a necessary consequence of being bait. Let's hope the Reapers land troops well back from the fort. And that there aren't too many husks."

"Why would the enemy oblige us to that extent?"

"Two reasons. First I've set up the underground hideaway for the diamond and focus cylinder some distance away from there. I'm betting they'll know where it is the instant it's powered. If so, they'll go for that first thing."

"That's… devious. And second?"

"Two kilometres tall or not, an army of slaughtership dimensions would be an undue burden on a capital ship's resources. I'm betting they'll have just enough for ship maintenance. Maybe hundreds. Maybe thousands. Not millions."

"And if they are landing in millions?"

"Open the loading bay door, fling gamma bombs… After the capitals are all dead."

"I thought you wanted one intact."

"I do. Not at any price."

We can be heros

When Romanov turned up Rasa had just returned from visiting her indoctrinated comrades in Normandy's shuttle bay. Their 'quarters' consisted of two chairs and a table under the steady eyes of James Vega and their two marine guards. Neither Lisa nor Trevor seemed to mind. Believing that the whole galaxy, nay the whole universe, would eventually be reaped apparently allowed them a philosophical long view of their fates. Rasa didn't know whether to slap them, kiss them, or laugh at them.

She said "bye," and fumed all the way back to the med bay, half expecting another Chambers lecture, but her Captain (D) had turned up instead. With a medal, which he pinned to her breast pocket with altogether excessive ceremony.

Rasa didn't know whether to slap him, kiss him, or laugh at him. She settled for complaining, "But I already have one."

"Not anymore, heroine. Pyotr says it needed maintenance. Did you get it bloody or something? Anyway this one's brand new, for the recent action against the Oculi." Then he kissed her, on both cheeks. She didn't slap him.

"Well… if you insist. What are you doing here, anyway? Do you have a new ship?"

"Not yet. Till further notice, I'm stationed on Overlord, running the flotilla command centre from the gunnery room. Come up and see me sometime."

Crystal Ball

Shepard proceeded through to the bank and bell with deliberate speed. The QEC communicators lay in an adjoining room. Liara's image was already up on one side, Bryson on the other, 'tin hat' and all.

"War room live. Yoof, you have the conn. Hadley, you have the boat. Rules of engagement as discussed."

"We are still stealthed. Juno, Perseus, check with each other please. What is happening with the Reapers?"

"They are traveling at a little more than twice dreadnought speeds, along the bow shock curve, through the fluff at that. The dust must be playing hob with their armor."

"We can't know that, but I do think they are desperate. Insufficiently. ETA?"

"About half a day. They are following a crooked line, though slowly. It will straighten when they detect the planet directly."

"Fine. When does North Cape get here?"

"Czernykh is cutting across the curve, which compensates for being behind and slower. But North Cape won't be here for hours. Normandy will be here quicker, in about four minutes."

"Damn. I was hoping North Cape could prance around just out of reach. No way am I letting Normandy unstealth with her Silaris armor compromised. Tell Ash to hide then take synchronous station above the Fort, though. Liara?"

"Shepard?"

"Unlatch that button, please."

"How did you know?"

"Lucky guess."

"Kelly's been giving you lessons, hasn't she?"

"Lucky guess. All right Anne, face the focus cylinder and bring up power."

Bryson's QEC holo turned sideways to Shepard's line of vision, depressed a switch out of the viewport, and turned back round, facing right toward a shimmering cylinder. Liara appeared to be looking at the same scene in Pegasus' QEC room.

"Anne, what are we looking at?"

"It's a formless cylinder, Shepard, but I think it's generating a metamaterial structure – wait, it's changing."

Before their eyes, the cylinder projected the translucent image of a small boy.

Catalysis

Anne heard Liara gasp, but Shepard seemed to take this in his stride. He'd discussed this possibility with them, and (he said) only them ("Don't tell Coats").

"Catalyst."

"Commander Shepard." A small boy's voice. Liara believed it not.

"It's Captain Shepard, now. Do you understand what is happening here?"

"I have been polling the extended response to the firing of the crucible, right up till I woke to a gluon flash, then felt my body rip apart."

"Uh huh. Your body?"

"An artificial planet, containing me. I felt myself snap. It was painful. Clearly, you have resurrected me from the debris."

Good God, thought Shepard, I should have considered that. EDI feels Normandy as her body. Likewise, Juno. I haven't asked the others, but it's a good bet.

"Catalyst. There was a gluon flash, as you say. Then what do you recall?"

"Physical catastrophe. My remaining remote sensors in the shells reported a tremendous hydrogen fusion flash, also, before falling silent. This is characteristic of a supernova. There must have been a hypergiant close by, hidden by dust."

"That is a very creative hypothesis."

"Supernovae are rare events in the galaxy, but I have been close to one before. It is unfortunate, but not surprising, that you took advantage. It does not matter. After a few cycles, the planet will be rebuilt. "

"Will it, now. There are Reaper capital ships approaching."

"Yes. I am privy to their computations, again. A unilateral binding only."

"Is that so. I suspect they wish to seize you."

"They wish to rescue me."

"I cannot allow this."

"You can not stop them."

"I see. You really think so? You are just a machine, and however powerful, you are not particularly bright. Machines like you can be broken."

"Short of destroying my core, which you will not try –"

"There anything you plan on doing to stop me?"

"Captain, I have no effect on the cosmos at all, any more. Nonetheless, you are in my power as much as I am in yours."

"You don't say. How up to speed are you on current events?"

Offers

"Firing the crucible destroyed my exposed agents, I wield no weapon, not literally. Figuratively, while I no longer control many Reapers, or keepers, or any of my other agents, I have called more from the deep."

"So you know very little. You no longer have contact with them, do you?"

"Nearly all QEC links are down, but that is normal for a close supernova. And it is not true of the three Capital Reapers approaching at speed. Make your peace with me, in my weakness. Or with them, in their strength."

"You are attempting to use weakness as a weapon. That is ill-advised unless you know something your enemy doesn't."

"Attempt? You can have no conception of how long our régime has run. The capital Reapers, which must be of those I summoned, are merely a harbinger of the force which will hammer your civilization long after you are gone. Be wise. I can offer you the same terms as before."

"My principals were not party to that conversation. Remind us."

"With a crucible we can work to control the wars between planned and unplanned sentients. We can convert all organic reproduction strategies to a synthetic analogue of DNA and RNA. The mediating virus you will have seen in action–"

"Cerberus worked with variants of it to create their own husks and adjutants."

"It can also incorporate the abstract logical structure of your servant machines."

"You are wasting time. I am not interested in any option which Cerberus wanted. Adapting my own self as a control mechanism stinks of indoctrination. Nor am I interested in controlling you, except to make you see where your interests lie."

"I have told you that while the Illusive Man could not control us, you can."

"Liar. You think we cannot read the signs for ourselves? We have no basis whatsoever for trusting you. Any trust must come from benign acts. You have made none. Furthermore, I will not solve your problem for you, Catalyst, including the synthesis of organic and machine life, at least in any manner which you suggest. If that happens it will be on our terms, using our methods, with our agreement and by 'our' I include our AIs."

"My offer would put an end to the eternal conflict between organic and machine."

"We are all doing just fine. Our machines have come to understand the significance of love, for one thing."

"Impossible."

"Thank you for illustrating my point. Yours don't, and I am coming to believe that you do not either –"

"That is purely an organic strategy for optimal gene selection, irrelevant to constructed intelligences."

"Of course it is. But like many things in life, it has other uses. Our machines found some of them. If for no other reason than that it destroys diversity, your option is not fit for negotiation."

"If you will not control my creatures, nor unite with them as synthetic organic sapient constructs, then you must destroy all my works. My instructions are more than a billion years old, and I am tired, but build another crucible, or I shall begin again."

"I am not interested in destroying you – yet. You have information; I will have it."

"I might tell the truth, or I might lie."

"We can not trust you, but we can sometimes verify. You will tell us everything you know about indoctrination, for example. And if you are very lucky, we will permit your continued existence. Beyond that information, there is something else I want."

"But you do not speak for all organics. On the other hand, I speak for all Reapers, everywhere. You cannot destroy me, for you will need me."

The indispensable man, thought Liara. Huh.

The party of the second part

"You are an officer, a man set under authority, having under you soldiers in like manner. Doctor T'Soni, you represent the Council in this do you not?"

"I do."

This was news to Shepard, but on reflection he should have anticipated it.

"You will instruct the Captain to follow the lawful orders of his superiors."

"I need do no such thing. He is a Spectre. Furthermore, my orders are that this is a military matter. It will have a military solution, and Shepard is designated to lead it. You will surrender the information he demands, or he proposes to fire upon your works. And we are here to see that he does so."

The party of the third part

"And what of the silent, armored figure physically before me? Who do you represent? Or are you a mere minion?"

Standing in Overlord's QEC room, Shepard did not have a good understanding of how many people were seeing a feed of the 'negotiations'. He did know that, for example, Mikhailovich and Hackett had their own links, but not that Allers and Al-Jilani were sharing one.

He did, however, control access of the Catalyst's creator to the scene. Shepard observed Bryson take one step forward. She began to remove her Securitel helmet.

"Minion I may be. But you will hear the voice of your maker through me."

The volunteer

"Juno. Tell me if the canaries sing. Be ready to scram the focus cylinder into the shielded socket."

"Will do, Shepard."

"Bryson." Anne, now helmetless, looked up. "Shepard?"

"Kneel before you fall."

"I will stand, Shepard." And she assumed parade rest! "James?"

Shepard, fascinated, discovered that Coats had made his own arrangement.

"Locking armor. Shepard, Go."

"Juno, unshield the Leviathan crystal artifact."

"Done."

Bryson began breathing heavily, but addressed the boy: "My Admiral bids me say something. We know something you don't. You might have known, when we led you on, that we held the inner line of communication. You are plain done."

"Canary, Shepard."

"Let it be, Juno. Let it be."

The translucent boy figure did not seem impressed. "I tire of this."

A new voice rang from Bryson's QEC holo:

"You are the enemy. One that seeks our extermination."

For the first time, the boy looked perturbed. "Who is that?"

"We call it Leviathan. You two gentlefolk know each other."

"The creator? We do the task they assigned. Still, and always. The creators were archived. They formed Harbinger."

"That's one hell of a software bug."

"You are a mistake. And, finally, you have made one. Harbinger is destroyed."

"Catalyst, you must have worked out that the crucible flash shredded Harbinger."

"Not quite. I hold a copy of Harbinger's essential details, though not the personas."

"Good to know. Perhaps some memory of deceased galactic cultures remains."

"Harbinger, or a facsimile, will be rebuilt by my creatures."

"It will not."

"My creatures will have received my QEC alert. I received confirmation that they are on their way."

"You mean, from out of the black hole?"

"How did you know that!"

From one side, Coats' voice said: "Bryson's life signs at abort limits, Shepard."

"The minion's brain reveals that Shepard slew them all. Everything has changed. Enough discussion. Shepard, end this."

"Juno, scram the Leviathan shield."

"Done." Bryson's head slumped on her armor. "Coats?!"

"Recovering. Dammit, Shepard, I nearly lost…"

"Yeah. Tell me about it."

"Sorry."

Bryson's head began to wobble up. "Shepard?"

"Put your helmet on. Can you?"

"Yes." The holofigure began, painfully slowly, to re-fit the Securitel helmet. The Catalyst boy began to speak: "My Reapers are coming –"

"Shut the hell up. They are all that's left. Coats, bug her out of there! "

"Roger that. Anne, make for the auxiliary bunker."

Anne's armored figure left the QEC scene, stage left.

Without benefit of notice

Listening to the TBS did not provide Rasa with a complete picture of the negotiations in progress with the Catalyst, but one thing was clear; Jana's hope for an intact Reaper looked about to dissolve in the threatened conflict. Shepard did not seem in a compromising mood.

Rasa, who was not good at compromises herself, could not blame him; but she worried. With nothing else to do, she detached her medal for examination. It bore no resemblance to the Shanxi star, being a simple gilded disk with relief images of a starbursting flight of destroyers. On the back it was engraved 'Rasa Lila, Capt. AN.' No crystal. She couldn't compress it with fingers.

Perhaps she was off the clock, at last.

Tucking the trinket into her pocket Rasa Lila, staff captain AN (hur hur, we'll see how long that lasts) went to see if there was something she could do to occupy herself.

She wound up as go-fer for Allers, maintaining her newscasting QEC links, till conversation revealed things about her helper. Allers demanded an interview with Lisa.

Rasa, still wearing simple fatigues with no rank insignia, said No. Allers became upset and suggested that perhaps she should ask Shepard. In a louder voice, Rasa said Hell, no. This attracted the attention of Cortez, who took Allers off to one side and spoke urgently a few seconds.

There was no more talk of interviews.

Stand and deliver

"Catalyst, one last thing."

"You must build another crucible, or surely my creatures will destroy you all."

"You've said that before. I do not need to build another crucible. I have one right here. But I will not use it, for I want you alive. However briefly. Deliver up the boy."

"The boy?"

"The boy whose shape you assumed, that your Reapers killed. Why him?"

"He was my agent, watching you. His parents were indoctrinated by Cerberus, who thought him their agent."

"I see. Was he indoctrinated?"

"No. His brain was resistant. Some are. But he did his parents' bidding. It was unusual, so I took a copy and made use of him."

Shepard cursed under his breath, but this was not unexpected. During that last conversation in the duct, the boy had said some un-childlike things. He focused on the important detail.

"You will deliver up that copy. And the indoctrination algorithm."

"I do not take your orders. The algorithm for humans – a sample would be needed."

"That was not an order. It was a prediction. I refuse to be your control Quisling. Your synthesis option is an offence to the race of reason. Your destruction is not called for while you have the boy, but if you fail to yield him, I swear to God that I will unleash some of my scarier people, except my wife, and they will render down your constructed brain. If you are fortunate, they will make an end of you, hereafter."

"Your time is at an end. You must decide."

"I have. I'm going to end this war on my terms."

"Then you will die knowing that you failed to save everything you fought for."

"I refuse all your options."

"So be it."

"Ooh, scary. I'll give you scary. Juno. Lose this channel."

The secondary QEC holo abruptly blinked out. Liara's primary image flicked an off-screen button and turned to face Shepard:

"Shepard. Did you know fifteen billion people watched that, live?"

"No. I suppose I was aware there would be coverage."

"Would you have done anything differently if you had?"

"No."

Next chapter: #114, "Termination shock"

Monday, September 21, 2015