Year Nine of Ten, Midsummer 1912-Midsummer 1913
June, 1913, the training fields at the Academy; Humphries and Slingby and a class of newly Awakened students.
"Eric."
"I see it. This group is the smallest in years."
"1918, then, the second disaster."
"Probably. I'll tell Bourne tonight."
"Yes. I'll call the Garrison as well, leave messages for Artois, but I don't think he reads them. Maybe he knows already. This is important."
That afternoon, Alan called Artois. Rather to his surprise, the phone was answered at once, by Artois himself.
"Colonel, this is Alan Humphries. Have you a moment?"
"Yes, oddly enough, although it won't last. What may I do for you, Mr. Humphries?"
"Nothing, sir. I merely wish to inform you that the Academy intake has dropped to its lowest size in fourteen years."
A brief silence. "Ah." Another pause. "Mr. Humphries, as of today, all restrictions on your use of Angelic monitoring screens are lifted. You may install them in your War Rooms as needed, instead of using portals to view them in the Monitoring stations. Reaper Monitors are now permitted, indeed required, to work alongside Angels on the station screens. Training will be provided. I expect the Reapers of the London Lab to make their usual improvements and share them with us. Give me a day to spread the word and squelch the arguments, then please notify your Scientific colleagues."
Alan made all the appropriate noises. The call ended quickly; Artois' To-Do list had just lengthened.
Delegate. Instruct. Share. Alan called D'Acres and all the Ops subordinates into Meeting Room A. While they settled with their tea and coffee, he explained the release of the Angelic control of Monitoring screens.
"This is doubtless a good thing. It's also unprecedented. We need to grab the opportunity and run, but there is going to be some underlying reason behind the Angels' sudden willingness to share. Any thoughts?"
D'Acres lifted an eyebrow. "They want something from us, obviously. Future favors? What could we possibly have that they couldn't command?"
"This isn't actually unprecedented, though, is it," said Merrick. "They taught Scythes how to bind Angelfire to scythe metal. Did that have a hidden benefit to them?"
"Absolutely," said Tomkins. "The more we can defend ourselves, the less protection they have to provide. It may indicate that they are starting to worry about their own numbers. They're looking at pitched battles with an enemy whose armies have been growing and training for years."
Mallory said thoughtfully, "They've tripled the staff at our Garrison. They are increasing by creation and Uplifting. But their greenies take time to train, just like ours, and they may have waited a little too long to start catching up. Makes sense they'd want to field fewer, smaller patrols; divert the experienced troops to training, attack and defense duties. Could mean our protection patrols will become training rotations for the new and the untalented. We're going to have to be ready to compensate for less effective support."
Solway agreed. "No wonder they are finally giving us some teeth and permission to use them. They're going to start pulling staff out of the Monitoring stations, too. Our people will be taking over a lot of the equipment they haven't been allowed to touch. Better hope the Angels will provide enough training before they walk out."
D'Acres added, "We must assume that Artois will lead his strike force into battle. If his Garrison replacement is an unfriendly administrative subordinate, we can expect even less help. He could rescind these permissions while leaving us largely unprotected. We need to demonstrate that we are valuable to their war effort as well as our own. We also need to see that our new advantages are quickly spread to Branches and Garrisons worldwide. That will make them harder to revoke here without Uriel stepping in."
"What if Uriel also leaves for war?" asked Duncan, from his guard position at the door.
Solway answered, "Azrael may bring in a few new people if Uriel is reassigned. But they will have the same orders, and nearly the same rank. We hope. We probably shouldn't count on it, though, and we may need to consider how to widen the gap between 'iffy' strategies and 'illegal' ones. With Judicial under new management, and Auditing on our side, we have a little more latitude."
"I rather think that 'iffy' and 'illegal' will be substantially redefined once the humans start killing each other in numbers we have trouble dealing with," observed Mallory.
"One other thing," offered Howe. "The Angelfire treatment of our scythe blades was accepted without comment by our Realm, top to bottom. Remember the howls caused by the original Angel blades on our utility knives? We've learned to adapt quickly. This is very, very good. Especially if the Garrison is preparing to cut our backup."
"I think—" mused Brock, "You know what? I think they've hit a wall with their Monitor screens. No upgrades lately, have you noticed? I think they are hoping that Scientific will jump on the technology and improve it, make the screens smaller and lighter and easier to read and use. Better organization of data. Quicker conversion of noise into information. Angels really don't innovate very well. That's what Artois meant about sharing. He wants us to study his screens and build him new and better versions, like we did with the portals, the detectors, the scythes. It gives us a little leverage. That's what they want, Roland. Inspiration. Imagination. Creativity. They can't command what we haven't been allowed to build."
"Wanna bet they are copying our War Rooms and are running into some of the same problems we have with screen sizes and data interpretation and multi-site integration?" asked Holbert. "Development has stalled. Deadlines have been missed. They're worried that they aren't going to be ready when the fighting starts next year. What's really needed is a screen that tracks agents and angels over a large map which also has an overlay for battlefields and demonic incursions." He chuckled dryly. "Oh, yeah. They've failed to produce a working model. I bet Les and Donnie's Section could do it in a month. I bet the angels know that. I bet they're counting on it."
Alan thought. He made a few quick notes. He looked up to find his team looking expectant. Damn, but they were good. They'd hit all his concerns and added a couple. He hadn't yet considered that attacks from Hell could empty the Garrison of all but a skeleton crew composed of the least talented troops. Those conflicts would leave Reapers undefended or poorly defended in London. Note: ask the older Reapers about the most effective ratio of Defenders to Gatherers.
"Mister Brock. In twenty-four, no, twenty-three hours, you and Mister Holbert will visit the London Lab. As soon as you are sure Artois' announcement has been made, ask for a meeting with Cole, Franklin and all their crew. You may be able to join one already in progress. Let them know that Collections is behind them and will support their efforts. Ask them to try to keep good relations in the workplace as the responsibilities change. I'm sure there will be some resentment among their angelic peers. Tell them your theory. Tell them they have an amazing opportunity to experiment and play. Get the name of any angel who attempts to obstruct the turnover, whether out of hostility or habit. Also, tell them to report to you any refusal of instruction, tools or information. If I have to drag Artois in there, I will, but I am hoping that a common goal of improvement will prevail. All reports copied to myself and Mr. D'Acres, please.
"Miss Solway. Please issue a general memo to all shifts. If any Reaper team notices a change of attitude, response or staffing in their patrol Angels, they are requested to send a note to you. Please share those notes with me and Mr. D'Acres. Repeat the memo in six months and again in one year.
"Miss Tomkins, Mr. Merrick, over the next few months, please listen for hints of Angelic concern at the Scythe and Skull. New responsibilities, reassignments, staff cuts or increases. Make sympathetic noises and let them talk. Cultivate sources. Confer with Ronald Knox. Report to Miss Solway, Mr. D'Acres and to me. Occasionally ask the Thursday Nighters if they've heard anything in the streets. I expect changes as we approach next midsummer. We'll be very close to war then.
"Mr. Howe, I need you to interview all active Reapers on all shifts. Ask each if they prefer Reaping, or prefer defending those who Reap. Make a list. Give a copy of your findings to me, please, another to Scheduling, and one to Personnel for their files. Note any reaper who has not yet received the Angelfire upgrade to his scythe. Tell all the holdouts to get it done. I will follow up. Send complainers to me. I will recite Mr. Spears' most devastating rant about muleheaded, stubborn, unreasoning noncompliance. Heaven knows I have that one memorized.
"I will update Director Spears as soon as he can spare a moment, and then the Director of London Scientific. We will offer support, of course, but the major oversight is hers.
"Thank you all for your advice. You are doing amazing work. If you have any more thoughts on the subject, please share. I owe you all a drink next Thursday. Miss Solway, please ask Mr. Slingby to join me here."
The room emptied. Alan sat back and reviewed his notes. He sipped at the dregs of his tea.
Eric arrived, tea in hand, entered and shut the door. "Excitement. What's happened?"
"Sorry to drag you away, I know you're terribly busy."
"Aye, so we are, matching. This year's graduates will have a hard life, training through war and being promoted into whatever follows. Disease, I think, and the famine that follows disease and war, when there's not enough able-bodied people to get the crops in, and the fields have been destroyed by trenching and artillery. So why were yer staff giggling?"
"I spoke to Artois himself today. It was almost as if he was expecting my call; no flunkies answering his phone and taking messages."
"And did he call you a worrisome little man?"
"He did not. Instead he announced that the Tracking Screens in the London Lab are no longer the exclusive property of the Angels."
"Wait, now. He's letting the Reapers play? Scientific suddenly gets its hands on forbidden technology?"
"Here's what we think, my brilliant staff and I; the Angels are admitting that humans are better at invention than they are. Therefore they are releasing their restrictions in the hope that we'll improve the current equipment. Which we will, to the advantage of all. The reverse side of this one is that they are hoping to hand over most of Monitoring to us so they can reassign their techs elsewhere."
"Back to their Garrisons, to arrange communications equipment there, and to add whatever our folks invent. They are finally preparing for war, and about time, too. Therefore..."
"They're going to start decreasing the number and size of patrols..."
"Response will be slower..."
"Artois will be leading an army, maybe promoted away, and so will Uriel..."
"Replacements may be desk jockeys, less talented, an unknown quantity, maybe hostile to us..."
"When the Garrison goes into battle, the fort itself may be held by second-rate staff, few in number and concerned only with their own defense. I've asked for a poll of our Reapers, whether they prefer to defend or gather. It will be submitted to Scheduling and to you."
"Aye. We could well be on our own again. But ye know we're ready for it. We're better equipped, better trained and less hampered by rules and bureaucracy. Right. As soon as the matching is done, we'll start training for battlefield conditions. I'll bring in yer Belgian, French and German friends, because they're going to see the first really big battles. Then we'll think about those of us who will stay in London rather than follow the armies. I want to see some good people kept here, especially if the Garrison staff is second-rate."
"Jacobs should stay. Stubborn protector."
"Och, aye, and his partner Fairbairn. I'll tell him you suggested it. Maybe he'll forgive you for getting shot and pulling him out of his comfortable routine."
"What if they call Will to the Continent?"
"They could, at that. Set him in a War Room nearer the fighting to direct our operations."
"Okay. We need to map out our lines of succession. Will might want me to go abroad with him, to run his portals, though we have several others who will be as good by then. We need to work on keeping D'Acres here. He and Fitzwilliam are too competent as Reapers. They'll be called to the battlefields unless we provide unassailable reasons for both to stay. I suspect that eventually the Uppers will start breaking up partnerships and assigning everyone individually. It's easier. Grell will go, of course, in charge of a defense team. If we send Vanderveldt with her, Gupta will anchor both of them. We should start training Knox to take over Will's office. He's still our best knife instructor, so may well be allowed to remain here. Birch is going to replace you. Tomkins is likely to replace me, though ffoulkes could also do it and is a bit senior. Your department can spare him in a year or two as the class sizes decline. Sorenson can take over Security when Duncan and Mallory are called up to serve."
"If they send ye with Will, then somehow I will follow. But that would be a dangerous assignment for you. I doubt they'd risk ye when they can send Merrick or Holbert. Eliza won't have it."
"Eric, I have an uncomfortable theory. Our current role in the Realm is ending. Once the war begins, you no longer need to read your newspapers. The Death Lists will tell us where we need to go. You've staffed London with outstanding Reapers and have taught others how to select and match. Our Seniors are exemplary, well-trained and well-armed. Your teaching assistants are training formidable fighters. "
"Thanks, but—"
"Likewise, my major work is done; the cooperation and communication between all Branches and Divisions is firmly established, Scientific is focused on War Room research and development, and Scythes has mastered Angelfire. At the Academy, our teaching assistants have become respected instructors. Judicial's grip is broken. Change is accepted. Medical is preparing to save lives that otherwise would be counted as merely the cost of conflict. The Operations Department is respected, self-sustaining and recruiting steadily. Our replacements are ready; trained, talented people with spotless records."
"So?"
"They won't need us any more. We'll just be that embarrassing pair of criminals that London recalled, back in the days when nobody else would work here."
"Eliza—"
"—She'll do her best, I'm sure. She'll eventually be overruled by her superiors when our numbers drop. We will be sent to the battlefields. I have no problem with that. You, however, need to get used to the idea. Soon we should have Scheduling return us to the streets. Drill is all very well but only Reaping will prepare us for war. We'll keep each other safe. And at the end, if too many demons have us cornered, we together will give them the fight of their lives."
