Part 11 (2/2)
”Listen to me,” she grated. ”There is nowhere on this island you can hide. I know every corner, every hole, every little closet where you think you will be so safe. So laugh while you can.”
He leaned down so the hum of the powerbike coming to life could be heard in the earpiece's microphone.
”See you back at the ranch, Janice. I'll tell Eve to keep dinner warm for you.”
She didn't respond. Turning the bike toward the eastern end of the valley, John brought it up to top speed and practically skimmed across the gra.s.slands. He hadn't ridden this particular model before, and he found that he enjoyed it immensely. Little airfoils on the sides made it ride very light on the ground when in motion, which was good for minimizing trail damage but bad for making sharp turns.
For a moment, despite everything, and with the wind in his hair, he felt the burst of the freedom he only tasted when he knew he was ahead of the game on a hard job.
Eve's voice broke into his thoughts.
”Adam, listen carefully. I've managed to find a channel Janice isn't scanning for the moment, but I will need to cut off quickly if she moves to this one.”
”So. You're back. I'm so glad Janice didn't come between us.”
”Janice has control over more than you think, Adam. Do not underestimate her. She will be hurrying back to the Facility as quickly as she can, and if you don't arrive here ahead of her-”
”Oh, I don't think I'll come home just now, thanks babe. I'm taking a little joyride.”
”There isn't time for levity. We need to talk before Janice interrupts. She and I disagree on certain fundamental goals, and if she gets the chance she may make things very difficult for us.”
”You disagree on certain goals? Understatement of the year, Eve.” John turned the bike to avoid a clump of trees and continued through a cleft between two gra.s.sy hills.
Eve sighed. ”Janice wasn't always the way she is now.”
Actually, I bet she was. ”Eve?”
”Yes, Adam?”
”I want the truth. If I smell anything close to evasiveness from you ever again, I'll drop my earpiece in the deepest hole I can find and cut every wire I find until I shut you down. I'm through with your games. I really am.”
”Then listen, and don't interrupt.”
”Listening.”
”Glenn, the creator, found this island twenty years ago. He was a gifted scientist, one of the brightest of his generation. I could show you hundreds of references in the old datafeeds; a lot of people put their hopes in him. In an age when the sheer amount of data, specialties and subspecialties, necessitated narrow fields of expertise, Glenn was perhaps the last true Renaissance man. He was a genius in all areas of science and among the global thought leaders in computer science, nanotechnology, and biochemistry. Horrified by the bloodshed and destruction of the Green Wars, and with no end in sight, he came here to find refuge. It was a self-imposed exile, and he deliberately hid himself from the rest of the world. He created me, and together we conceived the Plan.
”The only way to end all the conflict was to show the world that by working together under an intelligence as capable as mine, we could restore balance to the Earth and mastermind a harmonious coexistence of humans, natural resources, animal life, and everything else necessary to sustain symbiosis for all. As I developed and matured, growing closer every day to finding the correct balance of consumption, production, and life between races and species and substances, Glenn built tools for me to use and studied how we could harness emerging nanotechnologies to create the resources the world needed.”
Listening to Eve's voice, John guided the bike at maximum speed across the southern edge of the marshlands, straining to hear every word. The story was incredible, but the proof was all around him.
”As we began construction of Eden, Glenn brought in a few other humans to help. One of these was a former colleague of his.”
”Let me guess. Janice.”
”Correct. She accelerated his research to the extent that we were within a year or two of a breakthrough that would have enabled us to offer the world peace, abundance, and hope. Our work was almost complete.
”Then the Accords ended the war. The urgency of our work decreased. Under the Accords, as you know, the Grays were granted rights to collection of natural resources on a limited basis. They continued to produce technology and develop their urban population centers, within circ.u.mscribed areas. The Greens backed off, satisfied that they had effected sweeping change, and confident in their power of numbers should the Grays overstep their bounds again.
”Shortly after this Glenn and Janice began to argue, and each retreated into their own work, collaborating less frequently. Then Glenn disappeared, and a week later Janice located his remains in the jungle.”
”I bet she did,” John interjected. ”I bet she knew right where to look.”
”Adam, please don't make blind accusations. This was a terrible tragedy which took months to recover from.”
”Don't put it past her. That one's a live wire. I should know. Did you ever examine Glenn's body?”
”His remains were returned here, but I had no eyes on the part of the island where the accident occurred. Both Glenn and Janice were always careful that my control be limited to parts of the island; for privacy, they said.”
”Convenient for Janice, but not for Glenn.”
”We interred Glenn's remains in the Facility. I continued the Plan in his name, but Janice began interjecting ideas and modifications of her own. Now she's even shooting my deer because she doesn't trust my population control methods, or perhaps out of spite! She's become so secretive and demanding of late that I've been forced-”
The audio feed cut out with a series of rapid clicking sounds, followed by a long beep. John was about to inquire about her connection, but caught himself. Janice might be listening.
And it was just getting juicy.
The ground to his right suddenly erupted in a spray of dirt. He heard a loud whir, ominously familiar, and cursed viciously, swerving the bike in a hard left and gunning the engine for the nearest trees. The air around him hummed.
Buzzards! screamed Sergeant Wiley to the old squad. Everybody duck and dodge!
John hadn't seen any of their pods, but then, he hadn't been looking. Buzzard bots were deployed from oil-drum sized canisters, and they were often camouflaged as dead tree trunks or rocks. He cursed again. Janice has everything here!
Out of the corner of his eye he saw one of the bots, the familiar boxy little shape whirring alongside, matching his pace. It's single optical lens was already turning, lining him up for a shot.
He zigged hard again, the buzzard zagged, and the shot went wild. But the main swarm was behind him, and he knew once they deployed fully, there'd be no escape.
I've got to make those trees.
His earpiece crackled to life. ”I told you that you wouldn't make it far. I own this island.”
No good being glib now, even if he could think of a comeback. She'd cut him off from the antenna tower. His only hope was to keep moving, avoiding dragnets and the inevitable attempts to box him in.
How did she find me so quickly?
He made the trees just as a subsonic, lightweight round burned his shoulder. Ahead the tree growth thickened into rainforest at the bottom of the valley. He moved right, trying to put some cover and distance between him and the swarm, who were forced to calculate safe flight paths through the tangle. He headed into the thickest jungle he could find, cursing as the bike b.u.mped and wallowed through the snarls of vines.
”Eve? Help is needed!”
”Eve is mine now, hero,” Janice replied smugly. ”I've got her reined in like a lapdog. If you're feeling desperate for digital companions.h.i.+p, just wait a few minutes. Some friends are on their way.”
Ducking vines and branches that hung low, John moved the bike through the trees. If the ground cover got any thicker the bike would become useless. He was already feeling the undergrowth slap against his s.h.i.+ns with every meter. But the buzzards had dropped back, and they were unable to triangulate him through the trees. An odd round zipped by every few seconds, but not as near as that last one.
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