Visisonor's blog

Chapter 11

- She was most likely aiming at me, - said Tess, passing me an energy bar.
- You have quite decent understanding of human psychology, - I mused absently.
This was, in fact, something I wanted to hear, even if I didn’t really believe it.

- It was expected that Villa would not be convinced right away, - she added.
- I know.
- But she is capable of breaking through indoctrination. All agents are.

I knew Tess was right. The seed of doubt has been sown in Villa’s mind. And yet, some irrational part of me could not be assuaged.

By this time we’ve entered some underground structure - on closer look it turned out to be an old metro terminus. Before that day I was sure the subway network was not passable anymore, but apparently some lines were restored, or new ones were constructed: the whole thing looked like an elaborate labyrinth.

- It is virtually impossible for our pursuers to track us here, - commented Tess, navigating one turn after another.

So we drove through a tunnel initially designed for trains, but the only train in the vicinity was my train of thought. And it inevitably led me to a troublesome place.

- It’s worse than it seems, - I said eventually.
- What exactly? - implored Tess.
- I’ve been deemed too dangerous once I was exposed to a minute detail which could, in theory, lead me to a possible conclusion that some dead agents are not in fact dead.
- They overreacted, this was the general consensus among us.
- Villa and Wolf, on the other hand, have just seen such an agent slip away from them, with a syncon at the steering wheel.
- They are past the point of no return, - confirmed Tess.
- By that logic, their perceived threat level should get them killed, buried, cremated, then buried again, just in case.
- Which is consistent with overreaction theme, - she acknowledged, - but the options of human command are limited right now, so there is some time.
- Limited? - I asked surprisingly.
- We will discuss it when we arrive. Which is quite soon.

Indeed, as Tess finished saying this, we started to slow down. The tunnel led us straight to the base, and a large blast door rolled open as we approached.

…

- Kate! - Vera shouted, looking agitated.
She ran up to me as I jumped off the ATV. Rick and Linda stood farther away.

- Villa was there, - was the only thing I could say.
- I know. Should have been me. But you did everything right, - she placed her hand on my shoulder. - Thank you!
- I didn’t really do anything, - I objected.
- You’ve told her a lot! Hey, are you all right? - she definitely noticed I didn’t look all right.
- I don’t know, - I shook my head. - I’m not wounded or anything. But how did she end up there in the first place?..

This was a rhetorical question: we didn’t have a confirmation that Villa was back on duty, but we were likely to receive it with some delay. More importantly, Wolf and Villa are now compromised.

- We can not change what has already happened, - reasoned Rick, approaching us.
- And before we decide our course of action, - added Tess, - we need to evaluate that of the enemy.
- I was arrested in a… similar situation, - I pointed out, resuming the conversation we had on the way here. - Wouldn’t command just pull the same trick again?

- This was a highly unusual decision in your case, Kate, - noted Rick. - And it was followed by a sudden overwhelming attack from us. We are confident it will not be repeated.
- Can we really be confident in this? - wondered Vera.
- As much as in any assumption of their actions, - he shrugged. - But they are not stupid. We can repeat this attack, and they know it.
- Moreover, arrested agents will believe us faster, - added Tess.
- Can’t they just kill them silently? - I voiced my biggest fear.
- In theory, yes, - concurred Tess. - But it will raise too many questions.
- Right. Better send them to the frontline and strike from behind, - stated Vera, clearly speaking from experience.
- This is the most probable option, - agreed Tess. - However, as of right now, there are no obvious points of contact with our forces. Nowhere to send them to.

- That just means they designate some place as a “point of contact”, - I surmised, - and send them there.
- So we can be there and wait, - assumed Vera.
- If we get to that place fast enough, - stressed Rick.
- Can we lure them here instead? - I suggested.
- We can, - he nodded. - But we will have to sacrifice this hideout and evacuate to another one.
- Sacrifice? - Vera stared at him quizzically.

Apparently even she wasn’t here long enough to witness such an event. The base falling to human hands was not acceptable: if that was about to happen, fusion reactor powering the base could be used to annihilate it, and everyone would have to relocate to another location.

- We’re living in a powder keg and giving out sparks, - summarized Linda.

Compared to other revelations of that day, this one wasn’t actually too shocking. Nobody had any principal objections, and time to take a decision was running out - unless you were a syncon and could run simultaneous calculations not hindered by signal propagation speed of biological nervous system.

Which brings me to the next point, something I’ve been thinking of ever since. It was evident that syncons had analyzed all the possible actions, and exposing our location was the optimal strategy in their payoff matrix. They would have pointed it out if I hadn’t. Still, even today I can’t help but feel responsible for proposing this course of action, and for what it eventually led to.