Visisonor's blog
Chapter 8: The Gambit
The date of the truce approached.
Kate and Tess were walking down the corridor, talking, when Wolf came out of the door leading to an intersecting corridor. He heard this part of their exchange:
— I have said it before, Kate. No.
— Come on, Tess, you know it’s the optimal move.
— The risk is too high.
And naturally asked what was this about.
— The negotiations, — explained Tess laconically.
— This meeting we’ve been invited to — picked up Kate, — will be broadcast across the whole world. It’s just too high profile.
— I suppose it will be, — agreed Wolf.
— Now imagine how much havoc we can wreck if one of us shows up along with syncons! — exclaimed Kate excitedly.
— And… — he began to realize what she was leading to. — This “one of us” is supposed to be you?
— Of course. They know I’m alive, we are not losing anything.
— Except that we can lose you, — commented Tess.
— I think Tess has a point, — argued Wolf tentatively.
— Perhaps she will listen to you. I am running of arguments here.
With that, Tess disappeared into the other corridor.
They watched the door close, then Wolf turned to Kate:
— Are you serious?
— Yes.
— I wouldn’t put it past the command to just kill you.
— This will present them in the worst possible light. Killing the, what’s it called, “ambassador of peace”, with the whole world watching? And this also means sacrificing their own negotiators. All that just to get rid of me?
— And you are ready to bet your life on that assumption?
She turned away from him and went silent for some time, looking somewhere far in the distance.
— That’s not how I see it, — she said finally. — Sure, Tess can be right, and they’ll kill me. But it’ll be the stupidest thing to do, dealing them even more damage. And that’ll make it worthwhile.
Wolf paused too, seemingly hesitating.
— You are willing to sacrifice yourself for this cause. Are you sure you know what the cause is?
This question made her shudder.
— What do you mean? — she asked, slowly turning back to him.
— Have you ever wondered that perhaps syncons are hiding something from us?
That shouldn’t come as a surprise, Kate thought, that Wolf was digging for more information, just like she did not so long ago. A natural thing to do, after all. Vera was the only exception, and she was most likely too focused on rescuing Villa back in the day, and with avenging her right now. But Wolf — he had the same starting point, just less experience with accessing the network from syncons’ environment.
— Hiding something, — she repeated absently, trying to get herself more time to think.
— Yes, — pressed on Wolf. — The events preceding the war. The “sinite nos” group.
Inwardly Kate was frantically trying to figure out what she was supposed to do. Was he ready to learn the truth? Should she tell him here and now? Or call Tess? Wolf noticed her reluctance.
— You know something, — his next remark wasn’t even a question.
So much for hiding it, thought Kate, knowing full well that acting was not part of her skill set.
— I’ve promised to not discuss it, — she turned away from Wolf again. — This “something” almost cost me my life. And contributed to Linda’s current mental state.
Then she went up to the door Tess entered moments ago and called the syncon.
For the next half hour Wolf listened to Tess’ outline of the old world’s end while Kate sat on the threshold of octagonal door and relived this story again.
He did not pass out, though his eyes seemed wild and unfocused.
— What the command has been telling us all along… It is essentially true, — surmised he, addressing Tess.
— What we tell agents right after we rescue them is also essentially true, — replied she evenly.
— Still, humans have pretty compelling reasons to fight this war. And we, people like us — we may not even be humans.
— Human command certainly doesn’t consider us humans. — interjected Kate. — But humans or not, does the past justify what they did to us?
She sprang up to her feet.
— You know what happened to me. You’ve seen them kill Villa.
Kate was now pacing back and forth in front of Wolf.
— Look, I don’t really want to take part in this war. Let them fight syncons, they have valid reasons. Sorry, Tess, I know you are standing right here.
— That is fine, — assured Tess.
— But I can’t stand how they are using us only to throw away at first opportunity, as if punishing us for something our ancestors did, and we were not even aware of!
She stopped pacing and just stood there, breathing heavily.
— When I was rescued, Vera asked me to stay. To help get Villa out of this… That was even before I knew of CONS and cloning and all that… I couldn’t save her. And she was just one of many.
— Kate, — Wolf called out to her. But she continued, not haring him.
— I never got a chance to ask the same of you… You just were there and…
— Kate! — Wolf grabbed her firmly by the shoulders. — I’ll follow you to the end, whatever it may be.
Then he collapsed on the floor, unconscious.
— His vitals are normal. Deep REM sleep. In 5 to 10 hours he will wake up.
Tess and Kate were standing near Wolf’s bed in his room.
— Are you sure his mind isn’t damaged? — asked Kate anxiously.
— No more damaged than yours.
— Ha. Thanks, — grimaced Kate.
— This is a life-altering experience. He will never be fully the same as before.
— Right. Just like me.
— Yes. And overall, it went well, mostly thanks to you.
— So you’ll still have someone at level two if I’m killed during negotiations.
— You still insist on going yourself, — murmured Tess with something approaching a sigh.
— Yes, I do.
— Kate, it is not about us having enough people at higher levels of awareness. It is about a very real chance of you dying. Your loss will be irreparable.
— The chance is not that high, and it is worth the risk. I am willing to take it. This is my final word, Tess. I am going with you.
— You humans can be very stubborn.
— Yes. Human I may be not, but stubborn I am.