#31 (Dizzy Beacon) [https://i.imgur.com/jEzwk5i.png]

"Of course, my Lord," Ikaroa said, "Had I seen any way to sabotage the operation in advance without losing Kaito's trust, I would have."

"Think nothing of it," the Master said, with magnanimous pity so obviously affected that 'patronising' was far too soft a word. "All that matters is that my property has been returned."

The vial of nanoprobes glowed faintly on the table between them.

"I fear, however," Ikaroa went on, "That my cover can't be maintained any longer. Very few people were aware of the heist or where the nanoprobes were. I knew getting them back would matter more to you than my eyes and ears on the Movement. If I have served you well enough to deserve Ascent, I beg that it be now, for my life as a Free Ranger and my use to you as a spy will have come to an end."

The Master grinned. Her convulsions of pain from the sabotaged nanites she'd already ingested interacting with the true Ascent process were going to be very satisfying.

"Very well," he said. "I see no reason to process you through the farm, especially at your age; your life experience and acquaintance with me should serve you well enough. We shall begin immediately."

***

The evening light in the Sundarban mangrove was beautiful, shining flecks of gold on the rippling water as it flitted through the canopies: even Meitagenan pollution couldn't fully eclipse the seasonal dynamism of the monsoon winds. A soft haze of mist and dust made the sunbeams seem almost tangible, and the gentle breeze through the canopies with the faint sounds of wildlife made the place a small slice of Eden left on a scorched and battered world.

All that said, Ikaroa didn't have the faintest idea what they were doing there.

Darya had spent the journey engrossed in accessing the nanites. William had tried a little small talk but Ikaroa hadn't found a way to put her heart in it. And Rui and Kaito – not that either of them were adept conversationalists at the best of times – had taken the two seats in the cockpit for this journey.

Once they'd stopped, Kaito had asked Darya to come into the cockpit to help them calibrate a precise infrasonic pulse to send out through the water. After that, they'd all disembarked onto a small, nondescript bank and were apparently just waiting for something. Kaito hadn't said a word, other than to make clear that their questions would be answered in due course.

Ten pleasant but confusing minutes passed, before Kaito finally said "Aha, there he is," looking out over the water. It wasn't immediately obvious what he was referring to, but following his gaze, Ikaroa did ultimately manage to spot a slight linear rippling in the water, as though something were coming toward them. It grew more pronounced as it approached, then started bubbling. Then, slimy amphibian skin broke the surface, followed by a slimy amphibian.

Ikaroa had seen a few peculiar Ascenters in her time, but nothing quite seemed as alien to her as a bipedal amphibian, especially one, notwithstanding its two extra arms and burgundy complexion, could almost have been mistaken for a gigantic earth frog. It looked altogether top-heavy raised up by its spindly hind limbs, which bent at a very odd angle for a bipedal species.

"Est'Emper, my good man," Kaito said, unexpectedly at ease. "It's been a while."

"Burr…ribbit," said Est'Emper. His voice was deep, sonorous and imprecise, and he spoke very slowly. "Otohiko, this had better be important."

"I am not my grandfather. I'm afraid he died some years ago," Kaito said. "Though I have succeeded him in his role as leader of the Movement. I am Kaito, we've met before, but I was…" he gestured to indicate a height, somewhere around his navel.

"Oh… ribbit," said Est'Emper. If he felt anything at that news, he didn't show it. "All the same."

Kaito nodded. "We need a Network jamming signal. Only as wide as this clearing, but as strong as you can make it."

"Brrrm…." Est'Emper groaned. "I really don't want to."

"This is necessary for the most critical operation the Movement has ever run," Kaito explained quickly. "Perhaps the only real blow we have ever struck against Meitagenan civilisation, and its implications could span the galaxy."

"Brrrum… ribbit," he seemed to ponder it for a while, stretching his arms.

"Fine. I suppose," Est'Emper spoke slowly. Nothing visible seemed to happen, but around ten seconds later, he spoke again. "Okay, you've got it."

Kaito visibly relaxed, and turned to the others. "I may now finally speak freely about this operation."

Rui was smirking triumphantly, but the rest of them were looking thoroughly baffled.

"This guy can… jam the Network?!" Darya asked, incredulously. "Who… How?"

"Prince Est'Emper is the last known representative of the ancient and proud Mokanian civilisation," Kaito explained. "Perhaps you've read about them in official Meitagenan history?"

William spoke up. "Yeah, weren't they destroyed a long time ago?" he asked, searching his recollection. "The Meitagenans didn't think they were edible, as I recall?"

Est'Emper gave a low, aggrieved ribbit with the pitch and speed of a 'hmph'. "You… shouldn't believe everything you read."

Kaito expanded on the point. "In fact, the reasons for their destruction were far more complicated. In galactic terms, the Mokanian homeworld is relatively close to Meitagenous. They were the first cybernetically augmented civilisation their Despotate ever encountered. War ensued, of course, and with the advantage of the Network, the Meitagenans won. But not so utterly that the resulting treaty did not require an element of compromise.

"Mokanian augments were allowed to interface with the Network, but not on the strictly controlled terms familiar to us from modern Ascenters. They are not required to undergo the same cognitive modifications, but in exchange, they can access only low security traffic.

"The resulting peace with the Mokanians persisted for many centuries, but ultimately as the Meitagenan Despotate grew they became aggrieved by the privileged position the Mokanians and others enjoyed in their now much more powerful empire. They resolved to wipe out all those who retained unconventional network access, and since then, it has been Meitagenan policy to eliminate rather than conquer any new species they encounter which is already capable of full mind-computer interface.

"This secret history is known by very few, and indeed, it would scarcely be an exaggeration to say that it is only because of Est'Emper here that the Movement can exist at all. It is thanks to his friendship with my great-grandmother, and the technology he shared, that we have some limited measure of Network access."

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"But… what are you doing here on Earth?" Ikaroa asked him.

"Brrrm, I was on holiday at the time of my planet's destruction," replied Est'Emper. "Your planet has… excellent swamps. To me, this was like visiting a luxury spa. Only now I stay, most of the time."

"Are you fucking telling me," said Rui, "That the only reason there's any kind of human resistance to those shitheads is the quality of our swamps?"

"It could have been anyone," Kaito confirmed. "But it happened to be us. I suggest we move past the existential horror of that revelation quickly, since we have a great deal of work to do, and I yet have more to explain.

"Thanks to Ikaroa's recent infiltration of the Master's inner circle," Kaito explained, "I learned that his capacity to surveil Movement operations drastically exceeded my worst nightmares. Almost without exception, it seems, our organisation has only been allowed to continue because he has considered the cat-and-mouse game he is playing with us to be an amusing diversion. And therefore, though we certainly needed the nanites, I deliberately concocted such an outrageous, entertaining and doomed plan to get them that the Master would not be able to resist letting us get away with it. It was the largest risk I had ever taken as leader, but the size of what we might gain demanded it, and an intercepted message from the Master to the Aotearoan Ascenter farm confirmed I had succeeded. Naturally I could not explain until now, or he would have realised he was being played. Though I know Rui, at least, figured it out."

Rui nodded in confirmation. "Doesn't mean I didn't think it was batshit crazy."

"But therefore, Darya," Kaito went on, "There is some trap here, in the nanites themselves. I must ask you to complete your work here, including identifying the trap, under the cover of Est'Emper's jamming signal, or our lives are likely in jeopardy."

"Brrm… ribbit, and be quick about it," interjected Est'Emper. "These tachyons weigh an imaginary ton."

"That's fucking…" Rui snorted involuntarily with laughter, before remembering he had good reason to take this frog-man seriously, "new physics."

"Sure, boss," said Darya. "Um, Prince Est'Emper, is there any chance you might be able to help with this?"

"Brrrm, I don't want to draw attention," said Est'Emper. "Kaito's ancestor was kind to me, and I helped her, but I don't wish to antagonise the Meitagenans, lest I cause the final extinction of my race. I don't enjoy these visits. I would much rather relax in the water."

"A true Cincinnatus," Kaito remarked appreciatively, before realising everyone was looking nonplussed at him. He sighed. "I do not know why I bother."

"I only want to ask some technical questions," tried Darya, "And only, like, to speed things along. You said the jammer was super heavy, so…"

"Brrrm, very well," Est'Emper said. "What are you attempting to accomplish?"

***

Est'Emper and Darya, with considerable effort and time spent, did indeed succeed in identifying the Master's trap. The explanation had been lost on everyone except Rui, and his valiant, if coarse, attempt to simplify the matter had not even worked on Kaito. Darya and Est'Emper had now turned their attention to reprogramming the nanites, and were various having deep conversations about the neuropsychology of faith that Rui assured them were genuinely fascinating.

Evening had long since passed to a starry night, with beautiful jewels of light flitting through the canopy. Neither Kaito nor Rui could take their eyes off the sky, and were laying out on the sandbank next to each other, simply enjoying the view. Even Ikaroa's breath had caught as the night descended, but it seemed she had a less tolerant attention span for static beauty. Instead, she was passing the time reminiscing about old times with William, back when she had led the London cell, William had been an exceptionally talented young agent, and Kaito had been a shy teenager noticed only for his name.

Her mind, though, was on the person she was about to become. Ascent itself was already a hope beyond her wildest dreams, and the prospect of reuniting with her daughter Rāhera was a transcendent joy equalled only by the day Rāhera had been born. The hope of the Movement seemed distant and cold by comparison. Knowing that it would not remain so – that soon she would become a woman so committed to their hopeless cause she would be willing to die for it – was an exhilarating but tremulous prospect. She had no idea how it would feel. Would it be like her love for her daughter, or something else – something new?

At one point she had interrupted Kaito's reverie to ask him of this. He had replied, "I cannot say I would expect it to feel like love. I believe I would die for the Movement, and I have risked my life for it many times. But there is too much doubt in my soul, too much… ironic detachment, I think, to truly experience what the religious call the ecstasy of faith. Instead, I believe that were I to knowingly die for the cause, I would only be able to do so calmly, as though it were inconsequential. I should treat it as a decision on the same level as buying a pint of milk.

"For me, the revolution is simply what I am; a basic fact about my existence as obvious and immutable to me as the colour of my eyes. It doesn't really matter to me whether it is hopeless or not. Even if I knew my actions did not change a single atom of the destiny of the galaxy, I would still live this life. Or at least, that is how I think of myself. Perhaps I am too kind in that. But still, taking into account also the writings of Naomi Deus (the only known parallel to what you are about to experience), I should not expect you to find new passion in this. If anything, I expect it will make you colder."

For the Ikaroa of now, as opposed to the Ikaroa of a few hours' time, this still felt like introspective drivel even by Kaito's standards.

***

"Okay, we've got it, dudes!" Darya announced triumphantly, just as the morning sun was starting to rise. "We're ready to begin the procedure."

"Procedure?!" repeated Ikaroa, nervously. "Shouldn't you have medical scrubs on, or something?"

"We're in a fucking jungle clearing, Puppy."

Kaito laughed. "I would not imagine that reminder is especially reassuring."

Darya tried to affect an authoritative medical manner, but instead produced a sort of duck-faced pout. "Relax, dude," she said. "You just need to breathe the nanites in, and they'll do the work. It's more like taking a pill than having surgery."

"W-what will it feel like?"

Darya frowned. "There'll be some pain, dude, and it'll be disorienting while it's happening. Should take like an hour, but we'll, like, be here for you. Remember all we're doing here is reprogramming you so your values can survive Ascent, so you won't feel much different when it's over. We won't know know it's worked until you get full Ascent from the Master, but we know it's going to work."

Ikaroa gulped, but she remembered the advice she'd given to Kaito a thousand times to help keep his feelings in check, and relocated the resolve she'd always tried to pass on to him. She nodded, and they began.

***

Later, after having already inhaled the nanites once that day, did so with some trepidation when she was offered them by the Master again.

Darya hadn't been kidding about the pain, and had told her the full conversion would be even worse. She hadn't been wrong; Ikaroa spent much of the second hour panting, screaming and convulsing, all while the Master looked on with a satisfied grin, of course not helping in the slightest.

Even if Ikaroa hadn't already been through the first transformation, it almost felt in that moment that her hate for the Master could carry her through to Ascent with her resolve intact. Those ugly teeth, the bizarre, prehensile limbs, the way his sadistic pleasure at the sight of her had just a tinge of paternal affection in the eyes.

Hating the Meitagenans carried her all the way through, until in one moment, it didn't need to any more.

The new implants in her fingers activated, and she felt new knowledge, a whole new way of looking at the world, coursing through her mind. Suddenly, she didn't just know she was standing on a blood-red carpet, she knew the likely planet of origin by the pattern of the weave and how old it was by the indications of wear and tear.

Filibub – for she knew now that was the Master's name – was looming over her, laughing with glee. Did he think she was dead?

She had never known how to kill a Meitagenan, but now it seemed she knew that a precisely calibrated electric shock delivered directly into one of the eyeballs could induce a brief seizure, and the resulting activation of the brain's nanite defences left a brief window of vulnerability to a puncture wound at the base of the brain stem.

She opened her eyes. She still hated his face, hated how he recoiled in horror at her survival just for an instant, but it was long enough. She jammed one of her knew Ascenter fingers into one of his eyes, reaching out with the other hand simultaneously to break off one of his teeth, and after waiting more precisely than she ever could have known before for the millisecond interval in which she could get away with it to come, jammed the tooth straight into the back of his grotesque head.

The Master of Earth was dead.

***

(Several hours earlier…)

"Burr… ribbit, wait, you're trying to find Laila?!"