CROSS-CULTURAL EFFECTS / CH. 10:REMOTE ACCESS

EMBASSY OF RUSSIA, ATLANTIS. 6.30PM, FRIDAY DECEMBER 21ST

“Commander, Amos, welcome.” Mikhail greeted Sue and Amos.

“Your excellency,” Sue and Amos acknowledged.

“Certain of my guests would much prefer to drop all titles for the evening, if that's acceptable,” Mikhail said.

“Do you mean for the introductions too?”

“Preferably,” Anastasia said, “I, for example, don't want to know what exalted rank my commanding officer has, for my peace of mind, and on the basis of what I don't know I can't let slip.”

“And I'm sure you're well briefed anyway, Commander Reynolds,” Yuri said, “In the present company I'm known as Yuri. Allow me to introduce Yelena and Anastasia who I have the pleasure of naming friends as well as colleagues.”

“I'm happy to be Sue. I admit I was rather surprised to learn of your presence.”

“I have no objection to her majesty deciding that not only did my wife's difficulty in pregnancy count as a medical emergency but that medical emergencies and not separating spouses counted as more important than travel bans.”

“The operation went well?” Sue asked.

“We pray so. Rest and lack of movement are important now, I'm told. She is what the doctors call half-darted — paralysed apart from her head and arms, and sleeping a lot.”

“I presume they didn't give a success probability?” Amos asked.

“No. They just said they were hopeful, but keep praying.”

“And you came in my friend Boris' latest creation,” Amos said.

“Yes. Half an hour from St Petersburg.”

Amos shook his head, “And I thought giving a conventional submarine some wings was doing well.”

“Ah, the famous flying fish?”

“Yes. Not such a great achievement as anti-gravity. That had been theoretically disproved, you know?”

“No. So how did we get here?”

“Boris very cleverly spotted the mistake in the disproof.”

“And I presume that's all I'm ever going to learn?” Yuri asked.

“I would hope so, Yuri,” Amos said “We sadly have few doubts what certain people would do with the knowledge if it became widespread.”

“Even your rock-cutters are too dangerous,” Yelena said. “And I'd like to add even a short range version, like I've heard rumours of.

"If it can cut five millimeters it's bad, because it could be used to cut through windows. If it can cut twenty-five, then it could be used to cut though cell doors in prisons. Please keep that technology away from landfolk, Amos. Perhaps you know what would happen if someone used a rock-cutter on forcefield glass. I can't imagine anything good.”

“Forcefield glass?” Amos asked, Sue touched his hand with an image, “Oh, thank you, Sue. Hmm, hopefully it would just skitter off until it hit the edge, but it could certainly do damage there. You think someone would try?”

“Certainly. Jewelery shops used to often fall victim to thieves with rocks, so stock was hidden overnight. Forcefield glass put a stop to that problem and they're used to leaving their stock on display now.”

“Yes, I see. You don't even think a regulated trade might be possible?” Amos asked.

“If you only sold it on Mars, I could imagine that it would only be a matter of time before people are making the trip specifically for that purpose. I'm quite frankly shocked that no one has succeeded in mugging a Mer for one yet. Note that I say succeeded. I'm sure there have been attempted thefts.”

“Would you be able to put a black-market value on one?” Mikhail asked her.

“Not quite my area of expertise,” she said with a smile, “but I'd imagine a million in Sue's favourite currency, easily. And that's just among bank robbers and the like. Just imagine: slice, the safe is open; slice, the bank vault is open; slice, the prison wall has a hole in it; slice, the weapons store has another door.”

Amos looked at Sue, “Sue, do you agree?”

“I hadn't thought of all the twisted uses, but yes, I can't think why a criminal wouldn't think that way.”

“Sorry, Sue, but those aren't even twisted uses,” Yelena said, “they're just cutting rock, brickwork or metal. For twisted uses, put one in the hands of of a terrorist: slice, that bridge is falling down; or in the hands of a sadist.”

“Yelena, this is supposed to be a pleasant meal!” Mikhail protested.

“Sorry, I thought we'd got into the topic of not giving bad people dangerous technology.”

“And you feel the risks are too great, obviously.” Amos said.

“We don't manage to keep rocket propelled grenades or military-grade explosives out of the hands of bank robbers, Amos. Let alone industrial explosives. I cannot think of a legitimate use that would be worth the social cost of it being perverted.”

“You might say that about any advance in technology.” Mikhail said.

“And we have laser cutting technology,” Sue pointed out.

“Not portable though. You need a big box and a wall plug.”

“Are you aware of one being used for crime?” Sue asked, “I'm not.”

“Yes,” Yelena said, looking at Yuri for guidance.

“It was not made public,” Yuri said, “because the risk of copy-cat attempts was felt to be high. There was a bank with a vacant office next door.

"A laser cutter was used to gain access to the vault. About five hundred safety deposit boxes were emptied overnight. Interestingly, whoever did it must have had a list of who owned the boxes, and a grudge to settle, because the only victims were suspected corrupt politicians and mafia crime lords.”

“And corrupt lecturers, Yuri,” Yelena added.

“Yes, that's true. Certain senior lecturers at the imperial university were also found among the victims, and they couldn't give a reasonable account for how they'd acquired the money to buy the jewellery they lost. It is suspected that it was by the steady accumulation of bribes from students who seemed to have unexpectedly passed their exams.”

“It sounds the work of a well organised group,” Sue commented, wondering if it had actually been a secret-services led operation.

“Not very,” Yelena said, “An insider at the bank left their fingerprints all over the database. They got arrested quite quickly, and since they hadn't been that well paid, admitted everything. Most of the stolen goods were retrieved.”

“And returned to their owners?”

“To those who could demonstrate ownership or account for the wealth represented, yes.” Yuri said, “Strangely enough, quite a lot of the things recovered had been listed as stolen goods, so there were a number of other arrests that came about as a result of the break in.”

“But, you implied the culprits weren't known?” Sue asked.

“No. There was... shall we say a communication failure in the police force? They went in the front with sirens and lights and failed to have anyone at the back door. But that's assuming they were even there.”

“Nothing from forensics?”

“Their so-called lair had been used as a general market on a regular basis. Forensics took one look at the dirt on the floor and said forget it.”

“Why do you say they might not have been there?” Amos asked.

“They had remote control of the video cameras. The recordings showed them all being pointed at the walls, during the robbery and immediately afterwards, and then the culprits very considerately pointed the cameras at the hoard.

"It showed no activity at all for the previous twenty four hours, until the police entered, at which point certain items vanished. You may assume there were more arrests.”

“But you don't want copy-cats?” Mikhail asked, trying not to laugh.

“Exact copy-cats wouldn't be that unwelcome, I'm sure,” Yuri said, “But there were some items that weren't recovered, so I presume the rest was all just meant as a distraction.”

“What went missing?” Sue asked.

“Ah, well, Sue. I really don't think I ought to tell you that. It might embarrass some of my counterparts in other departments.”

“When did this happen, might I ask?”

“Yelena, do you remember?”

“I'm sure the raid was after I got here, Yuri. I remember hearing about it here. Oh, I remember, it was just before the attack on the Mer ambassador to Mars.”

“Was that a difficult time to be here and Russian?” Sue asked.

“I was asked some questions, certainly. Anastasia, how did you find it?”

“I was just shocked, myself, but more at the response from home.”

“Oh? Which bit of it?” Yuri asked.

“The way the press decided the man who questioned his orders and then admitted all was scum, and the idiot who came up with the plan to steal a top-secret military space pod from the most technologically advanced nation on Earth on a planet where we take months to get there and the Mer can do it in a week is an absolute hero.”

“Probably the way he refused to acknowledge the independent status of Mars, in line with state policy,” Yuri pointed out.

“Yes. Am I allowed to disagree with state policy in this context, sir?”

“Privately, Anastasia, we may disagree with all sorts of things it would be unwise to disagree with publicly,” Yuri said, “I think this particular context is towards the private end of the spectrum, would you agree, Sue?”

“Absolutely.”

“Being more discrete than I might need to be, I'll just say: guess what I think of state policy,” Anastasia said.

“What's happened to the press's hero, by the way?” Amos asked, “Wasn't he due for execution?”

“He is still awaiting it, as far as I know,” Yuri said, “The Mars Council has elected to await a formal response about whether we want him or not, and of course state policy says we don't issue formal responses to unrecognised break-away regions holding our servicemen hostage.”

“I've seen very little about whether his wife wants him back or not,” Yelena said.

“Ah, no. You won't have done.” Yuri said, “Her response didn't quite fit the picture the press wanted to paint. She'd be quite happy to get his pension, but I understand that his income is about the only thing she likes about him at the moment. It seems he wasn't the best husband or father when he was around. I understand that in the middle of the press campaign, the Tsar had a letter from her humbly asking that if it was politically acceptable he be kept as far away from her and her daughter as humanly possible.”

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Has the Mars Council been made aware of that?” Sue asked.

“Probably not.” Yuri said, “'Dear council, save your gloop, his wife wants him dead.' isn't strictly true and nor is it the sort of thing anyone would dare to communicate, even unofficially. You can't tell foreign powers to go ahead and execute your soldiers, after all.”

“No. So, what's going to happen?” Sue asked.

“Either the Council executes him, there's some fatal accident, he commits suicide, or some third power is probably going to volunteer to bring him back at an appropriate time of the cycle. My guess is that won't be Atlantis, as according to his wife the man regularly beat her and her daughter, while boasting of his multiple adulteries.”

“What a sick individual,” Amos said.

“What about the other one?” Anastasia asked.

“He turned from his sins and walked I can't remember how many kilometers,” Sue said, “I understand that after he'd walked a certain distance he was met by his girlfriend who walked with him, with her screamer and radiation shelter in case of a radiation storm, and that her friends made sure they had regular food and drinks. They're now married.”

“That is the happier side to the story,” Yelena said, “I just wish the orders had never been approved.”

“So does the Tsar, I assure you. Mikhail, have you heard of any progress towards signing the Geneva conventions?”

“I have not been officially informed of anything, Yuri. Sue, in your role as military attaché, do you know of any progress?”

“There are problems, I understand, with some of the terms,”

“Really?” Yelena was surprised.

“Uniforms, for instance,” Sue said, “the conventions are quite clear about uniforms, and the Mer aren't convinced. They will not sign up to anything that they can't adhere to one hundred percent, and they know quite well that, for example, the attackers on Mars were not in uniform.”

“They were special forces troops,” Yuri said.

“Yet there is still no provision for such in the conventions, let alone clandestine operations. There are various more recent intergovernmental agreements, but the conventions basically define special operations as not being acts of war and therefore are illegal acts. Ordering illegal acts is supposed to get the superior officer in trouble, and so on, let alone ordering attacks on non-combatant diplomats. They notice a lack of response on that front.”

Mikhail nodded, “I was told they're not going to be a signatory to an international law unless the law is rigorously adhered to by at least major powers.”

“Ah. An interesting point. Is that what the line about 'unworthy persons in positions of authority and not being held to account' is about, do you think?”

“Certainly,” Mikhail said.

“So... Amos, as the only representative of your people here, do you believe the punishment of the guilty officer would need to be entirely public?”

“I think I understand you, Yuri, but I'm a little confused.”

“Let us say that a previously significant military figure who gave such a punishable order was moved to a position where his authority was only over untrained troops rather than a fighting force, or perhaps only over an 'armoured division' made of incredibly lightly armoured 'troop transports', also known as a car pool. But suppose that this humiliating demotion was not made public, and he was allowed to keep wearing his uniform.

"Would that be considered as an acceptable punishment, or should there be a public trial and so on?”

“My immediate reaction is that courts martial are often conducted behind closed doors,” Amos said, “and a man who's served his country faithfully only to make a single regrettable decision towards the end of his career, perhaps as a result of advancing age, need not be publicly humiliated. But I'm not a lawyer or a diplomat. I guess my gut feeling is that a younger officer, with less experience, might need a more public reprimand, no matter who his contacts might be. That might help stamp out the impression that contacts absolve one from responsibility. And we do sometimes all need a bit of public humiliation.”

“You're thinking of yourself?”

“Oh, I've suffered quite the odd humiliating failure. I was more thinking of my sister's teenage prank.”

“I don't know I've heard this,” Yuri said.

“Somewhere among your submariners, Yuri, there is in all probability someone who was the rear periscope of one of your T-class fast attack submarines about oh, I guess twenty-five years ago now. Assuming he or she was doing their duty and scanning the entire three hundred and sixty degrees of ocean surface, they ought to have seen my then-teenage sister swimming up behind the forward periscope and pulling faces at the back of it. Thus winning her dare and putting at risk the secret of the existence of our people. I'm afraid I don't know the submarine's number.”

“I keep trying to persuade Mikhail to give Karella a model T-class for her desk,” Sue said, “but he's worried it might upset her. I think she'd laugh.”

“We assume,” Amos said, “that the submariner didn't dare report their mermaid sighting to anyone. The moral of this story is that young and stupid doesn't necessarily mean irredeemably useless. As long as it gets corrected, of course. She and her co-conspirator had to clean the barnacles out of the engines.”

“Who grassed her up?” Yelena asked.

“That would be her little brother, who she was supposed to be looking after.” Amos said.

“Next question, should you really be spreading disrespectful stories about your queen and sister?” Anastasia asked.

“Oh, it's not a secret. Quite the public trial it was, with respected elders shaking their fingers and saying learn from this, young ones, don't do the same, even if we did when we were your age. And I don't think it's disrespectful to say she's had her thoughtless stage and learned her lesson well.”

“I'm surprised she wasn't barred from the line of succession,” Yuri said.

“Mikhail?” Amos asked, “Would you like to do the honours, or shall I?”

“I'd much prefer you do it,” Mikhail said, “I don't want to upset anyone.”

“Can I?” Yelena asked “I don't want to upset anyone, but I think I can help Yuri understand.”

“Go ahead,” Amos said.

“Rule is not something the Mer seek, Yuri. They are philosophers and apex predators, who can catch enough fish for a day in half an hour, and the struggle to survive is not against starvation but against aggression from sharks and us. They see rule and leadership as inconvenient duties laid upon them by circumstance and abilities. They'd rather play dolphin. Since the days of their civil war they have had a council of the wise, elected by public nomination and general consent. First the queen of one of the two Mer races handed her crown to the council then the other monarch asked why he couldn't have an easier life too. As the Mer decided to come out from hiding, the council decided we needed them to have a monarch once more, and they chose Karella, who'd served on the council some years. She objected, but could not argue strongly enough to convince the others. She is truly the ruler of all Mer by will of the High Council. They are proud to be called an ancient and barbaric civilization, for they truly hate the aspects of intrigue, corruption and vice that would come from being a cultured civilisation.”

“You have come to know us well in a short time, Yelena,” Amos said.

“Unlike some, I read the embassy's information, and then I asked around, and then I did a little more reading and found some things Sue had written, too.”

“Really?” Sue asked, surprised.

“Some of your sailors need reminding that the password on a wrist unit can be used remotely,” Yelena said, “and that while a local copy of their orientation manual might be handy, but it's really not that wise. Oh, and taking someones picture and letting them grab it from your wrist unit? Bad idea. That really ought to be covered in basic training.”

“It is,” Sue said, “but I guess basic training was too long ago for some people. I don't suppose you could tell me who I need to roast, could you?”

“Yelena, as a gesture of friendship, perhaps you should offer to give the Commander's sailors a little embarrassing lesson in information security?

"I'm sure it'll be all the more effective if it comes from a Colonel in the Imperial Secret Services. And tell her exactly what you found out, of course.”

“Of course, Yuri. Don't worry, Sue. I was just being nosy for my own purposes, I didn't pass anything on.”

“Not even to me,” Anastasia said, “and we're supposed to be on the same side.”

“We are on the same side, Anastasia, but I really wasn't sure whose side the others were on, and you seemed to be listening to them a lot more than me.”

“Let that be a lesson to you, Anastasia,” Yuri said, “Yelena is always worth listening to.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Do you want to see, Sue?” Yelena asked with a little smile, “It's on my wrist unit, I'll happily send it to you.”

“Very funny,” Sue said, “Would I get a remote access kit, too?”

“I wouldn't do that to my friends, Sue. I was just teasing.”

“Are we friends?”

“I hope so. You are Mikhail's friend, and fellow ambassador. And as Mikhail and I were discussing earlier this evening, about twelve years ago I made a vow to God that I'd accept him the next time he proposed to me. And an oath must be kept.”

“'Next time'?” Amos asked.

“It was quite a regular occurrence at school,” Yelena said, “but we went to different universities and then Mikhail couldn't find me, so we've got some catching up to do.”

“And you weren't looking for him?” Sue asked.

“I had no idea where he was, and I'd been so cruel to him I was pretty sure he'd find someone nicer than me.”

“Actually, I found God,” Mikhail said, “So if we had met before we did it might not have gone well. But now we're both Christians,” he put his arm around Yelena, “I fully intend to not let her vanish again.”

“So, you are walking together?” Amos asked, happy for his friend.

“What Yelena didn't say is just before we went to our different universities I promised her I'd propose again. I don't quite know what that makes us.”

Sue looked between the two of them, “Yelena's vowed to accept and you've promised you'd ask?”

“Yes,” Yelena said, “I did tell him that I wasn't going to demand he keep his promise though. It's been a long long time.”

“You see me so reluctant, too,” Mikhail said.

“I think, Mikhail, that makes you betrothed by promise, even if not by vow. Congratulations.”

“Have you two set a date yet?” Mikhail asked.

“Technically, we're not full allies yet and so we can't,” Sue said, “but negotiations are progressing.”

“Informally,” Amos said, “Sue knows I'm going to ask her immediately the treaty's signed.”

“And Amos informally knows I've got my answer and my wedding dress ready. But we're not allowed to get engaged.”

“I hope the negotiations finish quickly,” Yuri said.

Yelena tapped some commands on her wrist unit, and passed it to Sue. “This is what I found, Sue. Happy browsing.”

“You'd trust me to poke around on your wrist unit?”

“If you can get out of that sub-directory I'd be very surprised.”

“I won't try,” Sue said, “Hmm. An address book too?”

“I wasn't interested, but I guess it'll help you find who one of the culprits is.”

“Probably. Oh dear, Yelena? It might have been a booby trap. I'm not seeing addresses.”

“Oh yes! How interesting! It's trying to call out, and discovering it can't. Well, that's enough of that. Let's see what it tried to do. Oh, the sneaky thing!”

“What?”

“Well if this had been a real wrist unit, it would have got my location and network I.D. and sent them somewhere, I guess to your government, and also installed a remote access kit too.”

“It's not a real wrist unit?” Amos asked, confused.

“I run into those sorts of things pretty often. This runs a custom operating system. Everything a program does in the emulator just gets logged. Here Sue, this is what the photographer let me copy.”

“Lots of photographs. Hmm. I think we have a special friendship here, this woman crops up quite a lot. Do you recognise her?” She asked Yelena, passing the wrist unit back.

“Oh, yes, she was with him. She doesn't look Mer to me.”

“No,” Sue agreed.

“Oh look, I've got some information on her.” Yelena said, “Hmm. Sorry, Sue.”

“Sorry Sue, what?”

“Sorry Sue, you've probably got a bigger problem than just lax information security. Not an innocent tourist. Yuri?”

Yuri looked at the information, “Naval intelligence? Yelena, you have my full backing for your decisions. I'm just here accompanying my wife and learning about the generous Merfolk, you're the senior officer on the ground. I presume she hasn't made herself known to you, Mikhail?”

“No one has told me anything, Yuri.”

“Breach of protocol there,” Yuri pointed out. “Valentina Ivanovna is a uniformed officer, and that certainly looks like her file photo.”

“So, she should have reported to me, or the captain, who would have reported to me. I'll just go to the barracks and check it hasn't slipped his mind.”

“Sue, the controller that booby-trap wanted to call belongs to Russian navy intelligence,” Yelena said, “I'll come with you, Mikhail, just in case.”

“Just in case what?”

“Just in case you need a witness, a body-guard or there's an opportunity for hugs.”

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EMBASSY OF RUSSIA, ATLANTIS 7PM, FRIDAY DECEMBER 21ST.

“The captain has seen her getting his men to buy her drinks, but she's not made herself known to him, Sue.” Mikhail reported “She therefore is in trouble as far as I'm concerned.”

“All wrist units are going to be turned in,” Sue said, “So we'll find out how big the problem is, hopefully.”

“And I've told Karella,” Amos said, “So I doubt she'll be getting many more free drinks from sailors.”

“I suggest we eat and await developments,” Yuri said. “It might be a long evening for some of us.”

“Mikhail, Yelena, I hope you don't mind,” Amos said, “Karella asked how you two were getting on and I told her about your old vow and promise. She asks, for future reference, if your parents have passports.”

“Mine do,” Mikhail said, “But I'm fairly sure I'm not allowed to accept a free lift for them to visit, I presume the same would go for Yelena's parents.”

“But you do have the right to apply for space on a military transport for them,” Yuri said.

“And that turns into civilian transport or a Mer submarine because of our ban on your military officers,” Amos added, “So Karella says please let her know where they can get to easily, approximate timing, and so on.”

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RED REEF TAVERN, ATLANTIS 7.15PM, FRIDAY DECEMBER 21ST.

“Lieutenant Valentina Ivanovna,” Lara Knifetongue said, sitting down at the table where a couple were laughing together, “you are under arrest.”

“Who, Lara?” midshipman Horace Lamb asked, looking confused. His friend did too.

“Your company for the evening, Horace. You've upset a number of people, Valentina,” Lara said, ticking them off on her fingers, “Your ambassador, Horace's superior officer, the High Council of Atlantis, and probably Horace too. Horace, Commander Reynolds would like to talk to you, but you should power off your wrist unit immediately. Shouldn't he, Valentina?”

“I don't know why you keep calling me that.” she replied.

After waiting for her and Horace turn their wrist units off, Lara said, “Oh, just circumstantial evidence, you look really really like the file photo of Lieutenant Valentina Ivanovna of the Russian imperial naval intelligence service, Horace has lots of pictures of you on his wrist unit along with a booby-trapped address book entry which reported to Russian naval intelligence, and you're sitting exactly where Queen Karella told me I could find Lieutenant Valentina Ivanovna.”

“You.... how could you? You said you loved me!” Horace said.

“It's a coincidence,” Valentina said, “Believe me, Horace, I didn't put an attack file on your wrist unit. Please believe me!”

“Why should I?”

“Because I want to be civilian, and leave corrupt Russia, I'm absent without leave.”

“Oh! Now the Tsar will be upset with you too.” Lara said. “Come along, Valentina. Just don't make me upset with you, for example by asking me to help you break any oaths.”

“I swear, Horace, I didn't lie about loving you, I didn't put that on your wrist unit. I swear, I didn't!”

“I think you will be talking to truthsayers soon, Valentina. Or my queen will separate truth from fiction. Horace, you may come too, if you wish.”

“Nothing but a pack of lies,” Horace said, staring at the crying woman.

[Oddly enough, Lara, she's telling the truth about not putting it on his wrist unit.] Karella thought to her, [Tell Horace.]

“Horace,” Lara said, “She did not lie about the wrist unit. About the rest, Karella has not said more.”

“I do love you, Horace,” Valentina pleaded.

“You said your name was Sandra Smith, too,” Horace said, bitterly.

“It is.”

[Horace coming too would be good,] Karella thought, [so he can give evidence and calm down a bit. Don't tell him the last bit.]

“Karella says your evidence will be valuable, Horace. Please do come.”

“If your queen wants me, then I'll come.”