WARPING EFFECTS / CH. 12:CONSEQUENCES.
7.30AM, SERENDIPITY HOTEL, THURS, 16TH JAN 2296
[Hi, Yvette How are you?]
[Hi, Sarah. I'm fine. Well, a bit sleepy.]
[Let me guess, you spent too long chatting to Vicky?]
[And to Kevin. Did you hear about the attack on your ambassador?]
[Yes. You were up late, weren't you?]
[Not late enough to hear anything more than he'd been attacked. Kevin told me there'd been an attack and he needed to concentrate on that and I needed to go to sleep {outrage}.]
[{humour}The cheek of the man, how dare he!]
[What happened, Sarah? There's practically nothing in the news, yet. It just says that in front of a number of witnesses the attacker threw a foot-long ceremonial knife at the ambassador's companion, but it hit him.]
[Actually, it nicked her too, but he got most of the force. Not the pointy end, fortunately.]
[And the culprit died at the scene.]
[Yes. He threw the knife and fell down dead. You'll probably hear two versions of why he died, eventually. One is that it was for sacrilegious use of the ceremonial knife, the other is because he'd just been warned that God's patience with him was close to its end, justice was just round the corner, and he wasn't going to get a third warning to repent and turn from his demon-worshipping ways.]
[The ambassador actually told him to repent or die?]
[His friend, who I've had the pleasure of calling a friend for something like twenty-five years. And she didn't actually say 'repent or die', she told the whole meeting 'God has been patient with you until now, if you cling to evil, you will be judged in this life as well as the next.']
[I take it this wasn't the local parent's meeting, then?]
[No. You'll probably hear various things about what kind of meeting it was, depending on the leanings of the source, but it was the same religion my friend left when she became a Christian, and she used to call herself a witch.]
[{surprise}They just walked into the middle of a seance and interrupted?]
[With a lot of prayer, they walked into the beginning of what officially speaking was the open portion of the meeting, just as one of the members spell failed to produce the expected result. They passed on a message from God, the ambassador told everyone there that the leader was a wanted criminal back home, my friend said a blessing on everyone there and they were just leaving when the knife was thrown.]
[A blessing? Why on Earth would she bless them?]
[She prayed they'd have clarity of thought, unconfused by any demonic lies and that demons wouldn't have any power near them, over them, or within their meeting house.]
[Erm, OK. That's sort of double-edged, isn't it?]
[Most of them don't think they worship demons, and they think God is weak and powerless, so by banishing demons in the name of Jesus she was... shall we say educating them about all sorts of things? As well as protecting the innocent.]
[And she does this often?]
[No. God doesn't ask her to do it very often. I don't think it was the way his excellency expected his date to end. But he knew it was risky.]
[This was a date?]
[She told him she'd be going, and he said he ought to go along too.]
[Wow. The power of romance, or something?]
[More something than romance. But anyway, now you know. Try not to gossip, but feel free to pass on what you know if someone starts talking rubbish. Of course, you'd have to explain how you learnt it.]
[How did you meeting with the king go, I should have asked.]
[We're not in jail yet, so it could have been worse, but he's planning to bring my charitable work here to an end, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if he tries to close down all my companies.]
[Why? You're doing so much good!]
[His grandmother was treated a bit like you, dear, only without anyone like us around to pick up the pieces, and there was more substance to the charges. More, I will not say.]
[He wants revenge. On the whole people group?]
[I may not discuss this more, he's claimed privacy on all that part of conversation. Anyway, I'm going to have to talk to some more lawyers, but ring if you need me, OK?]
[OK. Urm, it's not wrong me thinking to Kevin, is it?]
[Depends what you think about, dear. As long as you're just chatting, that's fine. If you find any part of the conversation is leading to temptation — of either of you — then stop it.]
[How do I stop it? Say 'la la la, I'm not listening?]
[It's possible but it takes a lot of effort to contact someone with their thoughts hidden. Especially from a distance.]
[Can I tell him what you've told me?]
[No need, dear. He's had a long chat with my friend already. The poor boy keeps walking into ethical dilemmas, but oh well.]
[Ethical dilemmas?]
[It'll give you something to talk about, Yvette. Don't let me spoil it for you.]
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HOSPITAL, ANCHORAGE, THURSDAY MORNING.
[Hi Larry,] Vivian thought, [how are you?]
[My morning's just got brighter. Especially if you don't have any official duties.]
[I have an official duty, yes. I'm officially commanded by their majesties to make sure nothing else unfortunate happens to you between now and when we get you to Restoration.]
[I'm fine, Vivian.]
[You might have noticed you've got a sore spot on the back of your head, and your brain got rattled enough for you to be unconscious for five minutes. Minor internal bleeding has not been ruled out. Which is why you're still in hospital, and why you're being medically-evacuated out to a centre of excellence, just in case. It also gives us both an excuse to get out of the country before anyone gets round to laying charges, so don't object.]
[I'm not objecting.]
[Good. So, just in case you're wondering, there is no one in the hospital who wishes you ill, no one in the city who has plans to arrest you, and I worried myself by looking for people who are planning to make sure you don't get away from them.]
[There are some?]
[One. She's just crossing the hospital foyer on her way up to your ward, and you'll find it very hard to run away from her, I assure you. Her full name is Elspeth Vivian Rachel Trevithick, but hardly anyone knows about the Elspeth, since it didn't make it onto my birth certificate. But you've heard of Elvira, now you know where the 'El' came from.]
[Oh.. right, yes. I hadn't noticed the rest of the letters were linked to your name. You're serious? About not wanting me to get away, I mean?]
[I wasn't expecting to see myself, but I did, and yes, I can't deny it, it fits how I feel.]
[For the record, I don't want you to get away either.] Larry thought to her, trying not to overwhelm her with the joy he felt.
[On a more serious note, have John and Sarah mentioned Kevin to you?]
[Kevin? Urm, I don't think so.]
[Oh, But you've heard about Yvette?]
[Their almost-adopted daughter, yes.]
[Kevin's the boy that triggered it all.]
[Oh! Yes, sorry, I'd forgotten his name. He had been falling for their daughter, but dramatically discovered that Yvette not only wasn't off-limits any more but loved him, right?]
[Exactly. When he's not dealing with beautiful girls throwing themselves at him, he's a reporter.]
[Oh no. So what we're doing there is now all over the press?]
[Not yet. But he did get sent to the scene. And he already knew I was going there.]
[He did? I thought it had been a pretty closely guarded secret?]
[It was. It is, in terms of the details. But he was one of the select few I had praying for me. So he's in yet another awkward position through no fault of his own.]
[Ah. So you'd like to give him a formal interview?]
[Mona has given him an interview. The others have declined. He'd like confirmatory interviews from both of us if that's OK.]
[Do you know what Mona said?]
[That I'd said things that had triggered a lot of doubts about her beliefs, and she was going to investigate them fully. She also said that we'd warned them what they'd been planning might constitute a crime, so she was glad they'd not gone on uninterrupted, that we'd been forceful in what we said, but necessarily so, and some people might not have been happy to hear it, but she was. She said she'd known Drake had a criminal record, but not that he'd escaped from custody after being convicted for serious fraud and died a wanted man with a price on his head; he'd told her he'd been in jail a few days for his beliefs.]
[She's done some of her own research, then?]
[She had time. After you were brought here, the police interviews took a while, and she was near the end of the queue. Not as late as me, of course.]
[How much sleep did you get?]
[I'll sleep on the plane, don't worry. Or failing that, at the Institute.]
----------------------------------------
KEVIN'S REPORT
Fraudster's cowardly attack not aimed at ambassador
William Percival Drake, also known as Jose Ferraris, was not aiming his dagger at the ambassador for the Restored Kingdom, but at the ambassador's new girlfriend, Vivian Trevithick, a senior figure in the Restored Kingdom's internal investigations department, here on leave from work to attend a conference in a private capacity. Drake, an explosives expert who was mysteriously able to escape from custody after being convicted of serious fraud in the Restored Kingdom five years ago, was living here under the name of Jose Ferraris, unafraid that his past might catch up with him because there is no extradition treaty with the Restored Kingdom. He was also wanted in connection to various other crimes, including bank robbery and corrupting civil servants. Miss Trevithick, however, did not enter the meeting of the faith she left twenty-five years ago to bring Drake to justice, but to warn those he held under his spell that they were not consorting with friendly spirits as Drake had told them, but with demons and a wanted fraudster. His excellency the ambassador also warned the attendees that Drake had been advertising curses for sale, and that their meeting was occasioned by one such transaction.
He had received such information from the Restored Kingdom's intelligence service in the past, along with the fact that the contracts said payment was only due on the effectiveness of the curse. The police here hold that magic-for-sale was not illegal and so they would not investigate, when he tried to pass that information on.
Causing of deadly explosions, however, most certainly is illegal, and the unsubstantiated claims by Drake to be responsible for a number of them should surely have been investigated fully. Especially since, as a convicted fraudster and explosives expert, he might not have left this significant income stream exclusively in the hands of spiritual forces.
Some people might laugh at talk of spiritual forces, but Miss Trevithick is convinced. Having taken a significant part in the rites of the movement as a young woman, she has no doubt that the forces they get in touch with are quite powerful and utterly evil. That did not dissuade her from going, since she is also convinced that the Christian God is good, far more powerful, and that she was entering that building in response to her deity's command. She informed your reporter that she had planned to enter the meeting alone, after spending much of the day in prayerful preparation, but that after their (first) date last night, his excellency decided that he wasn't going to let his new friend go into danger without him. The Ambassador certainly has a strong motive to not want any curses (real or faked with explosives) laid, having lost his wife and twelve year old son in the paper factory explosion five years ago, an event linked to supernatural causes by some at the time.
Unfortunately, it seems that while she has eyes in the back of her head, the ambassador's either weren't working or were momentarily distracted by the lovely Miss Trevithick rather than concentrating on potential danger. Or perhaps he should have spent as much time in prayer as Miss Trevithick.
In any case, she says she heard the blade being thrown and dived out of the way, but the ambassador reacted too slowly to her warning. Eye-witnesses from just behind Drake say that in cutting her shoulder (three stitches required), it deviated from a path that would have struck the ambassador straight in the back.
Eye-witnesses also report that Drake threw the knife, then immediately put his hand to his head and collapsed on the floor at the same time as the ambassador.
Drake's death, which according to initial medical examination seems to have been the result of a burst blood-vessel in his brain, is surely too much of a coincidence to be attributed to natural causes. But to which supernatural agency should we ascribe it? Miss Trevithick's answer is the knife is of high cultic significance and his use of it as a weapon would be counted as sacrilege. She also said that such an act might well be viewed as warranting death in the eyes of the participants in the coven, and that in some circumstances — such as someone rejecting the religion — the spiritual forces she used to have contact with do act in revenge. However, her considered opinion is that it is very very rare for them to respond to mere physical sacrilege of that kind without a lot of cajoling and sacrifice from the humans. Everyone at the meeting that I've talked to agrees that Miss Trevithick warned Drake that he would have no more opportunities to “reject the forces of evil and turn to Jesus” if he didn't do it quickly. She, however, says that she'd no idea her words would be the last he heard.
Naturalistic explanations are of course available to sceptics. We might imagine him having high blood-pressure as a result of hearing his past crimes being spelled out to people who knew nothing about them (even his closest associate in the group, who wishes to be referred to as M., only thought he'd spent some time in a police cell for a minor crime), or perhaps he was angry having being told his religion is no more than a demonic deception. But to this the balanced reporter must reply that no-one in the meeting saw his face turning red, or other signs of anger or rage. Indeed, he seemed pale and on the verge of fainting.
Also, M adds that she'd been addressed by Miss Trevithick before the meeting, had talked to Drake about it, and his response had confirmed Miss Trevithick's assertion that he had been a member of the same coven that Miss Trevithick left, and that about twenty-five years ago he had witnessed another brave woman denouncing his faith as demonic deception. M recalls an earlier description of that occasion, and that he'd reported that the coven leader tried to place a curse on the messenger from God, which had rebounded and he'd lost his sight — meeting the same fate as Elymas the sorcerer in Acts 13 — although the Biblical analogy comes from M, not from Drake. M has, it seems, been doing some extensive reading in response to the claims of Miss Trevithick.
Miss Trevithick had announced, via M, that she'd be visiting; but rather than ask her not to speak or argue with her, Drake chose instead to maintain his silence until she had given all the warnings she wanted to and was leaving. Drake's only response to her saying he worshipped demons and not friendly spirits was to try to kill her as her back was turned. Surely, in twenty-five years, he'd had time to think of what his response was to such arguments and truth-claims, at least to lay them to rest in his own mind? Or was her turning her back to his cowardly knife the biggest flaw in her argument he'd been able to come up with in quarter of a century?
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ANCHORAGE, 2PM, THURS, 16TH JAN 2296
[Hi Yvette, can you talk?] Kevin thought to her.
[Can you? What did your boss think of the report?]
[She liked the bit about the ambassador's eyes in the back of his head focussing on Vivian, and said that in the context she was OK with the rest of it, but I shouldn't get that close to religious.]
[And she didn't mind being named?]
[She said it was likely to come out anyway, and was more concerned that other things didn't.]
[Other things?]
[Urm, yes. Sorry, top secret.]
[Sarah said something about ethical dilemmas.]
[Welcome to my world, 'Vette. Know things, have a job of telling people things, but maybe the people involved want to keep their privacy. Fortunately Vivian didn't mind me writing about her and the ambassador, especially since they've left.]
[Left?]
[Medical evacuation for the ambassador, and Vivian has officially been called back to give an account of her actions.]
[She's in trouble then?]
[I'm not really sure.]
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ROYAL PALACE, CAPITAL OF THE RESTORED KINGDOM
“Vivian,” his majesty the King said, “This is not what we had in mind when we said you could go and attend the truthsayer conference quietly.”
“Ah, no, your majesty. Fortunately the reporter who got the best interview with me had been one of those praying for me just before I went.”
“And there was a good reason for that?”
“One of the very best, sir, but I can't explain further without his permission.”
“Hmm. I think I would like you to ask that permission, Vivian. I would like to hear a full and complete description of absolutely everything that led up to Larry getting a knife thrown at him, and the complaint the Alaskan ambassador has issued about airspace rules being violated. And if you have any idea about why the Alaskan ambassador is linking this to what he terms a violation of the sovereignty of their palace complex.”
Vivian raised her eyebrows. “That's an interesting phrase. What's the link?”
“Larry apparently spoke with the... ah... perpetrators in the hotel restaurant before going to the coven with you,” The queen said.
“The only people I saw him speaking with were John and Sarah Williams,”
“Yes. We're looking forward to hearing their account of what happened too, but it seems they've been thrown off the Alaskan network.”
“But don't bother checking,” Eliza said, “They're OK otherwise.”
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ALASKA, 3PM, THURS 16TH JAN 2296
[Hi, Yvette. It's your study period, right? Anything we need to know or try to do?] Sarah asked.
[Urm, if you could turn on your wrist units?]
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
[{Grim humour} They're on, but apparently we're officially incommunicado.]
[What?]
[Our wrist units are being rejected by the network, have been since last night. The hotel phone mysteriously won't reach anywhere further than the front desk, and when we went down for a walk a bit earlier a big burly policeman asked us not to talk to anyone, so they didn't get in trouble, and then followed us to make sure we obeyed. Good job we kept today free of meetings.]
[That's, urm, awkward.] Yvette thought.
[Our guess is that travel plans are still all OK, but that we're going to get stamps in our passport saying that we're not coming back here. I suggest you stay at Vicky's again.]
[The headmaster was hoping that I could get a message to you.]
[Oh? Well, go ahead.]
[But if you can't call anyone, I really don't see how it can work... There's been a formal complaint that Henrietta was rejected because of religious discrimination. The head is happy that it wasn't, based on what Jim said, but the inspectorate wants to have the reasons for her rejection on record. Before we go.]
[Oh... Well, it's not that great a problem.]
[No?]
[Can you write something down?]
[Yes.]
[Great... what you're going to need to do is tell the head that the reasons are on record at the Institute, and that he can get it sent to the school with the right magic code. But since we're out of contact he'll need to do it himself, from the School's computer.]
[Urm, OK. And what, he needs to connect to some hidden portal?]
[No, I'm afraid he'll need to talk to the A.I., make his request clearly,
convince it that he is who he says he is, and then give it the access code.]
[How does he convince it who he is?]
[That really depends what the A.I. can find out about him, I'm afraid. It'll be looking for I.D. records, published pictures, address records, travel, any speeches he's given for his voice-print, anything it can find, really. Warn him it can be quite intrusive.]
[OK, I'll pass that on.]
[Good. He needs to ask for 'Monday's rejection letter, Henrietta, formal copy.' and the access code is 'ten serial boyfriends victim']
[OK. And how do I tell him I heard this?]
[That's where you might need to admit to being a thought-hearer, I'm afraid. Or I guess you could say you got a message from a truthsayer — I'm one, so you're doing that now.
Then you can tell him that you were contacted to let you know our wrist units have both stopped working and the police are trying to stop us talking to anyone, but that someone with the gift was involved in getting you that code.]
[And otherwise you're just sitting in your hotel room until you catch the plane?]
[Or until you catch the plane and we decide if we're going to kick up a big international stink, get Karella to lend us transport to sneak out, or both. But don't worry, the realistic-worst case scenario is that we're delayed a few days and you get looked after by May and the institute staff.]
[You don't think the worst case might be prison, then?]
[There is a thing called due legal process, and also a thing called the United Nations. We might have upset the king of Alaska, but mostly that was by quoting United Nations laws and treaty provisions at him.]
[His majesty isn't keen on the United Nations.]
[No, well, you don't need to worry. We aren't worried, Yvette. You go talk to your headmaster, and then we can have natter about how things are going at Victoria's if that's OK?]
[OK, Sarah. They're going fine.]
[Including with her mother?]
[Actually, yes. She was pretty shocked that I'm engaged to Kevin but we've only kissed twice in the last decade, and won't willingly spend time together without a chaperone.]
[Well done.]
----------------------------------------
3.10PM, SCHOOL
Reaching the head-master's door, Yvette was about to knock when she overheard a conversation inside. “I cannot tell you, sir,” the headmaster was saying, forcefully, “I may not tell you under National and international laws backed by every country in the United Nations, and actually written into our constitution. The students on placement will be counted as workers at the Institute and I may not report on them, no matter who has sent you.”
“And that's your final word on the matter is it?”
“Yes, officer, it has to be. It is one of my responsibilities as headmaster, I will defend our student's right to study, I will defend their privacy, safety, and the independence of this school, and I most certainly will not be handing over confidential school records just because you want to harass some of our top students.”
A third voice spoke, the schools inspector. “I fully support the headmaster in this, officer. You may not violate the students' rights in this manner. Due legal process must be followed, warrants obtained and so on. However, headmaster, there is the matter of the court injunction. If you allow this placement to go ahead without the relevant documentation from the institute, you will be guilty of contempt of court.”
Yvette knocked, wishing she'd asked someone to come with her.
“I think that concludes this meeting, gentlemen. Head's a busy man.” a fourth voice said. Yvette was surprised to recognise it as their P.E. teacher. Most of the students regarded him in fear, but in these circumstances, Yvette decided that an ex-soldier was just the sort of person she wanted beside the headmaster.
“Yes, of course, there are many other demands on the headmaster's time,” the inspector said. “I'll escort this officer off the premises.”
“It's a bit complicated,” the P.E. teacher volunteered, “I'll come too and make sure neither of you take a wrong turn. And then I must put this bat back in the gym. I've no idea how it came to be outside your office, sir.”
“Thank you, sergeant,” the head said, “We certainly wouldn't want one of the students swinging it around in the office area, would we?” Then, he called in a loud voice, “Enter!”
Yvette opened the door, and politely stepped to one side so that the inspector, policeman and P.E. teacher could leave. The policeman didn't really seem like he wanted to.
“Ah, Miss Lagrange, have you managed to get through to them?”
“Their wrist units seem to be unable to connect to the network, sir.” Yvette said “But there's an A.I. report-retrieval system, and I now know the procedure and pass-code for you to request the document.”
“Wonderful! If you'll excuse me, officer? I have a court order to satisfy.” The policeman left. “Is it complicated, Yvette?”
“I was told to warn you it might be intrusive, sir, while the A.I. tries to satisfy itself about your identity.”
“A simple I.D. scan won't be sufficient?”
“I don't know, sir.”
“Well, I can always ask you to leave the room. I just need to contact the Institute, do I?”
“From the school computer,” she said, as he got his wrist unit ready.
“Oh, OK. Do you happen to know the network I.D.?”
“A-I-at-I-H-M-org,” Yvette supplied.
“I'm rather surprised they just let anyone call into their A.I. I thought you had to be more secure than that,” the head commented. A few seconds later Yvette couldn't help smiling when an unemotional voice said “Please wait while network route is traced back to origin. Country: Alaska. National educational network. Establishment identified. Please state formal institutional name.”
The Head gave the name, Green Dawn Academy.
“Validation error. Please list other potential names, including historical names.”
That took a little longer.
“Is 'Mandela Institute' a historic name?” the A.I. asked.
“Yes, a hundred years old at least,” the Head said.
“Seeking external corroboration. Confirmed. Please be aware that any untruthful or unjustified attempt to access data from this United Nations protected institution constitutes a criminal offence under international law. Please be aware that this conversation will be recorded. Please state your name and position at educational institution.” The headmaster complied.
“Breathing sounds indicate two people. Other person present, please state name and position at educational institute if relevant.”
“Yvette Lagrange, student.”
“Processing. Yvette Lagrange, student, please enter camera frame. Thank you. As confirmation, please state location of Maggie Williams.”
“Maggie is on her way to Mars.”
“Why is Maggie on her way to Mars?”
“To study there, at the university.”
“Who is Kevin Stammers to you?”
“My fiancé. We got engaged on Sunday, but don't expect to marry until after university.”
“Updating record. Thank you Yvette, nice to meet you, congratulations on your engagement. Identity confirmed. Airline confirms you have extra baggage allowance. Your flight may leave early due to expected bad weather, please check with airline early tomorrow. Please advise other passengers if possible.”
“OK.” Yvette said, not expecting such a response.
“Thank you. Please state reason for calling.”
The head said “Henrietta Goose was rejected at second interview for the work placement scheme. I need a formal letter stating why that was for school records.”
“Processing. Is file name known?”
“Monday's rejection letter, Henrietta, formal copy.” Yvette said.
“Please give delivery address,” the A.I. said. The head complied.
“Restricted document can only be released to authorised person. Yvette, please confirm identity of other person in room.”
“I confirm, he's the headmaster.”
“Please state marital status.”
“Single.”
“Please state home city.”
“Anchorage.”
“Processing. Image matches found. Voice recordings found. Please confirm relationship to Wendy Steadman, née Rodgers.”
“Wendy Rodgers? My girlfriend at university. She dumped me for Steadman, I've not heard from her for years.”
“Date/aging match agrees, identity confirmed. Please state access code.”
“Ten serial boyfriends victim,” Yvette said.
“Rejection letter sent. Information: Wendy wrote on university alumni site four months ago, relevant portion: 'I lived with my bad mistake for ten years, most of it separated. Am now a widow and would like to get in contact if you're not married.' Are there further requests?”
“No,” the head master said, deciding that he'd look for Wendy's message when Yvette had gone.
“Yes,” Yvette said. “Computer, please forward entire message and any contact details for Wendy Steadman to headmaster.”
“Message sent. Contact details only via responder I.D. service, status expired. Query: access other databases for more details?”
“Query public access databases only,” Yvette said, having heard Sarah answer a similar question from the computer earlier in the week.
“Processing. Are there further requests?”
“No,” Yvette said. “Thank you, computer.”
“Junior staff member Yvette, query: location and status of director and wife, if known to Staff member Yvette.”
“Director and wife are in Serendipity Hotel, room nine zero six. The wrist unit network is rejecting their connections, their hotel phone rejecting outgoing calls. Police tail is preventing communication with local citizens.”
“Status updated. Query: room nine zero seven booked to staff member Yvette has connecting door. Is connecting door unlocked?”
“It was last time I was there, yes.”
“Processing. Section sixty violation probability now at sixty-five percent. Staff safety alert status seven. Please keep wrist unit active at all times.”
“OK,” Yvette said. “End of conversation?”
“Contact details sent. End of conversation.”
“Yvette, you have no reason to believe I am interested in Wendy's contact details, and I'm not at all sure you had a right to use the Institute's A.I. on what I assume you felt...” he trailed off seeing her expression.
“Sir, I am a thought-hearer, that's how I learned about my new parents not being contactable at the hotel. I heard you decide to look her up after I'd gone, but based on what the A.I. said, I guessed it had found a photo of the two of you together. It made far more sense for it to tell you what it had found already than you try to recreate its steps, even with the site information. As for asking it to look up her contact details... I'll apologise to my new parents if you think I did wrong there.”
“In case I'm asked, could you tell me how you learned the pass code?”
“Someone with the gift works at the Institute, sir. They contacted me. I guess they didn't tell the computer all they told me.”
“Did you understand what it meant about a section sixty violation?”
“I don't think it's good news, sir. I was going to look it up. If you'll excuse me?”
“Wait a moment. Something I really don't understand is why your hotel room would have a communicating door to the director and his wife's room. I can see it making some kind of sense to have one to your adoptive parents, given your emotional state the first few days, but why...”
“Ah, now, that is something I can leave you to infer, but I don't think I may legally tell you, headmaster.”
“Your adoptive parents are staying with the director and his wife?” the headmaster guessed, surprised.
“I think I ought to keep entirely silent, sir. But I'll point out I actually accidentally gave you an enormous clue earlier. Plus, of course, there's the additional clue about why anyone might be telling me about why the director and his wife are out of contact. I do hope you're able to get back in contact with your old friend.”
The school bell rang, announcing that Yvette needed to go to her last lesson before the placement began — ethics. She left the head puzzling over what she'd said, and was just collecting her books when she heard:
[Hi Yvette. Are you free?] Kevin asked.
[Thirty seconds to ethics class.]
[Ohh, OK. I was thinking, is there any chance we can meet before you go away? Oh, and do you know why Mum and Dad have failed to get through to John and Sarah by wrist unit.]
[John and Sarah are in their hotel room, basically incommunicado. Feel free to investigate. The computer at the institute said it was sixty five percent sure there was a section sixty violation in progress when I spoke to it earlier.]
[What's a section sixty violation?]
[No idea. But it sounds like there are big burley policemen ready to arrest anyone who tries to talk to them.]
[Ah. Tricky. So you'll not be with them tonight?]
[I don't think so. Unless I pretend I'm not with them at all, just a neighbour. I'll, urm, need to talk to Vicky, I guess. Oops, teacher's here.]
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SERENDIPITY HOTEL, ANCHORAGE, 3:10PM
“That phone isn't the one in Yvette's room, is it?” John asked.
“Oh, it might be! I'll see if the door's open her side.” It was.
“And her room is in her name, not ours...” John pointed out.
Sarah picked up the phone. “Hello?”
“Please speak more for voice-print analysis,” the synthesized voice said.
“Caller, identify!” Sarah replied. Not very willing to say even that.
“I.H.M. secure artificial intelligence system, attempting to contact authorised staff members.”
“Hello computer. I am Sarah, John is with me.”
“Security status seven. Autonomous action begins at status eight. Urgent query: section sixty violation in progress?”
“I do not think so,” Sarah said, speaking quietly. “Clear markers of section sixty violation not yet triggered. Travel plans not yet interrupted, no indication of interference with associates.
Restriction on personal communication not listed in section sixty. No evidence of intent to violate section sixty parameters. Lack of communication devices makes situation unstable. Maintain security status seven until further input. Accept unambiguous input on section sixty parameters from any staff member or former staff member with thought-hearing ability.”
“Acknowledged.”
“Contact contract staff member Teresa, during office hours. Inform her that a section fifty-eight interview has been conducted, and a section fifty-nine invitation issued. Inform her, information only, there has been no interference yet with our persons, property or travel plans, but severe disruption to communication has occurred.”
“Acknowledged.”
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NEWS REPORT, ANCHORAGE 3:30PM
Mysterious visit becomes more complicated
The director of the --necessarily secretive-- Institute for the Human Mind has been in Anchorage for the past week. A certain number of students at the Green Dawn Academy were delighted to receive a work-placement at the Institute after some spur-of-the-moment interviews over the weekend, but the question being asked is what he and his wife were here for. The director — and his wife — have been described as friendly and approachable, and well informed on matters of public policy, as well as very willing to change their plans in response to others' needs. One example of this was the way that the interviews were arranged in the first place, that this golden opportunity for the students was offered at all is still sending shockwaves through the school and family communities as friends and family are getting personal messages from the youngsters; the reporting restrictions mean telling people who's going cannot be delegated to anyone, not even mum or dad. Even more shocking flexibility is shown by the fact that from the time the director heard about the Psych-Counselling course at Green Dawn Academy to the first interview was just a few hours. But why did they come? And why, having been here for almost a week, did the director and his wife find that their wrist units were unable to obtain a connection or their hotel phone refused to call out when they woke up this morning?
A small hint has come to light — during a conversation with the Institute's Artificial Intelligence about another matter, the A.I. allegedly reported that it was concerned about a possible 'section sixty violation', an assertion it repeated in messages to the other students on the placement scheme. Allow me to explain. Section sixty of U.N. resolution 56747, which established the Anchorage Institute and the Institute for the Human Mind as centres of excellence, deals with a certain class of violations of the secrecy of Institute workers - specifically those who have just issued an invitation under section fifty nine of the resolution, which can only happen in the context of a section fifty-eight investigation. What's a section fifty-eight investigation? It is an investigation whether someone in position of power is psychologically unable to use their power in a suitable manner. If the investigation team decide it's warranted, they can conduct an interview, and if they decide the interview has not reassured them, they can issue a section fifty-nine invitation to the politician or other public figure. If (and only if) such an invitation is offered, then the investigating team, their colleagues, friends, and contacts are then protected against harassment by section sixty.
That section says that the U.N. courts must treat evidence of interference with the above-mentioned list of persons, their property or their travel plans as clear evidence that someone has told their underlings or associates that the evaluation team work for the Institute and have just declared them mentally unfit, thus violating the reporting ban. Interference with their communications is not listed.
We don't know who decided to restrict the communications of the director and his wife. We don't know what pretext, if any, was given. Several such 'incommunicado' orders have been given today, without any legal process that we are aware of. So we don't even know if there is any link between the invitation that must have been given for the computer to be worried and the communication restrictions. But we do know that whoever received the invitation is either playing with fire, working for the restrictions to be lifted, or so entirely nuts they don't care about being dragged to the U.N. court under the anti-terrorism provisions of resolution 56747. After all, section sixty makes it clear what must be treated as evidence of illegal reporting of who works at the institute, but doesn't say other forms harassment can't be.
Unsurprisingly, we are yet to receive any comment from either I.H.M. or justice departments.
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SERENDIPITY HOTEL, ANCHORAGE, 6 P.M.
“Hello, can I help you?” The receptionist said in a bored tone, wondering what this foursome of school-leavers wanted.
“The keys to room nine hundred and seven please,” Yvette said. “My friends want to see the view.”
“Oh!” the receptionist said, glancing at the policeman. “Sorry, of course, miss. Sorry I didn't recognise you as part of a group.”
“I'm amazed you recognise everyone as it is.” Yvette said.
“You're checking out tomorrow, is that right?”
“Yes,” Yvette said.
“Have a nice evening,” the receptionist said. The policeman was still watching for people leaving via the lifts or staircase, while flicking his eye at a screen on his wrist.
“Thank you,” Yvette said. Then she asked Mick, Vicky and Kevin “Long queue for the lift or nine floors of steps?”
“Oh well, let's pretend we're young fit and healthy,” Vicky said.
At the top of the stairs, Yvette lead them to her room. A small wheeled robot bleeped at her approach and scooted out of the way. “Hello little 'bot. What are you doing here? Don't worry, I'll try not to tread on you.”
“I think it's spying on you, Vette.” Vicky said.
“Oooh, yes, I've got so many secrets, that must be it. What do you think, Mick?”
“It's not listening for cockroaches or something is it?”
Some other guests were just coming down the hallway.
“Cockroaches in the hotel?” she said loudly, “Yuck! What a horrible thought. I'm going to call reception and ask. Hey! No looking up my skirt!” she exclaimed, kicking it away when it tried to nip past her into her room. “I am so calling reception about this! First cockroaches then it wants to look up my skirt!”
She shut the door firmly while the robot tried to turn itself up the right way.
Full of only slightly exaggerated righteous indignation she rang the hotel reception to complain about their cockroach-hunting and skirt-invading robot. It took a few minutes before she let the receptionist assure her the robot wasn't hotel property and nor was it looking for cockroaches. She only allowed herself to be calmed down about it 'trying to look up her skirt' when the manager assured her that he'd make sure it wasn't going to be in use on hotel property any more, and indeed had been deactivated. Tears of suppressed laughter were running down her cheeks by the end of the call.
“What was that about?” Sarah asked from the doorway.
“My Yvette has just hopefully got rid of the sentry-bot outside,” Kevin said, proudly.
“It wanted to get past me into the room.” Yvette said, “I guess to see if that door was open.”
“And all that about cockroaches?”
“Nothing like the possibility of an infestation to upset guests,” Mick said, adding “I wonder if the hotel manager knew you were quoting.”
“I think so, he said some lines from the play too.” Yvette said.
“'The play'?” John asked, over Sarah's shoulder.
“Last year's school play, all about a hotel where the police are deploying robots to watch someone, and civil liberties and things like that.” Yvette supplied.
“There's been complaints about it from hotel managers over the past few years,” Kevin added, “But until the hotel manager has had some protests, the police are allowed to do it, once there have been protests from customers they're not without back for twenty-four hours without a warrant, and then the warrant has to be delivered to the person they're watching, and other people on the floor have to be told. But you were really good, Yvette. I didn't think you were in the play.”
“I was understudy for 'upset mother',” Yvette said, “but doing it in real life was so much more fun.”
“OK, so that explains that much of it. But what are you four doing here? Shouldn't you be avoiding us?”
“We worked out that we're covered under section sixty, so we might as well come over for a talk,” Mick said.
Victoria added, “Plus, Yvette can't really stay at my place tonight, since Mick's mum has invited me and my parents over, and we didn't want to leave Yvette all exposed and unaccompanied.”
“Who said anything about section sixty?” John asked.
“The Institute A.I.” Yvette said. “Kevin did some excellent research and published a lovely piece about it.”
“Very carefully avoiding breaking any reporting bans, I might add.”
“And I was also thinking that talking to Kevin might be nice,” Yvette said,
blushing slightly, “and was wondering if it might be OK to eat together under your watchful eyes, or if just eating together in a hotel restaurant is too... compromising?”
“Are you thinking of us all eating at the same table?” John asked. “I appreciate the solidarity, but really... you're taking a needless risk.”
“I suggest you eat at a separate table,” Sarah said, “and that if anyone is upset about a perfectly innocent meal together then that's entirely their problem. Also, Yvette, I fully expect you to charge both meals to your room. The prices here are not something I expect Kevin's budget to cope with, no matter how well received his articles are. And of course we'll be watching to make sure you don't do anything you shouldn't.”
“Thank you, Sarah,” Yvette said.
“The plan tomorrow is unchanged?” Mick asked.
“Except we need to check with the airline about this bad weather.” Yvette said.
“Oh yes,” Mick said.
“Bad weather?” John asked.
“Message from the computer,” Yvette said, “We need to check with the airline first thing, because the flight might leave early before a weather system gets here.”
“Hold on,” Kevin said, “That reminds me of something I half-overheard in the office.” he checked his wrist unit. “That weather system's coming quicker than they thought it would. Does someone with a ticket want to check with the airline now?”
“They'd let us know, surely?” Mick said.
“They might not be able to, actually.” John said, “We weren't expecting to be unable to connect anyone and gave our wrist units as contact numbers for all the tickets.”
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ANCHORAGE AIRPORT, 10PM, THURSDAY EVENING.
“Not the meal we'd expected to eat together,” Yvette said to Kevin, over her last bite of airport sandwich, in the security-gate queue.
“No. But at least you're here, they've accepted all your luggage, and you're not going to miss your flight. That's what matters.”
“Thank you for helping with everything, Kevin.”
“Have a very safe flight.”
“And you're coming soon?” John asked.
“Yes, a couple of months maximum. And I'm planning on staying in regular contact too.”
“You'd better.” Yvette said, “I'm looking forward to it. Thank you for not abandoning me, Kevin.”
“Thank you for forgiving me that I almost did.”
“I love you. Love forgives. Sorry for pulling your hair out.”
“Love forgives. Yvette, am I allowed to kiss you, before you go?”
“I'm under strict instructions about that, from Sarah.” Yvette lowered her eyelids, but there was the hint of a smile on her lips.
“What were the instructions?”
“She said I had to accept if you asked, that it was only fair since I'd forced you into that kiss a week ago, and I had to bear the humiliation just this once. But that she'd be cross with you if you pulled my hair.”
“I'll try to restrain myself,” he grinned at her.
“Good. And don't you think you're going to get very many chances to kiss me before we're married. This is a special occasion.”
“I'll try not to spoil it, then.”
“Good. But don't you dare forget you're mine.”
“I won't, Yvette.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
“I'm going to miss you being near.”
[I'm going to be this near, my Yvette.]
Their parting kiss didn't involve anyone's hair being pulled, and was full of promises that as much as it depended on them, one day they would marry.
“Hey, Yvette.” Vicky said, nudging her. “Come on, we're holding up the queue.”
“Take care, Yvette,” Kevin said.
“You too,” Yvette said, and then the low fence that separated them joined the wall, and Yvette had to turn the corner.
At the front of the queue, just in front of Jim, John and Sarah handed over their passports and scanned their I.Ds. Their boarding passes flashed up on the screen in front of them.
“Have a very pleasant flight home.” the official said.
“Thank you,” John said, overcoming his surprise.
“And thank God for that storm. Someone with your name, Mrs Williams, is on the watch-list for tomorrow, but not today. Tomorrow I'd have to delay you for half an hour or so while we proved you're not some escaped convict or something. I guess she's not a criminal really, or it'd be on a permanent list; just someone doesn't like her. Anyway, travel well.”
“Thank you. You won't get in trouble for not checking, or something, will you?” Sarah asked.
“No. It clearly says to look for her tomorrow, not today. And I've got to keep the queue moving, after all.”
“Thank you, and God bless you.”
“God bless you maam,” the man said, “I read they're closing down your foundation. A crying shame that is.”