Frank Schatzing - The Swarm

'Water is the baseline information,' pondered Shankar, 'and each of the water molecules is coupled with ancillary data. But what could they be describing? Something to do with water?'

'Such as?'

'Temperature.'

'I guess, or salinity.'

'Or it might have nothing to do with physical or chemical properties. The data might be describing the yrr. The lines could be population densities.'

'You mean they'd be telling us where they live?'

Shankar rubbed his chin. 'Doesn't seem likely, does it?'

'I don't know, Murray. Would we tell them where our cities are?'

'No, but the yrr don't think like us.'

'Thanks for reminding me.' Crowe produced a wreath of smoke. 'OK, let's start again. Water. That part of the message is straightforward enough. Water is our world.''

'Which corresponds exactly to the message we sent them.'

'True. We told them that we live on land. Then we described our DNA and our body shape.'

'Supposing they've responded point by point,' said Shankar. 'Could the lines represent their shape?'

Crowe pursed her lips. 'They don't have one – I mean, it hardly characterises them. They've got more of a definable shape when they're a collective, but that makes it even harder to pin them down: yrr-jelly has thousand of shapes, and none to call its own.'

'So shape's out. What other pieces of information might be of interest. Size of population?'

'Murray! There'd be so many zeros behind that number you could scrawl it all over this ship and still run out of space. Besides, they're continually dividing or dying … I bet even they don't know how many of them there are.' Crowe waggled the cigarette between her teeth. 'Individual amoebas don't matter. What counts is the whole. The idea of the yrr, if you like. The essence of yrr. The yrr genome.'

Shankar peered at her over the rim of his glasses. 'We only told them that our biochemistry was based on DNA. You'd expect them to tell us, "Ours too". Surely they wouldn't have sequenced their genome for us?'

'They might have done.'

'But why?'

'Because it's pretty much the only defining statement they could make. DNA and aggregation are at the heart of their existence. Everything else is based round that.'

'Fine, but how could they describe it, if it's constantly changing?'

Crowe was back to staring helplessly at the lines. 'What about the map idea again, then?'

'A map of what?'

'Who knows?' She sighed. 'Let's take it from the beginning again. H 2O. We live in water…'

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

Li had set the treadmill to maximum speed. Under normal circumstances she would have done her bit for team spirit and worked out in the gym. On this occasion, though, she didn't want to be disturbed. It was time for her daily satellite consultation with Offutt Air Force Base.

'How's morale, then, Jude?'

'Excellent, sir. The attack was a serious blow, but we're in control of the situation.'

'And everyone's still motivated?'

'More than ever before.'

'Well, I'm concerned.' The President was sitting all on his own in the war room at the air-force base. 'Boston's been fully evacuated. We've had to write off New York and Washington. And there's a new wave of horror stories from Philadelphia and Norfolk.'

'I know.'

'This country's going to hell, Jude. There isn't a single person in the world who doesn't seem to know about the creatures in the sea. Someone couldn't keep their mouth shut, and I'd like to know who.'

'What does it matter, sir?'

'What does it matter?' The President slammed his hand on the desk. 'The United States of America has agreed to lead this operation. I'm not about to tolerate some asshole from the UN taking matters into his own hands. They're all so busy trying to push their ridiculous little countries to the forefront. Have you seen what's going on out there? Things are escalating beyond our control.'

'I know exactly what's going on.'

'It could be that one of your guys has talked.'

'With all due respect, sir, there's no reason why other people shouldn't have arrived at the yrr hypothesis on their own. Besides, from what I've heard, the hulk of speculation still centers around natural disasters and international terrorism. Only this morning some scientist from Pyongyang said-'

'I know what he said.' The President brushed aside her point. 'He said we were the bad guys. Apparently we're skulking round in silent submarines attacking our own cities so we can pin it on the Commies.' He leaned forward. 'Well, they can say what they like. I don't give a damn about being popular. I just want to see this problem solved. I need some options, Jude. There isn't a single country left with the strength to help anyone else. Even the United States of America has been forced to beg for aid. We're being invaded and poisoned. The population is fleeing inland. I'm having to shelter in this goddamn security bunker like some kind of mole. We've got anarchy and looting on the streets, the military and security forces are hopelessly overstretched, and all we can offer our citizens is contaminated food supplies and drugs that don't work.'

'Sir…'

'God's still holding his protective hand over the West, but if you stick your feet in the water you're bound to lose your toes. The worm colonies off the coasts of America and Asia are growing, and La Palma's on the point of collapse. Regimes are crumbling. Heaven knows who's going to inherit their armaments. We're not in a position to intervene.'

'In your last speech, sir-'

'Don't get me started. I spend all my waking hours coming up with impassioned statements. But do you think the speech writers use them? I don't believe they even understand what I'm trying to communicate to this country and to the rest of the world. Make the people feel confident, I keep telling them. The American people need to see the determination of their leader, to know he'll do whatever it takes to win this war, no matter how many faces the devil might show. I want the world to take heart. I'm not saying we should give them false hope – we have to prepare for the worst – but people should know that were going to get through this . I keep explaining that to the speechwriters, but when they try to sound reassuring it comes across as insincere and overblown. You can even hear that they're afraid. Do any of them listen to me?'

'The people are listening.' Li said firmly. 'The world's stopped listening to everyone else. It's just you and the Germans.'

'Which reminds me, the Germans…' The President's eyes narrowed. 'Is it true what I'm hearing, that the Germans have their own mission planned?'

Li almost fell off the treadmill. That was ridiculous. 'Of course not. We're in charge. The UN has handed us the reins. Sure, the Germans are coordinating the European effort, but we're working together. Take La Palma.'

'So why's the CIA been telling me this stuff?'

'Because Vanderbilt's been peddling lies.'

'Come on, Jude.'

'He's a game player, always has been.'

'My dear Jude, when the time comes for you to take your rightful place, Vanderbilt won't he anywhere in sight.'

Li exhaled slowly. She'd allowed herself to get emotional. For a moment her guard had slipped and she'd given too much away. That wasn't good. In future she'd have to watch herself. She couldn't afford to be drawn.

'Although,' she said, with a smile, 'I don't really see Jack as a problem. He's a partner.'

The President nodded. 'The Russians have sent us a team. They've been helping the CIA with detailed information from the Black Sea region. We're in close contact with the Chinese, and the stuff about Germany is probably nothing. I don't get the impression that they're trying to go it alone, but you know how rumours start at times like this. We should he thankful, really. It's a wonderful thing to see so many people from different nations uniting in God to drive the devil from the sea.' He passed his hands over his eyes. 'So how are we really doing, Jude? I didn't want to ask you in front of the others in case you had to put a gloss on things. I wanted to spare you that embarrassment I need you to be frank with me. How much longer ?'