Bernard Beckett: Genesis

EXAMINER: If you think it helps answer the question.

Anax paused. Pericles had assured her it was a good idea, even though such memorizing was a simple trick and many of the examination manuals advised against wasting time on it. Were they trying to warn her off it? Best not to wonder. She would take Pericles’ advice. She would do him proud.

ANAXIMANDER: This was recorded at 18.40, two hours into the eight-hour shift.

J: You see anything?

A: Yeah.

J: What?

A: [Voice raised] A ship, bigger than a mountain, making its way toward the fence. And now, it s raising itself up out of the water, oh my God, it can fly, we’ve got ourselves a flying ship, it’s got guns, they’re aimed right at our heads, oh my God, we’re all gonna die!

J: Okay, just asked. You know they record these conversations right?

A: Nobody listens to them,

J: How do you know that?

A: You think, if they’d been monitoring the crap I speak, someone wouldn’t have said something by now?

J: Hey man, you’re flashing.

A: I know.

J: You have to hit yellow now, then orange.

A: Yeah, I’m waiting.

J: Now, before it gets too complicated to remember.

A: Orange then blue, then green, and now, wait for it, two oranges. I think I can cope,

J: [Agitated] Press it man.

A: You press it.

J: I’m not allowed. They’re your buttons.

A: Who’s going to know?

J: I will.

A: Go ahead.

J: I don’t remember it!

[A buzzing sound can be heard.]

J: That’s the ten second warning! Adam, this isn’t fair.

We both get punished. You know how it works.

A: We’re not going to get punished,

J: Hit the lights.

A: Okay, okay. [Slow, teasing] I’m hitting the lights. Yellow, orange, blue, green, orange, orange, green, yellow, and was it red, was it green, did you see?

J: I’ll shoot you. I will.

A: Red.

[The buzzing stops.]

A: See, nothing to worry about,

J: Why do you always do that?

A: I get bored. It helps me stay alert.

[A long silence. Tapping at keyboards can be heard.]

J: You think there’s anything out there any more?

A: How long you been doing this?

J: Five years.

A: How many you had to shoot ?

J: Three or four. But they’re just drifters. I meant, you know…

A: They say they’ve seen new airships lately, up north,

J: I thought that was just a story.

A: Everything’s just a story.

J: When you think about it, how long’s it been since the plague? The ones left have to have immunity right? So they could be rebuilding. It makes sense.

A: Or they’re just taking a long time to die.

J: The last ones I saw, they didn’t seem that sick.

A: You know they record these conversations right?

J: [Worried] You said they didn’t listen to them.

A: Unless something happens,

J: What sort of something?

A: I could go mad and shoot you.

J: Then it makes no difference to me, them listening or not.

A: So nothing to worry about,

J: You think they’re rebuilding, then?

A: You ever wonder how come the people we are sent down to shoot never shoot back? I think the war and the plague wiped out a thousand years of progress. I think the new airships they’re seeing are just big balloons. I think that’s all they can do.

J: You know what I feel like right now?

A: What?

J: A Coke.

A: I’m not so mad on it.

J: How can you not be? You must have had it, at the ceremonies. You must have tasted it.

A: It’s just a drink.

J: You know they almost lost the recipe. It was only in the very last hour, before the links went down, that anybody thought to get hold of it. Everybody just assumed someone else knew.

A: You’re too gullible. It’s just a drink,

J: It’s not just a drink… So what do you feel like?

A: A woman,

J: A woman?

A: Right here, right now. You could watch. How often do you see your wife?

J: You know we’re not allowed to discuss it.

A: We’re not allowed to do a lot of things, Joseph. You know what? I bet I spend more time with women than you do, and I’m not even married,

J: That’s just big talk.

A: Yeah, that’s right, Joseph. Big talk.

And that’s where the fragment of recovered transcript ended.

EXAMINER: And what do you think this shows us ?

ANAXIMANDER: It shows us something of his character.

EXAMINER: Something admirable?

ANAXIMANDER: Something important.

EXAMINER: Why is it any more than idle chatter? Two bored men passing the time.

ANAXIMANDER: It reveals personality.

EXAMINER: Explain that.

ANAXIMANDER: Adam is the junior guard. Joseph is five years his senior and has greater experience, yet, listening to the conversation, you would assume the opposite is true. Adam, I think, assumes superiority in any situation. It is important to note this. It is part of the trouble.

EXAMINER: Tell us what happened next.

ANAXIMANDER: Next was the day of the sighting. According to records, Joseph and Adam began their shift at 15.30. The day was warm and clear. The sea was calm. Their watchtower was built above a cliff face, with views across the strait to the southern island. Their monitoring region extended along a range of ten nautical miles. On a day like this, it was possible for them to see the next watchtower to the north without the aid of a viewing device. According to the log, Joseph was on watch while Adam monitored the equipment, although it is Adam who noted the first sighting.

A: Well, here we go, a break in the weather.

J: What are you on about now?

A: Eyes right, little partner. See it?

J: See what?

A: They test your eyes before they put you on this detail?

J: My eyes are fine.

A: Must be a brain problem then.

J: Okay, now I see it. [Voice rising] I see it!

A: Okay, settle.

J: Sound the alarm.

A: It’s tiny.

J: I don’t know.

A: Check your screen, you idiot,

J: You know I’ve got bullets in this, right?

A: You know threatening a fellow Soldier is treason?

J: They’d forgive me.

A: No, it’s tiny. Be lucky if there were more then two or three in there. Lucky you didn’t waste those bullets on me.

J: It’s your turn. Check the roster.

A: Even better.

The two men’s eyes flickered from their surveillance screen to the scene in front of them and back again. The image solidified. It was indeed a small boat, just as the scanner had indicated. A communication line from the southernmost watch tower crackled through.

W: You boys getting that?

J: Sure, Ruth, she’s all ours,

W: Go get’em.

A: It’s just the one.

J: Be careful of that. There might be others hiding.

A: When have you ever heard of any of them hiding?

J: It could happen. That’s what I’m saying. You all loaded? Away you go then. I got your back.

A: Wait a sec.

J: You have to go.

A: I just want to see what I’m dealing with.

J: I’ll let you know if I see anything surprising.

A: Just a second.

Adam stayed staring at the screen. It was against regulations. The assigned shooter had to leave the watchtower before the victim had been identified. By the time the Soldier saw what it was he was dealing with, he had to know there was a gun aimed at the back of his head. It made perfect sense. It didn’t matter how good the training was, there would always be a chance the Soldier would hesitate when it came to shooting a helpless victim. And in a time of plague the state couldn’t take chances.

J: [His hand slipping to his gun] You know what my orders are.