Tony Ballantyne - Recursion

“They did that to Mary. And as you haven’t figured it out, I’ll spell it out. They will do it to me next time. Then they’ll do it to Jay.”

She shuddered.

“And I tell you this. Despite the fact that they did that to poor Mary, despite the fact that they will do it to me, I think that they were right. I still say that 113 Berliner Sibelius are the good guys. Constantine, you’re fighting for the wrong side.”

They wandered aimlessly through the low, wide room they had escaped into. It reminded Constantine of a forest where someone had cut away the tops of the trees and then placed a roof on top. In every direction they could see irregular patterns of metallic trunks rising from floor to ceiling.

“Where are we?” he asked after some time.

“Deep beneath Stonebreak. The very roots of the city,” answered Marion. She was crying now.

Constantine felt as if he should apologize to her. “I want to say something, Marion. If I could, I’d tell you what you want to know to spare you this…”

– You’re a fool, said Grey.-Even if you could speak, how do you know this isn’t all a trick?

Marion merely looked at the floor.

“It makes no difference, anyway, Constantine,” said Jay. “DIANA will wipe you in the end, whether you’ve told them or not.”

“Not true,” said Marion. “Why would DIANA waste their time silencing you once you’ve told all? These attacks will be costing them. They wouldn’t believe that Berliner Sibelius would keep us alive afterward. Where would the profit be?”

“No,” Constantine said, “ you don’t understand. I want to tell you. It’s just that I can’t. The Grey personality is stopping me.”

He spoke the words quickly before Grey could stop him. He heard a sudden yelp of annoyance and then:

– It makes no difference.

Marion looked at Constantine in amazement.

“Why didn’t you say so sooner? I’m sure we could do something…”

Her console pinged. She held it to her ear.

“Twenty-two minutes,” she said. “They can suppress the Grey personality, but they say it will take twenty-two minutes.”

The room shuddered, pixellated, and returned to normal.

They looked at each other. Another attack.

– Twenty-two minutes? Grey laughed.-You haven’t got that long.

“Yeah, so how can we trust 113 Berliner Sibelius?” asked Jay.

“Because they work for the Watcher,” said Marion.

“That’s not an argument,” said Constantine. “I still say we don’t know for sure that the Watcher exists. Where would it come from anyway?”

Jay stared at him.

“Don’t you know? I thought that was common knowledge.”

Marion gave a sigh of realization. “So that’s why they put you in here.”

Jay was now speaking.

“It’s common knowledge on any of the space stations.”

“Yes?”

Jay came out of her apparent trance and looked at Constantine.

“Did you know that we are constantly scanning the skies out there? Looking for something. Anything. It’s standing orders. Anyone who travels through space-asteroid miners, pleasure cruisers, light sailors, everyone-is told to keep their eye on the sky. But no one looks as hard as we do.”

“I know what you’re looking for,” said Marion. “Alien VNMs.”

“That’s right,” Jay said. “If we can build self-replicating machines, then why not other races? What better way to exploit the galaxy? There we are, a station built of metal and plastic; we must stand out like a small star to any VNMs hunting for raw material. We were built that way deliberately, if you ask me. The edge of human space is littered with space stations, all loaded with excess gold and uranium and anything else that might just appeal to the appetite of any hungry self-replicating machine that happens by.”

“I didn’t know that,” Constantine said.

Jay continued. “Anyway, that’s all very well and good. But when you’re out there, watching ships disappear and monitoring the skies, you begin to talk. Other theories start to emerge. Like this one: Why are we looking for physical signs of alien life? Don’t we move increasingly away from the physical world as technology develops? Isn’t everything located more and more in the digital world?”

She laughed. “Just look at us.” Her brown eyes danced and sparkled, and Constantine felt a little wriggle inside him.

She became serious again. “Now, why not assume that alien races develop in the same way? Maybe they look across space and see us, not as a system of rock and metal and water and air, but rather as a digital haven. They see an area of memory and processing capability. Maybe when you reach a certain level of development that’s how all the universe looks to you.

“Why send a spaceship to contact us? Or a VNM? Why not just transmit the necessary programs to our computers?”

She dropped her voice. “Or maybe they just sent a personality to grow. An Advanced AI that can take root in suitable processing spaces. A sort of interstellar computer virus. Something that grew up into the Watcher.”

She looked around the group. “Of course, it’s only a theory. But you know, I can’t help thinking. If we’re talking about a virus sent here by advanced beings, maybe it would be a good thing. Maybe Marion is right. Maybe it could be trying to help us. Just like the Europeans used to try to develop the new countries they explored.”

“Only so they could exploit them,” Constantine said.

“You get my point, though.”

Marion’s console sounded.

“Twenty minutes. They think they’ve got a fix on Grey. They’re wondering how to suppress that part of your personality map. Things have gone quiet out there. DIANA doesn’t seem to be doing anything at the moment.”

“They won’t have given up. They’ll be planning something.” Jay ran her hand across one of the twisted metal trunks that rose from floor to ceiling. She looked at the plaited strands and thought: Twists around twists. Plots inside plots.

Constantine was looking at Marion. She really believed what she was saying.

“Blue?” said Constantine.

– Oh, yes. She believes it’s true. Red?

– I agree. Have we been fighting for the wrong side?

“I don’t know. Jay. What do you think? Do you think the Watcher is fighting to make the world a better place?”

Jay looked back at him. “Constantine, I don’t care. I just want to live.”

“So do I. Marion. How much longer until they suppress Grey?”

Marion listened to her console again.

“Eighteen minutes. They’re going to move us on again, soon. It’s too quiet out there.”

“Fine,” said Constantine.

They passed the intervening time in silence. It was too quiet; the lack of activity made them nervous. They kept turning around to look behind themselves. They examined the metal of the trunks minutely, looking out for pixellation. Nothing. It was a relief when Marion’s console sounded again.

She listened for a moment. “This way.”

They all walked around a metal trunk she indicated to find a doorway that had formed in the air. It led back out to the cornfield in midafternoon. The sun could be seen high above in the brilliant blue sky, its brightness pouring down into the shadowy space of the Stonebreak foundations.

“You first, Constantine,” Marion said.

“Okay.”

He stepped forward. Jay grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

“No! That’s not right.”

Constantine stared at her. She was gazing through the doorway, her face screwed up in concentration.

“What’s up, Jay?”

“It can’t be right. Time has been running consistently in the simulation, no matter where we have been. It should still be early morning. It’s afternoon out there.”