Part 4
Chapter 34
For Simon, coming home felt like a dream within a dream. Even the flight in, on board Noah's huge VTOL gunship, wasn't that terrifying anymore. It was as if all the horrors he'd faced alone, and then with Diana at his side, had burned away any sense of disquiet he'd held before.
The Archangel wasn't exactly built for passengers, but it was much more comfortable than that stone slab he'd been sleeping on for weeks. He was seated in one of the gun turrets, watching the ground sweep by underneath him. Two of the gunship's crew had started peppering him with questions the moment he'd come aboard, but James had silenced them, saying he needed to rest. Or Jimmy now, as he apparently wanted to be called. He'd grown up so much in the short time since Simon had seen him last.
They all had.
The ground suddenly gave way to metal and polycarbonate, as Greater Harmony swept into view. Jimmy slowed the craft a bit, as he did a flyby. Simon winced as the ugly scar on the surface of the dome came in sight. Noah's drones were hard at work repairing it, but the idea that their home had been attacked and cracked open so easily was disturbing. Eggshells were God's most efficient defensive formation, and Greater Harmony had been designed to mimic one. Still, enough force on one small point of it was all it took, as this marred surface proved.
He was a little surprised to see the airport that had apparently been completed on the north end of the city. It was domed like the rest, with huge retractable walls allowing for pressurization of the tarmac area. They weren't in use right now, for obvious reasons. Dozens, maybe hundreds of planes would be coming in here in the next few days, as displaced citizens all over the continent would finally be returned home.
He still couldn't believe how easily his people had been scattered to the wind like that. It made sense in a logical way, but his gut told him it just wasn't right. Greater Harmony had seemed so secure before all of this; so unbreakable. True, Noah had kept most everyone safe, in their tiny little bunkers all over the place, but it still hurt that they couldn't defend their home.
Diana had told him about the weeks she'd spent with Tycho in their little hideaway. He hadn't been able to fully conceal his jealousy, but she'd assured him he had no reason to worry. Tycho was a good roommate, apparently, but not as good as he was.
They were both in an undisclosed location right now, being 'debriefed', Diana called it. He tried not to worry about her situation, especially since there was nothing he could do about it right now. She'd insisted, back in that cave he'd called home for a while, that he let her and Tycho take all the blame for this situation. As far as Simon was supposed to know, his wife had tricked everyone, with Tycho's help, in a desperate bid to find and recover her husband's body. She'd been using Simon's simulator chair in secret ever since they'd gotten married, which was why she'd excelled so quickly at training.
The story Simon was supposed to tell people, was that he'd had no idea about any of it. He was supposed to be just as surprised as anyone else. Noah, with his directives to protect the society as a whole, had been required by his programming to keep the secret and use her skills to help everyone. At least he was unlikely to be punished for this whole thing. You can't blame a machine for following its programming. Though a great many of those pilots had wanted to blast Cain's core drives into scrap metal, even after he'd been deactivated.
Simon wanted to tell everyone that this was actually the second time Diana had helped him save a great many peoples' lives, but she was right. Telling people the whole story would just get him in hot water too, and wouldn't do anything to help her.
The Archangel put down smoothly, once it had maneuvered its way beneath the lip of the dome, and Jimmy gestured down at Simon, instructing him to unstrap himself and jump down onto the tarmac. The moment he did so, a round of applause greeted him, much to his surprise.
Over a dozen people were trotting over to him, all wearing breathers since the outer walls weren't sealed. He recognized maybe two of them, although it had been a while and he'd been through a lot.
He endured hugs, brief ones probably because of his dirty, ragged appearance, and slaps on the back, and 'welcome homes' from all of them. He answered what few questions he could, claiming fatigue and a desire to get home, and excused himself as quickly as he could without seeming rude. Already, several small planes were landing on the strip outside, and taxiing their way into the airport as well. Eager to let his 'fans' greet them instead, Simon ducked out of sight and practically fled towards the airlock.
Greater Harmony was oxygenated again by now; the work on the dome outside had just been to reinforce the patch job that Noah had done earlier. As soon as the airlock was open, Simon removed his breather and luxuriated in its absence.
He had been wearing that smothering thing for thirty-three days now! Taking it off only to take bites out of bitter-tasting and hard-to-digest moss. Sleeping with it on, even with an oxygen tank that could last a full night, had been just as uncomfortable. He'd wanted to take it off while on board the Archangel, but the plane had taken damage during the battle, and wasn't pressurized either. Now, suddenly without it strapped to his head, he felt like he was spinning a little. As if its sudden disappearance had left him unbalanced, and out of equilibrium.
He remembered when Torin had been little, back when he'd been known as Adwa. He'd broken his arm, and worn a cast for six weeks. After it had been removed, he'd been a little weird, too.
Thankfully the streets were still mostly empty, as most of the evacuees hadn't returned yet. Amazingly, his bike was still here from when he'd parked it before heading out on that shuttle. Its tires were still full, so he lifted it out and tested to see if it needed any oil. It was a bit squeaky, but it worked fine on the way home.
Portions of the city had been damaged by falling bits of dome, but they were far from his place. The house he'd poured so much effort into preparing was still there, undamaged and pristine. Simon couldn't help but grin at the sight of it.
The first thing he did once inside was fire up the water heater. He'd been able to bathe while away, in one of the aquifers, but the water had been way too cold to do very often. Also, he'd had no soap and no change of clothing. Sadly, he'd even regretted not stripping Steve's outer clothes before burying him. It had been a dark path, from the start right up to the end.
The shower he took was one of the most precious experiences in his life. The meal he prepared and ate, simple though it was, tasted better than any of Massimo's gourmet extravaganzas. The sleep he got in his bed was the sleep of the dead, dreamless, and beyond-peaceful contented. Before he actually got to sleep though, he'd seen a flashing indicator on his computer. The program he'd started before all of this, to try and decrypt that Easter Egg in the historical database, had run its course. It still had power, surprisingly. Simon guessed that without any other draw on the house's battery power, it had been able to function without the city power grid for the whole time he'd been away.
It probably hadn't actually completed the decryption, but it was nice to know it had made some progress. Simon filed it away on the list of things to deal with, tomorrow.
It was some hours before he was woken, by the repeating trill coming from his phone. He glanced at the clock. He'd gotten a lot of sleep, but not quite as much as he'd planned. Reaching over for the phone, he tapped the screen. Bez's face popped up on it. "Bez? What's going on?"
"It's about Diana and Tycho," his friend said, his tone as grim as his face. "They've been arrested."
-.-
Simon still felt that gut-wrenching rage inside him, a few hours later. He'd finally gotten through to Adam, and was on his way to the improvised Oval Office now.
He couldn't believe they'd just locked her up like that! He'd expected a public beratement, or a fine on him for failing to 'control' his wife, or even some kind of exile for them, but this? This was simply unacceptable! President or not, Adam would have her released shortly. Simon would see to it.
A small part of his mind catalogued what he was seeing as he sped down the street on his bike. It noted the multiple construction projects in play, and the fact that dozens of houses had been completed. That made sense, actually. Noah had been busy making large portions of Greater Harmony habitable since even before Cain's defeat. He'd correctly predicted that people wouldn't want to go back to the ruins of Harmony. Adam had even made an announcement yesterday, though Simon had been too tired to pay much attention to it. He'd said that what was left of the old dome would be made into a monument, commemorating the women and children who had died when Cain had struck the dome.
Up ahead, he could see the city center. A crowd had gathered around the central building, but it didn't seem violent or confrontational. Bez was there waiting for him, and beckoned him forward. He pointed at Simon's bike, and another youth came forward to take it over to the bike rack. "No news from inside," Bez reported, "but he's got security people in there. I saw Argent and John join him an hour ago. If I had to guess, I'd say he underestimated how badly people would react to the news. Now is the time to convince the President to let them go."
Simon shook his head. "This isn't Adam, or not directly at least. This is John."
Bez walked with him, keeping his voice low. "The Faith Doctrines aren't part of law yet. Technically, Diana didn't violate any laws—just customs. Maybe he can be convinced to let her off with a slap on the wrist or something."
"I doubt it," Simon said grimly. "From what Diana told me, only three trainees washed out of the program and never got into an actual plane: Adam, Argent and John. Adam and Argent did so intentionally, but John never had the skills. He might be ok with the other guys being a better pilot than him, but the idea that a woman could be? No, this is ego on his part. It's personal."
"Well, whatever happens in there, I'm on your side. I'm your Representative, remember?"
Simon gave him a brief smile. "I appreciate it, believe me, but you're not going in with me. You've already done enough by spreading the word about what she did and how she's being punished for it," he gestured to the crowd that had gathered. "And for telling me what had happened. Those three don't know you're involved yet, and I want to keep it that way."
He paused at that, looking over at Simon curiously. Then awareness came over him. "I'm your secret weapon?"
Nodding, Simon pushed his way past the last of the crowd and moved purposefully for the main entrance. "Let's hope you're enough," he said under his breath.
-.-
The inside of the building had been entirely refitted since the last time he'd been here. Adam must have started on it even before this business with Cain and the resulting evacuation. It looked a lot less like a home and much more like the pictures of the White House he'd seen in the archives.
Or Gold House, really. Multiple hues of yellow, auburn and gold assaulted his senses, and Simon felt himself squinting against the glare. Siagis had risen pretty high by now, and its light was reflecting off all of the weird ornamentation in here. There was even an elevator on the far wall, embossed in gold of course. There wasn't even a second story to this place yet! What possible use could anyone have for an elevator??
Simon was immediately stopped by armed guards, which was itself a shock. The only guns Simon had ever seen had been mounted on drones, planes, and sentry turrets, but these guys had handguns at their hips. At least they hadn't pulled them yet. He recognized these two, as well. "Alex. Jules. How've you been?"
Alex held a hand up to him. "That's far enough for now, sir."
Simon stared at him. "Seriously? We grew up together! We used to play basketball—the three of us!"
"I remember," the other said softly, and Jules had the decency to look uncomfortable as well.
As disturbing as all of this was, it wasn't why he was here. "Look, I need to speak to the President. He's expecting me. He invited me!"
"I know, sir. If you'll just stay here for a moment." As if summoned by Alex, another person came in from the far entrance, carrying a long black stick. He approached them, and handed it to Alex.
It took Simon a moment to recognize it: a metal detector.
As Alex ran it up and down Simon's sides, he gave a sigh. "This is ridiculous. I didn't even know we could have guns in the city. I'm certainly not carrying one. Let me guess: Noah built them for you and the President's other security. What are you, the world's first Secret Service agents?"
They both ignored his words, but at least they let him through after the scan was complete. Still, Jules followed him to the door. In case he needed to be forcibly removed from the room, no doubt. Simon was starting to get sick of all of the unpleasant surprises he was getting these days. Trying to ignore Jules, Simon stepped into the Oval Office of this planet, and was again assaulted with gold and yellow surfaces everywhere.
"Simon, good. Come in," Adam started immediately, gesturing Simon to one of the chairs on the carpet. He was standing in front of his desk with John immediately adjacent to him. Argent was in one of the other chairs, and gave a friendly wave. "You can go, Jules. I think we're good here." Scowling, the big attack dog of a man left and closed the door behind him.
"Thank you for seeing me, Mr. President," Simon began formally, after sitting respectfully across from Argent. "I'm sure you can imagine why I'm here. When Diana told me everything that she'd been up to, I expected some trouble for both of us when we got back home. Still, an arrest? Isn't that a little extreme?"
"She's lucky she wasn't killed on the spot when she was first discovered," John growled angrily. "She's violated every single tenet of the Faith Doctrines! If the pilots up there had been thinking in Old Testament terms, she would have been stoned for what she did!"
Adam raised a hand sternly, and John fell silent. "Our society will be one of laws, not mob justice," he said evenly, though not to any particular person. "Besides, it was important that she be debriefed thoroughly before we could decide on our next course of action. It was only then that the three of us decided she should be arrested."
"She saved a great many lives!" Simon protested. "Maybe all of us, in the long run! You know how determined Cain was; how redundant his systems were. For every one of our pilots, he could make a hundred drones, or a thousand, or a hundred thousand! Eventually, by sheer weight of numbers, he would have exterminated us, and you all know it. She stopped him before he could."
"You stopped him, Simon," Argent put in gently. "She had no idea where Cain's core drives were, until you met up with her. It's my understanding that you were the one who arranged that attack on the manufacturing facility in the first place. You've been sabotaging Cain's efforts and gathering information on his capabilities for weeks now, all while alone and behind enemy lines! Any pilot could have contacted you and used your information to attack Cain. If it hadn't been Diana, it would have eventually been someone else."
Simon was starting to realize he needed to change tactics here. The compassionate argument wasn't working, and it seemed guilting them wouldn't, either. "Technically, she hasn't broken any laws at all, sir!" He directed his attention at Adam again. "I wasn't even told what she was charged with!"
"Actually she did," Adam said, turning slightly. He retrieved a small stack of paper from the desk, and moved over to Simon. "This is our new Planetary Constitution. As you can see, a woman's role in society is very clearly defined, and Diana broke those laws in many different ways."
Simon felt that same anger in his gut again as he ran his eyes down the document. Most of this was word-for-word from the Faith Doctrines themselves. "This is the first I'm hearing of it. The Planetary Constitution was supposed to be written and ratified after the war! When did all of this happen?"
"Just after the evacuation, John, Argent and I started meeting in secret. While you were away, we spent most of our time working on the various points of what goes in here. We would have included Bez, but he was too busy fighting for our freedom. Still, I think he'll approve of what we've done."
Simon wanted to tell them the real chances of that, but he had to focus for the moment. "How can Diana be held responsible for breaking a law she had no way of knowing even existed? Besides, this hasn't been ratified yet!"
"It will be by this afternoon," Adam went on smoothly. "I've scanned this document for Noah, and he's distributing it right now. We'll hold a referendum in a few hours, and every registered voter will be able to vote yea or nay on our new laws."
"Every register—” Simon cut himself off with a strangled look around at them. "There are only six male landowners on the planet, and four of them are in this room! That means six voters, representing the will of hundreds of people who have no say. That may have been fine when picking senators and representatives and such, but this is Diana's future on the line! Her very life, if some people have their way," he shot a dirty look over at John.
He took a moment to think about outcomes here. It was clear where Adam, Argent and John stood. They might think Bez was on their side for now, but he was with Simon. That made it three to two, in favor of ratifying this sickening document. Torin was the linchpin—if he voted against it, it would mean a tie. The document would have to be reworked in its entirety, and in the meantime, public pressure might force them to let Diana go. "I need to talk to Torin, immediately."
"That won't be necessary," John said, and there was no mistaking the smug arrogance in his voice. "Torin's been arrested as well."
"On what charge!?"
"He commandeered the entire wing of fighters, Simon," Argent put in again. "When he flew his people in there to save you and Diana, and to put an end to Cain, he did so without orders. We were still debating what he told us, and he decided to go in without our permission."
"If he'd waited for you to make up your minds, Diana and I would both be dead, and Cain would still be trying to kill everyone!"
Argent gave him a sad smile. "I know that. Still, he disobeyed orders. His Commander-in-Chief had to relieve him of duties and arrest him. And as a criminal, he no longer has any right to vote. I'm sorry, Simon. Even if you vote against us, and somehow convince Bez to do the same, the Constitution will still be ratified."
Simon had to remind himself that this wasn't about the Constitution. He was here to help Diana and Tycho, and now Torin apparently. Not to change the very future of their world. Unfortunately, it seemed like those two goals were now intertwined.
Time for the stick instead of the carrot. "There's a lot of people outside the building right now, Mr. President," he said, trying to keep his voice calm. "They know exactly what Diana has done, and they're not exactly calling for her head, are they? By now, word has spread across all of New Eden. If you punish her in any rash, or permanent way," he chose his words carefully, "they won't take too kindly to it."
Adam's kindly expression vanished. "You'll find that I don't take too kindly to threats either, citizen," he put in dangerously. Still, that menace in his face disappeared as well after a moment. "Simon. Let's be civil about this. You're in a far better position to help your wife than any of us are."
"And how is that exactly?" Simon said raggedly. No matter where he turned, or what he tried, he was getting nowhere, and Diana was running out of time!
"It's simple. All you have to do is go out there to that crowd and give a little speech. Explain to them that Diana's crimes are the result of Noah's flaws as a father, and yours as a husband. Tell them that she never had the disciplined environment she needed, and therefore, her crimes aren't entirely her fault. That will give us the excuse we need to show her leniency."
"You don't need an excuse to be lenient, Adam! You're the President. You can just pardon her—and everyone else if you want to!" Not that he was very concerned for Torin and Tycho. It was unlikely they'd face any serious punishment for this, especially since Tycho had been pushed into it by Noah, and Torin probably didn't want to remain a soldier, but would rather return to making and selling clothing.
"Why would I do that? Tell me, Simon. What exactly would I get out of pardoning her, or anyone else? You have no political capital to offer me. Diana certainly doesn't. You have no leverage here, and nothing to bargain with."
Simon gaped at him. Somehow, he'd known that there was this mercenary tendency in his childhood friend, but it had gotten so much worse since they'd been kids! "I shouldn't have to bargain with you to get you to do the right thing!"
All three of them exchanged glances at that, and Argent was the first one to respond. "We talked about that, Simon. The 'right thing to do' is different for different people. For me, the right thing is what keeps our society orderly and functional. Without those things, I can't run my businesses, and everyone who works for me is out of a job."
"For me, the right thing is simple," John added. "It's spelled out in the Bible and the Faith Doctrines. As the Chief Justice, and first pastor of the Faith, the right thing for me is to make sure that everyone knows their place, and stays in it."
That wasn't surprising at all to Simon.
"Ultimately, the choice is with me," Adam said, finally. "For me, the right thing is the thing that causes the least harm to the fewest people. If I pardon her, or show her significant lenience in this matter, I'll be encouraging other women to follow her example. I'll be contributing to upheaval—to harm—for a great many people for the foreseeable future. It's true; Diana is one of my citizens, and I have to look out for her. But I have to look out for everyone else too."
"So the only one who suffers is Diana, then? Why not just stack a bunch of kindling in the town center, tie her to it, and light a match? Or do what John suggested and stone her, Old-Testament style!" He spat on the floor. "This was supposed to be a new world. A new chance to get everything right, free of the flaws and failings of Earth, and here we are, ready to dive right back into that sewage!"
John stepped forward, his face livid, but Adam held out a hand to stop him. "I'm afraid I have no more time for you today, Simon," he said politely, but pointedly. Simon growled and turned towards the door. Just as he opened it though, Adam cleared his throat. "I would urge you against doing anything rash or permanent, Simon," he added softly. "In the same way that your words can help your wife, they can also make things much worse for her."
Noah had cloned a series of mice for experimentation, years ago. Hippo used them in various clinical trials for his education and later his practice, and Simon had visited his lab once. Now, he knew how those mice felt.
