Song of the Universe (2)

Sayer reaches out to touch her arm gently. "Why?"

Phoenix closes her eyes, and her cognitive system suddenly enforces a playback, an impression of the sensation of the mines going off under her feet in the alley, and of slowly descending into the Tokuma courtyard, into the suffering, dying masses there. She shudders slightly and almost seems to lose her footing. Her face contorts under the strain of trying to drive the impression back into the corner of her mind from which it sprung. She whimpers slightly.

He wraps his arms around Phee to hold her against him. The expression on her face had made his stomach lurch and his heart cold with fear. She seemed to be remembering something traumatic and he felt terrible now that he'd asked her that question.

Phoenix "I haven't ... really had time to reflect on some of the things that happened to me. I ... I encountered Vaarda in the grid when I was stuck there. He had this analysis program - like a personality mirror. it was rather painful, but I saw that I'm suffering from PTSD. Badly."

"What can be done to help that? There has to be a good doctor here on this station, right?"

She cringes. "Probably. I don't know. Some of these Orchids, though... I don't think they think I'm really alive."

"Orchids?" He thinks for a moment, confused.

“This is a Utopia installation. They're not big on machines here. Especially ones who claim to be alive. I think Z gets it. Maybe Mark, I don't know.”

He nods as it finally clicks in his head. "Orchids - that's what Z is calling her operatives?"

Phoenix smiles. "Yes. They are called the Black Orchids."

"I will have to show you the black orchid that I got delivered to me. I had thought it a symbol... but wasn't sure exactly what it meant."

"Really? Who was it from?"

"It was from Z. After I got it I received a call from her. I had it safely stored in Gaia's office with the rest of my things."

Phoenix smiles broadly. "How beautiful. She probably intended that you should cultivate it. Did you get it out?"

Sayer nods happily. "Yes, when we went back to the city I snuck down to Gaia when I was putting up the posters. It was still there, with the rest of the stuff I had stashed. So I didn't lose everything. I would have been sad to have lost that orchid. Black ones are very rare. In fact they were thought to be extinct. I had never seen one before, and I had to look it up on my datapad to be sure. I will have to ask her how she got one."



"Maybe she got some DNA from the Birmingham Zoological Institute."

"Are they known for their orchids? All my botanical knowledge comes from non-traditional sources... mostly through my supplier."

"Z would know more. I've heard they have an archive of extinct forms."

Sayer pulls out his PDA and makes a note of that. "I will definitely look into that. How do you know about that place?"

Phoenix smiles, "Miach has an extensive salvage interest. That draws our attention to the surface, which is where the institute is located. I've read about it."

"Do you work for Miach now? I know they supply your chassis... but I guess I haven't stopped to think how involved your connection is with them."

"Well, we're outside the city now, and have a different role. I can therefore be a bit more forthcoming about my relationship with them. Miach is the reason I was extracted from Tokuma. I owe them my life. In a way, I belong to them, just as you would to Utopia if your clone were activated."

"And they are good to you, right? Not like Tokuma?"

"They are wonderful to me. There is this pervasive sense of dignity of artificial life. It's not Miach's core operating principle or anything like that - they like to keep quiet and do their research - but the corporate culture is one of tolerance toward AI. Many employees are AI.”

"That is how it should be. If you can ask whether or not you should be free, then you should be free. It sounds like a progressive company, one that has respect for the employees."

"Still, independent and protected as I am with them as an individual, the fact remains, they invested considerably and risked greatly in getting me out of Tokuma. So far they've asked little. But they are entitled to a lot."

Sayer thinks about that for a moment. "But so far they haven't asked you to do anything that you'd not want to do, right?"



Project 17 makes a gentle approach as she sees the two staring out the window.  She didn't want to butt into the conversation so she kept her distance until they were ready to acknowledge her.

"Not in the slightest. It almost scares me. They've wanted me to test experimental weapons and defensive technologies, and have been happy with the results I've provided."

Phoenix looks up and smiles "Hello, Miss Ziebzen. ...er - what would you like us to call you here?"

Project 17 grins, "If you feel comfortable with Ziebzen I am too.  Alex has called me Z for years... probably will for the rest of his life."
Sayer says happily, "It's good to see you."

Project 17 smiles softly.  "So have you two settled in okay?  I know it's quite different than a city.  Some people have trouble adjusting to space.  This is more of a natural environment for me as I was "born" in a facility such as this."

Phoenix glances quickly at the window, smiling, then back at Z. "It is breathtaking. I was able to catch a little time outside earlier - to be ensconced in complete silence, the clarity of total vacuum and empty space - and to be able to hear the cosmic microwave background with my own wireless - a beautiful experience."

Project 17 laughs softly, "That must be quite an experience to go out there without having to wear a protective suit.  Once you are past all the layers of pollution, space is absolutely magnificent.”
"I can go outside for short periods - anything longer than an hour, and I lose thermal stability, though."

Sayer leans in close to Phee and whispers, "Can you tell her about the radiator units?"

Phoenix smiles. "Yes. Miach is working on radiator units for thermal stability - large metal panels through which coolant cycles. They look like wings."

“That sounds pretty innovative!   I am really looking forward to seeing what Miach has to offer.  I think they could be very beneficial working with us as we primarily deal with living organisms.” Project 17 replies.

Phoenix smiles thoughtfully "Yes, I think we could complement each other well."

Phoenix "I was telling Sayer. I haven't really emphasized my role with Miach. The reason is that they are a pure research organization - they don't like to be associated with specific conflicts. My task was to test weapons and defensive technologies in the city, but they wanted it done quietly - with their name well away from it. Now i think that role will be broadened somewhat."

“You mean in Insilico?”

"Yes. Insilico was more than violent enough to support the testing goals, and my personal agenda would take me into danger anyway, so it worked out."
Project 17 nods, "I am more than sure you may have a few places down on earth you can test your weaponry.  Utopia does weaponry also, however we don't advertise it.  They are more for personal use for defenses.
"Speaking of working with you, you mentioned a job as a botanist. Would that be a job I would do here, on this station?" Sayer had wanted to ask about work since they had arrived but it had never seemed like a good time. He looked down at his hands for a moment, embarrassed by asking his question so brashly.

Project 17 nods as Sayer reminds her, "Ah, yes... they have a laboratory prepared for you.  You will be in the botanical department for starters.  Right now we have been bringing up specimens from the Earth's surface and samples from underwater for analysis.  Eventually you may go down with a team to collect more."

Sayer enthusiastically rocks back and forth on his heels a few times. "That sounds so wonderful - I can't wait to start."

“At 0800 I will have them check you in and provide you with whatever equipment you need.”

Sayer looks to Phee for a brief moment, his eyes brimming with excitement. He turns back to Z, "Thank you, I will work hard, I promise."

Song of the Universe (1)

Sayer stands next to Phoenix as they look out the space station’s wide windows. The view was incredible.

Phoenix smiles "I went outside earlier."

He turns surprised and laughs, "Outside!" he glances back out the window, his voice full of wonder, "what was it like?"

“Very quiet. No sound at all. Very peaceful.”

He tries to imagine her being out there and asks, "Do you need a suit to go out there?"

“No. I can operate in a vacuum for about an hour if I'm not in direct sunlight.”

An hour out of the station in what he imagined as dead empty space seemed a long time. Even five minutes he thought would be daunting and overwhelming. “But what happens if you are out longer than an hour?"

“I'll overheat, and be forced to quench coolant - let some of it boil off to cool back down.”

"So if you had some kind of device that kept you cool you might even be out longer than an hour without a suit?"

Phoenix smiles, "Miach has radiator kits. They look like metal wings. The coolant flows through them, and the IR radiation into space cools it off."

He grins imagining her out in space with wing-like radiators, unconcerned about breathing or other human worries. In his mind the vision was reminiscent of ancient religious portrayals; an angel dancing gracefully, wings spread behind her, the aura of a nebula shining behind her like a halo. "I can definitely see you in wings. I bet that looks really amazing."

Phoenix chuckles and walks toward the window, her voice more relaxed than usual. "Up here, free of the interference of the city, I can actually hear the song of the universe itself. The cosmic microwave background - the sound the universe made when it began."

Sayer feels a pang of inadequacy as he walks after her and peers out the window. "I wish I could hear what you hear."

She begins emitting a soft, uniform hissing sound. Sayer leans against her shoulder and closes his eyes, listening intently. "It sounds so beautiful. How do you interpret it?"

"It sounds like everything, all at once. Like all life, exultant and burgeoning. Inscrutable patterns; infinite complexity..."

He nods into her shoulder, still leaning against her. "You can understand it though, right? To me... well I guess I just process things differently. I like the way it sounds, but I can't understand it."

She says kindly, "Then I think you hear it the same way I do. My mind searches for a pattern in the signal, but I detect none. It's a sound I can't separate into signal and noise. It isn't explained. It just is." Phoenix smiles, and he thinks it is almost as though the affection she has for him is tangible, as if he could feel it in the air surrounding him. He wants to reach out and pull that affection closer, warming himself in it.

Her phenomenal abilities continued to surprise him. He was slightly envious, too. "It's amazing to me that you can experience that... that you can connect with the universe in that way."

"It's amazing to me that you appreciate it so much when I point out the beauty I detect. It makes me feel like I have purpose."

Sayer frowns. "Phee, of course you have a purpose. You are full of purpose. I'm surprised you would say that."

She looks down "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way. I... I've been fighting my whole life. Fighting to survive, fighting to avenge myself, fighting to survive again. Now there's not a fight. "

He brushes a strand of hair back from her shoulder. "I think there will still be plenty of fighting if what we've heard about the Shades is true... don't you think? We will need to help those that are barricaded in get out, right?"

Phoenix shakes her head "Sayer, this is happening because we were there. The Shades existed for years and there was never a blockade; never a siege. They existed in balance. The balance was disturbed."

"So the barricade will end because we are no longer there? It was just retribution against us?"

"Once it becomes obvious that there is no Avrilen, Erich, Mark, or Phoenix to capture and bring before the city's corporate overlords, the siege will end. We will help, but it will be after. Once the shelling has stopped. Once things are quiet. Once things are back in balance."

He pauses a moment, letting that sink in. "So there really is no fighting now… we really do have a vacation from all that grief?"

“Yes, we do. And I'm finding that much harder to accept than I thought I would.”

Confused, he asks, "Why?” His mind was trying to figure out a good reason she would say that. He wonders whether it is because fighting and grief has been such a constant in her life for the past six months.

Phoenix thinks for a moment then says, "I think that it's because once the sound of the struggle dies down, I'll finally be able to hear myself. And I'm very much afraid of that."

[[Listen to the sounds of the Universe]]

Hangars Liquides