computer obliged within microseconds.
She cleared her throat, straightened up, and forced a smile as she began.
“Hello again, Stephane. I’m still on your tail, of course, and we’re still gaining on you. I know Archie’s trying to find a way to get us over the hump so we can intercept you before you make Earth orbit. If anyone can do it, he can. He says hi, by the way. He told me to say that. Funny, isn’t it.
“I’m going to keep this short today, because I’m really tired and really fucking pissed at you, and at the world, and at the strange things that are doing this to you and to us. You know, I liked being an ‘us.’ For the first time ever, I actually wanted to be part of another person’s life like that. I…yeah. Anyway, I’m still here. I’m coming to get you. Keep fighting. I love you.”
Shaila stopped and waved the recording closed as she fought back tears. Every goddamn time . She plucked Archie’s vidmail from his folder and sent it along as well. Shaila had ordered him to send vidmails to Conti, just as she’d been sending them to Stephane.
Every day. Without fail.
For the past 159 days. It was the only thing she could do to prevent herself from going crazy sitting around waiting.
There had been no response.
“What do you mean there’s been no response?” Harry Yu asked crossly, running a hand through his otherwise immaculate black hair. “You’ve been setting this up for months now, and there’s been nothing from Tienlong at all?”
Harry paced inside a small office inside a nondescript office park on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan. A century ago, the country emerged from civil war and sectarian strife to become a high-quality corporate safe haven; in exchange for regular “taxes” and outright bribes, businesses could do whatever they wanted in Kabul, no questions asked, no regulations enforced. A lot of financials and biotechs had outposts here, in very similar, un-logoed office parks.
But Harry Yu wasn’t working for the congloms anymore. The former Total Suez and Billiton MinMetals executive, once a rising star in the corporate world, was on the lam, wanted for questioning by Interpol, the Egyptian police force and—most importantly—Project DAEDALUS.
Harry didn’t let it show; at least, that’s what he tried telling himself. He still wore the finest clothes he could afford, and with the terras he’d stashed in various accounts around the world, he could still look good. Today was a grey suit and white shirt, the only nod to the weather and location was the lack of necktie. He always felt clothes helped project authority.
Whether or not he had any authority left was an open question. Most days, his “team” seemed to be humoring him.
“Your conventional signaling won’t work, Harry,” Evan Greene replied with the hint of a smile. “That’s why we’ve been working on the dimensional phase communications here, which is why we replicated Yuna Hiyashi’s Mars experiment in the desert outside town. That’s the only way we’ve been able to reach them before.”
Them . The folks from the other side. Extradimensional aliens. Martians, to be specific.
Harry saw Greene trade a very pointed look with his companion, former U.S. Marine Capt. Margaret Huntington. Both Greene and Huntington had been part of Maria Diaz’ DAEDALUS team over the summer when they turned up and ruined Harry’s attempt to replicate the rift created on Mars two years prior.
Discovering a whole new universe of worlds was a monumental moment in human history, and Harry Yu would have done anything to be the man to capitalize on it. And he’d gotten so close.
Yet Harry’s experiment in the Egyptian desert was—well, it wasn’t a failure, was it? A portal was opened. How could he have known that there were some seriously fucked-up creatures on the other side? If Maria had just given him more time, he could’ve replicated the rift, brought in some heavy artillery from G48 or
She cleared her throat, straightened up, and forced a smile as she began.
“Hello again, Stephane. I’m still on your tail, of course, and we’re still gaining on you. I know Archie’s trying to find a way to get us over the hump so we can intercept you before you make Earth orbit. If anyone can do it, he can. He says hi, by the way. He told me to say that. Funny, isn’t it.
“I’m going to keep this short today, because I’m really tired and really fucking pissed at you, and at the world, and at the strange things that are doing this to you and to us. You know, I liked being an ‘us.’ For the first time ever, I actually wanted to be part of another person’s life like that. I…yeah. Anyway, I’m still here. I’m coming to get you. Keep fighting. I love you.”
Shaila stopped and waved the recording closed as she fought back tears. Every goddamn time . She plucked Archie’s vidmail from his folder and sent it along as well. Shaila had ordered him to send vidmails to Conti, just as she’d been sending them to Stephane.
Every day. Without fail.
For the past 159 days. It was the only thing she could do to prevent herself from going crazy sitting around waiting.
There had been no response.
“What do you mean there’s been no response?” Harry Yu asked crossly, running a hand through his otherwise immaculate black hair. “You’ve been setting this up for months now, and there’s been nothing from Tienlong at all?”
Harry paced inside a small office inside a nondescript office park on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan. A century ago, the country emerged from civil war and sectarian strife to become a high-quality corporate safe haven; in exchange for regular “taxes” and outright bribes, businesses could do whatever they wanted in Kabul, no questions asked, no regulations enforced. A lot of financials and biotechs had outposts here, in very similar, un-logoed office parks.
But Harry Yu wasn’t working for the congloms anymore. The former Total Suez and Billiton MinMetals executive, once a rising star in the corporate world, was on the lam, wanted for questioning by Interpol, the Egyptian police force and—most importantly—Project DAEDALUS.
Harry didn’t let it show; at least, that’s what he tried telling himself. He still wore the finest clothes he could afford, and with the terras he’d stashed in various accounts around the world, he could still look good. Today was a grey suit and white shirt, the only nod to the weather and location was the lack of necktie. He always felt clothes helped project authority.
Whether or not he had any authority left was an open question. Most days, his “team” seemed to be humoring him.
“Your conventional signaling won’t work, Harry,” Evan Greene replied with the hint of a smile. “That’s why we’ve been working on the dimensional phase communications here, which is why we replicated Yuna Hiyashi’s Mars experiment in the desert outside town. That’s the only way we’ve been able to reach them before.”
Them . The folks from the other side. Extradimensional aliens. Martians, to be specific.
Harry saw Greene trade a very pointed look with his companion, former U.S. Marine Capt. Margaret Huntington. Both Greene and Huntington had been part of Maria Diaz’ DAEDALUS team over the summer when they turned up and ruined Harry’s attempt to replicate the rift created on Mars two years prior.
Discovering a whole new universe of worlds was a monumental moment in human history, and Harry Yu would have done anything to be the man to capitalize on it. And he’d gotten so close.
Yet Harry’s experiment in the Egyptian desert was—well, it wasn’t a failure, was it? A portal was opened. How could he have known that there were some seriously fucked-up creatures on the other side? If Maria had just given him more time, he could’ve replicated the rift, brought in some heavy artillery from G48 or
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