Threshold Shift (19 page)
The
transporter crested the hill, and there it was, the spaceport tower,
emerging from the horizon to his left. The circular landing pad was
raised up halfway, resembling what he would have called a ‘spinning
top’ back on old Earth. Red and blue lights blazed within the
structure, blinking in patterns that repeated themselves ever thirty
seconds. He was quietly relieved it was still standing. It should
have proved a strategic target for the Threshians to destroy. But the
uprising was only a few hours old, there was still time.
“There
it is,” he declared.
“I’ve
never been off world,” Roe said quietly.
“Me,
neither,” Jon replied. “I meant to, before all this
started, but that seems so long ago now.”
“Perhaps
we can go together.”
Jake
put his foot down on the accelerator.
*
Jake
switched off the headlights and veered off the road about two hundred
metres short of the spaceport entrance, driving headlong into a field
of green Threshold grass. With the road a little distance behind, he
pulled up, shut down the engine, and turned to his deputies on the
back seat.
“Jon
and I will approach from across country,” he said to Roe. “If
it’s safe, we’ll come back for you.”
“I
can help,” she said, looking to Jon for support.
Jake
shook his head. “You can’t run, Roe. I'm sure you’re
fantastic with a gun, but you aren’t mobile. Stay here and look
after Andy and Asher.”
Jon
shrugged in agreement. Jake could see Roe wasn’t happy. “Come
on, Jon,” he said.
Jake
climbed down from the cab and waited. Jon didn’t follow
straightaway and he heard strained voices. Quietly he checked his
ammunition. Jon jumped down a few seconds later.
“She
give you a hard time?” Jake asked.
“Yep,”
Jon said.
“Get
used to it.”
Jon
laughed.
“Come
on,” Jake said, and began to run
The
two of them sprinted parallel to the road, the blinking lights of the
tower filling Jake’s vision. The night was dark enough, and
even though he could see the tower he doubted anyone from the tower
could see him. That was if anyone was there to see him at all.
Maybe...
“Down,”
he whispered, and dived into the long grass. Jon crawled up beside
him a few moments later. “Guards,” Jake said, gesturing
to the two figures standing by the rear entrance.
“Human
guards,” Jon added. “Maybe Port Security, they must be
aware Espirnet is down, they could be on alert.”
“Maybe,”
Jake said.
“They
could have already sent an emergency message.”
“No,”
Jake said. “Even if Michael’s that stupid, Asher isn’t.”
“I’m
going for a closer look,” Jon declared.
“Hold
on.”
Jon
squeezed his shoulder. “Hey, I’m not going up there to
ask them for directions. I just want to get a closer look. I know
some of the Port guys.”
“Don’t get too close,” Jake said.
“Don’t
worry,” Jon replied. “I’ve already died once today,
I’m not going to make a habit of it.”
Jake
nodded and watched his son disappear into the grass.
It
didn’t make sense, but then a lot of things didn’t make
sense. How had Asher and Michael disabled Espirnet? It was an orbital
system with over a dozen satellites in constant relay. If one went
down the others would pick up the slack. There should have been no
way for Michael or Asher to jam it or shut it down. He gritted his
teeth in frustration. It shouldn’t be this hard to work out.
Asher Smith was no stranger to him, they had many of the same
memories, the same experiences, in fact in many ways they had the
same mind. All he had to do was figure out the way he would have
disabled Espirnet. The answer was simple enough. He would have taken
up a ship and blown the satellites out of the sky, one by one. It
might have taken some time, but until the last satellite was gone no
one on the planet would have even have been aware of a problem. If
Asher had such a ship, then it followed that his allies occupied the
spaceport. No, that wasn’t right either. Asher had been with
him in the Jailhouse when Espirnet had gone down. He couldn’t
have done it, unless… It was obvious really.
Jon
returned, ducking down beside him. “I got a good look at them,”
he said. “They weren’t Port Security.”
Jake
nodded. “Let me guess, they were disfigured?”
“How
did you know?”
Jake
began to head back. “I need to speak to Asher.”
*
Jon
watched as Jake angrily hauled Asher out of the rear compartment and
propped him up against the cab. The man was now almost a mirror of
his father, except for a streak of white hair down the centre of his
scalp.
“Wake
up!”
Roe
opened the driver door of the cab. “What’s going on?”
“It’s
complicated,” he answered. “Just let him get on with it.”
She
shook her head, painfully exiting the transporter using her rifle as
support. “That man saved your life, how can you stand by?”
Andy
jumped down from the rear compartment, his face clean, if not the
rest of him. “Let him go, Jake.”
“Stay
out of this,” the Marshal ordered. “Wake up, dear
brother. I want to talk to you.”
Asher
was showing no signs of consciousness. No matter how many times Jake
slammed him against the transporter cab.
Jon
decided enough was enough. “Stop it, Jake.”
“You
just don’t get it, Jon,” the sim angrily snapped, his
hands still grasping Asher’s collar. “It wasn’t the
Threshians who took out Espirnet. It was more... of him.”
“But
I thought Asher travelled alone,” Jon said.
Jake
let the unconscious man drop limply to the ground. “Maybe he
did, but - oh if only I could hear them.”
Andy
stepped forward. “Marshal, I think we’re overdue for an
explanation. Who is this man? Why does he look like you?”
“I
told you to stay out of it!” Jake shouted. Andy took another
step forward only to be confronted by Jake’s gun pointing at
his chest.
“Stop
it,” Jon said, stepping between them. “I mean it.”
Jake
turned away. “Just… I need to think of some way of
getting a distress call off world. But if Asher is in the spaceport,
we don’t stand a chance.”
Jon
held up his hands to Andy and Roe. “Just give us a minute.”
“He’s
insane,” Andy said, glaring at Jake before marching across to
the front of the transporter. Roe braced her weight against the side
of the transporter, staring at Jon.
“Sorry,”
he mouthed. She shook her head and limped after her brother.
Jon
sighed heavily before turning to Jake. The sim was busy scowling up
at the night sky.
“We
must be able to do something,” Jon said.
“I
could deal with Threshians,” Jake said. “But a group of
Ashers - they are empowered, and they work as a single unit. Even if
we did fight them, we couldn’t win.”
“What
if we just go over there?” Jon asked. “There are
alternatives to fighting. Asher just saved my life. I doubt they want
to kill us.”
“Alternatives
are good,” Asher interrupted. He was conscious.
Jake
turned on him angrily. “What have you done?”
“Only
what I promised to do,” Asher said, struggling to stand. “I
don’t know why you’re so surprised. I agreed to save your
son, but other than that, we were always working towards very
different objectives.”
“How
many of you are there on Threshold?” Jake asked.
“Just
one more,” Asher said. “He destroyed the Espirnet
satellites and then landed here. The spaceport authorities did not
present a problem.”
“I
saw at least two guards,” Jon said. “There must be more
inside.”
“Oh,
Jon, really,” Asher replied. “You have to think
collectively. I am a single scout as was your father. My brother is
five in one, we call him Jeremiah.”
“Jeremiah?”
Roe asked as she limped into view. “I want an explanation,
Jon.”
“I
want to, Roe,” Jon said. “Believe me, but it’s
going to take an awful lot of explaining.”
She
put one hand on his shoulder and leaned against him, taking her
weight off the rifle she had used as a cane. “Then you better
get started.”
Jon
turned to the sim, but Jake’s attention was fully centred on
Asher Smith.
“Jeremiah
already knows we are here,” Asher said. “He waits for me
to join with him so he can know everything I know.”
Jon
finally understood what that meant. “Don’t - you don’t
have to.”
“My
poor little brother,” Asher said. “You don’t know
what it’s like, and there is no way I can explain it to you.
Jeremiah is just a sample. We can be so much more, know so much more.
If you come with me, you will understand and experience more than you
ever dreamed possible.”
“What
is he talking about, Jon?” Roe asked, the hand on his shoulder
trembling.
“We
agreed, Asher,” Jake interrupted. “I kept my side of the
bargain. We agreed you wouldn’t take him.”
Asher
frowned. “So we did, Jake. But then again, I’m not
forcing him to do anything.”
Roe
tightened her grip. “Jon, please.”
Jon
gripped her fingers. “Don’t worry, Roe,” he
reassured her. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Asher
smiled weakly and then turned to Jake. “There’s your
answer. Now please, let me go.”
Jon
saw the gun aimed at Asher’s stomach. He knew that if he had
said yes, Jake would have pulled the trigger.
“You
can’t really stop me,” Asher said. “Once I join
with Jeremiah, this body of mine is simply an appendage.”
“Yes,”
Jake agreed. “I know.” He raised the gun and pointed it
at Asher’s head. “Can you do it before I shoot you?”
“Jake,”
Jon said. “What are you doing?”
“I’m
doing him a favour.”
Jon
watched helplessly as Jake began to pull the trigger. “Dad!”
Asher
looked up into the tired and desperate eyes of the simulacrum and
realised he was about to die. There was no way he could merge with
Jeremiah without direct physical contact and that was being denied
him. If his brain was destroyed then everything he had experienced
since separating from Wun, since becoming himself, would be lost
forever. As these facts occurred to him, he began to perspire, his
heartbeat quickening, becoming so loud he could hear it building to a
crescendo. He had not felt this way for a long time.
He
felt alive.
The
sim closed its eyes and fired. The roar of the concussion bolt
partially deafening Asher as the sim emptied its gun into the space
above his head. He slowly exhaled the breath he had been holding, a
single tear falling from his left eye.
“I
couldn’t do it!” Jake roared as he threw his gun at the
transporter. “Damn it, I couldn't do it!”
The
strength drained from Asher’s legs as he fell backwards,
landing awkwardly in the damp grass. The sim stood over him and
snarled. Asher looked up, his ears still ringing from the blast. He
wanted to say something, but the words didn’t come. The ground
beneath his head was so soft, so comfortable. He did not feel even
the slightest compulsion to stand. Above him the sim marched away in
disgust. Somewhere there was shouting and swearing, but he didn’t
understand why, and he was long past caring. He felt so tired, and he
knew it would only take a moment, just a single moment, to let
himself go. If it hadn’t been for the voice in his head, he
would have.
Asher.
-
Yes, Jeremiah.
You
are in danger, I will come for you.
-
There’s no need, Jeremiah, I’m fine.
You
are exhausted and afraid. I must help.
-
If you come, there may be violence, perhaps even death. You are too
few to risk losing even a single self.
But
you are only one.
-
Please, Jeremiah, stay until I call you. The situation is…
complex. But I am in no immediate danger, and neither is the plan.
Very
well, Asher, I will wait. Be safe, my brother.
-
Be safe, Jeremiah.
His
attention returned to the field, Jon was still remonstrating with the
copy of his father. As for Roe, the girl was standing over him,
leaning into her rifle.
“Asher,”
she said slowly. “Asher Smith.”
Asher
motioned to his ears, he could still hear, but it was like being
submerged in deep water. Everything was becoming so distant. The
world was retreating from his grasp.
“Just
tell me what's going on,” Roe demanded.
“I,”
Asher replied slowly. “I cannot.”
“Son
of a...”
“Leave
him alone,” Jon said, appearing by her side and grabbing her
arm. “Can’t you see he's had enough?”
Roe
snatched back her arm. “Explain to me what this is all about!”
Asher
did not hear even a fragment of Jon’s response. The weight on
his eyelids had become heavier than he could bear, whatever was
happening, would happen without him.
He
slept regardless.
*
He
dreamt of bright sunlight breaking through the trees and the fresh
taste of morning dew in the air. For just a moment it seemed like
anything was possible, and he could make it happen. He had hope. In
the distance the spaceport tower lights continued to wink in
multi-coloured sequence, waiting for him. He ran his hand through an
uneven head of hair as the birds twittered their song somewhere in
the distance. For just a moment he listened, aware only of that song
and the gentle touch of the morning breeze on his face. He smiled to
himself.
Asher
opened his eyes to find himself lying on the small bed in the rear
compartment of the transporter. A metal cage had been lowered down
from the ceiling to enclose him and his body had been wrapped in an
excessive amount of blankets. Even so he shivered. His clothes damp
with perspiration and his throat drier than he had ever known. A
persistent buzzing in his ears reminded him of the weapon discharge
from the night before. There was also something else, a dubious
notion perhaps, considering it had been born in a moment of panic,
but a valid one nevertheless. He wished to remain himself.