The Hydrogen Sonata

“Did you know many people on Fzan-Juym?”

“No.”

“I’m afraid it’s—”

“Destroyed. I know.” She thought of Reikl, hoped she’d survived.

“There might have been a few other survivors, but I’m not sure. Few appear to have survived the initial attack and almost all of those seem to have been hunted down and killed. You may be the only survivors.”

Cossont closed her eyes. Pyan held still. The avatar was silent for a while.

?

xMSV Pressure Drop

oUe Mistake Not…

Greetings. Good work getting to Izenion so quickly. You deserved to get there in time to do more, if there was anything that could have been done, but what you’ve been able to do is much appreciated.

?

Uh-huh. I’m looking for answers, not a pat on the metaphorical. Why was I sent here? What’s going on? This anything to do with the Ablate anomaly?

?

Of course. I was aiming for politeness but may have achieved obsequiousness; please accept my apologies.

You’re there because the Passing By… spotted something heading fast for Izenion from Zyse and we had nothing else to go on; seemed something might be going to happen and you were nearest. We weren’t expecting a shooting war quite so quick and severe. Or a civil war at all.

High probability First attacking Fourteenth, with at least political backing if not instigation. Not yet sure why (but see below).

Ablate possibly first symptom of whatever’s wrong; still working on how deep the problem goes (but see following).

We’re a little constrained for now by confidentiality issues, but — bilge-bottom — this is probably a Z-Remnanter responsibility, and the big S itself may be — or be seen to be — at risk. So all a bit delicate. Our main interests would appear to imply cautious support for legitimate authorities (which might get tricky depending on who sanctioned the Ablate and Fzan-Juym attacks), not getting too involved, and certainly not revenging.

?

I see. And “We”?

?

Would be myself, the LOU Caconym, the GSVs Contents May Differ and Just The Washing Instruction Chip In Life’s Rich Tapestry, plus the GCU Displacement Activity. I am and will be copying to them. I’ll be asking the Passing By And Thought I’d Drop In to join in too. Other C. craft in Gzilt space are probably going to be involved on a need-to-know basis, as and when. Meanwhile, any and all subsequently discovered info appreciated.

?

Okay. Till.

?

“I’ll be honest with you, Ms Cossont,” Berdle said at last. Cossont opened her eyes again. The avatar was looking at her with an expression of regret. “Given the warlike and lethal turn of events hereabouts, and not being sure whose side it might be on, I gave myself leave to interrogate the systems of your android companion here,” it told her. “Aside from a baffling but apparently sincere belief that it’s been in a simulation for several hours, Android… Parinherm? Is that its name?”

Cossont nodded. “So I’m told.”

“Yes, well, Ad Parinherm here does seem a very capable and advanced device, of a type that would normally only be employed in matters of some importance to the Gzilt military, or Gzilt in general. My initial speculation was that it, you and the unfortunate trooper captain here were a group assembled effectively by chance as people scrambled to get off Fzan-Juym as best they could during the brief period when it became clear that an attack on it was immanent; however the android’s most recent and still current orders are that it protect you as a matter of utmost importance and provide full and unstinting support and assistance in your mission, whatever that may be — its orders were frustratingly unclear on that point. So, given that another way of looking at your early and possibly uniquely successful escape from the destruction of the regimental HQ of Fzan-Juym might imply that you were prioritised above even the regimental High Command, you’ll understand that this mission of yours has become a subject of some interest of to me.”

Cossont nodded. “No kidding,” she said.

The avatar nodded. “Let me expand upon my honesty,” it continued, “by admitting that my presence here was not coincidental. I was elsewhere in Gzilt space on a relatively routine task involving helping to monitor the actions of one of the so-called Scavenger groups currently present due to the up-coming Subliming when I was asked to get here, to the Izenion system, as quickly as possible, though with no indication regarding exactly why.” The avatar looked thoughtful.

It’s a ship, Cossont told herself, watching this little display. A Mind. It thinks a gazillion times faster than you do. It never needs to stop and think, not when talking to a human. This is all just for show.

“Though I was informed,” the avatar said, “that arriving with all my weapon systems fully primed and readied might be advisable.”

“Uh-huh,” Cossont said.

“Now,” the avatar continued, “I know that you know something of the Culture, having been with us as a student in the past, so perhaps you understand that being ‘asked’ as I was by some fellow ships — senior fellow ships of considerable repute and responsibility in matters of inter-civilisational dealings — is tantamount to an order, and that being requested to make my way here as quickly as I was required to meant that my engines suffered a small, temporary but still significant degree of damage — an action/outcome I take no more lightly than any Culture vessel. Then, when I get here, I find I’m four hours or so too late to prevent a hi-tech-level attack on one of our Gzilt hosts’ most important military installations, an attack that might — according to certain details indicative of the weapons apparently used — have been carried out by another part of the Gzilt military.” The avatar spread its hands. “So now you know, to all intents and purposes, as much as I do, Ms Cossont. And a little more, of course, as you — I assume — know what this mission of yours is, while I don’t. Frankly, I’m still waiting on further instructions here, but knowing your part in this might, I’d hazard, be quite helpful, pretty much regardless.”

“Right,” Cossont swallowed. “You guys,” she said. The avatar didn’t have eyebrows as such, just little sloped creases above each eye. It raised those. She stumbled on. “You don’t, I mean… you’re not allowed to torture people are you?”

The avatar closed its eyes briefly before letting them flutter open again. “I believe the consensus is it remains one of the few temptations we don’t indulge,” it said. It could see she was still uncertain. Berdle sighed. “You are under no obligation to tell me what you don’t want to tell me, Ms Cossont, nor are you being threatened. You are also free to go as soon as I can find somewhere safe for you to go to. At the moment there is a state of some confusion reigning within the Izenion system, with a lot of trigger-happy minor ships of the Fourteenth milling around looking for something to shoot at, and at least the chance that the craft that destroyed Fzan-Juym is or are still in the volume.”

Cossont came to a decision. “I was told to report to General Reikl, or the next most senior officer in the regiment,” she said.

“The High Command are probably all dead,” the avatar told her. “The next most senior person could be some distance down the ranks. Locally, for all we know, you are the most senior ranking officer. Given the outbreak of hostilities, and according to my reading of the Gzilt military code, your reserve status has already automatically been rescinded; even if you weren’t before, you were effectively called up again as soon as the first particle beam hit the Fzan-Juym regimental HQ.”