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Poseidon's Wake

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‘I don’t understand how it can be here.’

‘It’s a copy, not the same building. It must be my family’s thumbprint on the holoship project — their way of reminding everyone what they’d made possible.’

‘As if anyone needed to be told.’

‘It looks in good repair,’ he said, raising a flattened palm over his eyes to shade out the ceiling lights. ‘Good as new. Given all the troubles aboard Zanzibar, I’m amazed it looks as fresh as it does.’

‘Someone thought it was worth taking care of, I suppose.’

The vehicle picked its way through the thicket of trees surrounding the household, following a path that was either one of the original roads or had simply been cleared by the continuous passage of elephants. The vehicle rolled up in front of the house and Memphis dropped the ramp.

Two Risen were waiting to escort them into the household. The front entrance was easily tall and wide enough to accommodate them, although Kanu could not say how accurately it now reflected the architecture in Africa. If it had been modified, it had been done so neatly, with an eye to preserving the elegance of the original frontage. Beyond, lit by glass ceiling lights, was a wide, airy corridor which formed the cross member of the building’s A-shaped profile. Again, it was comfortably large enough to accommodate two elephants and their human guests, but not all the connecting halls and rooms were as generously proportioned.

‘You will stay in these rooms,’ one of the Risen declared, gesturing at a set of doors with a swish of its trunk. ‘You will have water and food. If you need more water and food, you will ask. If there is anything broken in the rooms, you will say.’

‘Thank you,’ Kanu said.

‘Was that a series of orders or just very stilted Swahili?’ Nissa asked in a semi-whisper.

‘I’m going to be optimistic and assume the latter.’

Finding the doors already unlocked, they entered the suite. Within, they discovered that the rooms were connected in such a way that they did not need to go back out into the hall to move from room to room.

The rooms contained clean furniture, bedding, toilets and washing facilities. Kanu ran a gloved finger along a surface and inspected it for dust, hoping to gain some idea of when these chambers had last been occupied, but there was no sign of neglect.

They searched and found hot water, a cooking device and a refrigerated store of basic foodstuffs. Kanu was doubtful of the long-term nutritional value of some items, but there was clearly enough to keep them alive for the time being.

‘We will come for you tomorrow,’ the Risen said when Kanu and Nissa returned to the hall.

‘Can we leave the property?’ Kanu asked.

‘You will stay in these rooms. You will not leave. If you need us, you will make a noise.’ The Risen gestured at a metal staff, similar to the one Memphis had used to alert Dakota, leaning next to one of the doors.

‘Are we prisoners here?’ Nissa said.

‘You will not leave.’

‘That’s clear enough,’ Kanu said.

When the Risen had gone, they removed their outer spacesuit layers and set the pieces down on one of the several beds. It was a relief to be out of the suits, able to move freely — and to wash, and feel fresh again — but Kanu had never felt more nakedly vulnerable in his life. For all that it might have been illusory, the suit had at least given him a sense of armour, a shell that would offer some protection against the brute force of the Risen.

‘What have we blundered into?’ he wondered aloud.

‘You’re the diplomat — you tell me.’

‘You’re no help. Dakota’s shown no ill intentions towards us and we could easily have left when we went outside to fetch Icebreaker. So why do I feel like we’ve just made a tremendous mistake?’

‘Maybe we have.’

Exhausted, Kanu sat down at a table and cradled his hairless head in his hands. Nissa moved to a bedside console and made one of the walls start cycling through panoramic views, rich and detailed enough that Kanu felt he could have stepped into any one of them. A sunset savannah, a rainbowed waterfall that he nearly recognised, some boys playing football on a beach. He watched the boys wistfully, thinking how delightful it would be to have no cares beyond the kicking of a ball.

‘We fix the ship. Then we leave. There’s no reason for Dakota to prevent that, provided we help with the sleepers.’

‘What is she to them?’ Nissa asked. ‘A matriarch, or something more? What keeps her at the top of the heap?’

Now there was kora music floating gently through the rooms.

‘I don’t know — respect for her age and wisdom? Does it have to be more than that?’

‘She’s not just an elephant, though.’

‘I think the magnifying glass was a giveaway. That and the ability to read and talk.’

‘I do the sarcasm around here, Kanu. What I mean is she’s more than just an exceptionally bright elephant. Where did that human-level intellect come from? What did you do to them?’

‘Me, personally? Nothing at all!’

‘But you know what happened, and it was something to do with your family.’

‘“My” family now, is it?’ Kanu asked irritatedly. ‘You were happy enough to marry into it.’

Despite his provocation Nissa kept her cool. ‘You know what I meant.’

Kanu nodded, ashamed at himself for overreacting. He softened his tone. ‘I’m sorry — that wasn’t warranted. The truth is, I don’t really know what went on with the elephants. Human genes must have been involved, or the expression of dormant gene sequences in the elephant genome which could be used to shape human neurological structures — like throwing a big bank of switches, turning things on and off. The genetic engineers made them small, to begin with — something about phyletic dwarfism. The smart elephants only came later, but they were probably an outgrowth of the same experimental programme. Which wasn’t strictly an Akinya programme, incidentally — we only helped it along.’

‘That doesn’t absolve you of responsibility.’

‘I know.’

She sat on a bed, tucked her legs underneath her and rasped a hand over her scalp. ‘I’m not really blaming you for this — not you personally, anyway. Maybe your ancestors. But I’d still like to know what she is. If we could dissect her brain, what would it look like — an elephant with some human attributes, or the other way around? And if she was already different when she left Crucible, what other changes did the Watchkeepers make? What use could an elephant be to an alien civilisation?’

Kanu rose from the table and found a glass. He tried the local water, which came out of a spigot. It tasted strange, but then water always tasted odd when you were away from home. If there were microorganisms in it, he was going to have to get used to them sooner or later.

‘They’ve always wanted something,’ he said. ‘From the moment they declared the Covenant and took Chiku, Eunice and Dakota into space. We know from the recording that they brought them here directly, no stops along the way — this system was the sole point of the whole exercise. The Watchkeepers wanted something from the Trinity, but Chiku wouldn’t say what it was.’

‘You mean, every time she got close to talking about the Watchkeepers, someone cut the recording.’

‘Yes,’ Kanu admitted. ‘But not Chiku — she wouldn’t have withheld useful information.’

‘You think very highly of her.’

‘I know what she went through. The pressure on her, bringing Zanzibar to Crucible. It should have broken her soul. But I think it made her stronger than any of us.’

‘And you’re not just saying that because she’s your half-mother, or one-third-mother, or whatever it is?’

‘No,’ Kanu said, after a moment’s reflection. ‘I don’t think I am.’

‘The strange thing is, I agree with you.’

‘You never knew her.’

‘But I saw the recording, saw the strength in that woman — the acceptance of sacrifice. Either she was a good actor, or she was completely prepared to give up her life for the elephants. I think I know which it was.’

‘Chiku wouldn’t have withheld the truth.’

‘But someone got to her recording.’

‘Might I add a thought or two?’ Swift was suddenly there, leaning against a doorframe, taking a bite out of an imaginary apple. ‘Let us be charitable and not assume the worst of our hosts. Are these surroundings not to your tastes?’

‘I don’t remember having much of a choice about them,’ Nissa said.

‘I believe the elephants are doing their best to make you feel at home. Any awkwardness on their part may be reliably ascribed to their shortcomings with regard to Swahili. Goodness knows I’ve had my share of difficulties with it. Why couldn’t you humans agree to speak something logical and straightforward like Mandarin?’

‘Are you finished, Swift?’ Kanu asked.

‘Very nearly. Might I be so bold as to add one request? A suggestion, rather. Clearly we will have to return to the skipover vault if we are to be of assistance to those sleepers. At some point, without arousing suspicion, I should very much welcome another chance to view that recording.’

‘I’ll do my best to arrange that,’ Kanu said.

‘Good. And when the opportunity does arise, Kanu, could you endeavour to blink as infrequently as possible?’