Traitor's War by Keith Stevenson

Author:Keith Stevenson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Keith Stevenson
Published: 2024-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

23

Cape York Conurb, Earth / Sol System / Hegemony

There was a sharp chill in the air this morning that Denev hadn’t felt even when he was camping. Early morning workers stood in conversational clumps along the slidewalk and he caught snatches of their talk as he passed: the weather, the latest celeb-scandal, office gossip.

If war came and the Central Administration and the Hegemony toppled, would these people feel liberated, he wondered. After all, a lab-grown rat knew nothing of the possibilities that existed outside the walls of its cage.

Rapskel and his group would say yes. Even if only at a subconscious level, the lab rat knows it’s trapped, and the walls it lives within limit its choices and – consequently – its thoughts. Remove the walls and something wonderful will happen.

Maybe. But whatever else it did, the Central Administration kept the lights on, the hospitals running and the food stores well-stocked. Those who couldn’t find work got basic and lived well enough comparatively. If the revolution was to be a success, it had to offer something better than the status quo. Denev didn’t know what that was. But maybe Rhees did.

He took the sidestrip down and was deposited at the entrance to the Datahive. Inside, the foyer was busy. HDC uniforms lined up for the elevators, which opened and disgorged more uniformed bodies. Shift change.

Denev navigated through the crowds to the single elevator that had no one waiting, because it only travelled to Volmar’s office at the top of the Datahive. The elevator opened and he stepped inside, turning to face the foyer as the doors started to close.

“Hold!”

A large fist grabbed the edge of one of the doors and they parted before Denev could react. Gart Lowrans entered, and the elevator closed and started its ascent.

The admiral was a bear of a man, but Denev had seen him fearful and worried for his daughter. He had his weakness like everybody else.

“Good morning, Admiral.”

Lowrans half-turned, looking at Denev as if he’d never seen him before. Which made sense. Every inch of the Datahive was under surveillance. And Denev and Lowrans had only met once. It was unlikely someone like Lowrans would remember him.

“I’m Denev Antwer, Comptroller Volmar’s aide. We met at a Security Review Sub-Committee meeting.”

Lowrans grunted a good morning and turned to face the doors again. But Denev was sure that if he could Lowrans would ask if he had any more news of Rhees. It must be eating at him, sharing a lift and not being able to say anything. And there were no words and no signal Denev could give that wouldn’t be analysed to the nth degree and endanger them both.

The lift stopped but the doors remained closed. After a second, Lowrans stabbed a finger on the single contact, but nothing happened.

“Additional security scan,” Denev said. “We’ll be moving in –”

The car started again and three seconds later the doors opened. Volmar stood at the broad window that angled vertiginously down towards the lower levels of the Datahive.

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