“I wonder how the hell we ever convinced them to give us our own orbital platform,” Rodney said as they walked away from the orbital lift. The journey down the orbital elevator to the surface has been smooth and uneventful. They were now walking out of the dock yards and into the main port of New Washington, the largest human metropolitan area in the human sector of the planet.
“What do you mean?” Tony asked.
“Mr. Capasella,” Anil explained, “There are roughly 80 billion intelligent life forms on this planet. The entirety of the human population acrdoss the entire galaxy is less than one tenth that number. On this population? Humanity makes up barely one hundred million.”
Tony whistled, “Oh, I get it.”
They had stowed their vessel, but they still had to clear immigration. Rodney pointed toward the conveyor that would take them to customs.
“How did we manage to get one of the twelve orbital platforms?” Tony asked.
Rodney looked up at the bright blue sky. The clouds had a slightly orangish pink cast, like they were made out of cotton candy. The lighting here was weird. It was always a little weird on other planets. Humans were so damn sensitive to light. He thought about Tony’s question then shrugged. “If I had to guess, I would say it was our AI. Something about our synthetic intelligence scares the bejesus out of them. Well, at least they command respect, and we, by association, benefit from that I suspect.”
“But we don’t control the AI,” Tony whispered.
“No, but for some reason it is important to the AI that we be treated as a full Federation member of the Union, and it would appear that they have the clout to make that kind of request and see it honored.”
“The - what did Odenshi call it? The MateraScape?” Anil added. “I doubt that technology was given up voluntarily. For our AI to be able to secure and deploy such a startlingly advanced system - it is both humbling and terrifying.”
“You got that right,” Rodney agreed. Tony said nothing.
They reached the immigration booths and presented their credentials. The man behind the counter, his badge read, “Susanto.” He was a short man, dark eyes and dark hair. He looked like his had earned this position because of his capacity to look professionally bored.
“The Governor has requested that you meet with her upon your arrival.”
“We’ll be happy to do that after we tend to some local business,” Rodney replied.
The man did not directly respond. A squad of four women in Galactic Navy Uniforms appeared when a panel slid away. They were all tall, athletic and young, and carrying plasma rifles. “You will follow Corporal Chaiwat.” The woman referred too stepped forward. She was just a bit shorter than the rest, with olive complexion and deep brown eyes that matched the color of her hair. Her vitality and confidence presented her better than any introduction.
“Mr. Morris, you will follow me.” Her tone left no room for negotiation.
Rodney shrugged. “I guess we’re going to see the Governor right now then.”
The soldiers split organized themselves so that Corporal Chaiwat and another soldier lead from the front, while the other two fell in behind.
“Are we under arrest?” Anil asked as they walked through a door that lead to a below ground tunnel.
“You are under our protection,” the Corporal explained.
“Is it dangerous here?” Tony asked genuinely curious.
Rodney couldn’t believe it, but the Corporal actually cracked a smile. What? Did she think Tony was cute? Like a puppy or something?
“It is dangerous everywhere Mr. Capasella.”
“You can call me Tony,” he said, sounding just like a puppy.
She did not respond, but Rodney sensed a hint of… something. Interest?
They arrived at an under ground garage, and the military detail showed them into a hover car. Rodney climbed in and looked around. He was astonished to see one of the soldier climb behind the controls.
“No androids?”
“Proxima Caelum has very strict regulations governing the level of machine intelligence allowed inside the outpost,” The Corporal explained.
“Is this Union law?”
Chaiwat shook her head. “No, the Nexus mandated it. They were very involved in the chartering of the human settlement on Cross Roads.” The car lifted off the ground, then flew through one of the openings in the roof. The transport rushed into the turquoise blue sky.
“How big is the city?” Tony asked as they whisked over an orderly grid of streets and towers. They were clearly headed to the second highest structure besides the orbital elevator, a tall spire that reminded Rodney of the Space Needle on Earth, only much much larger.
“I am not a tour guide Mr. Capasella,” Corporal Chaiwat replied, not in an unfriendly way. Then she added, “I can tell you that the Sister Wives are doing their best to keep the population from dropping below fifty million.”
“Sister Wives?” Tony asked.
“The Ministry of Population,” Anil replied. “and let me tell you young man, they will be very glad to see you.”
“All of you,” Chaiwat added.
Rodney was afraid of that.
They cruised over one of the cleanest, nicest settlements Rodney had ever seen. The transport lifted them to the outer ring of the spire’s top floors and settled into a landing pad just on the top floor, out of view of from the street, giving the building the illusion of being one continuous smooth surface of white and silver unbroken surfaces. The three men, with their all female escort stepped out of the transport and headed into the building.
Tony walked up to Rodney and in a low voice said, “I think she was… well, that corporal, she was making eyes at me.”
“I wouldn’t doubt it,” Rodney replied. Tony looked puzzled, but it was Anil who finally explained by asking the Corporal Chaiwat a confirming question.
“Corporal, New Washington, in fact this entire settlement, it is a Matriarchy correct?”
“Yes sir. The Triad manages all aspects of this installation, including the settlements, military deployment, and population.”
Rodney could see the look on Tony’s face. “It’s run by women Anthony. All of it.”
The guard led the three men to an elevator and then up to the top floor, where a second smaller disk contained the offices of the triad, the three most senior women on all of New Washington, and the Human Settlement of Cross Roads Outpost.
Rodney was a little surprised to see the full council waiting for them when they arrived.
The three stood up as the group entered. The tallest of the three, a stately woman in her fifties with elegant silver and black hair falling in long curls around her narrow face. She wore a modern take on the ancient Sari. The lines and patterns of the ancient dress converted into a more practical suit, but with the rich styling and colors of her home country. With a flick of her wrist she motioned for the guard to disperse, and then she looked right at Rodney and demanded, “What the hell was that!?”
“If you’re talking about my entry Madame Governor, I wasn’t too fond of it myself,” Rodney said, stopping at a parade rest. She had not offered any of them a seat.
“Your gods damned right I’m talking about that entry,” she said leaning forward putting both hands on her desk. The bright day would have made her backlit, but the windows autoshaded so that Rodney could see her face clearly. Her eyes were golden in color and they looked like they were on fire, she was so mad. “Do you have any idea how much work this has made for General Lindberg?” She motioned to the tall pale blonde woman to her right, Rodney’s left. “We’ve had to respond to countless inquiries and field protests from every sector - “
“Except two,” Sophie held up two finger. She was not quite as tall as the Governor, but she certainly looked like she could have played volley ball or basketball in college. Like her younger guards she was fit, but not has hard as the Governor.
“Come come Pimachook, is this really any way to greet such esteemed guests?” The third woman said stepping forward. The third and final seat on the triad, her skin had a beautiful brown radiance, like warm chocolate on a cold night, and her eyes shone with grace and tenderness.
“Do not belittle my office in front of, them,” The Governor motioned dismissively, then unexpectedly turned away. “Oh damn it, I suppose your right.”
“You must be Doctor Kapoor,” Anil bowed. Rodney, and Tony immediately followed suit.
“Come come, there’s no need of that,” Dr. Kapoor walked over and motioned for them to stand up.
“It would be more appropriate if they kneeled,” Pimachook shot back. “Or better yet, got down on their knees and groveled.”
“Nonsense,” Dr. Kapoor said in a matronly, warm tone. “My name is Meera, Meera Kapoor,” She said taking Anil’s hands in both of hers. Then she moved to Rodney. “My esteemed colleagues are General Sofia Linberger, and Her grace, the honorable Governor of this colony Pimachook Tirakul.”
The Governor flipped her hand in dismissal.
“Doctor, General, your Grace,” Rodney nodded to all three.
“Look, I apologize for the entry, but that was… out of my control.”
General Linberger stepped forward, “I suspected it was. The Nexus?”
Rodney nodded. “They translated out ship without warning, while the Tortion drive was engaged.”
Linberger looked shocked. “They jumped you with the t-drive active?”
“Well that explains it,” Dr. Kapoor said, apparently to the Governor.
“Meera, you have no idea what you’re talking about. That doesn’t explain anything. The gods damned ai are sending us a message again. Just when we think we have everything under control, they sent us a blessed reminder that we are only here by their grace.” The governor, turned her back and paced behind her desk, clasping her hands behind her back. “As if we don’t have enough to deal with.”
Linbeger walked up to Rodney. “With your permission captain, we would like to do a full inspection of your ship, and I think a full medical examination will be in order as well. It’s not many people who have event attempted such a transfer let alone lived through one.”
“I have the impression that the sentients have been experimenting with it for some time.”
Linenberger, raised her hand to her chin, “I am not convinced of two things. One, that their sense of ‘time’ and ours are even remotely equivalent, and two, that they can tell the difference between simulation and actuality. But the facts are to date, that is the first such arrival I have witnessed, so I need to treat it as an anomaly.”
“Of course, what ever you need General,” Rodney knew it would be pointless to push for his rights, and besides, he didn’t really have the resources to do a full inspection. What the hell had that jump done to ship? He needed to find out.
“Well, enough with the ship. What are you doing here?” The Governor turned round and faced Rodney.
“I can’t tell you how much I would like to answer that question,” Rodney replied. He could see the storm brewing on Pimachook’s face, “but I’m just not going to be able to help you with that Madam Governor.”
Governor Teerakul’s response was swift and efficient. She threw the lot of them in jail.