Nexus by Robert Boyczuk (best large ebook reader txt) 📕

Another Facilitator, Sav thought. In his longhauls he’d met six or seven. As far as he could tell, they were all the same: silent, scowling men and women who had an exaggerated sense of their own self importance. They kept to themselves, trusting no one. It was like they’d been infected with the same kind of paranoia. Perhaps it was a consequence of their severed brains, a side-effect of the operation that made them into Facilitators. Or maybe they had been chosen to be Facilitators because they were already emotionally wired that way. Sav imagined Hebuiza jacked into another tall, lanky figure, half a dozen cables stretching between them as they exchanged data at terabit rates. A machine made of two men. Sav swung his gaze back to Josua. “You said you were here to tell me two things.”

” We’re going to initiate more resurrections.”

Sav’s clenched his fists. Three days earlier, when he’d passed Josua in the corridor, the other man had said simply, “The experiment is over,” and continued past him. But Josua’s simple statement hadn’t given Sav the relief had had expected. Instead, a lingering dread had filled him. Dread of what Josua might do next. “You promised me! No more infections!”

“There won’t be.” Josua appeared startled at the vehemence of Sav’s response. “I want to wake them up to help us, not to infect them. We need them now that the other ship is returning.”

Sav tried to keep his voice even. “It’s Hebuiza, isn’t it? He needs more bodies for his experiment.”

Josua shook his head. “No. We want to revive a medic, bio-engineer and another longhauler-”

“You promised me.”

“Sav, we need to be prepared for The Viracosa.”

“You’ll infect them all. Or Hebuiza will.”

“I won’t let him.”

“I don’t believe you. And I don’t trust him.”

“You can help us. Monitor the revivals yourself.”

“I don’t want any part of it. I won’t have more deaths on my conscience.”

Josua’s face turned to stone. “Believe what you want. But I won’t have your groundless fears getting in the way of our survival. The resurrections will proceed.”

Just like that Josua had turned it around, making Sav the irrational one. Anger suffused him. But before he could essay a response, Josua spun on his heel and strode away. Sav started after him; Liis’ hand closed on his forearm, restraining him.

“Things have changed,” she said. “He’s telling the truth this time. I know it.”

“You know it?” Sav jerked his arm free; Josua was already halfway up the path to the Facility. “All I see is a man whose had one too many knocks, who’s developed an obsession with proving Nexus is responsible for the plague. What he’s doing is dangerous and unconscionable, Liis. If we follow his lead we’ll accomplish nothing-except several more pointless deaths. And,” Sav added sourly, “probably our own.”

“I refuse to believe that.”

“Okay, forget Josua then. What about Hebuiza? Is he any closer to discovering the vectors of the plague? Or its reservoirs?”

“He told me he’s made progress.” But her tone had changed. She sounded defensive, petulant, like a child caught in a lie. “What are you getting at?”

“Do you think the Facilitator will stop his experiments before he has the answers to those questions?”

“Josua will stop him. If it’s necessary.”

Sav snorted derisively; clearly, her faith in him was undiminished. “Don’t you see? Its what they both want. They might have different ends in mind. But they both want the experiments to continue!”

“I’ve always respected you, Sav,” Liis said stiffly. “We’ve crewed together half a dozen times and I know you’re a decent guy. And I understand why you feel the way you do. But I trust Josua. And no matter how much you want to change that, you can’t.”

“He lied to me once before. And only a few days ago he promised me no more revivals. But now….” Sav shook his head. “So why wouldn’t he be lying about his purpose in reviving them as well?” The wind had picked up and leaves rustled impatiently as the first gusts of the storm fingered their ways through the surrounding trees.

“I know him, Sav. He’s not that kind of man.”

But Sav wasn’t listening to her. “I won’t let him do it,” he said. “I can’t.” How could he explain it to her? How could he make her understand the way he felt? Sav caught her gaze. “I thought I could leave if things got too bad. Find a place on Bh’Haret where I could live. I convinced myself I’d rather be on my own than be a party to this…this experiment.” His voice was steady, but sweat had collected in the palms of his hands; his heart beat in his chest, a thin, attenuated ache. “But I’ve been thinking about it a lot. And I realized that I can’t leave. Our lives are here now. My life is here now. I won’t let anyone fuck that up.” He watched her closely, trying to gauge her reaction; but whatever she might have been thinking, she gave away nothing. “No more revivals,” Sav said. He turned his back on her. “I won’t allow it.”

Sav waited, expecting….what? But there was nothing. Silence. Then steps moving away. In the distance thunder rumbled angrily. Sav remained where he was; the wind increased in intensity, swirling gusts picking up leaves and fine grains of sand and whipping them around him. Only when the first fat drops of rain spattered darkly against the grey, crumbling surface of the landing pad did Sav head for the cover of facility.

Day 72 to 75

Early the next morning Josua, Liis and Hebuiza began work. Sav watched with rising horror as they readied a second isolation area. A mixture of guilt and self-loathing overwhelmed him at his inaction. What could he do to stop them? He gave up scavenging, but no one seemed to notice: they already had most of what they needed, and Hebuiza quickly collected the rest. Instead, Sav stayed close to the facility, watching and waiting. Every day, after Josua, Liis and Hebuiza had retreated to their separate rooms, Sav would make a quick tour of the isolation area to see what progress had been made. He considered sabotaging the equipment, or spiriting it away. But that would only lead to a confrontation; it would force his hand-or Josua’s. In all likelihood, he’d be expelled from the facility. Or killed. He didn’t think Josua or Liis had it in them to do such a thing, but he had no doubt Hebuiza would murder his own mother in her sleep if he believed it would improve his chances of survival.

So he stayed within his small, stuffy cubicle, staring at the stained, cracked ceiling, turning his limited options over and over in his mind, like a rodent running endlessly in a wheel, making no headway, praying that he could come up a solution, or something approximating a solution, before it was too late.

Day 76

Three a.m.

The tiny lens of a security camera stared soullessly at Sav. It was mounted just above the frame of the door leading to the new isolation area. For the first time the door was locked. Both, he knew, were for his benefit. The message was obvious: they were about to begin the revivals. And they wanted to ensure he wouldn’t interfere.

Is Hebuiza watching me right now? He stared into the black circle of the lens. “I’ll be waiting outside,” he said. He turned, rode the elevator to the first level and stepped outside.

A light sprinkling of snow covered the ground. This late at night the air was bitterly sharp, a harbinger of the long winter on its way; in another month the snow would be a meter or more deep. Sav tugged his fleece-lined jacket tighter. Overhead, the fall sky was achingly clear, covered with a dense frosting of brilliant stars. Both of Bh’Haret’s moons, Amerilus and Perimus, had set already. For a time Sav tried vainly to locate the light that would be The Viracosa. Two nights ago, when she had begun her braking maneuvers, she’d been the brightest object in the sky. Now, she’d fallen below a fifth magnitude object, invisible to the naked eye. What would they be feeling, Sav wondered. Anger, confusion, incredulity? He tried to remember what he’d felt when he’d first woken. But couldn’t. That moment happened a lifetime ago.

Sav pulled a breath of cold air deeply into his lungs. In the distance, the silhouette of trees stirred in synchronicity, an impenetrable puzzle of darkness and branches and wind. He thought, It must be done. Tonight.

The Viracosa was less than three days out. And Sav knew Josua would begin the revivals before The Viracosa made orbit-and her captain and crew could raise objections. Pulling off a mitt, Sav reached into the left pocket of his jacket. His fingertips touched the cold metal of a gun barrel. He wrapped his fist around the frayed tape on its grip.

Yesterday he’d left the facility to go to a place not on Josua’s list: a police garrison on the outskirts of Temperas. The post itself had been very much like the hospital he’d visited with Hebuiza, the buildings scarred by an intense firefight. Near the front gate was the wreckage of two lightly armoured vehicles, one teed into the crumpled side of the other. Inside the building he found piles of rags holed with burn marks-the post’s complement. Laser rifles and hand guns lay underneath and to the side of the disintegrating clothes. Most of the equipment was dead, the batteries long run dry, their works corroded. Except for a chemical propulsion pistol he’d found in a desk drawer in the CO’s office. It had been in a wooden box, along with two full clips of ammo; its barrel was nicked and the plates of its grip were held on by cloth tape wound round its butt. Sav wondered briefly why had the CO kept such a disreputable looking piece. Sentimental value? Who could say now.

Sav had snapped a clip into the weapon, then taken it outside. Aiming at a grey, weathered sign hanging from a chain between two posts, he’d pulled the trigger-and the weapon almost flew from his hand in violent recoil; a sharp report rang in his ears, deafening him. Stunned, it had taken him a moment to realise the sign had been split neatly in half where the bullet struck. Splintered panels dangled from each of two the chains. He had carefully returned the weapon to its box, tucked it under his arm, and returned to the VTOL.

The temperature was below freezing, but in his pocket the grip of the weapon had already warmed to his touch.

Without Hebuiza, Josua won’t be able to carry on with the experiment. He hasn’t the expertise. Sav tightened his grip on the gun. It would be a simple thing, he thought, to point the snout at the black square of his chest and-

“The Viracosa won’t be visible until tomorrow night.”

The words sounded as if they had been spoken centimeters from his ear. Startled, Sav spun around, one foot skidding out from under him on the snow-slicked concrete, his hand jerking out of the pocket and swinging free in the air. Josua caught Sav by the arms and steadied him. He glanced at the weapon Sav clutched in