The quantum curators and.., p.14
The Quantum Curators and the Missing Codex, page 14
‘But, Julius, that means I won’t see you again,’ said Arthur.
‘We can always catch up on my Earth.’
He turned his back on me, offended by my lack of concern, and went to join Anansi and Loki who were making a pretence of discussing it.
As I watched them, I wondered how the hell this was happening. How was I actually watching two gods and a mythical king debate the fate of this planet?
‘Very well. If everyone is in agreement?’
Unsurprisingly, everyone was. No one relished an existence where all-powerful gods could derail your plans on a whim, and just kill you if they were put out.
‘Right then—’ began Loki.
‘Wait!’ Minju stood up. ‘These teams. Do we have to select them from the persons present?’
Loki clapped his hands and laughed. ‘Ah. Yes, you’re missing someone aren’t you?’
I groaned. I knew what was coming and nudged Neith’s knee. ‘Try not to lose your temper.’
Neith looked at me in confusion, and I watched as her face slowly melted into absolute fury.
Loki smiled at Anansi. ‘Well, she’s your girl. Do you want to summon her, or shall I?’
Suddenly, Clio was sat next to Minju, staring wildly about her.
Minju murmured something to her, and Clio sat still and watched the room. Glaring at Anansi, she nodded at Neith, who started swearing under her breath. Anansi laughed.
‘Hello, sweetie.’ He grinned, talking to Clio. ‘Cat girl next to you will explain what is going on. Now, if you could all retire to the two side chambers. When the sand has got to the bottom of the egg timer, we will dispatch your teams to wherever you want to go.’
Arthur leant across and muttered something. Loki laughed, and Anansi shook his head.
‘Ooh, la la. I haven’t given you the clue. Here it is. This is all I will tell you to help you locate the codex.’ He paused dramatically. ‘La Gioconda has the answer.’
Day Four - Julius
We were sitting in a break-out room. There were giant floor cushions and long benches designed to lie on. Plates of nibbles and drinks were scattered tastefully around the room, and some gentle music was being piped through the speakers. It had all the air of a mid-level management meeting. The only thing that spoilt the mood was the swearing and crying. Shortly after we moved to this room, one of the men declared that he was going to stop. His announcement was met with a few hugs and regrets, but no one tried to stop him, and he walked out of the room.
‘Just like that?’
‘No, not just like that,’ snapped Neith. ‘He’ll go home and discuss it with his family. If they don’t persuade him to stay, he will stop. I sincerely hope that they are successful, but it is his life, not mine.’
I could see she was angry and upset and I should have let it go. But I was also at odds and so, like a fool, I carried on pushing her.
‘You treat it like it’s a cultural norm. What’s wrong with you?’
And, for the first time ever, Neith was properly mad at me. She had been peeling a small satsuma, but now she crushed it in her hand, the wet flesh squeezing out between her fingers, and she slammed it on the table. Several people turned around.
‘A cultural norm? Like you have some moral high ground with all your murders and warfare?’
I was embarrassed that we were attracting attention, but I couldn’t let her misperception of us go unchallenged.
‘That is hardly the same thing?’
‘Are you mad? Of course it’s a cultural norm, in fact, it’s your guiding principle. When aren’t you lot running around killing each other, wasting lives and resources?’
‘No one wants to go to war!’
‘Of course they bloody do, or else you wouldn’t always be doing it.’
While we weren’t shouting, our voices were rising and those closest to us were stepping away from the scene. I was about to come back with some stupid justification when Rami dashed over to us from across the room. Grabbing Neith’s arm, he gave her a quick shake and hissed at her. She looked at him, then me and wiping her hands on her thigh she stormed away.
‘Are you alright?’
I looked at Rami and shook my head.
‘No. But I will be.’
He squeezed my hand and gave me a quick hug. They were a tactile bunch. It had taken me months to get used to it, and if I was honest, I wasn’t completely comfortable with it, but, right now, the hug did make me feel a bit better.
Across the room, Asha slapped the table, and we all stopped talking.
‘Right. We are going to have to focus on this. First Engineer and I have been talking, and we have agreed that securing the codex will need to be our top priority. With that in mind, we will have to comply with this challenge we have been set. We have no idea as to the scope of power of these strangers, but we have already seen enough evidence to know that we cannot dismiss them.
‘I propose that we send a team of curators to Beta Paris to examine the Mona Lisa, or La Gioconda, as Anansi rather poetically named it. I propose Curators Salah, Gamal and Strathclyde. We don’t know what the nature of the clue we find will be, but for now, we have nothing else to go on. Any questions?’
The room was silent. Giovanetti had spoken and the engineers were backing her. What more was there to say? Only a fool would raise his hand.
‘Yes, Strathclyde?’ said Asha, and I could swear she sounded weary.
‘Wouldn’t it help us to know more about the codex?’ I watched as First glared at me. ‘How big is it? What colour is it?’
Asha looked at First and raised an eyebrow.
‘We don’t know. It was lost centuries ago.’
‘And you never made a copy of it?’ I asked, incredulously.
‘The contents were too valuable to risk someone else stealing the copy.’
‘And yet you lost the original.’
First just glared at me.
‘When did you lose it?’
‘Centuries ago.’
‘And no one ever wrote a description of what it even looked like?’
‘No,’ she snapped, ‘because we hadn’t planned on losing it.’
‘So, if you lost it so long ago, how come you were able to complete the stepper in the past few decades?’
None of this made sense to me, and I could see from a few faces in the room that they agreed with me. No one had openly questioned the engineers before, and it was clear that her answers weren’t stacking up.
‘Because, over the centuries, we have worked on the discoveries and advancements of our forebears until we created a working stepper rather than a theoretical one.’
‘Well, if that’s the case, why the urgency to get the codex back? If it’s that basic, it can’t be a life-or-death document. Not if what’s in there requires centuries of experiments to bring it up to speed.’
Now First looked furious.
‘That is not the point,’ she said curtly. ‘It is our property. The risks are too high.’
‘You mean there may be stuff in the codex you had forgotten about? Or stuff you don’t want us to know about?’
She fell silent. I knew she was lying about the codex, but I didn’t know what about. The fact that she had decided to stop answering my questions suggested I was close to something.
She turned to Asha. ‘Custodian Giovanetti, I regret that we are unable to supply you with further details on the codex. I take full responsibility for the failures of my predecessors to secure the maestro’s greatest ever piece of work. But it has been the sacrifice of every engineer throughout history to bring da Vinci’s plans and ideas to life, and during this search we will assist you in every way that we can.’
A spattering of applause broke out. Once again, I had misjudged the influence these engineers had over society. Oddly enough, I didn’t think they were inherently bad. After all, none of them had turned up in the other team. But people working with the best of intentions can commit the greatest of crimes. I sipped my coffee and wondered what they were hiding.
As I watched, the new First was muttering into her brace and a minute later my brace pinged.
Status Update: Resolved. Consideration removed. By order of the First Engineer.
My face flushed. What did that mean? Had I pushed things too far? I stared at First, but she simply looked at me and then turned back to Asha. I needed to find Neith.
‘Great Ra. They have come to their senses.’ Sam startled me, giving me a massive hug and I nearly collapsed in relief.
‘I’m safe?’
‘Looks like it. First clearly sees the world differently to her predecessor, plus with these manifestations, you are now our number one expert.’
I wanted to laugh out loud but this didn’t seem the right time. Some guards entered the room with a quick report for Asha and then left again. As they did so, she looked after them thoughtfully.
‘Arthur? Loki? Anansi?’ It was clear she was addressing them, but there was no reply.
‘Julius, would you try?’
I imagined the sound a leather cricket ball made when it hit the sweet spot on the willow bat, with a pigeon cooing gently in the background.
‘Arthur?’
And, of course, Arthur materialised in front of me. I have to admit I was getting better at not flinching.
‘Hello, Julius. Isn’t this most excellent? Loki and Anansi are very impressed. They haven’t had this much fun in ages.’
‘Yes, it’s very entertaining,’ I said through gritted teeth. ‘Look, Asha has a question. Can you help?’
Asha stood up and executed a dramatically deep bow.
‘High King Arthur, greatest ruler of the sceptred isles. I have a favour to ask.’
It was perfect, and I once again recalibrated just how sharp that woman was. First Engineer was scowling, but you need to dance with whoever brought you to the party.
Arthur glowed and waved at her to continue.
‘I know everyone in this room is fuddy-duddy, but how will I know who is a funster beyond those in the other rooms? When those guards of mine just gave their report, I realised I had no idea if I could trust them. Are you able to make it clear to us?’
Arthur paused, considering, then disappeared. A few moments later he reappeared, and Asha once again bowed low.
‘We have conferred, and I persuaded them to grant this boon.’
He waved his arm majestically around the room, but nothing appeared to happen. We all looked at each other, and Arthur stamped his foot.
‘You promised!’ A disembodied voice laughed. ‘Very well, do it again.’
Arthur once more majestically swept his arm, although this time it did seem a little lacking in regal fanfare. Above everyone’s heads bobbed a little 3D glyph. They were upside down. Sludgy, little grey pyramids with a sad face on them.
Everyone in the room, except Arthur, had the same little glyph hanging over their heads. I dashed over to the window and looked out on the street where teams were still cleaning up after the previous day’s debris. Everyone had stopped working and was pointing to each other’s heads and swiping their hands through the symbols, unable to bat them away.
‘It looks like everyone is grey,’ I said, watching the crowd below.
‘No, look over there,’ said Neith from across the room, where she was looking out of another window. ‘That woman has a golden glowing one.’
‘There’s another one over here,’ called one of the engineers. The rest of the engineers were busy taking readings and measurements of what they could see.
Asha’s wrist brace pinged, and she tapped it lightly and spoke into it, looking around the room at us as she did so.
‘Hello, Governor Lawrence, how are you? We haven’t heard from you in months.’
A man’s voice boomed into the room. Asha was clearly making sure that all communications, for now, were going to be open to scrutiny.
‘No need for formalities, Asha, my dear. We were just saying the other day that you guys need to come over for the weekend. But look, that’s not what I am calling about. Strange little symbols have just appeared over our heads. Is this something to do with the kerfuffle in Alexandria last night?’
‘Yes, linked. We’re trying something out.’
‘Will it be long? They are very pretty but a little distracting?’
‘Pretty?’
‘Yes. I quite like the golden crown, a bit archaic but a fun idea.’
We all watched as Asha continued to talk to the Governor of Italy, her face growing pale.
‘Yes, the gold ones are nice aren’t they? Tell me, does anyone have any other sorts?’
There was a pause as the room waited for his reply.
‘No, everyone I can see is gold. No, wait. A courier is down in the reception area. He has a really dreadful shitty grey one. Gosh, what does that mean?’
Asha paused, rapidly trying to think of a quick cover. I scribbled on my notepad, holding it up to her, and she gave me a thumbs up.
‘It means he’s not up to standard. We’re trying a scale of citizen worthiness.’
‘Well, I approve of that.’ His voice boomed with laughter. ‘Although I don’t think we need to be quite so explicit about it. Have you run this past the pharaoh?’
‘The pharaoh is fully aware of this.’
‘Hang on. I can see my grooms. They have golden crowns as well! That can’t be right? How can they possibly be worthy?’
Asha looked across at me, and I scribbled on my notepad again. She read what I had written in astonishment, then nodded her head.
‘Well, Gianni, we’re still ironing things out, but as they are associated with you, your worthiness is conferred on them.’
He laughed loudly. ‘I like that. Well, let me know when you are going to refine it or phase it out. And pass on my congratulations to those clever engineers. Chat again soon.’
The room fell quiet as the call ended. Asha tapped her finger on the desk.
‘First. Can you patch me into the emergency broadcast system? I want the worldwide network.’
A few minutes later, after some fairly feverish typing on a large computer, First Engineer looked at Asha.
‘Speak into your brace. Everyone on the planet should hear it, either from the public speakers or their own braces.’
She turned and looked at us. ‘I’m afraid for those in this room it will be noisy, as all your braces will broadcast. Chief Custodian, I suggest you go to the bathroom and broadcast from there otherwise the feedback loop will be atrocious. My apologies for not making a better system.’
‘Nonsense. This is just what I wanted. Thank you.’
She turned and walked towards the loos. As she left, Rami rolled his shoulders, flexing out the tension. ‘Nubi’s balls. This must be so hard for her. How many more personal betrayals is she going to endure?’
I looked at him. ‘Were she and the governor close?’
‘No, he was a school friend of Haru. These allegiances go back decades.’
‘Haru. That’s a point. Where is he?’
I looked around the room and tried to remember when I had last seen him.
‘Didn’t you notice? He was on the other side of the room, crouched down at the back.’
I looked at Rami shocked. ‘He’s one of the enemies?’
‘Makes sense of a lot of things if you consider it.’
He was right. As head of medicine, he was always on hand to tend to injured curators. In the privacy of an examination cubicle, goods could be smuggled across. Angels with messages asking for help could be disposed of. Memories could be erased. Injuries exacerbated. Curators that discovered wrongdoings could suddenly die of their injuries. He was in a perfect position to manipulate events after the curators returned to Alpha. I was about to reply when every wrist brace and loudspeaker chimed an alert.
‘Citizens. I am Chief Custodian Giovanetti of the quantum facility in Alexandria. You will have noticed glyphs above your heads. The vast majority will have a small grey pyramid. There is no cause for alarm. We are simply testing out a new system. A small golden crown floating above your head, signifies you are part of a small group of individuals. Those who support Death to the Angels, those of you who are involved in the stealing of artefacts from Beta Earth, and those of you hoping to install a new world empire.
‘Do not be alarmed. This is new technology, and I am certain only a few are affected. If you see someone with a crown, record their name, and start compiling lists. Do not attempt to arrest these individuals if you don’t have the relevant skill set or authority.
‘We will collate the lists and work out how to proceed. If you discover you have a golden crown above your head and believe it to be an error, please present yourself to the local authorities who will work out what to do next.
‘We believe this problem is mostly local rather than worldwide, and we ask the world to bear with us as we try to catch up with this new development. We will address you all again tomorrow. Until then I am establishing martial law in Egypt.’
My spine shivered. Twice in three months the custodians had taken charge. The last time they had handed back power quickly and easily. Would it be better or worse this time?
Day Four - Clio
As the announcement ended, Clio held her wrist brace out in front of her and snapped a hologram. Grinning, she examined the glyph above her head. She wondered if she could ask Anansi to make her crown larger. Maybe add some rubies? But then she remembered she was mad at him right now. She sneered, looking at the rest of the room. They were all shouting at each other in the wake of Giovannetti’s announcement. So typical. They had the balls to be clandestine villains, rulers of a new world, but they didn’t have the courage of their convictions to go public. A bunch of power-mad, craven losers and she was stuck with them.
Only one person in this room worried her, and that was Minju Chen. She had never met her directly. In fact, until Anansi had told her that Minju was the brains behind everything, Clio wouldn’t have believed it. Anyone that had kept herself so well concealed was obviously good at what she did. Now was the time to see how she responded. Like Clio, she was silent and still.
