Space Colony One
I’m sticking with the early parts of Space Colony One again this week. Anything from later on has too many spoilers! In this snippet, the Defender called Strongquist approaches Cariad as she’s recovering from the bomb blast. He wants to enlist her help to find the bomber. She agrees, but she has her own suspicions about the enigmatic Defender.
The Defender came into her room. “I’m glad to see you looking so well, Cariad.”
“Thanks. I’m lucky I didn’t suffer worse injuries, but you’re even luckier than me. You seem entirely unscathed. I thought you were sitting in the Leader’s box too.”
“I have to confess I’m not one for long speeches. I was sitting at the back of the box, but I sneaked out early on.”
“Good timing.”
“Yes, indeed. I’m sorry for being so impatient to see you, but I want to catch the person or people who did this, and quickly, before they do something else. I’m enlisting the help of all the Woken.”
Cariad sat up further in bed. “How can we help?”
“I’ve been thinking it over, and it occurred to me that both Woken and Gens were present that night that the electric fence was turned off and the predators attacked. The saboteur could have been someone from either group. The same is true of the Naming Ceremony. Whoever is masterminding these attacks, it could be a Woken who was a member of the Natural Movement, or a Gen.”
“Now that I think about it, it’s much more likely to be a Woken, don’t you think?” said Cariad. “Though I hate the idea.”
“No. It’s also perfectly possible that it’s a Gen, brought up to hate and fear the colonization process they’re a part of.”
“You mean like a family tradition, passed down the generations?” Cariad asked.
“Exactly.”
“If that’s the case, we could be talking about more than one or two people. We could be talking about tens or hundreds.”
“I doubt that it’s hundreds. If there were so many, it would be difficult to keep their organization secret and they wouldn’t be confined to small acts of terrorism. A few hundred could overwhelm a few thousand with a little planning.”
“But if the Natural Movement followers are Gens, there could be quite a few of them.”
“We already know there’s more than one,” said Strongquist. “Or all the subversion would have stopped at the execution of the saboteur from the First Night Attack.”
Cariad sighed. Colonizing a new world was going to be difficult enough without contending with a secret, terrorist faction. “We seem to have lost track somewhere. How is it that the Woken can help?”
“As you know, we Defenders were born long after the departure of Nova Fortuna. We only discovered the plot to sabotage the mission through historical documents, and all we have are records to help us discover the infiltrator, if the person is a Woken. You, however, lived at that time. You have knowledge and memories that are lost to us; information that isn’t recorded in any document or vid. I’ve been asking the other Woken to watch the news recordings from the protests and read the news reports and other documents. Perhaps you’ll see a face or read a name that you recognize and you may make a connection. Would you mind spending going over the available records and telling me of anything that strikes you as possibly useful, however insignificant or tangential it might seem.”
“Yes, I can do that.”
“Thank you.”
“And when I’m up and around again, in a day or so according to the doctor, I’ll help with the investigation too.”
Strongquist looked less happy about this proposal. “Thank you for offering, but I don’t think there’s any need—”
“I think it would be best if we have at least one representative from each group taking part in the search for the saboteurs. We can’t continue to rely on the Defenders for their help. We aren’t babies, and now that my work with the actual infants of the colony is coming to an end, I’ll be able to represent the Woken and devote all my energy to ensuring justice for those who were murdered.” She gave Strongquist a hard smile.
The Defender didn’t buckle under her glare, but seemed to concede the fight was one he wasn’t going to win. “As you wish. But for now, I’ve sent links to the relevant files to your account. I would appreciate it if you would look through them for me.”
“Of course.”
The Defender rose to leave.
“I want to thank you for everything you and your colleagues have done for the colony, Strongquist. It isn’t that I don’t appreciate it. I just think the sooner we learn to stand on our own two feet the better.”
“I understand perfectly.” He nodded to her and left.
Read Space Colony One Part III here. Check in again next week for the final Space Colony One snippet.