She gestured to a set of doors. Kevin and Chloe stepped through, into a large space filled with people. As with the corridors, images spread over the walls, but these seemed more abstract, and Kevin could see the patterns in them. Somehow he knew that this was the AIs communicating with one another.
Ro stood on a blank circle of floor raised above the rest of it. Kevin hurried over to the alien, wanting to make sure he was all right, while Chloe was even faster, throwing her arms around him. The people there stared at them. Kevin could see so many of them, both Ilari and other aliens who had taken refuge among them, that it was hard to pick out individual faces. Even so, he knew that they were staring at the three of them without looking away, trying to make up their minds.
Ro, are you all right? he asked. His friend didnt look hurt, but even so, he seemed shaken.
I dont know, the alien admitted. I am feeling so many emotions. Guilt, and fear, and how do people cope?
Kevin put a hand on the aliens shoulder. Chloe put an arm around him.
We do, Chloe promised him. And we keep doing it.
These three were salvaged from a floating ship, General sLara said, obviously addressing the assembly. You can see that one of them is one of the Hives Purest. Of the others, one is the boy who helped to let them into our world, while the last has been changed into one of their creations.
Kevin hated hearing him and his friends described like that. The worst part, though, was that he couldnt deny what they were saying about him.
We are on our way to another outpost, General sLara said. The ship tells me that our fleet is being stalked, and so we must decide what we are to do with our new guests. Can we risk having them aboard? Are we in more danger by having them here? Are they all that they appear? Are there any who wish to speak regarding the first of them? The girl?
There was a swirl of images and letters on the walls as the AIs communicated with one another. If he concentrated, Kevin felt as though he could get the gist of their conversations, the signals that made them up transformed for him through the same talent that had let him translate all of their other signals
not guilty in all of this
a victim, not a foe
the device on her arm though
Two individuals stood up.
It has been decided that I will speak for her, a man said. It seems obvious to us that she was a captive of the Hive, their victim, and not one of them. We should give her safety as one seeking refuge.
A woman stood up. It has been decided that I will speak against, she said. Although we have sympathy for her plight, we do not know what the aliens have done to her. The item on her arm could be a risk, because the Hive do not design anything safe. We should contain her, or destroy her, for the safety of others.
General sLara nodded to Chloe. Do you have anything to say?
What do you want me to say? Chloe snapped back. Kevin could see that she was close to losing her temper now, and that probably had a lot to do with how scared she was.
Then I will say it, the general said. We are not a people who kill because there might be a threat. Chloe here is as much one of us as any of the others who have come to the Ilari in search of help. I believe that she should be welcome among us, and perhaps in time, we will be able to reverse what was done to her. Do any others wish to speak? No? Then we will talk of the others.
Kevin felt the generals gaze rest on him, then on Ro.
The arguments around the others are more complex, she said. One warned us of the attack, and helped us, but was also the one who brought down our shields. The other is one of the Hives Purest, and so our foe. I know that our people are peaceful, but I find it hard to feel anything but anger when faced with this.
Kevin looked at the walls, and now the writing buzzed around less like fireflies and more like angry bees. The arguments seemed far more complex, and his talent for translation only gave him snippets of it this time, so that it was impossible to follow along completely.
where does responsibility begin
where does it end
If he is one of them, he is one of them
Destroyed a whole world!
Kevin was so busy letting the arguments wash over him that he almost didnt hear the moment when the first person stood up.
I speak for the boy, a woman said, in a gentle tone. I feel that although he has done great wrong, he only did it when controlled by the Hive. When free, he sought to help us. He warned us. He broke free, and we should not reward that with harm. We should take him in as we did his friend.
I speak against, a man said. Whatever else is true, he was one of the Hive. They slaughtered more than we could count without our AIs, and he helped them. Am I supposed to watch him walk around freely, when those we love cannot, because they are dead? Are we supposed to forgive the unforgivable now?
I speak for the Purest, an older man said. They are part of a whole, and he has broken from that whole. He was twisted by who he was, but he is not that creature anymore. If he has had the courage to break free from them, we should celebrate that, not denounce it.
No one breaks free, another of the Ilari snapped, and the anger there was palpable. Its obvious that this is some kind of trick. They tried to trick us before. They broke through our shields. They murdered our people. They destroyed our world. This thing was a part of that, they both were! We should destroy it before it harms us further.
Kevin could hear the emotion coming through there, completely different from the way the Hive had been. They would have made decisions purely rationally, while this this felt more real somehow.
Do you wish to speak for yourselves? General sLara said, looking over to him and Ro.
Kevin knew that he ought to, but he wasnt sure what to say. The guilt he felt still seemed as though it flowed over everything, burying any words. He knew he had to try, but the truth was that he didnt want to try right then.
I dont want to speak for myself, he said, shaking his head. I dont deserve it, and the truth Im dying anyway. It doesnt matter what you do to me, so long as the others are safe. It almost came as a shock to hear himself saying it, but it was the truth. It was more important that Ro and Chloe were safe than that he was. I helped to destroy a world. I dont deserve I dont deserve anything, but Ro broke free from the Hive. That should count for something.
Ro shook his head. I am I am scared, I admit that, but I will not run from what I have done. I have committed horror upon horror. I have done evil things. Once I was Purest, but now, I am not even that. I am impure. It is Kevin you should save. We made him one of us against his will. He had no choice.
There is always a choice! the man who had spoken against Ro called out from somewhere in the back of the room.
Kevin didnt know what to say to that. It seemed that Chloe did, though, because she shouted above the rest of it, looking straight at the man who had spoken.
You think Kevin chose to be taken over by aliens? she demanded, in a tone that would have been enough to make most people take a step back. You think he was in control? They made him say yes to hurting me in all kinds of ways, and even so, I dont blame him, because it wasnt him. It was him without any emotions, without any compassion. And if you dont have compassion, youre no better than the Hive!
She took a moment to look around at the aliens, and for a moment Kevin thought she might be done, but then she kept going, jabbing her finger at the people around them.
Youre all standing there making decisions about us, but you havent even tried to understand us. Kevin hes been across our country trying to save our world. Hes gone into space because he was trying to stop the Hive. They only took him because he was trying to stop them. As for Ro, hes fought back against everything he has ever known. Hes a sign that the control of the Hive can be broken, and you want to what, kill him? Youll have to kill me if you want to do that!
She stood there glaring at them, and General sLara held up a hand for silence.
I will not speak on this, she said. My own thoughts are too conflicted. Logic demands one thing, emotion another. Yet I would ask, are we beings of pure logic? Are we like them? I dont know. It is time for us to divide.
She bowed her head, and above them, Kevin saw dancing lights buzz around as AIs talked and debated, presumably balancing the feelings of the Ilari with the needs of logic. To Kevin, they looked like swarms of angry bees moving around, shifting and splitting, then recombining in different combinations as the debate between them went on.
From down where he stood, Kevin couldnt begin to work out exactly which way the debate was going. He could catch snippets of it if he tried, but there were so many different fragments that even he couldnt begin to work out which way it was going.
Finally, something seemed to be happening. Kevin had the sense of the AIs shifting, moving into stacks, forming into groups as they made their decisions. Two blocks, one red and one blue, appeared on the surface around the edge of the room. The groups seemed close; so close that Kevin couldnt count them, and couldnt begin to guess which one was larger. He could see some AIs still buzzing around, reviewing the facts or discussing them with those they were connected with. Slowly, though, the count settled, and the groups stabilized.
Even then, Kevin couldnt guess at what the outcome was.
CHAPTER TWO
Kevin watched out of one of the ships windows as space passed by in a blur, stretched and bent to let the ship pass through by the power of its shields. He, Ro, and Chloe sat together in a room that was open and airy and almost empty. To his surprise, General sLara was there too.
Kevin flashed back, recalling General sLaras hand on his shoulder, after the trial.
We have made our decision. It seems it seems that you will all be permitted to stay among us. You will be taken to our outpost world, and together, we will seek a way to stop the Hive. I just hope that we can find a way to do it.
Kevin could not believe how close they had come to death. He snapped out of it and looked around.
Dont you need to I dont know, he said, be in charge of the ship?
As if my ship would let me tell it what to do, she said. We work with our AIs. We do not enslave them. That is Hive thinking.
Kevin and Ro arent the Hive, Chloe said, hotly, maybe a little too hotly.
I never said they were, General sLara said. She seemed to be watching Kevin and Ro carefully though.
Kevin thought he understood. Youre trying to learn more about the Hive, arent you?
The general hesitated, listening in that way that said she was in communication with her AI again.
Yes, she admitted. You and Purest sorry, Ro here have been a part of it. Youve had access to everything that it is. You can help us to understand it better. You might actually be able to help us beat them.
Im not sure they can be beaten, Ro said. Im sorry. I feel hopeless.
But you managed to break free, General sLara said.
With Chloes help, Ro replied.
Kevin nodded. Without Chloe, none of them would have been able to escape.
I still want to know as much as you can tell us, the general said. What is it like being a part of the Hive?
Kevin wasnt sure that he had the words to explain it. Even so, he wanted to try. Its like theres this web of connections, and every one is a living thing. Its being a part of something bigger, and feeling that nothing matters but that whole.
Its beautiful, Ro added. But we have no way to feel that beauty. We feel nothing. No conscience, no happiness. The Hive is everything.
Well, that means negotiating is out of the question, General sLara said. Still, maybe there will be something. Well be there soon.
Where? Kevin asked. He had no idea where they were heading; hadnt even considered that they had to be going somewhere.
She gestured, and one of the walls shifted, providing an image of a planet. It seemed small on the screen, but was a bright point of color in an otherwise black and white view of space. It was largely green, in a way that seemed strange compared to the blue of Earth.
This is Xarath, the general said, by way of explanation. Most of its water is underground, but the plant life comes up to the surface. We have a small base there. It was never intended to be a home for all of us, but we will have to make it one. Im told that it is beautiful.
How long until we reach it? Kevin asked. He had no real sense of how fast the ship was moving. Was it as fast as the Hive ships? Faster?
A few more minutes. We have been folding space to get closer for a while now, but most of the delay has been to try to lose the Hive forces tracking us. We will need to be some of the first onto the surface. Come with me, we should get to one of the landers.
For the second time, the general started to lead them through the inner workings of the ship. People turned to stare at them as they passed, and while some of them seemed to be waiting for orders from the general, others were definitely staring at Kevin, Chloe, and Ro. Not all of them seemed friendly.
Looks like not everyone agrees with the trial, Chloe said. She sounded to Kevin as though she was ready to fight off anyone who looked at them for too long, or in the wrong way. He could see her altered hand clenching as if ready to punch someone.
People get to disagree, General sLara said. We are not the Hive, where everyone must obey. They can think what they like, but we have made a decision the fairest way we can, and I doubt anyone will act against it.
She didnt seem entirely certain to Kevin, but then, he thought, how could she? She was right. Unless they controlled every mind there like the Hive, there would be no perfect harmony. Kevin would rather have people giving him odd looks than have to live without his own thoughts, his own choices.
He and the others followed the general to a hangar where a number of smaller ships sat, looking like darts waiting to be spat out by the giant mouth of the ship. General sLara led the way to one that was partly blackened by fire.
Here. My own craft. Ill show you the planet. Come on.
The inside of the ship was stranger than the outside. It looked as though it had been patched and rebuilt so many times that there was hardly anything of the original left.
I worked on this one myself, General sLara said, and then did the glancing away thing again. Yes, all right. We worked on it. Take a seat and well fly down.
There were chairs that looked more like armchairs than the kind of benches or flight seats that Kevin would have expected from a military craft. It seemed strange to have such comfort in a generals ship.