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Authors: Tobias S. Buckell
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the
Takara Bune
has had a trip to this room, Brandon. Trust me, this is all very much real. I do really have these machines in this room.” Etsudo made a fist, sending the command through lamina to strip another memory out from the surface of Brandon’s mind.
“What did you just do?”
“Do you remember how you got aboard this ship?”
Brandon blinked several times. He didn’t. It would be a hole in his mind, an odd interruption that eluded him as he tried to reach for it. “Oh, shit. Oh, shit.”
“Yes, this is very real, Brandon. It’s happening. Again, why are you on my ship?”
“Deng’s going to kill you, not just retire you.”
“Stop worrying about things outside of your control, Brandon, and tell me what I want to know or I’ll turn you into a drooling idiot. Why are you on
my ship
?”
“Giving them an excuse to get rid of you.” Brandon looked directly athim. “You’re the last of the pacifist arm. Your ‘balance’ and ‘yin/yang’ concepts aren’t policy anymore.”
“They never were.” Etsudo shook his head. “The Hongguo began life as a company. Profit was king, Brandon, the trading arm wasn’t pacifist, just mercantile and nonlethal. And good at what it did.”
“It’s not needed anymore, it’s been recalled.”
Etsudo nodded. “Yes, but why?”
Brandon looked up toward one of the paintings. The waterfall. Tears leaked out of his eyes and hung in front of him. “Deng told you, you’ll be supporting antipirate activity in the area.”
“That’s such a shame you won’t tell me the real reason.” Etsudo didn’t want to rip Brandon’s mind down to almost nothing. Etsudo was an artist. He wanted a functioning human being. Destruction was for amateurs. And after watching thousands die earlier, he had no desire to see more death. But threats did not seem to work with Brandon, so Etsudo would try another use for his machine. “But I can help. In just a few hours, Brandon, you and I are going to be best friends, and you won’t even think twice about telling me everything I need to know.”
Brandon groaned as Etsudo clenched his fist. Etsudo guided the machine as it probed the man’s mind with magnetic feelers, sifting through Brandon’s synapses and recording them, building up a ghostly image of Brandon’s mind that Etsudo could access, then model. And using that model as a guide, he could begin altering Brandon’s mind.
It took the better of ten hours, even with all the heavy computing power at Etsudo’s disposal in the
Takara Bune
.
When Etsudo was done, the reconditioning over, Brandon looked up. “I’m so sorry, Etsudo, I’m so sorry.”
Etsudo nodded, grabbed Brandon’s shoulder, and stared the man eye to eye. Brandon’s mind had already been tampered with by Deng, he’d found traces of that. But had he gotten deep enough into Brandon’s head to undo that? Or would Brandon turn on him suddenly, subject to triggers buried deeper in the back of his cortex. “The things Deng has done to your mind are horrible. But I helped you. Everything is back the way it was, Brandon. You’re back to normal. And I’m glad you were able to get a transfer to my ship, where I can protect you.”
“Thank you,” Brandon whispered. “Thank you.”
“It’s been a few years, friend. But you’re okay now. You’re okay.”
Brandon shook with tears as Etsudo unstrapped and pulled him free. “Come on. I’ll take you to your cabin. You’ll rest. We’ll have tea next shift. And then you’ll tell me everything.”
And as conditioned to do, Brandon nodded. “Etsudo, we have to be careful. Very careful. Things are changing, we’re all in a lot of danger.”
“You’ll tell me all about it.” Etsudo guided the dangerous man through the air.
It was always dangerous to tackle gods in their own territories, Etsudo thought. And here aboard the
Takara Bune
that’s exactly what he was.
What else could he be? If he ran away with his ship, the Satrapy would revoke
Takara Bune
has had a trip to this room, Brandon. Trust me, this is all very much real. I do really have these machines in this room.” Etsudo made a fist, sending the command through lamina to strip another memory out from the surface of Brandon’s mind.
“What did you just do?”
“Do you remember how you got aboard this ship?”
Brandon blinked several times. He didn’t. It would be a hole in his mind, an odd interruption that eluded him as he tried to reach for it. “Oh, shit. Oh, shit.”
“Yes, this is very real, Brandon. It’s happening. Again, why are you on my ship?”
“Deng’s going to kill you, not just retire you.”
“Stop worrying about things outside of your control, Brandon, and tell me what I want to know or I’ll turn you into a drooling idiot. Why are you on
my ship
?”
“Giving them an excuse to get rid of you.” Brandon looked directly athim. “You’re the last of the pacifist arm. Your ‘balance’ and ‘yin/yang’ concepts aren’t policy anymore.”
“They never were.” Etsudo shook his head. “The Hongguo began life as a company. Profit was king, Brandon, the trading arm wasn’t pacifist, just mercantile and nonlethal. And good at what it did.”
“It’s not needed anymore, it’s been recalled.”
Etsudo nodded. “Yes, but why?”
Brandon looked up toward one of the paintings. The waterfall. Tears leaked out of his eyes and hung in front of him. “Deng told you, you’ll be supporting antipirate activity in the area.”
“That’s such a shame you won’t tell me the real reason.” Etsudo didn’t want to rip Brandon’s mind down to almost nothing. Etsudo was an artist. He wanted a functioning human being. Destruction was for amateurs. And after watching thousands die earlier, he had no desire to see more death. But threats did not seem to work with Brandon, so Etsudo would try another use for his machine. “But I can help. In just a few hours, Brandon, you and I are going to be best friends, and you won’t even think twice about telling me everything I need to know.”
Brandon groaned as Etsudo clenched his fist. Etsudo guided the machine as it probed the man’s mind with magnetic feelers, sifting through Brandon’s synapses and recording them, building up a ghostly image of Brandon’s mind that Etsudo could access, then model. And using that model as a guide, he could begin altering Brandon’s mind.
It took the better of ten hours, even with all the heavy computing power at Etsudo’s disposal in the
Takara Bune
.
When Etsudo was done, the reconditioning over, Brandon looked up. “I’m so sorry, Etsudo, I’m so sorry.”
Etsudo nodded, grabbed Brandon’s shoulder, and stared the man eye to eye. Brandon’s mind had already been tampered with by Deng, he’d found traces of that. But had he gotten deep enough into Brandon’s head to undo that? Or would Brandon turn on him suddenly, subject to triggers buried deeper in the back of his cortex. “The things Deng has done to your mind are horrible. But I helped you. Everything is back the way it was, Brandon. You’re back to normal. And I’m glad you were able to get a transfer to my ship, where I can protect you.”
“Thank you,” Brandon whispered. “Thank you.”
“It’s been a few years, friend. But you’re okay now. You’re okay.”
Brandon shook with tears as Etsudo unstrapped and pulled him free. “Come on. I’ll take you to your cabin. You’ll rest. We’ll have tea next shift. And then you’ll tell me everything.”
And as conditioned to do, Brandon nodded. “Etsudo, we have to be careful. Very careful. Things are changing, we’re all in a lot of danger.”
“You’ll tell me all about it.” Etsudo guided the dangerous man through the air.
It was always dangerous to tackle gods in their own territories, Etsudo thought. And here aboard the
Takara Bune
that’s exactly what he was.
What else could he be? If he ran away with his ship, the Satrapy would revoke
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