A story about an Earthling in alien world. If you're just tuning in, consider starting with part 1
Part 33
After receiving an urgent message from Jili, Archie met her in an observation alcove just in time to catch a scene of Natlin mating with Rander in the Common Lands. Processing the information, Archie turned to Jili. "This was your urgent message?"
"It seemed like a development that would interest you," said Jili. "Rander was a natural choice for Natlin since she's attracted to power."
"Are you saying she was attracted to my power?" asked Archie.
"And when you refused to become mayor ...," said Jili.
"Hold on," said Archie. "You're telling me she's banging Rander because I didn't want to be a fake mayor?"
"And because Rander's new energy technology could make him very powerful indeed," said Jili.
"Ahh," said Archie. "In that case, I guess I'm glad we never moved in together. Can we talk about something else? How is the experiment coming along?"
"You're so funny about mating," said Jili. "If you ask me, you and Natlin should have separated a long time ago."
"Yeah?" said Archie.
"The experiment is unfolding as expected," said Jili. "But even if it's a complete success, the archivists will never approve the technology."
"You sure about that?" asked Archie.
"It's more of an intuition than a certainty," said Jili.
"If the archivists don't approve, can't Rander just proceed without them?" asked Archie.
"The archivists control the power grid and all Motherling activities related to Earth," said Natlin. "If Rander were to power an intervention using his technology without our involvement, there would be a Public Disavowal of him and anyone with him."
Archie had never heard of a Public Disavowal. "What does that mean?" he asked.
Anyone that offends the global order can be barred from benefiting from that order. Offenders have all network access credentials revoked. They may be banished to the Common Lands or uninhabited islands. They may also be put to death, though that hasn't been done for over five hundred years.
"Yikes," said Archie. "But now I'm starting to see the shape of this. The tech. Energy is the economy's main currency. What happens when if the tech makes that currency way cheaper?"
"A pressing question," said Benko, who had arrived quietly. "Perhaps labor and non-renewables will become comparatively more valuable. But maybe something else would happen. There could be a major disruption."
"Natlin mated with Rander," said Jili.
"Well, she is attracted to power," said Benko.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," said Archie. "Good for her."
"She was never the best mate for you," said Benko. "Now Jili here would be a much better match."
"You make him say that?" asked Archie, grinning.
"Yes," said Jili. "But it's true. We should try it for a while and see if it's fun."
"I can join in or not, your choice," said Benko.
Instead of unsuccessfully attempting to explain how all of that sounded to him, Archie redirected the conversation back to Rander's invention. "How hard will Rander's tech be to duplicate, if it works as advertised? I mean, will just anyone be able to make their own power plant with modified observation devices?"
"Yes and no," said Benko. "His apparatus is constructed with the highest grade materials to extremely precise standards. His methods can be observed, but the observers would need expert-level knowledge to make sense of what they were seeing. So in practice, only parties with significant resources already at their disposal will be capable of duplicating Rander's tech."
"Could our Faction for Considered Ethics duplicate it?" asked Archie.
"Our expert on the matter is Rander himself," said Benko, perplexed.
"I'll tell you what I'm thinking and you tell me if I'm crazy," said Archie. "What if we support the archives in their disapproval, but use the tech as a new component of our energy fund. Make it so we're the only approved use of his tech. Rander might not go for it, but we don't actually need to ask for his permission, do we?"
"The implications of the technology are too big for your plan," said Benko. "But I do agree that we should meet with Senior Politician Xalia and the others to discuss our stance on the situation."
For the next few days, the three of them observed the complete success of Rander's experiments. He was able to melt steel with heat from a sun millions of miles away, and to transform that same heat into stored electricity using a device that Archie didn't understand at all. As the experiments progressed, Natlin's pairing with Rander became increasingly obvious. Watching this play out, Archie found himself feeling mildly relieved.
The success of Rander's technology was less of a relief. All over the world, everyone in any position of authority was on edge. The world's Head Archivists convened a meeting on Mouse Island to consider the matter. In New Oro, the followers of the Founders were celebrating while the traditionalists looked to the future with more trepidation than usual.
Rander called his invention the Brockton device. Upon returning from the Common Lands, he approached the Chief of Small Parts Factory #6 about manufacturing the device and was told that they couldn't make it due to safety concerns. As soon as she heard about this, Natlin found Archie. "Can't you do something about it?" she asked after explaining the situation.
"Not really," said Archie. "The thing funnels heat from actual stars. That honestly doesn't sound very safe."
"But it works!" said Natlin. "We all saw. It's perfectly safe."
"Right on," said Archie. "I can set up a meeting between Rander and our Faction. Best I can do."
(Feature image from Pixabay)
Read my novels:
- Small Gods of Time Travel is available as a web book on IPFS.
- The Paradise Anomaly is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- Psychic Avalanche is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- One Man Embassy is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- Flying Saucer Shenanigans is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- Rainbow Lullaby is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- The Ostermann Method is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- Blue Dragon Mississippi is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
See my NFTs:
- Small Gods of Time Travel is a 41 piece Tezos NFT collection on Objkt that goes with my book by the same name.
- History and the Machine is a 20 piece Tezos NFT collection on Objkt based on my series of oil paintings of interesting people from history.
- Artifacts of Mind Control is a 15 piece Tezos NFT collection on Objkt based on declassified CIA documents from the MKULTRA program.