1 comments/ 6416 views/ 4 favorites Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 01 By: bradley_stoke Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 02 Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 02 It was still risky to stumble over the wreckage of the affected chambers when the escalator took him as close to the surface as it could. Laurent trampled over the ruins of people's lives. The toys that had been incinerated in the heat. The household goods that had melted and crushed in the searing heat and air pressure. The scattered holographic images that still flashed memories of lives brutally curtailed. And worst of all the amputated limbs that had yet to be cleared away after the emergency surgery that had been necessary to rescue the victims. Laurent sighed as he reflected that the flash of white leg he'd seen stretched out beneath the wreckage would very likely become victim to the same necessary but heartbreaking duty. He clambered over the ash and molten metal until he could squeeze through the entrance that had been widened by the laser torches of the rescue robots and into a chamber that had survived despite being so very near the breach in the colony's hull. At the very least, he expected to see the third degree burns and broken bones that usually accompanied survivors of such breaches, but the body the rescue robots were uncovering was in much better condition. Sure, there were bruises and scratches, but this was one very fortunate victim. She hadn't even needed resuscitation although her breathing was still shallow and her eyes tightly shut. It was only when the final beam was lifted up and carried away that Laurent could see the extent of this woman's good fortune. It was at this point that wholly unprofessional emotions passed through Laurent's mind as they did through Nathalie who, despite her avowed preference for male company, had a taste for women as well. This naked woman was unusually beautiful even in a Solar System where ugliness had been mostly entirely banished. Her bosom suggested she had chosen further enhancement on top of her natural endowments. Although her hair was singed, it mostly retained a peculiar bounce and silky fullness. Laurent closed his eyes. These were totally inappropriate thoughts for a firefighter. His duty was to rescue the victims of disaster, not to entertain lecherous thoughts for them. The woman was eased onto a hovering stretcher that, accompanied by Laurent and Nathalie, glided to a pedestrian walkway over the treacherous terrain away from the worst damage. This led to the massive metal doors that had so successfully shielded the majority of the colony's several hundred thousand citizens from the breach that had claimed the lives of so many. Everyone in the Lovano Colony was at almost equal risk from deadly disaster. Even those protected by innumerable levels and many such protective doors were at risk from a system failure. Ruptured pipes. Electrical failures. Leaks of lethally hot gases from the planet's surface. No one born on Venus or who had chosen to live there could be considered immune. There had been cases where entire colonies had been devastated. Although Laurent never had the misfortune to work on such missions, these catastrophes had claimed the lives of many thousand more lives than were lost this evening. This breach was scarcely routine, but something like this occurred most months somewhere on the planet's surface. Although such catastrophes happened rather less frequently than during the early years of Venusian colonisation, it remained an irony of which most Venusians were rather proud that the planet the most like Earth in many ways was actually the last to be properly colonised. Even Jupiter had been colonised before Venus and the Jovian outer atmosphere was even now home to rather more people than lived on the second planet from the Sun. The victim was soon well away from harm's way and stretchered to the nearest hospital bed. Her eyes were still closed although her modesty was ensured by a thin sheet that did nothing to disguise her voluptuous contours. Although there were other victims who needed Laurent's attention at least as much as the last one to be dragged out from the rubble, it was the naked woman he found himself drawn towards in the time left before he and his crew returned to their station. That would be a long journey back and the next shift had been on duty for several hours now. Laurent could expect at least a day in lieu after this mission. He and Nathalie sat by the woman's bed and Laurent's eyes were drawn again and again to the curves that even under the sheet reminded him of the flash of crotch he'd noticed when the victim was lifted out of the ruins and before it was covered. For the first time since Magdalene died he was feeling an erotic charge that he sometimes believed he'd never experience again. And it was in similar circumstances that he last saw his wife alive before she expired from her extreme suffering. Only on that occasion, Magdalene's eyes hadn't opened. The woman looked around her, clearly dazed but unusually alert for someone who would normally be expected to remain unconscious for many more hours. "How do you feel?" asked Laurent in English, although he had no idea whether the woman might speak French or, coming from the Lovano colony, Italian. The woman's voice betrayed no accent. Not even that of a Venusian. It was hesitant and strangely croaky, but not in the way voices normally were after such a trauma. "All right," she said. "Given the circumstances." Victims were often able to articulate deceptively well after even the worst trauma, so Laurent didn't take this as evidence of full recovery. However, had she suffered worse injuries, the discovery that she'd lost a limb would soon cancel her apparent coherence. "What's your name?" asked Laurent. This wasn't because he especially wanted to know, though identification would eventually be a necessary part of her recuperation. He knew that questions of this nature were often the ones that would most focus a victim's attention. "BTR..." began the woman, before hesitating and looking around her with an expression that almost betrayed anxiety. She gazed deeply into Laurent's eyes and flashed a smile that captivated him more than anyone's had since Magdalene's. The smile vanished but Laurent's memory of it persisted for much longer. "What's your name?" he repeated. "Beatrice," she said. "My name is Beatrice." Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 03 Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 04 Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 04 "Resale value," suggested Gidding. "Maybe," said Iliescu. "But more likely you just wanted to add it to the largest private collection of space cruisers, titanium tanks and firearms, both ancient and modern, that anyone has ever amassed. It is this death star of yours that I want in exchange for the patents I am willing to offer. I want full ownership. That includes the secret codes that enable you to launch this fearsome arsenal." "Why do you want something like that?" wondered Gidding. "You really don't need to know why I want your little death star," said Iliescu. "Maybe it's a hobby of mine, as it is of yours, to collect military hardware. Maybe I would prefer to be the one who has ownership of such a lethal device rather than you or one of the more errant colonies in the one tenth of the Solar System that refuses to be governed by international law. Maybe I just like the idea of being the most powerful man in the Solar System. I would prefer you didn't know and I will ensure that should you tell anyone of this conversation that it will probably be the last thing you'll ever do." "Have I got a choice in this transaction?" Gidding asked. "Not really," Iliescu admitted. "I'm not a man accustomed to having my offers rebuffed. But I much prefer the taste of carrot to the application of a stick. Although I'm not so sure that you mightn't have other preferences." "When would I have access to the patents you mentioned?" asked Gidding. "As soon as one of my assistants, maybe Daphne here," Iliescu tilted his head towards his assistant who was still carrying her head in her arm and looking none the worse for it, "enters on board the death star or doomsday device or whatever you wish to call it and reports back to me that all is in order." "That would take at least six months space travel," said Gidding. "It'll be rather less with the technology to which I'm willing to let you have access," said Iliescu. "I'm not a patient man. I have many other items on my business agenda to attend to. I would urge that you agree now. And I would add that should you not consent as readily as I expect you to, your sojourn in Almond Grove, while still very agreeable, may last for a very long time." Gidding was not used to such blatant blackmail, but Iliescu was only applying to him much the same business etiquette that Gidding also applied in his more lucrative commercial transactions. This was particularly so with the government of Pallas who were initially far from accommodating. "I'll need to examine the fine print," said Gidding at last. "I'm sure you'll find it all in order," said Iliescu. "I'm convinced that you will be very impressed of the extent to which I am willing to enrich the shareholders of the Gidding Corporation." Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 05 Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 05 Beatrice reflected on the changes to come as she relaxed on her expansive bed: a black girl on one side and a pale freckled one on the other. She would soon leave the sheltered domes of Venus and travel across the Solar System to the colony of Ecstasy. There was much she regretted having to leave behind but she was also excited at the prospect of new lovers and the sight again of the black void through which she would travel. "We most certainly do have a need for a well-qualified Emergency Services Officer on the Yossarian," said the recruiting officer of the meteoroid mining ship. "And few come with as good qualifications as you. But I have to ask: why do you want to leave Venus for a journey to the most remote locations in the inner planetary orbits?" "My marriage..." said Beatrice tearfully. "I've just divorced my husband. I want to make a fresh start." "There are many more marriageable men and women on Venus than you'll ever find in deep space," said Chief Petty Officer Durer who was also conducting the interview. "But you won't be the first divorcee to volunteer for such a reason." "It's been very painful," said Beatrice. "I know it'll be a challenge, but it's one I'm prepared to confront." "I don't think you'll be nearly as busy as you've been in the past," remarked the recruiting officer. "It's very rare that we suffer the kind of disaster you regularly face on Venus." "If I save only one life, it will be a duty well served," said Beatrice. "We haven't exactly been overwhelmed with candidates for the position who are nearly as well qualified as you," said the Chief Petty Officer. "The greatest challenge I think you'll confront may well be boredom. Do you think life on a space ship, confined to less than five cubic kilometres of habitable space, is really a fair exchange for life in a Venusian dome?" "I'm sure I'll get used to it," said Beatrice, who didn't want to explain just how well-suited she was. A century or more of her life had already been spent in much more confined conditions in interstellar space. The journey from Proxima Centauri would have been impossible for a human, even in the near torpor of her resting state. "You'll have time to fuck every man and woman on the ship," commented Daphne when Beatrice told her lover of her imminent departure. Beatrice nibbled at Daphne's reddish pubic hairs. "I'm sure I can rise to the challenge," she said with a wicked smile. Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 06 Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 06 "I don't think I can be certain of the truth of that, sir. I've heard of the various genetically enhanced people in the Solar System but I've never thought of myself as being one of them." "I find that difficult to believe, colonel," said the brigadier. "However, I've also done some research on you in the confidential files." "You have, sir?" "You originally came from Earth just about thirty years ago. You then became a soldier for the Mariner Federation where you've done excellent service for a very long time. There is very little recorded about your time on Earth, colonel. What happened before then?" "Nothing very special, sir." "Well, there's no way to confirm or deny that, colonel. The records about you on Earth are surprisingly scanty. It's almost as if you didn't exist. There are many hiatuses in your records after then as well, but warfare has many casualties that also included the computer facilities where your records were stored." "I assure you, sir, that I don't personally believe that I am one of the special ones." "Perhaps not, colonel," said the brigadier who was perhaps hoping for a more conclusive end to his conversation. "I think you are though. It's possible that you just don't recognise it in yourself." "Nonetheless, sir," said Colonel Vashti, with a broad grin on her face, "you are special. And now that you've told me that I would dearly love to knowingly fuck a special man's arse." "Fucking hell, colonel! Your prick's already as stiff as a fucking flagpole. You must be special to be able to get a hard-on so quickly." "I don't know about that, sir," said Colonel Vashti. "I think I just want to fuck your arse again. It's so fucking gorgeous!" Brigadier Svenssen smiled. Colonel Vashti had such a winning way with words. How could he resist her? Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 07 Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 08 Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 08 All the while, the penis between the colonel's thighs continued to fascinate Nadezhda as it slowly and steadily stiffened and eventually took on heroic proportions. It was as thick as the captain's grip and nearly half as long as her forearm. As she soon discovered when intercourse gradually shifted from the verbal kind, her penis was also warm and pulsating. She discovered how truly arousing was the rich aroma that assailed her nostrils as she ran her tongue and teeth along its length to the disgust of the other women in the sauna. Nadezhda had seen penises before but she'd never once touched let alone tasted one; and certainly not one so erect or one belonging to the body of such a totally desirable woman whose whole body tingled with exotic erotic passion. The sauna was too hot for the two women to continue their lovemaking in comfort, but Vashti led Nadezhda through the door to another room where there was a mattress and a welcome chill in the air. And it was there that the captain was fucked by a penis for the first time in her life. Contrary to her fears and expectations, it was an experience she very much enjoyed. Its flexibility and vitality were much more delightful than the dildos she'd so often thrust into her vagina. Her body shivered and trembled with repeated orgasms as the colonel fucked her with a persistence that surprised Nadezhda given that it was an organ whose fullness was determined by nothing more than blood pumping through its veins. Finally the penis did what penises were meant to do: and that was to ejaculate. Nadezhda was curious to see what it would look like so as the first spasms of warm liquid leaked inside her, she swivelled her waist round and eased the organ out of the grasp of her vulva and held it in her hand. It was a very strange sight. The semen spurted out and onto her breasts with each successive spasm. It almost burnt against Nadezhda's white skin, while the viscous fluid trailed down her wrist and splattered on the sauna walls and floor. Then the penis magically regained its girth and potency after having lost barely a third of its size in the release of its seed. It must have known that even now, despite its best efforts, Nadezhda's crotch was aching for more and it happily re-entered the moist passage that was eagerly awaiting its return. "I hope we'll be able to repeat this on the Intrepid," said Nadezhda to the colonel as they lay legs entangled on the captain's bed many hours later. "Only the most pressing duty will keep me away from you, my sweetheart," said the colonel whose penis even now was on the edge of reawakening to a full erection. "It is only right that there should be some pleasure in the observance of duty," remarked the captain whose love life had suddenly and unexpectedly become much more fulfilling. Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 09 Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 09 Lofty and his companions strode leisurely forward and let Grimaldi chat on, mostly to himself, about the relative quality of hamburgers on the seventh level of the colony compared with those on the second. Although the bodyguards must have wondered at the oddness of the three men being here on the same floor and might have recognised them from earlier, they kept up the pretence of unconcern right up to the point at which the two groups met. However, despite their discipline and training, they were no match for the three most ruthless assassins on the colony of Ecstasy. Grimaldi continued his monologue right up to the point when he brushed against the Saturnian woman and then, with no warning, swung his forearm into her face. The steel bar strapped to the inside of his panther-skin jacket ensured that the impact broke her nose and very nearly dislodged her eye. Lofty and Foo Yong worked together on the man whose feet they kicked up from beneath and followed with some well-directed kicks to his face and groin. Even Grimaldi was quiet as the three of them punched and kicked the two bodyguards until they were groaning in a bloody mess on the floor. Foo Yong had to be restrained from pulling down his trousers and raping the woman who lay in a crumpled heap with cracked teeth and a trickle of blood dripping from the corner of her mouth. He had managed to rip off her top and had in the process let his blade slice through the firm flesh of her breast. "There's time for that later," said Lofty firmly, as he pulled out of his jacket pocket the tranquiliser gun that would ensure that the bodyguards would be out of action for several more days. He was unusually cautious in the dosage settings. Any collateral and Xerxes might not be satisfied at merely reducing the fee he'd pass on to his godson after the job was done. In a normal job, Lofty would have dispatched the bodyguards in a much more satisfactory manner. "Hey, it's the bitch!" said Foo Yong in a relatively low voice as he pointed at the woman who'd seduced Paul and was now standing just outside her apartment. Good, thought Lofty. Get the bitch first, then the mark. Job almost done. He salivated at the prospect of following up the kicking he'd administered on the bodyguard with rather more leisurely ultraviolence on a woman who was totally naked and looked as easy a target as any he'd handled. It was just a shame she'd have to be left alive. But then it was better to fuck a woman streaming with blood than to piss on a corpse. However, the time it took for him to die was only slightly longer than the time it took for him to be aware that this woman was someone who could defend herself with even more efficiency than he'd employed to kill Manu and his companions. He was barely aware of the fist that embedded itself briefly in Grimaldi's chest and the flying feet that smashed into Foo Yong's face. His neck was pulled back and the vertebrae snapped by a woman who was now no longer ten metres ahead, but just behind him. With the strangely enhanced sensory perception of a dying man, he slumped to the ground on top of his companions aware only of two naked thighs on either side of his chest and the pressure of a hand on his chest that crushed his ribs and the last vestige of breath that was left to him. Lofty had met his match and he'd had no opportunity at all to fight back. Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 10 Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 11 Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 11 It was with this ambition that the Archdeacon returned to his mansion. The shuttle dropped him down in the gardens where the orgy was continuing on the lawn. The new boy was being well broken in, the Archdeacon could see. Although His Holiness was tired and fatigued, there was still a duty to attend to before he could retire to bed and perhaps cuddle up with another young boy who would be required to provide him with nothing more than a comforting blowjob. The Archdeacon retreated to a tiny room that resembled more a prison cell than the type of cell a cleric might use for meditation. There were real prison cells in the mansion, of course, along with the complete paraphernalia of dungeons and torture but this wasn't the kind of sport the Archdeacon most enjoyed. But the facilities were available just in case he should ever be so inclined. "Your Holiness," said the High Pastor Charles whose holographic image was broadcast from a similar cell on the outer levels of Holy Contemplation. While the Archdeacon had been fucking boys and being fucked by studs, the Pastor had been spending a rather less hedonistic visit at the colony where he was immersed in Holy Scripture and praying in solitude. The Archdeacon rather hoped the High Pastor had opted for the physical chastisement that could be administered for entertaining sinful thought. "Recall the words of the Holy Scripture, Pastor," said the Archdeacon. "Chapter Two Verse Eighteen of the First Epistle General of John." "It is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time," quoted the High Pastor. "The Antichrist has frustrated the best attempts of the brave Holy Crusaders, Pastor. The Holy Crusade which you led and coordinated has come to naught. A great evil remains in the world. Recall also the words of Chapter Seventeen Verse Fifteen of the Book of Joshua." "And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel." "That is correct, Pastor," said the Archdeacon. "Many valiant Christians have paid a great price to defend the Godly from the Apostasy and the Antichrist. And yet their efforts have been in vain. There has been a great sacrifice of Christian life. Many Soldiers of Christ have paid the ultimate price. They will ascend into Heaven and Glory will be forever theirs. But I am truly sorry, Pastor, for you and your family. You have been found lacking. There remains only one remaining course of action." "Your Holiness," pleaded the High Pastor. "I have done all I can. The failure must surely lie with the heathens, heretics and pagans to whom this expedition was also entrusted." "They too will roast in hell, Pastor. But I have no jurisdiction over them. Only the Lord in his Infinite Wisdom and Mercy can preside over the judgment of their souls. However, it is I who is your chief vicar in this world and although you have served the Lord with diligence and steadfastness these many years, you have now been found wanting. However, be comforted by the words of The First Epistle General of John in Chapter Two Verse Fifteen." "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him," quoted the High Pastor. "Your Holiness, you can do as you wish with me. I have no fear of death. The Lord will judge me as he sees fit. But please spare my family. My wife is pregnant. I have grandchildren who are less than five years old." "The Lord's Will must be done, Pastor," said the Archdeacon, who nonetheless wondered whether it was too late for him to reach the contacts mentioned by the Chief Apostle. The High Pastor's family could well be spared the burning flames of the pyre. It might appear weak and unnecessarily merciful to his less ascetic senior clerics, but it could also provide an extra welcome revenue stream. The Archdeacon enjoyed the sight of his senior cleric's terrified face. He watched the holographic image of the High Pastor Charles for several more minutes after the cleric believed the connection was broken. He was gratified to see tears stream down the man's face. Perhaps he would now require some chastisement. The Archdeacon wondered whether to watch the man scourge himself, but it would in truth be rather dull entertainment. He left the confines of the cell and stripped himself of the dark robes that he wore whenever handling official business. In fact, he stripped himself of all his clothes. What he wanted now was rest, relaxation and a pretty boy. Then he could once again enjoy the sleep of the blessed. Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 12 Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 13 Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 14 Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 14 "Not as yet," said Beatrice with a broad grin. "It's that serious? I am impressed. Just two weeks. My husband and I lived together for thirty years before we finally got married." "It's as serious as it could possibly be." "Why did you leave your husband? Ecstasy is a terribly long way from Venus and the records show you made a very good career for yourself on the planet." "Things didn't work out. I'm sure they will with Paul. I can already envisage us spending the rest of our lives together." "Indeed," said Special Officer Patthana whose sympathetic smile was incongruous amidst the tangle of mystic symbols etched on her face. "Has Paul told you where he's going?" "He said he was going to Earth," said Beatrice. "I'd love to go there!" "I would too," admitted the Special Officer. "I especially want to go to Bangkok. That's where my roots are. Where are yours, Beatrice?" "I'm not sure. Somewhere on Earth." "Well, they're unlikely to be from anywhere else." There was a pause in the proceedings as Special Officer Patthana carefully examined the holographic notes that hovered in front of her. "There's not much I'm at liberty to tell you," she said at last. "In fact, to be honest, there's very little I'm able to tell you. Paul Morris is on a highly classified mission the destination of which I've not been fully apprised and the nature of which I'm no more knowledgeable than you. Unless, of course, he's told you more than he should have done?" "All he's told me is that he'll eventually arrive on Earth and probably travel on from there to somewhere else." "That's very vague. Hasn't he told you more than that?" "No. Nothing at all." "Well, that somewhere else may very well be a very long way from anywhere else," said the special officer. "If you were to accompany Paul on his journey, you might well find yourself in a more remote location than you've ever been before." "But Paul is scarcely a space traveller or explorer," said Beatrice. "It can't possibly be that remote." "Yes, I admit that he's a very unlikely candidate for extensive space travel," said the Special Officer. "However, were you to accompany him, you would be bound by very severe restrictions as to who you could talk to and what you can say. This is a highly classified mission and even what you already know puts you in a very high risk status. Even if it's decided that you shouldn't accompany your lover, you will be bound by law to keep secret everything you know about him, however trivial it might seem. From now on, I'm afraid you're under surveillance whether you remain on Ecstasy or travel onward." "It's a small price for the love I feel towards Paul." "It may be a bigger price than you anticipate. Just your presence in his vicinity puts you at more risk than you appreciate. You won't already know this, but I can now tell you in confidence, is that Paul has been the object of several thankfully unsuccessful assassination attempts. These have mostly been on Godwin but, on the very night you met him, he was the intended victim of another such attempt here on Ecstasy." "I can't believe that! Why would anyone want to kill Paul?" "You're asking me a question that I can't answer. This isn't just because you don't have the appropriate security clearance for me to tell you. It's because I genuinely don't know." "What happened on that night?" "Our agents aren't sure, but it appears that the would-be assassins were the victim of gangland violence. There's a lot that goes on in Ecstasy below the radar, but occasionally criminal justice works to the advantage of the law. I don't tell you this because I want you to think that Paul is embroiled in interplanetary crime—a less likely gangster I can't imagine—but to emphasise the risk that you've unwittingly put yourself in just by being by his side. Your life is now just as much at risk as Paul's." Beatrice paused to assimilate this information. "I am ready to sacrifice anything to stay with Paul," she said at last. "Even your life?" "My life won't be worth living if I can't stay with him," said Beatrice with more truth than the Special Officer could ever imagine. Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 15 Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 15 The only insight into Lindsey's life that Paul gained was an account of her boyfriend whose company he was assured he would enjoy. He was a Neptunian soldier whose main interest was playing and watching sport. "He's crazy about baseball," said Lindsey. "He really hates how the news of the Interplanetary Championships is two months behind. It's weird that when a 'live' match is broadcast what we see is what happened ages ago." "Isn't that the case wherever you are in the Solar System?" said Paul. "In Godwin it's almost a day late." "It's a few hours late in Neptune for a match played in the Inner Solar System," said Lindsey. "But this is something else altogether." Paul had never been so bored by a conversation before in his life. He'd never had to endure a conversation of such unrelenting superficiality as this on Godwin. It was respect for Beatrice alone that kept Paul sitting passively for hour after hour while topics of conversation that Paul was convinced had already been covered in excruciating detail were revisited and further elaborated. Paul was also amazed at the extent of Beatrice's patience. She seemed captivated by Lindsey's conversation. Despite her apparent superficiality, Beatrice was astonishingly knowledgeable. Now she was behaving exactly like the kind of woman she appeared to be on the surface. "Isn't Lindsey great company?" said Beatrice when she and Paul eventually left. "We had ever so much to talk about." "Yes," said Paul. "A lot." "Would you like to come with me to visit Trisha tomorrow?" asked Beatrice. "Who's Trisha?" "She's one of the crew," said Beatrice. "She gives advice on health and cosmetics. She's really very nice. She knows a lot about pedicure. Far more than Lindsey does." "It's nice of you to invite me," said Paul in conflict between the imperative to be polite and the need to avoid insufferable tedium. "But I think if all you're going to do is talk about nail care, it'd be better if I carried on with my research." "Yes," said Beatrice sympathetically. "I don't want to distract you from that." Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 16 Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 16 The only firm evidence that Sirius was actively operating contrary to Proxima Centauri interests was the persistent and apparently incoherent assassination attacks on Paul. Although there were human interests that would like to see him dead, their nature and their persistence went far beyond what could be expected from mere humans. Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 17 Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 17 The respite Isaac was enjoying lasted only a few months. It was long enough, of course, for him and his comrades to become complacent. They settled into a routine of hymn and prayer interspersed by guard duty, but as time went by the urgency of their quest to seize command of the Godless space ship receded as did their attentiveness when on guard duty. It truly seemed that life had settled down. There were few lone crusaders or small bands that passed by these days and they appeared to be seeking villas that weren't already occupied. Few appeared to have the belly for a fight. When the inevitable assault took place it was from the same Catholics who had seized the villa from which Isaac and his comrades were earlier evicted: the one in which Isaac's otherwise pleasant memories were forever marred by his recollection of David's descent into Sodom. It seemed that the savage Catholic crusaders were now intent not so much on finding a new home but on expanding the territory they already possessed. When they appeared they did so not sneakily and in the dark as before but openly and brazenly. This time there were not only a dozen or so Catholics who, despite their nakedness, could now be distinguished by huge red tattoos of the sign of the cross painfully etched into their chests. With them were many others not so tattooed whose heads and beards had been freshly shaved. They were distinguishable by the collar worn around the necks and the cords around the legs. They many times outnumbered the Catholic crusaders but were evidently slaves rather than equals. Perhaps they were Muslims. Perhaps they were Buddhists. Perhaps they were even of a Presbyterian persuasion. But in the state of bald nakedness to which they had been reduced it wasn't possible to know. It was these slaves, not the Catholics, who descended on Isaac's villa. They were superior in number but motivated only by fear of their masters who showed no mercy to those who failed to do their bidding. This Isaac could see for sure as he lay prostrate on the villa roof and scanned the upwardly curving horizon. One slave made an attempt to run not towards the villa that housed Isaac and his comrades but in a different direction. At first, it seemed that his attempt to escape would succeed as he ran shouting "Allāhu Akbar!" The Catholics made no attempt to stop him although they shouted loudly in his direction in Latin. Then two Catholics that had been hidden behind trees emerged from the shadows and caught the renegade. And they then dealt with him bloodily and efficiently. Isaac remarked again on the Catholics' lack of true justice by the swift manner in which the slave was slaughtered. No time was wasted on torture, humiliation or prayer. They bundled on top of him and killed him with no fuss at all Isaac looked about him with fear. The Catholics' slaves were fast approaching the villa and alerted Isaac's comrades as they did do. They continued to shout in Latin which heathen tongue Isaac didn't understand at all. It was likely the slaves no more knew what they were chanting than did Isaac. "Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum," chanted some of them. "Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto," chanted some of the others. Isaac guessed that it must be a prayer to the Pope who was known to be the Catholic's God. That was nonsense, of course. The Pope lived on Earth in a city called Rome. He couldn't be the Lord God, all omnipotent and all omniscient. It just didn't make sense. And, in any case, God spoke English. He wouldn't speak Latin or any other language that would otherwise be dead for many thousands of years. Isaac steeled himself for the oncoming assault. He could see that his chances of survival were slim. He might manage to kill two or three slaves before they overpowered him, but there was no likelihood that he could escape as easily this time as he had before. However, death when it came was not in the form that Isaac was expecting. It wasn't in the form that the Catholic aggressors had expected either. Isaac might have reflected on Chapter 30, Verse 30, of The Book of the Prophet Isaiah: "And the LORD shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones." There was fire, there was lightning and there most certainly was a tempest accompanied by a huge thunderous roar. In the confusion, no one could possibly make sense of the sequence of events. The sound of external impact was extraordinarily loud and in itself would have damned all the Holy Crusaders to a life of deafness. There was also a rushing wind, but it was directed not hither and thither but in one direction only and with unchallengeable force. If Isaac hadn't been pulled off the roof of the villa or, more to the point, pulled off the villa along with the roof, he might have looked ahead and upwards to where the tempest was taking him and the precious pressurised atmosphere. And this was quite simply into deep space. At the point of impact there was flame and fury, but in the vacuum of space this was manifest more as the conflagration of the rapidly escaping atmosphere rather than the steady flame of a terrestrial blaze. So ferocious was the force from the escaping air that nothing could withstand its blast. Death came in various ways. Some crusaders were simply dashed against the first obstacle in their path and crushed to a bloody mess. Any who had avoided the direct impact of the storm by being indoors would die a painful but brief death as the air pressure dramatically dropped and their tongue became swollen, their eyes popped out of their skull and their lungs exploded. Not one Holy Crusader stood even the smallest chance of survival. Death came to Isaac when he was sucked through the vast hole created by the external explosion. The proximate cause was a combination of the impact of many flying objects and the lack of breathable air, but his body was already limp and lifeless as it shot out into empty dark space through the hundred metre breach in the Intrepid's hull. And then along with all the other debris within the Intrepid's reach, his corpse was gathered by the waste-collecting pods to be recycled by the space ship's antimatter engines. Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 18 Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 19 Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 19 Then there were other people associated with the mission, particularly those in positions of high authority such as Permanent Secretary Alfredo Miskiewicz. As a man who was always on the outside of society looking in, both as a homosexual and as a man whose genes were not quite determined by evolution alone, Brigadier Svenssen was more than normally sensitive to subtle signs of nonconformity in the people he encountered. Very often it was because they too had an ancestry that involved artificially enhanced genes, but he was also aware that if a community of people like his could survive mostly unremarked in the expanse of the Solar System then there was space for other mould-breaking variations. Perhaps the mystery associated with Alexander Iliescu was in some way also associated with Ms Korolyov's hypotheses. The brigadier was already persuaded that an alien intelligence had taken a keen interest in the mission and infiltrated the mission at every level. What he wasn't able to do was determine just what this alien intelligence could possibly be. And, what was worse, he had no way of knowing whether this intelligence was good either for the mission or for the interests of the Interplanetary Union that he so loyally served. Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 20 Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 21 Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 22 Schemes of the Unknown Unknown Ch. 23