Chapter 25
Bernardo began quietly. “My men were locating the entry panel which was fitted in the Salinas’ bedroom while they were on vacation. I supervised the installation of the hidden safe storage area behind the large, heavy mirror which could not be moved by one person. The keypad for this was put in the cavity behind a painting on the opposite wall. We cleared the space of all articles and documents which Antonio felt were to be protected at all costs. However, when we returned to the office I realised some were not there. Both of my men confirmed they had taken everything. Either they were lying or someone had got there before us. After the first interview with the police, it suddenly dawned on me that Antonio could have destroyed them before committing suicide, but after the second interview and their suggestion that he was murdered, he may well have surrendered them to the assassin. He did have his own remote control keypad equipment, but it hadn’t been found by me or the police. The missing pieces would have assisted you greatly in your investigation, but I’m afraid I can’t remember all of the details with absolute clarity.”
He glanced at Manuel before proceeding. “From the instant your father took office in Central Security, he made it clear to all of his immediate subordinates that he fully expected to be moving on to the Presidency in a couple of years. He explained how he would be intolerant of failure and mistakes. He emphasised that he didn’t have time to be deflected by motivational practices for his staff, so the sooner they helped him establish credentials, the sooner they would be rid of him. He ruled by fear. They were times of concern that the Republic was developing a soft underbelly, ripe for exploitation by Orient. Antonio found himself with a very strong right wing following, and it was self-fuelling. This order quickly took on the shape of a cult as they became more and more concerned that the ailing President was not only a dove, but one with its eye off the worm. Preparations were made within this cult for Antonio to succeed, but the President’s health did not deteriorate at the pace they desired, and they concocted a clever method to help him on his way. Do you remember the Sea Garden virus?”
“Yes.” said Pierze and Manuel together.
“Well the virus was largely contained within Orient and for some time they thought it was man-made by Iberia. This was dispelled in the most dramatic fashion by the cult, which by now had a name – ‘Sidonia’, reflecting the wisdom of the only man who saw through the flawed plans of Philip II. Yet he appeared to follow them until introducing the decisive stroke of genius, which secured England. One of the members of the cult volunteered to sacrifice himself by obtaining a vial of the virus and waited until he was asked by the President to brief him on his recent talks with the Foreign Minister of Orient. It was assumed the vaccination given to all cabinet members would resist the contagion. A dose of this strength had no problem overcoming the weakened President after his Foreign minister had spilled the vial on to the arm of his chair of office, during a sanitary visit by the ailing leader. It was expected that this mini-epidemic would claim both of these men and a number of staff. It went much further as you may recall. The cabinet had to disband for almost two months, until the quarantine procedures could be lifted. I estimated at the time that over one hundred lives were terminated as a result of this plan. The Sidonians felt it was justified, and it had also silenced all previous accusations from Orient. You may ask why I tolerated this, especially as I wasn’t a member of this cult. I will get to that later; suffice it for now that Antonio had his personal brand of persuasion.
“When the election produced Sanchez as the winner, against the prediction of all polls, the mood of these Sidonians darkened. That signalled many highly secret activities. They were all underpinned by a single belief – that Orient had to be subdued and absorbed. The world would become a better place for our grandchildren. I hesitate to use two particular words in the same sentence but these people are ruthlessly devout in their conviction that democracy cannot be trusted to the populace. They came to the conclusion that they had to be indoctrinated, in a new way, which would ultimately be inflicted on the citizens of Orient. These Sidonians exist in even greater numbers now, and there are some in Central Security as well as other government posts. You must be careful, that is why I wanted this to be off the record.”
Pierze asked if he had names. Bernardo nodded but added, “I know many but not all. There are other things you need to know. The link with SACRED was crucial to the master plan. The ‘indoctrination’ scheme was to be delivered to a willing audience via interaction with some brainwashing technology. This came from your former organisation. Viktor Lopez was taken and forced to do as he was told or his family would suffer the ultimate sacrifice, an all too common practice. He was to deliver the ACR of SACRED to a man under similar threat. He was to the best of my knowledge to Amplify, Correct and Revise the input leg of subject actions, the man on the Moon was to Encrypt the initial neurogenic message and Distribute to the individual. Coding for future reinforcement was also setup so that the control was retained in the hands of Sidonians, but their actions were untraceable on Earth. I fear you may be too late to stop them.”
Pierze couldn’t wait any longer to ask the question. “Where is Viktor Lopez now?”
“I was never allowed to know this, but I was curious enough to look for clues. I overheard Antonio tell someone over the communicator that the complex was underground and in the centre of a crescent shaped mountain range in Balkan Iberia. He said it was heavily guarded but I couldn’t find out who he was speaking to. You already know that the first wave is imminent.” Manuel asked what criteria would cause them to bring forward that first wave.
“Nothing will precipitate that. You have to understand these people to appreciate that they are extremely confident in their destiny, it comes from arrogance in part, but also their ritualistic nature. The birthday of Admiral Sidonia is the trigger for the hive mentality to be showered on all Iberia.” This was good news but was soon followed by frightening statistics. Pierze asked Bernardo to confirm that over a hundred thousand drones would be unleashed on that date.
“Yes, but that is the tip of the iceberg. Once this launch achieves the initial objective of capturing key locations in local administrations, the existing staff will be linked as a group to the Balkan neurogenic cascade and be recruited to the ranks of the ‘enlightened’. This effectively makes the Moon man redundant and multiplies the army by a factor of between five and ten. It is expected to be a silent revolution, as any resistant types will be eliminated at the local coordinates by the local converts. The next phase is to follow quickly; the step into higher levels of authority can begin. Police and Armed Forces are primed with drones to deliver more control prior to the potentially tricky final coalescence of the masses and the ‘unaffected’ Sidonians. This troublesome layer of command is anticipated to produce a much higher proportion of resistant individuals, and it is likely that mass extermination will be required. It is therefore heavily dependent on isolating them by a ‘ground level up’ approach. Even an Admiral is helpless if the chain of command is broken directly beneath him. You should have figured out by now that your resistant victims were part of this plan and also conveniently acted as a distraction which has occupied your resources to their advantage.” Manuel reminded Bernardo of the promise to say more about how his father had influenced his loyalty to such a cause.
“It wasn’t the cause which imprisoned me, it was cowardice. It’s the same cowardly gene which has twisted my innards and my mind to proceed with this confession. I have had no direct responsibility for any of this; my sole crime is that of looking the other way. It sickens me that this is considered an asset if you wish to progress in Central Security, yet I’m not able to pull away from my affliction. It is also why I’ve thrown myself on your mercy, because I lack the guts to do anything else.” Pierze asked again about names.
“I can give you many – I have certain papers. It wouldn’t be prudent to allow them to know you have this unti
l you have disconnected the research centre and Viktor Lopez’ staff.”
Pierze persisted. “Who is the most senior ranking person in Sidonia, now that Antonio is gone?”
“That I don’t know, but if Antonio was murdered as the police believe, it will have been authorised by that person. They all accept that when one becomes a liability, erasure must follow – of the individual and any incriminating evidence. I’m sure Antonio wouldn’t have resisted termination. The head of the snake can be severed after Lopez is disconnected.”
Manuel and Pierze looked at one another, then the latter spoke. “You realise we must detain you until we can verify what you have told us, and that may be for quite some time.” Bernardo managed to smile for the first time.
“Of course, I wouldn’t want to take my chance on the street.”
They began to research the Balkan Iberia ordnance maps immediately. Pierze allowed his lawyers to pursue the enforcement of his Moon visit.
*
The hiatus caused by Gretz’ disappearance allowed the only other candidates on the planet who were rich enough, to open negotiations to purchase the Banco Iberia stock. The philosophy of Verdasco and Boniek was simple. If Gretz didn’t return they wanted to avoid any inheritor of his dominant position to call the tune. If he did return the stock position would be re-stabilised, without having to involve a fourth stockholder.
*
Orient’s latest launch contained three further habitats and connecting units. Apart from increasing the speculation of where they would be deployed, it solidified the belief of Verdasco and Boniek that they were correct to continue their defensive strategy.
*
Both Pierze and Manuel were poring over maps of Balkan Iberia, but each was distracted by different concerns. “Manuel, I noticed when Bernardo replied without hesitation that nothing would change the date of Drone Day, his eyes flickered momentarily and his pupils dilated. I am therefore harbouring thoughts that this isn’t true. He was incredibly keen for us to neutralise Viktor Lopez before ‘beheading the snake’. I am now of the opinion that the only thing which would guarantee early activation of the plague is a direct threat to the neurogenic source. We must proceed with caution.” Manuel concurred and then added his own mental lapse to the puzzle.
“When I first met Prometheus in Futureworld he was sure Gretz was not directly responsible for the threats to his family. He was however, the one who authorised me taking over Konrad’s character and he did it face to face with Prometheus. He also told me that Gretz was the only person from whom he took direct orders, although the content for encryption routinely came from Earth. That is assumed to be Lopez. Prometheus was recruited and delivered to the Moon by someone other than Sorin Gretz. He was deprived of visual capability until he arrived and the other person had left. I remember him saying that he would never forget the voice, but I’ve been remiss in not following this up. Thinking about it now, it seems obvious that it would have to be someone in authority to process this through the elevator checks, past the pilot and lunar security. If Prometheus was hired while the takeover of the colonisation initiative was being finalised with the Iberian government, it was probably a deliberate schedule. It would explain why Gretz was busy finalising the deal and genuinely doesn’t appear to know of these neurogenic pulses. It could only have been achieved by two people. Verdasco or Boniek.”
Pierze let this meander through his mind, and it did fit with many events which had occurred recently. Manuel confessed that when Gretz commissioned him to conduct his investigation he was assured the others were totally on board. “He said they were but I have never heard it from them.” Pierze factored in Gretz’ disappearance and suggested it might be opportune to ask them if they were happy to continue with his retainer. Manuel made the conference call and Pierze kept quiet but recorded it. Verdasco said they would like to defer a decision on this until the police had found Gretz or given up.
*
The maps were not much help other than giving names of mountains and general topography. Pierze said that if he was right about Bernardo’s cunning, he may want to help them. It would also be a check on whether he was holding anything back. They ran a list of names past him. He stopped them at one, and asked if they had other information about the area, as the name was familiar. The mountain range in local dialect was called Stara Planina. It was in the Eastern Balkan Peninsula and the name approximated to Old Mountain in Iberian. Bernardo was sure that he remembered overhearing a remark by one of the Sidonians, complaining that the security clearance level for the neurogenic hub was too restrictive. He had jokingly said, ‘you can only fly there in the Star Plane.’ Bernardo recalled that it was unusual for the sect members to criticise such policy. Pierze was sufficiently convinced to investigate further.
“We require a survey which does not alert anyone. I may have to take a certain technology out of mothballs Manuel. My technical contacts in my old job, as far back as three decades ago developed a means of detecting underground structures from the air. Harnessing ELF/VLF radio waves can allow penetration deep beneath the surface of the Earth and interact with the geologic structure.”
Manuel motioned for him to back up. “What is ELF and VLF?”
“Sorry – extremely and very low frequency respectively. It enables exploitation of electromagnetic induction to detect and image subterranean features such as tunnels, bunkers and other potential military targets. It was used extensively when territorial sensitivity was high with Orient, and in order to respect tacit agreements, we wanted covert means to check what they were up to. However this is different, the target location is within our own sovereign lands. I’ll ask my former colleagues to resurrect this kit and arrange a flyover of ‘Star Plane’.”
*
The next day Manuel received a call on his communicator. Astonishingly it was Gretz. “I have to be brief. I’m on the Moon. There’s no time to explain fully, but I have spoken with a certain person here who says you know him as Prometheus. He had your SACRED data file, including your communicator number. I was brought here against my will and I’m restricted in just about every way. This man both saw and heard my abductor give instructions as to my incarceration. He recognised the voice as belonging to the same person who brought him here. It was Constantin Boniek. Virtually every employee here seems to be loyal to him. Verdasco will not have known of my capture, and I expect to be terminated once they have acquired the Banco Iberia stock. Prometheus tells me that under the new order they will simply close the file on searching for me, and no questions will be asked. So now you know. If you can tell this to Verdasco he may be able to help you in some way, he is a difficult man, but I’m sure he’s not mixed up in this.” The conversation was terminated.
*
Pierze didn’t wait for another invitation from the President, he requested an audience at his private residence. The update provoked a sceptical response from Sanchez.
“You are asking me to take an awful lot on trust. Your suggestion of confidential talks with the Delegate-in-Chief of Orient would be described in normal circumstances as proof of lunacy. If you’re wrong it would be the end of our careers, and if you’re right it would be the end of our lives. There is an additional difficulty, as I have already mentioned, my aide Ortega doesn’t have my trust, but is involved in all matters of state.” Pierze asked for time to think about that.
*
Manuel had managed to get hold of Verdasco again. “I urge you to meet with me, and for no one else to know, and I really mean no one. I have to tell you something which may change everything you have planned. I’ll come to you at any time of your choosing.”
“Snr. Salina, we are due to ratify the stock transfer from Banco Iberia any time soon. It is complex and they are dragging their feet, but I must be available at extremely short notice.”
Manuel asked where the transfer was scheduled to be, and it was confirmed as Swiss-Iberia. “I’ll meet you at a different hotel from the one in w
hich you make a reservation for Boniek and yourself. Snr. Verdasco, I won’t take up more than five minutes of your time.”
“Very well, this had better be good.”
*
Duarte had asked the remaining people on the list if they had any idea why they would have been chosen to commit induced suicide; they did not. He couldn’t establish any obvious links amongst them, other than being users of SACRED. At the end of one session a man approached him. “It may be nothing but I have been threatened to stay away from Snr. Boniek.”
“Really, how do you come to know him?”
“We were at the same high school. I was very good at all sports, and he was a bit of an anorak with computers and stuff. He seemed to look up to me then. So when he became one of the richest men on the planet, I wrote and asked him many times for a job interview. At first he just ignored my applications. One night on my way home from a SACRED booth, I was pulled into a dark alley by three very big men. I could only see the silhouette of the figure which approached as I was held, but I knew it was him, his voice is highly distinctive. He warned me to stop applying for a position and insisted I should cancel my subscription to SACRED. He told me it was bordering on ‘illegal nuisance’ to continue. He never mentioned my name but as he turned to walk away he signalled the others to deliver a taste of what I could expect if I didn’t comply. I stopped the job applications, but I refused to give up Futureworld. I can’t really see how that should provoke me being singled out for suicide, but he certainly conveyed his feelings – he said he despised all people like me.”
Duarte took his name to Pierze and said it was ‘interesting’. Pierze however, was fascinated and stored the name Radan Hajek in his cerebral ‘to do’ list.