The Radical Factor (Stone Blade Book 3) Read online

  "It is a formal day of informality," explained Orris after an excellent meal, "St. Reymon traveled the worlds that would become the Unity of Triumph during early, dark times. While many leaders spoke words of self-protection and isolation he offered the hand of friendship and spoke of charity and perseverance, virtues the Great Father admonishes us to nurture. He spoke words of peace, patience and tolerance to those who would war in the Great Father's name. Even though he lost his family to pirates during an attack on New Eden he spoke against war or violence past self-defense."

  Orris sighed. "At times I think there are none among us with aught of his mettle. I think that we have become hidebound and inflexible." He smiled. "Then four strangers from outside tip our world downside up beneath our feet and so far we have survived intact." He raised his glass. "My family and friends all, from near and from far, I pray you find welcome, peace and comfort here and abundant blessing beneath the Great Father's hand."

  Micah gladly raised his glass to that!

  ***

  "It is actually more custom than religion," explained Orris, more informal now.

  Afternoon waned and evening approached and most of the guests had departed.

  "This is the middle of winter on New Eden," continued Orris, "The day was chosen as much for necessity as decree. The Great Father bids us always to gather in His name, to cherish our family, friends and loved ones, and to give thanks for the blessings He bestows.

  "This day was chosen for its season as a time when friends and family most needed each other's comfort and presence. It is easy to celebrate when flowers perfume the air and the days are comfortable but less so when harsh desolation shows its teeth. The actual day of celebration occurs in the fall of the Old Calendar."

  "Old Calendar," asked Ionoski.

  "Indeed. New Eden was originally settled by a brave group of men and women from deep within the Imperium. They held their faith despite disapproval and outright persecution. From the history we know a group of Imperial Senators ousted and evicted them to New Eden which was an isolated backwater at the time.

  "New Eden and the worlds around it were habitable but poor and ill-suited to most Imperial desires and comforts. Our ancestors moved willingly enough once they were promised they could live as they saw fit, provided they not cause rebellion. The Imperial government moved our ancestors here, gave them a few ships more fit for a scrapyard and forgot about them and the Great Father."

  "Typical," said Micah.

  "Typical and foolish," said Orris, "The Imperium collapsed and the Great Father's children persevere still. The Old Calendar predates our move to New Eden by a long time, tens of centuries at the very least. I know little of its history but its importance to the Unity and our congregations cannot be understated. Although we use a modified Jeffries standard for day-to-day affairs, the Old Calendar beats alongside our hearts.

  "Needless to say the Old Calendar far predates Saint Reymon. The celebration named in his honor is in truth a celebration of bountiful harvest. The Old Calendar dictated the day, it was adapted to New Eden and from thence to the remainder of our worlds."

  Something tickled the back of Micah's thoughts.

  "Sirra Orris, where might we find such history of the Old Calendar as is known of it?"

  ***

  Micah waited with some reluctance and trepidation as a page announced his arrival. After a moment the door opened and Micah entered the door behind it.

  Joachim Frond stood to receive Micah but didn't offer his hand. He indicated a chair then sat back in his own.

  "What do you wish, League man?" Frond spoke curtly but without venom.

  "I seek knowledge, First Frond. I am interested in the Old Calendar. Specifically its history, its origin and its significance."

  Frond's face wrinkled. "As to the last, the importance of the Old Calendar cannot be denied or underrated. In the days before the outcasting the Great Father demanded certain days be kept sacred unto Him. It is only by the Old Calendar that we know them and their meaning, since none of the days of any of the worlds of the Unity match it.

  "Many of our congregations have adapted their feasts and festivals to the days of their worlds. I suppose this is not too great a sin for the Great Father has given us no penance for it but others, mine among them, consider it an act of obedience and honor to keep them true. I know you have read the Writ; why is it not sufficient?"

  "My interest is in the calendar itself. By what First Orris said it is meaningful both in a religious and a secular sense and there lies my interest. I offer no insult, First Frond, but that is the simple truth of my request."

  "No insult of which you are aware. Still, the Great Father has decreed that none are past His grace and salvation and He bids us answer requests for knowledge. You know this, League man. Is it the reason you came to me?"

  "I came to you because First Orris named you the most knowledgeable and most likely able to answer my request."

  Frond snorted. "The Great Father also commands that even the vilest of sinners can be redeemed. I wonder that your quest for knowledge might encompass that!"

  He rose and walked to one of the bookcases covering his walls. He searched for a few minutes before removing an old volume. He handed it carefully to Micah. The book itself was ancient past any Micah had ever seen. Its covers and pages had been coated and saturated with a protective plastic resin and even that showed signs of age.

  "This is a journal of the outcasting and the first days on New Eden. There are few books of that era still surviving and this one must not leave my office. Treat it gently and with respect, League man, for its pages span more centuries than your precious League will for twice more the years of its existence! It is both unique and irreplaceable."

  "I shall guard it, First Frond. Thank you for the opportunity to learn."

  Frond waved his hand in something between benediction and dismissal.

  Thanks to Frond's page Micah found himself in a small but comfortable conference room. The man also offered tea, which Micah accepted with gratitude. Micah sat, adjusted his holocaster and opened the book.

  Many of the pages were faded past reading but Micah found a treasure ship of information in the ones still readable. They described a journey to New Eden, now but one world in the Unity of Triumph but at the time a last beacon of hope to a people who didn't fit the Imperium's ideals of civilization and propriety.

  The settlers faced many hardships and trials but always held their faith. The Imperium offered very little in the way of assistance or help and the colonists suffered greatly. They survived physically thanks to their innate toughness but mentally and spiritually by their faith in the Great Father and their belief in Him.

  They kept to their calendar, the Old Calendar, since before the first people set foot on their new worlds. Even in the midst of harsh and dire times they still found time for celebration and rejoicing and even when faced with famine and starvation they observed the days of their feasts, if not the bounties of them. The book chronicled this in excruciating detail and even though Micah missed some of the pages he felt certain his holocaster didn't. He finished reading just before lunch and returned the book to Frond.

  "Did you find what your required?"

  "Yes, First Frond. I thank you in earnestness and humility for the gift of knowledge you have given me. I know you don't like us or the League but what you gave me here may well save thousands of lives: Unity, League, Semid and others."

  Frond nodded sharply and remained silent for a long moment of obvious decision. Then he raised his hand.

  "Very well, League man. Go with the blessings of the Great Father and mine as well."

  Micah bowed, smiled and left. Once outside the Dome he wasted no time joining the others.

  "He did what?!" Kidwell stared at him in utter disbelief.

  Off to one side al'Marklin chuckled.

  "Dear friends, do not judge First Frond ill. The Unity of the Great Father lies uppermost in his mind and soul and
that leaves room for little else. He is well and truly a man of honor and compassion, though he might appear harsh and unyielding.

  "When he heard of the Semid tragedy he was the first to personally lead his congregations in prayer and vigil. Did he know the name of every person killed he would offer up a prayer to the Great Father on their behalf. Even though he did not know them he would count it time, and duty, well-spent."

  "I understand that now," said Micah.

  "I'm starting to," added Kidwell, "Bless him back!"

  al'Marklin grinned and Micah powered up his datapad. He called up the Lan'Quor, Paeans of Aivool 1:1. Then, with great effort and headache tablets close by, he began working up the Esavian version of the Old Calendar.

  ***

  "I hate numbers." Micah rubbed his temples as he said it.

  Ferrel looked up from his displays. "Slib and cryo, my brother, but that's a mighty big hate. Is it all of them or just a few in particular?"

  "Three in particular. Six, thirteen and twenty-nine."

  "Whyfor?"

  "Because they keep popping up! They show too often to be coincidence but there's no flaming pattern to them."

  "Been there tried that," said Ferrel, "but where did twenty-nine happen?"

  "Aivool number three, four, six, ten, twelve through fourteen, seventeen, nineteen..."

  "Stop," said Ferrel, "Archived. Have you tried number-stuff with them?"

  "Everything you and Vera do plus a few of my own. Squelch."

  Ferrel checked his 'pad. "Go work out, Micah. It'll make you feel better and I have a little time before my major modules finish. I'll have a look and see if I can't spark some ideas for you."

  Micah found Siffai in the gym in the middle of her own workout. He didn't want to spar and she didn't press the issue. When she finished she sat and waited for him.

  "Problems," she asked.

  "Numbers of them. Literally." He briefly explained his discoveries and his work with them.

  "Silly dosha, you forgot one."

  "Howso?!"

  "Five, of course. The number of altars in their temples: sacrifice, blood, pain, martyrdom and purity."

  "Thanks, Katie. That does the opposite of help!"

  She laughed with genuine amusement. "That is why I love you so, Micah. You think always in solid, literal absolutes, the way a true warrior should. Remember, dosha, these are Esavians. They may be uncivilized by our standards but they have stayed consistent in their paths since... since forever, I suppose. Have you tried thinking Esavian?"

  Micah shuddered. "Hades no! I think you really hate me, Katie. I don't want to think Esavian!"

  "Try it just once. You might find answers."

  Micah reactivated his 'pad and called up the Lan'Quor again. Ferrel found nothing, which surprised neither of them. They used computers and the Esavians didn't. Most Esavians didn't even own a cheap one. Only those with true need or a desire for ostentation did. Micah tried to focus past his familiarity with them and let his thoughts wander.

  Micah set the 'pad to the beginning and started reading. He didn't try to analyze or conclude, merely to feel. Whenever the feeling of the topic changed he put a break point. He deliberately didn't think about how long the feelings or topics lasted, or whether they crossed a poem or chapter break. He simply felt.

  What Micah did required most of his concentration. He vaguely heard conversations around him but paid them little heed. He'd built up ample reserves since his experience with the wine depleted them, now he used them. When he finally did finish and ease himself out of his concentration he found Ionoski sitting across the table from him.

  "Store and shore, Micah. You've been at this a day and a half. Time to rest, and that's an order."

  Micah wanted to argue but his body agreed with Ionoski.

  ***

  Micah woke late, groggy and hungry. The last outweighed the first two so he staggered into a quick shower and headed for breakfast. Late breakfast!

  "Welcome back," said Kidwell, "We thought about popping a CAS round but Ted vetoed that."

  "I'm glad, no blather," said Micah, "because I've either made the most significant discovery yet or it will take all of you to calm me down."

  Ferrel placed a hefty breakfast before him. "Here's a sedative, my brother. Eat and drink. That may slow you down if we walk the bad path."

  "We have news too," said Ionoski, "Starting with the first. There is now no doubt whatsoever that our Lan'Quor is genuine, six-sigma on the beam. We received word from Chalo. They gave Larruk the hardcopy and he didn't want to touch it. After someone quoted a few poems, though, he couldn't stop himself. He scanned a few pages and went suborbital.

  "He tried to kill his way out with the copy. That was expected and they prevented that. Next he tried to kill himself. Again expected, even multiple times with the last despite heavy sedation. All the while he was yelling curses and epithets in which the words 'infidel' and 'blasphemy' figured prominently."

  Micah digested that. "Is he..."

  "He's totally fine," interrupted Ionoski, "The end of the report had him kneeling as best he could and begging Dhu for a quick and merciful death. The ones reporting said it was a truly miserable and pitiable state, even for an Esavian."

  "When he comes out of that," said Siffai wickedly, "he should be most pliable and... willing to answer questions."

  "Second news," said Davies before Ionoski or Siffai could continue, "I tested seven varieties of vinostim, both local and imported. 4491 loves them all and will gladly grow there. It did reduce the potency a bit but still generated the important chemicals we need it to. So. Not only will it thrive on Dawn's Hope, we can introduce it to vinostim and it should have the same results."

  "Which I shall not test," said Micah with finality.

  "Final chunk of news," said Ferrel, "It seems our Semid friends have both talent and pull with Fabrication. Between them they cracked the Jengiil transponder code algorithms. That means we can forge all the Jengiil crypcerts we need. By now they've probably copied the hardware too so multiple shiftable codes are soon to follow. S&P also sent agents into Jeng space to plant false registrations and IDs in case we, or someone else, needs them."

  "Polar to orbit," said Micah, "Do I report now?"

  Ionoski lifted his eyebrows.

  "I am on the verge or cracking the Esavian calendar. Or not." Micah summarized his findings.

  "Ruddy lot of work," said Ferrel, "Five credits says it's platinum."

  No one took Ferrel's wager but it still prompted Micah to work harder.

  "Eleven thousand three hundred and ten."

  "Pardon," asked Ferrel.

  "That's the product of five, six, thirteen and twenty-nine. It is also thirty-eight less than the number of breakpoints I set in the Lan'Quor."

  "So what does it mean?"

  "Torque if I know. Those two numbers are ruddy close, though. Coincidence? Do you mind helping with this?"

  "Never, my brother! Speak on."

  The two of them started working out divisions and combinations of the two numbers plus Micah's original four, all against the newly-divided Lan'Quor. They saw the beginnings of several patterns but, frustratingly, none developed. Still, even proto-patterns represented more than they had before so they kept working. Barstein and Kidwell walked in to check their progress and stayed to help. Even with the extra input the patterns refused to form.

  "Charles, my love," said Kidwell, "Do you have the list of feasts and celebrations organized linearly? I particularly need durations and days between, nothing else."

  "Not for another five minutes," said Ferrel as he began working.

  They applied Ferrel's new list to the combinations that showed the most promise. Micah saw nothing but Kidwell did.

  "Divide by thirteen and overlay again. Both lists," she said.

  Once again Micah saw the start of a pattern but, again, it failed to complete.

  "Heh! Diagonalization," said Kidwell, "Slib. The last modulus lin
ed up nicely before it repeated. That makes me think twenty-nine is soft. Let's try..." Kidwell worked her datapad and showed her work as it progressed.

  "Heaven's flames," said Micah, "Vera, I do believe you're a genius!"

  "Thanks, lover. Charlie, try splitting the overlapping durations mod five."

  Ferrel did so and no one spoke for a long time. Finally Micah broke the silence.

  "It's too ruddy symmetric to be coincidence but what the hades does it mean?!"

  "I have a theory," explained Kidwell, "Five altars, six days in a week, twenty-nine in a month and thirteen months in a year. Overlapping celebrations occur on the same day but at different altars. Since days-per-week and days-per-month are coprime they have to make adjustments. That gives us two short months and seven long ones."

  "So that means..." Micah called up Kidwell's model and overlaid the Lan'Quor using his breakpoints. As soon as he factored in the event overlaps the thirty-eight leftovers vanished. Now each and every special day started a week and each breakpoint lined up with a specific day and altar! He walked over to Kidwell and kissed her on the cheek.

  "You're welcome, my darling," she said mischievously, "but I do believe this warrants a meal at least twice as good as what you feed Charles."

  "For everyone," agreed Micah, "Slammit down!"

  The results even amazed Ionoski.

  "Excellent work," he said, "I have a suggestion. Package this and send it with priority to S&P and SIFComm. Correlate against the Esavian attacks. If there's a pattern there then we'll have a jolly-bag of grief waiting for them the next time they attack us!"

  That evening, and much to Micah's surprise and delight, Orris and his sister joined them for their meal. The owner of the restaurant expressed equal measures of amazement and joy as well as the belief that his business would soon soar.

  "Because I had the evening free," explained Orris, "and I enjoy spending time among friends. Now tell me what you can of what you discovered to warrant this fine repast."

  "It's nothing particularly secret," said Ionoski, "Not past you or your sister certainly."

  Micah, Kidwell and Ferrel in turn explained what they did.

  "Truly amazing. Did Joachim help you?"