On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

“This is going to cause problems.” Adam declared, looking at the intelligence reports coming in from China. “Viola, do we have the latest satellite images?”

His African-American under-secretary, sharply dressed in an expensive skirt suit, handed him a series of images, detailing changes in several key locations over time. Adam inspected them, his expression growing strained. “The numbers here… they seem problematic. What’s worse…” he sighed. “This bears out everything I feared. What do you make of it?”

“Me?” she asked, surprised. Behind them, the TV was on, and one of the candidates for President was making a speech to a large rally of cheering followers, wearing hats and blowing horns. “You want my opinion, sir?”

“Of course. You are my right-hand woman, my Interrogator.” He declared, and Viola rolled her eyes at his words.

“I’ve told you, sir, best keep that game talk to yourself. It’ll lower the dignity of your position.” Even so, she took back the documents, as well as looking at further information displayed on her computer monitor, the images, from America’s most powerful high-orbit spy satellites, surprisingly grainy and low-res, with a series of strange, unexplained distortions blotting out parts of the images.

“It’s just us here, Viola. No need to be so tense.” He persisted. “Now, assess the intelligence. Tell me what you see.” The same thing I did, I have no doubt. If the purge has resulted in this, spread so far, then not just China will be destabilised. Our interests in the Pacific region are in danger…

“It looks like the Port of Suzhou has become a small battlefield.” She said, puzzled. “We already had indications that the CCP was conducting housecleaning…”

“Call it what it is, a purge.” Adam interrupted.

“A purge.” She corrected sourly. “But this is far beyond that. Initial images seem to show…” the first set of pictures were significantly sharper, showing much more detail. “… dissident groups, these so-called Sects, being chased out en masse. Although…” she mused, and as she thought, Adam admired her insights. Yes, Viola has the drive it takes to succeed. She’s the sort of woman we need in these troubling times. Her only issue is that she’s rather too soft, especially for these unique changes…

Keeping his face impassive, he watched as she continued to explain. “… China has no shortage of people, so I suppose several hundred deserters is hardly much of the whole. Anyway… these images…” she moved to the next set. “…show the People’s Liberation Army offensive, and several warehouses, some of the dock infrastructure, and more, destroyed in the firefight.” Smoke was obscuring the next images, but American technology was still able to get a largely clear view, which made the degradation in image quality that followed even more puzzling.

“It becomes hard to make out…” Viola sighed. “I would say it should be impossible, but I’ve seen the details on the Vermillion list.” Her mind was working, trying to understand the impossible. “If there was a black cat with the ability to confound electronic surveillance, or… no, that makes no sense, why would they have such a power?”

“I think you are along the right lines. Though I don’t think it’s anything to do with electronics.” No, that would be too simple. And considering the other things we’ve seen and learned…

“So, let me get this straight. You are saying it’s some sort of obfuscation, that even works on the satellites high above that they don’t even know are watching?” she said, incredulously.

“Is that any stranger than some of the other abilities we’ve observed?” Adan replied. “But yes, you are correct. It’s some sort of stealth-type power, making detection problematic. But do the best you can. We’ll have to run them through AI algorithms and noise-cancelling programs to see if we can sharpen the images. Technology won’t be defeated so easily.”

“Hmm, well…” she mused. “It looks as though the PLA fractured, some units rebelling and siding with the dissidents. I’m seeing dead soldiers as well as the rebels. These look to be burned out APC’s and tanks, and here… a downed helicopter? It’s amazing they managed to cover this up…”

“Yes, us developed nations certainly should envy that.” It isn’t just us in need of that. Reports from our remaining buried operatives in Japan are saying something big went down there with far-reaching consequences. I have agents on it, trying to gather as much data as we can…

“This last shot…” Viola said, pointing to one that was most obscured. “Are they… ships? An oil tanker, and smaller vessels. Looks like this one is destroyed, but the others…” her eyebrows rose in surprise. “So, it looks like a number of the dissidents and rogue PLA units managed to escape to sea? How? That makes no sense. They’d be sitting ducks for attack helicopters, fighter jets and cruisers.”

“Yes, but only if they can find them. Think about it. That’s our last image.” Adam coached her, leading her towards the conclusion, and she didn’t disappoint, quickly reaching the same idea as he had.

“I see! So whatever power they used shields them from detection. Perhaps even from physical vision?”

“I can’t be certain, but it seems the most likely solution. Well, the worst case, which we have to plan for anyway, is different. If the Chinese did manage to find the ships and sink them, drowning all the fleeing cats, well, problem solved, right? But if they evaded detection, then there are several hundred of these sects as well as an indeterminate number of black cats with unknown powers, other than detection obscuration, as well as rogue elements of the PLA with various armaments, who are heading for destinations unknown.”

“I know you’ve been bringing in well-trusted and vetted Chinese-Americans who work for the FBI, CIA and other Government branches, and setting them to researching Chinese myths and stories. Do you really think they have them? Cultivators? How would it be kept secret? It’s as stupid as saying that we managed to keep an alien that crashed at Roswell secret all these years.” She looked at the TV where the rally was heating up. “They think Governments are that efficient? We have more leaks, hostile briefings and self-sabotage every day.” Her snort was bitter. “There are prizes for the first to demonstrate magical powers all over the world. Tens of millions of dollars. Surely someone would have broke ranks before now. It makes no sense.”

“Well, while we like to think the world operates on logic, and people are rational, it’s obvious they aren’t. It’s why people like us are needed. In the shadows, making the hard, terrible choices so that the innocent can sleep at night, safe and sheltered.” He went to his cabinet, admiring the neatly painted figures within. “Well, whoever wins this Presidential race, they are in for one hell of a treat, dealing with this mess.” He sighed. “So far, we’ve had the ability to handle it however we wanted. We are hardly the only institution to… forget…  to report to the sitting President. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t care who wins the election, I have little interest in whether the House is Red or Blue. No, I care about getting a handle on this situation, before we let the man in the Oval Office, whoever it might be, make a mess.”

“I think you should take more of an interest.” Viola shook her head, drumming her perfectly manicured nails on the desk. “After all, what if he wins again? If he finds out you kept him in the dark, you’ll be replaced. He can be quite a vindictive man, so it seems.”

“Let him try. This is my department, I built it from scratch, and I have allies in all the other agencies, even if we clash with some, like Chris from the FBI. Besides, our rival candidate is hardly likely to approve of the actions we’ve taken, anyway. One is as much as good as the other. Gone are the days when the President was a lion, powerful and dignified. But we work with what we have. Back to your earlier point, before we got side-tracked, I think we are looking at it from a very American perspective. Which makes sense, but it’s a flaw.” No, we need to widen our vision, see things from their eyes. Hands behind his back, Adam paced the office, explaining.

“These Cultivator Sects, if they truly exist, they are likely akin to religion, just without Gods. A cult in the truest sense. Loyalty to secrecy and their fellow members would be so ingrained, I’m not surprised there are no breaches. And others…” he pulled a file, detailing their information on Japan. “… again, it seems that it is mostly religious or semi-religious types that have these powers. And they seem to be trivial, at least up until a few months ago. Sure, you could demonstrate the power to create a small flame, or a gentle breeze, and perhaps make some money, at the cost of betraying your pride and possibly even faith. But… think about it? Imagine what would happen if Christina Bakker found out?” That madwoman is a great scientist, but she’s not someone to trust. It’s always bad taste to refer to the sins of the past, but she would have fit in nicely with some of history’s more… blasphemous and abominable… doctors and scientists.

Viola seemed to share his view on her, as she shuddered. “It doesn’t bear thinking about. She’d be happy enough to dissect a person to find out what made them different, and wouldn’t take no for an answer. I see. Revealing a trivial miracle would just draw in those that seek to understand or exploit it. Wealth is unimportant when one’s life and liberty is at stake.”

“You get it.” He agreed, pleased at his protegee’s progress. “Even so, I suspect there have been some prepared to break their silence over the years. But I wouldn’t be surprised if the groups involved silenced them. Imprisonment, or likely worse. The common thread is that the majority seem to be religions, cultures or groups that go back fifteen hundred or more years.”

“Well, we are at a disadvantage then.” Viola mused. “Our native culture was rather oppressed, and few remain that practise the old ways.”

“Yes, countries such as those in the Far East, as well as some European and South American cultures have us beat in that regard. Well, I’m reaching out to our Native cousins, of course, but I’m not having much success. Perhaps in time… Well, we are rather off-topic. We have to assume that the dissidents will escape Chinese censure and make landfall somewhere else. Notify South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines. They are the most likely destinations. They’d be unlikely to risk turning south-west to reach Vietnam or Cambodia, there’s too much of a military presence around Taiwan and Hong Kong, and sailing north past Japan towards Russia, while not impossible, seems improbable.”

“Japan? Considering how frosty our relations have become…” Viola posited, but he shook his head.

“All the more reason to offer this little helping hand. Besides, you should be aware that our allies won’t abandon decades of co-operation over such… incidents.” Adam disagreed. “You know why we are taking the actions we are, Viola. You’ve risen to my under-secretary precisely because you have the resolve to do what needs to be done, right?”

“Yes, but…” she looked again at the TV. “Seeing all the campaigning, the speeches, the rallies, the cheering crowds, it makes me worry what we are doing is un-American. What will history make of us, Director?”

“I would be happy if there was any history at all.” Adam sighed, one last look at his figurines before opening the laptop containing the Vermillion list. With a few taps, he opened up the details of one new addition, though the data was mostly missing, no photograph, or even a name.

Codename: Midas. Priority Rank: Vermillion Threat Rank: Unknown/Indigo.

“That’s…” Viola began, having read the newly obtained reports. “… can he really turn normal items into gold? It seems like a fairy-tale.”

“Well, compared to what we’ve seen, this is nothing. It’s all conjecture, it could be a wonderfully clever hoax, but the timing is just too perfect. No, I have an instinct for these things, as do you. Admit it, you fear it’s true.”

“Yes, my gut says that Midas exists.” Viola agreed heavily.

“Well, you know what’s at stake then. Look. Let me tell you a story.”

“Not another one from your wargame?” she asked, and he laughed.

“Trust me. There’s a lot of truth in this universe. It may be a dark mirror to ours, but a dark mirror still reflects some light. After all, most politicians are useless, causing more trouble than they solve, leaving those who are prepared to get their hands dirty and their souls stained to do what needs to be done, in the shadows, their only thanks often censure or worse.” Fortunately the heads of the major Agencies are better than the High Lords of Terra.

“Director, you aren’t thinking that…” she began, but Adam laughed her concerns off.

“No, I’m not planning on going to prison after this mess is over. But, some would definitely see our actions as unconstitutional, so there’s always a risk. So, to preface my story, how much gold does the US hold in our reserves at the moment?”

“Four hundred and eighty billion dollars at current rates, right?” Viola answered, before realising. “If gold could be created from nothing, then the reserves are worthless! It would create panic on the international markets…”

“In the Great Depression, how many people died from suicide or poverty?” Adam asked, and she realised his point. “Even if Midas isn’t real, or is responsible, not misusing this ability, once the possibility exists of unlimited gold, the price will still crash, international markets will tank, economic chaos will drive the world to recession… and that’s just one of these black cats.”

“I see. We already worried about the prospect of assassination of key figures worldwide, but the scale is much bigger.” Viola quickly realised. “Wait, if gold can be created out of anything, is that all?”

Good. I knew my faith in you isn’t misplaced. “Yes. What if it wasn’t just gold, but any element? Worse. What about isotopes? If powers can interfere with high-orbit satellites, it isn’t too much of a stretch to assume that it could create pure Uranium-235 or Plutonium. Imagine it. Dictators the world over, Terrorist groups, even rich individuals with an axe to grind, able to make lethal dirty bombs, or even proper nuclear weapons. Hell, it’s probably more plausible to assume that someone could modify simple viruses such as the common cold, giving it lethality.”

“It’s a frightening thought. But I don’t see how we can stop it. There are just too many variables.” Viola worried.

“It’s simpler than it seems. Anyway, the story.” He opened the cabinet, retrieving several of his miniatures. “You know, this reminds me very much of psykers.”

“Psykers? More game talk?” Viola sighed.

“Yes. But you’d be surprised at the parallels. Well, just consider them as magic users, psychics that have real power, though the power comes from another world, the warp, where dark gods dwell and spiritual creatures rule.”

“That does sound ominously similar.” Viola agreed.

“I know, right? Well, from what we have gathered, the world we have gained is hardly so dark, though we are still far from understanding even a fraction of all there is to know. Anyway, nobody wants to be a psyker, but when they are, they gain great power. But that power comes with danger to those around them. I won’t explain in detail…”

“Thank God, when you start going you go on forever…” Viola sighed.

“… but for the good of those around them, these psykers have to be… dealt with. It’s a dirty, thankless task, but to preserve the wellbeing of billions, a few, a handful, innocent or not, need to be sacrificed.”

“I get that. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Everything in life is a series of hard choices. I knew that when I took this job.” Viola agreed. “Even so, it isn’t like we can just get rid of them all, can we? All the information we are gathering seems to point to a greater disaster coming, any number of them. I wish we had more information, but so far we have a lot of gaps.”

“Yes, it’s why I’m rather annoyed that Japanese guy got away. It seems like he has a lot of information. We dropped the ball on that one. And things seem to be rather… curious… in Japan right now. Well, no matter. Yes, you make a good point, Viola. And back to psykers… well, some few were brought into the fold, constrained and made safe. By cruel methods, admittedly. But to draw a parallel, we have those that we’ve brought under our control, good citizens and foreign volunteers…” his lips twisted at that euphemism. “… alike.” He scrolled through the Vermillion list, looking at numerous profiles. “It would be easy if we could just get rid of them all. Some would scream that is a tragedy, researchers and scientists like good Ms. Bakker.” He shrugged. “And I do see it. Many problems plaguing modern science could be revolutionised. But at what cost?”

“But you can’t, can you?” Viola pressed. “It would be impossible to find and dispose of all of them.”

“Not necessarily. Here’s the thing.” Adam disagreed. “There is clearly a finite number of the black cats. Everyone we’ve questioned admits to having their meeting with whatever being granted them their powers at almost exactly the same date. Well, there’s a day or two of difference, but that’s within the margin of error. While I can’t exactly rule out a second wave, I’m confident that those out there are all we’ll have.”

“Yes, though there’s a flaw in that, right? I have the report here somewhere…” Viola went to her desk, and after a while, produced a thick report triumphantly. “We even have updates from a few days ago. It’s that Double Vermillion guy again, the Japanese one. Apparently he can grant powers to others. That throws off your calculations, right? And I don’t think he’s the only one. There’s that one in India who has just come across our radar, right? And what of these Chinese sects?”

Once more impressed by her knowledge and reasoning, Adam inwardly applauded her. “All true, but you are missing the key point. It seems that all of these artificially created black cats pale in comparison to the cats themselves. Though I confess, I’m interested. A way to create super-soldiers, without the more problematic aspects, might be just what we need. Though it’s not a call I can make alone, of course. No, my job is to make sure all the cats in the USA are under our control, and internationally… well, there’s the rub, isn’t it?”

“Calling it the rub understates the mess with Japan.” Viola protested.

“I think you are missing the bigger picture.” Adam explained, enjoying the back-and-forth with his fiery under-secretary. It takes my mind off the task at hand for a while. “Consider each of the cats as a powerful doomsday weapon. Well, taking from our enemies or destroying their weapons… that’s common sense, right? And does it really matter if we worsen our relations with our enemies anyway? If we have more power, they can’t do much except howl and bite impotently. As for our allies… yes, I understand your concerns. Japan, Britain, France, Germany, South Korea… we’ve been active in every sphere, though we’ve not been caught red-handed like we were in Japan. Allies today could be enemies tomorrow, but more importantly… look at Japan. Relations are tense, but we still need each other. Japan is hardly going to side with our enemies over a handful of doomsday weapons, are they? Are they going to embrace China because of our meddling?”

“No. they wouldn’t.” Viola agreed, thoughtfully. “But, even so, co-operation seems less likely.”

“Bigger picture, Viola. Bigger picture. These doomsday weapons aren’t replaceable as far as we can tell, sure, a few can make lesser replacements, but that won’t cut it, not if the upcoming magical disaster that we can’t even imagine comes true. So long as we hold all, or even most of the weapons that remain…” he put back the figures, smiling softly at them. “… well, what choice do they have? We paid our due. Every life has a price, sadly. Even ours. If whoever wins the race decides I have to be the scapegoat for our deeds, well, I’ll take the fall. I have no intention of that happening, but considering who is running, I can’t rule it out. If so…” he pointed to the laptop. “… I want to put us in an unassailable position first. And while Gina, Chris and the others might take issue with some of my methods, they know in their hearts that letting those such as this Midas, Akio from Japan, the King of the Favelas, and any number of potential disasters, run free, is far more dangerous than any potential political fallout that can be managed by money and other concessions.”

“I understand.” Viola nodded, her expression bitter but resolute. “Even so, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Among them, there are no doubt many who don’t deserve this. Everyone deserves freedom and liberty. I mean, you’ll get some that say these powers are just a further expression of the right to bear arms, right?”

“Yes, but most people don’t have potential access to nuclear weapons, do they? If they did, and one pissed off person could turn a city to glass, they’d soon change their tune.” It was hyperbole, and it might never come to pass, but some were clearly growing in strength. I have to plan for the worst, not the best. It’ll be too late for tears when a city burns. That’s why I’ll harden my heart, do what needs to be done. Ruthless, cruel. Perhaps even evil. The history books will say all that of me and more. But I hope they say pragmatic too.

“Yes, I get it. I do.” Viola drummed her nails on the desk again, as she did when thinking deeply or agitated. “Even so, I wish there was a better way. Sacrificing the few for the many, while logical and perhaps even moral, it… sits badly with me.”

“With us all.” Adam agreed. “Well, perhaps one of our cats holds the key. Some powers are too dangerous to let exist, even in the hands of a saint, but there must be those we can use to constrain and secure. Well, if that’s all, you’d better get on the phone. We need our diplomats to pass on the information about the Chinese dissidents. We need to mend some burned bridges.”

“Of course. I’ll get on it right away.” As Viola left with the documents relating to the Chinese purge and insurrection, Adam found his gaze going back to the laptop that held the Vermillion list. I can’t help but feel we are only scratching the surface. Knowledge, we need that more than anything. If only we didn’t screw the pooch with our capture attempt on Akio Moonstone Oshiro… well, no use lamenting. Done is done. Now the question is… do we try again? If we fail a second time, our relations with Japan will be damaged massively. Or we could try for a trade, information for information… Either way, it would be costly. And my capital to conduct international operations has been depleted. I’d need to get support from the others…

Grabbing the remote control, he turned off the TV, muting the Presidential hopeful. “Well, the path to victory here is a narrow one. My only consolation is that China, Japan and other countries seem to be struggling just as much as we are…”