‘True, but the saurian technology will provide cheap power and, with that, the possibility of cheap water to parts of the world affected by drought, so food supplies can be improved. I won’t pretend that the problems have gone away though. I disagree when you talk about decades – I think it’s more likely to be centuries before we achieve a stable and sustainable population. But the saurians are providing us with the means to struggle through to that point.’
‘Do you think we have the international structures in place to deliver the benefits of these changes to the people who need them?’
‘The structures are there; what we have to do is use them effectively.’
The conference went on in this vein for some time, until the chairman announced that he would take one more question.
‘Cade, what are you going to do next?’
I thought about that one. ‘I’m not sure. I’m no longer needed as a healer, and cooperation between human and saurian scientists is progressing rapidly without me. But I can hardly go back to living a normal life.’ I grinned. ‘Watch this space!’
Richards was waiting behind the stage. ‘That went well enough,’ he radiated controlled satisfaction. ‘But a crowd of demonstrators is waiting outside. There are still many people who feel strongly about what you did. You’d better come this way.’
He led me down into the basement and past a maze of service ducts until he reached an unobtrusive doorway, which he unlocked before passing through. We entered a long tunnel.
‘Aha! The legendary Whitehall tunnel complex!’
He snorted audibly. ‘Consider yourself privileged.’
We surfaced in the building which housed my flat and, somewhat to my surprise, Richards stayed with me. In my rather gloomy accommodation, lit only by small windows overlooking an internal courtyard several stories below, he settled down in a government-issue armchair and steepled his hands, regarding me thoughtfully.
‘That last question was apposite. What are you going to do next? You are still too controversial a figure to be out and about in public, and we can hardly disguise you.’
I shrugged. ‘I’m really not sure. I don’t seem to have a purpose at the moment, and I can’t think of anything that I can usefully do. No doubt something will come up.’
Richards nodded. ‘No doubt. You still have talents beyond those of the rest of us, which could be useful from time to time.’
‘In the meantime, I’d prefer to return to the Hebrides. It’s a lot better than being cooped up in here, unable to go outside.’
He nodded again and stood up to leave. ‘That won’t be a problem, as long as you stay in touch. Before you go, your brother has asked to see you. Do you want to meet him?’
I sighed at the prospect of another fractious meeting, then realised that mind-linking might make a considerable difference. ‘All right, I’ll see him.’
Luke’s mind reflected his wariness as he entered the flat and looked around. He was even thinner than before, looking gaunt and haggard. We linked tentatively, as if afraid of being burnt.
‘You’ve gone down in the world since Long Island – this is a bit of a hole.’
I shrugged. ‘Not as deep as some I’ve been in lately.’
We sat in armchairs facing each other, then tentatively strengthened the link. I felt the force of his convictions, but also his constant doubts about whether he was interpreting correctly what was needed of him, whether or not his actions were the right ones. I sensed from his emotions that he was finding something similar in my mind, although based on reason rather than religion. We simultaneously smiled wryly at each other.
‘Any regrets?’
‘Many, particularly on a personal level. But if time was rewound and I had to go through it all again, I can’t see any major choices I would make differently.’
He nodded, slowly. ‘I can see that. But then, I never doubted your sincerity. Only your judgment.’
‘So, what do you think now?’
He sighed and leaned back in the chair, closing his eyes. ‘You should have seen some of the things I saw. The people terrified into insanity and even suicide, believing that they had been taken over by evil spirits when their mind-links opened. Of course, I realised immediately what had happened, what you must have done. I tried to reassure them, but most of them were too distraught to understand. There was panic and chaos for weeks. Society broke down. Transport was disrupted, so food stopped arriving and people began to starve. Eventually the government got something organised but I don’t know how many had died by then. It was a desperate situation, repeated in many parts of Africa.’
I felt his anguish, his frustration at being unable to convince the superstitious rural poor that they were not possessed by demons, his despair as they starved and he could do nothing to help. I impulsively opened my mind to him. ‘This is why I did it!’
He absorbed the outpouring of emotions which suddenly burst from me, understood what I had experienced from the start: the shock and horror of my transformation, the love and grief for Sophie, the revelation of the saurians, the certainty of the destruction of human civilisation if we did not do something drastic – and the reasoning and emotions which lay behind my decision to ask the saurians to develop their virus and release it on our world. He looked at me sadly and nodded.
‘I understand what you did. I appreciate that you felt you had no choice. Perhaps I would have felt compelled to do something similar, in your place.’
We sat and looked at each other for a while, feeling closer than we had ever been. We understood each other perfectly, sympathised with the problems the other had faced. There still remained, of course, the fundamental difference between us; Luke’s religion, and my atheism. I was aware of the strength he gained from his faith, the way it drove him to spend his life trying to help others, while helping him cope with the desperate problems he experienced. He similarly acknowledged and accepted the logic of my position, my insistence on evidence and reason before reaching conclusions. He got up to leave, but this time there was no bitterness. We embraced, rather awkwardly.
‘You might believe in science but, in a way, that is a kind of faith as well. A faith that logical deduction will always provide the answers.’
‘Maybe. At the moment, it seems to be doing the job. Help is slowly being provided to Africa and wherever else it is needed. You look after their souls, and I’ll try to help provide for their bodies.’
My island home was just as I left it. I waited for the noise of the receding helicopter to die away, savouring the peace and solitude. I walked into the low house, put my notebook on the table, and logged on out of habit. There was a message in my intray:
I’ve just seen your conference on TV. Well done, and thanks. All the best. F.
I slipped on my headnet to check with the saurians whether or not Freya had tried to make contact via them, but she hadn’t.
In the next few days I settled back into my old routine. Spring was slow in establishing itself, the occasional sunny day alternating with Atlantic storms as the frontal systems swept north-east, lashing Scotland in passing. One morning, Secundo had some news for me: