Chapter 34

The following day Amanda and I were visiting the prepared site for the first Imperial style tower to be constructed on Asha. Whilst it would mostly be constructed by AIs, there was also a sizeable human crew as well, all taking part according to the Empire’s policy of ensuring if you wanted a job, one that suited you would be found for you.

“How many floors?” I asked our guide, Monitor Kalion.

“One thousand, of which seven hundred will be residential,” she replied. “Three malls, several entertainment complexes and of course the various building services and controls.”

“It will be a nice place to live,” Amanda nodded. “Though will stick out a bit, initially.”

“Yes, our resident troublemakers have already protested over it, though we have been over-subscribed with offers of interest to move in or set up businesses.”

“Full Imperial functionality does have its selling points,” I chuckled.

“It does indeed, Ser Dayyev.”

“Just Dayyev. I’m not nobility.”

“And it’s just Amanda when it’s nothing official,” Amanda added.

“Oh ... okay.”

“So what’s the protestors main objection ... other than it being Imperial?” Amanda asked.

“That it blocks out the sun for a long period of the day and a large area of the city,” Kalion replied.

“What? With holo-transition throughput?”

“Yes. Apparently we wicked Imperials have designed a killer beam weapon hidden in the holo-emitters to wipe out the unwanted residents.”

“Despite allowing them to freeze in the shade?”

“Apparently so, though most of the residents will come from the area affected and we’ll begin to construct an assembly park for various consumables when they move out, so it won’t require much light anyway.”

“Most Imperial worlds using towers are like that,” I nodded. “Lot of parks too.”

“Yes, we’re incorporating one of them outside too.”

“And getting rid of the Republican housing?”

“Oh yes. That was designed for cheapness and keeping the residents segregated and blatantly observed,” Kalion grimaced.

“Whilst the AIs in a tower do observe you, but generally let you get on with things, unless it’s violence or a crime,” I chuckled.

“Yes, not for saying the government sucks,” she nodded, her mood brightening.

The building crew themselves were all pretty young and enthusiastic. All had been trained in special design and coordination as well as enjoying the gravpack methodology used to lift the huge construction beams that formed the foundations of the tower and mounted the strengthening grav-generators that lightened the weight of the building, but would also pin and anchored it rigidly as it gradually rose from the ground.

“Enjoy the work?” I asked the group I was sketching.

“Hell, yeah!” one of them replied with a broad grin. “We get to fly as well as get paid for it.”

“One way of looking at it,” I chuckled.

“The experience here will enable us to move up the corporate ladder for when the other cities begin their building projects too,” another added.

“Any of you hoping to move in here?”

“All got our names down.”

“No problems from the rebels?”

“The Guardians arrested one of them for threatening my family,” a young woman replied. “Stupid shlecker couldn’t seem to grasp the AIs keep an eye out for that sort of thing.”

“Guess you’re all used to the AIs now?”

“Yep. I mean we all know they are watching, but they don’t interfere unless you’re doing something you shouldn’t,” she replied. “They even let you do stupid stuff so long as no one’s hurt,” she finished with a giggle.

I could hear a chant of ‘Empire go home’ ... or something along those lines. It was vaguely in the background and not terribly loud, or strident come to that.

“I don’t think their hearts are in it,” I chuckled, handing out sketches.

“Well, the Empire totally ignores them. It’s difficult to build up any sort of momentum when the ones you oppose simply ignore you and carry on with building their kind of society,” the young woman giggled.

“Guess that would be so. Ah, it’s speech time.”

Amanda stepped up to a podium where a microphone and tri-dee cams had been placed and looked out at her audience with a beaming smile. Silence descended and the only noise you could hear was the whirring of the floating tri-dee cams and the vague noise of the distant protestors.

“People of Asha,” she began, speaking to the wider audience viewing and listening in. “I was overjoyed when I was told I would be visiting this world to let Her Serenissima’s subjects know they were fully accepted within the Empire. It has not been an easy path for you. Many initially objected strenuously to the Empire’s annexation of this world from the Diadem Republic. Some of which goes on even to this day, as you can hear,” she added with a wry smile. “Yet now, you can see the benefits of Imperial society, and enjoy a lifestyle well above what you had before. You have access to high technology, improved medication and live your lives in relative tranquillity. With the building of this new tower, you will gain even more benefits. It will be a fully configured Imperial hub with total AI functionality. Those housed here will have greater space to live in, work in and have leisure time in. Those few of you who have travelled will have seen these towers in other planetary cities and know just what a good life you can have in one, even at the bottom of the social ladder. Those of you who help construct it will gain vast experience to take to other projects of this kind and will see the cities of Asha transformed by their work.” She paused to let her words sink in before finishing her speech. “People of Asha, your Empress salutes you as you bring your world fully into bloom with your hard work and enthusiasm!”

There was loud applause from the audience, all of whom had listened raptly to Amanda’s speech detailing how the Empire now viewed them and applauded their efforts to fully integrate into the Empire as a whole.

“It gives me great pleasure to insert the core AI into the foundation matrix of this tower in order to begin the growth of the building. May the gods bless it and all who dwell in it,” Amanda finished, pressing a button which lowered a small dense cube into the processing block built into the foundation of the tower and which would both build and control all the essential systems of it.

“System in place. Awakening beginning,” the AI announced. “Matrix enabled. Growth beginning.”

Outside the ground seemed to be swirling in certain areas as trillions of nanites were activated, programmed and let loose to begin the outer works of the tower as the various crews and management cheered, completely drowning out the protestors.

“How long?” I asked Monitor Levei, who was part of the oversight team controlled by Tallica Venoos, the Noble reporting to the Governor.

“The outer frame and supports will take a couple of binary cycles, after that we have the ... fiddly bits. Still, it will be up and open for business in about half an Imperial year,” he informed me.

“Always impresses me how quickly one of these can go up,” I replied.

“You’ve seen nanite construction before?”

“Yes, after the alien invasion of Vreekoos, a lot of the city centre was rebuilt very quickly, one block at a time,” I explained.

“I thought the aliens only got in the lower levels?”

“Didn’t mean a lot of people weren’t exactly happy to return. There were a lot of deaths still from those who refused to move out, thinking they could defend their homes.”

“I see, but surely Silcom at least is one of the main supporting towers of the Imperial tower itself?”

“It was. The AIs simply congealed the nanites into a massive support pillar, then re-grew the levels up around it.”

“Wow, I must look that up.”

“It surely was impressive, plus grav tech makes it easy to a certain extent.”

“Yes, this couldn’t be done without that. The rebels even tried to blow up the grav-generators we’d purchased to install but were thwarted by ImpSec and Ground Force,” he explained.

“I know they are on the planet, a lot more than you’d possibly see on another world, but frankly there doesn’t appear to be a lot of them,” I shrugged.

“I’m told they remain training in their various bases or the space station base they have along with Fleet. They can deploy very quickly though ... I’m told. We haven’t had any major violence in years.”

“I see, they wouldn’t turn out for a mere protest,” I nodded, reasoning that GF would be opting for an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ approach these days.

“No, they don’t. Whilst some in that crowd might have violence in mind, the Guardians will have them in check.”

“Take it they still refuse braceletting?” I asked, as the Imperial ID bracelet gave access to all sorts of basic AI functions and was usually given at birth and was made from what was called living metal and grew with the recipient.

“Yep, they call it the slave band,” he chuckled. “Means they end up living in substandard conditions as they can’t get full AI access, even if their housing has it.”

“Well, it does identify your location and can be used for zaps,” I shrugged with a wry smile, as for all the AIs did use it for that, they didn’t need it to do it.

“Their numbers grow fewer. Many of their children have abandoned the movement along with others who just saw what the Empire offered as a better choice.”

“Guess that can be a little risky for them.”

“Used to be, now they get moved to different cities to start anew.”

Our next visit was to the local school, the one whose children had asked Amanda to visit. As ever there was a small, noisy, if mostly ignored, protest group at the entrance, though they were not permitted entry, naturally. The Head teacher, Monitor Piiri, had an almost stunned look on her face as she still could not believe the sheer nerve her pupils had had in personally inviting Amanda to the school.

“We’re so honoured you took the time from your schedule to visit us, Serenissimé,” she greeted us nervously.

“Your girls were so enthusiastic in their invite that I couldn’t resist the temptation to see the wonderful place that gave them such confidence to do so,” Amanda replied with a smile, putting the Monitor at ease.