The Dance of the Voodoo Handbag (14 page)

‘Remarkable,’
he continued. ‘You would definitely appear to have the
right stuff,
as
they say.’

The
object of this praise sat on the other side of the cedar desk. The object’s
name was Billy Barnes.

‘My
actions were calculated to impress,’ said the object. ‘The young man answered
all my questions about your organization before he met his tragic end. “Necrosoft
writes its own rule book on matters of morality,” was a phrase he used.’

‘And
one I’m particularly proud of,’ said Blazer Dyke. ‘Would you care for a cup of
tea?’

‘Absolutely
not. And I’ll keep my rubber gloves on if you don’t mind.’

‘Priceless.
You’ll go far in this organization.’

‘I
intend to,’ said Billy.

Blazer
Dyke leaned back in his chair and gazed at the young man before him. It was
remarkable just how unremarkable he was. How perfectly average he was. How absolutely
ordinary. But
right.
He was right. He looked right just sitting there,
as if that was where he should be sitting. He fitted.

Blazer
Dyke rose from his chair. ‘Indulge me,’ he said. ‘Sit here for a moment.’

Billy
got up, went around the desk and sat down in Blazer’s chair. Blazer looked him
up and down and gently shook his head. ‘Quite remarkable. You look as if you
belong there. Quite remarkable indeed.’

Billy
smiled. ‘I’m so glad you approve,’ said he.

‘Oh, I
don’t approve. But I understand you, Billy. We understand each other, I
believe.’

‘In
that we are
different,
yes.’

‘Different.’
Blazer Dyke shooed Billy from his chair and plonked himself back into it. ‘Your
gift is for fitting in. Mine is for organization. Together we will make a good
team. But know this, Billy. Although I do not disapprove of what you did to the
young man, neither do I condone it. I am simply aloof to it. You exposed a
weakness in the structure of our organization which has now been rectified. But
there will be no more “tragic accidents” to my personnel. Do you understand me?’

‘Perfectly,
yes.

‘Also
you must view the experience as part of the learning process.’

‘How
so?’

‘To
take greater care.’

‘In
what way?’

‘The
room was under close-circuit video surveillance. Cutting-edge stuff,
naturally. All your actions were observed and recorded.’

‘I see,’
said Billy. ‘Then I shall take greater care in the future. Thank you for
drawing this to my attention.’

‘My
pleasure, my boy. Now I’m sure you have questions you’d like to ask.’

‘Many,’
said Billy. ‘I know the young man told me what he believed to be the truth.
But—’

‘But,’
said Blazer Dyke, ‘you do not believe that he knew the truth.’

‘Precisely.’

‘And of
course he didn’t Although fiction can sometimes be truer than fact. So what should
I tell you? Of how this company came to be, perhaps? Of its goals? Of its plans
for the future?’

‘All,’
said Billy.

‘Then
all it shall be. Necrosoft is a private company specializing in the
development of advanced micro-processing computer technology. EW and AT:
Electromagnetic Weaponry and Artificial Telepathy. Lumped under the heading of
NLWT: Non-Lethal Weapons Technology.’

‘Who
funds this organization?’ asked Billy.

‘The American
government. They fund many such privately owned companies in order to sidestep
the Freedom of Information Act. It comes loosely under the heading of covert
operations, but you will only find it listed as Research Technology. As there
is no longer a cold war between East and West, America has no immediate
enemies. Except of course the now legendary “enemy within”.’

‘Its
own people,’ said Billy.

‘Exactly.
Terrorists, activists, anarchists, cultists. Agitators in general. Dissidents,
if you like. Those who won’t toe the Party line. Those who act up. And so
military weapons technology is no longer aimed at foreign powers, it is now
being developed for urban pacification. To keep the unruly in their place. With
the grand view of creating a peaceful, stable society.’

‘Absolutely,’
said Billy.

‘Absolutely.
We don’t want to shoot our own, we just want to pacify them.’

‘Keep
them under control,’ said Billy.

‘Not an
expression we like to use here. But in essence, yes. Now, Electromagnetic
Weaponry has been in development since the Second World War. The Nazis were at
work on sound weapons that could disable vehicles and as you may know, many of
their top scientists escaped the war trials and were quietly spirited over to
America to work for the government there. Work progressed and with the
development of micro-chip technology, it came on in leaps and bounds.’

‘Go on,’
said Billy.

‘I
will,’ said Blazer. ‘Electromagnetic Weaponry, zapping the engines of tanks and
such like was all very well, but tanks can be shielded and systems over-ridden.
It is far easier to disable a person than a tank. And so EW led eventually to
AT: Artificial Telepathy. Which is what we specialize in here.’

‘Please
explain this to me.’

‘Certainly.
With Artificial Telepathy, a computer relays a radio communication directly
into a human brain without the need of an electronic receiver. A microwave
carrier delivers an analogue of words known as an
audiogram.
The big
bonus, indeed the whole point of this, is that the recipient of the message is
unaware that it is being broadcast. He or she thinks that it is their own thoughts.’

‘You
are saying that you can put voices into people’s heads?’

‘Voices.
Words. That’s crude, but it can be effective sometimes. The old “God told me
to shoot the president,” you know the kind of stuff But we’re talking
concepts
here. Implanting a concept to change a subject’s mode of thinking. Let us
say that you were to implant the concept of “guilt at wrong doing” — you wouldn’t
stop all the wrong doing, but you’d make a lot of people think twice and that
would make a difference.’

‘And
you’d have your urban pacification.’

‘Subtle
concepts don’t work on mob mentality. You need to be a little more robust.
Terror is an effective concept, but the terrified man will act irrationally.
The most effective we’ve found so far, and the most amusing, is to beam the
concept of a pressing need to use the toilet.’

‘Very
humorous,’ said Billy.

‘Indeed,
but in the future it should not be necessary. We are currently engaged in
other forms of experimental research. The pleaser, for instance.’

‘The
pleaser?’

‘You experienced
its efficacy yourself. The bright plastic something you so liked to squeeze.’

‘Impregnated
with the mysterious drug from the Amazon?’

‘Yes,
well, that was not altogether true. It has more to do with resonance and
frequency. But, tell me this, why do you think that the young are the way they
are today? Obsessed with name brand designer clothes and trainers, McDonald’s
burgers and manufactured pop music?’

‘Because
they all have the Sky TV satellite in their birth charts?’

‘That’s
probably part of it,’ said Blazer Dyke.

‘Really?’

‘No! Of
course not really! EW technology. Just like your pleaser, all geared towards
urban pacification. Once you have your young all dressing the same, eating the
same, listening to the same music and thinking the same, they are very easy to
control.’

‘This
is very sensitive information you are giving me,’ said Billy.

Well,
you’re not going to spread it around, are you?’

‘Absolutely
not.’

‘Because
we’d have to kill you, if you did.’

‘Quite
so.’

‘And
moving right along, we come to the Necronet itself. The latest port of call on
our electromagnetic voyage. We have in place the EW technology, the computer is
capable of despatching the microwave carrier which creates the audiogram in the
recipient’s head. What is the next logical development?’

Billy
put up his hand, as he had done so long ago in the junior school. ‘To programme
the computer to
receive
as well as to
send.’

‘Exactly,
and then?’

‘And
then you can effectively read people’s thoughts.’

‘Precisely,
and not just their thoughts. Access their memories also. And thoughts plus
memories equal
personality.
Equal in fact the
mind
of the subject.
The computer downloads the subject’s mind and stores it.’

‘To
what purpose?’

‘At
present for espionage. Subject one is downloaded, subject two has his memory
blanked, the concept of amnesia is implanted. Then subject one’s downloaded
mind, complete with all previous thought and memory, is beamed into subject
two. Mentally subject two is now subject one.’

‘And
subject one?’

‘Into
the canal with subject one.’

‘I see.
But where does the Necronet concept come into this? “Access the dear departed”
et cetera?’

‘By
happy accident, really. We downloaded a number of subjects. Disposed of their
bodies, but kept the downloaded minds stored in the computer for access.’

‘Who
were these subjects?’

‘Rivals
in the field. Computer scientists. Our way of beating the opposition. Absorb
it.’

‘So you
have their downloaded minds, their memories and thoughts stored in your
computer banks, what then?’

‘Then
we noticed something extraordinary. They were communicating with one another.
Exchanging information. One of our technicians likened them to being souls in
limbo. Souls in cyberspace, if you will. And so we created a virtual world for
them in there. All the comforts they might require, virtual food, virtual sex,
whatever. They’re very happy in there. And
very
cooperative.’

‘I see,’
said Billy. ‘So what do you need the grannies for?’

‘Historical
reference. A granny is a walking history book of the twentieth century. She
might have forgotten much of what she experienced. But only in the conscious
mind. It’s all there in the subconscious, ready to be downloaded and stored.’

‘And so
the virtual granny in cyberspace has a digital memory. She can remember
everything.’

‘That’s
right, and all these memories can be accessed by us. You see the beauty of
this. We are slowly building a world database. And it leads to an interesting
spiritual question. If you download a person before they die, when they do die,
do they
really
die? Their personalities, complete with all thoughts and
memories, are inside the virtual world of the Necronet. They are alive in
there. So is the person actually dead? The body, yes. The mind, no.
Interesting, isn’t it?’

‘Fascinating,’
said Billy. ‘But where is it all leading to?’

‘Control,’
said Blazer Dyke. ‘Control is what everything leads to. There is the herd and
there is the herd leader. The herd leader is the individual, the
different
one.
The herd is just the herd. Control the herd and you control the game. There are
those who do the accessing and those who are there to be accessed. I know which
of these I am. And you know too, don’t you?’

‘Born
to access,’ said Billy. ‘And I accept the position.’

‘Which
position is this?’

‘Whichever
position you offer me. I assume that I will not be offered a choice.’

‘You
are correct. But why do you assume this?’

‘Because
you have me under your control. You have the incriminating video tape and you
hold the power of life and death. Should I refuse to do what you ask, you can
always download me. I am sure your virtual world is a wonderful place, but I
would prefer to live here for the time being.’

‘Well
put. The job in question is that of “information gatherer”.’

‘Which
is a euphemism for what?’

‘Assassin.
Your particular gift, Billy, is for blending in. You are a regular stealth
fox.’

‘A
what?’

‘An
unfortunate by-product of our rural pacification programme. Nothing to concern
yourself about. But it is your ability to fit in, to look just right wherever
you are, which makes you valuable to us. We need someone who can
get in
close.
EW technology is not as yet long-range. The microwave carrier is
only effective over a few metres. We will issue you with a list of subjects.
Folk whose personalities we would like added to our database. You will
get
in close,
download these people and dispose of their bodies.’

Billy
nodded thoughtfully. ‘Sounds most challenging,’ he said. ‘Are there prospects
for promotion?’

‘For a
lad like you. Oh yes, indeed.’

‘Then
we have a deal.’