that,” says Mulaghesh. “I don’t like the impossible more than anyone else does.”
“It does defy our current understanding of physics,” Prathda admits. “Electricity cannot just come from
nowhere
. It has to be generated from some phenomenon. But our understanding of physics is changing all the time. We learn new things every day,” he says as he leads them back through the labs. “This is the goal of Arc Lightning. Science is like a glacier: slow and indomitable. But it will get to where it’s going.”
“Thank you for that eloquent speech, Prathda,” says Nadar curtly. “And for the tour. Very informative, as always.”
Prathda bows expansively, thanks them both, and returns to his work.
“He’s a nice enough guy,” says Nadar as they exit. “But it’s hard to get top-grade scientific talent out here.”
“I see. So until we can verify exactly how thinadeskite does what it does, it’s not hitting any factory floors.”
“Correct, General. And we have all kinds of industry muck-a-mucks clawing at our backs to get their own people in here to run their own tests. But I’m not playing babysitter for a bunch of damned tweedy
civilians
.” Nadar says the word with a surprising amount of disdain. “We have enough problems here. We don’t need academics or scientists getting gutted or shot on our back door as well. Not to mention the security risks that poses, letting industry get their say in military matters.”
“Any security issues with Arc Lightning?”
“No serious ones, at least.”
“Serious ones?”
“Well. Truth be told, there was one odd incident a few months back that now seems to have been somewhat harmless. Some of our operations crew noticed signs that someone had started a fire in one of the branches. Not as sabotage, it seems, because there’s not much to burn down in a tunnel underground, but…Something like the ruins of a campfire. A very small one.”
“That is odd.” Mulaghesh makes a note of it.
“Yes, I went and looked myself. It looked as though whoever had done it had been burning just…well, plants, I suppose. Leaves. Some cloth. Things like that. As if someone had camped out down there, trying to escape the rain, perhaps.”
“How long ago was this?”
“Oh, months…Probably four or five months ago. We checked the fences, checked the security checkpoints, checked the tunnels, but found no sign of forced entry or tampering. It was strange, but it’s never happened again. It’s weak tea in comparison to the other issues pressing on us.”
“If you could have your way, Captain—what would you do with this project?”
Nadar blinks. Her heavy, dark eyes flick back and forth over the floor. “If I can speak freely, General?”
“You may.”
“I’d mothball this. Shut it down. Now’s not the time to play scientists.”
“And what would you do instead?”
Her response is immediate: “Arm and train the river clans, and coordinate with them to drive the highlanders out of the Tarsil Mountains entirely.”
“No more negotiations, then?”
Nadar scoffs. “It’s just a front. The highland tribes use the talks to stall just long enough until they can make their next move. They disassociate themselves from any conflict, of course. ‘That wasn’t us who did it, just people who happen to fervently agree with us—and how can we control them?’ Very convenient.”
“I see.” Mulaghesh clears her throat. “One last thing, Captain…”
“Yes?”
“I know you said that you’d used tests to confirm that this material was
not
Divine…but when they sent me here, I saw a record of a Ministry of Foreign Affairs representative coming here to do some additional tests.”
Nadar’s face darkens.
“But,” says Mulaghesh, “there was some kind of note that she went AWOL. Is that correct?”
Nadar thinks for a long time, her mouth working. “This, too,” she says finally, “is probably something that can be explained with a simple
“It does defy our current understanding of physics,” Prathda admits. “Electricity cannot just come from
nowhere
. It has to be generated from some phenomenon. But our understanding of physics is changing all the time. We learn new things every day,” he says as he leads them back through the labs. “This is the goal of Arc Lightning. Science is like a glacier: slow and indomitable. But it will get to where it’s going.”
“Thank you for that eloquent speech, Prathda,” says Nadar curtly. “And for the tour. Very informative, as always.”
Prathda bows expansively, thanks them both, and returns to his work.
“He’s a nice enough guy,” says Nadar as they exit. “But it’s hard to get top-grade scientific talent out here.”
“I see. So until we can verify exactly how thinadeskite does what it does, it’s not hitting any factory floors.”
“Correct, General. And we have all kinds of industry muck-a-mucks clawing at our backs to get their own people in here to run their own tests. But I’m not playing babysitter for a bunch of damned tweedy
civilians
.” Nadar says the word with a surprising amount of disdain. “We have enough problems here. We don’t need academics or scientists getting gutted or shot on our back door as well. Not to mention the security risks that poses, letting industry get their say in military matters.”
“Any security issues with Arc Lightning?”
“No serious ones, at least.”
“Serious ones?”
“Well. Truth be told, there was one odd incident a few months back that now seems to have been somewhat harmless. Some of our operations crew noticed signs that someone had started a fire in one of the branches. Not as sabotage, it seems, because there’s not much to burn down in a tunnel underground, but…Something like the ruins of a campfire. A very small one.”
“That is odd.” Mulaghesh makes a note of it.
“Yes, I went and looked myself. It looked as though whoever had done it had been burning just…well, plants, I suppose. Leaves. Some cloth. Things like that. As if someone had camped out down there, trying to escape the rain, perhaps.”
“How long ago was this?”
“Oh, months…Probably four or five months ago. We checked the fences, checked the security checkpoints, checked the tunnels, but found no sign of forced entry or tampering. It was strange, but it’s never happened again. It’s weak tea in comparison to the other issues pressing on us.”
“If you could have your way, Captain—what would you do with this project?”
Nadar blinks. Her heavy, dark eyes flick back and forth over the floor. “If I can speak freely, General?”
“You may.”
“I’d mothball this. Shut it down. Now’s not the time to play scientists.”
“And what would you do instead?”
Her response is immediate: “Arm and train the river clans, and coordinate with them to drive the highlanders out of the Tarsil Mountains entirely.”
“No more negotiations, then?”
Nadar scoffs. “It’s just a front. The highland tribes use the talks to stall just long enough until they can make their next move. They disassociate themselves from any conflict, of course. ‘That wasn’t us who did it, just people who happen to fervently agree with us—and how can we control them?’ Very convenient.”
“I see.” Mulaghesh clears her throat. “One last thing, Captain…”
“Yes?”
“I know you said that you’d used tests to confirm that this material was
not
Divine…but when they sent me here, I saw a record of a Ministry of Foreign Affairs representative coming here to do some additional tests.”
Nadar’s face darkens.
“But,” says Mulaghesh, “there was some kind of note that she went AWOL. Is that correct?”
Nadar thinks for a long time, her mouth working. “This, too,” she says finally, “is probably something that can be explained with a simple
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