Wildcard by Kelly Mitchell Page A

way.
    Time to make Juniper believe the poem was
from Wildcard.
    “Commence Position Five,” the boy Sergeant
said, “but hold in reserve.”
    Even though he was new, they insisted he
retain the operational command, because his skill set and training
was so geared to it.
    Position Five, the poem stopped and they
monitored the conversation until they could…what? It was open, this
was their test. Position Five was all about making Juniper really
take the bait of Position Six, which the Sergeant wanted to
overlap, by sudden intuition.
    “We’re going to let Position Five hang open.
I’d like to commence Position Six and work them in simultaneous
array.”
    The Benefactor’s strange mechanical voice
came on. “Yes. Excellent move, Sergeant. That’s why you’re in
charge.” The boy Sergeant flinched. He had never heard the voice
before.
    Position Six, where things came together
that had been secreted away into Juniper’s memory by S-1 the day he
died. This was the point of no return. Once Juniper found out, and
he would if they initiated, he would either retaliate or it would
be too late.
    “Chief?” he said. “Do we have a position Six
go ahead?
    “ Oui,” the General said. “Le fait. Et je suis en
accord. Brilliant play.”
    He looked at the ghost of the Mechanic next
to him, saw him make a similar, unheard request to the Benefactor,
then turn and thumbs up the Sergeant.
    “Commence Position Six.”
    Boy and ghost Mechanic tapped in their eight
digit release codes. The false memory of taking something from the
Mans Seeker, and the thing taken, the play, the trap planted inside
Karl’s mind during the training for mission one, the coded tags
around the next bit of poetry, the encryption key, all went up at
once. Now to turn up the heat on the poem while Juniper cracked the
puzzle. He checked the holo-display, to see what the team was
doing.
    “Could you wipe out poverty?” Karl finished
his peach, walked across a small patch of grass to a trash can.
    “Easily, in theory, but we don't wish to. I
think, we all think probably, that humanity needs poverty. We would
not want to be effective in your world in that way. A utopian
vision will not work for humanity. And it may be a tired prophecy,
but humankind is inclined to destroy itself. You will find ways to
destroy yourself. You will find ways to be unhappy in any
event.”
    The Benefactor’s voice came in, the eerie,
multioctave, synthetic derangement that sounded to the Sergeant
like a giant with metal teeth chewing shards of glass.
    “Humanity will find a means to
unhappiness.”
    The Mechanic typed it in as he heard it.
    “Oui,”the General said, “mais change ‘a’ to
‘the’.”
    The Mechanic changed it, spliced the line
in, the Sergeant approved it, and the Mechanic sent it.
    “The next line comes through,” Juniper said.
“‘Humanity will find the means to unhappiness.’ He is echoing me.
This poem originates from Jupiter’s orbit. It was in transmission
when I said that about humanity’s happiness. Do you begin to see
his power? There follows more:
    there must humans rest
    for all of time, we do not know
    Wildcard cannot see that far
    we do not know if humanity is fundamentally
changeable
    no possibility should be forced into
nonbeing.
    No chance should be written away.
    Any risk can be taken
    any gamble won or lost
    that is the meaning of risk.
    It is why you were born.
    “Karl, this is a cryptographic message. It
deciphers another document.”
    “Which document?”
    “A play called ‘Fallen God’. It is the
second of two keys, and the cipher was given to you. Do you wish to
share it?”
    “Sure.” He shrugged. “Go ahead. Who got the
first key?”
    “Seeker, I took it from him.”
    “Did ya’ll steal it?” Sublime said.
    “No, RJ. I took it by force.”
    “Who Seeker is?” LuvRay asked.
    “But the play was written before Wildcard
existed. Can he time travel?” Karl said at the same moment.
    “No, we do not believe he