Svafa II
"I've been able to stabilize Bran and he is taking the neurogenesis injection well; he should suffer no cognitive damage. In terms of cracked and broken bone, a dissolvable capsule near his chest will disperse nanites that will promote improved mending and healing on that area. Thankfully none of his internal organs were ruptured and he seems to have suffered no internal bleeding. There is one problem, however," explained Enzo Millet, the Stark family listening intently. They were waiting in Bran's room, the boy sleeping peacefully. Samuel and Diego were there as well. Svafa knew what was coming next, but she still cringed when Enzo gave the prognosis.
"His lower spinal column is basically crushed. The vertebrae are completely misaligned, and the spinal nerve is torn in the area. I don't have the skill, equipment, or facilities necessary to effect a repair. If his spine isn't reconstructed through surgery, he will never walk again."
Ned gulped at the statement. Catelyn sobbed lightly while Robb, Sansa, and Arya held together well enough; they still looked somewhat devastated. Rickon had fallen asleep in his room, watched over by some of Winterfell's maids.
Bran was stabilized some time ago, but Enzo wanted to make sure that he mitigated or prevented any long term damage. The biggest concern was internal bleeding and ruptured organs, as those could still result in death if not treated. Concussions and brain damage were next, followed lastly by the skeletal system. Svafa knew that once Enzo had verified the condition of Bran's spine, he had formulated a prognosis for the family.
While Enzo was busy with maintaining Bran's long term health, King Robert and some of his Royal party showed up to offer their prayers and condolences. Notably absent was the Queen and Joffrey; Robert said that they wanted to pray alone in the Sept. Svafa didn't really buy that; the Queen and her 'Golden Boy' seemed like the definition of blue-blood elitist royalty. Robert did heartily congratulate Svafa for having found the boy and acting swiftly to bring him to Enzo and Luwin; Svafa felt like she didn't deserve the praise. Wasn't that the bare minimum of human kindness? Robert said that he wanted to officially congratulate Enzo and Luwin once they were done tending to Bran. The Starks had then publicly declared that they were grateful to Svafa, Enzo, and Gatekeeper as a whole and that if Gatekeeper needed a favor then Gatekeeper would have it. The Starks would definitely fit in with the Commonwealth; reputation and favors were the bread and butter of civil society.
Svafa was broken out of her thoughts when Sansa spoke up, "You said that you don't have the skills or facilities to heal Bran's spine; would those qualities and materials be found beyond the gate?"
Svafa suddenly remembered, Duh idiot, Gateway has Top Notch hospitals! They even got a half-dozen chrysalis pods; some spinal reconstruction would be easy for them.
There was only one problem. Samuel grimaced and answered with hesitation.
"That would be the case. Problem is, Gatekeeper has a rather stringent quarantine policy; they are concerned about disease and plagues. Not only that, but they have some documentation about certain restricted fields; the Gatekeeper executives would throw a fit if I brought Westerosi through the gate without their approval. They might not even approve at all if I waited till the next check in to ask…"
Catelyn shook her head, "I would not be okay with Bran passing through your gate alone. If what you say about your 'executives' is true, then I doubt they would be any more pleased with two."
Svafa felt anger well up within her chest; Gatekeeper may have offered it's assistance and support, but the executive board was adamant about the quarantine. Svafa could understand that they were concerned with disease, but she also suspected that they simply didn't want to deal with the complexity of Westerosi travel to Pandora. It raised too many sticky topics, and the official policy was still a general caution around tranhumanism with the Westerosi. It would be impossible to avoid questions about those topics if Bran or Catelyn talked with any of the Pandora-side personnel, gatecrashers, or even the tourists. But Svafa didn't think that those things couldn't be worked out; Gatekeeper executives were choosing control and convenience. Didn't matter if these people were trapped with backwards medicine and superstition; it didn't matter if they were subject to gross authoritarian governments; and it didn't matter that they were just people trying to survive.
Svafa stood up and spoke her mind.
"Screw what executive will think. I think Bran deserves to walk again; and no matter what, I think that Gatekeeper needs to recognize that the gate is on Stark land. The Starks have just as much a right to the gate as Gatekeeper does. And I don't think that some fancy blueprints, cheap drone labor, or friendly f*cking handshakes are worth locking them out from the rest of transhumanity!"
Diego raised an eyebrow while Samuel gaped at Svafa. Svafa knew that Diego had dropped transhuman with Tyrion and Jon, but both men seemed more interested in Diego's story at the time. Neither Jon nor Tyrion had seemed to ask about the word yet. Not that Samuel knew that little fact. Enzo facepalmed while the Stark family looked confused (Sansa and Arya had filters on their ectos), and Luwin looked intrigued by the word.
[Incoming voice line request from -]
"Hell no, we are speaking about this like normal f*cking people, Samuel!" Svafa quickly rejected the comm line and pointed a finger at Samuel.
"Dammit Svafa, what are you thinking? What happens if the executive board decides to implement stricter policies? They are liable to have us replaced! Do you really think that is what is best for the Starks? For Westeros?" argued Samuel. Svafa scoffed angrily.
"f*ck executive! They aren't the ones running this show, we are Samuel! What the hell do those corpos know about these people, this place? Jack sh*t! I say we assert some damn independence." Svafa retorted. Samuel rubbed his eyes in agitation.
"I cannot believe you are saying this. They could rescind colonial support, or send in some f*cking mercenaries to establish order," countered Samuel.
"What a real great look. 'Listen, everyone, we totally respect the sovereignty of the Westerosi people, but our executives just cannot afford a little respect for the indigenous, so when the local directors decided to protest our bullsh*t, we gunned them the f*ck down in front of the damn royal family!!" Svafa yelled at the top of her lungs. Summer howled at Svafa's enraged pitch, while Bran remained asleep, breathing slowly. The Starks looked like unrelated friends at the family holiday dinner.
Samuel knitted his features into an angry glare, "You are talking about secession; let's say they don't just send in the Gorgon goons, they'll still completely cut us off. We will be totally hamstrung without regular shipments; feedstock can only be manufactured in zero-gravity, and we have nowhere near the space program to get that off the ground!"
Svafa crossed her arms.
"Leave us high and dry while Pathfinder builds a personal empire in Essos? Yeah, and Elvis is still alive as well, right?"
Samuel looked ready to counter the point, but he seemed to realize what Svafa was implying; Gatekeeper could not afford to let Pathfinder have free-run of Planetos. Svafa spent some time thinking about the whole situation; this wouldn't even be the first time that gatecrashing companies had problems with their colonies listening to mandates. Kind of hard to enforce your will when the other side could just lock the door. Svafa talked with several of the more veteran crashers amongst the Wolfswood personnel; colonies and colonists held more power than the corpos wanted to admit. That's why they always wrote broad policies, to give themselves enough rope to hang dissenters with.
This didn't mean that what Svafa had offered wasn't incredibly stupid. But Svafa knew that too.
"Look, Samuel, I know you are concerned about the fallout; so am I. But I think that Gatekeeper will be willing to bend a lot more than you think. The whole Commonwealth loves the Starks; they love the North, and they love what we are doing here to help these people build a better future for themselves. The media coverage writes itself.
Imagine how they'd react if Gatekeeper kicked Bran and Catelyn back through the gate; 'Soulless Gatekeeper executives deny a mother and her son medical service'. They'd get spitroasted for that. But now look at it from the other angle; 'Magnanimous Gatekeeper leaders freely offer medical care to a mother and son, treating a disability that would have been untreatable back in their home'. Think of the Kroner that would be invested, think of the 'generous donations' by rich oligarchs, think of the Autonomist sympathizers volunteering free of charge. What do you think looks better to the corpos?" Svafa finally explained her point in full. It wasn't perfect, but Svafa knew that Gatekeeper was always concerned with its image above all else. What better way to get them to sweep an infraction under the rug than a generous marketing opportunity?
Samuel seemed to seriously think about the notion. He grimaced slightly and shook his head however, "You're probably right, Svafa. But I can't just do it without some reason other than generosity. They'd at least have you and me drawn back through to Gateway and f*cking kick us out the damn airlock."
Diego, silent for the argument so far, decided to throw in his two cents.
"I think you should do it, Samuel."
Samuel seemed to have forgotten about Diego, as he double-took the man in shock.
"You what now?"
Diego smiled broadly before speaking, "Let us discuss the matter in a privacy tent."
Svafa felt a wave of complete confusion smack her in the face.
Excuse me, what the f*ck? Svafa thought. The Starks, Luwin, Enzo, Samuel, and even Summer stared at Diego stupidly. Suddenly, Samuel seemed to stare at the space in front of him before his confusion washed away.
"Alright. There's a tent available out in the courtyard. Let's go," declared Samuel. Samuel and Diego walked out of the room and closed the door.
Svafa looked to Enzo for assistance; the man did the same for Svafa. Sansa suddenly lightly smacked Arya upside the head.
"Ow, I didn't say it out loud!" the younger sister complained.
"It's still rude," countered Sansa. Ned and Cat looked at the sisters with disapproval - and some concern - before speaking with Luwin.
Robb rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably, "Is… is that… normal? I'm sorry, I don't know what a privacy tent is supposed to be." Svafa gave a sympathetic look at Robb.
"It uh… ensures that no spying can happen. It prevents the second-sight and the second-sound from passing through the tent," Svafa explained. Robb 'ah'd silently at the explanation.
"I see… so, what kind of conversation would require that kind of privacy?"
Svafa cringed physically and grimaced in shame before replying, "I uhm… should have probably spoken with Samuel about Gatekeeper in a privacy tent. Sorry about, you know, all of that…"
Robb simply nodded slowly. Svafa was starting to really feel shameful about her outburst; the mood swing made her reckless and impulsive. She must have looked crazy to the Starks; cold, indifferent, and calculating at one moment then emotionally charged and unstable the next. Ned spoke up towards Svafa.
"I appreciate you vouching for us, Lady Svafa."
Svafa was shocked for a moment but let Ned continue.
"I understand that you feel that you and gatekeeper have been unreasonable, but I can assure you that is not how it has looked to me. Your executives have to watch their borders and secure their territory; it only makes sense that the gate would be of prime concern to them. To be honest… I treated the gate as a border. Between your lands and mine. The land surrounding the gate I offer to you so that we may trade with each other and come to know alliance. But I have no idea how the gate functions; its operation is a mystery to me. I decided to leave the gate to those who keep it as their duty. It would be arrogance on my part to presume I have any control over the thing. So, thank you for vouching for us. Everything you and gatekeeper have done cannot be repaid in a hundred lifetimes."
Svafa sighed out in relief then smiled at Ned.
Just as the awkward atmosphere disappeared, Svafa tensed as Samuel and Diego returned from their talk. Diego looked confident as always while Samuel seemed far more collected than before.
A moment passed before Samuel spoke.
"It seems that Diego has forced my hand; I have decided that allowing Bran through the gate to receive treatment is the best course of action to take, for the continued success of GWUP. As the next scheduled dial-in will be tomorrow at noon, I feel it is best if Lady Catelyn and Enzo Millet discuss what passing through to Pandora will look like. Enzo, I will message you about the details as they are put together."
Svafa was confused by Samuel's statement. What did Diego say? Samuel seemed to notice Svafa's miscomprehension, then he smiled at her and winked. A chat request opened, which Svafa silently accepted.
[Diego gave me a very compelling reason to approve this action. Apologies for being such a downer back there; guess I just needed you to light a fire under my ass about this.]
Svafa didn't respond but smirked in satisfaction. Samuel shook his head in amusem*nt, then left to manage the Gatekeeper projects. Diego leaned casually against a pillar.
Catelyn got up to begin speaking with Enzo on the specifics of what to expect while Ned left to tend to his duties. Robb walked up to Svafa and bowed slightly.
"Thank you for vouching for my little brother".
Svafa nodded back, then Robb walked up to Diego to thank him for having convinced Samuel to approve of the proposal. Svafa received a chat request from Sansa and Arya.
[I've been checking some of the 'configuration files' on my ecto, and I would like to know what a 'topic filter' is. I presume it is why I never heard 'transhumanity' before, hm~?] Sansa chided. Arya nodded her head in agreement, [Yeah! I tried looking up vids of the lands that you keep mentioning, but I keep getting no answer! What does Saturn look like? How can it have an immense ring?]
Svafa cringed a bit.
[I'll… see about having those filters rescinded - or at least loosened - when your mother and Bran go through the gate. Cat will be out of the bag at that point.]
Sansa and Arya looked weirded out at the saying. Svafa groaned internally.
[sh*t… okay here, {Link ping sent} just read the article. I'm not weird, you are,] Svafa teased with a hash of playfulness laced throughout the last statement.
Sansa and Arya took a moment to read the article before Arya began giggling while Sansa flushed a touch.
[You… ah! Fine, you win this one,] relented Sansa while Svafa ticked up a point on their shared score board.
Svafa waved the sisters goodbye as they left for their lessons. Arya took to the lessons better because she could now pretend to listen while she actually wasn't; it still resulted in Septa Mordane chiding the young girl.
Svafa was about to leave when Diego placed his hand on her shoulder, sending her a chat request. Svafa looked at the Jovian with some suspicion for a second before she accepted the request.
[What is it?] Svafa asked. Diego pursed his lips in contemplation before replying.
[The First Keep and the Broken Tower have rather basic motes planted about. They mostly just check for seismic activity, smoke, chemicals, temperature, or movement. About an hour before Bran's fall, I received an alert from the First Keep and the Broken Tower about an unscheduled entry. I dismissed it at the time, but the timing is rather strange. Bran never trips those sensors; we don't have any motes monitor the exterior.]
Svafa blinked in surprise before picking up what Diego was putting down.
[Then why don't we just initiate the executive override? We only need a two-thirds majority to interrogate the mote network. Even if Samuel doesn't agree - which I doubt - we would be able to do it,] Svafa inquired. Diego looked at her with a hint of concern in his eyes.
[Call it a hunch. Or, to speak in lawyer, an 'inchoate and unparticularized suspicion'. I would like you to investigate the Broken Tower and see if there is any evidence that could serve for reasonable suspicion. I'd like to afford some judicial procedure to this situation, whether it turns out to be nothing or not,] Diego shrugged lightly, [shouldn't be too difficult for you.]
Svafa pursed her lips in contemplation. It seemed that Diego was implying that Bran's fall wasn't an accident. Svafa looked into Diego's eyes with determination.
[On it, I'll be there tonight. I'll requisition an invisibility suit,] Svafa affirmed. Diego simply removed his hand from her shoulder and Svafa left to prepare for the night.
Later at night after the sun fell, Svafa snuck back into Winterfell. Her form was at most a distortion of the air, but when in shade she was totally invisible. Invisibility tech wasn't truly invisible; certain EM spectrums could still pick up the suit and echolocation was notoriously non-reliant on light. But amongst the Westerosi, the tech practically made someone a ghost. The flexible metamaterial weave and holographic coating worked together to project photo-realistic images from all angles, from the near-infrared to the far-ultraviolet. If combined with heat-sinks and radar absorbent metamaterials, the only wavelengths of light capable of piercing the illusion were x- and gamma-rays. External vision was possible through a sparse metamaterial array of cameras and solid-state LIDAR that provided hyperspectral vision and powerful zoom capabilities.
Svafa made her way towards the outside of the First Keep and approached the tower. She double-checked that no-one else was around and initiated a LIDAR scan of the surface topology of the tower. A thin and diaphanous pane of rainbow light passed swiftly over the Tower, passing the data back into Svafa's entoptics. She had her muse - a mute ALI named Silence - combine the LIDAR sweep with recordings of Bran climbing the tower. A volumetric projection of the boy scuttling about the tower appeared in Svafa's entoptics, showing her the paths he could have taken and the places where he could have fallen. Svafa refined the simulation by having Silence work in data on Bran's injuries and some data on similar fall injuries. A broken portion of the wall was highlighted as the likely falling-off point.
Svafa began climbing the tower to reach the point, the nano-hair gecko-tape grips on her hands and feet greatly aiding her ascent. Svafa climbed up into the hole and into the tower proper. It was dilapidated and messy. Before stepping anywhere else, Svafa popped some forensics mites and tossed the powder into the air. The glittering micro-bots fell daintily around the room, settling over footprints, handprints, bodily excretions, loose skin flakes, hair, and other details. The mites slowly clustered around the points of interest, painting them clearly in sparkles.
Svafa did another LIDAR scan and recorded the mites positions before projecting the data into her entoptics. Svafa dropped the mite capsule on the ground, the glittering dust crawling across the floor to return to its resting place. When the mites were gathered, Svafa took to picking up a couple loose hairs with fractal-digits attached to the gloves of the suit.
Blonde hair. Short and long variants; both look well kept and moisturized. Access to hair products would be a luxury for the Westerosi. Minimal DNA would aid genetic analysis, but better samples should be found.
Svafa pocketed the hairs into a special container for later analysis in a forensic analyzer. She stepped around and swabbed a mostly dry stain on the wood flooring, depositing the swab into its own container. She then stood up and had Silence distinguish between the hand and footprints. Another simulation appeared, this time producing a number of different plausible actions based on the print distribution.
Each simulation has the same figure standing by the broken wall.
Svafa contemplated the implication. Clearly it was possible that one of the figures pushed Bran; or they merely frightened him, causing him to lose his grip. The latter option was accidental, but Svafa tried to figure out why the figure would push Bran. The fluids suggested sexual activity, but that would not justify pushing the boy. Svafa knew that several people in the King's party had blonde hair; apparently it was a common Westerlands and Lannister trait. Svafa then remembered that the Westerosi had a far more regressive view on sexuality. Maybe somehow the coupling was forbidden? Svafa wasn't an expert in primitive romantic relationships, so she figured that Diego would be the best one to suss out a potential motivation. The hair alone suggested a possible involvement by someone in the King's party, while the bio-samples could be combined with later DNA and fingerprint analysis to identify the subjects. Bran could also provide testimony, though traumatic brain injuries could risk memory loss. Hopefully, Enzo's treatments would have prevented that possibility. Svafa decided to leave the broken tower the proper way; she checked that all of the motes installed in the Broken Keep were still functional.
All of the data, sitting encrypted for the moment.
Svafa paused before leaving the First Keep proper. Staring out at the Keep was Jaime Lannister, one of the Kingsguard. Apparently he was responsible for the assassination of the previous king. Jaime Lannister didn't appear to notice Svafa at all, so she decided to watch him for a while. Jaime looked concerned and worried; he would occasionally bite his finger knuckle, seemingly in thought. Jaime suddenly appeared resigned and turned to leave. Svafa took the opportunity to sneak up and pluck a hair from the man's head.
Jaime yelped and turned on his heel; Svafa had already dodged to his side. Jaime looked around nervously before rubbing the back of his head.
"What the bloody hell was that?"
Jaime turned to leave again, Svafa staying behind the man till he began to make his way back to the Kingsguard's chambers. When Jaime closed the chamber door, Svafa took the opportunity to quickly scan the handle with the LIDAR. There were a lot of fingerprints, but some analysis showed that some of the possible fingerprint patterns lined up with the fingerprints scanned at the tower.
Svafa decided to bring the samples and the data back to Diego; he would have a plan for future investigations. Svafa knew that there would be a lot more tracking of fingerprints, however. Thankfully none of the Westerosi nobles would understand the action.
