The Tin Whistle

By Erik E. Hanberg

How do you fight a war when the enemy knows your every thought?

Byron Shaw is in the fight of his life. His family are hostages, orbiting the Earth in a spaceship that could be destroyed any minute. His enemies are preparing for a final assault. And his allies are powerless help him.

So begins the gripping final chapter in The Lattice Trilogy.

With the Lattice restored, the improved network is all the more wonderful and all the more terrible for it. With it, Shaw can give his body over to another to control, clone a 900-year old saint, or dip into a raw feed of the Lattice’s immense knowledge. But should he?

Trapped between his two worst enemies—Taveena Parr and the surviving raiders on one side and Zella Galway and the cartel of corporations on the other—Shaw must blaze his own path if he wants to save his family. The ensuing battle will take the world once more to the brink of global disaster, and in the end, only Shaw will decide the fate of the Lattice.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Erik Hanberg
• Release date: Jan 3, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463893944

Book preview

PART 1

SHEARS

ONE

Byron Shaw was in a jump.

He was weightless, and once again orbiting Earth as a prisoner aboard a black spherical spaceship. Unlike the last time he’d been stuck on the Walden, though, Shaw had a Lattice-connected ring with him. With the new Lattice up and running—and with its scope increased exponentially over the last Lattice—the ring enabled him to travel nearly anywhere in a jump, despite his confinement to the ship. His consciousness could jump light-years away and look at exoplanets orbiting distant stars. He could jump into the head of anyone and eavesdrop on their thoughts. He could jump into the past and see the Civil War, the Roman Empire, the Stone Age, the formation of Earth or the solar system, or even go back and witness the first few seconds of the universe.

But his jump today wasn’t to any exotic time or location. The jump he’d initiated by touching his ring to his temple implant transported his mind to a windowless conference room in a midtown office building in New York City. When he arrived, the Lattice showed him a group of five men and women around a small table. They were approving the minutes from their last meeting. Their clothes were staid, their demeanors placid. There were glasses of cool water on the table and—archaically—pads of paper and pens in front of each person. It looked like the most boring meeting on Earth, and of course it was designed to look that way.

Because the only thing on the agenda was the murder of Shaw, his wife, and their unborn daughter.

At the head of the table was Zella Galway, CEO of Dvorak Systems, who had called the meeting to order and asked for approval of minutes. It was so formal, so overdone. They were using Roberts Rules of Order, with meeting minutes and asking for motions, all in order to paper over the lethal nature of the meeting.

Shaw looked around the room. Besides Galway, the only other person he recognized was Grace Williams, the CEO of Altair, the company that made the ring Shaw was wearing on his finger. The remaining faces were new to him, replacements for the CEOs who had been assassinated by raiders while the Lattice was down. Kanjitech, LRI, and T-Six were led by new faces that were just younger versions of the previous executives.

After the destruction of the Lattice the year before, these men and women had collaborated to fund and create a new infrastructure to run the Lattice—this time entirely under the control of these five companies. Previously, the companies had only manufactured the rings, screens, wraps, jump boxes, and other tools to connect to the publicly-owned Lattice. Now they owned the heart of the Lattice itself.

At the same time, they also took it upon themselves to create an array of satellites carrying laser weapons that encircled the Earth, ready to defend their investment should it ever be threatened again. They now controlled the single most important piece of technology for business and communications and they controlled the largest non-governmental weapons system.

Between those two facts, Shaw didn’t think it was a stretch to say these CEOs were the five most powerful individuals in the world. And he was in their crosshairs.

After the minutes had been approved, Galway noticed a small red light that had illuminated on her wrap. Ah, she said, a vicious smile on her face as she looked around the table. Once again we’re joined by Byron Shaw. I thought he might have the decency to sit this meeting out, given the topic.

On the Walden, Shaw gritted his teeth. The actions, thoughts, and dreams of the four people on board the ship—himself, his wife Ellie, Taveena Parr, and Wulfgang Huxley—were heavily scrutinized at every moment of every day. Someone was watching him and listening to his thoughts right now and reporting back to Galway in real time.

It’s just as well that he knows what’s coming, I suppose, Galway continued. Although I fail to understand why he’s continuing to jump given the state of his marriage. I thought he was supposed to be a better husband than that. She shrugged it away. "Well, you know why I called this emergency meeting. I’m tired of these terrorists hiding behind a pregnant woman like Ellie Shaw. Frankly, I think we need to consider… drastic measures. We’ve been twiddling our thumbs for months because she’s on the ship with Parr and Huxley. If she weren’t there, these terrorists would be long dead. It’s time to force their hand and make them choose what they want to do. Will they let this innocent woman die with them, or do they have enough humanity left in them to let her go?"

She met the gaze of everyone at the table, daring anyone to argue.

We don’t have the authority to force them into any decision, Grace Williams said, taking up the challenge. She was across the table from Galway, and all heads swiveled to listen to her. These were the two poles of the argument. It didn’t matter what any of the other CEOs said—these were the two people who would decide Shaw’s fate.

This is a matter for the U.S. or the U.N. Why don’t we go about our business of connecting people to the new Lattice and wait for law enforcement to do their jobs? Or maybe we should deal with the fact that the Lattice hasn’t stopped the Italian civil war like we thought it would, and may even be making the war worse. Or—

No! Galway cut in, her face reddening. "I’m not content to merely hope that that woman— The way she bit off those words made Shaw know instantly that she was referring to Taveena and not Ellie —keeps running into dead ends in her research. She is still looking for a way to destroy the new Lattice like she destroyed the last one. If we leave her alive, she might eventually find a weakness. We’d be right back where we were during the Dark Eighteen Days!"

After Shaw and the raiders had destroyed the Lattice, it had taken eighteen days to get the new lattice up and running again. People had joked that even though it was less than three weeks, it had seemed like they had gone ages without their Lattice-enabled connections. A mini-Dark Ages, people said, often enough that simply referring to the Dark Eighteen could cause an involuntary shudder.

Grace shook her head firmly. Ada Dillon designed the new Lattice to be foolproof. It’s not going anywhere, she said. Taveena Parr has already spent months trying to destroy it with no effect. She won’t make the slightest dent in it. She’s isolated and she doesn’t have the tools or the network of accomplices to destroy the Lattice again. Blowing up her ship is pointless. And we will lose customers in the process.

Grace’s calm and plain speaking style was a sharp contrast to Galway’s, Shaw thought. He didn’t think she was trying to convince Galway herself, but to convince the other CEOs in the room. To his eye, Grace was leaning into the style of the room. She was making it look like Galway was taking this personally, while Grace was making the business argument. For a group of CEOs, it just might work.

Galway didn’t let herself get drawn further into the trap. She took a breath and smiled at the leaders of the other companies. "I’ll ask again. What should we do about the Walden and its crew? We didn’t build a grid of laser weapons around the Earth to just let them sit in orbit during a time of crisis. Inaction is not a solution I am prepared to entertain."

There was silence for a moment and then the new CEO of LRI cleared his throat. I’ll make the motion. He consulted his wrap, and Shaw knew in an instant it had been preplanned with Galway. "I move that at exactly midnight Greenwich Mean Time tonight, we activate all laser weapons within range of the Walden and destroy the ship, no matter who is left aboard."

Second, chimed the CEO of Kanjitech from across the table.

We have a motion on the table, Galway said smoothly, as if nothing more was up for debate than approval of the next year’s budget. Discussion?

You know my position on this, Grace Williams said quietly—but not without force. Last week Byron Shaw was found ‘not guilty’ of treason and acts of terrorism in a United States court of law. On top of that, his wife is an innocent, and is a month from her due date—no one at this table disputes any of that. And then there’s Wulfgang Huxley. He’s a genius the likes of which the world only sees once every few generations. Are we truly going to kill those three people and an unborn child because we want vengeance on Taveena Parr?

The CEO of T-Six sat forward. "Genius or not, Huxley willingly collaborated for years with Parr to destroy the Lattice. His brilliance shouldn’t be enough to absolve him of all accountability for his crimes. As for Shaw’s verdict, well… Stockholm Syndrome is about the most bullshit reason to get a ‘not guilty’ verdict as there is, pardon my French. The jury liked Shaw—and his wife and the story of their reunion—and they didn’t want to sentence him to die. It’s as simple as that. We have every justification to kill the terrorists who nearly destroyed our companies."

Grace stared hard at her. And Ellie Shaw? And her unborn daughter?

Some collateral damage should not sway us, came the response from Galway, reasserting control of the conversation.

It’s wrong, and even if it weren’t, it’s a public relations nightmare, Grace said.

It likely won’t come to it, Galway answered. Parr will see our resolve and let Ellie leave the ship before midnight. That damn woman is a fat fucking psychopath, but even she has shown she’s willing to spare innocent lives when their deaths don’t serve her purpose. She’ll release her.

She doesn’t even know we’re debating this, Grace said. Parr hasn’t jumped or used the Lattice in months.

Shaw will force her hand, even if it means killing her and taking control of the ship, Galway continued. I’m sure he’ll do whatever it will take to save his wife.

Grace glanced at her wrap. Shaw is thinking that he would kill Taveena to save his wife, but that he doesn’t how he’d do it now that she’s locked herself in the ship’s control room, she reported—accurately, Shaw noted. He doesn’t think he can manage it in time.

Shaw will figure it out, Galway said with a small shrug, a shrug Shaw had come to loathe for how easily she used it to absolve herself of the deaths of him and his family. He’s pulled rabbits out of his hat before.

There was silence for a moment around the table.

The CEO of T-Six looked at her wrap and then leaned back in her chair and sighed. My lawyers are reminding me that Tim Yang really stirred the pot in the U.S. after the last time you used our arsenal of space lasers to take out the raiders. He got the military brass in a huff and they in turn have gotten the administration breathing down my neck. I’ve had several official and unofficial visits from the military and the president’s staff to tell me that if T-Six were ever party to the killing of an innocent American we would face immediate legal action. My lawyers think we can fight them—and likely win, I should add. But they would feel more comfortable with their chances in court if we could give Ellie Shaw more time.

Time for what? Galway asked.

More time to get off the ship. More time for whatever needs to happen to happen. If I’m on the witness stand for this, I need to be able to say we gave a pregnant woman more than twelve hours’ notice.

How much time do you want?

I don’t know. A couple days? That should be enough for Ellie to escape or somehow convince Parr to come to her senses.

Galway nodded. That seems reasonable. Everyone but Grace Williams was nodding. It seems that—

A month, Grace cut in.

Eyebrows went up around the room. Shaw felt himself gasp in surprise as well.

Give them a month, Grace continued, and I will vote in favor. That will make it unanimous.

Galway glanced at the wrap on her forearm. You think you can give Shaw time to save himself too, she narrated from the scribe’s report of Grace William’s thoughts.

Yes. And I want to give Ellie as much time as possible to figure out how to get out of orbit before her due date, Grace answered.

A month is too long, Galway said, shaking her head. I’m tired of having this hanging over our heads. Five days.

Two weeks, Grace countered.

One, Galway snapped back.

Grace was silent for a few seconds. Shaw held his breath until she finally nodded.

Galway gave a wicked smile. It’s agreed, then. You need to do more than just vote for this one. Make the motion, Grace.

Grace Williams looked around the room before she spoke. "I move that one week from today—July 17, 2082—this group uses all weapons at its disposal to destroy the ship known as the Walden. And that we do this regardless of the people—born or unborn, innocent or guilty—who are aboard at that time."

TWO

Shaw touched his ring to his temple, leaving the jump. He was sweaty, despite the cool air circulating through the mostly-empty Walden.

One week.

He would go back and listen to the thoughts of Zella Galway and Grace Williams later, but in some ways he already knew what was there: Galway—along with many others—were appalled and then furious at Shaw’s not-guilty verdict. Galway had pushed the U.S. to begin his trial despite the fact that Shaw was still orbiting the Earth as Taveena’s captive on the Walden. She hoped that a guilty verdict would make the case easier for the U.S. military to shoot down the Walden. Mostly she wanted Taveena dead. The deaths of Wulf and Shaw were just a nice perk.

Her pressure was strong enough that Shaw’s lawyers encouraged him to agree before the issue came to a head. Nevertheless, he was reluctant to agree to the early trial. If Galway wanted it, surely it was a bad idea. But his lawyers—who had been provided for him by Grace Williams as part of his bargain to save Ellie’s life and reunite with her—were sincere in thinking it was a good idea. It only took a jump into their minds to prove that.

Before he agreed, Shaw had asked Ellie for her advice. He explained that the trial could clear the way for him to come back to Earth as a free man. He would be free to be with his family—whenever they were able to get off the Walden, that is.

You’re worried about the wrong problem, Byron, she’d told him. She pushed off the floor and sailed, weightless, up the vertical hallway to her bunkroom. And that was all she had to say on the subject.

Shaw told his lawyers he was in, and the judge ruled that so long as Shaw was present—whether in person or in a jump—the trial could go forward.

Shaw hadn’t been prepared for just how long it would actually take to be present during a trial. He spent hours and hours of his days jumping into a drab courtroom in Carson City, Nevada. He listened as his state of mind was meticulously researched and examined; as the prosecutors and defense attorneys plumbed the depths of his inner psyche, guiding the jury on jump after jump to moments throughout Shaw’s life. He listened as his childhood, his work at the Nevada Lattice Installation, his time with the raiders, was heavily scrutinized by the prosecution and defense.

And in the end, he listened as members of the jury acquitted him of all charges.

The lawyers assembled by Altair had convinced the jury to give a not guilty verdict through the testimony of clinical experts who showed that Shaw had suffered from… Stockholm Syndrome. They showed Stockholm Syndrome’s effect on the brain on several abductees and prisoners throughout history. Then they showed the jury Shaw’s brain patterns during his abduction by Catholic terrorists in Rome as a child, and compared those to his brain patterns while he was aboard the Walden, a captive of the raiders. The jury agreed.

It felt like a version of not guilty for reasons of insanity, and Shaw hated that his lawyers had used it on his behalf. But it had worked.

And it had enraged Galway enough that she had immediately called together the members of the Lattice cartel to write their own verdict.

To be carried out in seven days.

His only ally in that meeting room, if you could call Grace Williams an ally of anyone but her partner Nosipho and her company Altair, might have negotiated to get a few extra days for him to save his own life and the lives of Ellie and his unborn daughter. Yet she had still voted in favor of his death and that of his family. With friends like these…

Shaw shook his head to clear the thought. A week was a week. He had to believe he could come up with something. As someone in the meeting had said, he’d pulled rabbits out of his hat before. Why not this time too? That hope was the only thing keeping him going these days.

He untethered from his bunk, slipped out the door, and went to find Ellie. When he got to her door he paused and strained for any sound from within. Nothing. He knocked softly. Still no sound. As he waited, he still couldn’t quite get over that she had chosen to have her own room instead of bunking with him.

He waited long after it was clear there would be no response.

Shaw passed silently through the halls but didn’t see her anywhere. He paused at the only locked room on the ship—the control room, as usual. Taveena was somewhere on the other side of it. He couldn’t think of the last time he’d seen her. He kept going, searching the ship room by room.

Behind every door he opened, he just found more silence. He still couldn’t get used to the quiet ship. It had been crammed with people the last time he was on it—eight raiders, and he had made nine. With nothing but silence, the ship was populated by memories. Behind this door was the room where he’d finally gotten a chance to really talk to Erling; behind that door was the mess hall where he had told Tranq and Kuhn and Helix how he would have taken out the Lattice. Over there was the airlock he and Annalise had used to exit the Walden and repair its surface after it had been damaged. Here, just outside the great room, was the place where Helix had told him she was bitter about Jpeg’s death.

Every one of them was dead. But to him, the empty ship was populated by their ghosts.

He opened the door to the great room. The Earth loomed out the window—they were passing over the Pacific in bright daytime, bathing the room in blue. Wulf was alone, standing in the middle of the room staring up at the Earth.

Shaw’s heart sunk. With no sign of Ellie anywhere on the ship, that meant that—just as he’d feared—she’d been in her bunk all along, ignoring his knock on the door.

A sign of the times.

Shaw debated whether to slip out before Wulf noticed him, but finally decided he needed to consult with someone. Having the smartest man in the solar system available to him was not the worst option. He stepped forward.

Wulf turned toward him, and his gaunt face caught Shaw by surprise. Here in the light of Earth, Shaw saw just how affected by the year’s events Wulf truly was.

The scientist had lost a substantial amount of his bulk, thanks to his time in a German hospital and the food rationing he and Shaw had voluntarily enacted, allowing Ellie to eat as much as she needed. (If she’d noticed, she hadn’t thanked him.)

Wulf’s injuries from the tunnels under Geneva during their raid were—in theory—healed. But Shaw kept seeing Wulf’s hand stray to the spot on his stomach where the laser had pierced him. Wulf also had a disconcerting inability to get his right leg moving at the same speed as his left. In micro gravity it didn’t affect him much, but there were certain motions that caused him to grimace in pain.

Wulf’s care had been almost entirely received before the Lattice had been revived. And while several midwives, obstetricians, and pediatricians had used the Lattice to consult with Ellie in recent months, no one seemed willing to risk their own neck consulting with Wulf, who was still considered a terrorist by most governments on Earth. Shaw wondered if things hadn’t been patched up inside him as well as they could have.

Wulf turned away from Shaw and looked back up at the Earth.

Were you one of those boys who grew up loving dinosaurs, Byron?

"Sure. They were the best. Tyrannosaurus rex, triceratops, raptors. I had holograms and even old-fashioned plastic figures of them. By the time you invented the Lattice, I had grown out of that phase, but I still liked jumping back and watch them during the Cretaceous