Free No Direction Home by James Baddock Page B

obeying orders instantly without hesitation or question, if they are given a specific trigger phrase. Even if obeying the order will inevitably mean their own death. They become physically incapable of disobeying that order, or even of hesitating for an instant. Give them a trigger phrase and they will attack even the strongest military position until either it is taken or they are all dead – retreat or withdrawal will not be an option.’
    â€˜Even if it’s the best military option in the circumstances?’
    â€˜Even if it is the best option, yes. Unless they are given a countermanding trigger phrase releasing them from the original, they will actively disobey any order to retreat, no matter how senior the officer issuing it.’
    â€˜Suicide squads, in other words –
kamikazes
.’
    â€˜Yes. Naturally, this would only be used in specific situations – whatever you may think, even the military does not throw lives away willy-nilly – but it is an option that might be used, for example, if we needed a rearguard action or a diversionary attack. Situations where the troops are expendable, in other words. There are other scenarios, however, less drastic than that – like issuing orders that no prisoners are to be taken, for example, which would be implemented in, say, a commando raid, where taking prisoners would not be a realistic option, so any attempt to surrender would simply be ignored. Basically, we can order our troops to be as ruthless or as self-sacrificing as we require, depending on the tactical situation.’
    â€˜Only they’re not being self-sacrificing, are they? They don’t have any choice in the matter – they’re being sacrificed – by someone else… Do they even know they’ve had these orders pretty much hard-wired into them?’
    â€˜It would make no difference whether they knew or not – they would still have to obey the orders.’ Ferreira shrugged, almost apologetically. ‘But, no, it isn’t exactly something we include in our recruiting campaigns, to be honest.’
    â€˜I’m not surprised… Does the conditioning include orders to commit suicide to avoid capture?’
    Ferreira nodded heavily. ‘Yes, it does – although, again, it would only be included if the soldier, or officer, had vital information to protect.’ He nodded again. ‘So, yes – it appears more than likely that your agent
did
have Combat Conditioning.’
    â€˜Not
my
agent. So – this trigger phrase. Presumably, it would be transmitted verbally?’
    â€˜Yes. Either directly by a senior officer, or through their comm sets. It would normally take the form of a phrase consisting of random words grouped together.’
    â€˜So they’re not likely to be set off by accident?’
    â€˜Exactly.’
    â€˜And different ones for each scenario? One for no retreat, another for no prisoners?’
    â€˜Yes. And different release trigger phrases, of course.’
    â€˜Does it have to be verbal? Could it be in the form of an electronic signal?’
    â€˜Yes. A specific sequence of digital pulses, for example.’ Ferreira sighed. ‘As would appear to be the case in this instance.’
    â€˜So… how does this conditioning work? How are these troops brainwashed?’
    Ferreira’s face showed irritation at the expression, but all he said was, ‘That is also classified, Vinter. I don’t think you need to know that.’
    â€˜I don’t need the technical details, for God’s sake. I just need to know the kind of resources you’d need. Could Teixeira have programmed himself? Or would it have needed someone else?’
    â€˜It needs quite sophisticated equipment, so I don’t think he could have done it alone, no.’
    â€˜Could it be done aboard
Terra Nova
?’
    Again, Ferreira seemed about to refuse to answer, but then realised the relevance of the