Meltwater (Fire and Ice)

It’s great to have Freeflow here.’
    ‘Let me introduce you to the other two,’ said Nico. He was wearing black designer T-shirt and jeans, and the familiar diamond earring in his left ear.
    The two volunteers in question were Zivah, an Israeli student who would act as translator, and Franz, a Swiss video and sound guy. They were both in their early twenties and, like Ásta
and Dúddi, full of enthusiasm.
    Freeflow claimed that it had an army of volunteers all around the world. This wasn’t strictly true. People certainly put themselves forward to help, but most of them soon faded away when
given the simplest tasks. Erika hoped that these two would prove more reliable.
    ‘Thanks, everyone, for giving up your time,’ she said. ‘You’ve all seen the video. You’ve all seen Tamara Wilton and the four other aid workers in that truck die.
You might think that that is what happens in war: that’s certainly what the Israeli Defence Force will say. But it shouldn’t be like that; it doesn’t have to be like that.
International treaties have been signed in The Hague, in Geneva, in Rome to prevent actions like these.’
    She lowered her voice. The little gathering strained to hear her. She knew the importance of converting her allies to the cause before she tried to convert anyone else.
    ‘What we saw on that video was a war crime, pure and simple. And governments all over the world will suppress evidence of war crimes if they can and if the people let them. Not just bad
governments, but good governments too. Freeflow cannot prevent these war crimes from happening, but it can ensure that when they do happen the world knows about them. We can shine a bright light
into those dark corners they don’t want us to see. It’s something we have done in the past and something we will do in the future until governments around the world finally realize they
can no longer cover up these obscenities against all that our civilization stands for.’
    She fell silent for a few moments, letting her words sink in. She scanned her listeners. She’d got them.
    ‘Freeflow is in a unique position in history. The Internet has given ordinary citizens such as us enormous power. It is not the power to oppress or censor, but the power to set information
free. Someone has risked a lot to get this video to us; possibly committed treason in their own country. We owe it to that person, and to humanity as a whole, to make sure that this work will have
the maximum impact.
    ‘This is possibly the most exciting leak Freeflow has been involved with. We’re going to have to work hard over the next few days, but it will be worth it, I promise you. What you do
this week will be noticed throughout the world.’
    ‘Way to go!’ said Franz, the Swiss guy, with a cheer.
    The Icelanders Dúddi and Ásta looked impressed; the Israeli student a little anxious. Erika didn’t blame her.
    ‘So let’s get to it!’ She turned towards the big man standing in the middle of the tangle of cables, his matted fair hair and scrappy beard streaked with grey. ‘Hey,
Dieter, don’t I get a hug?’
    Dieter grinned as he extricated himself from the wires. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed. He was a German computer security consultant, and he and Erika had been through a lot over
the last three years. They had first come across each other on the Save Darfur website. It was Dieter who had suggested setting up a separate secure site to publish leaked UN documents
exposing the diplomatic dithering over the massacres of refugees in Darfur a few years earlier, and so Freeflow was born. His technical expertise and Erika’s crusading drive were at the heart
of the organization.
    ‘How close are we to getting started?’ Erika asked.
    ‘We’ll have all the machines hooked up in another hour or so,’ said Dieter. ‘But Apex has a security issue.’
    ‘Not again?’ said Erika. Apex always had security issues. Erika was never sure whether they were real, or whether Apex was just paranoid. ‘Does he know who it is this
time?’
    ‘He’s pretty sure it’s the Chinese.’ Ever since 2008, when Freeflow had published a list of websites blocked by the Chinese government, its network had come under attack
from China. ‘He doesn’t want us to transfer the video across until he is sure everything is secure.’
    ‘Do you think he’s overreacting?’ Erika asked.
    Dieter shook his head. ‘No. It’s a real intrusion.’
    ‘OK. How