Passage

by Thorby Rudbek

  “Got it!” Latt announced with a shout of pure relief as he ran back and took his place from Isaac.

  “Give us a little less this time;” Isaac suggested. “We can’t afford to lose control again.”

  Latt nodded and adjusted the power accordingly. “We’re at one point oh nine five. I’m going to monitor the power consumption on each unit continually. I may be able to catch the overload next time, before it occurs.” He started to scan the display methodically, stopping on the monitor for each Inducer momentarily before moving on to the next one.

  “Good idea,” Isaac replied absently as he tried to estimate their speed relative to Earth by comparing the proportion of the world’s arc visible from minute to minute. “I think we are going to make it. We should be down to something like Mach seven when we hit the fringes of the atmosphere, and then–”

  “Ssorry! I just cut power to one point oh seven ‘gee’,” Latt interrupted. “One of the forward Inducers this time.” There was a moment of tenseness, then Latt continued: “Yes, Yess! It is stabilizing; we did not lose it!”

  Ruth felt her stomach rising, due partly to the reduction in perceived gravity, and partly to a marked increase in fear. She swabbed Terry’s forehead once more, then got up and walked back to her seat at the front.

  Isaac looked up. “How is he?”

  “Pretty bad.”

  “Maybe you should stay with him; this could get really rough.”

  Ruth hesitated, then nodded and returned to her bedside seat. Terry moaned louder, as if he could also feel the tension within their impossible craft, and the danger that lurked beneath it, dressed in peaceful, innocuous blue and white.

  Earth filled almost all the forward window; Ruth could see it easily out of the side viewport beside Terry. Only a small portion of it was still in daylight, however.

  “If we can just gauge it right, we should hit at about Mach nine,” Isaac estimated. “I’m not sure what friction effects the craft will experience at that speed, especially at such high altitudes.” He turned to Latt. “Any chance of a bit more power?”

  “Power conssumption does appear sstable again now; I could probably give you another point–” Latt moved quickly, adjusting the power down on one Inducer. But not quick enough. The effect was similar to a fast elevator ride… down. “Main Inducer number four has gone. Induction iss now at point nine sseven ‘gee’.” He turned and looked at Isaac’s face. “It’s a central one, sso we don’t need to worry about sspinning.” He offered the one piece of good news like a drop of water to a desiccated tree in the desert.

  Isaac was silent. Earth loomed below and ahead, filling all forward view. He leaned forward to glance up; stars were barely visible as the ship seemed to tilt rapidly toward the front. “What was that?”

  “We lost one more main Inducer, sslightly more forwards,” Latt explained reluctantly. “I can maintain point nine ssix if we acsept this angle; only nine four if we level off. It will look like we are going to crash.”

  “An accurate perception.” Isaac looked up from his latest calculations. “I don’t think we are going to make it,” he said quietly, so Ruth wouldn’t hear.

  An ominous silence descended over the group as the planet that had been their provider throughout the lives of three of them, except the few days of their abduction, turned on them, threatening to burn them up like miniature flakes of tinder dropping towards a raging fire.

  Clouds covered much of the section of the globe visible below, and Isaac realized that he could no longer tell what part they were travelling over. We’re about to splat into Earth’s surface at several thousand miles an hour and I don’t even know if it will be in America, or Asia, or somewhere in the depths of the ocean. I suppose it doesn’t really matter… His gloom was disturbed by a faint whistling sound. He looked at Latt; suddenly a microscopic particle of hope crystallized within him. “Cut the rear Inducers enough to get the front end up. No – better still, distort the field to angle it forwards slightly. Maybe we can glide a little.”

  Latt looked more than a little sceptical.

  “I know; it sounds crazy. But we are still moving quite fast laterally, relative to the planet, so it might make some difference.

  Latt shrugged his shoulders, then his hands moved rapidly over his keyboard as he complied. “We are now at point nine three ‘gee’,” he announced moments later, as the stars slid back into view at the top of the forward window.

  “What about the curve factor?” Ruth asked suddenly, breaking the silence a couple of minutes later.

  Isaac turned around to look back. “What curve factor?”

  “If we can get past a certain point, shouldn’t the curvature of the Earth make it appear to recede again?”

  “Yes, that would be true if we were still far enough up not to burn up in the atmosphere, but my last calculations indicated we would hit a low point of eighty thousand feet at Mach twelve.”

  “Too fast?” Ruth half asked, half stated.

  Isaac nodded almost imperceptibly.

  “I think not,” Latt swivelled around excitedly. “Our altitude has been almosst consstant for the passt minute.”

  “I love it!” Isaac looked startled, but relieved. “I must have made an error!” He smiled at Latt, then cocked his head on one side. “Yes, the sound of the wind has remained constant! We’re skimming along somehow.”

  Ahead, the gloom of the night side was broken by a line of brilliant light; a moment later the interior was filled with dazzling sunlight. Latt hurriedly adjusted the micro-current that controlled the Transplyous window, reducing the amount of light transmitted to near zero.

  The whistling of the wind increased slightly; Ruth started to smile at the now cheerful prospect of witnessing one of her husband’s few mistakes, but her confidence was shaken by another loud bang from just above her head. She strained some neck muscles inadvertently as she reacted.

  “We’ve losst number sseventeen Inducer; I’ll try to raisse the power on the rear Inducers again. The front end iss way up anyway.” He scanned his power readouts. “We are at point nine zero ‘gee’.”

  “Tighten your straps; check Terry is secure!” Isaac urged as the wind noise increased and the first effects of the buffeting could be felt. He checked his home-made altimeter again. “Estimate we are now at one hundred thousand!” He found he had to raise his voice to be heard above the high-pitched whistling.

  Latt reached up and touched the Transplyous, discovering that it was quite warm. Sunrise reached the surface still far below; the clouds moved slowly under them. In reality, they were racing past, but from their great height, all was reduced to a relaxing glide.

  “Your idea is working!” he announced as he felt a slight increase in the apparent gravity, due to the aerodynamic lift of the air rushing under the long Railcar.

  “Great!” Isaac commented. “But will it be enough?” He wondered if the forward motion of their makeshift craft would compensate for the lack of the Gravity Inducers. A whole zero point one of Earth’s gravity? He shook his head in doubt as the structure started to vibrate as though it would break up at any moment.

  Latt leaned over to check the altitude. “Eighty thousand – not bad.”

  Ruth pulled herself back from the glorious view of red-tinged clouds outside her viewport to find Terry conscious and reaching up to her with his hand.

  “Bumpy ride,” he whispered.

  “But we’ll make it,” Ruth stated, with more confidence than she felt.

  “Tell Isaac to maintain some forward speed, so we can pick a good place to land.”

  Ruth nodded and squeezed his hand, but Terry’s coherent moment had passed, and he was staring blankly past her. She swallowed hard, then turned and relayed his message to her husband.

  Time dragged for a while, then clouds drew near. Latt was amazed that more Inducers had not failed; the modifications he and Isaac had done had increased their hunger for power by over fifty percent, taking them to the design safe
ty limits and far beyond. He looked at his monitors and found that several of the Inducers were now consuming almost twice their usual power requirement, which amounted to a load of about sixty percent on the reactor, but they showed no signs of further deterioration.

  “I wonder how fast we are going?” Ruth called out above the noise of the wind. “And where to?”

  “We’re at about forty thousand feet, and moving fast, but how fast and where to, is anybody’s guess,” Isaac called back.

  “I think we may soon find out; there’s a jet out here!” Ruth shouted excitedly. “I can’t tell what Air Force; it’s all grey, no markings on it.”

  Isaac pointed hurriedly as the jet streaked across in front of the Railcar and disappeared into the distance.

  Latt nodded when he caught sight of it. “Nice looking craft.”

  “We may not look like much in our Railcar,” Isaac smiled. “But that thing out there could never do what we just did!”

  “It’s back, or maybe it is a different one,” Ruth exclaimed. “It’s coming in closer this time.”

  The dull grey plane glided slowly closer, until Ruth could see faint markings on the nearer of the twin tail surfaces. “It’s got a kind of muted maple leaf on the tail!”

  “Not bad, all we needed to do was go a little further south,” Isaac commented to himself. “Let’s see if we can pick up anything on the radio.” He adjusted it while Latt kept glancing nervously at the power monitors. “Ah! I think – yes! I have something.”

  The loud speaker crackled with interference as he switched the system on and rapidly searched the most likely frequency range.

  “–anybody’s guess. It’s about a hundred feet long and going at about five hundred kph. There are no markings that I can determine. No wings, either, but something is stopping it from falling like a stone. I’ll stick with it until my back-up arrives, over.”

  “Understood. Out.”

  “Can we transmit?” Ruth asked as the CF-18 flew alongside.

  “Sorry, the communication system here is extremely short range, only a few yards, and I would need to do some modifications to make connections. I didn’t think that far ahead,” Isaac apologized.

  “Hello, Canada!” Ruth started waving at the sleek aeroplane through the viewport, but without success. Terry groaned and she looked down at him with great concern and an increasing sense of dread. “We need to get Terry to a doctor soon.” Her thoughts broke free in a tone of extreme intensity, though far too quiet for her companions at the front of their craft to hear. “Very soon.”

  The radio crackled into life again. “Blue Fox, this is Blue Bird, am approaching from vector One Eight Zero. Currently climbing from twenty thousand. I see your problem, over.”

  “Understood, Blue Bird. Am at thirty five, descending at two hundred feet per minute, over.”

  “I can see you now, Blue Fox, but what is that?”

  “I call it the ‘Wonderloaf’, but cruise on by and check it out for yourself!”

  “Wilco.”

  Ruth craned her neck, trying to see behind them.

  “Is that good?” Latt asked, referring to their rate of descent.

  “Fine, if there’s somewhere flat down there to land,” Isaac replied. “Otherwise we may still have a problem. Any chance of a slight increase in power? We might be able to maintain level flight then.”

  Latt leaned over his display, studying the readings intently. “I’d rather not; we might lose another Inducer, and then we’d go down a lot fasster.”

  Isaac nodded. “As long as the jets stay with us we can be sure there aren’t any mountains down there, below those clouds.”

  There was a period of comparative quiet while the wind whistled around the Railcar as it sank slowly towards the clouds, then the radio crackled into life again.

  “Blue Fox, this is Blue Bird, am approaching the Wonderloaf from the rear; I think there is a door at the back! I am continuing underneath to check for burn marks from the baking pan,” he finished drolly.

  “This guy is real close,” Ruth exclaimed as she spotted the stubby wing of the Hornet slide under their craft. “I could even see the guy inside, I think–”

  Ruth was cut off by a tremendous noise like a thunderclap, accompanied by a jolting sensation. She saw the front end of their strange craft buckle as something wrapped itself around the wedge shape, folding back until the Transplyous shattered. Shards exploded, many of them showering down on Latt and Isaac as they curled up in their seats with their hands over their heads; pieces of obscure equipment became temporarily airborne as the craft depressurized rapidly. Ruth grabbed her facemask and put it on, then reached down and attached one to Terry as she gasped and coughed in the restored supply. The others quickly applied their masks; Isaac mopped at blood streaming down from a cut on his forehead.

  “What happened?” Ruth shouted above the roar of turbulence within their damaged craft, as she tried to make out the shadowy shape superimposed on their forward view. “Did he attack?”

  “No, we collided!” Isaac replied shortly, as he tried to determine their altitude.

  “I’m trying to compenssate for the increased mass, but sseveral more Inducers have failed.” Latt shouted, his accent becoming exaggerated by the volume required just to be heard. “We are going down!”

  As if to underscore their perilous situation, the radio crackled into life again. Isaac turned it up so that they could hear it, despite the pandemonium caused by the gale passing through the Railcar.

  “Blue Bird, this is Blue Fox, respond!”

  There was a moment of silence, then a rather shaky voice was heard. “I’m okay, apart from aching shoulders, but I can’t eject. The impact bent my Hornet around the front end of Wonderloaf. Hey, there are people inside, I can see them!”

  “That’s incredible,” the voice responded, then hurried on. “Blue Bird, your rate of descent is now three thousand feet per minute, you’ve got to get out of there.”

  “The canopy is jammed, and if I tried to eject, I’d smash right into Wonderloaf, anyway.”

  “We’ll think of something,” Blue Fox reassured vaguely.

  “We must cut the power to allow the wreckage to disengage!” Latt shouted at Isaac as he reached forwards for the controls.

  “NO!” Isaac grabbed his shoulders. “We have to get that man out first.”

  Latt stared at him blankly for several seconds, then nodded his agreement and burst into action. He unbuckled his safety belt and staggered back past Ruth, glancing at Terry as he passed. Moments later he returned with the hand laser and a length of the safety cable that they had used during their space walk.

  “Tie thiss to that sstructural member,” he said as he gave one end of the cable to Isaac. The other end was connected to his belt in seconds, and Latt started to fire at the canopy, as he braced himself against the seat back.

  “Blue Fox, they are firing a laser at me!” The voice from the smashed plane cried, then the pilot realized the laser was not aimed at him at all. “No! It’s okay. I was wrong! They are cutting me free; I’m transferring to Wonderloaf. The weird craft must still be operable. I’ll try to get them to follow you to base.”

  As the pilot finished his message, Latt started to climb out through the shattered Transplyous until he was within reach of the canopy, less than half a metre beyond. The howling air rushed by, threatening to tear him off and send him to oblivion. Responding to Latt’s gestures, the pilot pushed up on the punctured Plexiglas of the canopy, and it broke free. Latt ducked as the section swung around and then disappeared over the roof of the Railcar. He reached out and found the pilot’s hands, then pulled him back into the wind-swept but still functioning ‘Railcar’ interior, where Isaac was waiting to help the dazed man into the third seat.

  As soon as they were all strapped in again, Latt cut all power to the Inducers, and the craft dropped like a free-falling elevator. After a count of five, he restored power to the upper Inducers, breaking free from the
mangled wreckage with a sound like steel being punctured by an iceberg. As it fell away and vanished from view, Latt restored the lower Inducers, and the elevator started to slow somewhat once more.

  Ruth staggered up behind the three seats once the gravity field had stabilized, and leaned over the right-hand one, where the Canadian Air Force officer was sitting. “I’m Ruth, Ruth Hardy,” she said, shaking his hand. “Are you okay?”

  “I think so,” he replied shortly, amazed that she spoke English. “What is this?”

  “Just a means of escape, almost a flying prison, you might say. It doesn’t fly very well!” She gestured at Latt, who was frantically adjusting the Gravity Inducers in a desperate attempt to keep them airborne. “How are we doing?” she asked her husband.

  “Can’t tell.” He reached forward to tap his altimeter. I think this is broken.” He turned to the pilot. “Isaac Hardy,” he spread his hand briefly on his chest. “I’m sorry about your plane; you may have just delayed the inevitable, transferring to our ‘Wonderloaf’, as you called it.”

  “You mean we’re still falling?”

  “I’d like to think of it as being a controlled descent – at least until the artificial gravity field sucked your jet plane right into our flight path! Now we need to know if we have reduced our rate of descent enough to survive a landing,” Isaac explained. “I wish your friend ‘Blue Fox’ would transmit some more.”

  The pilot finally comprehended that they had been receiving his transmissions. “Artificial gravity field… That’s incredible!” He looked behind him, and realised how much room there was in the strange craft he’d termed ‘Wonderloaf’.

  “Look at the size… How to build a ‘Herc’ without wings!” The Canadian pilot was referring to the transport workhorse of so many Air Forces, the Lockheed C-130 Hercules. “We didn’t realize you had a radio. Can’t you send?”

  Isaac was interrupted by Latt before he could respond. “The plane iss turning right and ssignalling with its wings.” He pointed at the jet as it waggled its wing-tips and swung towards the right of their course.