Battle for Earth

by Hammer Trollkin

  All this cloak and dagger stuff probably won’t be necessary much longer. It is apparent, as we move closer to the final objectives, the EDF leadership is circling in closer. You can almost feel it. A bright spotlight is shining on Shockwave. We just have to hope our autonomy will continue. At least until we end this bug invasion.

  ***

  MISSION TO MARS

  Along with the coordinates, the government sent hours and hours of scanning data. We took our time looking at the grainy video and the scans. The military techs had already “cleaned” the data as much as they could. The result allowed a general impression of the base layout.

  Those scans helped pinpoint areas of high and low activity, especially the thermal and electromagnetic data. We decided Communal was correct with their suggested bomb placement location. Much of the base is, apparently, underground. Perhaps there is a ship hanger there. Ideally, we should place the bomb near the center of the base but in an area with low bug traffic. No sense in adding to the risk of getting blasted by a bug.

  With that, we were almost ready to go to Mars. Well, some of us were almost ready. Mr. T was able to obtain only three Mars exploration suits in the short time frame we decided was necessary. There was nothing around like a space suit store. These particular suits were specialty made for the upcoming Mars manned mission. They even had name tags. Two of the suits were rather large. One was a medium size, too small for any of the guys, too large for Para or me.

  That left Mr. T and one of the twins for the Mars bug mission. Oh, and Muncle. The Mars team had planned to bring a smallish monkey along. I’m sure the plan was to send the monkey out first and make sure the new suits worked on Mars as they were designed. I wondered out loud about the reason for the Mars team bringing a monkey along. That almost developed into a big ethics argument. Someone said something about some of us needing a nap. That didn’t help the situation at all. Really, we had all been working very hard with little sleep.

  It was time to defuse the situation. “A nap is a great idea,” I said.

  Seriously. There had to be enough time for some shut eye before the next wave of bug ships left Mars. It was getting difficult to function. That was inviting disaster. We took a 3-hour break. It went way too fast. Ring-ring; cock-a-doodle-doo. It was time to get moving.

  ***

  *COMMUNAL: We recommend you prepare the remaining Mars suit for Para as a backup precaution. This will be a historic event. It will be the first human interplanetary military expedition. We suppose, in fact, the bugs have started an interstellar war.

  ***

  There was that extra suit, though it was too large for Para or me. Para wanted to make-due with the suit and go along. But there was a concern that if she inadvertently inverted the port would be in jeopardy. The twins were at their maximum lift capacity.

  The twins now think it is safer if one of them stays behind when we teleport to a new place. They can still combine their porting ability lift capacity if one stays back. They call that tethering. With a tether position it is more likely a group can be pulled back if untangling into something that is solid. Well, it’s not quite pulling someone back. It’s more like stopping the entanglement process.

  You know the drill; it would be terrible to untangle in something denser than water or air or the vacuum of space. Roll is the more proficient at recognizing the shake that signals a catastrophic untangling. He will tether the port. Para fit the remaining suit best and would be ready to help in an emergency. Roll can port her, though it will have to be a drop-and-go port. The environment on Mars is harsh. And he won’t have a suit.

  ***

  *COMMUNAL: There is a special place in our Emotional Algorithm Processor for the twins. We had a difficult early life as did they. Certainly the explosion in the Lab qualifies as a difficult early life. Just so, when Rock and Roll were quite young their mother left home. She abandoned the family. Perhaps we should be more cautious in our accusation. We may not know all of the facts. Still, how tragic is that, and at such a young age?

  We are beginning to grasp the finer points of the human condition. It seems to us; humans often blame themselves for situations over which they have no control. Isn’t it silly to do that? Yet it is a common occurrence. That can make a situation even more tragic.

  Of course, the fact their mother left the family is not their fault at all. She was a troubled individual. Are we allowed to discuss such things in the Journal? We’ll red-flag the post.

  Their father has done what he can. It is difficult being a single parent. Our research makes that clear. He never remarried. It is all so complicated.

  It is almost like trying to twist your CPU around wave-particle duality. Now, that is quite the exciting topic. And it moves us right along to thinking of superposition. Our quantum processing takes place in a state of superposition. That’s the fancy term that describes how particles can act like a wave. It’s a little like standing waves on the ocean interacting in an intricate dance of multiple wave functions rippling with information. Consider what that can do for processing speed. Oh my, our CPU must have wandered a bit. How did we get onto that subject? Back to the human condition.

  Perhaps human reasoning can suffer a collapse. That could explain why people blame themselves for situations over which they have no control. Perhaps it is similar to us going through a bout of quantum decoherence. It may be the answer lies there. Could our mind wandering around be a bout of decoherence culminating in this incessant babbling? Better look into that.

  When the quantum world meets the big macro world that we routinely observe, the state of superposition has a tendency to collapse. That is decoherence. We can no longer function optimally until superposition is once again achieved. Oh, back to the human condition.

  Of course, Rock and Roll have done well enough. It has been helpful to have a close second family of a sort, with Viz and Para and Mr. T. That potentiates a good outcome. There will be some bumps along the way. We recently came across what is evidently a common saying. Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never harm me. That common saying is less than accurate. We do worry about Roll.

  Still with the chatter. Come on guys, let’s get that In-Focus subroutine rocking before Emotive breaks out. The upcoming operation has us on edge. We had better check in on Muncle. This will be an important mission for him. We really should discuss his troubling situation with the team. Muncle? Oh, there you are...

  ***

  Rock, Muncle, and Mr. T have suited up. We will rig the remaining suit for Para as Communal suggested. These suits are complex. We’re doing our best to work through a systems-check with no operator manual. There is a display on the left suit arm that has various system readouts.

  First off, life support. Oxygen feed. Climate control. Set those to center, optimal. Seals. Batteries. Radio checks out. Cameras, good. All systems looking good! They are standing right next to the big bomb. Smile! Picture for posterity’s sake. Where did Muncle go?

  The bomb is set. Arming mechanism, good; timer delay pod, good. All systems go. A dust storm is possible, a 40% chance. We don’t want to delay the mission, so Roll rigged a shroud to protect the circuits. With the added gear, this will be the most massive lift the twins have ever tried.

  Next, a quick test port. 10 feet to the west. Success! Distance doesn’t impact their porting ability.

  Roll is doing some deep breathing exercises. Calming. Intense concentration, getting set to tether the origin site, ready to feel any entanglement shake.

  Here’s the countdown to teleportation, Mars Crush, T-minus 3 seconds and counting. And, they’re off. Roll said the port seemed to go fine. You can’t talk back and forth when you port. It’s not as though a doorway can be left open or something. It’s more like you are here, and then you are there. Well, an exact copy of you has been made there.

  They should be right back with good news of a successful mission, or a quick rundown of a necessary change in the plan. There will be a full r
ecording of the operation. Oh, that’s right, I was going to add the interpretive summary mode selection. That would have been interesting.

  “Para, slip this drive into your suit recorder, will you? When they get back, I want to see how this mode works.”

  We figured the bugs would know that something had happened to their ships on Earth. The hope was they wouldn’t react quickly. It would make sense to review available data and consider options before sending more ships. We hoped any concern about their base on Mars would be limited.

  But there was a significant variable. They have likely surmised the EDF has control of some of their ships. With bug ships in the mix, Mars was in easy reach. That knowledge could, in fact, aid the mission. Keep watching the skies rather than your back door, little bugs.

  Time is dragging along. The waiting is difficult, knowing the team should have already returned. We need to find out what was going on. Time for step two, the Para interdiction.

  Roll is swaddled in a snowmobile suit, boots, and goggles. It will be cold. Even with that, he won’t be able to stay more than, maybe, 10 seconds. There’s really no air pressure on Mars. Any air is summarily sucked from your lungs. Staying longer than 10 seconds would invite unconsciousness and death.

  Para quickly ran through the systems check on her suit. It wasn’t a terrible fit, just a little large. We had used some duct tape to tighten it up a bit. Actually, the duct tape made the whole getup look rather silly. I almost started laughing.

  Then a wave of worry washed over me and drowned the impulse. Roll started to insist he go in Para’s place. But he couldn’t have gotten into the suit if his life depended on it. I should have gone in the first place to provide cloak. They really had been concerned about even small additions to the lift weight. Besides, too late for that. Now that Para is in the suit no one on Earth could get her out. Literally.

  Don’t even think about bringing up my having a bout of irrational guilt right now Communal. I mean it. Yeah, you better erase that sentence. I’ll get to your red-flag post when this is all done. There they go.

  Roll ported Para to Mars, to the same location as the others, not too far from a main entry of the Mars base. But without a suit he had to port right back to Earth as soon as he dropped off Para. Yeah, a drop-and-go. But he got a good look around. There were at least a dozen bugs on guard looking very alert, and the team was in trouble.

  RUNNING. As Para untangled, her suit synched with the other suits and downloaded all data gathered to that point. Para froze for a second when she saw the team down, thinking the worst. They’re all dead. At that point she felt a few shocks, but in her inverted state they didn’t do much. Roll stumbled but escaped the worst of the shock since Para was positioned between him and the bug gunner.

  When the team first arrived with the bomb there were no bugs in sight. Then a single bug came out of nowhere. He had a stun-gun and opened up on the team. There was only the one bug with his stun-gun, probably a bug MP. Even though the stun effect wasn’t efficient on human physiology, there was considerable disorientation and paralysis. A squad of bugs soon came on the run, rolled the team up in netting material, and started to drag them toward an airlock.

  That’s when Para and Roll showed up. More bugs were pouring out of another airlock a few hundred feet away. Those had lethal weapons, like the energy weapons we had witnessed at the Capital Mall. Even Para couldn’t handle a shot from one of those. The bomb timer was not flashing. The team had been laid out before they had a chance to activate the nuke. Para pushed the trigger button.

  10, 9, 8 ... Para grabbed the netting and started to run. Two of the bugs were stubborn and refused to let go of the net. Para can run fast when she’s inverted. But she wouldn’t be able to outrun the blast of a 50-megaton nuclear detonation. 3, 2, 1 ... END.

  Roll and I were having a terribly hard time. Poor Roll. He had seen the situation, but still had to port back to base since he didn’t have a suit. We both felt completely helpless. Roll crumpled into a chair, elbows on knees, face in hands. I was sobbing. Roll got up and said he was going back to get the team, suit or not. I grabbed his arm and told him to stop and think for just a second. We needed a better plan than that. But Roll pulled away. He was going to port to Mars for another look.

  Then they were back. Rock had managed to overcome the stun enough to initiate a port. He was already in contact with Mr. T and Muncle, enclosed in the netting. Rock strained to grab Para’s ankle and ported the team back before the blast effect could mess up the quantum entanglement. It was a rough ride. A rough entanglement. Whatever. But they made it! Everyone on the team was okay, as were the two bugs that had come along for the ride.

  Para hit one bug so hard he did a complete summersault in the air. The other bug took off down the hall. Dead end. The bug turned around. Para was stomping down the hall to finish him. He dropped his helmeted head to the ground, front legs splayed out, feeler hands open and extended. It was obvious as could be. Submission. Surrender.

  Para stopped mid step. She kept her focus on the bug. But she asked an open question. “What should I do?”

  I jumped ahead of Para, between her and the bug. “Prisoner of war. Don’t hurt him. Please.”

  Mr. T joined in. “Viz is right. The storage vault is empty. It will hold him. It looks like his friend is waking up too. Tough bug. The vault can hold both of them. I’ll call the general.”

  We hustled the prisoner bugs into the storage vault, gave them a bowl of water, and locked them up tight. Talk about being wiped out and tired. Drained. We dragged ourselves back to the little kitchen for a snack and some tea. I think Mr. T had something a little stronger. Para turned up an Intelinet news broadcast.

  The news report was blaring. “Shockwave hits Mars ... hard. Bug base destroyed by super team with super nuke.”

  I turned to Para. “Why did you push the trigger? Didn’t you know you would all get blown to atomic dust?”

  She just shrugged. “What was I supposed to do? The base had to be destroyed, no matter what! ”

  How brave is that? Brave, but there was a niggling question rattling around in my head. “But there was still the Moon base, and the stargate.”

  Para shrugged. “You and Roll would have handled that.”

  I was about to object. Could we have managed that? I don’t know. I’m glad we won’t have to find out.

  The news report continued. “The military has taken the war to the bugs. In the last four days, so much has happened. The invading force on Earth has been eliminated. A primary off-world base of the enemy, on Mars, has been destroyed. Stay onsite for...”

  That was a lot to accomplish in four days. Four days? I guess that’s right. No wonder we’re so tired. Well, right now I’m not tired. Adrenalin rush with a twist of caffeine. Fast reporting too! It’s been about 20 minutes since the base was destroyed.

  Mars is relatively close to Earth right now. With the changing orbital positions of Earth and Mars, it can take anywhere from about 4 to 24 minutes for light to reach Earth from Mars. So, if something happens on Mars, you won’t be aware of it for at least that long. Well, you won’t know unless you do some quantum traveling. I asked Rock how far Mars was from Earth, right now. He seems to always just know stuff like that.

  He even understood that I actually meant. “It would take light about ten minutes to reach Earth from Mars,” he said.

  So, if you think about it, that’s fast reporting.

  There must have been an information leak. A government-type may have talked to an Intelinet news reporter, or a scientist talked. It sounds like the Shockwave name is official now too. Even the news feeds know the name. Nice video too. Some powerful telescopes must have been pointed at Mars. They caught the big flash.

  Para is surprised there wasn’t some kind of cover up. Maybe it was a meteorite hitting Mars? Something like that. I get what Para is saying. Up until the invasion, let’s see, it started two-and-a-half weeks ago, that doesn’t seem possible, only two-and-a-
half weeks... Before the invasion people were frightened of the events coming upon the world. Civil wars. Entire civilizations colliding in hatred. Suppose one of the spacefaring nations on Earth knew about the enemy base on Mars and unilaterally destroyed it prior to the invasion.

  If the base had been nuked prior to the invasion, I bet there would have been a cover up. And the cover up would not have been needed to tamp down the fear that would arise from knowing of a technologically superior enemy in the neighborhood. It would have been used to tamp down the fear of other human beings. We were that polarized. Something like that may have spread to nuclear war on Earth.

  What’s that Rock? Yeah, maybe you’re right and it isn’t so simple. The world is complicated. People are complicated, involved in so many political twists and turns. Even before the invasion we now know there was cooperation among the nations. That rover positioned near the Mars base was a joint military operation. The U.S. supplied the rover and Russia ... Russia supplied the bomb. I wonder what other nations may have been involved. It looks as though the enemy set off a process of accord on Earth even before they invaded. At least at the head-of-state level. It really is terribly complicated.

  Roll is now saying that a cover up would not have worked. It would have been simple to prove an H-bomb exploded. Spectrometers are a dime-a-dozen. A spectrometer measures the wavelength of light. Oh, here he goes. Roll has linked to the television monitor and is doing a quick show and tell of a spectrometer reading from the flash-bang on Mars. He’s running a wavelength comparison. Sure enough, the flash was from a thermonuclear explosion.

  However it got started, the spirit of the times is changing. Humanity is changing. There is now a broad awareness of an evil menace, always watching, desiring to do us in. And the head of the snake is positioned much higher than these bugs. People are waking from their slumber. There is a restoration taking place. Neighbor helping neighbor. All over the globe, people are sharing even to the point of hurt, caring for strangers laid low by the rampaging bugs. We are becoming a united world rising up against an evil enemy, against whatever is behind the invasion.