‘Mum,’ she said.
‘Huh?’ Deira stopped pacing and looked expectantly at Juliette. ‘Found something?’
‘No, it’s not that. I just wondered if you’d like to go for lunch?’
Deira checked the time. Over here it was already 12.15, and her rumbling tummy suggested the piece of toast she’d grabbed for breakfast hadn’t done much to satisfy her hunger.
‘Yeah, hon. Good idea. Sure Chayka won’t mind?’
‘I’m sure he won’t, but I’ll check anyway.’
In fact, Chayka was remarkably relaxed about the idea and Juliette didn’t wait around to give him a chance to change his mind. She scooted out of his office and hurried back to Deira.
‘He’s okay with it,’ she said. ‘Nice as pie, actually. It’s really weird.’
‘Well, weird or not, it’ll give us a welcome break.’ Deira picked up Jiao and placed her back in the holster, and the two of them high-tailed it out of the lab. Juliette knew of a little café just around the corner from the college – Deira suspected she’d probably been there with Gary – and they were soon sitting happily at a table enjoying a light lunch and glass of wine.
Deira felt a little semi-detached as she ate her lunch, drank her wine and listened to Juliette chatter on about her work. Her irritation at the continued waiting had disappeared and she was feeling relatively relaxed. It was a nice change after all the emotional traumas of recent weeks and she was beginning to feel that the cosmos wasn’t as unremittingly grim as she’d begun to see it when her wrist console sounded with an incoming call. Now what?
Juliette tensed up when she heard the wrist console and watched her mother decide whether or not to accept the call. God, why couldn’t the world leave them alone for just a couple of hours? Anybody would think they were indispensable. Deira glared at the wrist console for a moment, and Juliette really did think she was going to decline the call. Then her face changed.
She glanced swiftly around the crowded café, pulled out her earphones from her belt clip, and accepted the call, audio only. She listened carefully to whoever was on the other end – then her eyes flew open in surprise and she dropped the fork she’d been holding.
‘We’ll be right there,’ she said, terminating the call. ‘Come on hon. Let’s pay the bill and get out of here.’
‘What’s up, Mum?’
‘In a minute.’ Deira called over a waitress. ‘Keep the change.’ She handed over a wad of notes to the obviously startled girl, checked her bag, and hurried towards the door. Juliette followed at a run. Once outside, Deira pulled her to one side.
‘That was some guy on the Moon. He’d been posted to keep an eye on Adam and – something’s happened.’
‘What’s happened? Is Adam alright?’
Deira was as excited as she’d ever been in her life, though there was also a tinge of concern and guilt. She’d set this in motion, with her beacon in sub-quantal space, so she had to take responsibility if something unpleasant had, indeed, happened to Adam. However, the fact was, something had happened.
‘Tao’s come back,’ she said.
§
Dragging the shell-shocked Juliette around a corner into a deserted alley, Deira formed a portal to Moonbase, and they stepped through, heading quickly towards the room Adam had been given.
‘Tao’s back? But how?’ Juliette said, breathlessly, as they hurried along.
‘No idea.’
‘And what about Adam? Is he alright?’
‘Again, I’ve no idea. We’ll find out in a few seconds, won’t we?’
Juliette got the message and shut up. In fact, it really was only a few seconds before they turned a corner and stood outside Adam’s room. Deira hesitated, and Juliette could see the mingled emotions flit across her face. Finally, after a few seconds that felt like hours, she opened the door and they walked in.
Tao was sitting on the bed being examined by one of the Base medical staff, but she leaped up when they entered, ran across the short distance separating them, and threw her arms first around Deira, then Juliette. There were tears running down her face when she finally let go and stepped away.
‘It’s so good to see you both,’ she said. ‘I thought I was lost for good.’
‘Tao?’ Deira sounded cautious. ‘Is it really you?’
‘It’s me, and I’m here thanks to the beacon you sent through. Somehow, I just knew you wouldn’t let me down.’
‘How could I?’ Deira took Tao’s hands, as if to reassure herself that it was really her. She found herself suddenly becoming quite emotional. ‘You’re the girl who loved my son.’
Tao squeezed her hands tightly, the tears still flowing.
‘Deira, I’m the girl who still loves your son.’
‘Thanks for that,’ Deira felt heartbroken all over again and looked away. ‘It’s a lovely thing to say.’
‘No, you misunderstand me. Look at me, Deira.’ Deira looked back at her and Tao stared into her eyes. ‘Now listen carefully. I still love Josh because he’s still alive. I’ve just left him in sub-quantal space.’
There was a sharp intake of breath from Juliette, and Deira wondered what the problem was. She thought Tao had said Josh was still alive, but that was clearly impossible. So, why was Tao nodding slowly at her, willing her to believe – and why was Juliette sobbing? She was simply unable to process what she’d just heard.
‘Josh is alive?’
It came out as a monotone, devoid of emotion, because the words seemed to come from a long way away and didn’t make any sense. Then her brain switched on again and she understood – but at the same time couldn’t believe what she’d heard.
‘He’s alive!’ Tao was beaming. ‘He managed to get into sub-quantal space with Swift moments before his body was vaporised. Deira, we need to work on a way to get him back.’
‘Josh is alive?’ Deira said again. A little more energy, this time. She looked first at Tao, then Juliette, then back at Tao. ‘Josh is alive!’ Now she believed it, and in believing, she was completely overcome. She felt dizzy. Then everything went black.
When she recovered consciousness, she was lying on the bed, and Juliette was sponging her forehead with a damp cloth. She gazed around in confusion. Where was she?
‘Juliette?’
She could see from the streaks down her face that Juliette had been crying but couldn’t remember why. All her thoughts were in turmoil. She’d had a dream in which Tao Chen had come back and said Josh was still alive, but that was surely just wishful thinking. What was going on?
She slowly sat up, the beginning of a headache throbbing at the base of her skull. Then she saw Tao standing nearby – and everything came flooding back. In a moment, she was back on her feet, grabbing Tao.
‘Did I hear right? Is it true? Did you say Josh is alive?’ She could feel her heart banging away in her chest and her legs felt like jelly..
Tao took her hands again.
‘Deira, listen very carefully. I’m not making this up. Josh is alive. He can’t come back for now because he has no body, but I’m sure we’ll work something out.’
For Deira, the universe shifted on its axis. From a place of darkness and despair, it suddenly donned a magical mantle. Josh was alive! There was nothing else that mattered at this moment. He was alive – and she would get him back come hell or high water. She smiled – she couldn’t stop smiling. And she was crying too, with tears of joy. She couldn’t remember ever feeling like this before. Eight weeks ago, she had questioned why she should continue living, and it was only the presence of Juliette that had kept her going. Now, she was sure everything would work out – because Josh was alive.
‘Tell me everything.’ She pulled Tao down beside her on the bed. ‘I want to know what happened.’
Tao couldn’t get rid of her smile either and was greatly enjoying her role as the bearer of such good news. ‘Of course.’ She started on the story she’d been mentally gearing-up for.
Deira was stunned and had to take a moment or
two to sort out her thoughts. The issue of the sub-quantal entities and their relationship to the deteriorating cosmic constants was massive and would require much consideration as well as a lot of physical effort to sort out. Then there was the problem of Josh not having a body. That could probably be dealt with in the same way they’d been proposing for Adam – a clone. The thought of Adam brought on her next question.
‘What about Adam? When you came back, was he ejected into sub-quantal space?’
‘No, he’s still in here with me.’ Tao seemed relatively unconcerned about it. ‘He’s very much in the background and that’s where he’ll stay until we decide what to do about him.’
‘Is it causing you any distress having him there too, Chayka says the headaches you were having last time round were almost certainly due to him.’
Tao smiled confidently. ‘It’s fine this time. I’ve learned a few things in sub-quantal space and I know how to deal with this now. It still leaves us with a problem, though. We need two male bodies as soon as possible – one for him and one for Josh. Any ideas on that?’
‘We’re looking at getting a cloned body for Adam, so we could do the same for Josh. Looks like it’ll take about six months, though.’
‘Six months?’ Tao grimaced. ‘That’s quite a chunk out of our three years. I was hoping to start ferrying the sub-quantal entities through in a few days at most, but I can’t do that with Adam still here. Three into one won’t go.’
‘Then we need to get the cloning process speeded up.’
Deira felt energised and ready for anything. Life had started again, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to let a few technical problems get in her way. There was a job to do – a massive job. First, they had to get Josh and Adam sorted out with bodies. Then they had to save the universe. She gulped. Oh shit. That was one hell of an agenda.
‘Sounds like we need to talk to Chayka,’ Tao said, pensively. ‘Incidentally, I’d welcome a run-down on the last few hours of the asteroid elimination mission. What happened on Mars?’ She looked proudly at Juliette. ‘I gather you were quite the heroine, Jules. Josh told me what he saw you do. Congratulations. I don’t think anybody else could have accomplished what you did.’
Juliette looked down at her feet and turned bright red.
‘I had a lot of help. First from you and then from Josh at the last minute.’ She glanced up at Deira, whose new take on life seemed to have suddenly nose-dived. Tao looked from one to the other and was quick to read the signs.
‘Oh God! The fragment hit, didn’t it? What about …’
‘Sol didn’t make it,’ Deira said brusquely.
‘Oh, Deira, I’m so sorry!’ Tao could feel her own eyes filling with tears again, and it was clear Juliette was only just holding it together. Deira, on the other hand, seemed unmoved.
‘It’s over,’ Deira said. ‘It’s been more than eight weeks and I’ve come to terms with it.’ She suddenly brightened. ‘But at least I’ve got one of my men back – or nearly, anyway. I can’t dwell on the past, Tao, we’ve things to do. Talking of which …’ She took Jiao from her holster and handed her over. ‘… I think Jiao will feel much more comfortable now she has you back.’
‘Thank you, Deira,’ Jiao said. ‘It was both a pleasure and a privilege to work with you.’
‘It should be me thanking you,’ Deira said. ‘I’d never have achieved what I did without you.’ She smiled. ‘You know, I’m more determined than ever now to get a PWC of my own.’
Tao holstered Jiao. ‘I agree. We need to talk to the Eich about it. In fact, I need to talk to them too. I want to find out what they know about the sub-quantal entities.’
‘We can’t reach them,’ Deira said. ‘They’re completely cut off behind a folded-space barrier. But, of course, you can get around that barrier, can’t you?’
‘By a time-fold.’ Tao nodded. ‘Once I access the Eich, I’ll get the other agents’ training back on track. We need them to make rapid progress if they’re to be any help with the evacuation of the sub-quantal entities.’
‘Good point,’ Deira said. ‘You’re going to need help with that, for certain.
‘Looks like we’ve got ourselves some things to do,’ Tao was all efficiency again now. ‘Can I suggest you two approach Chayka and see if we can speed-up the cloned body initiative? You could also tell him about the sub-quantal entities and the associated threats to the cosmic constants. That should give him something to chew on.’
‘And you’ll be going to visit the Eich?’
‘Certainly will. We need them back in play for something as mind-blowing as this. You good with that?’
Deira nodded. ‘It seems like we’ve only just got you back and you’re off again. Please be careful. With Josh stuck in sub-quantal space, you’re our best hope, you know.’
‘Copy that.’ Tao saluted smartly and, without any further delay, formed a portal and stepped through. The fold closed and Deira and Juliette were left gazing at each other, a little taken aback by the speed things seemed to be moving. Deira didn’t hesitate long. She formed a portal back to Chayka’s lab and they both stepped through.
‘
Chapter 19
Well, I guess that filled a hole, if nothing else. Some was good, some was mediocre, and some was purest shit.’ Sol tried leaning back on the chair that was way too big for him and almost fell off it. He quickly yanked himself back upright – and promptly slid off again. ‘Goddam it! Even the fucking furniture’s got a mind of its own.’
‘The food might not be what you’re used to, but its nutritious enough, and the furniture’s just a little large. You should adapt fairly quickly.’
Chard didn’t sound very sympathetic and that simply added to Sol’s grouchiness. He stood glaring at the chair that simply wasn’t made for a comfortable slouch. Nothing in this ship was comfortable. Everything was designed for the three-metre-tall El – and he resented feeling like one of the dwarves in Snow White. Chard was right, of course, he would adapt. He just wouldn’t do it with good grace.
‘What shall we do now, then?’ he mumbled, half to himself. ‘Have you still got that map of the ship you made when we folded in?’
‘Micha has provided me with one that’s a little more up-to-date,’ Chard said. ‘Where would you like to go?’
Sol looked at the map Chard was projecting on his visor, a flashing green light indicating their current position. ‘The problem is the ship’s so damned big,’ he grumped. He glared at the map again, looking to see if there was anything that looked remotely interesting. ‘That room there.’ He pointed to something labelled “transfer centre”. ‘What’s that?’
‘Most areas of the ship are named very simply, according to their function.’ Chard sounded almost as grumpy as Sol. ‘That means this is like a PHASE terminal, except I understand it uses space-folding.’
‘They’ve developed a mechanical way to fold space?’ Sol was impressed. ‘That’d be a great thing to take home if they’d let us have the specs. PHASEing would be redundant overnight.’
‘I agree. However, I doubt technology of this magnitude would be given away lightly. I suspect it’s for military use only, even within the El. Think of millions of beings having instant access to anywhere in the galaxy. I think the unintended consequences would be quite severe.’
‘Yeah – guess so. Let’s go take a look anyway. See what a fold-chamber looks like.’
He mooched along towards the spot indicated on the map. He was bored, and how sad was that? Here he was on a massive alien star-ship, with technology to die for, and he couldn’t work up any enthusiasm. In fact, he’d have swapped it all for a night at home watching old tri-vids with Deira. He really needed to get himself together or the next couple of weeks were going to be purgatory.
He finally reached the transfer centre and ambled in. There was no security of any kind and the place was completely deserted. Chard explained that the reason for that was that no external transfers were possible while the folded-s
pace barrier was intact. Once again, it was the sheer size of everything that was impressive, the bank of equipment at the far end of the room dwarfing PHASE technology, both in size and complexity.
He wondered around aimlessly, running his hands over various consoles and wondering how the whole thing worked. It would have to be very energy-intensive – probably fusion-driven – so there should be that inevitable background hum you got with a fusion reactor. He stopped to listen. There was nothing. He supposed the sound could be muffled due to the sheer size of the ship, but the size itself surely implied the need for one hell of a reactor. And that should be audible. He silently spoke to Chard.
‘Buddy, have you any idea what powers this ship? I can’t hear any engines.’
‘Micha has only given me limited access,’ Chard said. ‘However, with many of the ship’s systems damaged, I’ve managed to circumvent some of their firewalls. There are three different propulsion systems on the ship. The first is a transfer of momentum engine that’s used when the ship’s orbiting a planet. Energy is derived from the rotation of the planet and used to offset its gravitational attraction. The planet will clearly slow a little, but the effect is so small as to be negligible.’
‘But we’re surrounded by a folded-space barrier,’ Sol protested. ‘Nothing can get through that.’
‘You’re right, nothing can get through a solid folded-space barrier. However, this barrier isn’t solid – it flickers – and that allows this particular engine to function.’
‘Could we fold out through it as well?’ Sol immediately jumped at what he thought was a way off the ship, only to have his hopes smashed again by Chard’s reply.
‘Unfortunately, not. The flicker rate is far too fast to allow you to form a portal.’ ‘Shit.’ Sol slipped back into his melancholia. ‘What about numbers two and three.?’
‘Propulsion system number two is fusion-based. Its use is predominantly interplanetary, within solar systems.’
‘Surely, that can’t be used through the barrier?’
Gods of Titan- The Cosmic Constants Page 14
