“We haven’t given the key to anyone else!” Infinity said, trying unsuccessfully to keep her anger under control.
The woman pointed to the Marines and spoke into her translator. “You gave key to bridging technology to people of this world.”
Dr. Fornas turned abruptly to Sergeant Harrington. “You need to bring those weapons back out. These people are clearly a threat!”
“Wait!” Infinity said. “If you don’t see that they’re capable of destroying this planet whether you’re armed or not, then you really haven’t been paying attention.”
Harrington shifted his gaze from Fornas to Infinity, and then to the three strangers. “She’s right. We should hold off on the weapons. At least for the moment.”
Fornas muttered a curse. Infinity ignored him as she turned back to the strangers. “Okay, you have our attention. You said you wanted to talk to us, so I assume you haven’t started destroying this world. Let’s talk.”
The woman listened to the translation and then replied. “The Outlanders are important and wise and foremost. They had purpose for radio signal with instructions for bridging device. The purpose is destroy worlds with beings that do not understand key to bridging technology. Beings that understand should live. Beings that do not understand should not live. This purpose is important and wise and foremost. We help Outlanders. We give consequences to beings that break rule.”
Armando said, “So you’ve taken it upon yourselves to enforce the Outlanders’ rules? Have you ever even met the Outlanders? Their radio signal travelled tens of thousands of light years to get to this world—their civilization probably doesn’t even exist anymore.”
The strangers listened to the translation and then frowned. The woman spoke again. “The Outlanders are important and wise and foremost.”
It was starting to sound like these people actually worshipped the Outlanders, a thought that didn’t comfort Infinity in the least. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to absorb the shock of learning that these people had not only destroyed the world that had been her home for the last nineteen months, but they may also have destroyed the other human colonies she had worked to save. If these bastards were telling the truth about having destroyed all the worlds the humans of Infinity’s Earth had bridged to, then the only survivors of her home world were the thirty-six refugees who were now living on this world. She took a deep breath and tried to suppress her anger, but she could feel her control slipping away. She opened her eyes and looked directly at the woman. “We don’t want you to destroy this world. We would like to convince you not to do that. But I want you to know that if you do try to do that, I will kill you before you can even think about bridging back to your world. I will kill you with my bare hands.”
“So much for trying not to intimidate them,” Sergeant Harrington said from behind Infinity. “Marines, move in closer. Be ready to take them out by any means necessary.”
The men moved forward until they were no more than two feet from the strangers and formed a circle around them.
The strangers were still frowning, but they didn’t look at all intimidated.
The woman spoke into her translator. “You did not understand the key to bridging technology. You destroy your home world with bridging device. Mongrels give the key to bridging technology to you. You use the key to build this bridging device.” She gestured to the hatch behind her. “You break the rule. We give you consequences. We destroy all worlds you bridge to. Your home world destroyed, and all worlds you bridge to destroyed. Now this world is your home world. So, like mongrels, you must show us that we should not destroy your home world.”
Infinity felt her hands turning into fists. Kitty noticed this, glancing down briefly, but she showed no signs of fear or anger. Either these beings were confident in their ability to fend off attacks, or they were able to bridge out within a split second.
Fornas said, “What do we have to do to show you that you should not destroy this world?”
The woman listened as her device translated, and then she spoke. “Like the mongrels, you must show us by bridging to a world we choose for you. We will watch what you do on that world. What you do on that world will show us that we should destroy your home world. Or what you do on that world will show us that we should not destroy your home world. This is how we decide. We decide this way many times before. The key to bridging technology was given to you. You did not understand the key until it was given to you. Now you show us that you deserve to have the key to bridging technology.”
Infinity’s fists were now balled so tightly that they hurt. She took a breath and focused on relaxing them. “You’re giving us a test? You’re making us take a goddamn test to prove that we’re worthy of staying alive?”
The woman listened and then replied, “Yes.”
Infinity took a step closer. “I have a better idea. How about if we kill you right now and bridge your mangled bodies to a world where they’ll be eaten by rats?”
Several of the Marines pressed forward until their faces were inches from the strangers. Apparently the soldiers were as eager to rip these fuzzy bastards apart as Infinity was.
“Please,” Fornas said, “let’s not anger them unnecessarily.”
Kitty smiled at Infinity and said, “We want you to observe.”
Abruptly, she and the two creatures were gone. Three faint pops echoed through the room as air rushed in to fill the empty space where their bodies had been.
“Shit!” Infinity grumbled.
“What does this mean?” Sergeant Harrington asked. “What do they want us to observe?”
No one seemed to have an answer to this, and the group fell into uneasy silence, waiting for something to happen.
After about two minutes, Kitty stuck her head out of the open bridging chamber and stepped through the hatch, followed by Tigger and Teddy. Kitty spoke into her translator. “We give consequences many times. You do not surprise us when you are angry and try to hurt us. Outside this structure. You go and see.” She then waited silently, with the two men on either side of her.
Fornas stepped over to the wall and pushed a few buttons on a control panel similar to the one in the viewing room. “Fuller? You there?”
“I’m here, Dr. Fornas. Folks out here are pretty frightened. We’d like to know what’s going on. Seth Stanway just told me there are now two of the green cones outside. Apparently one of them is doing something. He said it’s making a noise of some kind. Should we be concerned?”
“Just tell everyone to stay calm,” Fornas said. He pushed a button and turned back to the three strangers. “Have you activated one of those cones? You said you’d give us a chance to prove ourselves!”
Kitty listened to the translation and then replied. “Those cones are ready to give you consequences. You observe we can bring more cones. Only one cone is needed for destroy your world. But now you see. If you destroy cone, we bring more cones. We give you consequences. We destroy your world, unless you show us that we should not destroy your world.”
Infinity scanned the faces of the humans in the room. Most of them, including Desmond, looked as if they had no idea what to do next. She sighed and turned to Kitty. “Alright, what do we have to do?”
6
Bridge-Out
April 10 - 6:11 PM
All fourteen of Desmond's fellow colonists sat before him, crammed into one of the quarantine living quarters, waiting to hear what he and Infinity had to say. These people were his family, the only real family he’d had since leaving his mom’s house for college. All of them were tough and resourceful—they had proven it during the last nineteen months. But everyone except Gideon now had partners and families. Desmond couldn’t ask them to join a team bridging to an unknown destination. To complete a mysterious test for which the result of failing was the destruction of a world with billions of people on it. If the team failed the test, everyone here would likely die, but at least they would have had a few relatively peaceful hours or days firs
t.
“That’s all we know at this time,” he said, having just finished describing the events that had taken place in the med lab during the last hour.
Infinity, who had been pacing back and forth with frustration, stopped and said, “At first the bastards were only going to let one human participate in this insane test. But we insisted on sending a group, and they didn’t seem to care much one way or the other. They’re making us do it now—like within the next half hour. They won’t let us wait for more specialized people to get here. Sergeant Harrington has volunteered his squad of Marines for the team.” She nodded toward Desmond. “We almost had to fight them to get them to let any of us on the team. I think the only reason they allowed it is that we’ve had more extensive bridging experience.”
“I’d like to be on the team,” Gideon said flatly.
Desmond nodded. “We figured you would, and we already got it approved. The rest of you, though, well, we didn’t think….”
“We understand, Desmond,” said Hayley Millwright. “You don’t have to explain.”
“Emily and I would go if you needed us,” said Steven, “but we trust you guys to do what needs to be done.” Other than Gideon, Steven and Emily were the last surviving National Guardsmen in the group.
“We appreciate the gesture," Infinity said, "but it's a moot point, anyway. The Marines don’t want any more than three of us.”
Lenny, sitting on the bed with Daisy on his lap, said, “So that’s all those hairballs told you? You don’t have any idea what you’re supposed to accomplish in order to save our sorry asses?”
Desmond sighed and shook his head. “They wouldn’t tell us. No idea what kind of world we’re bridging to, no idea what we’re supposed to do when we get there. But apparently they’re going to be watching everything we do.”
Infinity said, “They might want to test our resilience, or maybe observe how compassionate we are. Or maybe test our problem-solving skills. There’s just no way to know.”
“So let me get this straight," Xavier said. "You're going to bridge there now, meaning it'll be almost sunset, and you’ll have no idea what you’re supposed to do.”
Desmond nodded. “That about sums it up.”
Gideon stepped forward, a grim expression on his face. “No sense putting it off.”
The others came forward and took turns hugging Desmond, Infinity, and Gideon. After everyone had said goodbye, the three left the room and walked back to the med lab.
In the lab, the Marines were milling around the bridging chamber hatch, outfitted in their organic fatigues again. The Marine named Shepherd noticed Desmond, Infinity, and Gideon and handed each of them a transparent bag containing a set of fatigues. “We got a few extras,” he said. “Thought you might like the chance to bridge with something on besides your birthday suits. Don’t worry about the fit—they’re all one size. They adjust themselves to fit your body. It's a little creepy the first time it happens.”
Desmond reached into his bag and felt the black material. It was like touching a dead snake. “This really is living tissue?”
Shepherd shrugged. “That’s what they tell me. I don’t know much about it. I know it actually has living cells. But there ain’t no nerves or brain or nothing like that. Beats being naked.”
Desmond’s eyes met Infinity’s. He half-expected her to turn down the offer and do without, but instead she nodded and thanked the Marine.
Shepherd pointed at a pair of doors. “You can put them on in those exam rooms if you want.”
Gideon went into one of the rooms, and Desmond and Infinity took the other. Desmond pulled one of the items from his bag. It was a helmet, identical to the ones the Marines had been wearing when he’d first seen them the previous evening. He set it aside and pulled out the next item, a shirt, which was big and rather heavy. It had thick, armor-like sections covering the chest and abdomen, but otherwise it looked like a simple pullover.
Desmond removed his paper shirt and pulled on the black garment. It felt like slightly-moist leather against his skin. No wonder the Marines had been anxious to get out of their fatigues.
“It’s too freaking big,” Infinity said. She had also pulled hers on, and it was hanging loosely from her shoulders.
Desmond started to make a comment about how fashionable she looked, but then he stopped and stared. “Holy crap, your shirt’s moving.”
She nodded at him. “So is yours.”
Desmond could feel it now. The garment was contracting, pulling in on itself. He knew that it was just adjusting its fit, but Shepherd had been right—the feeling was creepy. Desmond had to fight the urge to yank the shirt off.
Infinity groaned in displeasure as she stared down at her garment. “This doesn’t comfort me in the least.”
The next items they pulled from the bags were pants, which were heavy and oversized like the shirts. They put them on, waited for them to shrink, and then they pulled out the shoes, which looked like black leather slippers. The soles appeared to be thickened in the same way the chest armor was. They both slipped their feet into the shoes, which began shrinking seconds later. Once they were both fully dressed, they stood dubiously admiring each other’s perfectly-fitting fatigues.
Infinity pointed at the helmet she’d placed on the exam table. “I don’t know about you, but I’m not putting that thing on my head.”
Desmond agreed, so they left the helmets and rejoined the others in the lab. Gideon emerged at the same time, having apparently also decided against the helmet.
Shepherd was waiting for them with three handheld organic weapons. The devices were about eighteen inches long. Each had a handle and trigger guard, but otherwise they looked more like something cut from an animal’s leg than a gun.
“We decided not to take the dogs,” Shepherd said, “but these things are just as handy. They fire dense, dart-like projectiles at surprising muzzle velocity. Six hundred feet per second, believe it or not. They manage that with nothing more than muscle contraction and elastic tendons. They’re downright deadly. I’ll give you a rundown on how to operate them.”
Desmond knew without a doubt that Infinity wouldn’t want to use these weapons, and he knew that she wouldn't bother to use a diplomatic tone in refusing them, so he decided to speak up first. “I prefer to bridge without a weapon.”
Shepherd raised his brows. “We have no idea what we’ll encounter.”
“Which is why I don’t want one either,” Infinity said. “I’ve learned to be cautious because I’ve never been able to bridge with a weapon. Feeling vulnerable is what keeps me alive.”
Shepherd seemed a little surprised by this, but he nodded and then turned to Gideon. “And you?”
Gideon hesitated, glancing at Desmond and Infinity. Then he reached for one of the weapons. “Show me how it works.”
Shepherd handed it to him. “There ain’t much to it.” He pointed to a bulge in front of the trigger guard. “The magazine contains twelve projectiles. There ain’t a projectile in the chamber right now because—as crazy as it sounds—when the projectiles are pushed up out of the magazine and into the chamber, they get cut free from the body of the weapon and die pretty quickly. This allows them to be fired, but they won’t bridge once they’ve been severed from the main body. So don’t rack one into the chamber until we get there.”
The Marine pointed to a lever on the magazine that appeared to be made of white bone. “When you’re ready, just pull that back firmly to chamber the first projectile.” He moved his finger to a smaller lever near the trigger guard. “That’s the safety. Push it forward before firing. Pull it back when you’re done.” He moved his finger again. “And that’s the trigger. After you fire the first projectile, the second one will automatically move up into the chamber. Chambering takes a full two seconds. I know—slow as shit. It helps to count out the two seconds. After you've fired all twelve projectiles, the weapon becomes useless. They’re disposable and can’t be reloaded.” He shook his head and chu
ckled. “Some of the guys say these weapons are actually grown in big test tubes, but I don’t believe it.”
Gideon hefted the weapon and nodded. “Let’s hope we don’t have to use them.”
The four of them moved over and joined the rest of the Marines, who were waiting silently near the bridging chamber hatch.
Sergeant Harrington, Fornas, and Armando entered the lab through a door on the far side of the room. “Okay, listen up!” Harrington said. “We just finished conferring with Colonel Chislett. The colonel doesn’t believe we are the right people for this mission, and he made no secret of the fact that those above him don’t either. He wants to take the time to put together a team of specialists, including scholars, politicians, and God knows who else. Problem is, we don’t have that kind of time. Based on what Dr. Fornas and I have seen, we agree that this threat is real, and that we need to take any actions necessary to neutralize it. I told Colonel Chislett to assemble his team and get them here ASAP. But I also made it clear to him that if we can’t convince these fuzzy fuckers to give us more time, we’re going to comply with their request and complete the test ourselves.”
Desmond heard a rapid string of foreign language coming from a translator behind him. He turned to see Kitty standing in the bridging chamber’s open hatch. She whispered into her device, which then said, “Yes, you comply with our request now. You do not wait. We have reasons for no waiting. You come now.” She gestured for them to enter the chamber.
Everyone turned to Harrington.
The sergeant nodded grimly. “God help us.” He then stepped forward and followed Kitty into the chamber.
Tigger and Teddy were waiting inside. Next to them was a vehicle. Or a machine. The thing was basically pill-shaped, with a diameter of about four feet. Numerous appendages of various sizes and lengths were folded up, resting neatly against the object’s main body. Several transparent windows revealed a cockpit inside with a single seat surrounded by rows of what appeared to be controls.
The Trial of Extinction Page 6
