Helium 3: Fight for the Future

by Brandon Q. Morris

  When should the launch take place?

  As soon as convenient for you, Ambassador. The flying machine is standing by and ready for launch.

  Well, then, I don’t want to delay any further, drummed Tolkut. The flight is very long, and we don’t want me to be late for this incredibly joyous event!

  53rd of Nahn, 299

  The clouds were so thick that she could hardly see past her wing. The Supreme Mother had to rely on her magnetic sense, which took courage because it had lost sensitivity as she’d gotten older. This was information she hadn’t shared with anyone. From now on, she decided, she would have to take this into account—if she ever managed to reach the platform at all.

  When the magnetic sense was working correctly, she could see the platform in her head as a transparent diagram. She focused on it. The wind was so strong that she kept getting off course, and the suit’s fuel reserves were already low. If only she’d taken the flying machine that the Guardian had offered! She had refused because she did not want to delay the construction work, but she’d also been interested in having an adventure, an experience for which she was apparently now too old.

  Wisps of gas rushed through her field of vision, and the wind rattled her wings. She thought she saw a bright lightning flash. Indeed! The magnetic field associated with it lit up her surroundings and she could see the platform right below her! All she had to do was slow down. Relieved, the Supreme Mother started to descend. She went down slowly, since the density here was already quite high. Her feet finally touched solid ground.

  She took a deep breath from beneath the mask. She felt the ground swaying under her feet, but it was an illusion based on the knowledge that she had landed on a floating island. The platform consisted of a gas-filled, metal swimming ring with a net that was half a wing’s length thick suspended across the middle. The whole construction was so heavy that everything remained stable. The architects had used a type of classic Iks nest as a model. In the area of the southern islands, where there had been no tall trees, their ancestors had constructed floating nests.

  The principle was ideal for the gas giant. That far below, where the density was high enough for the platform to float, the helium content was also significantly higher. For this reason, mining the helium-3 isotope was less complicated than in the upper layers. And when one area was depleted, the platform could be moved to another location. The internal convection of the atmosphere ensured that the helium-3 ratio would renew itself over time. The Knowledge Guardians estimated that the planet offered enough helium-3 to guarantee the Iks’ energy supply for a million cycles.

  The Supreme Mother ran out toward the ring that towered high above her. There were airlocks in the metal leading to the comfortable interior. This platform was the third overall and was still under construction. As of late there had been some delays that needed to be addressed.

  A young Iks was waiting for her beyond the airlock.

  “I’m Samikizu,” she introduced herself. “You can call me Sami.”

  While the Iks had still been flying to this system, this would have been considered an insult, the Supreme Mother thought. She said nothing, knowing the young Iks nowadays were emulating Kimikizu, the famous Navigator, who was said to prefer being addressed as Kimi.

  “Shall I take you to the central station?” asked Sami.

  The Supreme Mother nodded. She would have preferred to have treated herself to a dust bath first, but she couldn’t let that show.

  “I admire you for flying all the way by yourself,” said her young companion.

  The young woman didn’t know when to keep silent, but the Supreme Mother couldn’t be angry with her after receiving the compliment.

  “Thank you,” she said simply.

  Then they reached the central station. It hardly differed from the central station of the generation spaceship, except there was a lot more going on here. The ship, which had entered a low orbit around the gas giant, had now become practically deserted. It was only natural, now that they’d reached their new home, but it saddened the Supreme Mother. For her, the generation ship had been her real home. She’d have to get used to her new home on this planet, and to make it easier she liked to visit the construction sites in the atmosphere. At some point she would have to choose a new place to live.

  “Welcome, Supreme Mother!”

  An Iks approached her. She recognized the Provider in Charge. He was the one whose neck was on the line for the delays. “Thank you for the welcome,” she said.

  “Your visit is an honor,” said the Provider.

  He did not, however, look happy. The Supreme Mother couldn’t blame him. It was never one individual’s fault when such things went downhill, but he was the one she’d have to focus on. Perhaps her presence would help him to make his subordinates work harder. There wasn’t more she could do.

  “May I invite you to my office?” the Iks asked.

  “I’d like to have our conversation here,” she said.

  She knew he must have been cursing her inwardly, but there was nothing she could do. It would ultimately be more beneficial to him if she bawled him out in front of everyone else, although he might not have understood why.

  “Provider, there have been a few problems lately,” she began.

  “Supreme Mother, an urgent message from the council,” a young Iks interrupted.

  The Supreme Mother sighed and gave the interloper a withering look. But the Iks just took it and didn’t go back to her station. Good girl, the Supreme Mother thought, you could amount to something.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “The message is for you, personally.”

  “The Supreme Leaders have no secrets from the species. Please play the message.”

  Of course, all the Supreme Leaders had their secrets. But you didn’t speak the fact to anyone, and certainly not over a radio message. You never knew who was listening.

  “Supreme Mother, the generation ship’s sensors are reporting something very remarkable—the glittering sphere has reappeared.”

  Now it was loud in the central station. Of course everyone had been listening. From the inner atmosphere, they couldn’t see what was happening outside the planet. It had to mean something if the sphere that had previously settled the war had reappeared. The Provider would have to resolve his problems on his own.

  She, the Supreme Mother, was now needed by the council.

  Return

  The sun had barely risen when Tolkut’s ship landed on Mars, where the terrain alternated between rust and ochre in color. The newly built spaceport was nothing more than a surface that had been cleared of the bulkiest boulders and then flattened out, but it was a start. The same was true of the city just beyond it. There wasn’t much of it to see since the Mendraki preferred to live in underground caverns, but the numbers of ventilation shafts, and of roofs covering access-tunnel openings, showed how much it had grown since his last visit.

  On the landing field, 12 of the cylindrical ships stood in various states of disassembly. Half of them had already been stripped down to their chassis, never to return to space. The Techweavers and their assistants had used what remained, either to repair the six ships that had survived the battles in better shape, or to build the city’s infrastructure.

  Three spaceships were currently supplying power to the city from their fusion reactors, and the other three had just been refurbished. They were awaiting the return of the other eight ships, which had flown to the gas planets to harvest helium-3. As soon as they got back, the crews would overhaul them as well. The goal was to patch together at least six space-worthy ships out of the original 20 decrepit vessels, and perhaps even make two long-distance ships in a future phase.

  Kasfok had asked Mart if they could get technological assistance from the humans. Mart had refused, muttering something about a first directive that forbade interfering in the development of backward species. It was reported to Tolkut that this had put Kasfok in a foul mood for several macropu
lses.

  The almost 100,000 Mendraki had refrained from organizing themselves back into clans, which Tolkut found remarkable. There hadn’t been a single attempt to revive the old structures that had caused so much suffering on their original planet. The survivors felt they were Mendraki, but no longer members of one or the other clan. Tolkut found this to be an encouraging development.

  He walked down the extended gangway toward the group of Mendraki that had gathered to greet him. To Tolkut’s surprise, Kasfok was among them.

  Netmaster, Tolkut drummed on the thread of greeting that had been quickly spun, thank you for coming!

  Ambassador Tolkut! It’s my pleasure to welcome you back home. We have a lot to talk about!

  After greeting the other two—it turned out they were the Netmaster’s assistants—all of them rode in a ground vehicle to the entrance of the government cave. The labyrinth of corridors replicated what Tolkut had seen in videos of similar structures on Mendrakia. They had already dug three stories deep into the ground, and on every level there were administrative offices and facilities for the efficient organization of the resettlement process. The corridors were bustling, and every Mendrak they encountered on the way to the premises greeted Kasfok with great respect.

  Make yourself comfortable, Kasfok drummed after they were alone.

  Tolkut settled into a comfortable-looking visitor web. The thread material was indeed comfortable, soft and supple, much more pleasant than the rough and less-elastic threads that had been made on the ships with the primitive thread-making equipment.

  Kasfok noticed Tolkut’s surprise. We have been able to make improvements in many areas over the course of the past orbit, once our Techweavers were no longer constantly worrying about the ships. This is just one of the outcomes of this progress.

  A very pleasing one, replied Tolkut. With your permission, I would like to take a few lengths of this new thread material back to the asteroid. It would save me the work of constantly having to repair the webs myself. In the long run, the biological method is somewhat exhausting.

  Of course, take as much as you need!

  Tolkut was flabbergasted by his former enemy’s kindness. In the past, the Mendraki were known for making and breaking alliances as the circumstances of war shifted the terms of advantage, and he had not expected Kasfok to bury the old hatred so quickly.

  You’re surprised by such a warm welcome. Kasfok now seemed to have learned to read minds as well. I would like to explain it to you. I’ve been thinking for a long time. Though I’m still of the conviction that your revolt against my leadership was rash, traitorous, and criminal, I have to concede that you weren’t entirely wrong. Perhaps my actions were a little... hasty. Now it’s become clear that it is quite beneficial for us to work with the Iks. Their technology for helium-3 extraction is especially interesting, and could be of great value to us. I assume you have already started negotiations in this regard with the Supreme Mother?

  Aha, I see where this is going, Tolkut thought. The old crook needs me! He knows very well that he’ll have a hard time connecting with the Iks. They don’t trust him, and would certainly not make the technology available to him.

  I would be pleased if we could find a way of working together to serve the good of all the Mendraki—regardless of our past, Tolkut replied diplomatically. And of course the Supreme Mother and I have already drummed regarding the possibility of making her technology available to us. However, I am still awaiting her answer.

  Excellent, Ambassador! Then I want to come to the surprise I thought of to welcome you.

  He pressed a button on the console next to his web, and a door opened on the side wall. Kimikizu and Norok entered and waved cheerfully at Tolkut with their wings. Kimi seemed a bit rounder than Tolkut remembered.

  “Hello, Tolkut! It’s good to see you again after such a long time,” said Norok. This was translated by the small apparatus Tolkut was wearing around his neck, and fed into the thread.

  To Tolkut’s amazement, Kimi danced an almost flawless sequence of joy and greeting. Then she walked up to him and briefly put her wings around his head, which he found quite pleasant.

  “I am so pleased that you can come to the festival celebrating the laying of my first egg. It will be soon, and the nest is ready. Kasfok has been such a big help!”

  Tolkut immediately wondered what would come of the Netmaster’s help. Kasfok did nothing without expecting an advantage. But even before he could greet his two friends properly, one of Kasfok’s assistants stormed into the room.

  Netmaster, we have just received a message from one of our approaching ships. He danced the steps of dismay and excitement. The blue sphere... Mart’s ship that we haven’t seen for a while... It’s back!

  Tolkut, Kasfok, Kimi, and Norok looked at one another and wondered what this could mean. Tolkut doubted that Mart had come with his giant ship to take part in the egg-laying festival.

  The future was sure to be interesting.

  Author's Notes

  Cliff Allister

  This is the first time I’ve co-authored a novel. I hope Brandon has forgiven me for letting my Mendraki attack his Iks, giving my guys a new home planet while his ‘birds’ still have to live on their asteroid ship, and often being too slow to keep up with his astonishing writing speed. Mea culpa!

  It was fun! This is my personal conclusion regarding this adventure. It was a great experience to develop ideas together and throw the ball back and forth to each other to make the most of a story. And perhaps we’ll do it again if readers are interested in knowing how the Mendraki and the Iks get along in the future.

  To find out if, how, and when things continue, or if you would like to receive information about other upcoming publications and exciting news from the field of Sci-Fi and science, you can subscribe to my quarterly newsletter. As a welcome gift, there is an exclusive SF short story for every person who signs up, available as a PDF file, in ePub format (for Nook, Apple, etc.) or Mobi format (for Kindle). Just send an email to cliff.allister@gmx.de with the subject “Newsletter.” I would be delighted to add you to my list of subscribers.

  I hope we’ve provided you with an enjoyable experience!

  Yours,

  Cliff Allister

  Brandon Q. Morris

  Dear readers,

  I hope you’ve enjoyed your time with us! It was at the Leipzig Book Fair in March 2018 when Cliff and I had the idea of creating a story together. I don’t remember who was the first to come up with it. But it was almost immediately clear what it would be about—two very different intelligent species meeting in a very special place—our own solar system. In which chapter did you notice that it wasn’t just any old system? I would be very interested to know, so please do write to me at brandon@hard-sf.com.

  Since the story had to ripen in our minds, we just worked on the novel on the side for a while. But eventually things got serious. We only discussed the plot in general terms. It was always exciting, with every new chapter that Cliff emailed me, to see how his Mendraki reacted to the actions of my Iks.

  While reading, you may have noticed our different writing styles. We wanted to keep these differences, because we found that it would work with the two separate species. Do you think this was successful? We’re also interested in your thoughts on this. It would be really great if you would leave us a review at hard-sf.com/links/1690967

  Reader ratings are very important on Amazon so that others get to see this book. Reviews help us, the authors, more than you could possibly imagine.

  Of course, I also have a newsletter that you can subscribe to at hard-sf.com/subscribe/. It is free of charge and appears once a month to bring you exciting news about space research and science fiction—but never spam. Using the link, you can also check out all previous newsletters.

  Goodbye for now—hope to see you soon!

  Yours,

  Brandon Q. Morris

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