by David Byrd
Max opened his shirt pocket flap and pulled out a very small data module. It had several components attached. The workmanship was excellent but then Max was an engineer by trade. “Here,” Max said. “Plug this into the auxiliary port on the comm. console. When you activate it our conversations will be encrypted and the unit will not be able to send any data burst packets to the network.”
“Impressive buddy,” Noel said while raising one eyebrow. He was always impressed with Max’s skills as an engineer. He pocketed the module and his fingers brushed against the metal bit he found in the ravine. Noel fished out the object and set it on the table in front of them.
“By the way,” Noel said. “I found this in the ravine a few days ago. It looks like PlazSteel but has a smooth finish on one side I’ve never seen. What do you make of it?”
Max accepted the object, rolled it between his fingers and touched each surface carefully. For several minutes he was lost in thought.
“Noel this is PlazSteel… but wrapped in a molecular coating of ceramic,” Max said. “I’ve seen this before in the engineering labs back at the company. It’s used mostly in survey ships and atmospheric research where high temperatures are routine. I’ll take a closer look back at my lab. I’m very much interested in where this was found. I think we should go take a look in the ravine with a portable scanner.”
“I’ve got one in the rover,” Noel said. “Why don’t we run over and check it out?”
Having agreed on the plan, Noel and Max bid their wives goodbye for a couple of hours and were soon on their way in the rover.
“So now the boys have gone out hunting,” Faye said while laughing at the idea of two men hunting on a planet with no natural evolution of animal life.
“Well let’s let them have their fun,” Jean said. “By the way have you seen or talked with Hollis lately?”
“Nope, not a peep,” Faye said. “The last time we tried to vid chat several months ago, Hollis told us in no uncertain terms he had no need or want to talk with us and he cut the link.”
“Us too,” Jean said. “He told Max to stop meddling in his affairs and leave him alone.”
Hollis Meska and Kym Martin were the third couple on Trellis II. They were partners for this mission but were not married. Marriage was a concept that had fallen into disuse on earth. There were so many people that formal lifelong commitments were no longer practical. Vying for better housing, pay, food or other benefits could land one partner in orbit and another stuck on Earth. About three months into the mission, Kym had become inexplicably ill. Day by day she became sicker and the med scanners could not determine the exact cause. Within the week she died. In accordance with her wishes she was buried near the habitat. After that, Hollis became increasingly distant and even hostile preferring to be by himself.
“I just wish we could all get along,” Jean said wistfully.
Driving over the dusty plain, Noel and Max headed to the ravine in the rover and stopped at the lip where the sensor had fallen. They made their way carefully down the slope to the flat bottom of the ravine.
“All right,” Noel said. “Let’s see what’s out here.” And with that, Noel activated the scanner and they started walking straight down the center of the ravine recording data as they went. The ravine was about 50 meters long and by the time they had covered half the distance they had enough to review.
“Well my friend this is very interesting,” Max said pursing his lips as he read the display. “These readings show metallic particles in an inverted V shape. From the disbursement of material it looks as though something crashed and skidded to the other end throwing off bits of material.”
“If that’s the case, then why aren’t there larger pieces?” Noel asked. “And for that matter, why is the ravine graded? A crashed ship would have widened one end on impact even if it skidded to a halt. We were told that it was an initial cut to expose a vein of KT ore.”
“Another question is why the scanner doesn’t pick up the traces from the lip of the ravine,” Max said. “See when I activated the scanner from the top there were no particles shown except for right below the rover.”
Noel had a sudden thought and jogged up the top and then over to the next sensor module down the line. He knelt and removed the power pack from the sensor and its telltale light went out.
“Max, start scanning again!” Noel shouted back down to where Max was standing. Max signaled thumbs up after a few seconds and Noel reconnected the power pack. He jogged back down to his friend. Max turned around the scanner and Noel could see that the debris field had expanded down to the point he had been standing with the next sensor.
“So my friend,” Max said. “The sensors seem to be hiding the debris field instead of providing KT ore measurements. The question we now have to answer is…why?”
“I think from now on we should only communicate through the encrypted channel you built Max,” Noel said with a pensive look on his face. “I’d also like to know what exactly those sensors are doing. Do you have a way to break into the stored data?”
“Possibly,” Max said in deep thought. “I have to be very careful in case of intrusion protection though. I’ll take this sensor back with me and work on it in my shop. I have been building a set of micro tools that could do the trick.”
”Great, and my next data burst outbound will note a defective sensor in case the company is actively monitoring these,” Noel said. “I think it’s time we share what we know with Faye and Jean.”
The men climbed into the rover and returned to the habitat informing their wives of all that had transpired.
A few days later Max contacted Noel using the secure link they had established. Faye came into the module to sit beside her husband as Max and Jean both appeared on the screen.
“I have some news about that sensor,” Max said in a tone that was not in keeping with his normally jolly self. “I’ve been able to deconstruct it and let me tell you…this is one complicated piece of work. It does provide some nominal readings on KT ore, but its main purpose is to mask sensor scans in a 20 meter radius. So everything is suppressed except the KT readings that are being fed to the normal data displays.”
“What possible reason would there be for something like that?” Noel said. “We were all sent here for the express purpose of gathering data and performing experiments. Why would the company keep this information from us?”
Taking a large breath, Max sighed. “There’s more I’m afraid,” he said. “The device is also rigged to send a burst of data when its diagnostics sense impending failure, so it’s a sure bet the company knows it failed.”
“So could that be the reason for the visit?” Faye asked the group.
“Possibly to see what we know or may have found out in addition to whatever else they want.” Noel said gritting his teeth but trying to appear calm.
“Here’s another mystery,” Max said as he held up the bit of metal Noel found in the ravine. “This is not from the company. As a top engineer I’ve worked on the site survey ships and the analysis of this material composition is…off. It contains all the normal elements but in different proportions to company standards. It’s definitely not from Kinsdale.”
“I think we should keep this information to ourselves when the rep arrives,” Noel said.
“But…Couldn’t there be a logical reason for not telling us? Jean asked. “I mean, I know it sounds strange but would the company really do that to us?
Max laughed heartily as he put his arm around Jean. “Ah Jean, my love…you have an ever trusting nature but I still love you,” Max said. “I agree with Noel that we should for now keep this to ourselves.”
Noel looked at Faye who also nodded her approval. “Then we all agree that this was just a sensor outage and nothing more,” he said.
With nothing more to say on the subject, the couples said their goodbyes and disconnected.
Chapter 7
Earth - Brellman Corporation secure conference room 132nd floor
The Brellman conference room was not your typically sparse, functional and sterile modern meeting room. It was instead, sumptuously decorated with a large 5 meter oval table made from extinct rainforest hardwoods. Niches around the room held similar extinct examples of plant or animals species that had been displaced by the burgeoning human population. Personal consoles, vids, and other modern components were all absent. Seated around the oval table were the world leaders representing the populations from most of Earth, Mars and the various space station flotillas.
Getting the leaders all here at one time secretly, was a mammoth undertaking to both secure each representative and ensure that there were no communication leaks. The upcoming proposal depended on absolute secrecy.
The entrance door slid open and A.J. Brellman walked briskly to the head of the table. There were several curious stares and startled expressions as they looked upon A.J...
A.J. was quite accustomed to the stares and general looks of confusion. A.J. was the sole heir to the Brellman Corporation after her father Warren Brellman passed away several years earlier. A.J. had that exotic look from her mother which always turned heads.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Alison Jane Brellman said. “Thank you so much for accepting my invitation to this meeting. As you know it is quite unprecedented for a group such as this to ever meet in person and much less in a corporation conference room. I assure you it was all for ensuring your personal well-being. “
“Eh...Miss Brellman…is it?” The representative from Mars said. “Just exactly what is the purpose for which we have all been assembled? The invitation was quite specific in referring to an advance that would elevate our people out of the subservience they have been in for generations.”
“Yes of course I will explain in detail,” A.J. said. “But first I should inform you of something you are no doubt already becoming aware of. Your implants ceased to function upon entering this room. When you leave this meeting all recordings/tracking data and anything related to traveling here will be erased from your implants. I apologize in advance for such draconian measures but you must understand that this is a turning point in history.”
There were several grumbles and complaints but also a great deal of curiosity in the room. Alison waited a few moments as she looked at each leader and then began earnestly.
“As you are all aware,” Alison said. “Humanity is chained to the Kinsdale Corporation through the use of KT reactors in virtually every facet of society. That presents some issues for you in governing without corporation interference. “If we could reverse engineer…”
“Miss Brellman,” interrupted the pan Asian leader impatiently. “KT reactors cannot be reverse engineered due to the fail safes within. This is ridiculous! We have all devoted resources to this end and you know the outcome. The reactor will destroy itself and everything near the reactor depending on the size will be vaporized”
“Yes Sir,” Alison said calmly nodding her head. “That’s all too true, but what if I told you that there was a way to reverse engineer the reactors and that we have someone doing that this very minute.”
The meeting erupted with everyone talking at once but after a few minutes A.J. managed to calm everyone down enough to explain. When she finished the briefing she had pledges of support from the leaders.
As the meeting wrapped up, she encoded a special encrypted channel into each of the leader’s implants. With this channel they could communicate in private. It could of course be cracked but not for a very long time…long enough for her plans to take shape.
After everyone left, Alison sat remembering a conversation she had in this very room 3 years ago with her father before he died. The circumstances of his death were unusual but no evidence of foul play had been found.
“Alison this is it!” Warren Brellman said excitedly. ‘I’ve received news that one of our survey ships has found a habitable planet just a few light years out, with abundant KT ore. This is what we have been hoping for. A world that can be colonized and already has power resources for every person. No more power monopolies. The human race can finally realize its full potential.”
“That’s wonderful Dad, I’m so proud of you,” she said. “Mom would have been proud of all that you have accomplished. She always said that you would come around to her way of thinking. I know it’s what she always wanted and I’m sure she’s smiling at us right now.”
Warren had fallen in love with Alison’s mother Brinda 30 years before. She was a humanitarian and she was also beautiful. Brinda had an exotic look owing to her ancestry with roots in India, Africa and Ireland. But it was her kindness to others that made her lovely. Alison had inherited her same exotic look. Brinda died unexpectedly in childbirth. Something that was rare in this day and age but nonetheless difficult for Warren to bear. He devoted his life to her work.
Warren and his best friend had started out in business together and both were highly ambitious young men. Both men were in love with Brinda but eventually, her views managed to change Warren’s outlook on humanity, but not on Tobias. When Warren and Brinda married, a bitter divide happened between them. Both men eventually rose to power in their own companies competing ruthlessly against each other but never speaking again.
Chapter 8
The supply ship touched down softly on the landing pad on Trellis II. Adjacent to the landing pad was a series of small buildings. A storage building which would house all of the re-supply that would be divided and used by the individual habitat teams, and a smaller habitat module which contained basic accommodations and sleeping quarters for the flight crew.
Upon landing, Naldo could already feel the effects of the gravity change. Exiting the ship he felt as if he were swimming underwater. His lungs were laboring and just walking to the habitat was an effort. The sooner I can leave this rock the better, he thought. Naldo had no active link so he used the comm. panel inside the habitat to inform the three teams of his arrival and that he would be making his assessments beginning at mid-day with the Hastens, followed by the Barlows and finally doctors Meska and Martin. After sending the communication he retired to one of the sleeping quarters to rest and become more acclimated to the gravity of this planet.
The next day Naldo set out in a rover. When he arrived he was met by Noel and Faye and submitted to the usual stares at his tall gangly appearance. Undoubtedly he would be obliged to explain yet again that he was born and lived most of his growing years aboard a low gravity station. He detested those pitying stares as if there was something wrong with him. Noel invited him inside and after introductions sat down at the kitchen table.
“Mr. and Mrs. Hasten,” Naldo began. “My name is Naldo Zel and I’m the official representative from Kinsdale who will be conducting your welfare checks and uploading all recent experimental data. Before we begin though, let me assure you that there is nothing wrong with my appearance that you seem to find so…interesting. I was born on Mars Flotilla in low gravity.”
“Mr. Zel,” Faye said. “I’m sure we meant no disrespect, it’s just that we have not seen anyone in a few years so I’m sure you understand that…”
“My dear lady,” interrupted Naldo. “I’m used to the condescending looks and I have no patience for it. So if you please, let’s just get on with the business at hand and I can leave this depressing little ball of dust.”
“I do not appreciate you talking to my wife that way,” Noel said his voice rising slightly. Faye could see the tightening of his jaw muscles and the narrowing of his eyes. She knew things could get out of hand here quickly and that’s something neither of them wanted. Faye rested a hand on her husband’s arm, composed herself and said as mildly as possible.
“Of course, please continue and we will help you any way we can.”
Naldo congratulated himself inwardly at the thought that the intimidation tactics he used normally in the company were serving him well here also. These doctors and specialists all had better lives than his growing up. They were coddled a
nd catered to and he very much resented it.
He brought out a portable med scanner that looked to be a newer type. It was essentially a small flat flexible band that he placed around Faye’s wrist. Activating the device, the scanner read her body’s details down to the DNA strands. He repeated the process with Noel and then filed the information away. The Hastens had been cooperative in the process and in providing all of the requested research materials.
“I require the use of your comm. terminal,” Naldo said.
Noel directed Naldo to the console and palmed the activation at which point Naldo sent the burst data to the relay network and back to the company.
“Thank you for your cooperation, Naldo said. “I’ll be leaving now.”
And with that he was out the hatch and into the rover in no time.
“What an ass,” Noel said to the departing rover. Faye took his hand and they both headed back inside and closed the hatch.
An hour later, Naldo had completed the scans and data uploads with the most unpleasant Barlow’s. Especially that bear throwback Max. He had been unable to contact the last team by comm. panel and was increasingly annoyed.
He pulled up in the front of the habitat for Dr.’s Meska and Martin. All of the researchers were doctors of some discipline or another and sometimes several. The honorific title of Dr. was rarely used anymore…simply a changing of the language in the same way that milady, count, countess and other titles had fallen into disuse.
Naldo palmed the hatch but it failed to open. He couldn’t use his link since it was still disabled. He was forced to bang on the hatch.
“Go away,” an angry voice said through the outside speaker.
“Dr. Meska,” Naldo said stiffly. “I am the official representative from Kinsdale and I’m here to perform medical scans. You are aware of this and I will be forced to notify chairman Kinsdale of your noncompliance unless you open this door at once.”
