by David Byrd
Naldo stared in wide eyed disbelief…something that could not possibly happen…A large dome of the same energy shield he had been imprisoned in, had formed on the planet surface.
Chapter 10
Earth-Kinsdale Corporation Headquarters, Chairman’s Office
Tobias Kinsdale had been receiving word of the data uploads from his operative on Trellis II. Those scans were now in the hands of Dr. Lock who would be analyzing the data. His implant chimed and as he accessed it, he could tell that the data packet had been encrypted for him only. Intrigued…he accepted and decoded the message. What he read was a short summary of the events in the habitat of Dr. Meska. Naldo omitted the details of the energy shield however. It was astounding that anyone could have cracked his monopoly but there it was. Knowing the caliber of personnel he sent to Trellis II he had no doubt that the information was correct. He had to get control of this situation before it escalated. Tobias used his link to contact the head of his military security forces.
“Sir,” said the commander. “What can I do for you?”
“Commander, I need a Mobius class destroyer dispatched to Trellis II,” said Tobias. “It seems that our experiment there is at a most unfortunate end. The researchers all seem to have gone insane and started building biological weapons. They even tried to infect my representative who barely escaped with his life. I need you to make sure that the area is…purged. Do we have an understanding commander?”
“Yes sir…understood and will be underway by 0900 hours tomorrow.”
Trellis II – Hollis Meska’s Habitat
Two days since the lab explosion, Hollis Meska was in his quarters in a coma with several med packs on life support. It was anyone’s guess if he would recover. Max was his usual self again and Jean had recovered quite well. Her burns were healing quickly and she was no longer in any pain. They all decided to stay in this habitat while caring for Hollis.
The group discovered what Hollis apparently meant by his last word protect. They could see the golden shimmer far up in the sky extending in all directions and knew that this was the same type of energy field that had sealed the lab. The shield extended at least a dozen kilometers in all directions. They had not measured it exactly with more pressing matters at hand. During their initial assessment of the habitat, they discovered dozens of unusual looking machines in the greenhouse. It was apparently the location that Hollis was now using for his more advanced studies. Most of the machines had no apparent control mechanisms including a very large device about 3 meters square. Noel found that below the device there seemed to be a tube or conduit extending down to bedrock. This had to be Meska’s new reactor that he was controlling with his thoughts. It was also the device that was most probably going to keep them alive as long as the energy shield was operating.
“Here you are my peach,” Max said as set down a cup of tea for Jean. Max found that Meska seemed to have a large stock of tea and made some for all of them. They all sat in the kitchen which always seemed to be the best place for gathering and discussions.
“Cards on the table so to speak,” Noel said. “The company by now knows what’s going on here and they will be coming sooner or later to silence us. So that leaves us with some decisions to make. We were just resupplied and we have a year of food and material plus whatever we all have left in our habitats. That coupled with what we can effectively grow could last possibly…two years. Faye has run the numbers though and after two years we can’t grow enough diverse food crops to sustain us. It’s that simple.”
“Do any of you feel that we could surrender to the company and still have a chance of living?” Max asked looking around at each person. “Well then I have a suggestion… Meska was working for Brellman so I examined his comm. panel. It has quite a number of new modules attached but they seem to all be from his earliest work. I believe we can contact Brellman and I assume since we have not been visited in two years that it’s a highly secure channel. So I propose that we contact Brellman and make a deal.”
“What kind of deal can we make Max?” Jean asked. “What do we have to trade?”
“The reverse engineering data on KT reactors,” Max said. “Hollis said that it was child’s play and everything in the lab module seems to be very early work. So I’m gambling that our four brains can possibly decipher his notes and use that as a bargaining chip. It’s what we all want anyway right? The ability to help our fellow humans...”
With a plan formed, the group went to work in earnest. Jean and Faye started working on the lab equipment schematics and data from the early experiments. There was a mountain of data to pour through but it was fortunately unencrypted. Max busied himself with organizing the modules for their long term stay and then working on some of the unfamiliar devices to see what their purpose was. They took shifts monitoring Hollis and changing his liquid nutrition med packs and seeing to any needs he had. Noel made an assessment of the energy field and found it to be about 20 Kilometers in diameter. Fortunately all of the habitats were well inside the perimeter. Noel performed several tests on the shield and concluded that it would allow air and light but it resisted physical and energy intrusions. He fired his pulse rifle at the shield long enough to melt most any known material and the energy just bled off without a spark. It was truly amazing but unless they could figure out how to turn it off…they were in this fishbowl forever.
Hollis could hear voices…he couldn’t seem to make out the words yet and he knew at the moment that he was paralyzed. There must be some brain damage since he was unable to talk or move but his mind seemed unaffected. In fact, it felt as if he had more insight than ever before. Things were still hazy but he could sense all the machines he had built controlled by his new implant. The early devices were not totally in his control but he could with great effort sense them. He would have to rest for a while but perhaps he could help the others.
The colonists (as they started calling each other) put together a set of terms for the release of the KT reactor plans and sent the data packet off to Brellman using the secure channel Hollis built into the comm. panel. It would be a week at least before a reply came back so they continued working and settling into a day to day routine.
Day 6, Faye called the others into the laboratory. She had been going through early data and found that Kym had died by her own hand. She built a prototype implant without telling Hollis and installed it days before he was aware. By that time it was too late when her body rejected the device.
“So this device is a new type of gene sequencer,” Faye said as she pointed out the machine. “And this machine for lack of a better word is a molecular depositor. Combined, these two devices created the implant that Hollis was using…that is if you can give it a name. It’s like an organic interface to the new machines such as the shield generator. He engineered artificial DNA and then in basic terms he created operating code which is stored in the DNA…Similar to DNA data storage of the 21st century but this is much more complex than storing bytes of information, this has an operating system. The organic nature of the device is not rejected since the body sees it as just another part.”
“Faye that’s amazing and it’s something we should consider,” Noel said. “But, I thought you were working on the KT specs..?”
“I was, but every time I sat down to work…this machine turned on. I can’t explain it and I can’t find any pre-set timer in the device. I have more work to do here but I believe we can safely duplicate the implant process for ourselves. Hollis was implanted nearly two years ago with no side effects.”
“And there’s more,” Jean said looking at the group. “I’ve found in the notes that Hollis had mapped the ENTIRE human genome.”
“I don’t understand,” said Max. Dr. Meska is brilliant, but there is no person on Earth who could have made these accomplishments and in two years no less.”
Hollis was listening to the conversation with interest. In the last few days he had been able to completely control all of the new devices and wa
s able to manipulate some of the early ones such as the Gene Sequencer he kept activating to get Faye’s attention. He found that he could also send instructions to the med packs and query his physical progress. He started making small adjustments to his medications…
Chapter 11
Earth – Brellman Corporation
A.J. Brellman received the message from the Trellis II colonists 2 days earlier and was now convening a meeting over secure link channels with the world leaders who had earlier pledged their support. After sharing the vid with the other members, it was time to put the actions to a vote.
“All those in favor of accepting all of the conditions from the colonists signify yes.” A.J. waited a few moments for all votes to register and when they were in she could see that the vote was unanimous. “Thank you and congratulations everyone. This is a truly a new day for humanity. Our calculations indicate that it will take 1 year to build the two colony ships in orbit around Mars and then another 2 years for those on board in transit to Trellis II. Since these ships cannot use the TGates they will be traveling at near light speed and the elapsed time here on earth and Trellis II will be 5 years. After the KT technology is released, we will be able to build larger TGates. For these reasons we need to resupply Trellis II for six years.” A.J. dissolved the conference and sat back in her chair and closed her eyes. This is for you Mom and Dad she thought. She pondered how to go about informing her rival Tobias Kinsdale that his monopoly was about to be effectively over and that he should join with the rest of the world in building these great ships. His alternative was to lose everything.
The contents of the message from Trellis II had been simple and to the point.
First, Brellman would send supply ships to Trellis II until such time as Colony ships could be built and dispatched. Second, there were one hundred or so skills that would be needed for the new world but all the rest of the colonists must be volunteers from all walks of life. Third, Trellis II was an autonomous society and would be governed by the colonists in a democratic process. There would be NO Earth oversight whatsoever. In exchange for these terms, abundant KT ore would be freely shipped to earth by the returning supply ships until such time as the colonists had arrived. At that time, the secrets of unlocking every reactor on Earth would be given freely by sending the details to the Link network. No person, group or majority would restrict this information.
A.J. left the conference room and walked to her personal office. Sitting down at her desk she composed herself and then activated her desk vid. She needed to speak face to face with Tobias. She knew he would answer since she sent the call using her mother’s name. A few seconds passed and she was starting to doubt her ploy when Tobias appeared on screen.
“What…,” Tobias started to speak and stopped suddenly as A.J. appeared. She was the image of her lovely mother and for the first time in decades he was at a sudden loss for words.
“Mr. Chairman,” A.J. said. “My name is Alison Brellman and you of course knew my mother and father. I apologize for the subterfuge in getting you on the line but you are a difficult man to contact.”
“Yes well you have me so now what it is that you want Ms. Brellman?” he asked.
“To come directly to the point, we have information that will allow any company to build their own KT reactors. In effect that puts your entire empire at risk of folding.” Alison could see a twitch around his mouth but otherwise he gave no sign that this news affected him at all.
“Really, this has all been played out hundreds of times before and you know the consequences…Tampering with my reactors will cause self-destruction,” he said.
“True, but they have been successfully reverse engineered by the colonists on Trellis II,” A.J. said. “I have been in contact with world leaders and have the support of the world council. We plan to build colony ships and colonize Trellis II. We already have a trade agreement for new technology in exchange for KT reactor specifications and abundant KT ore. So your choice Mr. Chairman is to form an alliance with the world council and use your resources to help build the colony ships…or your corporation will fall into dust.”
Tobias stiffened visibly clenching his jaw. Trellis again…How could they possibly know this information he thought. He must have some leaks in his organization that would warrant a thorough review. No matter, he had the situation well in hand. With a supreme effort he smiled back at her.
“I’m very sorry you took the time to contact me Ms. Brellman since there seems to have been a most unfortunate accident on Trellis II,” Tobias said. “Some form of insanity has infected all the colonists and they even tried to infect their supply ship with an artificial pathogen. So I have taken steps to…eliminate the threat they pose. Good day.” And with that he severed the connection.
Alison sat stunned. All the hopes and dreams of millions of people were about to be wiped out by that madman and there was nothing anyone could do about it.
Chapter 12
The commander of the Mobius destroyer having exited the last TGate, made for the Trellis system and had arrived in orbit around Trellis II. He wasted no time in preparing three fusion missiles. “Fire when ready,” said the commander. He followed the missiles as they entered atmosphere from his sensor panel. Seconds later three brilliant flashes on the planet could be seen from orbit. Satisfied that the mission was successful he ordered the ship to return to Earth.
On the planet surface inside Meska’s habitat, the colonists were sleeping when a deafening explosion was heard above them. In succession, two other explosions went off. The habitat shook for several seconds and everyone was up and out the hatch. It was still as bright as day as the final destructive energies were consuming themselves on the other side of the energy dome.
“My God they’ve tried to kill us!” Noel said. “Those were cold fusion missiles and only Kinsdale has them. They were used to quell a Mars coup some years ago. The bastard couldn’t risk letting his kingdom fall.”
“We may still die from radiation. We won’t know until we can run some tests,” Faye said. “I’ll go see what I can find in the lab. We may have to build something but I suggest that we close up the habitat and stay inside until we know.”
The group sealed the outer hatch and filed quickly through the habitat. “Thank God that energy field was in place or we would have been vaporized,” said Jean.
“Why you are quite welcome Jean it was my pleasure.” The booming voice came from the sleeping quarters. There sitting straight up in bed smiling was Hollis Meska. “I’m happy to be of service and I believe you will find that we are quite safe from anything Earth can throw at us. The energy shield absorbed the excess radiation. There will be no harm to human flesh or the surrounding area and no residual effect.”
Shock and surprise for everyone standing outside the module door. Hollis had frozen them all in their tracks with this voice. They went into the room and surrounded the bed.
Faye started checking the med packs and displays while Hollis was speaking and was surprised to see that the heart wound was fully healed. There was a slight bruise on the temple but the scanners revealed no abnormality. It seemed like the second miracle they had today.
“Let me start by apologizing for my earlier behavior,” Hollis said. “Since the… confrontation, I’ve had a lot of time to think and put things into perspective and also a near death experience tends to changes one’s perspective.
“Doctor Meska we owe you a debt of gratitude,” Noel said earnestly. “We would surely have been wiped from the planet without your energy shield.”
“Quite happy to be of service my boy and please call me Hollis from now on…all of you. I can see you all have questions. First let me assure you that I am fully healed. The reason for that is the Adaptogen process which is accelerated here on Trellis II. You may not be aware, but there were three initial test subjects who died while the process was being perfected. That is the reason our implants were initially removed. Kym and I had the research data for those t
ests and set about to modify the process to build our own implants. Kym was…I’m sorry to say…somewhat impetuous and tested the first version herself with results that you are all aware of.”
A silence had fallen over the group in discussing their fallen colleague. Thoughts of Kym, the attack and what to do next were forefront in everyone’s mind. While Faye started removing the various med packs she couldn’t stop thinking about Hollis’s condition and accelerated healing. “Hollis, can you explain how you healed and for that matter the incredible discoveries you have made?” Faye asked.
“The short answer my dear is that my mind as well as all of yours are expanding,” Hollis said. “We have an infinite capacity to learn. The Adaptogen treatment is re-writing our DNA to be compatible with this environment. The stem cell treatments are operating like roving medical robots curing cells of any abnormality. Pathways in the brain are also increasing. The incredible part is that the entire process is greatly accelerated here. Whether it’s the unique radiation or the micro particles of KT that permeate all of our cells, I have not solved yet.”
“I think I’m beginning to understand,” said Max. “The encryption module I built was incredibly complex but it was as if I instinctively knew the permutations of each step and what the actions would be. And Faye…that modified corn was first generation with a 30 percent yield increase. It usually takes many generations of work to realize such potential.”
“Exactly my boy,” Hollis said. “I’m sure you have other examples of things that have seemed somewhat simple where before they consumed all your effort.”
“The control panels in all of our habitats! They are all authorized and keyed to our DNA profile. And if that is slightly off it could cause the delays we’ve been experiencing.” Jean said.
“Yes, you will all need to rescan your profiles at least once a year but by then you will be controlling everything through your new implants,” Hollis said. “But before we go into that, I’m absolutely famished. Let me treat you all to a wonderful meal of synthetic protein and whatever else we find in the freezer units.”
