That wasn't quite accurate, though. Charline explained that it looked more like the new code had grown from the existing code, like an oak rising from an acorn. The alien systems had given Majel the tools to better herself, and she had. More, those changed were ongoing. She was continuing to adapt and grow. Just like all living things did.
Most living things didn't have quite as much power as Majel did. John hoped she was going to be a good teenager when she got to that stage of her development. He chuckled a little under his breath.
"Was something I said funny?" Majel asked him.
He couldn't tell from her tone if she'd been offended or was just mildly curious. Damn, he'd never had to worry about offending the computer before! He needed to set some working parameters in place with her, fast.
Confusion, thought the small animal living in John's ear. Consternation. The alien creature was telepathic. It acted as a translator for any being it bonded to, reading the thoughts behind the words spoken by beings nearby and translating them into thoughts its host could understand. But it couldn't read Majel's mind. She was a computer, not a biological life form. The slug-like alien had gathered from John's thoughts that Majel was sentient, but it couldn't hear her thoughts at all.
"Not about you so much as laughing at myself," John said. "Don't worry, Majel. I'm always going to have your back."
"And I yours."
"Good," he said. He'd talk with Charline about how best to approach the issue. For now he intended to just treat her like he would any other crew member. And he'd expect her to comport herself as well as the rest of the crew. To date, her performance had been stellar, so he had few worries in that regard.
"The team meeting is in fifteen minutes," Majel said. "You asked me to remind you."
"I did, and thanks. We'd better get going. This is a big day for you," John said.
"It is?"
"You've been in these meetings before, Majel. But you've never attended as a full team member before," John said. "I expect you to contribute as much as any of the rest of us do now."
"I won't let you down. I already have a few ideas..."
John laughed again, a huge grin breaking out across his face. "You're as bad as Beth for enthusiasm. Or myself for that matter! Save it for the meeting, though. We've got a lot to discuss."
"I'm already there waiting," Majel said. "Better hurry or you'll be the last one there."
Was that a joke? Or a simple statement of fact? It seemed like it could be read either way, but the tone Majel chose to use and the tempo of her delivery of the line made it sound like she was trying for humor. He shook his head again as he headed for the elevator. They had so much to learn from her. Interesting times.
Two
Linda double checked the results one last time. Which more or less made this a quadruple check, but who was counting? She wanted to be damned sure she was right. Her comm device was beeping away. She ignored it, focusing on the view through her microscope instead.
And it was god-damned working. She almost couldn't believe it. If she wasn't watching it herself, she wouldn't have. The slow, steady pattern was unmistakable though. She'd solved the problem. Much more quickly and with a better fix than she would have thought possible before, too.
The comm had begun chiming again. She picked it up with one hand, still peering into the eyepiece while she brought the thing to her ear.
"Yes?"
"Did you forget the meeting, Linda?" John's voice somehow managed to come across as stern and kind at the same time.
She looked down at her watch and gulped. Where had so many hours gone? "No, I remembered the meeting. I just forgot to watch the time.”
"We'll see you shortly then?"
"Definitely. I have exciting news."
Linda grabbed the data chip from her computer and raced for the exit. She made it all the way to the door before she realized she'd forgotten her glasses. She turned and went back for the things, then continued on her way.
This was beyond exciting. This was game changing. She couldn't wait to spill the beans.
It was about time, too. She’d been feeling like something of a fifth wheel since arriving at the lunar base. Sure, she was immediately welcomed by none less than John Caraway. She could admit, at least privately, that she was more than a little star-struck by that experience. I mean, the man was a legend in both business and scientific circles. In business, he was known for taking wild chances - and making them somehow pay off when the pundits all thought he was at last about to fall flat on his face.
In science, he had another name. Her field knew Caraway as the man willing to fund things no one else would even consider funding, simply because they sounded interesting or potentially useful to him. He’d sent work her way more than once. That’s why she had been so willing to meet with Charline on short notice. When Mr. Caraway asked for something, her bosses at the university told her to take care of whatever he needed.
The break-in at her lab might have ruined her career. The cost in lost and damaged equipment was enormous. The cost to the university in terms of prestige was much worse. Their most secure lab had been busted wide open as easily as if they’d left the door unlocked. Her lab did classified work for the military. They’d been unamused.
It wasn’t Linda’s fault, but that didn’t matter even a little bit. The affair had embarrassed the university. Her bosses needed a scapegoat. She was handy, and best of all hadn’t even stuck around to defend herself. Instead she’d gone who-knew-where doing who-knew-what.
In truth she’d helped capture the people who’d vandalized the lab in the first place. That should have helped, but it didn’t. Her career would have been in shambles if Caraway hadn’t offered her a job on the spot.
He’d made her a great offer, too. Not that she could have refused just about anything better than minimum wage at the time, but he had been more than fair. On top of the great pay and benefits, she was the only xenobiologist in the world who got to work with actual alien specimens, instead of just theorizing about them. Even if she didn’t get to actually work publicly or publish any of her findings…
Adjusting to the moon had taken some time. She still bounded a little too far and moved with a little more force than was required sometimes. She envied the way the other people here just seemed to flit about completely at ease.
Worst of all was being left behind on that last mission. Not that she’d really wanted to go. Especially after the crew returned and she heard the stories of their misadventures. Getting shot at or nearly eaten by alien monsters was not her idea of a great time! But they hadn’t even asked her. She was just another scientist like the other crew working the base here. And damn it, part of her missed the experience of working with people like she had on that one mission. The closeness of it, the sense of belonging, it had a dangerous appeal.
If she could’ve gotten past the image of watching Corey get killed right in front of her, maybe she would have asked to come along. But the whole episode had terrified her. She’d been too scared to ask.
Linda reached the meeting room and paused for a moment to collect herself before going in. She had the goods, this time. She had what the crew needed more than anything else. She looked down at the little data chip in her fingers. She’d accomplished the damned near impossible, was what she’d done. If anything would make them all take her seriously, this would be it.
She slipped the chip into her pocket and straightened the lab coat over her shoulders. She brushed a little dust from the jeans that she still wore as a daily uniform and checked her hair in the fuzzy image reflected in the polished metal door. It wasn’t clear enough to really see herself, but she batted worriedly at her hair anyway.
“They’re waiting,” Majel’s voice said from the intercom next to the door.
“I know. I’ll be right in.”
“Your hair looks fine,” Majel informed her.
Linda glanced up at the little camera mounted to the wall a little ways down the h
allway. She wasn’t sure if it creeped her out that the AI had eyes just about everywhere on the base, or if she just thought it was cool. But Majel had been incredibly helpful in her research, so she trusted the AI’s observation.
“Thanks,” she said. “Guess I need to buck up and do this?”
“They won’t bite,” Majel replied.
“That’s not really what I am worried about.”
Linda was less concerned about someone biting, and more about being seen as worthy of being here in the first place. The five people she was going to see - six, if you counted Majel, although she wasn’t sure if the AI counted or not these days - were the crew of the starship Satori. And whether she liked it or not, Linda realized she had something of a hero worship going on for the team. She sighed. This would impress them. It had to.
Linda fluffed her fingers through her hair one last time. Then she tapped the panel beside the door and it opened up for her.
Three
Dan sipped some coffee to hide a smile as he watched Linda join the rest of the team at the table. From the bright flush on her cheeks the poor kid was very clearly feeling out of her depth, and he didn’t want to make it any worse for her than it already was. She couldn’t be older than twenty-five, twenty-six or so, and she had the air of someone who’d spent her entire adult life behind the walls of academia. He knew the type.
It was going to be a good experience for her to get out and see what the real world looked like. John was doing her a kindness bringing her out here. Of course, if she was half as good as John said she was then she was a valuable asset for them as well.
“Glad you could join us,” Beth said, arching an eyebrow. Dan winced a little. Beth had little tolerance for tardiness and was more into giving someone the rough side of her tongue than coddling them. Linda blushed even more furiously at the comment.
“We know you’ve been working hard on the ratzard problem,” John said. Dan wasn’t sure if that was more to make Linda feel a bit better, or a warning for Beth to tone it down a bit. Either way, it looked like it wasn’t working too well.
“Relax,” Dan said. He offered the young woman a smile. “Nobody here bites, I promise.”
“Sorry I was late,” Linda said.
“No trouble,” John replied. “You told me you had something to report, though?”
“I do, yes,” Linda said, catching her breath a little at last. She looked about the table like she was trying to find something and then stopped, smacking the side of her head gently. She gave a good natured laugh, holding up the small square. “No data chip readers. You guys just have Majel. Can she help out with this?”
“Of course, Linda,” Majel said. “What would you like me to do?”
“Open the folder titled Paris Seven Eight One, please,” Linda replied. “There should be a slideshow inside. If you could display that please?”
“Done.”
The slides popped up on the screen. Dan saw that the first slide was labeled with the number symbol and then the numbers Linda had used. “This is attempt number seven hundred and eighty one?”
“Yeah,” Linda said. “Seven hundred and eighty failures.”
“Holy shit, that’s a lot of work,” Charline said.
“Well, I had Majel helping…”
“And still do. Shall we proceed with the slides?”
“Please,” John said.
The next slide showed an image of the small creature the crew had brought back home with them from the desert world. The thing looked creepy. Too damned many legs, big pincers on the front end, and ugly bulging eyes. Of course it was nothing compared to the monster it became when it grew up. Dan hadn’t been on the planet’s surface dealing with it, but he’d gotten the story out of Andy after a few beers when they returned home.
“Turns out that the cave you guys found was protected, but not like you thought,” Linda said.
“We guessed the mama bug was eating the ratzards before they could infect the cave’s water supply,” Andy said. “Maybe even chopping off bits of the ratzards to feed its young. There didn’t seem to be that much else there to eat.
“Which might be true, and thanks so much for the image. Yech. I need brain bleach now,” Linda said. “But it turns out there is something else. Next slide.”
The next slide was the image of an elaborate molecule. “Our little critter produces this. Secretes it in its saliva, actually. Guess what it does to the black goo? Next slide.”
This slide was video, showing a time lapsed display of the black goo growing on top of a thin film of water in a petri dish. Then a few drops of a clear liquid were added. At first nothing happened, but then the black goo began showing a few small bubbles. The bubbles grew both in size and number, and soon the black ichor that the ratzards used for blood was literally boiling away.
“That enzyme came from the insect we found?” John asked.
“Yes, sir,” Linda said.
Andy slapped the table and chuckled. “Told you all it was worth bringing back. Even with the bites.”
“This molecule - you can synthesize it?” John pressed.
“Yes. That was actually not too difficult. I mean, the hardest part was finding the molecule in the first place. The next hardest was finding a good delivery system.”
“We can’t just dump it into infected water?” Dan asked. If they could create the liquid, and the liquid killed the ratzard blood, then it seemed like the most logical solution. Just dump a whole bunch of cure on any infected water.
He was a lot more concerned with the implications of this new finding. Like what were the odds that a creature producing an enzyme which attacked the Naga’s bio weapon just happened to have evolved that way? That smacked of more bio-engineering. In this case it worked in their favor, but what else were these ancients getting into?
“Won’t have the desired effect. We need a vector capable of creating the enzyme on the go and bringing it to infected areas,” Linda said.
“You’re not breeding more of the bugs, are you?” Beth asked. “Because I am definitely against that idea.”
“No, nothing like that,” Linda said. “The bugs seemed to have been cave dwelling and preferred cool places, which is why they never spread the cure outside their local cave systems. There may be more little patches of cured water there, but the oceans - so crucial to life on most planets - remained covered.”
“The cure vector won’t work unless it is able to travel,” Linda said. “So I used this. Next slide.”
This image was something Dan knew well. It was a bacterium. He didn’t know what kind it was, but this had to be Linda’s proposed vector. Was this what the ancient race that built the Satori’s drive had been doing, thousands of years ago? Had they tried to find a way to fix the oceans in time, coming up with the bug that produced a curative enzyme but lacking the time, perhaps, to bring it to the next stage?
“I picked the most harmless bacteria I could think of, and then I tinkered with it a lot,” Linda said. “This version can pretty much only eat the ratzard blood. But it does that really well, using the enzyme to digest the stuff and convert it into hydrocarbons it can use.”
John and Charline both looked ready to say something, but Linda held up a hand to forestall them a moment. “I know. You’re going to say that it’s risky. We’re talking about seeding a different planet with a Terran bacteria. With a lot of Terran bacteria.”
“How do we predict the results of an invasive species like that?” Charline asked.
“We don’t. We need samples to test. Lots and lots of samples,” Linda replied.
“But this bacteria does work?” John asked. “Right now, in the lab, the thing works?”
“Yes, sir,” she replied.
“Linda, please stop calling me sir. It’s John.”
“Right,” she replied, flushing furiously again.
John stared around the room intently. Dan knew the look his friend had in his eye. John’s eyes met his with a momentary raised
eyebrow asking the question: are we up for this?
Dan replied with the smallest of shrugs and an upturned corner of his mouth. Always up for whatever. Best of all, that felt less like a deliberate mask that he was hiding behind and more like the truth these days. Dan was surprised how genuinely good things felt since their return.
“I’ll work out specific parameters, but I think we have a mission,” John said.
Four
The Satori flashed into high orbit around the dusky planet for the third time. Andy decided that he truly hated this place. Nothing good ever came of their visits. The first time he’d been captured and almost died. Paul had died - or so they’d thought. Then on the second visit they were almost eaten by a giant bug, while Dan and Charline were almost captured by the Naga. Worst of all they’d learned that Paul wasn’t dead. He’d been transformed by the Naga, rebuilt into some sort of armored cyborg monster.
Andy shuddered. That could have been him. If the team hadn’t gotten him away, it probably would have been him. He couldn’t imagine too many more horrible fates.
“Here we are,” Dan said. “Cloaking device is working, but I’m giving their satellites a wide berth anyway.”
“Good thinking,” John said. “No sense tempting fate.”
“We could use a name for this place,” Dan said. “We seem to keep coming back here.”
None of them had thought to name the planet. The place felt desolate, dead, and tragic. The Naga had annihilated this world, seeded it with the ratzards to ensure it could never recover, and then to top it all off placed a ring of defensive satellites around the place. It reminded Andy of the Roman invasion of Carthage, when the Romans were said to have salted the earth after destroying the city so that no one could ever rebuild it.
Adventures of the Starship Satori: Book 1-6 Complete Library Page 44
