Vision: A Story of Deep Time

by Jesse Laeuchli

  The Sun leaned further back in his chair, and studied the man more closely. Something was off about him, he decided. This wasn’t like his normal briefing style. Suddenly in shock, he noticed that the man was sweating. Mildly he said, “Presumably the three fleets were able to obtain some information?”

  The fleet admiral gestured to his companion, who reached down and flicked on the holodisplay located in the middle of the conference table. It flickered onto an image the Sun couldn't immediately interpret. He glanced back at the speaker and said, “What am I supposed to be looking at?”

  “Radiance,” his intelligence chief broke in “The fleets found something out there. They had political officers on board, of course. They tried talking to whatever it was, but it wouldn't return communications. They went into orbit around the closest star to the thing, then…” the intelligence chief's voice trailed off, his eyes going distant. Unsettled again, the Sun started at his officers. This was so far off the normal pattern of his briefings that he couldn't remember anything like it in the past thousand years. Right, he thought, time to get control of this, time to bring these people back to heel. If they couldn’t bring him up to speed on whatever it is they’d wanted a meeting about, he’d replace them with other tools that could. “Gentlemen”, he said in the quiet voice that had caused grown men to faint, and at least one of the fleet admiral’s predecessors to leave the room and put a bullet through his own brain, “What is going on here?”

  Clearly recognizing danger, the intelligence chief got hold of himself. “Radiance, whatever is out there swept into the system. It's much faster than we thought possible. Some elements of whatever it is seem to be able to move super-luminally, at least for brief periods. Of course this gives rise to the possibility that they may be able to employ para-causal weapons. Some of our fleet elements reported that attack vectors which the AI systems approved as 100% kills, were completely inaccurate, as if the enemy knew they were coming. Our forces on the local planets were completely overwhelmed almost as soon as the enemy engaged. Strategic weapons had been authorized but they were almost completely ineffective. We still don't know what happened to our troops planet side, but one of the long range satellites picked up this image of our fleets.”

  The officer tapped at the display, which flickered and began to move. With movement the image fell into place, and The Sun realized he was looking at a star system. The planets circled a ball of solar fire. Tiny flares of light in the darkness must be his ships he decided, maneuvering around the solar system. Suddenly, his mind shifted, and he saw what they were dancing around. A darkness, seeping through space, blocking vision of most of the planets in the system, and cutting off parts of the fleet, which flared then went dark forever. Gigantic petals of light flared around the blackness as the fleet admiral ordered the use of weapons not seen in over a generation. Suddenly, like two great wings, darkness poured out from the center of their unseen foe, and blocked what remained of the sun. The blackness like wings swooped forward and engulfed the rest of the fleet. Engines flared and died, then brightness as they went critical. Then nothing. The star itself seemed to have been snuffed out. The image flickered and went dead.

  The fleet admiral cleared his throat again. “This image was captured about 50 years ago. After action reports indicate that planets in the system are completely scoured of life, and the star itself is just a cinder. Local commanders made several delaying actions while this was crossing space to us, but nobody seems to have been able to do much damage to whatever this thing is. One special forces wing managed to penetrate one of its outlying elements, but then whatever that blackness is shot out and covered the section they’d compromised. Their reports from inside were disjointed in the extreme. Some of its raving, some of its screaming, some of it's just sobbing in the background. We’ve got a recording of one guy repeating constantly ‘the messengers, the messengers, the messengers’. There’s also a video that the head of the wing sent us of himself blowing his own brains out, shortly after they fought their way in. Whatever these things are, they can't be human.”

  The intelligence chief looked at The Sun and said quietly, “Radiance, based on current observations of the location of the enemy, and the speed that it's moving— we do not believe we can defend the person of your Radiance here on Vermillion, given the current disposition of our forces. We have sent flash orders to all the forces we believe we can put between this planet and whatever is coming, but the three fleets already destroyed represent the bulk of the forces we could deploy. Further, even if we evacuate Vermillion and fight on elsewhere, we no longer believe we can guarantee the survival of the Terran people, and the continuation of your glory, as you have commanded us. We regret our failure of duty toward you, and offer our lives in exchange. However, we believe there is a chance that a different avenue of defense may prove fruitful.“

  The two senior officers eyes flickered to the third person present, the infantry captain, who’d been standing silently, staring at the wall above The Sun’s head. “Yu Wong here has been doing research on the archaeological cybernetic systems left here on Vermillion by the previous empire, before the glory of your ascension made their designs unnecessary.”

  The Sun glanced toward Captain Wong, and then spoke mildly to him “Tell me your discovery my friend.” He wasn't sure why they were considering ancient computer systems at the present juncture, but if he felt Wong was wasting his time now, he could always kill him later. He was undecided on the matter. It had been long since he had felt it necessary to kill such a junior officer himself, but if a crisis truly was approaching perhaps it was time to revisit some of the old ways. He found the prospect invigorating.

  If Yu knew how close he was to death, he gave no sign of it. Calmly looking at the The Sun, he began to explain his research, “Radiance, prior the full ascension of your glory, and the dismantling of the preceding empire, the AIs they entrusted with their defense became obsessed with the their failure to predict certain aspects of the future. Indeed they theorized that certain aspects of the future were inherently unpredictable. To counter the implied breakdown in their models they proposed to create a closed timelike curve, seeding their predictions engines with the results from the future. However, the very existence of such curves increased the prediction difficulties exponentially, likely hastening the downfall of the Empire.”

  The Sun shifted delicately in his chair. He had little patience for science at the best of times. “And how does this help the present situation Captain Wong?”

  Wong answered calmly, “While the CTCs did not apparently help the Empire survive their struggle with the enemies confronting them or prevent you from subjecting all of known space, that does not mean the curves are useless. We simply need to intensify the basic state that in fact resulted, by sending information through the curve that results in your ascendancy happening at an even earlier date, and with an enlargement of the forces you have available. This will allow the menace we now face to be met with much greater preparations. That fact that the evidence indicates that the curves likely hastened their end gives us a clue. The message that was sent back to the creation of the curve needs to be modified so as to enhance the effect.”

  The head of the fleet, sensing another, perhaps more fatal interruption from The Sun of the People interjected. “Captain Wong believes the curve intersects in our time with the planet Vermillion, since that was where it was originally instantiated. We believe we have the ability to transmit data down the channel. We’ve consulted the available Imperial records carefully. While the information from that time is confused, it's clear that a substantial Imperial force was engaged around Vermillion, right as the curve went live. Since the nature of the initial transmission was likely related to the fate of these forces, we’ll transmit the status of the Imperial forces, and a message from yourself back to the start of the curve. We think this will do the trick.”

  The Sun digested this slowly. The idea seemed solid. If he could add another millenn
ia or two to his rule, what couldn't he accomplish? He’d forge the stars themselves into a weapon against whatever was clawing his domains apart. It was certainly true that when he’d been starting his rise, subjugating the last of the Imperial institutions before swarming out and conquering all their former enemies he’d faced down a tremendous amount of weakness. He’d always put it down to degeneracy, the failure of blood which had gripped all lesser rulers before himself, as the attraction of power and wealth sapped their vitality. Perhaps there had been an additional factor at play as well. He stood up and nodded slowly. “Take me to the transmitter.”

  In another, even deeper room in the bunker, a trembling tech sergeant placed a helmet over the Sun’s head, then hurriedly stepped back. Think the message you wish to send, they’d told him. Explain the inevitability, convince them of the rightness, the necessity of using the attached information to intensify the basic state of humanity, to elevate the Sun of the People. Tell them that only this way can extinction be avoided forever.

  He felt his thoughts become clearer than crystal, with a sharpness that amazed even him. He thought of the coming blackness, reaching out from the edge of the stars. He thought of his glory and his power, of the countless worlds of the terran dominion, all of them illuminated by his power, and his protection of their peace. He thought of his dread prisons and the hells he’d invented for those who opposed him. He let the vision of his fleets fill him, their steel might caressing the void. “See!”, he thought toward the past. “There has never been anything like this, and there will never be anything like this again. This is the ultimate and inevitable meaning of the Terran people. If what's coming overwhelms this than everything we are is meaningless. It would have been better if we never were.” He let go of his vision, and it flashed out, into the void.

  Chapter 8

  The Apogee’s drives flared as it made a corkscrew approach to the Ascent-Via-Darkness, hoping to present a more difficult target to whatever drones or autonomous missile systems might be roaming about in near space. The Ascent was hugging the far side of one of the smaller moons of Vermillion, trying to keep as much solid rock as possible between itself and the outer system, where the Warmind was convinced most of the reinsurance fleet was deployed.

  On feeling the clank of the Apogee docking, Clement’s mind began to clear. The Warmind was making a concentrated effort to regain his attention, with messages flashing across his helmet’s HUD, and the Apogee’s alarm system. The effect, combined with the blood loss and rest of the recent events made Clements head spin. “What?” he shouted, as soon as was able to sufficiently overcome his disorientation. The alarms blanked, then speaker system hissed and the Warmind’s message came in “Harmost, I require orders.” “What’s the current situation?” Clement coughed out as he stumbled into the Ascent’s hanger. “The bulk of the reinsurance fleet is still deployed out beyond the inner ring of asteroids in the system. I believe they are unsure exactly what our forces consist of. No doubt they intercepted most of the fleet deployment orders and are aware we moved the bulk of Imperial forces out of the system. However, they probably believe this move was a prelude to a larger attack, and that we have undertaken hidden deployments around the system, in the same manner as themselves. Once they realize they are in error we should see them attempt to neutralize my computational matrix.”

  “Can they do that?” asked Clement.

  “Eventually Harmost,” came the reply. “Once I went to a war footing as you instructed ten years ago, I began distributing my computational nodes across the Vermillion network. However, by deploying the correct network hunter/seekers, or simply shutting down all networks across Vermillion eventually my resources will fall below a critical level, and I will be forced to suspend further computation. The civilian casualties such an operation would require would be immense, but I believe the reinsurance fleet has ceased to count the costs.”

  Two of Ascent’s drones were circling Clement, attempting to engage with his armor’s systems to assess damage and provide medical attention. Clement attempted to shoo them off, but they buzzed angrily and circled around for another pass. He paused to consider his options. “Could we defend Vermillion with the Ascent while we call for reinforcements?”

  “Unlikely Harmost. The Ascent’s complement of weaponry is likely too weak to defend even a small area around Vermillion. Additionally, I have detected long range broadcasts from the reinsurance fleet directed toward Imperial space. I believe they are claiming I have been compromised and are calling for a full cryptographic refresh, as well as for all my orders to be rescinded. Soon we will be unable to communicate with Imperial forces, and they would reject my orders in any case. Finally, the Imperial command structure on Vermillion itself has fallen into confusion. We will not have time to reimpose our control on the planet and put it on a defense footing before the blow comes.”

  One of the drones saw its opportunity and swooped down to attach itself to the back of Clement’s armor. He gave up trying to move the other one off and sat down heavily on the deck. “How about the Weapon? Did they capture the research ship its on?”

  “No Harmost, my sensors report the ship Blade-Falling-Through-Shadow is still under our control. However, it is operating in low power mode, orbiting in the no man’s land between ourselves and the enemy forces. Attempting to power up the ship and move it to our location will be difficult.” Clement gasped as whatever drug the medical drones were attempting to inject into him hit home. “Can we fire it from here?” he asked. “Harmost, as a security measure, the Weapon requires the personal presence of the highest ranking officer in system to fire. You will need to be present on the ship to engage it.” A slight delay. “Did you obtain a firing solution Harmost?”

  As the first shock of the injection wore off, Clement felt clarity returning. He felt something else too, the beginnings of anger. He was finding it uncomfortable to be herded around the system by an insane AI. “No, the firing solution only made things worse.”

  A longer pause this time, leading Clement to think the connection had been dropped. “Then I fear we have few available options Harmost. My calculations indicate we do not have time to consult the Oracles more than once more, before the reinsurance fleet begins to probe our defenses. It is also possible that given their mission they may have the technology to detect the location of the Oracle once we begin using it. Further, we will not be able to bring the research ship Blade inside our defensive cordon before they detect its engines and attack it. The destruction or capture of the Weapon in the present circumstances is doubtless their highest priority mission.”

  Clement stood up, his armor screeching as the drones attempted to repair whatever damage they could, the mixture of drugs and anger prodding his mind toward the only possible solution. “The Warmind” he thought, “is not going to like this.”

  Chapter 9

  The Ascent broke cover from behind Vermillion’s moon, disgorging a fleet of semi-autonomous drones slaved to a collection of extremely aggressive sub-AIs. Far from attempting to remain invisible to the hidden reinsurance fleet as it attacked, the Ascent immediately began illuminating them with its targeting systems. Pre-deployed stealth missiles flared and began a fast burn toward their designated targets. Shock roiled the forces of the reinsurance fleet as they realized their positions were known. “Thank you, Sun of the People,” thought Clement, as the first bright pinpricks of light on the long distance displays showed that at least some of the weapons had found targets.

  Clement gave the order to the Warmind, and the Apogee began a hard burn toward the research station, hoping to remain hidden in the general confusion. A stream of status updates scrolled across his HUD, the Warmind informing him of the general direction of the battle, as well as continuing to voice its opinion that a suicide run with their one remaining starship was a poor strategic move. The Ascent’s outer drone swarms were beginning to engage some of the long range pickets and sensors of the reinsurance fleet. Some of them they dest
royed instantly, some they subverted and sent back toward the enemy fleet, in the hopes they would be accepted onto the enemy network. Most of these died as the IFF system of the reinsurance fleet updated to defend against this threat, but one delivered its payload before it could be neutralized. The outer layer of the enemy's defensive drones began self-destructing as the Ascent’s interstellar engines began to engage, hurling the carrier closer to the reinsurance fleet. It was finally beginning to respond to the attack. Cruisers hidden behind asteroids or moons of the closer gas giant began launching missile swarms and activating their own clouds of drones, then boosting toward the Ascent in an effort to block it from reaching whatever its destination was.

  Aboard a tiny bunker, hidden on a small ice planet right on the edge of Vermillion’s solar system, the crazed AI directing the reinsurance fleet attempted to work out how the Warmind had located its forces and what its objectives might be. It contemplated restructuring its core system so as to achieve a state of higher computational efficiency, putting itself on an equal footing with the Warmind. It had been ordered to do this only in the last resort, to avoid all possibility of having two corrupted Warminds in one system, and it was unsure if the present circumstances counted. Two annoying humans on the fleet flagship were yammering at it for information, but they were doing it at the glacial pace which humans did everything. It felt it had a few more good milliseconds to contemplate before it’d have to start thinking about responding to them.