by R. E. Weber
*
Once inside the Sensorium, Orientator dipped his head briefly towards First Mentor. Then, without another word, he left the room.
‘Hello, Theo,’ said the familiar feminine voice.
‘Hello Mi... erm, First Mentor.’
‘I trust you are well?’
‘Yeh, I’m fine thanks. What’s going on?’
‘I assume you are referring to the increased threat status?’
‘Threat status?’
‘Yes. We have increased security around all Affinity home worlds and habitats. All beings are subject to additional checks and movement restrictions. Additionally, we have reduced our reliance on centralised security systems. You will note that portable scanners were used on you upon your arrival.’
‘Oh, that’s what they were,’ said Theo.
‘Indeed,’ said First Mentor.
‘So anyway, why all the extra security? What’s happened?’
‘In your absence there has been, what you might term, an incident.’
‘Yeh, I know. Orientator said. What sort of incident?’
‘Three standard days ago, a class thirty nine planetisimal struck the world of Ch’Dath.’
‘Ch’Dath?’
‘Yes. Ch’Dath is the home planet of the H’th’hka.’
‘The Heth…huk...a who?’
‘The H’th’hka. They are one of the Affinity’s member races. Their home planet is about two hundred and twenty light years from Polisium. I believe you have already encountered their species.’
Theo noticed a flicker out of the corner of his eye, and turned to see that a portion of the curved wall of the Sensorium had changed to display an image that Theo immediately recognised. It was one of the insect-like aliens he had seen upon his first arrival at Polisium Prime.
‘Ah them,’ said Theo.
‘The H’th’hka group you encountered were the family of a high-ranking official from their home world. What you might call an Ambassador.’
‘Oh right,’ said Theo. ‘So what was this class thirty nine planet…is...nimal?’
‘Planetisimal,’ corrected First Mentor. ‘Please observe.’
Suddenly, the Sensorium darkened, and the image of a beautiful blue/green planet, surrounded by several small moons, appeared directly in front of Theo. As he stared at the planet, the walls, floor and ceiling of the Sensorium melted away, and he was floating in space, in orbit around the planet. Everywhere he looked, he could see stars, galaxies and nebulas with a colour and clarity the like of which he had never seen before, with even empty space looking somehow deeper and blacker than usual. He craned his head back and looked up, and as he stared into infinity his head began to spin, so much so that he almost lost his balance and fell over. He didn’t even dare to look downwards. Instead, he just let out an audible gasp at the staggering view unfolding around him.
‘Once you have your Companion installed,’ said First Mentor, ‘the view will become even more immersive.’
‘More immersive?’ said Theo.
‘Yes. Now, if you turn and look behind you, you will see the planetisimal.’
Slowly, and still feeling a little giddy, Theo turned around to see a large, brown, heavily cratered asteroid tumbling slowly through space towards him.
‘This recording is played back at an accelerated rate,’ said First Mentor.
Theo continued to watch the asteroid as it swung by to his left. Moments later, it appeared between him and the planet, which had now grown considerably in size.
‘Observe,’ said First Mentor.
Theo heard a bleep and then two linked circles – one large and one small – appeared, superimposed on the image to the right of the asteroid. Inside the smaller circle, all he could see was a white dot. But in the other there was something else: a disk shaped object turned on its end, with what looked like several tubes of varying lengths, jutting out both in front and behind it. The object was clearly just a magnified view of the dot in the smaller circle, and his first guess was that it was perhaps a space station of some sort. But as he watched, he noticed that the object seemed to be slowly turning on its end as if it was tracking the asteroid. Then he realised that it wasn’t a space station at all.
‘That object, is it some sort of weapon?’ said Theo.
‘Correct,’ said First Mentor. ‘It is known as a Star Shield Platform. It is part of a network of defensive drones, encircling the planet. All Affinity homeworlds have such defensive networks.’
‘To defend against attack?’
‘To protect against all threats, both natural and artificial,’ said First Mentor.
As the Star Shield Platform grew steadily larger, various symbols flashed on and off around the edge of the red circle. But one in particular seemed to stand out. It was a solid red oval. And it was blinking faster and faster, almost as if it were counting down.
The recording then seemed to speed up, and the two linked circles shot past overhead and began to race away out of sight behind him. As he watched the platform disappear into the distance, he could still see that it seemed to be tracking the asteroid. But it didn’t seem to be doing anything else. It certainly wasn’t defending the planet as he might have expected.
Within moments, the platform had shrunk away until it was a tiny point of light in the distance, and then shortly after it vanished completely. Quickly, Theo spun around to look back at the planet, which now occupied most of his field of vision. The asteroid, which was dead ahead of him, was now beginning to glow faintly around its edges. Then a trail of debris began to break away, forming a glowing stream behind it.
‘It’s burning up,’ said Theo.
‘No,’ said First Mentor. ‘Its outer crust is burning away. However the core of the object remains intact.’
Suddenly, Theo’s viewpoint seemed to zoom away rapidly backwards so the whole planet was visible again. Then, directly ahead on the surface, there was a brilliant flash of light, and a huge grey/brown cloud burst out of the ground, accompanied by arching columns of glowing rock mushrooming high into the atmosphere. The ground around the impact point seemed to shimmer, and then a massive shockwave began to ripple out in every direction, like a lake with a pebble tossed into it. At the centre of the impact, where the asteroid had hit, the ground was glowing red and orange and continuing to spew out molten rock and smoke, like a fearsome volcano.
The shockwave continued to ripple away from the centre of the impact in every direction, spreading out at a phenomenal speed, while the land underneath it, which had been a beautiful blue/green colour moments before, had turned a sickly lifeless shade of grey. When it had spread out to what Theo guessed was several hundred kilometres in every direction, the image blinked off and the familiar grey walls of the Sensorium returned.
Theo turned back to look at First Mentor.
‘God!’ he said, amazed and shocked at what he had just seen.
‘The object you have just observed was 1.2 hotah long by 0.8 hotah across. It struck the planet almost head on.’
Theo thought for a moment. He remembered that a Hotah was about two kilometres. So that meant the Asteroid had been about two and a half kilometres long.
‘That’s big, isn’t it?’ said Theo. ‘I’m guessing it did a lot of damage?’
‘Correct,’ said First Mentor. ‘It blasted out a crater thirty-three hotah in diameter. The shockwave from the impact completely encircled the planet.’
‘Was anybody killed?’
‘Yes, I am sorry to say that several thousand individuals, mostly H’th’hka, were incinerated at the point of impact. Many others have since died due to a partial break down of the planet’s infrastructure.’
‘Unbelievable,’ said Theo.
‘Yes,’ said First Mentor. ‘You may have noticed the supply ships in the vicinity of Polisium Prime upon your arrival. These were mostly automated drones, ferrying supplies and medical aid to the planet.’
‘Oh right, so that’s what they were.’
‘So what about that Star Shield platform? What was it doing? Not a lot by the look of it. Wasn’t it supposed to stop the Asteroid?’
‘Several platforms should have activated a combination of weapons to deflect the planetisimal.’
‘So they didn’t activate then?’
‘No, not a single platform activated.’
‘Why not?’
‘There appeared to be a catastrophic failure of some kind. The platforms tracked the planetisimal on its approach, but they didn’t activate. We are still trying to ascertain the exact cause of the failure, which is subject to an on-going investigation.’
‘But you must have an idea what went wrong?’
‘At present, the balance of probability indicates sabotage.’
‘Sabotage? Who’d want to do a thing like that?’
‘That is unknown at this time.’
‘Unknown?’ said Theo, alarmed. ‘Surely you must have some idea?’
‘The investigation continues to pursue several possibilities. But at present, I’m not prepared to speculate further. It is subject…’
‘Yeh I know, to an on-going investigation. Has it ever happened before, you know, failed like that?’
‘No,’ said First Mentor. ‘This is unprecedented. No Star Shield defence network has ever failed to activate.’
‘Oh,’ said Theo, feeling rather shaken at what he had just seen. ‘It all happens while I’m away.’
‘Until we have positively established the cause and apprehended those responsible, the Affinity will remain on an increased threat level.’
‘So you do know it was sabotage then?’
‘As I said, the balance of probability indicates…’
‘Yes,’ interrupted Theo, ‘but, I mean, how can you be so sure it was sabotage? Couldn’t it just have malfunctioned or something?’
‘No,’ said First Mentor. ‘The control systems of the defence network are infallible.’
‘You mean computer systems?’
‘Essentially, yes. In your terms, the control system is a highly advanced form of networked computer system.’
‘But no computer system is infallible – I know that. However advanced they are, there’s always something that can go wrong. I mean, it did fail, didn’t it?’
‘Theo, you do not understand,’ said First Mentor with a tone of voice that hinted at annoyance or even anger. ‘Sabotage is a wilful act aimed at weakening a system through obstruction, disruption, or destruction. If those entrusted with the security of the defence control network are willing to sabotage it, or allow it to be sabotaged – either deliberately or by negligence – then there is little we can do to prevent this. In this case it was our defence strategy that failed, not the defence control system.’
‘Yeh, well I’m not convinced,’ said Theo. ‘Whoever designed it, should have made it more secure. If I met him, I’d have a few words.’
‘I am not referred to as a him, Theo. I do not have a gender.’
‘It was you?’ said Theo, shocked.
‘Yes,’ said First Mentor.
‘Oh, sorry,’ said Theo sheepishly, ‘I didn’t mean to offend you.’
‘I am not offended,’ said First Mentor. ‘It is to be expected that you are uninformed on such matters.’
‘Yeh,’ said Theo. ‘I don’t know what I’m talking about.’
‘In these matters, no Theo, you do not.’
Theo now felt like a complete idiot. He had only been back on Polisium Prime for a short time and had already insulted his Mentor.
‘So anyway,’ said Theo, deliberately changing the subject, ‘does this affect me at all, you know, my Orientation and everything?’
‘No Theo, it does not. Safeguards are in place to allow your Orientation to continue as normal.’
‘Right,’ said Theo, not knowing whether to sound pleased. ‘So what happens now?’
‘Now you will return to your quarters to rest and eat. Your orientation will begin tomorrow, as planned. An alarm will automatically sound to awaken you and you will be collected at the appropriate time. I will feed the schedule for the next few days of your orientation through to your quarters. If you wish to read it, you may do so at your leisure. You will also be able browse any publicly available information using the node in your quarters.’
‘Node?’ said Theo.
‘It is an interface to the station’s central database. You will have guest visitor level access.’
‘How do I use it?’
‘You will find the node highly intuitive and easy to use. Do you have any further questions?’
‘Erm, no I don’t think so.’
‘Good. Before you leave and return to your quarters, there is one more thing you need to be aware of. If you are approached to be scanned, then please co-operate and remain still. This will be necessary from time to time and in no way indicates that you are under any form of suspicion.’
‘How come they need to scan me by hand like that?’ said Theo. ‘Surely the station has automatic scanners?’
‘It is a form of backup in case any of the station’s systems have been compromised.’
‘You mean, hacked into?’
‘Essentially, yes. Now, if there are no further questions, I will see you tomorrow.’
‘Looking forward to it,’ said Theo, not entirely sure whether he meant it or not.
*
Theo had lain for several hours on the bed in his quarters, deep in thought. He’d only been back a short time, but already he’d discovered that there’d been an attack, which had killed several thousand people or beings or whatever he was supposed to call them. First Mentor had warned him of danger just before he’d left for Earth, but he wasn’t expecting anything so eventful, so soon. Had First Mentor somehow expected something to happen and tried to subtly warn him? He wasn’t sure.
Theo sat up on his bed and looked around. All his personal items had already been delivered ahead of him from the pod, and were laid out neatly on the various shelves, which had appeared since his last visit. Yet despite having all his personal stuff around him, his quarters still looked drab and boring. He would have to do something about that soon. But not right now.
He stared across at the wall in front of him. The same set of glowing icons, which he’d noticed on his first visit, were still there, but with the addition of a flashing red circle at the bottom. He got up from the bed, walked across to the wall and looked at the flashing circle. Then he touched it:
English
Common
Theo smiled. It was a set up and configuration program, designed to personalize the node to suit his own preferences. He touched English and another menu appeared:
Select Input Method.
Vocal
Tactile
Both
He touched Both:
Select Output Method
Vocal
Textual
Both
Again, he selected Both.
‘Set up complete,’ replied a soothing masculine voice.
All the icons on the screen quickly disappeared, replaced by a huge rectangle with four words at the top: Search, Facilities, Personal and Converse. In the background, at the centre of the rectangle, was a faint ghostly image of Polisium.
Guessing that he could now use voice input, he decided to give it a try.
‘Personal,’ he said out loud. Immediately, several more options appeared:
Messages
Entertainment
Customized options
Configure
‘Messages,’ said Theo. The personal options screen disappeared, to be replaced by a further list of options:
Welcome
Orientation Itinerary
Previous
Remembering that First Mentor had promised to send the Orientation Itinerary through to him, he decided to select that first.
‘Orientation Itinerary,’ he said. Immediately, a list a
ppeared on the screen followed by an audio description:
Orientation Itinerary 1: 3 standard days
1 Companion Installation: Day 1 >
2 Companion Training: Day 2 – On-going >
3 Basics of Common: Day 2 – On-going >
4 Species Protocols: Day 3 – On-going >
5 Mentor Assessment: Day 3 <
> Further Information
< No further information
Previous
Help
Theo looked at the list. Companion Installation and Companion Training. He’d heard First Mentor talking about Companions. But what were they? He carried on reading. Basics of Common was the next item on the list. But what was Common? Then he noticed another option in the bottom right corner of the screen.
‘Help,’ he said out loud. A small message box appeared:
Use Further Information followed by option name.
Previous.
‘Previous,’ he said. The screen returned to the list.
‘Further Information, Install Companion.’
Installation of level one Companion, with uplink. Requires subject to be rendered unconscious for 3.5 standard hours. Further information will be provided immediately prior to installation.
Previous
‘Previous,’ he said. The Orientation Itinerary re-appeared.
‘Further Information, Basics of Common.’
Learn language structure for Affinity Common, utilizing Companion for accelerated learning.
Previous
So Common was a language. And it was a language he had to learn. Theo’s heart sank. He’d always struggled with French at school, even though his teachers had told him that it was the easiest language to learn. So how was he going to cope with a language that was completely alien to him? Still, it had mentioned utilizing Companion for accelerated learning, so maybe it wasn’t going to be so bad. But what were Companions? Whatever they were, they seemed to be important.
