"That should not be a problem."
"When we have finished here, I will take you to your pond. Now, what did you want of me?"
"In this ship's core, inside the central column, is a green cylinder. A single cable links it to every computer that controls the ship's motion. Can you tell me anything about it?"
Ull's whistle was a buzzing whisper of sound, as if it had been ground out of her mouth. "Why do you need to know?"
He didn't have a reason he could justify, but he did want to know. He decided it would be best to bluff. "The more I know, the better the new computers will execute their tasks." Of course, he had every reason to believe that wasn't true. The object had apparently been sealed in the central chamber for a long time without affecting the lords' computers.
"I will tell you what I know, which is little, but I would rather not here. Come with me," she said as she climbed out of the water.
The elevator door opened on a chamber like the Commons, except smaller. He noticed other differences: the foliage was greener and the air was more humid and not as dusty.
"This is the Sanctuary. Now that you are one of The People, you may enjoy this as we do. But you must be careful with what you find here. When I finish answering your question, you will understand why."
She walked down the path from the elevator to a small lake, her tail swinging in a short arc behind her. Instead of diving in, she reclined on a rock at the edge that was shaped to fit her long body and invited him to sit beside her.
"Now for your question. Others might tell you more, but not on this ship. If my tale is not enough, at the Gathering I will introduce you to someone who knows more."
The Gathering? She's mentioned that before.
"Some of what I know could be legend and not truth. Other parts are clearly true, because the drive is in our ship and in other ships of The People, and we still endure those who provided them to us. I will tell you what my mother told to me, and what I will tell to my kits someday.
"The story begins more than two thousand years ago. We were a great people then, more than just traders, and over a billion of us inhabited a world much like yours. The People of Stream had just begun to venture into space."
"Your home world is called Stream?"
"Yes. Are you surprised? Your world is called ‘Earth.’ To continue, we had built outposts on both our moons and had sent probes to a nearby planet. The outposts were primitive, but our moons were smaller and closer than your single moon. We used multi-stage rockets as tall as some of your planet's tallest buildings to keep the outposts supplied.
“Our scientists claimed to be unraveling the secrets of the universe. On one of our moons, physicists were building a device they believed would show the relationships between the extremely small and the very large and how to understand gravity. The scientists had run a single test and were examining the results when our government was contacted by entities who called themselves the Kadiil.” Again she made that grinding whistle.
“They arrived in a ship bigger than The People's Hand. Around this ship were arrayed hundreds of smaller ships. They could not be ignored.
The Kadiil told our government they had come to protect us and to save us from ourselves. They said the experiments being conducted on the moon would destroy our civilization.”
She stood and walked in tight circles, her tail swishing through the grass behind her.
“A great debate began among the scientists and the government. The scientists said the first test was promising. A new theory of gravity and the universe was emerging. Some said it should even be possible to control gravity as easily as we control electricity. They claimed it might someday be possible to alter the structure of space and travel faster than light--something that had been thought impossible.
“The results that excited those conducting the experiment worried other scientists who were not involved with the project. When the Kadiil warned of worlds being ripped apart and suns forced to nova, the troubled scientists went to the government and took the Kadiil position. Others not involved with the project took the other side of the debate, asking ‘why should we believe the Kadiil? They bring no proof.’”
She stopped and looked down at Tommy. “The argument might have continued for decades had the Kadiil not offered a trade. Yes, gravity control and faster-than-light travel were possible, but most civilizations destroyed themselves when they achieved them. The Kadiil offered an unlimited number of drives like the one you have seen and wanted one thing in return: we had to stop further research on this forbidden subject. That, of course, included any attempt to understand how the drives work.”
"That was unbelievably altruistic of them," Tommy commented, frowning.
"Others said the same," she replied, "but their voices were submerged by those who insisted we take this gift."
"So, you are telling me the answer to my original question is that you know nothing about the drives because your scientists never tried to find out anything?" Tommy said.
"The People wish that were true," she said. "No, I have more to tell of the story, though the result may be as you say. Do you want to hear the remainder?"
"Yes, of course."
She resumed her pacing, her tall body swaying back and forth with each stride. "When the contract was made, The People became obsessed with using the gift, and they considered it a gift, not a contract, since nothing tangible had been given in return. However, even with the drive, building one of these ships proved costly. Many sacrifices were required to build even one, and, during the next fifty years, more than seventy were constructed. The research center was shut down as was agreed, but even without the agreement it probably would have been; The People had few resources for science during the years the ships were built. Many technologies suffered as well."
"That could explain your computers," Tommy said.
"Yes, it could," she replied. "For several decades all went well, even though there were surprises. When our first ship emerged from a short transit out of our system, its radios began blaring with transmissions from hundreds of other civilizations. The Kadiil revealed they had been watching The People for many centuries, waiting for us to become advanced enough for contact. As a part of that watch, they protected us with a communications barrier around our system."
"Does Earth's solar system have the same barrier?" Tommy interrupted.
"Yes, approximately sixty light seconds beyond your most distant planet's aphelion."
"Why are you allowed to go inside the barrier?"
"The Kadiil do not interfere with trade with primitive societies as long as it does not become generally known to the natives. An alternative and plausible explanation must always be provided, of course."
She paused. "Should I continue?"
"Yes, Yes."
"All was going well. The Kadiil were always nearby to deliver another drive whenever we called them. Our ships began exploring our neighborhood of the galaxy and bringing back many things. We met the ships of other civilizations and traded with them. Every starfaring species we encountered had made the same contract with the Kadiil. They were all using drives exactly like our own and had renounced all research on gravity and the structure of space and time. If anything, this made it more plausible the Kadiil had told us the truth.
"That changed when one of The People's ships met a ship from a civilization whose home planet had been destroyed... they claimed by the Kadiil.
"When our ship returned with this news, the debate began again. Two main opinions emerged, although few additional facts supported either faction. On the one side were those who felt the Kadiil had kept their part of the bargain, and we had no reason to distrust them. On the other side were those who were sure the Kadiil were keeping something from us, that they had stopped the research to keep us from learning even greater secrets.
"Although the public debate never reached a conclusion, some among the group who distrusted the Kadiil were extremely wealthy. Those wealthy individu
als funded a new research station on one of our moons. One individual was wealthy enough to build a Kadiil drive ship on her own; a ship named My Flowing Streams. Her control of that ship is the only reason we know the rest of the story.”
She collapsed back onto the rock. "In spite of the ban on research, some physicists and mathematicians had continued to think about the problems and discussed their results with each other. My Flowing Streams transported some of them to the old research station along with the supplies they needed. With the stars now open for travel, both moons had been deserted for fifty years. My Flowing Streams waited close by for over six months until the station was ready for its first experiment, and then withdrew several light seconds. Its job was to monitor a number of satellites that had instruments pointed at the moon.
"Soon after the appointed time, My Flowing Streams received a message that the experiment had been a success. The satellite instruments reported small gravitational anomalies, and the ship prepared to return to the moon.
"A few minutes passed, and the moon exploded.
"A few seconds later, Stream also exploded.
"My Flowing Streams escaped the debris of our home world with little time to spare."
Ull stared at the lapping water at the lake's edge until Tommy decided to ask, "So the technology was dangerous?"
"One might think that, the satellites the ship monitored told a different story. One of the smaller Kadiil ships appeared between the moon and Stream about five minutes after the experiment's completion. The original gravitational anomalies reported from the moon were almost undetectable, but several huge gravitational surges were recorded at the moment of the explosions. The moon and Stream were sheared apart by the gravitational tides of multiple black holes, each with the mass of Stream.
“Within seconds of their appearance, the black holes disappeared, but the data from the satellites showed they had not been distributed randomly. A three-dimensional plot of the center point of each surge made two arcs of different radii, both centered on the Kadiil ship. Our home world and every one of The People except those on our ships were murdered by the Kadiil!
"My Flowing Streams sought The People's other ships. Eventually, we all learned what happened, and that we could never return." She waved an arm, including the entire Sanctuary. "This space and others like it on The People's remaining ships are all that remain of Stream's ecology. Were they to die, we would surely, finally, die with them.
“Do you understand now why you must be careful in what you do here."
Tommy nodded. "What contact have you had with the Kadiil since?"
"They are everywhere we go. Sometimes we see them. Sometimes we do not. But we know they are nearby, lurking, watching."
"How?" he asked.
"Because they often arrive within minutes of events involving our ships. Shortly after The Extended Claws' destruction and before we began our salvage, one of their ships arrived. When we entered the central column, the drive was gone. That is what we find. Always. They remove the drive from every ship that is permanently disabled or destroyed."
"Who are the Kadiil? Do you know anything about their home world?"
"For two thousand years we have tried to learn that and more. Some among us have wanted revenge. At every contact with other starfaring species, we ask questions about the Kadiil. What is discovered is told to everyone at the Gathering.”
She looked out over the lake. “We have discovered nothing. Only rumors. Some say the Kadiil are remnants of a technologically advanced species that destroyed their civilization and want to save others from their fate. According to those, the Kadiil destroy those who break their rules as object lessons. Others say all of the species in the local neighborhood of the galaxy are held back by a civilization that wants to protect its interests."
"What have you found to support any of this?"
"We have only traveled a small part of the galaxy, but what we have seen has enough strange things to support virtually any theory. Most, though, rely on the existence of the closed star systems. If an advanced civilization exists, it is likely to be found on one or more of them."
"Closed? How do you close a star system?"
"No one knows the answer. Perhaps the Kadiil know. If a ship tries to transit into one of these systems, the transit ends short. If a ship tries to enter with insystem drive, it finds itself surrounded by a transit-like blackness and emerges on the other side."
The warble of The Peoples' laughter drew their attention to the lake. A large number of kits, accompanied by two adults, frolicked in the water.
"I am pleased to see this again," she said.
Tommy tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
"The crowding in the family ponds had become so great, coming here always resulted in an ordeal. No one wanted to return to the ponds, and yet they had to. If we all moved into the Sanctuary, it would soon be barren. The mothers quit bringing their kits here to avoid the turmoil that always came afterward. Now, many are using the Sanctuary again."
She turned back to Tommy. "With the additional ponds and the privacy they provide, many are considering finding a mate. I have avoided taking a mate, in respect for others, although I have a private pool. Now, I, too, am considering it."
She leaned over and gazed directly into Tommy's eyes. "More than the ship was on the verge of dying. By restoring our lakes and ponds, you have given us back our ship and our lives. We will always be grateful for this. I will always be grateful."
Tommy made an embarrassed sound in his throat and looked away. "I was doing what you ordered me to. You know that."
"I also know you could have taken months to repair one lake, and I would not have known you could have repaired many more in the same time. We have never had a human like you on this ship."
"Maybe their being slaves has something to do with that," Tommy suggested.
"Perhaps. But can a tame human have the characteristics of a wild human?"
Perhaps they could learn to, Tommy thought.
The crowd of kits passed close by, and Ull turned to watch. "Did I give you the answer to your question about the drive?" she asked.
"No, not really. But you gave me a lot more to think about."
"When you are thinking, please be careful," she said. "I hope my story made you realize how dangerous it would be to tamper with the Kadiil drive. We have always been afraid to touch it. It might stop working, or the Kadiil might decide to destroy us as they did Stream.
"Now, let me show you your new quarters. I expect to see you there, at least occasionally. And your cat, too."
# # #
While he hadn't learned much about the Kadiil drive, following the cables had convinced Tommy that replacing all the old computers in the bridge sub-deck was a waste of hardware and his programming effort. The first wasn't scarce yet but might be someday, and he never had enough time to do everything he wanted to do. The key had been the computer that combined the other computers' signals and transmitted them down the center column on a single cable. In the new navigation computer and its backup, he already had enough computer speed and capacity to exceed, by many times, all the old computers controlling the drive. To duplicate them, he would add his version of the other programs to a common library in the single computer and route cables between that computer and modified or new consoles. The old computer at the top of the center column would come out, too, and the single cable would stretch from the new computer to the drive.
The single cable was a problem. If it were cut, the ship would be helpless. He took care of that, as best he could, by having the electricians pull another cable up a shaft on the other side of the center column and into the access corridor to the drive. On the wall, he attached one of the older Earth computers, to route signals either from a primary or secondary input cable to the cable attached to the drive. His solution wasn't as good as a second direct attachment to the drive, but he hadn't been able to find another jack.
Duplicating the console functio
ns would free him to focus on what he wanted to do: dig deeper into the device driver that created those ten-dimensional arrays. If he couldn't learn about the drive by breaking into it, maybe the programs that controlled it would reveal some of its secrets.
The library of reusable program objects he had been creating made his job a lot easier. He was ready to parallel with the old computers six days before breakout from transit and was free to reflect on the drive.
The only clues he had were the data from the four bridge consoles and the resulting output from the device driver. He had duplicated inputs and outputs in his replacement programs, but that didn't mean he grasped what was happening. To get a better understanding, he decided to create a visual representation of the programs. The simplest output made the least sense: the gravity computer sent a signal to the device driver about once an hour regardless of activity on the console. He duplicated the functionality in his programs, but, since the drive didn't respond to the signal, he had no idea what it was for. The rest of computer output corresponded with some movement of the ship.
Using the targeting room three-dimensional viewer as a start, he wrote a program that displayed a model of the Nesu Tol. Signals from a simulated console affected the model without going through the device driver. If a console signaled rotate, the on-screen model would rotate in the desired direction. If the signal was to move the ship, an arrow indicated vector and acceleration. The gravity console controlled internal gravity within a narrow range. He simulated that with a different colored arrow pointing down from the base of the ship. The model should show patterns in the output from the device driver.
He didn't rush the process. He made the smallest possible adjustments to the attitude control and examined the output arrays from the device driver until he understood what adjustments caused which changes. He then began the same process on the insystem drive.
In building the model, he assumed the ship could accelerate in any direction. Signal the ship to move sideways and the arrow in the model pointed sideways. The arrays showed something different happening some of the time. If the desired acceleration was small--from one to ten micro-gravities according to the console--the computer sent a single set of arrays, commanding acceleration in the chosen vector. For acceleration exceeding ten micro-gravities, the computer sent two sets of arrays. The first matched the attitude control arrays he had studied first and pointed the ship along the requested vector; the second accelerated the ship, but always straight ahead.
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