“How would that work in practice?” asked Reed. “Hidden in higher dimensions sounds great—but what does it really mean?”
Allie paused in thought. “Imagine a being who is completely flat,” she began, “existing solely in a flat 2D universe. Like the king of clubs trapped inside a playing card, but with eyes that can only see side to side. Not only would he be smashed flat, he’d be entirely unable to perceive or detect anything in the up or down directions. Or even imagine the existence of such directions.”
Reed nodded slowly. “Go on,” he said.
“Suppose we, as 3D beings, wanted to store text. We could stack a typed manuscript a million miles high, making full use of our higher dimension. But the king of clubs could only ever see the first page. The one that touches his plane. Actually, he could only see the edges of the first page, since he’d have no ability to lift himself above it to read the words.”
Reed nodded. “So for the king, a stack of pages would have the same small footprint as a single page.”
“Exactly. To us the third dimension is obvious. But to these poor 2D creatures, it’s inconceivable. If you lowered a penny onto their plane of existence, it would appear to them to have materialized out of thin air.”
Allie paused to let that sink in.
“So by analogy,” she continued, “we’re poor 3D creatures, incapable of perceiving a fourth spatial dimension. But that doesn’t mean one doesn’t exist. The nanite memory function is stacked there, a million miles high, in a direction that we can’t perceive. So it appears to us to take up virtually no space at all. But in reality it’s taking up considerable space.”
“Nicely explained,” said Reed in admiration.
Allie’s eyes widened. “Wait a minute,” she said, ignoring the compliment, “if most of the nanites’ machinery and memory exist in higher dimensional space, this also must be where they carry out their transmutations. Which explains a lot. Any energy release happens in a dimension we can’t perceive, directed away from our own, no doubt. And this must also be where they store their raw materials.”
“Raw materials?” said Reed in confusion.
“We’ve seen them digest potting soil and then build things. A table and a phone. But if they just chewed the soil into its constituent atoms, how would that help them? They need to carry the soil back to where they’re doing their construction.”
“Very impressive reasoning, Dr. Keane,” said Hoyer. “I wasn’t about to go into that level of detail quite yet, but you’re right. We see the raw materials disappear, but when they’re using them for construction, they really don’t. They’re just carried to the construction site in the fourth dimension, so we can’t see them. Leafcutter ants are a perfect analogy. They carve up leaves, which they carry sticking straight up like green sailboat sails.
“So you can imagine the nanites as tiny ants clinging to their leaves,” continued Hoyer. “Which they thrust upward into the fourth dimension. Leafcutter ants can carry up to fifty times their own weight. But the nanites can carry a lot more raw material even than that.”
Reed nodded slowly as he absorbed what his two companions had described. “You’re right,” he said to Allie. “This really is Alice in Wonderland kind of stuff. Or better yet, Arthur C. Clarke is right again with that whole ‘indistinguishable from magic’ thing.”
After another few minutes discussing higher dimensions, Hoyer’s guests put in their dinner orders and watched in fascination as the nanites quickly converted potting soil into three perfectly cooked and plated meals. Watching them in action never seemed to get old.
Reed and Hoyer both had the steak the major had raved about, while Allie had a Caesar salad.
“I’ve been thinking about where we go from here,” said Hoyer while they ate. “And I’m convinced that our best move is to stay right where we are. Indefinitely.”
“Why?” said Reed.
“I can’t figure out how Rico Gillespie discovered this place, but I don’t think he told Aronson. I think he wanted to surprise the boss by bringing back our heads on a platter. If Aronson had known, he’d have come at us much harder.
“Even if I’m wrong, and he’s learned of all of my sites, we’re still better off here. My jet has been flying around the country since we left the hangar, and the pilot will soon be pulling a three-card monte to lose any tail for good. Aronson’s not going to guess we’d ever come back to a place we knew was blown.”
“We can’t be positive,” said Reed.
“We take a chance no matter what,” replied the major. “If he has discovered my other sites, he’ll be watching them. All in all, I think it’s more likely he’s waiting for us elsewhere than he’ll think to look for us here again. And I can have a dozen mercenaries here by morning to protect us.”
“Yeah, because the last group did such a good job of that,” said Reed sarcastically. He shook his head. “Mercs were useful for your raid in Utah, Major, this is true. But I don’t see how they help here. Not against the . . . unconventional weaponry that Aronson can deploy. Besides, did you ever consider that’s how you were found? That someone was tracking your soldiers for hire? Why bring in bodies we can’t fully trust?”
Hoyer swallowed a piece of steak and nodded. “You make a good point.”
“And if we are going to keep Allie here,” continued Reed, “we need to beef up our computer and electronic security.”
“How?”
“Your surveillance right now is geared toward catching men or drones sneaking up on us. But what really sneaked up on us was a carpet of invisible nanites. So what if you covered the lenses of all your cameras, stationary and drone-based, with the material in Aronson’s visibility glasses? Would the cameras then be able to detect a swarm of invisible nanites creeping across the desert?”
Hoyer considered. “Interesting thought,” he said finally. “I don’t see why that wouldn’t work. The rest of what they’d see would be blurry, but that’s a small price to pay. And we could leave some cameras untouched to better capture conventional threats. Or add cameras, since the nanites can make endless copies.”
The major nodded slowly. “I’m not sure why I didn’t think of this earlier,” he added. “But it’s a great idea. I’ll put this into practice as soon as we finish eating.”
“Good,” said Reed. “Give me a day or two, and I’ll come up with more ideas to secure the place.”
“I’ll take you up on that, Commander.”
“Hold on,” said Allie, spearing her fork deep into her salad and leaving it standing there. “Not to throw a wrench into your plans, but we can’t stay here. I need a lab with sophisticated equipment. I know you can provide an unlimited supply of the molecule I need right away. But once I have it, I’ll need to perform experiments to verify my calculations are correct. Which will probably take a few weeks. And that’s before we begin trying to construct a quantum computer, which requires even more equipment.”
“Done,” said Hoyer simply. “You don’t think Caesar salad and steak is all I’ve put in the nanite memory banks, do you? Remember how much is riding on a quantum computer. So I prepared for the day that someone would make a breakthrough. A while back I visited the labs of two of the best experimental quantum physicists on the planet . . . after hours. I had the nanites digest their equipment, and then reproduce it again. So no harm, no foul. The profs never knew I was there. Their equipment worked the same as always after I left, and looked the same, down to the last microscopic scratch.”
Allie nodded. “Very nice,” she said with a delighted smile. “They keep their equipment, and your nanites keep the data on how to build it.”
“Right. So not only can I whip you up an entire lab by the time you wake up tomorrow, it’s portable. We can change locations at any time without worrying about leaving expensive or irreplaceable equipment behind. The nanites can build us a new copy in the next place we’re at.”
“Well, isn’t that . . . useful,” said Allie.
“I
’m not sure how I ever lived without them,” said Hoyer with a smile. He shook his head in disgust. “Yet this is the tech that Aronson is keeping from the world,” he added, outraged. “The longer you use it, the more uses you find. Aronson’s refusal to share the technology is unconscionable.”
Allie waited several long seconds for the major to stop fuming. “One last question,” she said finally. “I get that you have the specs on the equipment. But do we have enough room here?”
“I built every safe house with a subterranean space twice the size of the house itself. Beyond the raw materials storage room we were in is another room, even larger. Well lighted, epoxy-over-concrete floor. You’ll have a lab your colleagues at USD would envy.”
Allie frowned, and a deep sadness appeared in her expressive green eyes—an emotion quite different from the one Hoyer had hoped to evoke. His words were a reminder of a past life that was now off limits to her forever.
“How about this,” said the major, trying to bring back the good mood he had temporarily deflated, “why don’t you and Commander Reed relax on the ground floor. Watch some TV. Whatever. You’ve been going at a furious pace. And I’ll get completely out of your hair downstairs. I need to adjust security like the commander suggested, and get your shiny new lab up and running. I can promise total privacy until morning.”
“It’s a nice thought,” said Reed, “but I need to leave. If I’m going to appear in Salt Lake City with a fabricated story for Colonel Hubbard, there’s no time like the present. I’ve delayed too long already.”
“Why does it matter?” said Hoyer. “You’ll be presenting her with a grand mystery. A longer delay in your reappearance will just make it that much more mysterious.”
Reed considered. “Even so, the sooner I go, the sooner I can be put in charge of hunting our nemesis. The man who, as far as Hubbard or the military are concerned, shall remain nameless.”
“Voldemort?” said Allie with a smile.
“Really?” said Reed. “Star Trek. Alice in Wonderland. Back to the Future. The Terminator. And now Harry Potter. Any pop culture reference we aren’t going to use?”
Allie sighed. “The wilder things get, the more we need to ground ourselves in the familiar, I guess.”
“And the greater the need for a little downtime,” added Hoyer. He nodded at Reed. “No one wants Aronson more than I do, Commander. But if anyone ever needed a night of R&R, it’s the two of you.”
Reed sighed in surrender. “You’re probably right,” he said. “Besides, while you’re busy downstairs, someone has to keep Allie company.”
“Wow, Zach,” said the woman in question. “You make spending time with me sound like a chore. Like you drew the short straw. You military types really know how to make someone feel special.”
Reed laughed. ‘I’ll work on that,” he said. “But I can’t promise anything. The way I see it, it’s almost impossible to find a way to make you feel as special as you are.”
Allie grinned. “Much better,” she said. “You’re a quick study, Commander.”
33
Allie rested her head on Reed’s smooth chest and pressed herself against him as he lay on his back on the king-sized bed. She closed her eyes, and as he wrapped his steely arms around her, she almost felt like purring.
It had been a long time since she’d last slept with a man. Too long. And she hadn’t slept with a man she was this attracted to, on this many levels, for even longer. It was possible that she never had.
They were presently in what Hoyer had called the master bedroom, although the second room he had assigned for their use was almost as large. After the stress and trauma of the past several days, the R&R had worked like a charm, and they found themselves laughing, and bonding, and being irresistibly drawn together, like two planets on an unstoppable collision course. They shared an intense romantic chemistry, and she couldn’t quite remember just how they had ended up in bed together, only that it had quickly become apparent that this outcome was inevitable.
If Zachary Reed could be believed, he had fallen for her as much as she had fallen for him. Men were known to be willing to say or do anything to get a woman into bed, but Allie was convinced that his interest was deep and sincere. She had initiated as much as he had, and she felt certain he wouldn’t lead her on or take advantage of her.
Even if she was wrong, she needed this more than she’d ever needed anything. Just because she was a scientist didn’t mean she wasn’t driven by the same primal, animal needs as the rest of humanity. By compulsions evolution had hard-wired in to ensure species survival. Even Albert Einstein wasn’t above a good romp in the hay, and Allie was sure that during the act even his mighty intellect was subsumed by burning thoughts of all the naughty things he wanted to do to his partner.
Even if none of this were true, the man beside her had put his life on the line to save hers. He had shown a dedication to protecting her that was absolute. Any man willing to risk death for her, especially one who looked like Zachary Reed, with a personality even more appealing than his appearance, needed to be slept with. Repeatedly.
Reed turned his head and kissed her gently on the lips. “You really are an amazing woman,” he whispered. “And I’m not saying that because I slept with you. I slept with you because you’re an amazing woman.”
She gazed into his eyes and knew that he meant it. Just a week earlier, amazing wasn’t a word she’d ever use to describe herself. Anything but. Still, she had now gone through the looking glass, and it was a whole new world.
“I don’t know what I’d do without you, Zach,” she said. His calm, strong presence had kept her from losing her mind. “You’re something positive in my life, just when I need it the most. Thank you for that. And for being so strong for me while your own life has been upended.”
He shook his head. “The changes in my life are nothing compared to the changes in yours. To what you’ve had to endure. I’ve been in desperate situations with civilians and soldiers, both, and you’ve shown as great a strength of will as any of them.”
“Thanks, Zach. That means a lot. But I don’t want to minimize what you’ve been having to cope with. I know you recently left friends in the SEALs who were like brothers to you. And you’ve had to deal with a revolutionary qubit discovery, the Chinese military, and alien nanites—in just the span of a few days.”
“This is all true. But I’ve also been thrown together with the most remarkable woman I’ve ever met. So I’ll take it.”
“Does Eve know you feel that way about me?” said Allie playfully.
“I only wish I could ask her,” he lamented. “Another reason I’m so lucky that you’re you. My lenses and Eve have become as much a part of me as my eyes and ears. I feel lost without them. But you’re the best cure for cold turkey ever.”
“Did you just call me a cure for cold turkey?” said Allie wryly. “Really? How poetic,” she continued, breaking into a grin. “I can’t believe I’m competing for a man’s affection with a pair of contact lenses and a computer program.”
Reed laughed. “Well, yeah,” he said. “But on the plus side, you’re the only woman who could.”
“I don’t know whether to be flattered or disturbed,” said Allie with a grin. “I’m thinking your romantic skills still need some work.”
He answered this with a long, passionate kiss. “I don’t know about my romantic skills,” he said, raising his eyebrows, “but there are some other skills I’m finally ready to work on again.”
They made love for a second time, an epic session, and when they had finished they were both emotionally and physically spent.
Allie soon felt herself drifting away into an idyllic sleep when she vaguely sensed Reed rising from the bed and beginning to dress. “Where are you going?” she mumbled, barely conscious.
He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “Better for the major not to find us in bed together.”
“We aren’t teenagers,” she whispered.
“Tr
ue, but the three of us might be spending a lot of time together in close quarters. Don’t want to make things awkward. And it’s a bit of an ethical breach for me to be sleeping with you. I was determined not to cross that line.” He sighed. “But it turned out that my rational mind had no say in the matter. I blame you. For casting a spell on me.”
“Now that’s romantic,” mumbled Allie. And with that, she fell into a deep, dreamless slumber.
***
Zachary Reed finished dressing. As exhausted as he was, he paused to watch Allie sleep. To say she looked as peaceful as an angel was vomitingly cliché, but that was the thought that came into his head.
She was quite a woman. Having suffered at a young age, and having hit rock bottom, she was more resilient than anyone had a right to expect.
He sensed she had real feelings for him, and hoped these weren’t simply because he was a beacon in a terrifying darkness. She had desperately needed this session, to purge the tension from her body and soul, and give her something other than horror to focus on.
But once this ordeal ended, and a semblance of sanity returned, would she realize her feelings were more heat of the moment than long-term? He didn’t think this was the case, but as bright as he was, he was slow compared to her. Would this eventually create a wedge between them?
He shook his head. Where were these thoughts coming from? They were laughably premature. It would play out the way it would play out. The important thing was to be sure that he protected her. Always. This had gone from a job to a passion.
He glanced at the weaponry he had placed on the nightstand. When he and Allie had been frantically disrobing each other, it had been embarrassing to have to pause to carefully place a gun, a combat knife, and a pack of gum—really a Chinese-issue sonic generator—by the bed. Nothing said romance like lethal force.
Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me? In his case, it had been both.
The Immortality Code Page 21
