‘I’m onboard the Aurora.’
‘So why are you not here to meet me? Oh, look; don’t worry; I’m not going to shout at you or anything. I’m sorry I was abrupt with you on the shuttle, but you can’t just read someone’s thoughts. You didn’t even ask me.’
‘That’s all right; you need training anyway. Your mind is crowded with too many other thoughts. Speech is easier for me to calculate its meaning.’
‘Calculate its meaning,’ James repeated and then thought, but why would she say that, unless... At this point James understood for the first time what Kalrea was.
‘You’re a computer!’
Kalrea replied, ‘You’re right, I am only a computer.’
‘I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to imply you’re just a computer. It’s not every day I get to meet a machine that can reason and read my thoughts,’ James said.
‘That’s all right; you didn’t hurt my feelings.’
‘You have feelings?’ James said, with a surprised look on his face.
‘Yes. I am as conscious as you.’
‘You said that you’re on the Aurora. Can you walk? When were you built?’ James asked eagerly.
‘It’s not polite to ask a lady her age,’ Kalrea answered cheerfully. ‘And no I can’t walk, but I can fly. I’m the Xint nuronic computer that controls the Aurora. I am programmed to obey and protect its pilot.’
‘How come you can refuse to answer the question of your age, then?’ James enquired.
‘Until I’ve read the coded security key, I don’t have to do anything you ask. I take it you’ve brought it with you; if not, it’s a long way back to Earth!’
‘Er… I think so,’ James said, taking the green and red cartridges from the box.
A slot in one of the control panels illuminated.
‘Insert it in the slot of the lit console,’ Kalrea said.
‘But I have two,’ James said, holding one in each hand.
‘Two?’ Kalrea said, with surprise in her voice.
‘Yes,’ James replied. ‘One’s green and the other red.’
‘The komputronic data key is the green data cartridge,’ Kalrea said.
James walked over to the column and inserted the green data cartridge into a dark slot, which was at about waist height. It glided in and the column returned to darkness.
‘Is that it?’ James asked.
He placed the red data cartridge in his pocket.
‘Yes, the ship is now fully operational and in your control. I’m here to advise you and carry out any instructions you give. What would you like me to call you: Captain, sir—?’
James interrupted, ‘No, Please call me James.’
‘James? But that’s the name your parents chose to use on Earth,’ Kalrea replied.
‘I know. I’ve been brought up with it most of my life. I can’t change it to Jameilo now. It doesn’t feel right.’
‘I understand… and before you ask; it’s been just under twenty-seven point four Earth years since I was born.’
‘So you were built sometime before the war with the Treitans. Carol mentioned that the Aurora was a prototype,’ James remarked, slowly walked back to the chair.
‘Yes, it’s one of a pair of prototypes that were being built at the time. The other ship is called the Pulsora. My counterpart’s name is Sarhao.’
‘Are you identical, then?’
‘Yes, but we’re more than two identical ships. We were built to work together and to know instantly what the other is doing, or going to do. Sarhao and I transmit a subspace coded signal that only the other can receive. If one ship is in need of assistance, the other can find it.’
‘Are you in contact with the Pulsora now?’ James asked.
‘No, the range of the coded signal is only three light years. It’s either out of range or it’s been destroyed.’
‘Why destroyed?’ James questioned. ‘It may have been disabled or captured by the Treitans.’
‘If the Treitans captured it, then the self-destruct would have been executed.’
‘Oh,’ James said. ‘Who controls that?’ he questioned anxiously.
‘I do, but don’t worry, you’ll be safe.’
‘I’m going to be safe if you blow yourself up? What, you’re going to “beam” me away somewhere?’ James said in jest.
‘I’m afraid this is reality. Matter transfer between locations is not possible. I’ll explain when you’re onboard the Aurora.’
With all the questioning, James had forgotten that he hadn’t even seen the Aurora, yet.
‘Go to the viewing window at the end of the room and you will see your ship,’ Kalrea said.
The window next to the airlock door at the far end of the room brightened.
James moved quickly over to it.
The window cleared and there stood the Aurora. His eyes almost popped out.
‘Wow…,’ was all James could say.
He looked upwards at the colossal matt black ship standing on three enormous legs and towering over a rocky floor. It must be all of three hundred metres wide and just as long, he thought.
The Aurora was the same shape of half a flint pebble with a flat elliptical rear. James was amazed by the scale of everything. The ship was powered by two pairs of gigantic event horizon drives, which he thought must have been at least thirty metres in diameter. Between these were six plasma torpedo launch tubes, each of which could have garaged a double-decker bus. A similar sized semi-sphere housing the rear multi-directional laser was positioned just above them.
‘I’ve got to fly that?’ James said in astonishment.
‘Yes, but you do have me to help,’ Kalrea replied.
‘I know, but I… I was expecting something smaller; a lot smaller! It’s so big,’ he said, and then as he looked at the hull, he thought, that’s odd. There’s something strange about the surface of the ship.
The Aurora was standing in a vast cavern. The jagged walls and ceiling were covered in white, yellow and orange crystals that shone beams of light in all directions. It reminded James of a subtle sunrise except there was no focal point, which meant there were no visible shadows.
The airlock door adjacent to the window unlocked and swung inwards. James felt a slight warm breeze on his face, which was blowing around the base of the cavern.
‘It’s breath-taking. What is this place?’ he enquired.
‘It’s an old Telecan deep space science station. It has been abandoned for two hundred and forty-two sykals; that’s a hundred and twenty-one Earth years,’ Kalrea explained, her voice echoing around the cavern. ‘Lex worked here for a while. The station was built in this natural cavern to monitor Lavmino below, Earth and the crystal formations you see.’
‘Earth!’ James said, with eye brows raised. ‘They were watching Earth?’
‘Yes. The humans intrigued the Telecans. They observed the way they evolved over many hundreds of Earth years.’
‘Were some of those UFOs in my father’s old books really from outer space?’ James asked.
‘Well, actually only two or three. Over that period of time there was always a risk that one of their ships would be seen. Fortunately, humans are not ready to believe they are not alone in this universe, so the sightings were never investigated fully. I know that your father was curious to see how many Telecan ships he could find in the Earth books about UFOs. Some of the hoaxes were of great amusement to him.’
James strolled about touching the nearby rocks.
‘Who are Telecans? Are they from Qintaino?’ he asked.
‘No, they’re what you would call our neighbours. They live on Tetrol, the nearest inhabited planet to Qintaino, which is only two point two light years away. We trade with them a great deal. We built eighty-five of these stations for them.’
As James gazed around the cavern, a cylindrical column descended from beneath the ship. It reached the rocky floor and a door rotated open. He walked slowly over to it, trying hard not to fall over the rocks, as he peered
upwards at the underside of the Aurora.
While he did so, James realised what was so strange about the hull. Even with all the light within the cavern, there were no reflections; it seemed to absorb the light.
How weird, he thought, gazing upwards. The surface appeared to be slowly oscillating, moving in and out like it was breathing. There were faint blue lines on the surface, some of which were pulsing, like veins. James felt a shiver run down his spine. Gives me the creeps!
James entered the cylindrical column. The door closed and five seconds later opened again. The pojin lift was silent and smooth. He exited the lift.
‘Welcome onboard,’ Kalrea said proudly. ‘This is the bridge.’
Compared with what James had seen outside the ship, he was a bit disappointed. There was nothing operating, no flashing monitors or panels. The light-grey room had a blue band running around the centre of three of its walls at waist height. Positioned in the centre of the remaining wall there were two black slanted control panels with monitors, all inactive and with a seat in front of them. To the side of these was a flat black table, which was inlaid with a large orange ellipse. In the centre of the room was a silver block, which was like a scaled up version of the box his mother had given him and was the size of a large family car.
James walked slowly around the block.
‘What’s this, Kalrea?’ James asked, running his hand over the silver block.
‘It’s a mind capsule. We call it a seatra.’
There was a quiet crack and half of the capsule rose up towards the ceiling. Inside he could see a sunken area inlaid with soft padding with space enough for two people to lie. The top half was a mirror image of the bottom.
Looks like a coffin or sarcophagus, he thought and then asked,
‘What does it do?’
‘It allows you to control any of the ship’s systems by using your mind. It also places your body in suspended animation, so you will not age whilst you’re within it. If the Aurora is destroyed, it will also protect you from the blast. Everyone on Qintaino has one, but they’re much simpler than this prototype. It’s what on Earth you would call a bed. When you’re outside the seatra, you can use the telementor in the same way, but it takes a lot more concentration, because your brain also has to focus on your body’s voluntary functions.’
James removed the telementor from his pocket and held it in his hand.
‘So you were using the telementor to communicate with me on Earth as well?’ he asked.
‘Yes, but it was very difficult at that distance. Normally the telementor works properly as long as you are wearing it and within two thousand kilometres of the ship. Further away than that it becomes difficult for me to use it to protect you.’
‘How did you manage to contact me on Earth then?’ James asked. ‘I was definitely further than two thousand kilometres away when the telementor destroyed those rocks in the mine.’
‘The shuttle was used as a relay node. The closer you were to it, the easier it was for me to read your thoughts,’ Kalrea replied.
‘About reading my thoughts, Kalrea - from what you’ve told me, it seems that I’m going to have to get used to that.’
‘James, for you to pilot this ship, you have to use your thoughts. To communicate with me outside the ship, you’ll need the telementor.’
I knew she would say that, he thought, before saying to Kalrea,
‘You have to obey me, right?’
‘Yes, James.’
‘In that case, I order you not to transmit or relay my thoughts to anyone or any other computer, without my permission. Is that understood?’
‘Completely,’ Kalrea replied.
‘Good. Now we understand each other, what do you want me to do?’ James asked.
‘I suggest you put the telementor back on your wrist. I’d feel a lot better knowing I could protect you.’
Kalrea could take some time getting used to. She’d better not nag me like Carol, James thought. He placed the telementor back on his wrist.
‘I promise I won’t nag you,’ Kalrea said, reading his thoughts.
‘Kalrea!’
‘What?’
‘Never mind.’
Kalrea invited him to try the seatra by laying down in it. James took off his shoes and apprehensively got into the seatra. He laid back and his heart started to beat fast.
‘Don’t be afraid,’ Kalrea said softly.
That’s easy for you to say.
‘Relax! And only do what I tell you. You may feel slightly unwell until you adjust to the machine.’
Do what you tell me… right, James thought to himself. The top lowered slowly and clamped shut.
James felt disorientated, almost like he was drunk, but it soon passed, leaving him feeling calm, warm and surprisingly relaxed.
Kalrea’s voice was not very clear in his head. Think of bein’… on t… bridge.
James concentrated hard.
Suddenly he was looking down at the seatra from outside. It was a strange feeling, similar to flying. It took him several attempts before he was able to maintain the image.
Good. Now try a… journey arou..d the Aurora Jame…, Kalrea prompted.
James could see a clouded plan of the Aurora in his mind. Again he concentrated hard.
He looked into the cargo bay. The image in his mind was becoming a lot clearer. The room was relatively small compared with the exterior size of the ship. It was rectangular in shape, again light-grey, and could have housed a Boeing 747 aeroplane. In the centre of the room stood two shuttles, which were three times the size of the one that brought him to Lavmino. James could see many large well-organised piles of what looked like spare parts for the ship and stock of materials used in its construction.
For a second he could have sworn he saw something moving about in one of the piles of materials. You’re seeing things; concentrate, he thought. Concentrate.
Kalrea encouraged James to practice. His mind was free to travel anywhere on the Aurora.
The Aurora had three identical power generation sections. One of the rooms was situated towards the front of the ship, the others way out near the port and starboard edges of the ship. James explored one of them.
He viewed a rectangular room with a very high ceiling. There was a grate floor, which encompassed a very large donut shaped reactor. Towering over the reactor was a tall cylindrical column, which almost touched the ceiling.
James eagerly followed some of the many ducts that led away from the reactor into one of the drive rooms. He could now see a pair of dark-grey cylinders used to propel the Aurora. These stretched the length of the ship and filled the entire room.
How is the ship propelled, Kalrea? I can see right through the ship from front to back. They’re just cylinders.
They’re the most advanced type of event horizon drives ever developed, Kalrea replied.
But aren’t event horizons related to black holes. How do they work? There’s nothing in them.
Kalrea explained, Plasma is fed from the reactors into the drive chamber at incredible velocity through thousands of profiled holes in the side walls. As more and more plasma is injected a vortex is created, forcing the plasma towards the centre of the drive chamber and increasing its density until a black hole is formed.
Kalrea could sense James was out of his dept.
She continued, Basically, to propel the ship, space is sucked in through the front of the drive and pushed out the rear. No moving parts and the constant flow of plasma protects the chamber from being pulled into the black hole.
Can’t wait to see these work, he thought.
James also found he could look out into the cavern with the feeling he was standing on the hull.
Kalrea, the surface of the ship. I’m not sure what to make of it, he remarked. It looks like it’s alive.
It’s made of an organic metal called regenite. In its natural state it’s almost liquid.
A bit like mercury, James thought.
N
ot exactly, the metallic crystals within it naturally repel each other, so they are constantly on the move, a bit like magnets with the same pole.
Are you sure it’s safe to fly?
It’s actually very solid; just appears liquid.
What are the blue lines I see?
They feed the hull with an oil called riolih, used to lubricate the crystals. Without it the hull would heat up rapidly.
And…!
Well, it would self-combust.
Doesn’t sound very safe to me, James thought, and it still gives me the creeps!
The strain on his concentration was now taking its toll, and his mind was starting to wander. He viewed the Aurora’s front defence system and then looked at the cavern wall directly in front. He pondered what firing the front multi-directional laser would be like. The sphere moved suddenly to where James was looking.
Kalrea shouted, ‘No!’ loudly in his mind, instantly waking him but it was too late. James had fired the laser.
A wide beam of orange light struck the cavern wall, sending rocks everywhere. The sound of thunder echoed around the cavern, and there was a noise like torrential rain on a window, made by the rocks showered down on the ship.
The seatra opened up.
‘That hurt!’ Kalrea said, in some discomfort.
James climbed out of the seatra feeling completely drained of energy. He didn’t know what to say.
‘Next time we’d better disable the defence system… and the event horizon drives, or we could be buried here forever,’ Kalrea said very assertively.
‘Sorry,’ James said. ‘Are you all right?’
‘Yes, I’m still in one piece. We’ll try again later. You were actually doing better than I thought you would,’ Kalrea said encouragingly. ‘At least you were safe, the worst you could have done was blown me up!’ she chuckled.
‘I hope that never happens. This seatra is an amazing machine.’
James wandered slowly around the bridge once more, stopping at the low flat black table to the right of the control panels. He noticed some writing inlaid in the centre on the table top.
‘UPDUV LOPVIWKENIJ OLMIK,’ James read. ‘Kalrea, I know what some of these words mean. But… I don’t understand. I mean, how do I know? It says something, then holographic table, doesn’t it?’
The Aurora (Aurora Saga, Book 1) Page 6
