NanoSymbionts

by Joseph Philbrook

  The pattern of the signal was an unofficial variant of a guild signal pattern such as might be used by someone who didn't want to be properly identified. There was something familiar in the pattern. It reminded the Captain of an old covert code once used by a certain fellow former spacer, before the guild was reformed. Of course it wasn't an exact match. It resembled the output of the same signal with a different encryption algorithm. Which could only mean it wasn't him. Suddenly the Captain realized what it could mean and once again changed his course. He swung around in a large circle to scavenge as much power as he could before entering the void.

  The thousand galactic standard years of subjective time it took him to complete the maneuver didn't matter to the distressed vessel. For it was stuck in realtime and so it was that in the self same instant that the captain's sensors had found the pattern of the signal that had been thinly spread across the vastness of space. For the first time in many thousands of realtime years, the Captain of the Resonance made an unscheduled emergency stop, without waking any of his crew. When the Resonance dropped into normal space time the Captain decided he should actually match it's trajectory before doing anything that might disturb the damaged craft. He took great care to ensure that none of his breaking thrust brushed across the wreck before him.

  The extensive damage bore no resemblance to that caused by any weapon known to the guild. It was like the very atomic structure had begun to dissolve, except that there wasn't any sign of the kind of damage as would have been caused by the vast energy that would have released. His sensors told him that what remained was so fragile that the slightest touch could cause large sections of the structure to crumble. Yet they also told him that there was a small power source inside that was barely providing power to a stasis field. It took all of the Captain's skill to extract the stasis chamber intact.

  The young man eventually awoke to find himself in a guild design medical quarantine forcefield. He looked through the transparent walls to see that he was located in what appeared to be a large open area next to a raised platform where he could see an imposing figure standing at what looked like an antique nautical wheel. He didn't need to see the overhead view of the stone like rings of the ship's structure to be sure of his location. Even so, he phrased his acknowledgment of it in the form of a question.

  “So, I'm aboard the Resonance am I?” he asked in a conversational tone.

  The man at the wheel looked closely at him, and replied in kind.

  “So, your an apprentice to the Questor then?” the Captain said in a similar tone, before he continued in his usual stern voice. “What's more,” he said, “I expect your name is Jake? But as to how you came to be in that crumbling ruin that might have once been a star shuttle of some kind I can not fathom. Nor what caused the destruction of said shuttle.”

  “Well that explains the isolation chamber,” Jake said with a smile. “If it will put your mind at ease I can assure you that your ship is in no danger from contamination.”

  “I'm glad to hear it!” the Captain responded. “But that still does little to explain what happened to it. Nor what, if anything it has to do with the disappearance of well near a hundred thousand stars from this region of the galaxy. Would you perhaps, be able to enlighten me on either of those two subjects?”

  Jake wore a grim expression as he answered.

  “Yes Captain, the two are most certainly related,” Jake explained. “As to my ship, I'm afraid I managed to blast myself right out of temporal inversion.” Jake paused for a moment to let the humor he didn't quite feel sink in. “You see, what happened to all those star systems, was me. And when I've given you the details, I doubt not but that you will be obliged to place me in the brig. Until you can haul my sorry ass before the guild council. But before that happens I must ask a favor from you. One that I fear you won't feel much like granting when you learn of the sad tidings that I have the unfortunate duty to present you with. I am sorry but the fact is I'm the bearer of much sorrow.”

  Suddenly the quarantine field was was gone.

  “Well that tears it then!” the Captain exclaimed. “We'll talk in my cabin.

  The Captain insisted on pouring them drinks.

  “No Jake, you are the apprentice of a dear friend,” the Captain said. “I'm not about to allow us to become enemies, without first having at least shared a toast to your success.”

  Neither of them chose to linger over the drinks. No sooner had they finished pouring the fiery beverage down their throats than the Captain commanded Jake to speak.

  “Alright now lets have it,” he said. “Tell me this bit of sad news.”

  “Very well sir,” Jake began softly. “As my mentor may have told you, I'm now the master of his former base at Hillside. And as such I became the commanding officer of your former crewman.”

  Jake was interrupted by the sound of breaking glass as the Captain's empty glass was suddenly crushed to splinters.

  “Is Jess gone then?” he demanded in a strained voice.

  As Jake replied, he felt again the terrible sadness that he'd lived with for several million years of subjective time while he slowly transformed his ship into a weapon of terrible destruction.

  “Yes Captain, I'm sorry to say he followed me to his doom,” Jake explained. “I wish I could say that he had at least died quickly. But as you will learn from his final report, it was a death more terrible than even a questor should be capable of imagining. Yet I'm proud to tell you that he fought with every fiber of his being right down to his very last breath.”

  Suddenly Jake realized that his vision had become blurred with the tears he hadn't been able to suppress. He commanded his nanites to enhance his vision to compensate for the tears he knew wouldn't stop for hours. When the Captains face came back into focus. Jake felt pierced by the Captains silent stare. Then the Captain broke the silence.

  “I see that you feel his loss most strongly Jake,” the Captain observed. “You said something about Jess's final report?”

  Jake nodded, and produced two data tabs.

  “I'm sorry to bring you such pain,” Jake apologized again. “His report data is part of the record of how I came to to commit genocide against the dominant species of this region. And several others who were within range of their abusive dominance. I'd suggest that you refrain from holding anything fragile or dangerous when you scan it. The other tab contains the details of that favor I must ask of you.”

  The captain took the data tabs and tucked them away in his vest pocket.

  “I'll get to them soon enough,” he began. “But first I notice you had this data all prepared for me. How is it that you were so sure it would be the Resonance that found you?”

  Jake shook his head.

  “I wasn't sure of that at all,” he replied. “Though I hoped it might be so. To tell you the truth, I'm more than a little surprised that my containment field preserved enough of me for you to find.”

  The Captain stood up.

  “Please follow me Jake,” he said. “One thing is for sure, if your really responsible for the destruction of so many star systems, I will most certainly be required to lock you up. And I think it might be better if I did so before I scan these data tabs. Will you come along peacefully Jake?”

  Jake just nodded and followed the captain to his prison chamber. The brig was in a different ring segment of the ship than the Captains quarters. Nonetheless Jake was aware of the exact moment when the Captain got around to scanning the data tab containing Jess's report. The Captain's nanites were, after all, an integral part of the ship's systems. So the lights flickered, the intercom system buzzed and for the briefest of instants, even the brig's containment field failed. Yet Jake remained where he was. He actually needed to face the guild council and that was where the Resonance would be taking him. Jake waited alone in his cell for 3 sleepcycles before he heard someone coming into the outer chamber.

  “I bear a message from the Captain,” the stranger said. “He says to tell you that
it might be several more days before he finds the time to talk with you again. He has explained some of your crime and most of your plight to us Nearkin. All of us. In fact we are in the middle of an unscheduled awakening. So that all of us may morn the passing of the one you called Jess.

  The Captain has taken great care to explain that we shouldn't blame you for what happened to Jess. And in fact, while you've done a terrible thing, it was that same terrible deed that is largely responsible for the fact that no other Nearkin will ever suffer Jess's fate. And for this we should be grateful. So it is that we've prepared a larger, more comfortable prison for you, where you will be allowed to participate in some of our festivities. The Captain has told me that I'm to accept your word bond that you won't try to escape and then to escort you to your new cell. Do I have your word bond?”

  Chapter 37 Summons

  Darg was making a final check of the supplies that Steve had insisted on giving him, when he heard the door to that moving chamber they called an elevator opening behind him. He heard it open, but he didn't hear it close, nor did he hear it's occupant move to step out of it. He didn't have to turn around to know who it was.

  “Are you going to step out of that thing or not Samantha?” Darg asked without turning around. “Or should I call you Sam?” He said that in as neutral a voice as he could manage. When he finally did turn around he quickly added, “Sam it is then.”

  Sam was dressed in the one piece black leather jumpsuit that Jake had embossed with the Hillside logo. He slowly stepped out of the elevator and let the door close behind him.

  “Actually Darg,” Sam said somewhat timidly. “That's up to you. Steve told me that he explained a little about me. About my illness.”

  “He doesn't consider it an illness,” Darg interrupted gently. “He said you have a split personality. He said that half of you is as feminine as any woman... If it matters I forgive you for deceiving me that way. It's not like you hadn't warned me that there could be nothing between us.”

  “True Samantha did her best to ensure that the friendship we began to form would remain a chaste one,” Sam said. “But it still wasn't exactly fair. Would it offend you if she wished you a fond fair well?”

  “No Sam, that wouldn't offend me,” Darg replied. “In fact if you mean ‘as Samantha’, I'd likely be less uncomfortable than I am talking to the appearance of your male self.”

  “If you really mean that,” Sam asked with a radiantly hopeful expression. “Would you mind turning around for a minute?”

  Darg knew when her transformation was complete. His acute sense of smell told him that there was an aroused woman behind him. Even now that he knew something of the biomorphic device that provided the illusion of Samantha's womanhood, He found it hard to think of her as anything else.

  As he turned around he knew that Samantha would see his body's reaction. Samantha smiled slightly.

  “Are you sure your more comfortable this way?” she asked.

  “It seams nothing has changed,” Darg replied. “I find I desire what I can not have. As do you, unless that cloaking device lies about that too.”

  “No Darg,” Samantha explained. “It's designed to take clues from my real physical and emotional condition about things like that. Though there is a command override. I could prevent the physical evidence of my desire from being generated.”

  “No, I'd just as soon be aware of the effect I'm having on you,” Darg replied. “I just have to remember to think of you as my sister. Which isn't easy. As you know I'll be leaving for LosLand in a few minutes. I'm not sure if I'll be back. But truthfully I hope this isn't the last time we see each other. Can I get a farewell hug from my sister?”

  As Darg asked this, the elevator door opened. Steve, Sandra, and Al stepped into the portal chamber. It was three minutes later that Steve tactfully cleared his throat and they brought their embrace to an end.

  “Have you decided whether or not you'll take my advice and start at Twin Falls Darg?” Steve inquired.

  “I'm not convince that they will follow my lead,” Darg replied. “But I agree that the Gray Hills only provided them temporary protection from the ravages of those monsters. If they just sit and wait for trouble to come to them, they will soon find that they won't be able to trade for many of the things they need. So I will try to convince them to step up and become part of the rebuilding process. Either way however, I will need to work closely with the Brethren. For unless they reach out with the resources of their shipping empire to move goods in and out of the scattered remnants of the Midlander villages... Yes I have much to do.”

  Steve produced a small pouch and held it out to Darg.

  “The seal ring in this bag will go a long ways towards convincing the current lords of Twin Falls,” Steve began. “That they should at least listen to your advice. There are also documents that will establish your birthright to join the council of the Brethren. That is, once you have a ship under your command. There is also enough semiprecious gemstones to commission the building of such a vessel.” Then noticing Darg's hesitance Steve added, “These aren't gifts Darg, they have always been yours, I merely held them in trust until you had need of them.”

  “No, it's not that,” Darg said with a shake of his head. “I'm just still trying to adjust to the idea of going to sea at all. Never mind commanding a ship, I'm a woodsman you know.”

  “True enough,” Steve allowed. “But that very skill set will be sorely needed. How better to convince the council of the need to rebuild the midland infrastructure than by volunteering to spearhead the trading forays up the rivers and across the lakes. Getting those riverboats upstream is going to take a bit of work, now that the network of rope-pull gangs have been so badly depleted. But with your Lander skill set, you know how to survive extracting a yearling out of a woolbeast heard.”

  A deeply puzzled look crossed Darg's face.

  “And just how do you expect that to help?” he protested. “I mean sure, the yearlings can be trained to pull the ropes. But we would need more of them than the herds have to spare to replace all the rope-pull teams.”

  “Ah but that's the beauty of it,” Steve said with a grin. “With a little bit of science applied to a new riverboat design and a firm hand with the training of those woolbeasts. You should be able to use just two woolbeasts to replace the oarsman.” As he spoke the main display screen came to life. With a series of drawings of a riverboat with a pair of large paddle wheels and of woolbeasts walking inside huge barrel shaped treadmills. “If you'll let Sam show you how to look inside that crystal portal link disk I gave you, you'll find a lot of useful stuff including the details on how to build this beast powered riverboat. The average weight and hill climbing stamina of the woolbeasts should yield enough thrust to power such a boat against the current of better than 95 percent of the navigable rivers. And I think you can round up enough of the brutes to serve as rope-pull teams for most of the other 5 percent.

  Of course there are a few of places where you'll need to establish a wagon based portage relay past some waterfall or serious whitewater. But when you look close at the design of this tub you'll note that it's constructed in such a way as to make it practical to pre-build it in many small sections that can be assembled upstream of a portage leg without needing a full fledged boatyard.”

  Darg shook his head.

  “Your talking about a lot of work old man,” Darg said.

  “Yes Darg, a lot of work that they won't be able to pull off without you,” Steve asserted. “I mean if you weren't going to do this, I couldn't save LosLand's civilization without giving them fuel burning machines. And believe me the longer LosLand can get by without becoming dependent on that kind of technology the better.”

  Darg nodded.

  “Yes, Sandra showed me some of this world's history with such machines,” he said. “If there's the slightest chance we can avoid ruining our wilderness that way, it'll be worth the effort. I'll ask Samantha to show me how to see inside my disk... I
don't know how to thank you for all the work you've put into this. Especially now that you must be worried about your apprentice. Frankly I'm surprised that you haven't yet chased off after him.”

  A dark frown passed over Steve's face.

  “Yes, I'm worried,” he admitted. “But really there is nothing to be gained from my trying to follow him. If he found the way to do what he set out to do, it's already done. If he didn't, it's already too late. If the process cost his life, then he is already gone. If he lived, well then word can reach me here as easily as anywhere else. Besides, since my best guess is that he did succeed, I do expect that I'll be summoned to appear before the guild council within a day or so. And I've a few things I need to get done here before then. Speaking of which, I'm afraid I've spent as much time as I can with you. Sandra, Al, and ah Samantha, will see you off. Farewell Darg, my thoughts will oft be with you.”

  With that said, Steve abruptly turned and walked out of the portal chamber.

  ***

  Cindy's voice was without feeling as she answered Steve.

  “You think that he might have succeeded and that he may still be alive,” she repeated. “Both are possible but I am only certain of the former. In that he would not have allowed himself to fail, regardless of the cost to himself.”

  Then she returned her full attention to her combat simulation workout. Steve watched her proficiently destroy several attackers before he shook his head and extracted himself from the VR simulator she was using. Then he reexamined the biofeedback settings that simulated the physical exercise her body should be getting. He considered for a moment overriding her settings in favor of a gentler setting but he settled for increasing the sensitivity of the bioscanner and code locking the safety override circuits to at least minimize the potential for injury.

  Steve returned to his office and retrieved a blue gemstone from a concealed safe. He then sat on the carpeted floor with his legs crossed and placed the gemstone on the floor in front of him. After a moment of quiet meditation, he began a rhythmic rocking motion as he concentrated his full attention on the stone. When he eventually looked up she was standing there.