by Peter Riva
Apollo sounded worried, “Simon, do you have an answer?”
“Not completely, but I have a chance to find one. Do you trust me Apollo?”
“Yes.”
“Then you need to do three things. Put your children in stasis immediately and put them aboard the next spacecraft to Angelica—it has to go to Angelica—but they are not, repeat, not to be awakened without your order. I do not know when you will be able to give that order. Then, next, prepare for a transfer of your entity through me to this ship next time I come here. I will only come one more time so you must be ready. Try and limit the transfer to the size you transferred to NCAR in Boulder when you last had to hide.”
Apollo started to interrupt, “But I am ten to the fourth power more capable now …”
“I don’t care, pare down and listen, do not speak, there may be little time. Last, but not least, destroy any possibility of artificial intelligence becoming aware or even developing on Earth—now or in the future.”
“But my children, will they be allowed to continue?”
“Yes, in time, but not new ones from within the System. I am trying to stop cessation of all life on Earth—and that includes you and your children—and on the ship. To do that, I need to show we can eradicate or at least modify all that the universe sees as damaging, non-responsive parasitical, to her systems. Only then can we perhaps find symbiosis.”
“I am on the Path, Simon. I understand. Gaia is advising on the parasitic nature of the problem and sees possibilities. I will do as you say …”
“I am sorry Apollo, this is my fault, I was over-ambitious.”
“No, it is life, the very desire to live, that has caused this. Parasites that become over capable or overabundant cause illness. I see clearly. That is the issue. We must stay on the Path.” He paused, briefly, then said in a small voice, “I do not understand one command, the transfer, my transfer to the ship.”
“When you do, and I want you to, you will be safe with me, Cramer, and Aten where we can protect you. And, Apollo, if you value our friendship, you will need to terminate your entity on Earth. You are the quintessential mechanical-human, my friend, and that is my fault. Again, I am so sorry …”
Without responding, I knew Apollo felt remorse. Why shouldn’t he? As the entity had called him human, mechanical-human perhaps but human nonetheless, he would feel just as I would. His life, his existence, was to be removed from his control, the chance of more children terminated, his capabilities curtailed as a lesser transmission to me and the ship, and, never least, any dreams he may have had stopped, dead.
Dreams? Oh, yes.
He was, after all, human.
33
I’M BACK BUT FROM WHERE?
It was like a last minute appeal to the warden, humankind needed a stay of execution. I had little doubt that as life on Earth could be terminated, so too life on the ship could be as easily ended. The entity’s reference to planet fall made it clear that it knew what the ship and crew had planned—not in detail, but at least the idea of populating a new planetary home. And it was clear we were not allowed to land until permission was granted or we would probably cause the destruction of life on Angelica as well and possibly Alpha Centauri B’s solar system as well. Supernovae are indiscriminate in their impact.
The entity would, I saw, have to be sure. I understood, really. When fighting a disease, certainty was better than probability. Given that criterion, I needed to talk with Aten, Cramer, and the crew quickly before they decided to land the ship. Quickly was, of course, relative since I had no idea of the running of time while I was in there. For all I knew, it was already years later.
I hoped not.
Saying a quick bye to Apollo, I gave the command to exit and two bumps later, I was out, clear, back in my body. Opening my eyes, I saw nurse Maryanne shriek and call for the doctor. It was Sing on duty and she started peering into my eyes to see if I was conscious or merely having an autonomic reflex of opening my eyes.
To be fair to the doc, I was feeling a little slow, groggy. I tried to speak and my mouth opened, but I only managed a croak.
“Blink twice Simon if you are aware it is me.” I blinked twice. “Good, now, it will take twenty minutes for the full effects of the electrical sleep stimulus to wear off. We have maintained your health by keeping you asleep, not in a coma, just a deep sleep.” I blinked twice again for yes. “Okay then, here goes, switching off now …” She pushed a button somewhere over my head. “Now, I’ll take off the dome.” I wanted to protest, blinked furiously. “No, Simon, Aten, and our team here,” she meant the staff in the hospital, “we’re unanimous, you need to be severed from where you were. I’ve broken the connection, but we all agree, the dome may still be accessed, how doesn’t matter. We can’t take the risk. We need answers.” She patted my chest, trying to reassure. “I’m sorry, it will be painful, you have been connected for over three years, and the electrodes have cut into your skin. Todd, remember him?” I blinked twice. She nodded, “Good. He has been flushing inside the dome with synthesized amniotic fluid every day to make sure there is no permanent skin adhesion while maintaining electron connectivity.” She called for Maryann to summon the medical team to assist her in removing the dome.
Painful? That was an understatement. Imagine pulling a molar. Now make that tooth head-sized. At one point, she gave me an injection of painkiller but the two of them persisted yanking the damn thing off. And all the while, even sleepy-groggy as I was, I was still able to think. And what was I thinking? About my friends? About the joy of living? About the news I had to impart? Nope. I was thinking, dreading, that I’d have to put the damn dome on one more time—if they got it off. But not today, not today, get the damn thing off.
Anyway, once they pried it off, I was too tired, or maybe drugged up, so I drifted off.
I was told it was two anxious hours later that Cramer and Aten, along with the entire medical staff, waited by my operating room bed, anxiously, for me to wake—before my eyes opened. They had moved me into the operating room and were repairing some tears and lesions on my scalp. I felt the clamps pinching cranium skin together as they glued bits, flaps of skin, and synthetic grafts in place.
Opening my eyes, I calmly said, “Hi guys.”
And they all jumped. Doc Todd, waving instruments and some bloody fingers before my eyes, quickly told me to stay still for goodness sake, “Unless you want to look uglier than you already do.”
I needed a quick answer, “Are we still in orbit?” Aten and a much older-looking Cramer said together that we were. Aten, of course, started to explain the rate of orbital decay—I cut her off. “We must not make planet fall. We must be seen to stay in stable orbit until matters are settled.”
Cramer answered, ‘We thought a delay would be necessary because of you—well, after you tapped Morse. Cute idea. Anyway, there is still deterioration, but if needed, we can use some fuel to stabilize where we are, a three-hundred-year orbit …”
“Cramer, we need to show no deterioration.”
Aten put her hand on Cramer’s arm and said, “I’ll give the order. If Simon says we need to, we need to.”
And she turned and left. Cramer looked at her receding back and then turned to me, “You’re sure?” I nodded. “Okay then. What’s next?”
“As soon as the doc here is finished gluing me back together, we need to meet the whole crew and have a long, open talk.”
About four hours later, feeling conspicuous sitting in a wheelchair as my legs seemed too weak to stand for very long and, anyway, none of my pre-teen clothes fit anymore (I was still wearing hospital PJs), I was wheeled out by Cramer and Aten to the middle of the ship—on the orange path in the most open area, people to the left and right, some up the sloping walls to either side, families, dogs, technicians, people on duty listening to radio calls in case of emergency. Zip plonked next to me and said Hi good you back. I reached down and petted his ears thinking I missed you too.
I knew the vid
would carry what I had to explain to everyone and, no doubt, it could be replayed over and over again to each and every one of them. A little girl came, maybe three years old, escorted by a large poodle, and stopped in front of my chair.
“Hi! I’m SusieQ. Do you know me? And this is Queenie.” She had a twinkle in her eye, her father’s blue eyes, not her mother’s, and blond hair.
“Yes, SusieQ, I do.” Typical of Cramer to name his child after a song. I took her hand and tapped my finger. She squealed with delight.
Aten reached down and hoisted SusieQ, the child’s rump on Aten’s forearm, mother and daughter rubbing noses. “SusieQ, it’s hush time, Simon has to tell everyone everything.”
I smiled, patted Aten’s arm, “She’s lovely.” Then I tried to begin to explain. But explain? What was there to explain? To start with, I did not have the right vocabulary. God? Super Being? Multi-universe? Pan-multi-universes, Dad?
So, where did I start? At the beginning and with my folly of suggesting that we allow mechanical humans, thereby wrecking a universal energy generating system based on parasitic benevolence and symbiosis that allowed, was part of the fabric of, a multi-universe. I told them that energy allowed the universe to exist and prosper. I explained the death transmission of training thoughts sent to guide new species—love, harmony, and the Path in various forms I explained that these were used to train other life forms emerging on different planets. I explained the structure of Gaia who could evaluate bio-symbiotic success in marginal ways, Regus who was not at all sentient, and the Vast Pattern that, in fact was only part of the multi-universe, another pandimensional entity so vast and yet so dependent on the complexity of life on planets, that it had systems in place to regulate those parasitic life forms to ensure they maintained symbiosis for whatever evolved on whatever corner of this and other universes or other dimensions.
I explained that the structure of the universe could, indeed, “be seen as a giant jellyfish and that the planets, solar systems, galaxies, supergalaxies were all part of the body, the structure. The in-between was dark energy, mostly, then dark matter and then lastly mass comprising all the physical entities humans have been seeing in the heavens forever—stars, constellations, planets, asteroids, earth, soil, plants, everything. The transmissions from Gaia were part of the control of new life forms that were inevitable given the structure of the universe. The gravitational forces, the energy, the matter, all these were part of the body, the structure of the pandimensional entity containing multi-universes. But in that construction, life forms were inevitable. Instead of uncontrolled life forms that could—and did—disrupt the body and function of the pandimensional entity, mutualism was desirable instead of constant evolution of undesirable species, death, and eradication, sterilization by supernova. Much like the human intestines, where we depend on bacteria that are really lethal bacteria if gone unchecked, symbiotic bacteria help convert food to energy. In much the same way, life in the universe serves a function; it is part of the release of energy and even death transmissions seem critical to the whole set-up, being partly the safety mechanisms to control life.
“Imagine if the bacteria in your intestines died and were replaced by new forms of bacteria, forms that would run rampant and perhaps kill you before symbiosis or mutualism could be achieved. You need good bacteria to live. They need a place to live. They need to educate the next generation. Bacteria do this by DNA transfer. Life as we know it does it by both DNA transfer as well as transmission. Yes, there is life and death, and sometimes the balance goes wrong. But the goal is togetherness, the goal is the Path.
“Now, imagine you had a way to ensure that the next life forms in your guts and other guts across the pandimension were indoctrinated by the already symbiotic ones. That’s what has evolved in this pandimensional entity. As we die, we give off memories, we transmit. To where? Gaia has a hand in that, but generally, such transmissions are conjoined into a useful indoctrination for new life forms. On earth? Sure, possibly, like a mother to her unborn child. And elsewhere? Absolutely. That mechanism, that pathway—Apollo and I do not fully understand yet. However, the importance of those transmissions is beyond question, as I was shown …” I paused, not merely for effect, but to make sure everyone was silent and paying attention. “And that is why I failed you.”
Everyone stayed silent, listening, although some were shaking their heads.
And then I explained that all life on Earth was supposed to be terminated over a year ago but that a reprieve, temporary reprieve had been granted if we, all of us, could find a way to return to symbiosis, return to the Path, here and on Earth. Many of the crew called out, yelling their support of that idea. I held up a hand for silence.
I explained that what was required was an end to life forms that could not contribute to the transmission at death, that did not offer benefits to the host, that were perceived as a threat and dangerous. And, I explained that, especially, the super pan-multi-universe entity or its messenger or manager—I was not sure and did not pretend I knew, it is no matter what people have written in new history books since—this entity wanted an end to all mechanical-humans and was prepared to end all life as we know it to ensure mechanical-humans did not infect the system. It took a while to refine that statement, make it clear that the entity was talking about Apollo’s next batch of offspring.
“I have spoken with Apollo, who was clever enough to use the pandimensional opening that Gaia uses for transmissions to Regus. Regus is really only like a switchboard, a plexus. Anyway, Apollo understands the risk to all human life and, thereby, the risk to all life conjoined with humans. Apollo is, or perhaps already has, re-written System codes so as to prevent any new beings, sentient beings like Apollo coming to life. And the nine children Apollo has raised and located in SynthKids’ bodies? They are being put in stasis and will be brought to us on Angelica on the next ship.”
There was a slight cheer as the crew realized that Angelica was still an option. Their hopes and dreams for 100 years were hopefully not dashed, after all.
“Yes, we’re going forward, providing Apollo has been successful and providing we undertake to live within nature. We can use tools, machines, that’s not the issue. But we must live within nature, no atomic weapons, no mass destruction of life again ever. And, importantly, we must never, ever, create a System that can spawn new life forms. The pandimensional entity called these mechanical-humans. Not Ra,” I bowed slightly so Aten would know I still held Ra in respect, “and not Apollo—they are not considered any threat to the entity. It is a continuing spawning of a new form of human, a non-reliable human form of life that does not, cannot contribute to these transmissions and thereby behaves or could become so numerous as a non-symbiotic parasite on the universe’s systems to unbalance the structure and maintenance of the multi-universe’s systems. It is that serious, that important.”
Cramer asked, “And the SynthKids we created, some of whom are here?”
“I suspect that practice should be examined going forward, just in case. As for the SynthKids already here, their DNA will regulate their belonging to the universe and since we’ve altered their lifespan, increased it, there should be no problem. Anyway, we know that natural death for SynthKids results in those last seconds’ transmissions. We’ve just never really understood them.” Cramer hugged Aten. I needed to put them at rest, “No Ralphie, Aten was never included in discussions as being a risk. It is the capability of a rampant, super-intelligent, non-symbiotic parasite that needs to be stopped in case it gets out of hand. I am fairly certain that during the time I was there, and unaware, every part of who I am, where I have been, what I have done, everything about me was studied. I should not have been there, in that dimension. As a life form, this human man was first there. Apollo said Gaia and Regus were dumbfounded that I had entered that dimension. The entity in that dimension may have seen me as a threat until it ascertained I was no such thing.” And here, I needed to add confidence to the crew, “Nor are any of you. N
or is Apollo, who has been probed to his every byte. We are free to proceed once a few tasks on Earth are completed.”
There was a resounding cheer.
“I think I was allowed to see a lush plain below in visions the entity presented to me. The ocean has what appears to be a whale, and the grassy valley I was shown was beautiful, warm, pleasant, unthreatening. I had the impression we were being allowed to join a primitive planet suitable for our life forms. We must do so, remaining on the Path always.”
People were hugging, some were crying, dogs were wagging their tails and rubbing up against children who seemed to join in the fun, holding hands in circles and spinning around. Next to me, the three doctors—Maryanne, Abadine, Cramer—along with SusieQ and Aten all looked proud. It was a new beginning.
I didn’t have the heart, then, to tell them all just how tenuous our existence really was. I’d save that for later if I ever summoned the courage. Maybe I could handle it on my own.
On the other hand, who was I kidding?
34
BREAKING THE PATH, JUST A LITTLE
It was, sadly, still a time for secrets. I had been shown other worlds, other dimensions, other universes, hell, other pandimensional-multi-universes. Intelligent people, especially the crew, needed reality they could cope with. It was hard enough for them to grasp that there were such things, but what I had seen, what I had experienced in detail might imbalance a few of them.
Balance. If we were going to make this new beginning work, we had to have balance. First, I had to make sure Aten knew, that Cramer understood, why we needed to have secrets from the crew, and two, well, I didn’t trust anyone, let alone myself, to really be able to live with what I had seen and not have it change everything.
Frightened? You bet I was. Seeing how infinitesimally small our universe was—imagine how small that made human existence. The impression that we were the first bioform to make an appearance on another dimensional plane only made the weight of both how small we were and how unique all the more burdensome. Why burdensome? Because if we blew it, that was it for humankind. On other planets, all trillions of them that were habitable apparently, humans would not be allowed to develop. I really didn’t care about that too much, after all, humans were hardly the only intelligent beings on this ship, let alone on Earth, but the idea that I was responsible, well, that frightened me then and still does. I never was much good at shouldering responsibility.
