Panspermia Deorum

by Hylton Smith

  Kolorov wanted written assurance that if he complied, he would never need to return to Russia.

  “I want immunity, a new identity and a hermitage once this is over. If I do not get that, I will take my chances back home.”

  Bondarenko agreed with this counter-ultimatum. Julien smiled as he continued to press for them to blink first.

  “You will have your guarantee in writing today, but it will not be signed by me until you both confirm there is a quantifiable risk in VB Aerospace deflecting the asteroid. And, that this is somehow connected to the Soyuz failure.”

  “That is acceptable,” admitted Kolorov. “I signed my shares over to you in principle yesterday, without total confidence that you will hand over the money. That is what the lawyers are for. You have to reciprocate with this declaration. The detail comes later, but yes there is something you need to know.”

  It was agreed to reconvene after the initial letters were exchanged.

  Chapter 30

  With the Russian lawyer on his way, Alexei Bondarenko insisted that they get everything agreed before he arrived.

  “Ivan, you and I are the only ones who know what we are about to disclose to Julien. It has to stay that way. We must not include some mealy-mouthed lawyer in the revelation. You have to accept that over the years we are guilty of screwing with Julien, much more than the other way around. If this is going to work then we need to take the first step to level the playing field again.”

  There was no dissent. Julien suggested a better place than the office to hammer out the final details.

  “I have a private secluded beach and the sea is very welcoming. If we adjourn to the cove we can be certain there are no prying eyes or ears. We dress only in shorts and that eliminates the possibility of being wired up with even tiny microphones. It’s then down to the three of us.”

  They descended to the pink-hued sand and picked a spot which was out of the wind. Even the breakers seemed to respect their need to hear every syllable.

  Kolorov jumped in first. “How do you expect to wreck Soyuz without drawing attention to the real reason for what is actually going on, if as you say, Bondarenko and I are the ones who are supposed to make it all happen?”

  Julien cleared his throat. “I have studied your company accounts and balance sheet very thoroughly. It shows a clear trend of outsourcing tasks which are peripheral to the core activities of producing space-faring vessels, whether they be carriers of humans or warheads. So, we just continue that existing policy to the extreme. You already got out of fuel exploration and refining. You sub-contract all electronics research, you sold off interests in metallurgical development and specific alloys, and then there is the propulsion technology itself. You kept the fundamental aspects of new methods in house, but the rest was specified to suppliers to produce a base template for Soyuz internal modification. It’s a rather short-sighted policy, but it has streamlined the operation in terms of direct labour, and increased your apparent net worth. Now, after the lawyer ratifies the takeover, I have every right to continue that policy. The fact that the acquisition includes the services of the two of you is contractual, and you can’t be blamed if I insist on pursuing such a ‘successful’ strategy. Once we’ve achieved the absolute maximum focus on core technologies, we begin to deliberately piss off the suppliers to the point that they consider pulling out. By that time I hope you have both become different, reclusive people. I will then report that you were fired for resisting my direct orders.”

  This final assurance was well-received by the Russians, allowing Julien to continue.

  “Of course this is all subject to what you are about to reveal to me. So, make it good.”

  Bondarenko urged Kolorov to begin.

  “You touched earlier on the ludicrous instruction of Malenkov, that of asking Kuznetsov to abandon Mars and track the nuclear fleet. I argued with him to the point of becoming dispensable. I knew it was purely for his own benefit. He wanted the same thing as you do – realistic early warning of potential failure. He was already a marked man in Russia, but in holding the hopes of human salvation in his hands he became temporarily untouchable. If the strike fleet failed he would have to get out of the country quickly. He had to have advance warning of such failure, so that he could command a place on the next Mars vessel, which was being prepared for exactly that contingency. He seemed to prefer choking, starving or freezing to death on another planet than falling into the clutches of those who had been after him for years. His decision to intimidate Captain Kuznetsov turned out to be ill-advised. She outsmarted him and myself, first refusing to lead her crew to their almost certain death, and then by convincing us that she had found a better way to do as she had been asked. When I realised what she was actually doing I knew I would have to get rid of Malenkov. It seemed to have worked when Alexei killed him and shot me, but the relief was fleeting. Kuznetsov reported that their scanners had picked up a terrifying variation in composition of the asteroid. Laika was still a long way from the target but from their vantage point there was no mistake regarding the implications. There were two previously unobserved areas which were extremely loosely held in place by the rest of the rock. They were cometary in nature, and they thought it would need only minimal force to cause separation from the parent. I told Kuznetsov that I had never agreed with Malenkov and she should get the hell out of there. When Alexei and I ran thousands of simulations of when and where to detonate whichever warhead we chose, the answer was the same. The alternatives of blowing the entire mass to pieces or trying to shift the same mass just would not compute with any reliability, because of the number of unknown variables. There was no formula to deal with seriously haphazard fragmentation. Whereas, gently blowing the parent off course would potentially leave at least the two cometary bodies on collision course with Earth. We seemed to have no choice, and although Alexei urged me to contact you, I chose to detonate warhead three prematurely. It took out the others and was early enough to avoid disturbance of the asteroid. The real pisser is that even now it is not possible to observe the embedded comet fragments, as the angular spin of the parent has changed and we are in the wrong place to detect them. Kuznetzov gave us the warning but we did not have the required capability to conduct microsurgery on a cosmic body at such a distance. I am afraid you will confirm this when the asteroid gets closer to your point of deflection. Either or both of the cometary pieces could produce minor extinction events as a result of their own behaviour, if they manage to separate from the asteroid of their own accord. That isn’t the end of the really bad news, the collision which embedded them in the asteroid has created multiple fault lines in the parent. Knowing this means we then cannot rule out the parent splitting up if the two cometary chunks do break free during the remainder of the journey. Sorry, Julien. I am afraid I did not have the guts to tell the world.”

  They decided against going for a swim. Julien asked them to return with him to his office.

  “This explanatory sequence takes a bit of swallowing. However, even if it is absolutely true we can’t just back off and do nothing. Look, what we have already agreed still stands. We work together on whatever we can in the VB Aerospace deflection programme, but we now have even more cause to bury your involvement in the Soyuz deception. This is our last roll of the dice and we have a little less than two years to refigure how to prepare for a multi-fragment situation, whether we cause it or it just develops without a strike.”

  *

  Sophie didn’t feel any different. She wanted to know when the magic bullet would flip her to Sophie MK 2. Eugene was now the one whose patience was becoming frayed. Elise and Geraldine were almost as bad as the patient in wanting to know what they should look for and what they should not say to her during the coming days. Eugene decided to lecture them together.

  “This treatment isn’t comparable to lancing a gumboil or physiotherapy prior to fitting a prosthetic limb, it’s a bloody genetic modification. It will, like all genetic structures, react to envir
onment. It will be a gradual process in some ways, but what we can reasonably expect is a moderation in response to certain stimuli experienced by Sophie. She should feel less depressed when some of those stimuli come her way, and that can happen relatively quickly. Other things, such as not wanting her own way all of the time should take longer, and we can help by not pandering to her every comment, even the current one of not feeling any different. Sophie, you were worried about waking up a different person, well you have, but you also have a part to play in how different that will be. Think of it as one of your artistic creations, not perfect first time around, but more blank canvas to work with. Go with the flow a little and see where that takes you. Stop obsessing, I can see by the cynical expression on your face that you know what I mean. That’s progress, speaking of which, I really have to get back to the research centre. There are some unpleasant things I have to take care of as soon as possible. Chin up, sis, and don’t relapse into leading mum and auntie by the nose, you have to redefine your default attitudes to a lot of situations. I want a new painting for my quarters, get started with it.”

  “Ok Dr Frankenstein, I hear you, even if I’m not feeling well.”

  “Yes you are, no bullshit, no violins, and no excuses. You owe me one.”

  “What subject matter did you have in mind?”

  “Whatever is in your mind right now would be fine, see, that wasn’t so hard. Surprise me.”

  She asked Elise to wheel her to her studio and give her a couple of hours of uninterrupted solitude. Sophie had to admit she was calmer inside, but fearful that it would only be temporary.

  A week on, she had unveiled Eugene’s surprise and the feeling of giving was matched by his appreciation. He said all the post-op tests were on target and she should begin to participate in wider circles of friends, to reach out from the family, starting with Reuben.

  “He will be a good barometer for you, Sophie. He’s good for you, totally laid back but not family. Go and see him. He’s been asking about you.”

  Chapter 31

  The lawyer had come and gone, and although he was utterly confused by the instructions he’d been given, there was one above all others which he would respect. There would be consequences if he ever disclosed anything which did not appear in the official paperwork. The sale to a foreign competitor had to be perceived as a result of pure intransigence by the Russian state in terms of acquiring the company. Bondarenko felt the anarchists, mafia, and the rest of the populous would buy into this because it was true. He also expected it would trigger an obligatory cull by the heavyweights in government, apportioning blame to others in the lower levels of the pecking order. They would have to spend much of their time distancing themselves from such accusation by sacrificing ‘irresponsible’ subordinates. Blood-letting could always be relied upon to assist in smoothing over public unrest.

  Julien was less interested in the reaction of the Russian populous than extracting the entire truth from his new henchmen.

  “Well Gentlemen, that takes care of step one. How about giving me the full story?”

  “What? What do you mean by that?” said Bondarenko.

  “Actually, I was talking to Ivan.”

  Kolorov feigned confusion.

  “I’m talking about the period after Alexei was shuffled off to his not so safe house. He wasn’t there to hear the full extent of your reasoning in authorising Kuznetzov to return. You see, Ivan, I can’t figure out why you destroyed the nuclear strike force and then did nothing. I know it has to do with your own survival but I just can’t make the link.”

  Kolorov shifted uneasily in his chair, gesturing in Russian. All of a sudden Bondarenko began to mentally retrace events around that time. Julien probed again.

  “I can imagine that you had some moral conviction with respect to saving Laika’s crew, but it would have to fit with other concerns you might have. That decision alone would not have calmed all of the turbulent waters. Need I remind you that the money won’t be transferred to accounts in your homeland? It was for your own protection that new accounts were set up here. My bank will not action the transfer until they receive ratification of the asset registry from your lawyer, and he can’t do that by anything other than a fully certified bill of sale. I can still opt out of our little plot, so please think hard about my question. You see, I’m puzzled as to why you didn’t turn around the missiles and save them for a last ditch strike just as we are doing. I could even understand you taking the risk of allowing them to carry on as planned, despite what Kuznetsov had found. I can only conclude that she had decided to come home anyway, disregarding Malenkov’s orders, and that meant you had to deal with what she would reveal when she got back. Forgive me, Ivan, but you are running low on credibility. What do you think, Alexei?”

  “I am trying to recall the order of events at the time, but you are right about Kuznetsov. She was in a strong position with what she discovered and she could not be prevented from returning home. That was all made easier by me killing Malenkov. After my own disappearance I only have second-hand knowledge of what exchanges took place between Kuznetsov and Ivan. What else did she find? Only the two of them know.”

  “Ivan,” murmured Julien, “do we contact Kuznetsov?”

  “You can, but she would only tell you what I have explained. She agreed to that if I was prepared to forget any insinuation of mutinous actions on her part. Even though Malenkov was pig-headed in his handling of the fiasco, the captain is obliged to go down with the ship if it is for the greater good. She is now a senior advisor to the Russian government in their fight against the anarchists. She will not talk.”

  “Well then, that just leaves you. When you hunt with sharks you need to be aware that you can be hunted by sharks. I’ll have no hesitation in biting off your balls. You have two minutes to fill in the gaps.”

  Fresh coffee was brought in and a comfort break preceded a nervous outburst by Kolorov.

  “It is a lot worse than you can imagine. The asteroid has a far greater orbit around the sun than the Earth. If we hypothetically accept that it could have polar axial rotation, it fits with Kuznetsov’s data. The spin at our north and south poles confers less relative change of position to the sun than at the equator, hence seasons of constant day or night. The tilt of the ‘poles’ of the asteroid is such that in its long seasonal shift, we could not observe these regions from our vantage point. When Kuznetsov approached its trajectory from a different observational position she could see what we could not. Yesterday I mentioned two cometary bodies which were embedded in the parent. These are not observable by our equipment, as they are at the rear and in one of the ‘polar’ regions of the asteroid. The problem Kuznetzov discovered is manifold in its implications. Although the cometary fragments are clinging on to the rock, the amplitude of movement is increasing and it looks like they will not survive the journey to our atmosphere. Then there is the legacy they will leave. If they dislodge themselves, the fault lines they created upon their initial impact, are highly likely to open, according to Kuznetsov. In fact it seems that they are actually acting as the cement which is holding the entire asteroid together. The calculations which Alexei and I did together before he went AWOL showed that by our nuclear intervention, we would indeed deliver a multiplicity of marauders without any quantification of what that would mean. On the other hand, if the cometary chunks squirm loose on their own, and because they are fizzing around the ‘rear pole’ they would not be expected to be slung into a very different trajectory to the main body. However, the threat of the parent then splintering of its own accord remains as a probability rather than a possibility. I took the decision to let things develop until we could at least make an educated guess if the asteroid was likely to make it in one piece, beyond other areas of gravitational or collision influence. To sit tight until it had a clear path, a considerable distance Earth-side of the asteroid belt. The call I made about not bringing the nuclear warheads back was a political one, advised by ‘influential’ peop
le whose names I would never disclose. It was a risky task, apart from admission of failure, how would we dock them safely? It would have caused consternation about the real agenda possibly being Russian aggression, opportunism with the threat of an extinction event as the justification. All bullshit of course, but world wars have ignited with far more benign provocation. Anyway, detonating the warhead gave them the way out, entirely accidental neutralisation of a salvation mission. A brave attempt gone wrong was a preferable outcome to these people; preferable to the alternative of being strung up in Red Square. I immediately began work on creating a second strike force, and that is being done as we speak. It is happening in a secret location and you may want to preserve it. Actually, it may already be too late. Because, even as we speak, it is no longer possible to observe the cometary chunks the way Kuznetsov did. Now you have my complete bundle of deceptions out in the open. Perhaps you wish that this pile of shit had not fallen into your lap.”

  *

  Two days on and the money had been transferred and the reaction of Soyuz having a foreign owner was percolating throughout Russia. Julien had been looking for inspiration following Kolorov’s final soul-bearing act.

  Bondarenko was keen to get on with whatever was to be done and suggested to his new boss that it might be better for him to help in brainstorming the mind-boggling complexity of addressing the new situation with all things asteroid. More imprecise juggling of equations and the new variables therein.

  “Kolorov knows the Soyuz operational stuff much better than I do, but by his own words he has virtually given up on the asteroid, so why not let him get on with putting the skids under the company.”

  “That would have been my leaning if we had more time, Alexei, but his latest revelations changes everything. I still don’t trust him. I want you to find out where this secret nuclear force is being assembled. I won’t be letting Ivan out of my sight, so I’ll keep him busy with our scientists in looking at anything we can do to obtain more data on the composition and cohesion of the asteroid. I have to share his assertions with some of my team if we’re to have real unity in defeating a common foe. That’s what we have, even though this new unpredictability we are supposed to believe comes from the lips of a pathological liar. The ripples of fantasy have already emerged. One of the juniors asked if we could ride the asteroid with a device which sends data back. It has been done before about twenty years ago, but we don’t have enough time, yet I suppose that’s the kind of lateral thinking we need to channel into our discussions in the next few weeks. See what you can get out of Ivan about this secret missile construction location, then I’ll consider how best you can use your time with us.”