by Peter Ponzo
CHAPTER 6
Subspace Chase
Humple had put the android into the storage area and was sitting before the control panel. The monitor provided a continuous display of ships coordinates, nearest stars, velocity vector and power consumption. The mayor leaned back in his chair, drank deeply then gazed into his glass. This Extron brandy was certainly an improvement over the bourbon he was accustomed to. But why did they insist upon heating it? Stupid, they were all stupid. He smiled and thought of the welcome when he returned to earth, and the questions.
Defenses? They have practically none, just a small community, enough for the breeding experiment, just enough. Yes, thank you. You are too kind. I, too, am pleased at what we have accomplished. The future of earth? Assured because of my bravery and courage? You really are too kind. Captain Cruder? Aaah, the good Captain died in the line of duty. I suggest that this day be declared a memorial to a great earth hero. A day of rejoicing and celebration? For me? Me? A Great Earth Hero? Gentlemen, you really are much too kind.
The buzzer on the control panel sounded and the monitor image changed:
SPACE SHIP APPROACHING AT NINETY PERCENT LIGHT SPEED
Humple jumped up, spilling his brandy. He stared at the large display screen and saw the image of K-47, not much more than a bright star image. He typed at the keyboard:
Enter subspac at once
The ship computer responded:
SUBSPAC ... BAD COMMAND OR FILE NAME
"Damn!" Humple retyped the command.
Enter subspace at once
AT ONCE ... UNKNOWN COMMAND EXTENSION
"Damn! Damn! Who programs these damned machines?" He retyped the command:
Enter subspace
SUBSPACE ENTRY INITIATED - TIME TO ENTRY: TWO MINUTES
"No! Do it now!" Humple tried again:
Immediate entry requested
UNKNOWN DIRECTIVE - PLEASE REWORD
"Damnation! Maybe I should've kept Jacob until -" Humple stared at the screen. The approaching vessel was now quite close, a Home planet vessel, and it was approaching at near-light speed.
"Please, God," he whispered, "please let me escape these shitheads - uh, these lost souls, these misguided souls." He leaned toward the screen and rocked his body as though to slow the approaching ship.
TIME TO SUBSPACE ENTRY: ONE MINUTE THIRTY SECONDS
The Mayor moaned. There was a crackling on the communication panel.
"Adrian Humple! Either bring your vessel to a standstill or we will be forced to open fire!"
"It's that blasted mayor Kevn. He will open fire on me? Ha!" The Mayor typed:
Fire all weapons at the approaching space ship!
FIRE ... BAD COMMAND OR FILE NAME
WEAPONS ... UNKNOWN DIRECTIVE - PLEASE REWORD
APPROACHING ... UNKNOWN DIRECTIVE - PLEASE REWORD
Mayor Humple jumped up and down twice, stared at the ceiling and howled. "Oh God, great and all-powerful God. I beseech thee. Dost thou wish to see thy most dutiful son -"
The Andromeda shook from side to side and Mayor Humple fell.
"Those bastards! This is a space ship of planet earth, a battleclass ship. How dare they fire on a ship of planet earth!"
TIME TO SUBSPACE ENTRY: ONE MINUTE
Humple took the microphone in his hand.
"Mayor Kevn! This is Mayor Humple of York Sector, Americas, Earth. I have your robot, your android. If you destroy this space ship then it - he - will surely be destroyed. You wouldn't want -"
"Humple! Stop your vessel, immediately! We will send a shuttle and remove the android. You may continue to Earth. If you refuse then we will be forced -"
TIME TO SUBSPACE ENTRY: THIRTY SECONDS
" - to destroy Andromeda and all its contents."
Humple heard a voice in the background: "But master Kevn ... TOM?"
Humple sat and typed frantically on the keyboard.
Now! Enter *noww!
NOW ... BAD COMMAND OR FILE NAME
ENTER ... UNKNOWN DIRECTIVE - PLEASE REWORD
*noww! ... SYNTAX ERROR
"Damnation! Wait until I get my hands on those damn computer scientists! I'll wring their necks! I'll -"
______________________________________________________
Kevn looked again at the televiewer. The Andromeda was beginning to shimmer on the screen. Gry groaned. The lights on the console flashed wildly. The massive vessel appeared to shrivel, to darken, to be absorbed by the black void. As they watched it slowly vanished; the last blink looked like the twinkle of a remote star. Then it was gone.
"Well guys," said Gry. "We've lost 'em. That's it. We'll ... uh, never find 'em now." He collapsed into a chair.
"LIZ!" shouted Kevn. "Can we track them in subspace?"
"No, master Kevn. Our sensors cannot transcend the subspace boundary."
"If we go into subspace, can we track them?"
"It is not impossible master Kevn, but it is improbable. Subspace is not a three-dimensional space. Our sensors will -"
"Yes - yes, our sensors will scan three dimensions and that blasted ship will be in some orthogonal dimension; who knows which?"
"Let's try anyway!" cried Sal. "We certainly won't find them here. Once in subspace we can scan to see if they're back in galaxy space ... that's clearly possible."
"LIZ, how quickly can you get us into -"
"Please sit down," said LIZ. "We will enter immediately."
They all promptly sat down. The command room quivered, began to roll, to curl, to distort. In a moment they were in subspace and the room normalized.
"LIZ, set the sensors to scan - to scan -"
" - to scan a random pattern," cried Sal, " ... a random three-space. Switch to another three-space every five seconds."
"Yes, master Sal."
They all watched the televiewer. There was no black void filled with white points of light. Instead there was a wavy, evolving pattern moving from left to right across the screen. There were occasional black flashes; they appeared and vanished just as rapidly.
"How long until the pattern stabilizes?" said Sal.
"About thirty minutes in subspace until the sensors can decode and provide stable visuals," said Kevn. "Until then all we can get is that pattern."
"And what's the black stuff?" asked Sal.
"Other objects in subspace. Don't ask me how they got in here," said Kevn.
"There's garbage everywhere," grumbled Gry. "I think the first subspace experiments just ... uh, shot all the Earth garbage into subspace. I think that was what Earth wanted, a place to put their garbage."
"That's Gry's theory. We've argued this before. I'm beginning to think he's right. It was probably years before Earth tried to send a monkey or a human into subspace."
"Once," mumbled Gry, "we ran into a mountain of ... uh, of -"
"Human waste ... actually looked like fecal matter," added Kevn with a smile.
"Yeah, that's it," said Gry. "We flew K-47 through a shitshower."
Sal laughed. The tension eased and they watched the image, mesmerized. Every five seconds it changed. The black flashes became less frequently. There was no sign of Andromeda.
Gry grunted. "I really don't understand this ... uh, subspace stuff." He didn't expect a response, but Sal explained.
"Space is like a sheet, with wrinkles and folds generated by the presence of large masses, like stars. Light, and the spaceships of old, travel along the surface, following the wrinkles, being attracted to the deep hollows in this space-sheet. Gravitation, we would say. But now we know that one can leave this 3-dimensional space and move orthogonal to the surface of the space-sheet, across from fold to fold - subspace we call it. It sure beats traveling on the surface, where light is constrained to travel. On the surface we're limited by the speed of light. If we cut across the folds we can -"
"- cut a year's trip by 90%," continued Kevn. "Unfortunately, this subspace isn't li
ke ordinary galaxy space and visible light doesn't travel there. Hence the wavy pattern on the monitor. Until the shipcomp can decode the sensor readings, we'll just see that pattern."
"Master Kevn," asked LIZ, "do you think we might calculate the subspace dimensions which the earth vessel selected? I fear these random three-space selections will never exhaust the subspaces available."
"How could we do that LIZ?" asked Kevn, looking at Sal. Sal shrugged.
"Master Kevn, we know that the subspace dimensions are partially ordered. Those subspace dimensions which are accessible from normal galaxy space are those which follow in this ordering. An entry into subspace will place us in one three-space within the first eight dimensions. It would take another expenditure of energy to reach the next eight. It may be that -"
"Yes, that's good!" cried Kevn. "We should try to read Humple's mind. Which would he choose? He might know that -"
"- the first eight are filled with garbage?" continued Sal. "That's where Earth would put their garbage, right?"
"Then he'd choose the second eight!" cried Gry jumping to his feet. "That way he'd be out of the garbage heap and still not waste energy."
"LIZ! Take us to the first three-space within that second eight -"
"Done, master Kevn."
The screen image changed again. The wavy pattern slowly drifted across the screen. There were no black flashes.
"Hey ... there' still ... uh, lots of three-spaces in here," said Gry. "If we choose the wrong three-space .."
"We'll never find them unless we're in the same three-space," said Sal.
"Okay, Chief of Research, how many possibilities are there? How many three-spaces are there in these ... uh, eight dimensions?" asked Gry.
"Three hundred and thirty-six."
"What! We'll be in here ... uh, forever!"
"Not necessarily," said Sal. "We can scan each three-space for five seconds. That will give us sufficient time to determine if there's a vessel in there. Then we go on to the next three-space. The whole procedure will only take ... uh, let's see .."
"It'll take thirty eight minutes," said Kevn with a smile. "Sal, you never were any good at math. How'd you ever become Chief of -"
"Master Kevn. Shall I initiate the scan sequence? The procedure will take twenty eight minutes and I think we should start now."
"Twenty-eight? Uh, yes LIZ, please begin immediately."
Sal looked at Kevn. Kevn shrugged.
______________________________________________________
Mayor Humple was not pleased. He had managed, at the last moment, to escape, but now he was being bombarded from subspace; the source of the bombardment was unknown. The image on the view screen, normally a wavy white pattern, was filled with black flashes which appeared and disappeared.
The only good thing which had happened during the five minutes since they entered subspace was that he had found a ship manual. He had read the first three sections of the chapter entitled: the ship computer . He turned and typed at the keyboard, the manual open on his lap:
enquiry:
The computer responded:
PLEASE ENTER ENQUIRY
identify source of -
Humple looked at the manual, flipped through several pages, then to the index, then to page 407, then continued:
- black images on viewscreen
GARBAGE
repeat:
GARBAGE
"Damn! What do you mean ... garbage ! It says right here, page 407 ... that's a correct syntax."
He repeated the enquiry:
identify source of black images on viewscreen
GARBAGE
"Damnation! What did I do to deserve this?" He flipped the pages of the manual to the end of the chapter. "Press control-H for help. Okay ... let's do that." He pressed control-H . The screen filled with a menu with twelve choices. The message winking at the bottom of the screen said:
SELECTION?
Humple selected the menu item labelled "directive syntax". The screen blanked and immediately presented twelve more choices and winked:
SELECTION?
"God, help me!" Humple looked again at the pages at the end of the chapter. Then he pressed the escape key. The screen cleared. He cursed and typed again:
identify source of black images on viewscreen
GARBAGE
"Jeesuz! You bloody ... " Humple frowned, then grinned. "Hey! Wait a minute! You don't mean ... you mean that it's really, uh, garbage out there? Is that what you mean?" He waited for a reply. The computer didn't respond. "Oh, sorry ... forgot." He typed on the keyboard.
do you really mean it's garbage out there?
YOU ... INVALID INDEX FOR DO-LOOP
REALLY ... SYNTAX ERROR
MEAN ... UNKNOWN DIRECTIVE - PLEASE REWORD
"Aaargh!" Humple jumped up and down. "Damn you! Damn you all to hell! God! Save me from the this - this -"
The ship shuddered. He looked at the screen. There was a black patch that grew to fill the screen. Its shape was familiar. The ship from Home planet! He typed quickly:
exit
EXIT INITIATED - TIME TO EXIT: TWO MINUTES
Humple began to pray. The communication lights flashed.
"Mayor Humple! Stop now or be fired upon!"
He prayed harder.
______________________________________________________
"Kevn, you know you can't fire on his ship - not in subspace," said Sal.
"I'm hoping he doesn't know that," answered Kevn.
"Actually, we can't even board his ship ... can we? I mean, not in a shuttle," asked Sal.
"LIZ, what would the distortions be like ... if we were to launch a shuttle?"
"They would exceed the design stress of the standard C-series shuttle."
"Okay, let's just hope he doesn't know that. If he stops his ship we'll demand that he exit subspace and we'll follow him out. Then we can -"
"Look," shouted Gry. "He's gone again!"
The screen showed only the wavy, shifting pattern with occasional black flashes. The large black image of Andromeda was gone.
"Rats! Now where'd he go?" said Kevn in disgust. "Into the next eight subspace dimensions?"
"Yes, I'm sure of it," said Sal. "Why would he stay in this garbage bin?"
"Master Kevn?"
"Yes LIZ?"
"If Mayor Humple entered this three-space it was most probably because he was unwilling - or unable - to enter the other dimensions free of space debris. I would suggest that his disappearance indicates a return to normal galaxy space."
Kevn smiled and Sal chuckled. "Clever gal, eh what? LIZ, follow that ship!" Kevn pointed his finger at the viewscreen where the image of Andromeda had been.
The screen flashed several times, shimmered, then the black void of galaxy space filled the screen.
"Welcome home," mumbled Gry, pulling a ring.
"Master Kevn, there is no evidence of the Andromeda. Longrange sensors indicate a complete absence of any vessel within sensor range."
"LIZ, where'd they go?" asked Kevn.
"I am sorry master Kevn. I have no valid suggestions to make."
Kevn slid back in his chair. "Great Mother Earth! There's not much we can do now ...is there?" There was complete silence. Gry coughed once, then groaned.
"I hate to suggest it," Gry said. "We'd be gone for weeks. Since that bastard was headed for Earth then that's where we should head. If he's back in subspace then he'll come out when it's time to land. In the meantime ... uh, we should go back in - and head for Earth. Poor Lori, what will she think ... some party we're havin'."
"LIZ, what are our supplies like? Have we enough to last a return trip to Earth?"
"Yes master Kevn. The concentrate supplies will suffice for -"
"Concentrate?" groaned Gry. "Oh no! That's ... uh, that's like eatin' garbage. Maybe we should look for discarded cans of greenstew floating in the nex
t subspace - that would at least be an improvement."
"LIZ, please send a text message to DOC. Tell him to contact Lori. Tell her the true story. I mean, don't lie about it. We're on our way to planet earth. With luck we'll be back with TOM. Tell her we'll bring her a nice gift ... tell her -"
" - tell her we'll bring her an Earth cookbook," said Sal.
Gry grunted.
______________________________________________________
Humple groaned. The screen was still filled with a wavy pattern. He typed:
enquiry:
PLEASE ENTER ENQUIRY
where are we then, before pressing the enter key, Mayor Humple opened the manual to the chapter on the ship computer and continued reading beyond section three. It was some time before he came across the correct directive. He backspaced across the words he had written and started again:
identify location
SUBSPACE : THREE-SPACE NUMBER 139 IN SECOND OCTANT
"What! I asked you to get us out of here! What in God's name ... okay, let's try again ... damn computer ..."
He typed:
exit subspace
SUBSPACE EXIT INITIATED - TIME TO EXIT: TWO MINUTES
When Andromeda had reentered galaxy space Humple breathed a sigh of great relief. The screen and long range scan indicated that he was quite alone. There was no sign of the Home planet space ship. He looked around and found his bottle of Extron brandy, poured a long drink and gulped it quickly.
"Aaah ... now that's something. That's a real drink. Have another Mayor Humple - don't mind if I do." He poured another glassful, then another. Then he typed:
Home, James
He rose and left the room without waiting for the computer's response. Within minutes he was sound asleep in his cabin.
______________________________________________________
Gry was looking at the records of the radiation receptors, frowning. They seemed to be at variance with the known radiation patterns stored in the data banks. Some stars were missing. In fact, many stars were missing, the most significant absence being Auria-5. He was about to say something when Sal spoke.
"Kevn, it occurs to me," said Sal, slowly mouthing a reconstituted algae concentrate, "that we are going to Earth .. it will take weeks ... for the sole purpose of rescuing TOM - an android. In the time it takes to go there and return we could nearly regrow another android."
Kevn looked at Gry and Gry looked up from his platter, frowning.
"Sal, you think TOM is ... uh, just another android?" Gry said. "You don't understand ... TOM is a close friend."
"But wouldn't you feel the same about any android? What if the Lab grew another android just like TOM? Wouldn't you both -"
"Sal," said Kevn, "Gry is right. We've travelled the galaxy with TOM. Another android wouldn't have the same memories, the same responses, the same idiosyncrasies. No, it wouldn't be the same. You know that the T-class biophonarite androids learn, acquire additional skills as a result of their experiences. TOM, you know, has acquired a remarkable range of human skills. I tell him to make mental notes ... it's a sort-of joke, but he does just that. No, no ... it wouldn't be the same."
There was a quiet moment, then: "Thank you masters Kevn and Gry," said the shipcomp.
Sal looked up and smiled. "I see I'm outnumbered. Okay, what do we do when we get there - to Earth?"
"I've been thinking about that," said Kevn. "I can't believe that all earthlings are like Mayor Humple. We will announce our arrival, on a peaceful mission. We will ask for landing space, will talk to the officials, explain our reasons for visiting Earth. They will find Humple and return TOM to us." Kevn paused. "Well? What do you think."
"I think, big brother, that you are very naive."
"I think so too," said Gry. "Humple was sent to Home planet by the ... uh, what was it ?"
"The Committee of Nations," said Sal.
"Yes, the Committee of Nations. That means ... uh, that everybody on Earth is behind Humple. He'll no doubt get there first. When we arrive we can be sure of a ... uh, a -"
"A very unfriendly welcome," said Kevn. "Yes, you're quite right. We've got to think of something else. Let's finish our meal, then gather in my cabin to discuss this further."
"Can we go now," said Gry. "This is not a meal. This is ... uh, it tastes like ... uh, -"
"Master Kevn," said LIZ. "I must report that the supplies of algae concentrate are somewhat less than I had originally -"
"Great!" said Gry. "The lesser the better!"
"Aah, Gry," said Sal. "You've been sneaking into the galley when we're not looking, and helping yourself to the concentrate."
"Okay you guys. Enough. Let's go," said Kevn and they all left without hesitation.
