Day hadn’t expected such an overwhelming result and had trouble keeping his composure.
»Are you trying to tell me that there are more than a hundred potential Globuster bases?«
Morgenstern shrugged.
»The probes detected directed signals on the Globuster frequency. We can’t tell if there are actually any Globusters on these bodies … at least, not yet.«
»We assume that … at least on some of them,« a scientist butted in. »Contact was lost with a few probes after we received their first reconnaissance data. We’re assuming they were destroyed.«
»What else?« the commander growled. »They don’t need to hide any longer; they know we’re aware of them.«
»We can assume their communication is at least as efficient as the rest of their technology,« Morgenstern asserted.
»They had a couple of days. That’d be enough, even for us. I’m presuming that our opponent from Quaoar warned its people as it withdrew from the planetoid.«
Day squinted, watching the Kuiper objects’ data and asked a technician for a modified display.
»Is it possible to modify the map in such a way that each Globuster base is superimposed on a one light-minute sector to show greater detail?«
»Did you see something we missed, Commander?« asked Morgenstern.
»Just wait … there’s the new projection!«
The scientists looked at each other in alarm. They hadn’t expected this.
Day closed his eyes for a moment.
»I knew it! Simulate the Kuiper Object orbits around the sun! Maintain the 3D spatial proportions.«
»I can’t believe it!« whispered Morgenstern sharply.
»The objects form a perfect sphere – no matter how their positions change, they’re equidistant from each other and from … the Solar worlds! «
»That’s right,« muttered the commander. »Our solar system is completely surrounded. Confirm this, at once! We have to rule out coincidence, but it seems to me that we’ve been living in a cage all our lives.«
Same frequency
Both Hawks raced at high speed toward Quaoar. Maya Ivanova had taken over the second craft and had demanded for the umpteenth time that Davis keep up with her.
She’s flying like the Devil’s after her soul, Davis thought.
As Triton Base Squadron leader, he had pulled some risky maneuvers, but he had never before abused his craft this way.
And not only the Hawks, Davis thought when he heard the alarmed voices of both specialists over his radio.
Both pilots flew with eyes pinned on the radar. Quaoar’s apparent size indicated it had reached some distance from its original orbit.
»Nothing out of the ordinary except for a planetoid that shouldn’t be there,« Maya Ivanova commented wryly.
»Nothing unusual on my screen either,« Davis confirmed. »We’ll go down and land as close to the funnel as possible.«
»Roger!« Ivanova acknowledged. »We still have communication with the Shenzhou, but when we encounter the radio shield, you’ll need to use the specific frequency I gave you.«
Davis smiled, amused.
»That’s the Globuster frequency, which gets through the shield.«
»You got it!« the commander triumphed. »It’ll work, except for a possible minor caveat.«
»Which is?« asked Davis, while he tried to follow the commander’s Hawk.
»Think about it, Major. The Globusters have their radios tuned to the same frequency. They won’t like that.«
Shit! Forgot about that! Davis thought.
Goosebumps
»It wasn’t coincidence! Such a complex pattern doesn’t just pop up by chance!«
Day had received the confirmation he was looking for from the astrophysics unit.
The orbits of the Kuiper Objects, at first glance, chaotic and arbitrary, actually moved around the sun in a definite pattern.
»I can’t believe this! This doesn’t make sense!« said Morgenstern.
»I’m afraid it does!« said the commander.
»All objects and orbital data seem to match. The Globusters have the technology to move whole planetoids. They took the trouble to align over a hundred objects to form a sphere that at any given moment envelopes our entire solar system. The integrity of the sphere is maintained even as individual planets change positions relative to each other as they travel through the solar system. This is the discovery of the year … make that millennium, people! It implies that the Globusters have been in our backyard for a long time. Nobody could accomplish that kind of engineering in a couple of years … not even the Globusters! We would’ve noticed, at least in recent history.«
The IRS scientists stood around in shocked silence. The new data showed exactly how little they knew about their cosmic surroundings, and most of all, how limited their own abilities were.
»How long ago?« Karl Jörgmundson asked in a hoarse voice.
Day shook his head slightly.
»Don’t know, Karl. A thousand years, maybe a hundred thousand. I’m slowly beginning to understand what we’ve discovered here. This is no recent incursion by an alien power. When I think about all the celestial bodies involved and the mechanics necessary to match and align orbits … even the calculations alone would take us years! Who knows, maybe we’ve found the answers to the age-old legends and reports about UFOs. The Globusters have been watching us like we’re bugs in a jar. They could have even positioned the Kuiper Belt during Earth’s last ice age.«
Morgenstern suddenly felt ill. An ice-cold hand seemed to reach out for his soul, and Goosebumps swelled his flesh.
»We don’t have a chance in Hell,« he whispered in a weak voice, »not a goddamn chance.«
World News Reports: Year 2079, excerpts
The dying out of green ocean algae has been observed, apparently caused by the steadily increasing pollution from Human submarine habitats. Since these algae provide up to 60% of the oxygen content of the atmosphere, the Solar Union has declared an ecological emergency. Radical, restrictive new environmental protection programs are being enacted to curtail pollution of all natural resource.
Now modern, cold fusion based energy cells, are the backbones of energy sources. Heavy industries have been relocated into Earth orbit and are using ore and minerals mined on moons and asteroids.
First outposts in the Jupiter and Saturn systems have been established. Large orbital ports provide contact points for the settlements and bases within the solar system.
Controlled underground explosions near the San Andreas Fault set off a seismic shockwave, relieving tensions in the faults along the western US continental plate. Heavy earthquakes followed, with epicenters near the California coast. San Francisco, almost entirely deserted, was destroyed and then hit by a ten-meter high tidal wave. The submarine city of San Acquisto, located off the California coast, suffered only minor damage.
The Mars settlements are receiving a continual flow of new settlers. Olympus-City, built near the largest known volcano in the solar system, is the first city of a million people outside of Earth.
Lunatown is founded and serves as a trading center for Mars and Earth.
Showtime
Quaoar! An ice-cold hunk of airless rock. The last location in the universe where you’d expect to find life, no matter how alien. But we found it and it’s more exotic than I’d ever imagined, Davis thought.
Everything in Davis wanted to cramp up. His blood pressure rose just thinking about it. Remembering the Globuster incident almost overwhelmed him.
Suddenly, the comm-link to the Shenzhou was interrupted, exactly as it had been on the first flight.
The radio shield, active till the bitter end, Davis thought. At least until the collision destroys Triton Base and every technological installation on the planetoid.
»I’m switching over to the Globuster frequency!« Maya Ivanova announced over the radio.
Davis acknowledged and followed her example. Immediately the Shenzhou's ID reapp
eared on the display.
»It’s working!« the commander rejoiced.
At the same time, chirping and knocking noises came from the receiver. Davis grimaced.
»What’s that? Globuster radio signals?«
»Sounds like it,« answered Ivanova curtly. »Use the squelch or change to a different modulation, so our own signals become clearer. The Globuster station is transmitting like mad!«
»Probably calling for help, announcing our arrival,« Davis guessed.
The Hawks had reached the orbit of Quaoar and exchanged positions, Davis taking the lead. Time was critical for Triton – he’d need to conduct some risky approach maneuvers that would consume a whole lot of fuel. The Hawks raced over the planetoid’s surface and quickly arrived at the large melted crater.
»That’s where my Hawk was standing before the Globuster blew it to shit,« Davis said, his mouth dry.
»That is not going to happen this time!« Ivanova growled. She had maneuvered her Hawk to Davis’ starboard rear. »At any rate, Quaoar seems Globuster-free. No sign of activity.«
»How do you know the Globuster hasn’t returned and isn’t just waiting for us inside the cave?« Necolett asked nervously.
»For that matter, how do you know there was only one Globuster to begin with?« Pi added.
Davis, trying to steer clear of Quaoar’s propulsion system, circled around the installation at a safe distance.
»We don’t know, Robert, Pi. Look at your monitors. The infra-red sensors are measuring a temperature of over 500 degrees Kelvin!«
»The propulsion system needs to produce an enormous thrust to change Quaoar’s orbit. There must be a huge fuel or energy reservoir under the surface,« Ivanova announced in a voice that vibrated excitedly over the comm-system. She was definitely keyed up.
Don’t blame her, Davis thought. Seeing the installation for the first time did that to me too.
»Over there, at the edge of the small plain, that must be the entrance to the Globuster’s cave. We go down, using any available cover for the Hawks. Specialist Gonzales, you stay inside and keep an eye on the radar. If the worst happens, kick the Hawk into gear and get the hell out of here! No dawdling and, for God’s sake, no heroics!«
The specialist acknowledged and assumed her position. Davis landed his Hawk in a shallow hollow that looked as if it was formed many years ago by a meteoroid impact. Maya landed her craft not too far away.
»Showtime!« Davis announced. »Everybody – let’s go!«
They suited up in their new special suits and lowered the small tractor onto the surface using the hydraulic lift platform. The two teams rendezvoused at the entrance of the Globuster cave.
Ivanova’s team took point. She carried the Globusterfist personally, thrusting it forward while Lai Pi and Tanomo steered their tractor with the five warheads. Davis and Necolett brought up the rear with their tractor. The cave’s entrance was still protected by the red shining energy field.
Here we go again, Davis thought uneasily.
He re-examined the tie-downs of the five warheads. It was difficult to imagine that each of the bombs were able of producing an explosive force of 200 million tons TNT.
Two Gigatons altogether, Davis thought. Almost unbelievable destructive potential!
Both groups met about fifty meters from the funnel. Lai Pi pointed a small instrument in the cave’s direction and read the results on the small display. He seemed perplexed.
»The unknown energy field emits radiation ranging across the whole spectrum. I don’t understand the field structure. I have to admit I’m lost!«
»I kind of expected that,« Maya Ivanova replied.
She appeared fascinated by the energy field.
»It actually seems to be an energy curtain. I’ve never seen something like that.«
»I advise strongly not running into that field,« Lai Pi said in a slightly raised voice.
»No shit!« answered Davis. »It’d kill us instantly! This field works like an energy airlock. It prevents the atmosphere from escaping into space. We went through that field on our first visit and only felt a slight resistance. At that time, it was almost invisible. Now the shiny red state of the energy curtain reduces us to charcoal. My partner and I left the cave just before the trap closed.«
The commander signaled Lai Pi to help her. Together, they lifted a box from one of the tractors and opened it.
»If we can’t get through it, we’ll find another way! Lai Pi, what do you think – some twenty meters away from the entrance?”
The specialist calculated briefly.
»That’ll work!«
He reached into the container and produced a roughly forty centimeters in diameter, and one-meter-long, silvery cylinder with a conical top.
»What’s that?« asked Davis. »Another bomb?«
»That’s a fusion-borehead used in mining,« explained the commander. »Sometimes they’re used to quickly create rescue tunnels. We’ll use it to melt a hole into the rock and create a new opening into the cave! Didn’t you say ‘by any means necessary’, Major?«
Davis couldn’t remember having said that. He wasn’t able to see Ivanova’s face through her helmet filters, but he could just imagine her facial expression.
»If that’s what you meant by ‘finding another way’, so be it; let’s get on with it!«
World News Reports: Year 2085, excerpts
Environmentalists worldwide noticed with relief that, for the first time in a century, the rapid proliferation of the ozone holes had ceased.
It was already too late for Australia. The continent was already a vast uninhabitable desert. Large parts of Northern Europe were also desolate. The landscape of Scandinavia, formerly famous for its forests and fjords, was barren. In Southern Europe, a subtropical climate dominated the landscape with the former Sahara blooming in many places.
Larger submarine cities were established, the largest of them Ciudad Vida Nueva on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, near Valdivia at the Chilean coastline.
Lunatown, the large moon-metropolis, flourished, supplying Humanity with food and wheat. The drastic environmental measures implemented on Earth seemed to show positive results. After all the environmental disasters that Humankind had inflicted on her in the past, Humanity began to hope this positive trend would continue.
We are going in
They moved away from the entrance to take cover behind the tractors while the borehead was being activated. Its arcing glare was almost unbearable – even with the helmet filters. The elemental heat of the borehead melted the rock as easily as a knife going through soft butter. The rock evaporated in seconds, creating tunnel walls of solidified glassy rock.
After a couple of seconds, a new, circular, tunnel entrance glowed almost invitingly.
»Are you sure we can enter the cave through there? The walls are still molten and gleaming hot,« remarked the Maasai, unconvinced.
»The tunnel will cool down fast under near-space conditions. We just have to be careful. Our suits will protect us from the heat. We will be able to enter the cave in a few minutes,« replied Lai Pi immediately and looked with fascination as the dazzling, glowing borehead had already disappeared inside the rock. Suddenly a noiseless decompressive explosion occurred, recognizable only by a fast expanding cloud of frozen gas crystals drifting from the cave entrance into space.
»We’re through! The internal chlorine atmosphere has escaped!« Ivanova remarked, adding dryly, »If there’s a Globuster in there, then it’s breathing vacuum now.«
Only after the blazing light from the borehead had disappeared did the team dare to leave the tractor’s cover. The new tunnel had a diameter of almost two meters, barely large enough for the vehicles.
Davis called the Hawk.
»Anna, everything okay?«
Her answer followed promptly.
»All clear, Major. Nothing unusual.«
»We’re going in, Gonzales. Keep us posted.«
Ivanova hefted the Glob
usterfist and stepped into the narrow tunnel, stooping slightly to clear the low ceiling.
»Bring the bombs,« she rapped. »Time to end this game!”
The commander, closely followed by Davis, Tanomo, Necolett, Lai Pi and the tractors, slowly advanced into the tunnel.
The glassy, solidified tunnel surface was treacherous. Even the small tractors slid briefly on the slippery ground when their tracks lost traction.
After a few meters all ambient light had disappeared; Ivanova told the teams to switch on their helmet lamps. After thirty meters, they arrived at the intersection that marked the borehead’s penetration into the cave.
Maya aimed her Globusterfist into the tunnel and then moved on carefully. The team followed.
»An entirely different consistency. Do you feel it too, Lai Pi?« she remarked. »The floor and the walls feel strange. What kind of material could this be?«
»Be careful, Commander!« advised Davis. »These walls are alive. A member of our first expedition received some kind of electrical shock from just touching it.«
Lai Pi took a fascinated look at the wall.
»Alive could be exactly the right word. Unless I’m mistaken, this is cellular technology. What your report described as fractal patterns, Major, looks to me like some kind of grown structure. This is not just simple metal or an unknown composite material, or something we would use for covering our tunnels. If you switch to IR-view, you’ll understand what I mean.«
The picture changed suddenly as they switched their filters.
»Oh!« said Maya Ivanova, surprised when her light spectrum changed, bringing her surroundings into sudden brightness.
Viewed in the IR spectrum, the forced tunnel entrance looked like a fresh wound.
The Strong pulsating light was visible around the hole. Streaks of light flowed from the end of the tunnel, ending in the brightly shining edges of the junction.
»Awesome!« Lai Pi exclaimed and stepped closer to the frayed edges.
NEBULAR Collection 1 - The Triton Base: Episodes 1 - 5 Page 12
