Charles shrugged, “No, they haven’t.”
Allison whispered into Gregory’s ear, “I’m sorry, but I must have missed something.” Gregory turned around and started whispering in her ear. After a few moments she leaned back and nodded.
Nicole and Allison finally ran down, and Charles said, “Dit, you’ve been remarkably silent; why don’t you step in and give your opinion?”
“Because I don’t want to be yelled at.”
“Dit, what are your talking about?” Merry asked.
Dit sighed, “You could have left me out of this?”
“Hey, that covenant was your doing.”
“I know. I just never anticipated it would ever really be an issue.”
“How is this your fault?” Merry asked.
“Dit was the first of our species to attain intelligence and as such, he is the senior member of my species. He led the meeting where we adopted the original covenants. Go ahead Dit.”
“Charles is right, and no member of my species can use our weapons for any reason against another intelligent species. They can only be used in self-defense if there is absolutely, positively, no other possible action that can be taken. As long as the option to flee is available, our weapons may not be used. Our species will never be an aggressive civilization and the covenants insure that.”
“Has anyone ever broken a covenant?” Allison asked.
Charles turned to her, “It only happened once and the one that did it was ostracized from the Covenant. No one was allowed to ever communicate with him again and his ship would not be repaired or updated. He eventually flew his ship into a star and committed suicide. It was at that point where computers were installed on every ship to insure that no one would be allowed to break a covenant again. They are tasked with making sure the covenants are followed.”
“Charles! We can’t do this?”
“Nicole, you’re missing the point. The Revel’s warships are a match for ours and if they attack Earth they will be coming with a lot more than just one or two ships: they’ll be coming with hundreds. They would easily destroy our ships and there’s no possible way we could prevent Earth being attacked. We’d just be throwing our lives away to even try; it would serve no purpose.”
“What if all of your ships came to defend Earth?” Gregory asked.
Charles shook his head, “Dit and I have a special attachment to Earth and that is the only reason we would consider it, however, neither of us would willingly violate a covenant. All the other members of my species have no attachment to Earth; it’s just one of a trillion, trillion inhabited planets in the universe. They would never consider violating a covenant to defend it. There is absolutely nothing we can do to prevent an attack on Earth if the Revel show up.”
“What if there was?”
Charles turned to him, “There isn’t?”
“But what if there was a way to prevent an attack; would you do it?”
“The question is rhetorical and has no meaning. It can’t be done.”
“Assume it could; would you do it?”
“Answer the question Charles,” the computer interjected. “You’ve answered rhetorical questions in the past. Assume there was a way to prevent it; I’m curious about how you’d answer.”
“Get real computer. In the first place it’s your prime responsibility to stop me from doing it.”
“Then assume I won’t. How would you answer?”
“This serves no purpose!”
“Charles, just answer the question!” the computer replied.
“Well, if I decided to run, I’m reasonably certain I would lose Nicole and Merry.”
“Damn right,” Merry immediately responded.
Charles frowned and continued speaking out loud, “I would also be ostracized from the Covenant and lose all support from them. That could be critical if my ship were damaged.”
“Charles, answer the Damn question!” Nicole said harshly.
The computer added, “He is long winded.”
Charles blew out a breath, “If there were a way to prevent Earth being attacked, I think I would stay and defend it.”
“THAT’S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!” Gregory responded. Charles turned to him with a furrowed brow. “I think isn’t an answer either. You’re avoiding committing to an answer,” Gregory stated.
“He’s right Charles,” the computer added.
“ALRIGHT!” Charles took a breath and said, “If there were a way to prevent an attack on Earth I would stay and fight to defend it. But this is all a frivolous exercise.”
“Do you promise?” Gregory asked.
“I told you my answer!”
“But do you promise you would do that if an attack can be prevented?” Gregory pressed.
Charles stared at him and said, “This is the real reason you did this, isn’t it?”
“Yes! I have to know if you’re only concerned with yourself or if humanity really means something to you.”
Charles stared at him and said, “I promise.” Charles turned and said, “Computer, it is your responsibility to prevent me from making that promise. Why didn’t you?”
“Because this situation isn’t covered by the covenants.”
“How did you come up with that?” Dit asked.
“The covenants were written with the proposition that every member of your species live on starships. That is not the case here. Merry lives on Earth and there is no possible way for her to flee from a planet that is about to be attacked. Charles and Nicole also live on the planet and the same thing applies to them. There’s enough ambiguity in this that I will support Charles’ decision either way he decides.”
“It’s still just a frivolous exercise; there’s no way to stop Earth being attacked,” Charles remarked.
“That’s not necessarily true,” Gregory replied.
“Excuse me?” the computer responded.
Gregory shrugged, “There is technology that could prevent it.” Charles stared at him and Gregory smiled, “And it’s hidden in the equation Merry just solved.”
“You’re going to have to prove that before I keep that promise.”
Gregory turned to Allison, “I’m going to have to leave you for a while.”
“NO!”
“Allison, I will have to go to the Watcher’s ship and provide the proof to him. I can’t do that if you go with me. I need my entire focus on producing what’s needed and I can’t focus if you’re on the ship with me. All my time will be spent working on this and I’d worry about your state of mind. You must stay here until I can do it.”
“I won’t be a problem; I promise!”
“Allison, just like you know me so well; I also know you. You must remain here in Boston.” Allison’s eyes teared up and Gregory put his hand on her chin, “When I come back, I will be coming to your parents to ask their permission to marry you.” Allison’s eyes flew open and Gregory nodded, “That’s right, I love you.”
“You’ve never told me.”
“I thought there would be more time and I wasn’t in a rush. But I do love you and I want you to be my wife. Please wait for me and be patient.”
“What will I tell Mom and Dad?”
“Tell them I walked out on you.”
Allison stared at him and lowered her eyes as she put her arms around his neck. Gregory turned to Charles, “I want to ride home with her. Can you pick me up there?” Charles nodded. Gregory stood up and put his arm around Allison’s waist. He walked toward the car and the computer said, “I didn’t see this coming; I thought you were going to be forced to kill them.”
“Oh shut up!”
“Just saying.”
“Do you think he’s right?”
“I don’t know, Nicole; we’ll see. Merry is right that he’s incredibly smart. Time will tell.”
“If he is, will you keep your promise?”
“I think I’d miss you and Merry not speaking to me a lot more than the members of my species. Hell, I’ve gone thousands o
f years in the past never talking to any of them before I was stranded here. I don’t think I could go a week without you or Merry.”
“I love you Charles.”
“And that’s what pushed me over the line, Nicole. I love you too.”
“Charles, if you decide to stay, I will also stay behind as well.”
“Well thank you Dit! You could have told me this earlier.”
“Sorry.” Charles laughed and boarded the small ship.
• • •
“Gregory, you know I’ll be slowly going crazy without you.”
“No, you won’t, Allison. You would if you weren’t sure I’d be coming back but you know I will be.”
“Isn’t there some way we can speak to each other?”
Gregory blew out a breath, “And how many times a day will we be calling each other. That will only lengthen the time I’ll be away. I’m not kidding; it’s going to take my total focus to come up with the means to stop an attack on Earth. I don’t like this any more than you do; but it must be done. Please try to understand and be patient.”
Allison sighed and nodded. They arrived at her home and she parked, turned, and went into Gregory’s arms. After an hour, the front porch light came on. Allison sighed and Gregory stepped out of the car and hugged her. She looked around and said, “He’s not here; maybe we have some more time.”
Charles suddenly appeared behind the car and Allison blew out a breath. Gregory turned her face to him and kissed her before saying, “I’m doing this to keep you safe. Please be patient and know that I’m coming back for you.” Gregory released her and walked over to Charles. He looked back at her and then followed Charles into…something. Suddenly, Allison saw something leap into the sky and then it was gone. She stared at the sky, then turned, and went into her house directly to her room. She didn’t want to cry but just couldn’t stop herself. This was both the most wonderful and saddest night of her life.
• • •
Charles turned to Gregory, “Do you honestly think you have a way to protect humanity?”
“I know the technology needed to do it but coming up with the items to make it happen isn’t going to be easy,” Gregory answered.
“Well, when we arrive on the ship, I’m turning you over to the computer to work on it.”
“You aren’t going to help?”
Charles shook his head, “The computer knows just as much as me and can operate at a much faster speed. Hold out your hand.” Gregory extended his left hand and Charles put a small circular piece of metal in it. After a moment, it disappeared into his skin. “That will allow you to mentally link to the computer, me, Nicole, Merry, and Dit. Just say the one’s name you wish to talk with, and the link will be activated.”
“What about Merry? Can she work on this?”
“No, she has a job and if you do come up with something, you’ll need her working on building whatever you need.”
“What about Dit?”
Charles laughed, “I’m afraid Merry and Dit would scream at me if I tried to separate them at the moment.”
“I’m leaving Allison behind.”
“That’s your choice, not mine,” Charles responded. “However, you’re the one saying Earth can be defended and it’s up to you to prove that’s possible. Personally, I doubt any technology can make that happen but I’m giving you the chance to prove it can and everything you need to work on it.” The small ship landed in the huge bay and Charles took Gregory around the ship to see his living quarters, the bridge (where he met Nicole), and taught him how to use the food processors. He finally took him into a huge room with monitors on the wall and said, “Computer, he’s all yours.”
Gregory heard in his mind, “Welcome aboard Gregory. Are you ready to get started?”
“Can you see my thoughts?”
“Now that Charles has given you the link, yes I can.”
“Good. Let’s do this. I’m going to sit back and think about my understanding of the equation and how I think it might be used in different ways. If you have any questions, stop me and we’ll discuss it.”
“Sounds like a good idea,” the computer replied.
“I’m going to start when I was working with Lou on the equation and let you hear all the things he said to himself while trying to solve it.”
“Why are you going to do that?”
“Because I did not have any idea what that equation really meant. Lou was slightly insane and so focused on solving the equation that he could see things a normal person couldn’t. It was his conversation with himself that showed me how to use the equation. Anyway, before we can move forward on this, you should hear what he said and see if it makes sense to you.”
• • •
Gregory spent every waking hour remembering the things he heard Lou saying since the first day he arrived at the port. The computer would stop him when fatigue overtook him and start again when he woke. The computer would stop Gregory frequently at first to clarify some things and on many occasions, Gregory told him that he couldn’t; he didn’t understand it either.
Charles would ask the computer about their progress and the computer would always respond, “Not yet.”
Finally, after six months, Gregory mentally solved the equation with the computer observing the process. Gregory identified the various parts of the equation and at the end the computer said, “I think I understand.”
“Do you?”
“Without all the things Dr. Kessler said over the years, I wouldn’t. But you’re right, this equation doesn’t work inside three-dimensional space. Without time being factored in, it just won’t function.”
“And that’s what Lou was missing,” Gregory remarked.
“But even without being able to solve it, he saw how it would function if he could solve it.”
Gregory nodded, “And that wasn’t something I was capable of doing. Lou’s mind was so much more…”
“Like you said, he was somewhat insane, and his mind could see things you couldn’t,” the computer finished his sentence. “The idea that a stardrive field could have two layers functioning simultaneously is hard to fathom, much less understand.”
“But do we have the technology to even form that field?”
The computer was silent a moment and replied, “We currently have projectors on the ship’s hull that pushes dark energy and matter out of the ship’s path when using its current stardrive.”
“That won’t help,” Gregory responded. “We can’t use a push.”
“I suspect if the polarity on the projectors is reversed, it might produce a pull.”
Gregory’s eyes widened, “Do you think that’s possible?!”
“It’s a place to start. We’re not going anywhere, so I’ll have one of the ship’s maintenance bots make the change to one of the projectors. Let’s see what happens.”
• • •
“Charles, we’re ready to have a discussion.”
“What?!”
“I think it would be good if everyone would link in and listen,” the computer replied.
“Open the links, Computer. Do I need to come to the Analysis Center?”
“It probably wouldn’t hurt but it’s not necessary. We’re going to be discussing concepts during this conversation.”
“I’m still coming to the Center.”
Nicole stood up, “I’m going with you.” Charles nodded and they went to the transportation box.
• • •
Charles and Nicole were sitting beside Gregory in the large room and the computer announced, “Everyone is linked in and Gregory is going to lead this meeting. I’ll jump in if necessary and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to interrupt us. It’s going to be easy to get lost if you don’t stop us.”
Gregory sat back in his chair and began. “This equation does provide a new way of moving around the universe at a much faster speed than the current system used on this ship. The current system puts a field around the ship that removes it fr
om normal space and allows the ship to move at super-light speeds. The ship’s thrusters are required to move the ship and it does take a lot of power to move the ship at maximum speed. This new stardrive takes miniscule power and moves the ship at a much higher speed. Any questions so far?”
“How does it do it?” Merry instantly asked.
Gregory leaned forward, “It requires a different field than the current one. This field is composed of dense dark energy surrounding the ship.”
“You’ve lost me,” Charles stated.
Gregory paused and said, “Picture it this way; the current system functions outside the dark energy filling the universe. This new stardrive field operates inside it.” Charles shook his head and Gregory sighed.
“Let me give it a try,” the computer said. Gregory nodded and sat back. “How do you decide where to go using the current stardrive?”
“You enter the coordinates of where you want to go,” Charles answered.
“Instead of entering those coordinates into the navigation system, with this new drive, you enter the coordinates into the field surrounding the ship.”
“And just how would you do that?” Dit asked.
“It wouldn’t actually be coordinates; it would be a frequency.” The link was silent, and the computer continued, “I’ve run some experiments and scanned the dark energy at the rear of the ship. I got a reading on the energy frequency and then I scanned the front of the ship; the frequencies were different. There was only a very slight difference, but it was measurable. I then scanned the middle of the ship and discovered that it was half the difference between the stern and bow of the ship. The frequency changed in a fixed pattern.”
“I’m still lost,” Merry said.
“Ok. Let’s say for the sake of understanding this that the frequency of the dark energy at the rear of the ship is 100. The frequency at the middle of the ship is 150. The frequency at the bow is 200. So, for every change of 200 in the frequency, that would be the frequency of the dark energy one ship length away from its current position. Now you need to understand that the differences are in the millionths of a frequency, but the pattern is consistent.”
The Watcher II: The Time of Suppression Page 17
