The Death of the Universe: Ghost Kingdom: Hard Science Fiction (Big Rip Book 2)

by Brandon Q Morris

  Zhenyi hadn’t exaggerated. The new Convention was not completely devoid of extravagance. The few remaining human institutions—how many did they really need to administer to just 10,000 people?—had reestablished themselves in orbit around HD 271791 on an object that only distantly resembled a planet. The Convention sparkled and glittered in the bright light of the sun, because the celestial body was cut like a gemstone. And in fact, it was made from a single giant diamond.

  That had supposedly been the new Secretary’s idea. They would meet her today.

  Kepler got out of the shuttle. He had to take a large stride to reach the dock. Zhenyi reached out her hand and pulled him up.

  “Are there two of you?” asked the dark-skinned women waiting for them on the dock.

  “Yes, I’ve brought my friend with me,” said Zhenyi. “Johannes Kepler. Maybe you’ve heard of him?”

  “Sorry, but my memory for names...”

  “No problem,” said Kepler, offering the woman his hand. And that was when he noticed that she had four arms, symmetrically arranged in pairs, one above the other on either side of her body. Very extravagant. Is this the new Secretary? he wondered.

  The woman was wearing long pants and a green blouse. “I’m Ada Lovelace,” she said in way of introducing herself. She took his hand in both her right hands and shook it powerfully. She had warm, soft hands, which made her instantly likable.

  “Johannes Kepler.”

  “Then you must be an astronaut.”

  “That’s right. And you’re the Secretary’s secretary?”

  The woman laughed. “No. I’m really a programmer, but I’m here as a freelance detective. Maria asked me to come and meet you, since we’re going to have a lot to do with each other.”

  Kepler nodded. Maria, then. This Ada Lovelace was already on a first-name basis with the Secretary. She was an impressive woman.

  “Please follow me!” said Ada.

  “If we’re going to be seeing a lot of each other, let’s switch to first names,” said Zhenyi.

  Kepler was taken aback. That wasn’t usually her style. She seemed to be just as impressed by Ada as he was.

  “Yes, please call me Ada,” she replied.

  “Zhenyi.”

  “Johannes.”

  Ada shook both of their hands simultaneously with her two right hands. They’d probably be in for a few surprises from this woman.

  “Don’t be alarmed,” said Ada as they left the arrivals hall.

  The walkway led into nothingness. It reminded Kepler of rollercoaster tracks. With spectacular optical flair, the path appeared to wind through the vacuum. Kepler involuntarily held his breath. But the space was filled with air. Then he had the breath knocked out of him again when he realized there were no railings.

  Ada laughed. She must have seen the shock on his face.

  “Don’t worry, you get used to it,” she said. “We only arrived yesterday and it no longer bothers me.”

  Ada went ahead with Zhenyi. Kepler followed slowly, anxiously trying to keep his eyes on the forward path instead of looking down.

  “Come on, Johannes,” said Ada. “It’s wide enough for all of us. And there’s an invisible net two meters below. Even if you fall, you’ll only fall two meters. Nothing can happen to you.”

  Kepler tried to make out the net, but it was very well disguised. Probably some kind of optical effect. He hurried to catch up to the two women. Ada was right. You really did get used to it quite quickly.

  The twinkling surface of the giant diamond could be seen far below them. The walkway led around it like the setting for a precious gem. Kepler couldn’t tell what held the stone in its setting or the setting around the stone. Maybe the gravity of the diamond was enough. It was about half the size of Terra’s moon. And given that its density must be much greater, the mass should be sufficient for a proper gravitational field. Maybe that was why the walkway had been built at this height.

  Kepler felt a level of gravity here that roughly corresponded to that of the Earth. “Will we actually get closer to the diamond at any point?” he asked.

  “That would be unhealthy,” explained Ada. “The gravity on the surface is six times that of Earth. But you can borrow an exoskeleton or an artificial body if you want to see the planet up close.”

  “Maybe later, if there’s time.”

  And it’s not a planet, it’s an asteroid, Kepler added silently. Planets were spherical by definition, and you really couldn’t say that about this piece of jewelry. But he didn’t say anything because he didn’t want to sound like a smart-ass.

  The Secretary was waiting for them in a kind of pavilion. The walkway widened into a rectangular platform with posts at each corner. The four posts held up a loosely stretched, fabric roof that billowed slightly in the breeze. The Secretary came toward them, walked past Zhenyi and Ada, and extended her hand to him first.

  “Johannes Kepler,” she said. “I’ve wanted to meet you for such a long time.”

  Kepler couldn’t help blushing. Maria Sybille Merian was a small, very energetic woman. Her skin was a shimmering blue, and she had no hair. If there had been aliens, you’d assume she was one, but she had obviously deliberately chosen this design.

  The Secretary pointed at herself. “You must be wondering about my skin color. It has the big advantage of not getting sunburned. The star’s UV radiation is barely blocked by the atmosphere.”

  Kepler noticed another woman approaching. Women were clearly in the majority here. Why had they left the butler on the ship? The unknown woman waved, and Ada smiled broadly and waved back. They knew each other. The woman approached them. Ada gave her a friendly hug. No, they were in love. That was immediately clear when you saw them together.

  The woman introduced herself. “I’m Valentina Tereshkova. Valja to you, if you like.”

  Kepler was reminded of their last visit to the Convention. Christopher Columbus, the previous Secretary—later murdered by the Curies—had seemed quite stiff when he’d received them in his office. Meeting Maria was a breath of fresh air, and it wasn’t just because they were conversing under a canopy. Did she sleep here too? The atmosphere they were breathing must definitely be artificial, so the technology would also be keeping the temperature and humidity stable.

  Maria stamped her foot once, and several stools rose out of the floor. Kepler turned around. One of the stools was positioned directly behind him, so all he had to do was sit down. The Secretary had a lounger covered in upholstered panels, which looked very comfortable. She sat down. Kepler noticed her slender calves. She slipped off her sandals, made herself comfortable, and unfolded a flexible screen from the backrest of the lounger.

  Maria typed something into the middle of it and a spherical hologram about a meter across appeared above the screen. It showed a dark red glowing egg. That must be the Gigadyson.

  The Secretary set it rotating slowly with her finger. “I’d like to thank you for accepting my invitation,” she said. “Please excuse me for coming straight to the point, but the matter mustn’t be delayed any further. It wasn’t easy to come to this decision. It concerns the new heart of humanity,” she said, pointing at the Gigadyson, “and we can’t afford to make any mistakes.”

  Kepler’s gaze followed the rotation of the floating egg. Are those flashing points on its surface?

  “Ada and Valja, you’ve come to know the Gigadyson very well by now through your contract,” said Maria. “And you, Zhenyi and Johannes, have a great interest, given your history—or I presume you do—in making sure the universe doesn’t perish again.”

  Zhenyi nodded, but Kepler faltered. Actually, they’d already sacrificed enough for humanity. His girlfriend had even had to die for their survival. Wasn’t it someone else’s turn? But if Zhenyi wanted to be involved, he wouldn’t say no. After all, she had also sacrificed herself for him. He owed her his life, even if he hadn’t expected to have to repay the debt so soon.

  “So, you’re all with me?” the Secreta
ry asked the group, and her gaze rested on Kepler until he nodded in agreement.

  “That’s good,” she said. “I’m very grateful. I would even be happy to accompany you, but as a biologist and artist I wouldn’t be very helpful, and I can’t simply leave my post here.”

  “Where should we start?” asked Ada.

  “Do you see the flashing points on the surface of the Gigadyson? Those are the locations where we’ve lost a total of five autonomous units. We’ve tried to find a pattern, of course, but the reports, where there were any, were quite varied.”

  “Could we have a look at them?” asked Ada.

  “Of course. I’ve already transferred them to your ships’ systems. I just want to make you aware of the only obvious pattern. The disturbances appear to be moving counter-clockwise around the Gigadyson.”

  “So, against the direction of the sphere’s rotation,” said Kepler. Orbital mechanics, that was his specialty field.

  “That could mean the culprits are hardly moving and just allowing the sphere to rotate below them,” Ada added.

  “It’s impossible to stand still in space,” said Kepler. “They must be maintaining an orbit around the sphere. Otherwise they’d crash.”

  “If they’re confined to the laws of physics,” said Valja.

  Kepler looked at her with dismay. How could an object not be confined to the laws of physics? It was totally impossible. But it was best if he avoided commenting on the suggestion. Otherwise it could turn into their first big argument.

  “But we can make an assumption about the approximate height of the orbit,” he continued as calmly as possible, “and calculate from that where the enemy must be located—if I can call it that.”

  “That’s a good plan,” said the Secretary. She swiped the hologram away with her hand, folded the screen away, and stood up. She let out a groan as she did so. She was probably not as young as she looked. “I would be glad to enjoy your company a while longer, but real-time is too valuable when such a task is waiting. I suggest you all board the Mario, calculate the destination, and begin your flight.”

  The Secretary really didn’t waste any time. That was a shame. Kepler would have liked to be able to explore the diamond dwarf planet a bit more. “Where did this jewel actually come from?” he asked.

  “Oh, the diamond originates from the crust of an ice giant,” Maria replied. “It was no mean feat chiseling it out.”

  “Are you coming?” Zhenyi asked, tapping him on the shoulder.

  Half an hour later he was boarding the Mario through the passenger airlock. He had fetched the butler first. At least now there was another male on board this strangely named spaceship. He should really ask the butler whether he would even identify himself as male. High-level AIs had long been debating among themselves whether human attributions like these were acceptable, and—if so—to what extent.

  Kepler stood still for a moment, to orient himself. The Mario was obviously the same type of ship as Zhenyi’s ninety-niner. The easiest way to tell was the height of the corridors. Engineers generally designed a ship working from large scale to small. The fact that there might be passengers on board who’d need some way of getting from cabin to cabin didn’t occur to them until the end. Then corridors were added, which could be quite varied in size.

  At least that was his impression. Carl Benz, the famous spaceship engineer who had constructed the first ninety-niner, would probably have disagreed with him. He remembered Benz well. They’d been locked in a capsule together on HD 1366, because they’d both run out of credits. Zhenyi had come to their rescue. He wondered if Benz had since paid back the debt. He couldn’t remember having paid her back the considerable sum.

  “Wait up,” he called after the butler.

  The butler obediently stopped. Kepler really wanted to see inside his head. How did it feel for him, taking orders from humans? Did he perform them gladly? Did he not care?

  They marched briskly through a corridor that was only lit along the floor. Their steps echoed. His backpack cut into his shoulders, although the gravity was only half that of Terra. The butler had filled Kepler’s bag with delicacies from Zhenyi’s pantry, and Puppy was carrying an even bigger one himself. The two women that this ship belonged to did not seem to be gourmet types. Kepler hadn’t even had time to search for information about them. But they must be something like maintenance engineers who attended to the Gigadyson when necessary. He was probably just being prejudiced again.

  Kepler stumbled. Shit. Zhenyi’s ship didn’t have a cable running straight across the walkway like this. Did it even meet regulations? The Mario seemed to have had a few alterations in its time. He was now perspiring so much he could smell his own sweat. When would they finally reach the control room?

  “There you are,” called Zhenyi.

  Kepler closed the door behind him. The control room looked chaotic, but that was due to the unusually large crew. It must have been millions of years since a ship traveled with four people on board.

  Three arms waved from the gel bed to the far left. That must be Ada. The bed next to it must belong to her girlfriend Valja. He couldn’t see her. Zhenyi was leaning against the edge of a third bed. She was still wearing her bra and underpants. She looked at him impatiently. But she’d be grateful to him after the acceleration phase, when she got something decent to eat. The butler was stowing everything in the kitchen.

  Kepler stripped off his pants and t-shirt. The metal floor was cold, so he kept his socks on till last. Where should he hang his things?

  “Your locker is back there on the left,” said Zhenyi.

  He went to the cabinet, folding his pants, shirt, and underwear, and placed them inside. Then he noticed his socks. He couldn’t just leave them lying by the gel bed, because they’d fly wildly around the control room during the acceleration phase. Kepler sighed, took them off, and stood on the balls of his feet. He closed the locker, made sure it couldn’t come open by itself, and ran to the bed. Then he noticed that it lacked a lid like the ones on Zhenyi’s ship.

  His girlfriend noticed his reaction. “It’s a new model. Once you’re inside, the lid slides out of the wall over there.”

  “Got it,” he said.

  He went over to Zhenyi and gave her a kiss. “Safe travels,” he wished her.

  “You too, my love.”

  Kepler went back over to the bed and touched the gel. It was body temperature and slippery. He picked up the mask that was hanging from the side and put it on. Then he climbed into the tub and sat down. The gel enveloped his lower body. It was the consistency of sorbet. Come on, Kepler, he thought. He pulled himself together and leaned back. His whole body sank into the gel. A shiver ran up his spine. But he’d get used to it.

  He was already noticing his mood improving. That must be the drugs dissolved in the gel in order to help him endure the imminent pain. “I’m ready,” he said through the radio module in the mask.

  “Then I’ll start the drive,” said Valentina.

  It sounded like she was lying right next to him. “How did you come up with the name Mario for the ship?” he asked.

  Ada cleared her throat. “Occupational hazard,” she said. “Mario was once a famous plumber on Terra. And, at the end of the day, we sphere engineers are nothing more than that.”

  Kepler had never heard of a plumber called Mario. Didn’t the man have a last name? But the answer satisfied him. He had guessed it would be something like that. The five of them were sure to have some fun.

  “Puppy? Are you ready?” asked Zhenyi.

  The butler was the only one on board who could tolerate the acceleration without a gel bed. But he still had to buckle himself in, so as not to be flung around the control room. “I’m secure,” replied the butler.

  Kepler felt the inertial force in his shoulders first. As soon as it reached a certain level, the lid of the gel bed closed automatically. Then the whole structure swiveled 90 degrees so that, so that his vertically aligned body could absorb the fo
rce more effectively. Kepler closed his eyes, but it didn’t get dark. That was the pressure. The optical nerves and sensory cells in his eyes reacted with high sensitivity, but the nanobots in his body repaired minor damage immediately. He didn’t need to worry. When they arrived, his vision would be even better than it was now.

  Suddenly he felt tired. That was the sleep meds entering his body through his skin. He always acclimatized to the pain more quickly if he slept for the first couple of days after launch. Kepler was visited by a vision of the Curies shooting at the butler and hitting Zhenyi.

  Cycle HF 8.8, Inner Milky Way, 3 Kiloparsec Arm

  “Are we already there?”

  Kepler had woken up, and now he realized why. The pain was gone. That meant there was no gravity, so his question made no sense, because they couldn’t have reached their destination. To do that they had to brake for exactly as long as they had accelerated.

  “I retract the question,” he said before anyone could respond.

  “We’ve received a call,” explained Ada.

  Her voice wasn’t coming through the headphones in his mask. It was muffled, coming from outside. She must already be up. Valentina was the pilot, so she must be awake, too.

  “We decided to let you sleep,” said Zhenyi. She was bending over his gel bed.

  He recognized her silhouette. “Boy, do I hate traveling in a gel bed,” he said.

  “But you still take your body with you everywhere, Zhenyi tells us,” said Valentina.