Yes, that was possible, but his memory told him otherwise. He would definitely be much more careful in the future.
Cycle HH 4.4, Inner Milky Way, 3 Kiloparsec Arm
“May I clear the table?” asked Puppy.
Kepler nodded at the butler, picking up the small cookie from his coffee saucer and shoving it into his mouth. Today the butler had used real ground coffee from Zhenyi’s supplies to make the espresso. Kepler didn’t actually like the bitter taste, but he couldn’t resist the sensation of consuming something that had been grown, not produced by nano-machines. The cookie looked like it had come from Terra, but of course it had been made by the machines.
The days on board the Mario were stressful for Kepler. Although the ninety-niner was huge, it was mostly made up of propulsion units, fuel tanks, and storage areas. Without a protective suit he was only allowed to enter the rooms rotating around its main axis, and he kept running into other people there. So he spent a lot of time in his private cabin. It was so small that it felt like a coffin, but at least there he didn’t have to justify himself when he didn’t feel like talking.
He hoped they’d soon pick up the trail of the criminals who had helped themselves from the Gigadyson.
“I’ve been thinking about our search strategy,” said Valja.
Kepler swallowed the thoroughly chewed cookie. Valja was finding it hard to come to terms with the lack of activity on board. She spent a lot of time training on the sports equipment, and kept trying to analyze what they already knew so far.
“It’s possible that whoever we’re chasing is in orbit around the Gigadyson, like we are, only presumably a bit closer to the sphere,” she added.
“I’d say it’s safe to assume that,” said Ada.
Valentina’s girlfriend still had some lasagna on her plate. She sliced off a piece with one left and one right hand, and used the other right hand to spoon some sauce into her mouth. It was fascinating. The butler always laid a double set of cutlery at her place. Watching Ada had distracted Kepler from the rather flavorless lasagna, which came from the Mario’s stores. The butler had been shocked when Ada told him that they seldom ate together. He’d changed that immediately.
“They might be moving clockwise around the sphere, like us, or counter-clockwise—we don’t know. But one thing is clear. We’ll never catch them if we just keep reacting to reports from the control stations. Eventually we’ll know everything about them, but they’ll still always be one step ahead of us.”
“That’s a pretty fundamental problem, I’ll give you that,” said Zhenyi.
“We need to get the drop on them,” said Valentina.
“But how?”
“By overtaking them. We’ll accelerate to maximum speed, instead of slowly cruising along behind them, overtake them, and then we’ll just need to wait for them.”
“I was thinking about that too,” said Ada. “The trail was relatively fresh where we last deployed. So they can’t be far ahead of us.”
“But if we arrive before them, they’ll notice us and then act as if they were there coincidentally,” said Kepler. “We won’t be able to prove they were violating the law.”
“But surely the stolen material would be evidence enough,” said Valentina.
“No. Dark matter is dark matter. We can’t prove where they filled up,” Zhenyi explained.
“Then we’ll have to catch them in the act,” said Valentina. “We’ll hide in the maintenance shaft, and when they open it, they’ll already have broken the law.”
“That won’t be easy, but it’s doable,” said Ada. “There’s just one problem. We don’t know the next location they’ll attempt to steal the dark matter from.”
“Maybe there’s a trend, a routine they’re following. They must be selecting their targets according to some system,” said Valentina.
“Wait a moment. I can analyze that,” said the butler. “Please give me half a minute.”
They all fell silent. Ada drummed on the table with her twenty fingers. It was annoying. Couldn’t she stop doing that?
“There is indeed a pattern,” said the butler finally.
“Out with it, then,” said Zhenyi.
“At first I assumed they were steering toward maintenance shafts along a particular orbit. But that’s not true. That is, the previous disturbances don’t form a straight line. They seem to have a different system. The thieves appear to be calculating where the risk of being observed by an autonomous unit is particularly low.”
“Isn’t the sphere uniformly monitored?” asked Ada.
“That would be impossible. The system directs the units so that each section is checked at regular intervals, but in between there are substantial periods when the thieves can act without being observed,” said the butler.
“But that means they must have inside information. Only the system itself knows the orbits of all the autonomous units,” said Ada. “We should definitely pass that on.”
“Wait a moment,” said Kepler. “If the thieves really have access to the system, then we’ll be warning them at the same time as warning the system. We need to keep this knowledge to ourselves until we’ve caught them.”
“Correct,” said Zhenyi. “But Puppy still owes us a prognosis.”
“Unfortunately, I can’t make a definite prediction about the next target,” said the butler. “There are two possible targets. The probability that they’ll hit one is 48 percent, and the other is 42 percent. The remainder is divided among other targets.”
“Then let’s try for the 48 percent one,” said Valentina. “If they don’t show up there, then we’ll repeat the maneuver at the second most likely target.”
“To reach the area before them, the human crew will need to spend two weeks in the gel beds,” said the butler.
Not again, thought Kepler. But at least he wouldn’t have to stream his consciousness to the destination this time.
Cycle HK 0.5, Gigadyson
“Radio silence from here on out!”
Ada had assumed command. To Kepler’s astonishment, Zhenyi had immediately agreed. Kepler sat down on his backpack. The days ahead were likely to be exhausting, but then they hoped to be successful and be able to fly back to their base. Mario, the ninety-niner, was in a parking orbit in the sensor shadow of the next control station.
Kepler stood up again and nearly lifted off. The low gravity was starting to irritate him. There might be several days of this, and he was already losing patience. This could get interesting. He unpacked the backpack in the beam of his helmet lamp. There was a rechargeable lamp at the top, which he stuck to the wall and switched on. Now at least the narrow side passage was no longer completely dark. The others had hidden further down in the shell of the Gigadyson. The rectangular cross-section of the passage here was so narrow that only one person could pass through at a time. That meant sharing a passage would have been inefficient. If the thieves came, whoever was further back in the passage would be unable to act.
How long would they have to wait? They had brought enough provisions with them—air, food, and water. But disposing of their excretions was a problem. The urine was collected in a container, but for solid excrement there was just the diaper. Humanity had existed for so many billions of years without ever having solved this primitive problem! But the need for a solution had actually reduced with the progress of android technology. Who would have believed that they would choose to wait for the thieves in their biological bodies, for days? They had actually discussed whether it would make more sense to send a couple of robots. But the butler had assured them that they most likely wouldn’t have to wait longer than 48 hours. That had seemed doable.
Kepler took the sleeping mat out of the backpack and spread it out. Something touched his back. He turned around. It was Valja. She was laughing at his frightened reaction. Then she held out the end of a thin cable to him. He made the OK sign, then took the cable and tied it to the lamp on the wall. They would be able to send signals through it if
anything happened. Radio was too dangerous, because the radio waves would penetrate outside. They couldn’t afford to raise suspicion, as otherwise they’d be waiting here in vain. And if they were unlucky, the thieves wouldn’t come at all and would choose a different target.
Valja tapped him again. She was holding the ends of two other cables in her hand, which she must be taking to the butler and Zhenyi. Kepler waved after her. That would probably be his last visit until things got serious. The butler had estimated that there weren’t more than two thieves. So it shouldn’t be a problem for the five of them to overpower the bandits. Their own shuttle had returned to the control station, so they’d have to use the ship in which the thieves had arrived.
Kepler lay down on his mat, which automatically pumped itself up to a thickness of ten centimeters. The spacesuit fit beautifully. He almost felt like he was wearing a jumpsuit, except that he still had to wear the helmet. But maybe that was actually an advantage in the low gravity here. The butler had constructed a special pillow before they left. It was concave in the middle for the helmet, so that he wouldn’t get a crick in his neck from lying down.
He turned onto his side. If he fell asleep, the lamp would detect this and wake him if necessary. They’d tested that out earlier. The light was so bright that, even though it made no sound, it could wake him from a deep sleep. The suit was also programmed so that its photosensors would pull him out of sleep. Kepler selected the entertainment program on the multifunctional device on his arm. The helmet projected a movie menu onto his visor. Kepler chose a documentary about the construction of the Gigadyson. The voice of Marilyn Monroe narrated. Documentaries always worked wonderfully for sending him off to sleep.
Cycle HK 0.6, Gigadyson
Kepler woke up with a start. It was pitch black all around. The lamp on the wall must have turned itself off. He breathed heavily until he remembered where he was. The contrast couldn’t have been greater. He had just been lying in a meadow with Zhenyi. The planet in his dream didn’t have a name. They had headed for it because, from space, it had looked like a white ball sprinkled with color. There were no mountains or oceans there, just meadows. They’d had the whole planet to themselves and had taken the opportunity to make love all day.
He shook his head. The lamp detected the movement and turned back on. A planet like that couldn’t even exist. And without food and water they would have starved. Making love would have been out of the question. His stomach reminded him of how unrealistic his dream was. Kepler attached one of the cans to the food inlet on the suit. He didn’t bother with the proper etiquette. The contents had to be a thin fluid, because it had to flow through a hose into his helmet. Kepler snapped at the valve at the end of the hose. He missed it the first time. This must look pretty funny from outside. Then he got the hose into his mouth, sucked, then swallowed. Best to get the mass down quick before he noticed the taste.
Then he had another urge. Kepler let it flow. But then he noticed that his sphincter was tensed. No, that would have to wait. The diaper still felt clean and dry, and he’d like it to stay that way for as long as possible. Digestion was actually supposed to slow down in low gravity. He stood up and let himself float around a bit. He had to distract himself. What if he investigated the passage for a few meters behind him? He shined the helmet lamp along it. The duct continued straight ahead—almost endlessly. The curvature of the sphere, which it would have to follow, was barely detectable. So he should be able to see the warning light from a reasonable distance.
Yes, he’d indulge this little diversion. He was doing something prohibited, and no one knew. How exciting! His mood improved immediately. Kepler set off. The passage was circular. He leaned a bit to one side, so that his feet were walking up the wall. It was both scary and fascinating at the same time. Now he was walking on the ceiling! He moved in a corkscrew pattern down the passage. If only Zhenyi could see this! But she might just laugh at him. He was pretending he had the abilities of a superhero. Anyone could do that in low gravity. Still, it was fun, and there was no one watching him so he didn’t need to hold back.
Then he came to a junction. Having changed his orientation so many times, he wasn’t sure at first which way the branching passage led. He pulled his legs in toward his body and waited to see which way the gravity pulled him. Down was that way. And that was also where the passage led. Hmm. Zhenyi was in another duct parallel to his, but a few meters below him. This passage might connect them. He just needed to float a few meters into it to check. If he was right, he’d be able to surprise his girlfriend. He would approach her from a direction she wasn’t expecting. The duct was airless, so she wouldn’t hear him. This was going to be fun!
Kepler let himself sink into the adjoining passage. After about three body lengths he came to another duct, as anticipated. If that wasn’t an invitation, what was it? Shouldn’t you surprise your lover now and again? A spontaneous visit out of the darkness, what could be more delightful? Kepler thought. He pulled himself into Zhenyi’s passageway. A lamp glowed in the distance. That must be where his girlfriend was stationed. He made his way toward her at a leisurely pace.
He soon recognized her silhouette. She had just been lying down. Now she stood up and then crouched. What was she doing? Then he realized. He waited till she had taken care of her needs, then he went a bit closer. The beam of the lamp extended about ten meters. He’d have to be patient if he wanted to surprise Zhenyi. She was standing up and moving her arms and legs. She was doing gymnastics. Very admirable. Then she let herself sink back down onto her backside. She was facing away from him. This was his chance! He would surprise her. Then she would sense his presence and embrace him tenderly in her arms.
Kepler pushed himself off lightly from the wall and sailed toward her. He held his arms outstretched in front of him. He had nearly reached her. His arms closed around her helmet, blocking her vision.
“Got you,” he said, but of course she didn’t hear him. The radio was off. Instead, Zhenyi sprang up, reaching into her tool belt and tearing something out. He noticed too late that it was a weapon. Zhenyi held the weapon at the height of his torso. He could see her contorted face under the helmet visor. He quickly kicked with his foot against her abdomen. She crumpled backward. Her finger tightened around the trigger. There was nothing to see and nothing to hear, but Kepler was sure that, at that second, a shot had left the barrel.
He’d kicked out at the right moment. The bullet missed him and whizzed down the long passageway. At some point the wall would stop it. Kepler could see the recognition dawn on Zhenyi’s face, as though in slow motion. At first she was frightened, then shocked, and finally she expressed her unmistakable rage. Kepler couldn’t think of anything to do but lay a finger symbolically against his visor. At that moment he was glad of the radio silence and, despite all her fury, his girlfriend was sensible enough to maintain it. He wouldn’t have to hear her point of view until after the rage had subsided.
But he’d counted his chickens before they’d hatched. Zhenyi came closer, taking his helmet in both hands, and he realized at once that it wasn’t meant in tenderness. She pressed her helmet against his. Her face looked huge, contorted in anger, and the curved helmet distorted it even more.
“You asshole,” she said, and the sound was clearly conducted by the suit. “Mess with me, and you’ll have something else coming. Now get back to your post!”
She shoved him away from her. Kepler knew he didn’t need to say anything. Things hadn’t gone quite as planned. Shit happens. It would be a while before she could give him a piece of her mind, and by then he hoped she’d have calmed down.
Still, it was a shame—he wished he could hug her, even in a spacesuit.
Cycle HK 0.7, Gigadyson
By now Kepler was longing for the day he’d get that dressing down from Zhenyi, because that would mean they’d been able to leave their miserable hiding place. Either the butler had miscalculated, or one of the lower probability events had occurred. Kepler desp
erately wanted to peel off his suit, take a hot shower, sink his teeth into some decent food, and then sleep it off in a bed in normal gravity. The diaper, which had by now become quite hard, was testing his patience more than anything.
This was a waste of his precious life. A couple of egotists were robbing humanity’s provisions. But apparently they only had one spaceship. Surely the damage couldn’t be so much that it endangered the stability of the Gigadyson?
And what about that strange force that had pushed him against gravity and back to the hatch? Maybe he really had imagined it. He’d also expected Zhenyi to be happy to see him. And for the last few hours he’d been seeing steaks wafting in his mind’s eye. He was even able to call up the image voluntarily, which was very practical when he wanted to distract himself from the revolting taste of the liquid food.
A steak. Reddish juices dripped from it. Some of it fell on his finger and he licked it off. It was delicious. It was the taste of paradise.
The steak disappeared before he wanted it to. Kepler was annoyed, until he noticed the lamp was flickering. That was the sign! They were getting a visit after all. He turned the light off. Their plan was simple. It mostly consisted of waiting.
That seemed easy. But Kepler found it challenging, because he had no idea what the thieves intended to do, and he also didn’t know if they were armed and how they would react if they were discovered. The vibration sensor had only informed them that someone had touched the surface of the sphere nearby. The intruders were probably busy with the maintenance hatch. They would enter the code they had presumably stolen from the system, wrench open the hatch, and illuminate the shaft.
Kepler was startled when a beam of light illuminated the vertical shaft. It felt as though he had caused it to happen with his thoughts. Someone should drift down the shaft soon. They had simulated how easy the theft would be. Even laypeople could do it if they had the codes. But you needed two people, it wasn’t possible with just one. They would both come floating down with the hose.
The Death of the Universe: Ghost Kingdom: Hard Science Fiction (Big Rip Book 2) Page 8
