The Way of the Dhin

by John L. Clemmer

  I hope they’re right. Why? Why do these flight controls need a flesh-and-blood living person in contact? Precision automation would be so reassuring right about now. This thing’s too fast & space is just too vast. At least with human reflexes.

  He stared at his hand, hovering over the controls, a crutch for support against his doubts.

  No AI help. Just a simple navigation computer.

  He knew his arm would get tired eventually. He knew better than to hold this awkward position. It was hard to put that knowledge into action, but he managed to lower the heel of his hand and rest it just behind the controls. He stared, fixated by the incandescent controls.

  Does it tell us something about the Dhin and their biology? Does it suggest that they don’t trust AI tech, like some of us?

  Jake recognized his woolgathering and broke his gaze away, then began a set of calming breathing exercises.

  Maybe it’s just one more aspect of the Dhin that has no reason behind it that would make sense to us.

  “Control, Aries One here. As of 08:15:33Z, L2 reached, orbital velocity matched. Test equipment all continuing transmission normally. Air, water recycling, and reclamation look fine. Radiation and temperature all fine. Will continue with zero thrust for one hour, and then proceed with the next portion of the flight plan.”

  “Aries one, roger. Proceed as planned.”

  One hour later Jake checked the sets of flight coordinates he’d entered in the compact autopilot against the numbers on his own tablet, confirmed with ground control, and pressed the Enter key to calculate the flight plan.

  Jake cleared his throat. “Here we go, cranking that throttle. Let’s see what this thing can do out here. If we’ve made a huge mistake, hopefully we’ll find out now rather than on the next test flight I take.”

  At least there’s a chance for rescue from around here. If I don’t make it? Well, Jake, you’ve still set plenty of records already. Farthest human travel from earth is a big one.

  He noticed the numbers looked like he was moving even faster than on the previous low-orbit run, though it was impossible to tell visually from this far out. He looked again and compared with the previous data to check what he was seeing.

  “Control, confirm this acceleration and velocity, over,” Jake said.

  “Confirmed, Aries One, we see that. Chuck has a big grin here.”

  Jake prepared his focus and then increased the speed of the test maneuvers, with higher accelerations, sharper changes in direction, and then began a series orbits at higher speeds. Soon enough he was able to relax into his tentative comfort zone. The deliberately chaotic flight path was finished.

  “Control, Aries One reports flight plan complete. Whew. Glad to say I’m now updating navigation for return and heading back your way.”

  “Confirmed, Aries One, proceed and return to Vandenberg.”

  OK. Re-entry should be just as smooth as everything else we’ve done. No different from LEO in this thing. Frictionless, no heating, no vibration. One more thing to prove out. Confirm you can survive it. Right. Then I’m home ‘till the big one.

  Vandenberg

  Chuck excitedly paced back and forth between his tablet on the conference room table and the networked virtual whiteboard on the wall of the workroom. He pointed to a few equations on it as if they were birthday presents he was showing off.

  “We saw fewer relativistic effects than expected, Jake, even at your highest speed. The relativistic effects are there. Barely. They’re several orders of magnitude smaller than we’d expect to measure,” said Chuck, with a half-smile.

  “You weren’t going so fast they’d be easy to measure, of course, but they should have been greater than what we saw.”

  Jake said, “OK, despite all the other impossible things we’ve seen with the engine, relativistic effect elimination ought to be beyond even this tech. At least from what I know. Any way at all you could explain that to me? Whatever might be happening with me, inside the capsule, you’re still here in a different reference frame. I was definitely zipping away from you and all around out there at very high speed. It’s surely impossible for them to defeat the limits of Special Relativity.”

  “While we don’t know anything concrete about the ‘how’ yet, this was one of the exciting things to confirm, Jake. It may be the key that brings an insight into the ‘what.’ Toward a model we’ll use as a framework for predicting what the Dhin engine will do when it, um, does the things it does. Our existing models for how matter, energy, and quantum forces tie together all rely on certain constants. You know that. Although we don’t know why the constants have the values they do, we have—well almost all of us have—believed that the constants were, well, constant. Fixed. Throughout time from the beginning of the universe, ah, at least.”

  Alice spoke and continued the explanation when Chuck paused.

  “There have been a few researchers here and there that have proposed that these values aren’t truly fixed, or even that some of them were changing, slowly, over time. Some of the theories we have, like String theory, mathematically suggest that there are additional dimensions. Now, we do not mean parallel universes, or a multiverse, those are different topics. By extra dimensions, we mean there are more ‘directions’ available for motion than just x, y, and z in any frame. More than up-and-down, left-and-right, forward-and-back. There are, in the most developed version of the theory, at least two additional vectors, which are orthogonal to the three we can see and are aware of, and that we move through all the time.”

  Jake nodded, and said, “I’ve read a little about this and watched some ‘Tube videos. But how does the changeability of what we thought were constant values or the presence of dimensions we can’t detect at this scale have anything to do with general relativity? Particularly in the case of my flights with the Dhin engine?”

  “Well, we are not stating explicitly that the Dhin are doing this, because we do not yet have evidential confirmation that they are. A further question that requires a formal hypothesis follows. Could the Dhin manipulate the speed of light?”

  Jake tilted his head and asked,

  “How would that help? And doesn’t light already go slower in things like air, glass, and so forth?”

  “Sure,” Chuck replied.

  “But how would that make any difference when comparing your frame of reference with mine?” asked Jake. He frowned and looked away, then said, “If the speed of light was changed for the engine, at-and-around the engine, that might affect me, and things locally, but it shouldn’t have anything to do with you guys back here on Earth.”

  “Right, I know—and that’s a great point,” Said Chuck, “But it does seem to have an effect on you, such that you’re able to accelerate very quickly yet not get time dilation effects on your end. Now, we haven’t had you try for a ‘significant fraction’ of the speed-of-light yet, but the acceleration has been enough that we know the effect should have been measurable. Easily measurable. One explanation is that somehow the same process that eliminates inertia keeps the interior of the capsule in what’s effectively the ‘same’ reference frame as the takeoff point. That ought to be irrelevant to the result, as the capsule is accelerating itself, you, the whole volume of space and mass inside it. Somehow, they’re able to accelerate all that mass that rapidly.

  So, one of the team proposed, as a thought experiment, what if the speed of light were faster with the Dhin engine? Or is it just that the gravitational constant, as we suspect, changed too, so the effective mass that we need to accelerate takes less energy? And that that, somehow, ah, reduces the effect?”

  Chuck paused and Alice again proceeded with the explanation.

  “For a long time there has been this idea floating around that one reason gravity is a weaker force than the nuclear and electromagnetic forces is that gravity ‘leaks’ into the other two dimensions that we do not normally perceive. Could the Dhin leverage that effect, using it somehow, to lower the effective local mass in relation to
our familiar three dimensions? None of us would believe any of this was even a possibility if we had not seen these results. If we had never seen the Dhin engine at work.”

  Jake shook his head.

  “This is all far beyond me. We studied a bit of this years ago in college, when I got my engineering degree, but I was studying mechanical engineering, not particle physics and cosmology. And hey, if you say we’re learning, then that’s what we need. I’ll keep flying while we keep learning. We’re gonna have a lot to learn from on my next trip.”

  7

  Langley

  General Ruiz would have slammed the door of the first-floor briefing room if it were possible. Alas, it was not. The door quietly shut with a click and a puff of air. Ruiz stared across at Krawczuk and tried not to bellow. If Krawczuk was perturbed by the demand for an in-person conference, he didn’t show it. His unreadable expression made Ruiz even angrier.

  “OK, what the hell have you got going on operationally in South America? Satellite and radar blackouts while we were conducting the most important test flight ever?”

  He stared up at the camera on the ceiling.

  “Arnold? How is it I’m not on the advisement list for this deployment and engagement? Much less given go-no-go approval status? Explain!”

  He was definitely growing to hate the patronizing voices of both the AI and the spook. Ruiz liked the epithet. No one called spies that anymore. It evoked the cloak-and-dagger criminality inherent in their distasteful purpose.

  Arnold replied, “General, these are clearly unique situations we’re in. While normally everything of this nature would be on your pad in advance, the chiefs of staff and I, as counsel, have determined that delegation of particular duties to particular roles will be more efficacious.

  Krawczuk responded immediately. To Ruiz, his voice sounded like wine dripping off ice.

  “We didn’t want you distracted. I’m sure when you step back and consider the importance of your immediate concerns, which you clearly comprehend, you’ll agree that a minor operation in a fringe area would only be a distraction were it on your plate.”

  Ruiz snarled, “Whether to focus on it or not—that’s something for me to decide with my superiors? On their orders. When did you become part of my chain of command, Krawczuk? I missed that. There’s a clear distinction between CoSec and military directives, despite where you’ve managed to worm your way into things. I don’t know why you think you can interfere wherever and however you want. Even if you’ve got Alice and Arnold here backing you, never forget, Krawczuk, I don’t answer to you!”

  “Of course, of course, General. Procedures must be followed. I believe Arnold will have a memorandum that provides clarity on this for you. Signed by PM Oliver. Correct, Arnold?”

  “General, it’s on your pad now,” Arnold replied.

  Ruiz glanced down, thumbed over a screen, and then slapped the pad down against the glassy-smooth wood of the conference table.

  “Fine, but we’re past that now. This doesn’t say I’m not authorized to know now, after the fact. What the hell is going on?”

  “Arnold?” queried Krawczuk.

  “General, the current situation as we understand it, is that there were multiple incidents in Brazil involving unknown aggressors against unspecified targets and existing infrastructure. We previously evacuated the area. The Coalition was not actively managing that location. Labeled inactive, and therefore presumed inactive. Our peer managing that area of South America, Luís, knew no more than we did at the time of our last communication, and he provided no concrete information for us. We were certain that the conflict was more than it appeared, as there was sophisticated jamming in use against air and satellite communication, as well as network attacks and denial-of-service activity. Coalition AI Xing took an interest in the situation and drove the investigation. With approvals from the PM and myself, he interceded and now is attempting to secure the area. A full report from AI Xing is forthcoming, but for the moment he and his assigned resources are actively engaged in Goiânia.”

  Ruiz huffed and replied gruffly, “So, you’ve got an AI involved in Special Ops work in an inactive area. You’re saying CoSec is not involved. And the full scope of the attack and identity of the instigators are unknown, except that they have nation-state grade electronic and cyber-warfare capabilities.”

  “Yes,” said Krawczuk.

  Ruiz’s breathing became audible, and Krawczuk saw he had clenched his left fist, but Ruiz stayed silent.

  With the faintest hint of condescension, Krawczuk rose. “If that’s all, General, I have business to see to. I’m sure Arnold can fill you in if you need additional information.”

  Goiânia

  The drone was now fully aware of the threats approaching it and present in the interdicted zone.

  I see you.

  For the drone, visualization of this was straightforward although it would overwhelm a human pilot, like a video game made for a being with twelve eyes and eight hands.

  Reinforcement requested. Immediate assistance at -16.729403, -49.319606.

  The stream of data showed the enemy targets both where they were, where they had been, with a projected estimate of where they would be. It adjusted its course to intercept the closest target. It had no fear, no hesitation. Such was the mind of the drone.

  Now we are in the thick of it, let us stir things up, mused Xing wryly. He climbed slightly and banked toward the nearest target. Pattern recognition for an AI leveraged multiple sensory input streams, just as a person might use sight and sound. An AI used these as well as radar and infrared, allowing him to recognize the model of the nearest drone almost immediately, and saw three more approaching from the southeast. He signaled his gunship to take a flanking course and accelerate, calculating an intercept path in the time required.

  At least two autoguns are down there. Probably a few more that are not quite detectable through the EM interference they are trying to saturate us with. Well, let us see how they like this. Here are some nice state-of-the-art countermeasures and directed EM pulses of my own.

  Xing’s craft hurled a burst of wideband static directly at the nearest target, and just after the blast, dozens of tiny chrome bumblebee-like automata emptied from the rear of his craft. These distractions projected their own electromagnetic signatures, shaped to look like aircraft of various sizes, all similar to Xing’s own. He increased his speed to near the maximum he could manage, hurtling forward like an angry metal falcon.

  The drone dipped and wobbled, blinded by the offensive electromagnetic attack. It recovered and began wideband scans to acquire targets it had lost during the EM pulse. There were more targets now, filling space around the closest enemy. The drone’s simple logic tried to sort out truth from lie, the real from a silicon hallucination. The enemy was close enough now. It knew of one way to separate truth from electronic fiction.

  Ground support, immediate engagement at coordinates provided. Full area saturation fire, multiple volleys. Free to engage.

  The nested autonomous anti-aircraft vehicles that waited just inside the drone’s defined enemy-no-fly zone jerked to life, swinging their guns about, leading the target flight paths. Hardened spikes of metal fed into their magnetic rail guns in a blur, filling the sky around the enemy with what would be certain death for traditional aircraft.

  But like his detection of the enemies in flight, Xing sensed the anti-aircraft fire in a manner impossible for a human pilot. His aircraft was unlike anything a human being could fly. It whipped sideways at an angle producing g-forces that would crush a man. Then a burst of power from the engines added to that net force, rocketing him up and out of the cone filled with thousands of railgun spikes. Immediate communications to his support aircraft targeted the guns on the ground, and seconds later the 50mm high-explosive cannon on that plane rained explosive death down onto them. The guns were embedded in an embankment, but that was not shelter enough. The rounds from above plowed the ground apart. The railguns wer
e a sword. The cannon above was the fist of an angry Norse god, pounding the sword into scrap.

  ***

  The noise Aiden heard at first was a far-off whine, like a faint ringing in the ears, but somehow sounded ‘large.’ That tone merged with a thrumming noise like helicopter blades, but with a thinner sound, a sort of whip-crack at the end of each thrum. It was close, he estimated, but far enough away that it hadn’t made him anxious. He felt a growing curiosity. What did that ominous sound signify? A thunderous boom made Aiden jerk forward on the bike, drawn taut with the sudden shock of sound, the bike swerving a bit before he straightened out.

  Whoa! What was that? Something big. Hold on. Was that a rail gun?

  Aiden screeched to a halt. He scanned the sky to the south carefully, back and forth.

  Is that a gunship? And what’s that glitter over there? More drones? Airborne drones don’t carry guns that big. It had to come from that thing over there, and it has to be a gunship.

  A pall of dusty smoke rose over the trees and buildings southward, and Aiden saw gritty debris falling out as the smoke shifted in the slight breeze.

  Crap, that’s closer than I’d have thought. I was pretty sure I was in the clear. Why’s that fight taking so long? What’s going on? That autogun went off in a weird direction. Where was it headed? Which side is which? Too many questions.

  I should probably get off the road. Don’t want one of ‘em spotting me and deciding I’m part of whatever enemy force it’s after. Or is it safer to keep going, and just put as much distance between them and me as I can? I can’t stop for too long.

  Aiden stared and watched the ominous inky smoke spread through the sky. He made his decision. He would keep moving. He cranked the Suzuki, took off, and sped down the road in an easterly direction. Not ideal, as he’d rather be going north, but it was good enough for now.