Freedom's Last Gasp

by M. A. Rothman

  An officer who’d taken the seat in front of them turned and smiled. “Hey, Chapper. Thought that was your voice.” They clasped hands.

  “Hey, Sanchez. Maybe you can clue me in on what’s going on. I literally just got off mission from Earth. What’s happening?”

  The soldier shook his head. “It’s sudden for us too—the governor just now made the call. Everyone on the colony is bugging out. Everyone. Going into the mines.”

  Priya looked out the window, past the refueling truck, to the hill in the distance that led to the mine she by now knew very well. There was a crowd of people in front of it. For her to be able to see them from here… there must be thousands of them.

  “How is that possible?” she asked. “There are over three million people in this colony. And just like that, they’re all going underground?”

  “It’s not ideal, but we’ve got no choice. According to the governor’s announcement, Earth is heading our way with an armada of bombs. Enough to wipe us out. But evidently, this is a contingency she’s planned for, and fortunately the people trust her. So when she ordered everyone to seek shelter, people sprang into action.”

  The refueling vehicle pulled away, and the soldier at the front said, “Buckle up, everyone. We’re about to make history.”

  Thirty seconds later the shuttle was racing down the runway. Then they were in the air, and the G-forces pressed Priya back against the chair—hard. And the force was increasing as they rose. This was unlike any launch she’d ever experienced, and she held Tom’s left hand in a death grip.

  “This is a military launch,” Tom explained. “It’s a bit more abrupt than a cargo or civilian transport launch. We’ll be fine in a few minutes.”

  Fine? She felt like an elephant was sitting on her chest. She focused on her breathing.

  The speakers came to life, and a woman’s voice projected through the cabin.

  “This is Governor Welch, speaking to the soldiers on my shuttle as well as on shuttle two. I know that this is sudden for most of you—especially for the team that just arrived from Earth. I apologize, but we just didn’t have the time to do things differently. I assure you that we made arrangements for your families’ safety, and they’ll be awaiting your return when we’re done.

  “After today, the relationship between the colony and Earth is going to be very different. The nature of that change is uncertain, but I hope this will be the beginning of a bright new era. In any case, over the next couple of hours you’re going to be surprised by what we have in store. In the meantime, relax. It’ll be about one hour before we enter Epsilon’s atmosphere. I’ll see you on the ground.”

  A timer appeared on the front wall of the cabin, counting down four hours and forty-five minutes. What was that for?

  She tried to turn her head toward Tom. Given the forces still pushing on her, even that simple movement took everything she had.

  “Try not to move,” Tom said. His voice was strained, but he was clearly handling this much better than she was. “We’re pulling about four to five Gs.”

  Priya managed a few words. “What’s the timer for?”

  “No idea. Seriously, just relax. If you fight the G forces, you’ll be exhausted by the time we land, and you’ll need your strength to walk around on Epsilon. Imagine you’re melting into the seat.”

  Priya closed her eyes and again focused on her breathing.

  What did I get myself into?

  Chapter Seventeen

  When the shuttle landed on the surface of Epsilon, the higher gravity was obvious—but to Priya it didn’t seem too bad, not after the G-forces she’d had to endure for much of the trip.

  “Welcome to Epsilon,” Tom said with a boyish grin. He stood, adjusted his belt, reseated his firearm, and offered Priya his hand.

  “I swear,” she said, “my butt is going to have a permanent mesh pattern from being pressed into that damned seat.”

  Tom chuckled. “That’s something I’d like to see.”

  Priya gave him an accusing look. “Are you seriously flirting with me? Now, when your home, my new home, and millions of people’s lives are at stake—now you choose to flirt?”

  Tom began stammering a response, but Priya placed a finger across his lips and smiled.

  “It’s okay—I like flirting. But let’s save it for when I’m in a frame of mind where I can return the favor.”

  Tom shook his head and smiled. “You’re totally not the person I thought you were when we first met.”

  “I know. I tend to grow on you, like a fungus.”

  They followed the other soldiers to the front of the shuttle. Even before they exited, the temperature in the cabin had increased. Priya’s clothes were suitable for summer in Florida, but the wave of heat hitting her now was unlike anything she’d experienced.

  Actually, that wasn’t entirely true. She’d been on level twelve in the mines. This place felt just like level twelve.

  As they stepped through the hatch onto the stairs leading down to the planet’s surface, she paused to take in the view of the landscape. It was bleak. They were in a craggy valley between two ridges, and everything was gray and dusty. A haze hung above them, obscuring any clouds.

  “Be careful,” Tom said behind her. “You’re still not one hundred percent, and the first time I offloaded here, I ended up tumbling down the stairs.”

  “Well, I’m not a meathead.” The phrase just popped out of her mouth, and she smiled.

  “Oh no,” Tom said dramatically. “You’ve been hanging around Stef for too long.”

  The other shuttle was parked about a hundred yards away. No, not parked—it was moving. Slowly. At a walking pace. Sideways?

  “Tom… how is that shuttle moving?”

  “Ah. That’s alien tech. It’s all over the place here.”

  Priya gasped as they reached the bottom of the stairs. Small silvery objects, thousands of them, were flitting across the ground toward their shuttle. They were like an ocean of skittering spiders. They gathered around the landing gear, and as soon as the stairs had pulled back, the shuttle began moving, carried by the sea of spiders.

  “Where are they taking the shuttles?”

  Tom pointed. “There are some caves over there where they’ll be safe from the elements.”

  “Who programmed them to do that?”

  A woman’s voice answered. “I can introduce you to someone who can explain that.”

  Priya turned to see a blonde woman who looked vaguely familiar, though Priya was sure she’d never met her before. Beside the woman stood Terry, wearing fatigues and a sidearm, with a duffel over his shoulder.

  The woman extended her hand. “Priya Radcliffe? I’m Jenna Welch—”

  “The governor!” Priya gasped as she shook the woman’s hand.

  “Yes.” She motioned to Terry and then Tom. “And you’ve already met my sons.”

  Priya looked at the two Chappers with wide eyes—and then a glare. “Why didn’t either of you tell me your mom was the governor?”

  Terry laughed. “What difference would that make?”

  She narrowed her eyes at Tom. “And you?”

  He held up his hands innocently. “You never asked.”

  With a laugh, the governor draped an arm over Priya’s shoulders and began walking with her. “I can’t begin to express how much you remind me of someone I knew a long time ago.”

  Before Priya could respond, the governor began giving her what was, apparently, a tour.

  She pointed at a raised trail to the left. “You see that? That was the first indication we had of extraterrestrial life on Epsilon. When we spotted that, we knew it was manufactured by some form of intelligent life.”

  Priya scanned the length of the trail. “It’s the straight lines. And the whole thing is raised above the ground. No riverbed would do that.”

  “Exactly. It turns out, that’s what’s left of a road built very much like the ones the Romans built millennia ago.”

  “Are th
e road’s builders also responsible for the… alien tech that carried the shuttles? And”—her pulse quickened—“are those builders still around?”

  “I’ll defer the answer to the first question to someone else who we’ll meet in a bit.” The governor pointed to a cave up ahead. “As to the second question, I’m afraid they’re gone. According to our best estimates, they’ve been gone for nearly two hundred thousand years.”

  Priya looked back at the road. It had survived for two hundred thousand years? That was unheard of.

  When they reached the entrance to the cave, the governor turned to face the dozen men who’d accompanied them from the shuttles.

  “I just got a heads up from the eye in the sky. It looks like we’ll get storms late tonight, with possible flooding in the valley. So double-time it over to the shuttles, make sure they’re squared away, and then hoof it back here. You don’t want to miss the show.” She turned to Terry and Tom. “But you two boys stay with me.”

  As she spoke, Priya noticed something odd about the governor. She was young. To be Terry and Tom’s mother, she had to be at least in her late fifties, but she looked two decades younger than that. And then there was that strange sense of familiarity. Priya couldn’t get over the thought that she’d seen this woman before.

  But where?

  It was surprisingly cool inside the caves. Unlike natural caverns with rough edges and dampness, these rock walls were smooth, rounded edges everywhere, and somehow there was a sterile sense to the air that seemed like it had been filtered. As they continued walking, Priya began feeling the burden of the gravity. After they’d gone down a smooth ramp for the fourth time, she asked Tom, “Did the colonists build this or was it here before?”

  “Everything you’ve seen so far was already here. But you’ll see lots of human touches soon enough. Or at least, I think so. I haven’t been down here in a couple years, and the guy running it… well, he’s got a mind of his own.”

  “The governor doesn’t run this place? Then who does?”

  At that moment they turned a corner, and Priya had to pause to take it all in. Directly in front of her was a fifty-foot-wide auditorium-style room with huge video panels arrayed all along the front, each displaying a feed from who knows where. And beneath those screens the floor was full of workstations, most of them manned. It looked almost exactly like the launch control facility back at Cape Canaveral. Above the main screens was a countdown clock, which currently read just over two hours.

  “There’s the man in charge,” Tom said.

  He was pointing to a tall, heavily muscled, dark-skinned man.

  Priya gasped. “It can’t be!”

  There was no doubt about it. She’d seen the man’s picture a hundred times before. This was one of the greatest scientists in history, the man her school was named after.

  The governor greeted him, then they both turned and walked over to Priya, who had to concentrate to keep her jaw from hitting the floor.

  “You… you’re David Holmes,” she stammered. “You’re bloody dead!”

  The man laughed. “I don’t feel dead.”

  Stunned, Priya took two steps back and bumped into Tom. He put his hands on her shoulders and whispered, “It’s okay. Calm down.”

  She shrugged out of his grasp and turned on him. “You calm down. I’m rightfully freaking out, damn it.”

  She turned back to Holmes, only to see him wiping tears from his eyes. Was he… crying?

  “What the hell is going on?” she said.

  It was Tom who answered. “Mom says you look and act exactly like Neeta Radcliffe. Neeta and Dave were best friends.”

  Holmes extended his hand. “I’m so glad to meet you. I thought Margaret had lost her mind when she told me about you, but she’s right. You’re just like Neeta. Even the British accent. It’s unbelievable.”

  “Margaret?”

  Holmes tilted his head toward the governor. “Margaret Hager.”

  Priya would have taken another step back, but she was already pressed up against Tom. This was too much impossibility coming at her all at once.

  “You’re… Margaret Hager. The Margaret Hager? First governor of the colony. President of the United States during the Great Exodus.”

  The governor winked. “Please. Just call me Margaret.”

  Minutes later, Priya found herself sitting alone in an office with David Holmes, the man responsible for saving all of humanity. Their knees were practically touching. It was surreal, and Priya said so.

  “I can’t believe I’m talking to the famous Dr. Holmes.”

  “And I can’t believe I’m talking to a young Radcliffe. But call me Dave.”

  “Okay… Dave.” That felt even more surreal.

  Harold took the opportunity to climb into Priya’s lap and transform into a cat. Dave smiled and nodded.

  “Interesting. I’ve been wondering why some of the AIs around here have begun taking on the form of a kitten in recent years.”

  “AIs? You mean—there are other Harolds?”

  “There are other AIs. There’s only one Harold.”

  “But… you’re saying when Harold turns into a kitten, they do too? So they’re linked?”

  “Well, they don’t all turn at the same time, if that’s what you meant, but they’re capable of it. As to being linked, yes and no. I won’t pretend to have a grasp of everything they do, but they have… well, not exactly a hive mind, but…”

  “You mean like the Borg?”

  Dave smiled. “Wow, I’m shocked you’re familiar with that TV series; it was old when I was young. But no, they’re not like the Borg either, and they don’t share a mind. In fact, they have distinctly different personalities. But they do have a shared database of facts that contribute to the whole. So I suppose once the image of a kitten was introduced into their shared database, others picked it up.”

  Priya furrowed her eyebrows.

  Dave laughed. “Wow, you even have the same expressions that Neeta did. And that expression means something’s on your mind.”

  “A lot of things are on my mind, if I’m being honest. First and foremost… how are you still alive?”

  “Yes, I thought you’d want to start there. But to answer, I need to roll back to a bit of history. I assume the government on Earth has hidden all evidence of the alien life we discovered on this planet?”

  Priya nodded. “They have.”

  “Then here’s the timeline, the best that I can figure it. About two hundred thousand years ago, this planet was very different than it is today. Lush grasslands, a bit cooler, with a civilization of insect-like beings who possessed the equivalent of 1950s technology. They had cities, farming, and a reasonably advanced manufacturing sector.

  “But then a planetoid came. It struck Epsilon with only a glancing blow, but that was more than enough. The planet’s surface became a furnace, and the impact sent a huge amount of debris into space. I believe that Chrysalis is a combination of what got kicked up from this planet’s surface and the remnants of the planetoid that struck Epsilon. Epsilon had gained itself a moon.

  “We found evidence of an observatory, so the inhabitants of Epsilon must have seen the asteroid’s approach. They sent millions of their species underground, and amazingly, they survived. They were trapped—the surface was now uninhabitable—but they survived. In fact, they thrived for another one hundred thousand years, by our estimates, and their technology developed far beyond our own—such as Harold here, and other tech you’ve now likely been exposed to.

  “But they eventually had a problem. Birth rates began dropping, and once it started, each generation got smaller and smaller. I suspect it could have been due to the background radiation that exists below the surface of most planets. Anyway, they eventually died out, all of them, leaving behind a wealth of unbelievable knowledge and technology.”

  “And then you arrived,” Priya said.

  “Yes. Then I arrived.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. �
�I arrived to find the remains of an alien civilization. But the government back on Earth… they weren’t happy about it. In fact, they were deathly afraid. Afraid of the idea that an alien intelligence could have outpaced humanity. Perhaps afraid of how that intelligence and technology could disrupt their power structures.

  “They agreed to the terraforming of Chrysalis. They agreed to the mining colony. But as for Epsilon, they wanted to pretend it wasn’t there.”

  Dave smiled. “I disagreed.”

  “So… what? You faked your own death?”

  “Nothing that dramatic. No, I simply ignored them, and visited Epsilon on my own. They threatened to nuke the place to stop me. And to destroy the ‘aliens’ I’d found. The AIs, that is. At the time, we weren’t sure whether things like Harold were actually life forms, rather than the constructs they proved to be.

  “Fortunately, instead of nuking the place, they sent two shuttle teams down to retrieve me and bring me back to Earth. I had warned them that if they tried to take me against my will, there’d be hell to pay. They didn’t believe me.” He grinned. “So when the first shuttle landed, I had the AIs start disassembling it.”

  Priya laughed. “No way. Really?”

  “Really. And the second shuttle, after seeing what happened to the first, turned around and went the other way. Sadly, the crew of the first shuttle panicked, ran in the wrong direction, and ended up falling into a crevasse. It wasn’t my intent that anyone die.”

  “Okay,” said Priya, “that explains why you’re on this planet, and why you didn’t die the way the history books said. Come to think of it, it also explains why the government has told everyone that Epsilon is a poisonous hellhole—they don’t want anyone else coming here. But what it doesn’t explain—”

  Dave cut in. “Is why I’m still alive all these years later.”

  “Yes.” Priya nodded.

  “It’s the AIs. Think of them as fixers. From what I can tell, the early versions were originally designed to perform maintenance on computers and to aid in the assembly of CPUs and chipsets. They were in essence a solution the insect species had come up with for creating a computer factory of sorts. Sub-nanometer processes were child’s play to these bots, and I’m still trying to figure out how some of this stuff works that they designed over 100,000 years ago. There are some examples of the earlier-gen AIs around here, and I assure you, they’re nothing like the type you have purring in your lap. But they’re good at their job—one hundred thousand years later, many of those computers are still working. The AIs have their instructions—think of it as their Prime Directive, since you’re open to Star Trek references—and they perform it well, long after their creators have passed away.