“What of Elodie’s new friends?” Thad queried.
“Che Josza landed on his feet. He’s been promoted to Dent’s right-hand man.”
“And the assassin?” Micah asked, curious.
Harper shook her head. “She’s faded into the woodwork again.”
“She seems to have a very strong loyalty to the general,” Gabe said.
“I think she also has a bit of a pragmatic streak. She told me you were close to figuring the whole thing out,” Ell responded. Her gaze grew thoughtful. “She also said something about there not being any honor in this kind of weapon.”
Micah shook his head. “Strange thing, hearing an Akkadian talking about honor.”
“And the people we captured on that base?” Thad asked.
Cutter’s smile turned predatory. “An-Yang is handling that. The news from our embassy is that Akkadia wants to extradite both Marceau and Bijin, but the Shang government has refused.”
“Were they able to get anything more out of the base’s mainframe?” Jonathan asked. “Will said whoever wiped it did a pretty thorough job.”
Harper let out a breath. “Nothing. All we have is what General Josza’s assassin copied for him.”
“Speaking of Josza, did anyone else get the feeling that he was a bit shell-shocked through the entire takedown?” Micah asked.
Gabe nodded. “I think Ell’s assassin might be the one who convinced Josza to out Rin Zhou in the first place.”
Micah saw the former Unit sniper frown at Gabe’s reference, but then Valenti tapped on her plas sheet, drawing his attention.
“We still have plenty of loose ends to tie up,” the colonel reminded them. She nodded to Sam. “The sealed document, apparently from Assistant Director Sullivan, is one of them.”
Sam looked up at that. “It passed the new AdS/CFT encryption. It’s scientifically impossible to bypass that.”
Harper frowned. “But not humanly impossible.”
Thad leaned forward. “What do you mean?”
“Someone could have forced Sullivan’s hand. Sullivan could be a mole. Sullivan could have thought he was approving the seal on one thing when it was actually another.” Harper ticked off the options in rapid succession.
Sam thought about that for a moment, and then nodded.
Jonathan stirred and looked to Gabe. “What about the asshole we chased through the Planck Centre?”
Hyer spoke up for the first time. “Clint Janus has vanished. He’s a no-show back at his job with Brower Biologics. The last readings I got off his spike had him on Leavitt Station, and then poof.” The chief warrant’s hands expanded, miming an explosion. “He went totally off-grid.”
“I’d say that puts paid to our suspicions that he’s an Akkadian agent,” Cutter murmured.
“Well, actually….” Hyer glanced at Harper, who nodded for her to continue. “I’ve been looking into that. I don’t have everything to prove it just yet, but it looks like the weasel’s related to Asher Dent, several generations back.”
She looked over at Jonathan. “If that’s the case, and he was on deGrasse, and he’s now gone back to the dark side, I’m thinking it might be a very bad thing that he got a glimpse of you at the university, sir. Especially since he seemed to somehow realize that you were… well,” she nodded at Micah, “not him.”
Sam’s head shot up. “Saw who?” She looked over at Jonathan.
Micah sat up. He saw you, and you didn’t think to mention it?
Jonathan looked uncomfortable.
Valenti lifted a hand. “We’ve already had this discussion, and yes, it appears Janus suspects that the captains Case are chiral twins.”
“Oh, this is bad,” Sam breathed. “Very, very bad.”
Micah put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly. “It’s okay,” he began, but she shrugged him off.
“No, it’s not.” She turned to Cutter, her agitation plain. “This is potentially very, very bad.”
He leaned forward. “Why?”
“We have to assume that everything Marceau and Bijin did on that secret base was somehow transmitted back to Akkadia. Until now, Janus had no idea the chiral clones Stinton created survived. With the information I gave them on that base, they now know quantum entanglement with chiral pairs exists. If Janus takes this news with him back to Eridu? They have to suspect that it’s possible to create the same thing in living pairs.”
Sam’s haunted gaze swept the table. “You can’t begin to imagine what they might do with that knowledge,” she added quietly. “But I can.”
The story continues in Chiral Justice….
See how it all began in The Chiral Conspiracy….
Find out how Micah Case became chirally twinned in The Chiral Agent….
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TERMINOLOGY
ActiveFiber Coating – a coating used to layer the bulkheads of ships and space stations. It has self-healing properties, similar to self-cleaning fabrics used for shipsuits, and its structure can be rearranged with simple programming. The fiber is infused with nanobots, which can absorb contaminants within an area, break it down into its constituent parts, and reuse the material.
The Bulk – the many layers, or branes, that comprise hyperspace, the area of extradimensional space outside the dimension our universe inhabits.
Calabi-Yau Gate – This method of folding space is powered by siphoning dark matter out of a Ricci-flat manifold. The manifold, a special curvature within the Bulk, is a place where the vacuum energy of space can be accessed. Once converted to Casimir energy, it is then used to bend the Bulk, allowing for instantaneous travel from one location in normal spacetime to another, regardless of distance. The amount of Casimir energy differs, based on the amount and direction of the bend.
Colloid Nano – Colloids are extremely tiny insoluble particles that are so light, they remain suspended in air. When grafted onto nano, colloid nano clouds can be released.
Thanks to brownian motion, the force of the particles in the air around them is greater than the force of gravity attempting to pull them down, therefore they float and are susceptible to the activity of air currents.
Colloidene Nano – A colloidene is made from a colloid particle, but formed just like single-layer graphene. Patterned in a honeycomb lattice, it employs some of the click-assembly techniques used in chemistry.
Pre-loaded common codes, or ‘bricks’, give nano creation a jump-start. The result is a nanobot, programmed to rapidly alter existing nano to whatever the person controlling it needs it to be.
Crowbars and LockPiks – Both are lock-picking programs, although LockPiks are covert, where Crowbars are overt.
A Crowbar is a brute-force version that borrows click-assembly techniques used in chemistry to rapidly alter the properties of existing nanolocks. Pre-loaded common codes, or ‘bricks’, give the Crowbar a jump-start, pushing a cascade failure into the lock that cracks it wide open. In the process, it renders the lock useless.
In contrast, a LockPik is a slower and more subtle app that works to subvert a lock while maintaining its program integrity so that it can be reset back to original specs after the LockPik’s use
DBCs – A digital-to-biological converter capable of printing complex, synthetic, biological material from detailed molecular diagrams transmitted to it.
DUET Wires (aka “the wire”) – DUET is a little-used acronym for communication nanocircuitry implanted in the brain.
DUET stands for Direct Uplink Evanescent Telecom. Much to the dismay of the corporation that invented the tech, that name never took hold. Commonly known simply as ‘the wire,’ a DUET implant must wait until the brain has reached a certain development level. At that point, a web of nanoscale tendrils is deployed at critical spaces within the brain: info
rmation inputs at dendrites, and data outputs at synaptic terminals.
Evanescent (E-V) Nanocircuitry – E-V nanocircuitry is the foundation upon which the DUET system was launched. The core communication unit embedded in the brain makes use of the optical phenomenon of evanescent modes with imaginary wave numbers and a poynting vector of zero to achieve the mathematical equivalent of quantum tunneling for the instantaneous transmission of information.
Ford-Svaiter nodes – F-S nodes use the concept of focusing vacuum fluctuations with parabolic mirrors to induce a quantized field wherein evanescent nanocircuitry can be used to establish instantaneous communication. An F-S node is encased inside a Starshot Buoy. Buoys are seeded throughout a star system in a pattern known as the Starshot Constellation. All inhabited star systems have deployed Constellations.
MAC –Magic-Angle Carbyne is the strongest material known in the 25th century. It is fashioned from two single-layer, honeycomb lattices of carbyne, twisted so that they sit at a specific angle relative to one another. MAC is two times stronger than graphene or carbon nanotubes.
MXene – A high-temperature, 2D, laminar molybdenum carbide material that functions as an ultrafast sieve. Alliance Navy ships are coated in the material. When in motion, the material pulls H(0), ultra-dense hydrogen that dark matter is made of, from the interstellar medium for use as fuel. The H(0) is stored in CNT-reinforced receptacles lining the ship’s hull.
No-wake zones – The biggest reason for a no-wake-zone around a space station is because of the amount of neutron radiation generated by a ship’s fission drive. A minimal dose of 4.4 GW of neutrons will deliver a lethal dose at half a kilometer in 1/5 of a second. As a result, all ships are manufactured with very thick, effective anti-radiation shadow shields. As a precaution, all ships must maintain mandatory separation when operating fusion drives.
Ricci-flat manifold – a special curvature of space found in the Bulk, also known as hyperspace.
Scharnhorst Drive – Interstellar drive that generates a Casimir bubble. This allows the drive to both harness and magnify the Scharnhorst effect, a phenomenon in which light travels faster than c. The drive allows a ship inside its bubble to travel at triple the speed of light.
SmartCarbyne – A self-repairing version of MAC, used as the building material for space elevators.
SmartCarbyne Nanofloss – This adaptation of SmartCarbyne is a lattice of ultrafine SC filaments, implanted to reinforce bone, muscle, and sinew. This
military augmentation is usually given to fighter pilots and special operations soldiers.
It was originally adapted for military use to protect pilots in high-g maneuvers. An accelerometer embedded in the pilot’s wire controls the deployment of the nanofloss into an SC lattice, woven into the soft tissues of vital organs. When experiencing acceleration greater than what the human body can withstand, the SC lattice automatically hardens, protecting the pilot.
Spike – Special operations electronic breadcrumb trail, only useful at short range. Each spike has a unique geometric signature. That signature is contained in the Alliance military database. An app registers the negative space created by each spike on whatever surface it resides. Once a person or item has been spiked, the search app keeps track of the void that particular spike makes, pinpointing its location while it remains in range.
Tau-Neu Chambers – Stasis chambers where all atomic function is held in suspension. The term comes from the Latin symbol, tau, [] which in physics and engineering represents the time constant. Neu, or the Latin ‘nu’, represents the molecular vibration mode, vx which, in stasis, is zero.
Ziptie – a nano breach application for use in restraining people. Once placed onto exposed flesh, the app immediately unpacks itself, blocking an individual’s wire from transmitting a call for help, and rendering the victim temporarily immobile.
WEAPONRY & ARMOR
CUSP – Compact Ultra-Short Pulse pistol uses a pulsed, laser-induced plasma to either paralyze, flash-bang, flash-blind, or deliver searing pain, depending on the weapon’s setting.
P-SCAR – Pulsed Special Combat Assault Rifle.
RAU-19 – Railgun mounted on DAP Helios attack craft.
Banshees – Each Banshee fighter-bomber mounts a five-centimeter laser, and is capable of strafing runs. In addition, each USV carries a pair of missiles, their yields varying by Banshee model type.
Dazzlers – Dazzlers emit decoy ECM and jam signals, robbing enemy vessels of their ability to coordinate their attack.
Drakeskin armor – A carbyne-reinforced synthsilk skinsuit used by special operations forces when infiltrating hostile territory.
Drakeskin stealth suit – A drakeskin suit with a nanoweave embedded into the topmost layer of fabric that is tunable to the environment, providing visible-spectrum stealth. The underlayers are made of metamaterials, which use transformation optics to shield the wearer from view by controlling electromagnetic radiation and guiding incident waves around the wearer.
MAJOR PLAYERS
in the
BIOGENESIS WAR UNIVERSE
The Geminate Alliance – The ships that set out to settle the binary systems of Procyon and Sirius initially formed their own governments, but after the first century of colonization, began the loose governmental alliance known as the Geminate Alliance.
After the invention of the Calabi-Yau gates, this alliance was merged into a cohesive parliamentary government.
The Coalition of Worlds – The Coalition isn’t a governing body, but rather an alliance of independent star nations, for the advancement of peace and collaboration between the settled worlds. Its members include the Sol, Alpha Centauri, and Proxima Centauri star systems.
Sol’s member nations are Terra, Mars, Venus, and the Ganymede and Europa colonies. Alpha Centauri B’s star nation is Zoser. Alpha Centauri A (Rigel Kentaurus) is the Akkadian Empire. Proxima Centauri’s member nation is the Shang dynasty.
The Coalition’s articles state that all eight governmental bodies are equally represented, however, some are unofficially regarded as more equal than others.
The star nations within the Sol system hold the lion’s share of influence.
The Akkadian Empire – Akkadia is the Coalition’s weakest and hungriest member, due to the hardships the lone terraformed planet, Eridu, suffered. The resulting disparity in both trade and commerce caused a repressive culture to rise up and govern the planet and its people.
Akkadia is known throughout the settled worlds for its oppressive government and its extensive spy network. A state of cold war exists between Akkadia and the Geminate Alliance, as well as most of the Sol nations.
The Akkadian government is notorious for its tendency to steal the intellectual property of other star nations, appropriating it in commercial endeavors where its conscripted labor force can manufacture and then undercut the owners of the original IP in production.
Akkadian Junxun Tèzhǒng – Akkadia’s elite intelligence branch of the State Army, those chosen as Tèzhǒng are sent through a crucible of deep indoctrination that refines its members into surgically efficient killing machines. Most Tèzhǒng operatives focus on a specialty, with the most elite being its assassins, the Shinobi.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book was particularly challenging, and I owe a very special thanks to a biochemical scientist who checked the passages in this book that dealt with viruses and RNA sequencing.
I’ve said it before: the hard sciences have an incredible number of niche specialties, and though many scientists share a basic understanding of the other branches, in no way can they be considered expert.
This story very quickly outpaced my grasp of biochemistry. I owe John a huge debt of thanks for helping me straighten my science out in this book. Any mistakes you may find are entirely my own.
I have a host of beta readers who help me spot inconsistencies, two of which have years of military service under their belts. Their input in this series has been invaluable. Steve and Dawn,
thank you so much for your service.
Manie, Doug, Marti, and James, your feedback made this story better, and for that I’m grateful.
No manuscript of a hundred thousand words is going to make it to print without the eagle eye of a proofreader and the expertise of an editor, I don’t care how meticulous a writer you are.
Crystal Wren, thank you for lending me your keen eye.
A writer’s relationship with a dev editor is a deeply personal thing, and involves a great deal of trust. Jen…you are a treasure. Thank you for making this book better.
Lastly, I want to thank Marty for keeping the cats fed and the food coming, and for the very first time, trying your hand as a beta reader, too. Thanks. You’re the best!
ALSO BY LL RICHMAN
You can always find the most up to date listing of book titles on LL Richman’s Amazon Author Page.
The Biogenesis War
– Prequel: The Chiral Conspiracy (June 2020)
– Book 1: The Chiral Agent (June 2020)
– Book 2: The Chiral Protocol (September 2020)
– Book 3: Chiral Justice (January 2021)
The Micah Case Chronicles
– Book 1 (Spring 2021)
– Book 2 (Summer 2021)
– Book 3 (Fall 2021)
The Elodie Cyr/Thaddaeus Severance series
– Book 1 (Winter 2021)
– Book 2 (Spring 2022)
– Book 3 (Summer 2022)
The Gabriel Alvarez/Katie Hyer series
– Book 1 (Fall 2022)
– Book 2 (Winter 2022)
– Book 3 (Spring 2023)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
L.L. Richman has a diverse background, balancing a career as a film director with evenings spent running a linear accelerator.
The Chiral Protocol – A Military Science Fiction Thriller: Biogenesis War Book 2 (The Biogenesis War) Page 33
