by Hylton Smith
Alex 2 brought Red and Carvalho in and updated them before asking, “Four ships and three locations – why not four locations?”
The leader’s colour display forewarned them. “One went to Epsilon, one to Gliese and one here. We never heard from the fourth. We can only assume they exited into an unstable domain.” The fascination kicked up a gear as Alex 2 made the question sound like a statement. “So you have never been to the other locations.”
“That is correct, we exited at these coordinates.” Red translated the symbols to a point known in Earth astronomy as the Kuiper belt. He quickly responded, “These coordinates are remarkably close to a ‘planetary body’ known to us, which has a tiny moon. It is named Eris.”
Confirmation was immediate. “We gave this our own name of Nexus II, as we calculated it would take 555 years to orbit your sun. It seemed appropriate as we had arrived here by chance.”
Red smiled and seemed to enjoy the sensation. “Of course that was the fascination with 555. The clue was too obscure. I am sorry, please continue.”
The leader held up the tablet and it was marked with new coordinates. “Nexus II or Eris, is 9.7 billion of your miles from the Sun; that is three times the distance of your outermost gravitational body – which I have learned you call Pluto.” Red intervened too quickly. “But these coordinates are not for Pluto, they correspond to a moon of Jupiter.”
“Yes, I believe your name for it is Europa. The exit point near Eris was not somewhere we could consider as it was too cold, and risky so close to a wormhole. After the devastation caused on our homeworld we would not take that chance again.”
Alex 2 posed a different inquiry. “Do you mean you would not or could not risk another spatial distortion?”
“Both,” was the reply.
“Both – you mean you have never been on any other interstellar journey? What about your species in Epsilon Eridani and Gliese?”
“The same applies to them. You told me that you fabricated a vessel at the plateau, but you did not raise it and set it upright or launch it. You would have achieved orbit – the thrusters are overdesigned to escape this gravitational body. If you had tried to engage the spatial distortion mechanism it would have failed. Even when the correct velocity curve was achieved, and the white hot box was asking the automatic sequencing to proceed, it was missing a link. Another box, similar only in appearance, is required to complete the preparation of the exit energy. Such components were in the care of our Supreme Leader. He was on the fourth ship.”
Red was impatient. “So you decided to stop at Europa. What is your name for the moon?”
“We did not give it a name at that time. There were other, more acceptable bodies. Earth was almost perfect but it was yours. This one was our choice because we could observe you and hope that sometime we would meet. That meeting was delayed a little because of the bacteria. We had to retreat to the moon of a gas giant, which did not have good memories for us. We named it Minus. Mars we named Proxima, but they are in your system and we like your names better.”
Alex 2 continued the competition for questions. “Was there any retention of knowledge as to how to construct these unique boxes?”
“No, it was part of the lost science. It has not made a difference to our species as we passed edicts to stop their manufacture and use.”
It was Red’s turn again. “Do you live under the surface on Europa?”
“Yes, it is covered with ice but there is much volcanic activity and vents heat the sub surface, also producing water. There are many varieties of what you call algae there and we can harvest cellulose which you know is important for us. You have not asked why we did not reply to the two messages sent from here. After all this time, we just wanted to meet like this. I now realise you must have expected a reply from another star system.”
Carvalho had communicated the guts of all this to the human contingent and left Alex 2 to do the same for the Symbiants. When the entire group was assembled to nominate their social representatives, an additional point of discussion was raised by one of the colonists. If the Earthly calm had been ignited to action by the transmission on social issues, they would soon be supercharged.
The plight of the Axis had impacted every single inhabitant of Mars. Here was a race which had survived the most deplorable accidental genocide of their kin, and risked the fate of the remainder by trying to adapt to unfavourable cosmic conditions. They had not grasped the opportunity of usurping the position of top of the evolutionary tree on Earth on moral grounds. They were separated by distances they chose not to travel in case similar devastation was repeated in the solar system. They waited patiently for the adolescent Earthlings to mature but were struck down by bacteria and had to pull back. However, they steadfastly cared for their Martian legacy in the event that humans reached Mars after they were extinct. They had opted for their life to run out rather than perpetuate it, primarily because they were alone and without hope.
The discussion was intended to be a debate, however the colonist suggested that we owed these beings a debt which could not be repaid, and the least we could do was invite them to return to Mars. They had demonstrated the morality which many humans happily parade but do not live up to, politicians heading the list. They had also taken decisions to view science as something to be reviewed continually to truly estimate the benefit – consequence correlation. This was not a limit to research but a duty to rank consumer importance with less priority than humans currently practiced. It was not really a coincidence that this colonist was a nurse. She was used to caring for others while living in a selfish world.
Her proposal, under different circumstances, would indeed have spawned a debate. This was Martian solidarity impacting the mother planet with a dose of ‘standing back to get perspective’. It was even more obvious to those who heard her proposal first-hand, that it was a key to more harmony in the new world, and a chance to prevent importing Earthly social viruses. The feel-good factor that evening was contagious and they summoned the Axis leader. Without consultation with Beijing, they offered the invitation. They observed something never seen since the opening of the 55 Cancri wormhole, the colour display was a bright monochrome yellow. The tablet confirmed that this must be the equivalent of human tears of joy. He asked for permission to bring his colleagues to the session.
This act of independence signalled something that certain government officials had dreaded since Copernicus first launched towards Mars. It would also be enshrined in Martian history for a long time to come as Transition.
Chapter 35
Even though the Axis had accepted the invitation without hesitation, they harboured a fear of the bacteria which decimated their ranks all those years ago. Pascal 2 reassured them that he had developed an effective antibiotic for humans, but they had natural immunity, so he would have three options to check. There was the human immune mechanism, the antibiotic, and a specific boost to the Axis immune system. They would all be studied. This would also provide a wonderful opportunity for assessing the physiology of living Axis.
The advantages of the multi-species situation were manifold. The Axis infrastructure could be utilised and adapted to broaden its impact for all colonists. The production assembly lines would, with alteration, transform the heavy construction programmes for equipment. The Symbiants’ work on forestation and food growth could be tackled on a bigger scale. The piping of water for life support and lake construction would assist the march to a breathable atmosphere. Modification of the Hindenburg would enable quicker journeys between sites. It was almost a new beginning.
Some issues had to be addressed as well. When asked how many Axis individuals remained on Europa, the reply was – ‘over seven hundred.’ The size of the ships all of a sudden seemed logical. This number would need to be housed and fed. The leader said that the other sites mentioned on the station map had more accommodation to add to that at Echus Chasma – there would be more than sufficient. They would like to be able to produce alternatives to cellulo
se. The humans and Symbiants wanted them to have some accommodation at Marineris Central, as there would be new colonists arriving from Earth and this would help to avoid splintering the accord. There was a sea change in motivation for all involved. There were also issues entirely for humans to debate. Although interstellar flight was not yet possible, the chance to learn and adapt more from the Axis sphere and carcass was available. To learn was not the problem; adaptation was the perceived threat.
This uneasiness could at least be explored with the Axis individuals. After all they had the same dilemma several million years ago. This would come down to individuals because some of them had already changed their minds about allowing their life to expire. The meeting with the humans in particular had given them purpose again. Others were not sure.
All of them had suffered the same soul-searching when the manipulation of their physiology and cerebral structure was deemed an essential part of interstellar migration. Their decision was intensified because of the critical nature of the gas giants and the uncertain timescale of Armageddon. It had also been a free choice, but with no reversal. The disaster which followed not only conferred immediate guilt – it produced the clouds of futility when they were separated from the other ships and the eventual acceptance that one was lost. The settlement of Mars had a temporary restorative effect but the reasoning for the entire venture resumed its erosion of ‘quality of life’. This was only made worse by the relative immortality they had inflicted on themselves. The bacterial plague was the last straw. Now that the improbable had actually happened, they were split over the rescinding of a vow. There was an element of something bordering on faith at play and it would not be resolved quickly. It consequently had a similar potential to divide the human contingent, which of course continued to astonish the Symbiants.
Because some of the Axis wished to retain their longevity, they decided to keep the production lines for the spheres and carcasses unmodified. Further exchanges on the unexplored Axis sites revealed mining and chemical plants. This was a major plus for the burgeoning society. Like the Echus Chasma facilities, they were highly automated and indeed produced many of the ‘alloys and plastics’ used in the manufacturing sites. There was more – a huge nuclear power plant had been built in a cavern hewn out of a mountain side, thus explaining how their facilities could have remained operational over such an incredible period. There was avid human interest in seeing this facility, to understand how it was designed to only require a service every 555 years.
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The ‘foolhardy and unilateral’ decision to open house for the Axis race did not go down well in Beijing or in world governments. The damning verdicts were not fully shared by the population. Embargos were discussed in terms of more colonists and infrastructure supplies. When information was received concerning the much more advanced Axis infrastructure, there was a hiatus in the authoritarian stance. Xiang was grateful for this because he had witnessed a distinct slippage of his influence; the paranoia gene had become dominant and transferable. It had not helped when the reaction on Mars to all this was one of labelling it ‘self-fuelling hypocrisy’.
Carvalho was becoming something of a political evangelist, his latest transmission unleashed criticism of government ‘sterility’ on anything beyond maintaining power. “The constant claims our democratic principles make are simply a facade of deception. The first commandment of our elected representatives is to ‘honour the status quo’. Thou shalt not entertain challenge to anything which scaffolds the divinity of our chambers of wisdom. Everything they claim to be, but aren’t, is embodied in the friends we have made. They have, in a real way, watched over us for millions of years, with a self-regulated pledge of non-interference. Do you seriously think we are going to listen to your threadbare, morally bankrupt ploys to shrink from anything but wholehearted integration with the Axis? You need a reality check – a good one might be reading the high-minded charter which was produced to extol the colonisation in the first place.”
This haranguing was threatening to hold up the return of Mike, Finn and Dane plus crew, via Newton. Xiang continually argued that this would only fan the flames of the bush fire and yet he experienced little support. He called for a summit meeting of the relevant individuals, apart from the executive, who were ‘militarising’ the spat. He did this on international networks and it did flush out demonstrations for and against the ruling mandarins. The groundswell was shifting heavily toward supporting the human decision on Mars after the whole story had been broadcast on TV. There were parallels with the situation when the Confederation of Nations blundered over their covert orders to terminate Alex 2. Xiang reminded the executive of the Council for Human Exploration of this, and why that particular title had been bestowed in the first place. “The irreparable damage which would be imported from a repeat of the crass miscalculation of the feelings of the masses would be the ultimate torpedo. We are being ruled by our fear and the populace has scent of it. If we fuel this, then, quite honestly, we deserve to be booted out of office.”
The summit, to the minds of those who were most insecure, was more of a capitulation to insubordination than a concession to common decency. They found it difficult to fully appreciate their own term ‘insubordination’. They could not truly concede that it was a two-way situation. Although they talked about accountability and merely being representatives of the people, the addiction of power prevented them from believing their own words.
The only governments which supported the summit from the big five were India and the USAr. The first government to fall was Russia. The relatively recent break-up of the Soviet Union had reminded many Russian constituencies that the runaway capitalist legacy had not really delivered the dream.
This political earthquake ricocheted around the globe, and predictably cast a typical cloak of ‘genuine re-prioritisation of global interests’ over their tactical retreat. Presiding over the opportunities of others’ misfortune was a powerfully reinforcing gene. The summit eventually took place without a morsel of interest on Mars.
It did, however, begin with the olive branch of approval of Newton’s departure, which was of value to the increasing muscle of the off-world population.
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The possibility had been there for some time now, but no one had mentioned it. The Symbiants were not usually so reserved or inclined to stand on ceremony. Replication of a member of the Axis race, in theory, would give everyone a more logical interpretation of their knowledge. It was partly out of respect for what they had been through, but there was also the real prospect that the Continuance had been responsible for some of their plight. If the interaction had directly resulted in the path of development to the wormhole, it would be a sensitive issue. It was strange that they had never brought it up. It was not lost on the humans either. Was that the route they were heading down with the Symbiants? It provoked a question from the arch inquisitor Yamamoto. “Bearing in mind this was some three million years ago, and the Continuance has been dormant on Mars since well before that, where does that put your understanding of the physics involved?”
Alex 2 could not comment with accuracy unless he knew what they knew, via replication. The way things were at present he could only say that he could comprehend the principles of the Axis wormhole technique and how it could have caused the problems on Nexus. He would have expected the Continuance in 55 Cancri to be aware of this possible consequence and could not envisage them endorsing such a risk. “This does bring up the issue of replication. I would suggest we ask them to consider it as a means to be more certain of the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.”
Carvalho added his view. “I believe we have to tread carefully here. I don’t want to sour the fantastic start we have with the Axis. Perhaps we should make a point to regularly acquaint them with the benefits we have gleaned from replications. Not just in technical cooperation but in extracting data reliably – overcoming deceit or memory loss of the subject. It may arouse their interest.�
�� This was considered to be acceptable, and the replication request was shelved for now.
The minimum number of Axis personnel required to begin the caretaking role were left behind and the remainder set off to pick up their family and friends on Europa. As the closest distance from Mars to Jupiter space was 555 million km (there is that number again), or 344 million miles, and the furthest is 744 million miles, it was going to be quite some time before they returned. This appeared to be lost on the panic merchants on Earth. The round trip had to be somewhere between 20 and 44 times that of a one way Earth to Mars version when the planets were closest. Carvalho had to get this perspective into the heads of the purveyors of doom. Even if the Axis’ ‘conventional’ propulsion’ system was much more effective than current human counterparts, they were going to be gone a long time.
At least the Axis individuals staying on Mars could begin the maintenance checks with a new horizon approach rather than one of simply preserving a legacy. The appetite of the humans and Symbiants towards observing and understanding the various techniques provided additional motivation.
As the Symbiants had now made significant progress with the Axis spoken language, they considered modifying their speech apparatus to master the basic communication exchanges. This did however inadvertently catalyse a discussion on replication. When the leader was asked in ‘click’ tones what his name was, the reply was virtually unpronounceable for the Symbiants. The leader himself then said, via the tablet, “If our understanding is reliable, you would be able to converse in our language by replication.”
This was affirmed by Alex 2. The tablet then read. “I will discuss this with the others and we can then decide. Would you explain in detail what is involved to allay any concerns we may have?”
Alex 2 painstakingly described the various phases and this was backed up by Carvalho. The latter stressed that if there was any regret after the event, the replicant could be asked to delete knowledge or even programmed for regression. The leader said they could expect a response in five Martian days, as they would have to canvass the groups on Europa. They could do this via the screens at Pandora’s Rift.
