The Huntsman

by Rafael

  “She’s lucky to have you, Narsimha.”

  Miranda returned to the sights and sounds beyond the car’s window. The riot of colors, shouts, cries, horns, engines bore full witness to the city’s vibrancy. Had it really been four months since she first walked into Chandrapur’s cacophonous, frenetic bustle? She had changed. Like they, she had once moved through life avid, eager, blithely unaware the next moment she rushed toward might never arrive. She had thought her existence a full one, naïve to the huge chunks disconnected from her reality. Four months that seemed like four lifetimes had, if not humbled, wakened her to triviality.

  Miranda felt Janesh too had noted a change. From a Kauai hotel, he had booked anonymous passage aboard a freighter bound for India. The seven days isolated on the sea without distraction or interference had been perfect. As if by instinct he’d understood her vulnerability. In their single cabin, he placed a cot crosswise to her bed for him to sleep on and never attempted to join her. Whenever the terrors of imagination wakened her, she’d find him sitting cross-legged on the cot in a meditative state. He’d frightened her once when she crept down the bed to check him. A foot away his eyes opened, alert, focused. And he’d known. “Testing me?” he asked through a slight grin. Without smothering her, his presence had been a protective cocoon within which she recovered and strengthened.

  And though at times it had faltered and dimmed, with each passing hour her confidence swelled and solidified. She gripped the hand that fueled it tighter. Its power nourished her.

  Narsimha turned onto the main road that bounded Chandrapur’s industrial sector. Lorries, vans, scooters, bicycles slowed progress but also insured no one would notice their comings and goings to the second-floor factory space Chatur had leased. A sentry waved Narsimha’s now familiar face through the lot’s gate, though as everyone did, he stared at Duncan and Ronan. Miranda smiled at Janesh. “I can’t wait to see Professor Akiyama.”

  “Me too. He and his team have had four days to examine Dr. Ang’s project. I’m anxious to hear what they’ve learned.”

  Two flights up, three security guards, machine pistols and automatics on obvious display, greeted their arrival. ID served no purpose here. Someone inside had to vouch for them. A minute later a woman Janesh recognized as the Argentinean biologist appeared. They passed through the main entrance into an expansive, rectangular room enclosed by high walls above which windows provided air and illumination. Spread across the wooden floor grid-like lay the disassembled parts of Dr. Ang’s unauthorized project. At different points amid the unfamiliar machinery, three men and a woman took notes and pictures. At random locations and moving about, five more armed security types patrolled. Professor Akiyama looked up and beamed like a child at play. “Welcome. Welcome.” Espying Miranda, he plucked his way more nimbly through the delicate obstacles than his age might permit others.

  Miranda rushed to the grid’s edge to greet her former mentor. Their long embrace refreshed already strong bonds. Gary pulled back to brush away tear-filled eyes. “There, there brave girl. I could not be more proud of anyone than I am of you.” Miranda threw her arms around him.

  “You pulled me through some dark moments. I’m here because of you.”

  “Come, child. Take a break everyone. We have guests. Ah Janesh, Janesh. You will remain a blight on my record until you return to complete your doctorate.”

  “I’m afraid tigers aren’t particularly impressed by PhD’s.”

  “Yes, I suppose you’re right. Come, your friend Chatur left us some very delicious chaat and told me you’re a fan of Italian reds.”

  In a corner where they had had established a makeshift conference area they unfolded chairs, quickly dispersed paper plates, and committed blasphemy when the wine poured into paper cups. The impromptu lunch accompanied introductions while Janesh filled the team in on events since their last teleconference. Chatur had not forgotten his two friends and the dogs trotted off to separate corners where they greedily gnawed steak bones. Janesh walked around the table emptying a second bottle.

  “So Professor, what have you made of our little project here? Gary motioned toward the Russian physicist to open the briefing. He spoke accented, but grammatically perfect English.

  “Fist off, we were able to quickly conclude this equipment has nothing to do with quantum encryption. On the other hand, without technical manuals, notes, or specifications we decided our only prudent course was to reverse engineer the project.”

  “Why not just turn it on and see what it does?” Janesh asked.

  “We considered that but without knowing how, learning what might have been dangerous. As it turns out, when we disassembled the parts we found inside six very powerful fiber lasers that focus a combined beam within ten thousandths of an inch. With all the shipping and handling, had the alignment been off we might have melted the components into useless slag or reduced the entire building to rubble. Their discovery confirmed our need to approach this with a step-by-step, methodical process.

  Those lasers focused on a spatial chamber roughly the size of a transparent coffee cup that did two things. It contained the laser focal point within a magnetic field and within the magnetic field extracted heat so efficiently it could reduce the internal temperature to absolute zero. I cannot emphasize enough Dr. Ang’s staggeringly ingenious mechanism. It is entirely possible, once we discover its purpose, that it might have garnered him a Noble prize. And all of it constructed with cannibalized parts from the machinery he ordered.

  We’re just at the point of cataloguing all the components and their tolerances and establishing their role in the startup sequence. I’ve also identified some internal tables for longitude and latitude addresses along with elevation points calculated from sea level. However the data itself is password protected so we’ll see what kind of problem that presents. Of course, if we had any type of documentation we could reduce this process to child’s play.”

  “Any conjecture at all what it might do?” Janesh asked. The Russian turned to the Israeli.

  “Nothing whole picture yet but we are beginning to identify elements. So far everything we’ve seen, though it again has nothing to do with encryption, is firmly in the quantum world. Beside the remarkable properties of the magnetic chamber, we have strong evidence Dr. Ang discovered a way to channel a directed gravity well. A very speculative guess is he might have discovered a way to tap a quantum energy source. If so it would have the potential to dwarf all other energy forms.

  Speaking of energy though, once we reassemble the machinery those six lasers will require a significant upgrade to the building’s power generators and they’ll probably have to be off the grid.”

  “Done.” Janesh replied. “Chatur will take care of the details. Anything else?”

  “It would really help if we had some documentation.” Gary repeated. Janesh turned to Miranda.

  “Any possibility you can contact Sara Bell again at the NSF?”

  “Sure. It’s the middle of the night there but I’ll call later this evening.” Janesh turned back to Akiyama.

  “Did Chatur convey my desire your activities not extend beyond sundown?”

  “Yes. The guards have strict orders to usher us out by then.”

  “I don’t know what good it might do but so far our visitor has only appeared at night. Any sign of it?” The scientists shook their heads. “Then please keep in mind at any moment we may have to pack up and leave. CIA and Indian intelligence are curious what we’re up to and so is one very powerful industrialist. If your suspicions are correct and this equipment can tap into a new energy source it goes a long way toward explaining his efforts to gain control of it. He’ll consider us expendable to do so.” Janesh rose. “I want to get Miranda settled into the house. Rest is the best medicine for her right now. Here’s a bit of good news. Dinner is on Chatur tonight.”

  Once again Narsimha picked his way adroitly through the industrial zone’s traffic and onto a fast moving boulevard. For security reason
s Janesh had decided against housing everyone in a hotel and through a third party had rented a home on Chandrapur’s outskirts. With plenty of acreage on all sides, surveillance would prove difficult for anyone attempting it.

  “You’re awful quiet, Miranda.” She shook herself alert.

  “I have this nagging feeling I’m forgetting something important.”

  “Think about something else. It’ll come to you.”

  Miranda shuddered, then sat bolt upright, eyes wide. She inhaled sharply and both hands shot to her mouth. “Oh my God. I just remembered. It’s not an energy source or anything of the sort. It’s a gate and Kreetor has come to destroy it.”

  CHAPTER 32 Voting Rights

  Everyone sat up in their seats, eager to hear Miranda’s account of her time in the cave. They had indulged in one of Chatur’s sumptuous meals and a story harkened to a time when electronics had yet to learn entertainment. Everyone sipped tea, coffee, or cognac but the Russian physicist, unafraid of stereotypes, opted for vodka. Chatur, accepting their compliments and praise with unusual modesty, sat next to Miranda.

  “I stood as close to it as I am to any of you. I saw its feathers ruffle, its wings unfold. I saw its four-fingered hands grasp and clench. I saw it tear raw strips off a cow and swallow them whole. And like any bird caring for a chick, it regurgitated a green and yellow slime for my consumption. I smelled it and heard it speak its own tongue. Its name is Kreetor and there can be no question it is a sentient being from another world.”

  Whatever they might have theorized and believed, her compelling witness to an extraterrestrial presence silenced the room. Each tried to comprehend and failed at the staggering reality.

  “And when I thought its behavior comparable to some wild animal, it reached inside what I thought a marsupial pouch on its abdomen and removed a perfect sphere about the size of a tennis ball. It had a silver, reflective surface and it floated and moved through the air with no sound or apparent power source. It glowed in different colors depending on function but orange primarily. I saw it once glow lavender as it healed Kreetor’s open wounds before my very eyes. It refers to itself as a Seer and once told me it contained all of Earth’s digital data. I believe it is the mechanism Kreetor uses to open and close what it refers to as ‘gates’.”

  Like reporters before a newsmaker, everyone tried to ask a question before self-consciously deferring to Professor Akiyama. “Did it say why it is here?”

  “To destroy the gate and everyone connected to it. When I asked what a gate was it responded, ‘That through which one enters or exits.’”

  The Israeli leaped to his feet. “Of course.” He paced about the room muttering. “God in heaven. God in heaven.” He regained his seat and sat back with a blank stare. “Dear God in heaven. It’s not an energy source. It’s a wormhole device.”

  The Russian stood and paced in turn. “Ariel is right. It explains everything.”

  “That’s not possible.” the Argentinean demurred.

  “The alien has clearly shown it is not. While it is true that creating a wormhole in the macro world is centuries, perhaps millennia beyond our present technology, Dr. Ang discovered a way to have the quantum world create a natural one.”

  “God in heaven.” All eyes turned to the Israeli. “Space ships exist only in our imaginations. They are an extension of an earth-bound paradigm in which we travel point-to-point aboard conveyances. Beyond Earth orbit, even at the speed of light, the distances are too vast for space ship travel. Out among the galaxies, travel must occur via wormholes. They can bring an infinite universe to our very doorstep.”

  “Say that again.” the Argentinean broke in.

  “They can bring an infinite universe to our very doorstep.” The biologist folded her hands prayer style and pressed them to her lips. Everyone waited.

  “Ladies and gentlemen. I believe we have arrived at a dangerous moment in human history. We now have irrefutable evidence another intelligent life form exists. If one exists, a thousand exist, a million exist. And we now have the means to bring them to our doorstep. If our history is any judge, we as a species may not survive the encounter.”

  “Indeed.” the Russian responded. “The first one here is on a killing spree. And it’s only one. Any idea why, Miranda?”

  “I did ask it why. The Seer, speaking for Kreetor said, ‘The Gate is dangerous to Sorke.’ I believe Sorke is the name of its planet. But let me remind everyone. It is an alien. It thinks nothing like us and has none of our context or assumptions.”

  “Can you think of a reason why it has not attacked?” Janesh asked.

  “This is a part I find confusing. Kreetor frequently made reference to Air Givers and the Unwinged. At every opportunity it asked me if Duncan and Ronan are the Unwinged. While I won’t say it fears the dogs, it doesn’t understand them and therefore hesitates. I told him the dogs are the Unwinged. That seemed to convey some level of status on them or at least sentient intelligence. I’m sure it won’t take the Seer long to figure out they’re just pets. Maybe on Sorke they have nothing analogous.”

  “I think you’re right.” Janesh agreed. “The dogs are not fooled by its ability to project a false image. Duncan and Ronan may have spooked it when they went after the creature itself.”

  “By the way, it’s a she. Her title is Warrior Priestess to the High Council, Grand Dominant of the Winged.” The room again fell silent.

  “The title alone raises a thousand questions.” the Russian said.

  “It implies class divisions, religious sects, martial castes, cultural, social, political organization.” Miranda added.

  “Religious sects.” the Russian continued. “What must its concept of God be? What would it think of Hindus, Christians, Jews, and Muslims?”

  “Rank, privilege, and status.” threw in the Israeli. “I cannot even begin to imagine what a Sorken population center looks like. Would they have cities?”

  “We have the means to find out.” said the Russian. “It’s lying on the floor above a textile factory.”

  “That’s exactly what Kreetor wants to prevent.” Miranda reminded.

  “It seems to me we have a decision to make.” Chatur joined in. “Do we assemble the device or not?”

  “We should vote on it.” the Argentinean suggested. “But not in haste. Let’s sleep on it. Tomorrow morning after breakfast and whatever further discussion, we can take a vote.”

  “We seven should make a decision for the entire human race?” the Israeli asked.

  “No.” Gary said. “No vote. That implies a decision not to assemble it. We are scientists. Our duty must always be to discovery and truth. We humans and our birth planet may be in danger but turning our back on our highest ideals is no answer. Choose to help or not but we cannot be a party to deliberate ignorance or cowed by fear.”

  “I agree.” said Janesh. “We became a species born of decision when we first stood and gazed at the stars. No one took a vote when we marched out of Africa to the next horizon. And fear did not stop us. Nor when they said our wooden ships would sail off the Earth’s edge. Nor when our planes shattered as they approached the sound barrier. No one took a vote. Courage led the way. Let us be true to humanity’s heritage. In considering our future course, fear and intimidation must play no role.”

  “None of those actions had extinction as a consequence.” the Argentinean replied.

  “Our very existence threatens it every day.” Janesh responded. “Tomorrow a viral pandemic could wipe us out. The day after an asteroid could send us to join the dinosaurs. Next week madness could reduce us to wind-blown ash in a nuclear holocaust. Ecological collapse could clear the way for a new species. At this very moment a tiny satellite sails across the intergalactic void with specific directions to Earth. History makes clear what horrors follow when we do not stand up to fear and intimidation.” The Israeli sprang from his chair.

  “I do not need to wait until tomorrow. I am with you.” The Russian stood up.

 
; “I stand with my friend and the human race. We must assemble it.” Professor Akiyama rose.

  “If the Sorkens are coming, we will need this device.” Miranda and Chatur followed.

  Janesh looked into their eyes seeking foolish pride. He saw only grim determination. He rose. “I stand with you.” Duncan and Ronan trotted over to investigate. Everyone turned to the Argentinean. Doubt and hesitation etched her face.

  “I fear what may result of our actions. I fear more if we do not face it united.” She rose to join her colleagues.

  No one celebrated or cheered. They hugged, shook hands, grasped arms, patted backs. With no guarantee of success, responsibility weighed heavy on their shoulders. Since their dawn, humans had found safety behind trackless wastes, dense forests, wide rivers, high mountains, vast oceans. Now the sky had betrayed them. Whenever they gazed on cloudless blue or twinkling stars the galactic void would look back with menace and threat.

  * * *

  “Dr. Logan. What a tremendous surprise. How are you?”

  “Living an adventure, Dr. Bell. And yourself?”

  “Nothing quite so glamorous. Are you in Washington?”

  “India actually.”

  “My, that is an adventure. I must thank you again. You made me quite the heroine with zoology. They still buzz about your visit. What can I do for you, Dr. Logan?”

  “I’m calling about the Ang case.”

  “Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry. I heard about agents Dawkins and Cross.”

  “It is a tragedy. I and others are working to solve their deaths. That’s why I hope you can help us.”

  “Whatever I can do, Dr. Logan.”

  “Have you found any technical manuals or documentation Dr. Ang may have produced in conjunction with his work? Any notes or papers?”

  “My instinct is to say no, Dr. Logan, but I also haven’t been directly involved in the case since turning it over to our internal investigators. They in turn have subcontractors perform the actual investigation. Hold on, I might have a name. Here it is, a Josh Timson.” The name meant nothing to Miranda. “I’d be happy to inquire if he has uncovered anything new. If he has I will certainly let you know. We’d like to close this case too and hopefully reimburse the good taxpayers.”