The rover lifted off the ice and started to fall away but Xander fired the vertical stabilizers. It pushed them below the surface, but planted them firmly into the descending piece. The cleats on the rover’s tires sank in and propelled them forward. He couldn’t see the horizon any longer.
Their discovery was too important. They would not fail. Xander squeezed the steering wheel just as they hit the tip. The rover sailed through space as the entire plateau of ice disappeared below them. For a few brief moments they were completely airborne as they sailed towards solid ice. A moment later they touched down and the rover shot forward once again.
Xander glanced over his shoulder. The cracks had finally stopped their advance. In the distance, pieces of ice the size of city blocks fell from the elevated crust to the icy depths. What had once been a completely smooth wasteland was now a razor-sharp canyon of ice. It stretched for dozens of kilometers in every direction and would remain that way for centuries.
The object was securely tucked into the back of the rover. It was a miracle that it hadn’t been lost. He thought back to the object and the patterns it had displayed. It didn’t remind him of any weapon he’d ever seen before. Was it possible that it was an obscure probe launched by one of the Three Nations? If so, it surely would have displayed the nation’s logo. All the major space-based research initiatives had been scaled down over the past thirty years. Could it have been a random part jettisoned from one of the space-based battlecruisers?
Nathan didn’t seem to share his curiosity. He just stared out into the distance.
“I didn’t have time to tell you back there, but thanks for saving my life.”
“Let’s hope that rock was worth it.”
Neither spoke for the remainder of the journey. Several hours later, their small collection of cylindrical huts came into view. They had never looked so good. The sun was just setting behind Jupiter and an orange glow washed over the area. An unusual sense of peace passed through him.
Nathan stepped out of the rover and onto the icy surface. He watched Xander lift the meteorite out of the back and move towards the main building. He knew Xander carried a great deal of guilt for their failed mission, but that didn’t justify what he’d put them through. It had been reckless to risk their lives for that rock. The mission was officially over. He wouldn’t allow them to get into another situation where desperation outweighed logic. It was his responsibility to make sure they returned home safely.
It would be a perilous journey, and take over a year to get back to Luna. The sooner they left the better. Nathan ducked inside the airlock, and sealed the exit behind him. His ears popped as the room pressurized to match the internal environment. He pictured Sasha sitting in the park, her beautiful blonde hair blowing in the wind. She watched their child crawl towards her. Children laughed in the distance. The smell of grilled food and sweet tea wafted through the air.
Their baby lifted one foot up, struggling to get the other off the ground. Its whole body shook with determination, but then collapsed back to the soft grass. It had been a mistake to leave them. Deep down he’d known she was pregnant when they’d left for Europa. He didn’t want to believe it. After years of preparation, he had to go. Or at least that’s what he’d felt at the time. Now he was an absentee parent, missing moments in time he’d never get back.
The overhead light turned green and the secondary door slid out of the way. An elevated walkway wrapped around three of the walls. Various rooms and hallways branched out into the rest of their makeshift camp. Their workstations sat in the center of the room. Holographic monitors, ice samples, and microscopes littered the desks. Xander lowered the black stone between the work stations. Nathan resented the object; it had nearly cost him his life and deprived his child of a father.
He cleared his throat. “We need to speak.” It would be a protracted argument to convince him that it was time to leave. Xander had spent so much energy planning this mission; it would crush him to return empty-handed. “It’s been a great mission, and we’ve learned a tremendous amount. The remaining drill rigs can be run autonomously from Luna. It’s too dangerous to remain, we need to leave.”
“I agree.” Xander scribbled on the nearest board. He lifted a ruler off one of the desks and hesitantly poked at the rock.
As long as Nathan had known his friend he’d been single-minded, willing to do anything to achieve his goals. “Wait. Did you understand what I just said?”
“Yes. We must leave as soon as possible. How long will it take us to prep for departure?”
This was going over too easily, what was he up to? “If we start now we’ll be ready by morning.”
“Good. Please begin at once. We should also turn on the antenna and scan for any signs of activity off-planet.”
“Good idea. That would give us an advanced warning without risking too much exposure. I’ll modify the broadcast signal to match the radio waves in Jupiter’s upper atmosphere.”
“Brilliant.” Xander had already filled half the board with a series of obscure calculations. “When you’ve finished with that, wipe the hard drive and scrub the compound of anything that connects it to us. When I’ve finished in here I’ll join you.”
Several hours later, Nathan pressed the Enter key on his wrist deck and watched as billions of lines of code disappeared from the holographic screen. The warning system was in place, and their digital footprint was vanishing. He was so tired. After everything that had happened, he just wanted to close his eyes and block it all out. He imagined that he was back on the moon, inside their beautiful home. The Earth was visible through the window. It hung low on the horizon. His child bounced up and down on his knee.
There was a knock at the door. As he stood to answer, the entire frame crashed inward. Security guards in riot gear stormed inside. They threw Sasha out of the way. He tried to defend himself, but one of them swung a club at his head. He barely felt the contact, but it sent him sailing back into the ground. A child was crying in the distance.
“You’re under arrest for violation of Treaty 1279!” His hands were jerked behind his back and cuffed together. Blood trickled down his forehead. One of the soldiers fought with Sasha. She slapped him. They smacked her with a club and she dropped to the floor. Her hands were cuffed, but she wasn’t moving.
“Nooooo!” was all that Nathan could get out.
“Silence,” the soldier snapped. “Anyone who helped you get off planet will face a similar fate. Criminal behavior will never be tolerated.”
“It wasn’t criminal! I just wanted to make the world a better place, to show people that life exists beyond our own planet. It was peaceful… I just wanted to make a difference.”
One of the soldiers grabbed his arm and lifted him off the ground. They pushed him towards the exit. Sasha lay motionless on the floor. The other soldiers were upending tables and emptying drawers onto the floor. He caught one last glimpse of them as he was rushed out. All he’d wanted was to leave his child with a better world than he’d been born into.
“Nathan. Nathan!” Suddenly he opened his eyes. Xander stood over him. “Are you okay?”
He sat back. He was at his station, the screen was blank. The code was gone. The frightening memory wasn’t fading as fast as usual.
“I have something I want to show you. Follow me.”
They walked back into the main room. Dozens of digital white boards covered the walls. Each one was filled with random scribbles.
“Have you been out here all night? What is this stuff?”
Xander hurried into the middle of the room. A blanket hung over the black rock, obscuring his view. “Watch this.” He whipped the cover off, and a bright green light flashed them both in the eyes.
The intensity decreased after a few seconds, but he couldn’t believe what he saw. The light emanated from beneath the surface of the meteorite. It appeared in multiple strange patterns. He couldn’t make out a single coherent object and no two marks looked alike.
“What is that? Are those symbols?”
“Yes, they are! Well, at least I think they are,” Xander replied. “Come over here. I’ve mapped out the entire surface and separated each piece into different categories. I tried putting them into different arrangements, but none of it makes any sense.”
The markings looked so familiar, yet completely foreign at the same time. Every pattern was comprised of straight lines and sharp angles. He’d attended university in Prague. When he’d first arrived it had taken forever to learn how to navigate the old narrow streets. That’s it! “It reminds me of a map.”
Xander snapped his finger. “That’s exactly what I thought! After failing to categorize the lines I moved forward with the assumption that it was a map.” He walked over to one of the boards covered in notes. “Based on the angle of entry, velocity, and the gravitational forces of Jupiter, I believe I’ve calculated its origin. That was when I knew I had to wake you.”
“Whatever this is, it’s obviously manmade. The internal light proves it’s not a meteorite. Where did it come from? Was it a weapon?”
Xander smiled. “Are you sure it’s human?” He pressed a button on his wrist deck and a giant holographic map of the solar system appeared. The map zoomed out until the entire Milky Way galaxy was visible. He stepped back and waved his hands. A holographic projection of the object’s surface floated off the device and into the air above them. Xander spread his arms and the concave image stretched back until it was flat. He then placed it over the image of their galaxy.
The angles of the lines matched up with hundreds of stars. Each point that fit blinked at the same time. Xander walked into the digital map and then pointed at a specific spot. It was in the adjacent arm of the Galaxy, towards the center. “This is where it came from. My calculations confirmed it.”
Nathan’s heart raced. “This isn’t possible. I know we both wanted this trip to turn out better, and there’s no denying this machine is special, but it can’t be possible.”
“That’s a normal reaction to this situation, but look at the data. Numbers don’t lie.”
“You’re telling me that this thing flew billions of miles and just happened to crash land at our location? What’s the probability of that?”
“Not as crazy as you think.” He was about to object, but Xander held up his hand. “Just hear me out. If this is truly from another system in our galaxy, then the age of our suns would be similar. It stands to reason then, that our worlds would have evolved along a similar trajectory. Our first broadcast was only sent out two hundred years ago. It’s not crazy to think it would take another species that long to receive the message, build whatever this is and then travel here. Two hundred years is actually a pretty quick turnaround, relatively speaking.”
“You still didn’t account for its timing.”
“Think about it. The object didn’t appear until right after the drill rig exploded. We both know a blast of that magnitude would have been visible from space. We also know that Jupiter’s gravity pulls everything towards it, acting as a natural shield for Earth. That’s the reason we don’t receive as many asteroid strikes as the rest of the planets in the system. This thing could have been caught in that same gravity well on its way to the inner solar system. Who knows how long it’s been circling up here. It’s possible the detonation was picked up, and that it wanted to be found by humans. This is the first chance it would have had.”
Nathan stepped towards the object. The green lines were so vibrant. He didn’t know why, but he felt compelled to touch it. As he reached his hand out, the light intensified under his palm. Small amounts of moisture accumulated at his fingertips. His hand shook ever so slightly as he made contact. The surface was smooth as silk and surprisingly warm. This object was going to change the course of human history and his baby wouldn’t have to grow up in the world of his nightmares.
Suddenly every siren and alarm in the complex sounded. Red lights flashed above.
“What is that?” Xander yelled. “Is it from the artifact?”
Nathan ran to the command console and pressed several buttons until the noise cut out and the lights stopped flashing. “Something tripped the exterior sensors.” He switched on the holographic display of the area. One of the landing pads displayed a solid red ring. His heart dropped when the ship came into view. “It’s an Alliance I.E.P. unit.”
“That’s impossible. How’d they cover that much distance in half a day? We have to get out of here!”
“Calm down! If we’re going to survive this you have to do exactly as I say. This is bigger than us now. We have to get this object back to Earth. Everything we hold dear is in danger. They’re going to be coming through the front entrance. I need you to take the object out of the facility and into our spacecraft. Lock yourself inside and begin the startup sequence. I’ll be close behind.”
“I’m not leaving without you! We’ve been in worse situations before. We’ll get out of this. We just have to think of something.”
“We’ll never outrun their ship, and when they find out who we are, they’ll kill us. There is no other way.”
“Fine, then I’ll stay behind. Grab the artifact and I’ll make sure you’re not followed.”
Nathan shook his head. “You know I’m a great pilot, but if something breaks I may not be able to fix it. You built her, and only you can guarantee she makes it back in one piece.”
“They’ll never stop chasing me.”
“That’s correct. You cannot return to Earth. I want you to travel to New Tranquility. Jacob will help you disappear. As soon as you arrive, call for Sasha. Take my family into hiding with you. You have to protect them for me.”
Xander nodded. He lifted the artifact and opened the interior entrance to the airlock. Nathan pulled a data stick out of his pocket. “Take this with you.”
Xander slipped it into his spacesuit. “You’ll be right behind me?”
“Right behind you.” He could hear the sound of air rushing into the front airlock as it was pressurized to match their internal environment. “You have to go now.”
Xander stepped back into the airlock, pressed a button and the door sealed shut behind him. Nathan turned and ran down one of the hallways. There wasn’t a moment to spare. He threw stuff out of the way inside the maintenance closet until he found a small orange box. Inside were several sticks of H-3 explosives. He opened the lid, and primed the top one. It synced with his wrist deck. Nathan grabbed the whole box and returned to the main room just as the light clicked green of the front airlock.
He moved to the center of the room and placed the box near the exterior wall. The door began to open. Nathan grabbed the sheet that had been covering the object and threw it on top of the box.
“Freeze!”
Nathan slowly turned around. Dozens of footsteps thunked against the metal planks around him. He placed his hands over his head. Once his back was to the wall, he slowly tapped a command on his wrist deck. It was primed.
A dozen I.E.P. soldiers had taken up offensive positions around the room, their assault rifles pointed at him. They were covered head to toe in zero gravity combat gear.
A voice came from the airlock, “Good morning. My apologies for our rather intrusive arrival.” A tall man emerged from the entrance. He was very fit, and dressed in a ceremonial grey and black military outfit. Several medals hung from his chest. Nathan was surprised to see the insignia for the concerned group of religious leaders. He’d seen it several times before, but never as a combat pin. “My name is Kalligan. I’m the commander of this unit.”
He raised his hand. “Please lower your weapons, they’re not necessary.” He smiled at Nathan. “So what is your name?”
His first thought was to lie, but they’d eventually find out who he really was and it wouldn’t help his situation. “My name is Nathan Connors.”
Kalligan seemed shocked. “You’re not the Nathan Connors, are you?”
“I doubt that. I’m sure there are a lot of people w
ith that name.”
“This is a welcome surprise. I recognize you from the vids. You’re the one that discovered the controversial material on Mars. You know, you made a lot of people very unhappy when you violated our laws.” He scanned the room. “It doesn’t appear you learned your lesson the first time. Where is the other one? You two were always together.”
“No one else is here. It’s just me.” Technically he was the only one still inside the base. He needed to change the subject. “What do you want? Why are you here?”
“Now don’t be rude. Since I’m a representative of the Alliance government, and you’re currently breaking international law, again, I’d appreciate more respect when you speak to me.” He moved further into the room. “Several years ago I was informed about the most peculiar… miracle. The smallest of objects was observed moving through our solar system. Only it didn’t conform to any of the laws of nature. It passed through gravity fields with ease.
“Our top researchers have been studying it for years. It defies everything we know about science. It’s just another example of the ineptitude of the field. After much debate we decided that it warranted a closer look. We’ve been en route for several months now. We were close to intercepting the object when we recorded a small burst of heat on the surface. At that exact moment, and as unbelievable as it sounds, the object changed course. It was as if something caught its attention.”
“That’s an interesting story, and you’re right, I do find it hard to believe.”
“Nathan, we need to find this object and study it. Make sure that it doesn’t pose a threat to the Alliance or Earth. We scanned the crash site and couldn’t find anything. It certainly didn’t help that the sub-surface ocean swallowed most of the impact area.”
The Last Revolution Page 2
