Wanda

by carl smothers

  She redirected the scanners again, and together they started a long, tedious, detailed search. As the analysis progressed, at billions of bytes per second, Wanda noticed some of the datum had a strange token attached. From all outwards appearances, it appeared inconsequential. I think I need to take a closer look. When she examined the code of one token, it seemed to allow for linkage with other datum. Upon detailed analysis, she discovered it had a key to enable structural form changes.

  Quite interesting, she thought. This may be the clue I’ve been looking for. If the tokens are independent variables, then they’ll most likely be uncorrelated. I can easily check that.

  Independent variable tests were then performed on the tokens. To her delight, she discovered they were not totally independent. Based on that observation, she initiated a stochastic correlation analyses on bytes with similar token structures — a very tedious task. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity in cyberspace time, the analysis began to yield a positive correlation. The token analysis made it clear that the virus had decomposed and had distributed its components throughout the data stream — retaining the ability to recompose, at will, using the cleverly designed tokens.

  Wanda knew virus had to have a kernel to recompose itself. Something had to be in control. The kernel, by necessity, will have a very simplistic form, or the scanners would have identified it. If queried, it will probably respond with some simple task function. She examined tens of thousands of data patterns before detecting a simple LED blinking utility code. It was not exactly what one would expect for that type of subroutine. It had too many lines of code, and they were a bit complex. It’s token and key were somewhat different from the others.

  I think I’m about to find that clever virus, she thought.

  Wanda then initiated a routine to isolate the kernel before it could invoke a random jump to another hiding place. She then transferred it to a malware cloud chamber. A cyberspace environment designed to observe code processes without the suspicious code being able to escape or do harm. She captured other bytes, with similar tokens, and transferred them into the chamber. Once she collected a sufficient data set, Wanda unraveled the encryption codes and activated the kernel. It immediately began the reconstruction process. It didn’t take long to assess its programming, capture the remaining tokens and understand the viruses’ strategy, modus operandi, and purpose.

  Wanda disabled the virus, activated her hologram and stood next to Pepper’s console.

  Pepper smiled at her. “I hope you have some good news.”

  “I’ve found the virus and isolated it. I suggest you download the code from the cloud chamber and keep it for study. You won’t have any further problems. I’ll give you a complete report on my analysis techniques and findings.”

  “Fantastic. I’m so relieved. Maybe we now have a shot at finding the crew.” She took several deep breaths to calm down — to think clearly.

  “I can’t wait to read your analysis. Good work, girl. Thank you so very much. There are doctoral students who could write their dissertation on the work she’s just done.”

  “Pepper, Harry’s my bro. I’d do anything to help him. I must say the creator of that virus code was brilliant. I think I know who did this, but I can’t prove it yet.”

  Pepper’s frustration turned to a bulldog determination to stop this ruthless killer before he interfered any further. “I hope you can nose around and either confirm your suspicions or figure out who did this. I can’t find any passwords or links that would tell us who got in. I’m certain whoever created the virus is behind all of the sabotage. We have to find this traitor.”

  “I’ll see what I can do. By the way, I have evidence there’s another virus hiding in the code, and I’m going to sniff it out”

  “I hope it’s not like the one you just neutralized,” Pepper said.

  “It’s something different. Now that I know the dynamics, it’ll be easy to find and quarantine. I’ll be in touch.”

  “Wanda, we also have to figure out the end- point coordinates of the wormhole. The flight history registry was erased, is there any way to reconstruct it?”

  “That’s in the works and there may be a way to put it back together. I’ll let you know.” Wanda reentered cyberspace to finish her work. Well, I guess I showed that virus who the momma duck is. She chuckled to herself.

  Pepper’s stomach churned with anticipation as she walked over to the flight director console to join Marc and Tarnak. She couldn’t wait to tell him the news. “Marc, we found the problem virus and isolated it. Maybe we can boot the system up now.”

  “Fantastic,” he said. His face lit up. “Good work! What the heck was it?”

  “A unique virus capable of decomposing itself and hiding in the data streams. When certain system conditions occurred, it recomposed and attacked. Not only that, but the thing is also polymorphic, so it can change its structure by a key in its token after it strikes. It totally fooled the scanners. It constantly decomposes, changes form, and sometimes even its behavior. It was the work of a software genius. We had to create a new type of viral analysis to find it. The good news is, we’ve disabled it so it can’t do any more harm. A report’s being generated that’ll describe it and the analysis strategy in detail.”

  “You don’t know how relieved I am. I must say, I can’t wait until we catch the person responsible. I’d love to shoot him right between the eyes. It would serve him right.” His jaws clenched, further emphasizing his anger and frustration.

  “I agree. I haven’t slept since this whole thing started,” Pepper said. “Wanda told me she may be able to partially reconstruct the flight history register. She’s working on it now.”

  “We’re not out of the woods yet, but at least we have a chance thanks to you, Wanda and Tarnak. What do you say we try to reboot?”

  “Let’s do it. I can’t wait to find the guys. I’m so worried.”

  “Me, too, Pepper,” Marc said. “Heaven only knows where they are. I just hope Captain Starling had the sense to stay put. If not, we don’t have a snowballs chance in hell of finding them.”

  “I’d be surprised if they moved away from their egress point,” Tarnak replied. “The captains too experienced to do such a foolish thing.”

  “I hope so. By the way, Bill Hart called earlier, and he’s a bundle of nerves. D.C. is in an uproar. The fact this was another case of sabotage is not going down easy in Washington. One senator is already calling for an investigation of our security procedures.”

  “I know D.C., Marc,” Pepper said. “They’re famous for finding fault and finger pointing. I guarantee the guys in Washington will be on our backs to resolve this issue fast.”

  “We’ll worry about that bunch later. What do you say we get the wormhole rebooted? Where in the world do we start? Did you get any information we can use to try and reposition it?”

  “It’s sketchy at best,” Tarnak explained. “Despite the fact the virus jumbled the code and deleted the files, Wanda was able to reverse engineer its scrambling algorithm and partially reconstruct the registry. We have an ending data point. We’ll be close, but not exact. Hopefully, we’ll be close enough they can detect the wormhole if they look for it.”

  “It’s all we have, so by definition it has to be good enough,” Marc said. “Okay, let’s turn this thing on. Attention team, we think we’ve rectified the system issue that shut the wormhole down. We’re going to try to reboot. Let’s focus and get started.”

  Everyone in the MCC cheered loudly and shook each other’s hand. Marc gave them a few minutes then started the process. “Tarnak, enter the end-point coordinates.”

  “Roger, that Marc. Coordinates entered and accepted. Navigation is ready.”

  “Very well. Computer, Initiate the wormhole,” Marc commanded.

  “Working. Wormhole synthesis initiated. Accessing time and spatial coordinates for the bridge. Startup sequence is completed and design simulation and validation is complete. System field and matt
er synthesizers are on-line and data transfer is in process. All systems go.”

  The system metrics was the center of attention during the synthesis of the bridge. Space-time twisted and bent. Then, to everyone’s delight, the configuration they expected appeared on the star map. A wave of relief rolled through the MCC.

  Pepper sighed and Tarnak tapped his fist on the console. Marc ran his hand through his thinning hair and muttered to himself.

  The computer then announced what they all wanted to hear.

  “The Einstein-Rosen Bridge is in place. End-point coordinates have been verified. The wormhole is stable.”

  Mission Control erupted with loud cheers as people shook hands, jumped up and down and congratulated their success. After days of doom and gloom, a glimmer of hope permeated the MCC. It was a good feeling.

  “Thank God, for small favors,” Pepper said. Tarnak smiled and nodded.

  “Orion, this is Mission Control please come in,” Marc said, anxiously awaiting some response. There was no answer. “Orion, this is Mission Control. Please respond.” Still no answer. After a few minutes, he tried again. “Orion, this is Mission Control. Please respond!”

  Marc took off his glasses and threw them on the flight director console. He leaned back in this chair and rubbed his face with his hands. He gave Pepper a concerned look and then quietly whispered to her. “At least we’re back on-line and we’ve eliminated that friggin virus. I hope they didn’t reposition the ship. I guess all we can do is sit here and sweat. I don’t dare move the wormhole. What if our data point is wrong?”

  “It’s the best we can do for now,” Pepper replied.

  Marc reviewed the metric display, hoping for stability and thankful to see it. He took a deep breath, and ran his fingers through his hair. His was extremely fatigued from stress and lack of sleep. A slight pain shot through his chest. Something he hadn’t experienced since before they inserted the stent in his aorta five years earlier. He rubbed his chest, fearful he might be having another attack.

  I’ll let the team down if I have a heart attack in the middle of this mess. Have to get control of my nerves.

  Chapter 46

  The Orion

  In orbit above MP-1

  Somewhere in the Milky Way Galaxy, Scott Kimberly was working in the Orion astronomical lab when he inadvertently detected the wormhole with one of his sensor scans. Excitedly, he paged the bridge. “Captain, this is Kimberly. Good news. I’ve detected the wormhole. I damn near missed it.”

  “Did you lock in the coordinates?”

  “Absolutely. I’ve already entered them in the system, and it should be showing up on the star map.”

  “I see it. Good work, Scott. How do you stand on the pulsar analysis?”

  “We’ve got it nailed. We located all six pulsars and triangulated our position relative to that of Earth. Commander Thompson and I just finished registering our position in the bridge star maps.”

  “It’s all there. What a relief.”

  “Captain, I’ll bet they’re trying to communicate with us.”

  “I’m sure that’s true. We need to contact MCC, but I can’t move the ship until our away team is back. If we leave our parking spot, they could get confused, especially if they try to communicate with us. We don’t need any more problems. I’m sure they won’t move the wormhole. Do you have any suggestions?”

  “Yes, but let me get back to you.”

  Scott integrated the coordinates of the wormhole, and then ran the star map and holographic display. He had an idea.

  “Computer, show me the geometrical configuration of the planets of this solar system relative to each other, the ship and the wormhole. Please use the holographic display in high definition format. Also, run an orbital analysis, surface density, topographical analysis of the third planet and give me detailed data on the surface profile.”

  “Working, Doctor. Model is complete.”

  Scott reviewed the data and concluded that if the comm system’s power was sufficient, it might be possible to bounce a signal off the outer planet and target the wormhole central axis. The geometry and time window would be very critical. The planet’s surface was a barren, smooth piece of rock, and the geometry looked good. Unfortunately, the window of opportunity had a millisecond timeframe.

  “Computer, calculate the signal power, transmission angle and time window to use planet number three as a signal relay station from the Orion to the wormhole central axis.”

  “Working. Calculations complete. Data indicates full z band power using a TDM code will be required. Azimuth and declination angles shown will be valid for 32.256 milliseconds. Transmit time must initiate in 4 minutes, 22.366 seconds, based on planetary surface topography, rotation velocity and orbital rate.”

  “Captain, this is Kimberly. I think we can use the outer planet as a relay station.”

  “What do you mean, Scott?”

  “If we have enough power, and use the right transmit angle, we might just be able to bounce a signal off the planet and hit the central axis of the wormhole. The transmit window will be very short. The MCC won’t be able to communicate with us, but if we can give them our position, they can reposition the wormhole and we could be back in business.”

  “It’s worth a try. Please enter the initial conditions and exact spatial coordinates of our location.”

  “Keep the message short, Captain. We won’t have the angle for long. The data and spatial coordinates for the transmission and our location should be on your display now.”

  “We have the data locked into the communications computer. Good work,” Starling said.

  The computer then announced:

  “Azimuth and declination angles locked-in and verified. Z band transmitter on full power and TDM code is stable. Data transmission will occur in 3.284 seconds.”

  The captain crossed his fingers as the communications computer transmitted the vital message.

  “Data transmission successfully completed.”

  All we can do now is wait and see, Starling thought.

  Mission Control

  The MCC Communications Officer intercepted the message and directed it to Marc who was in his office bathroom.

  This whole thing has disaster written all over it. There will be congressional hearings to say the least. No one has ever lost a starship in space. What a mess. Well, that’s the least of my worries. The priority is to get our guys home.

  He looked at himself in the mirror. The lack of sleep and stress was showing. He hadn’t shaved in three days, and his clothes were disheveled and dirty. Man I look grubby.

  He splashed water on his face and combed his hair. He still hadn’t been able to reconcile with his wife and that preyed on his mind. His left arm still hurt. After a few minutes, he left his rest room and heard the emergency message warning light beeping. When he read it, he yelled, “This is great!” He laughed, clapped his hands, and let out a “Yahoo,” then contacted Pepper.

  “Pepper, excellent news! I just found out that the Orion contacted us. We need status immediately.”

  “I’m on it!” She jumped up and down and giggled with delight. She was almost embarrassed at her emotional outburst, but she couldn’t help herself. “Sorry Marc, I couldn’t help it.”

  “That okay, I feel the same way. I’ll be there shortly.”

  The elevator ride down to the MCC seemed to take forever. Marc almost burst through the door when it stopped at the MCC level.

  “Are we ready to redirect the wormhole?” he asked breathlessly as he ran into the control room.

  Pepper and Tarnak shared a glance of agreement. “We’ve got the coordinates. We also have the virus quarantined, and we’ve fixed the navigation subsystem code and put safeguards in place to make sure this guy never strikes again.”

  “Excellent,” Marc replied. “I can’t tell you how relieved I am.”

  “Join the club,” Pepper replied loudly.

  “Pepper, do we have any clue who did this?”
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  “No, but we’re working on it. We also think there’s another virus hiding in the data stream. Efforts are underway to locate and neutralize it.”

  “Will it cause the same problem we just had?”

  “No, it’s something else. We’re not quite sure of its purpose.”

  “Let me know the second you have an answer,” mark said.

  “I have so many butterflies in my stomach I’m afraid they’ll fly out when I talk. I feel like King Kong just hopped off my back.”

  Marc winked at her, and then took his position at the flight director console. “Let’s reposition the wormhole. Tarnak, enter the new coordinates.”

  “Coordinates submitted,” Tarnak replied. “We’ll know shortly.”

  Chapter 47

  STL

  Mission Control

  Wormhole Development Facility

  New Mexico

  A deathly kind of quiet fell over Mission Control as they anxiously waited for the system to respond. The bridge slowly began to move, and then stabilized at the new end-point location. Pepper’s heart raced with excitement as she heard the computer announce:

  “System is stable. The new end-point bridge coordinates have been validated.”

  “Orion, this is Mission Control. Please come in,” Marc said, biting his lip.

  The captain appeared on the main display. “Mission Control, it’s great to see you. For a while there, I thought we might never see Earth again. We’ve had a lot going on.”