The formal “sir” startled the captain. He looked at Simon again and noticed the worry lines around his first officer's mouth. “We won't be much longer, I promise,” said Mark.
"Thank you, sir,” said Simon, quietly. “Sanson signing out."
Glumly, Mark turned off the teleholo, but his spirits lifted with the smells coming from the kitchen. Manuel had whipped up some seafood enchiladas and a simple jicama salad and served it with a Chilean white wine. Fire lifted the glass and took an appreciative sip. “I spent my first years on Earth in Chile.” She looked at Manuel. “Maybe if the Cluster ever leaves, we should visit."
Mark rolled his eyes. Kirsten put her hand on his forearm and looked at Manuel. “I didn't know you were such a good cook."
"My mother and father taught me,” said Manuel, eyes glistening with moisture as he thought back to his parents, killed on Sufiro. “The chilies here aren't very good, but the seafood, I have to admit, is excellent."
Everyone fell upon their food with delight. Out of the corner of his eye, Mark saw Eva take a pill with some of her wine. He wasn't certain, but he thought the pill looked like the emotion stabilizing drug, Proxom.
Once the meal was finished, Eva and Kirsten picked up the plates and stacked them in the cleansing unit. Mark stretched and yawned. “I think that wine's making me sleepy,” he said.
Fire looked at her wrist chrono. “It's been a long day. We should turn in soon."
Kirsten tapped Mark on the shoulder and the two went upstairs, arm-in-arm. They looked in on Coffin, and then went to their own bed. Once under the covers, Mark took Kirsten in his arms. He felt her trembling slightly. “What's wrong?” he asked.
"I'm scared,” she said, softly. “Things are very wrong. I'm afraid if we stay too long we'll get caught up in it."
Mark nodded. “I know,” he said. “But, I feel like we need to find out a little more before we can advise the Senator about a plan of action."
Kirsten took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I agree,” she said. “It doesn't scare me any less."
Mark kissed Kirsten and then turned out the light. He rolled over and fell asleep with her snuggled up against his back.
* * * *
During the night, Mark rolled and found his face up against canvas. Blinking, and sitting up suddenly, he rolled out of a hammock, into the body next to his then down onto the wooden deck of a ship. Grunting, he rubbed his back and sat up, then looked around in the semi-darkness until his eyes adjusted. Dark as it was in the hold, wan light seeped through from above, as though it was actually day outside. He saw that he was in the hold of an old wooden ship, filled wall-to-wall with the snoring forms of people in hammocks. Brow creased, he carefully stood and felt his way along the wall, stumbling once or twice as the ship rolled until he saw a ladder that led to the deck above.
Ascending the ladder, Mark Ellis found himself on the deck of a whale bark. He looked up at a sky impossibly bright with stars, and then stepped over to the rail and looked to starboard. “My God,” he whispered as he saw the black, light-warping maw that the ship orbited.
"Young Ellis?” came a raspy voice from the ship's stern.
Mark looked around and up to the command deck. There in a white shirt and black trousers, looking much younger than he'd ever seen him was Samuel Coffin. “So, this is where you've gotten to, old friend,” said Mark, moving to the ladder at the deck's stern.
"I should have known you'd show up here eventually,” said Coffin, eyes twinkling.
"Where are we?” asked Ellis as he joined Coffin on the command deck. “I presume that's a black hole, but it's the biggest I've ever seen.” He waved his hand around at the sky. “The density of stars is incredible. Are we..."
"We're at the center of the galaxy,” affirmed Coffin.
Ellis stepped gingerly to the starboard rail. Matter swirled around the great sphere of blackness—an accretion disk of material that was gradually falling into the black hole's event horizon. “Are we really here or is this some kind of illusion?"
"Old Folger and I think we're really here somehow. Also, Kumiko Meiji.” He indicated the ship around them and the flapping canvas above. “All of this is clearly illusion for our benefit, but somehow we are aboard a ship that's really at the center of the galaxy."
Ellis looked at Coffin wide-eyed. “Did you say Kumiko Meiji?"
"Ahh,” said Coffin. “I didn't think you would remember her. She was on Nantucket while you were still quite young."
"She's my boss at TransGalactic,” explained Ellis. “Presuming it's the same Kumiko Meiji.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and discovered that he was dressed much the same as Coffin, in blue woolen trousers with a linen shirt. “So, why are we at the center of the galaxy?"
"Because I ordered us here,” said Coffin. He joined Ellis at the rail. “It's quite a sight, but I'm thinking of moving on tomorrow. I think we've taken all of the measurements we can get.” He paused and looked around. “Besides, this seems to be a rather popular destination."
"What do you mean?"
"Another ship was here only a couple of days ago,” explained Coffin. “We think it was actually another Cluster ship. It was fitted out so that it looked much different—more like a rocket ship of some kind than a sea vessel. Our midshipman told me that the crew consisted of more computer types than this crew."
"I presume this crew consists mostly of researchers and teachers such as yourself."
Coffin nodded. Ellis took a deep breath looked around. He noticed a young woman at the ship's wheel and a man in the bow. Looking up at the main mast, he saw a man keeping lookout, as though for distant whales. Then Ellis noticed a series of little flags along one of the lines. “Who are you signaling?” he asked.
Coffin shrugged. “I may be the captain of this ship, but I don't know all of her mysteries yet. The flags just seem to change from time to time without my command."
Ellis frowned and felt the wind as it blew past the ship. As the wind shifted, he felt a wave of contentment roll over him. A few moments later, the breeze shifted slightly again and something like ire washed over him.
"The illusion is frighteningly real,” said Coffin gently. “Right down to the wind."
"Right down the wind,” echoed Ellis, his brows knitted. He looked up and he saw that the signal flags had changed. “This Cluster is signaling one of the others,” he said more confidently. He looked into Coffin's eyes. “When the other ship was here, what were they doing?"
"It seemed like they were taking detailed measurements of the masses and radii of stars around here,” said Coffin.
Ellis looked around at all of the stars and shivered. Then he turned with the wind and tried to see where it was blowing. Slightly to the port of stern, he thought one of the stars didn't look quite right. “Do you have a telescope?"
"Of course,” said Coffin. He retrieved one from his belt and handed it to Ellis, who opened it and looked at the bothersome star. Somehow, it was not a star, but a lighted corridor. It reminded him of the paths that ships used to jump from star to star; the paths that ships like the Nicholas Sanson mapped. He collapsed the little telescope.
"We're communicating with someone else,” he said with a confident nod. “EQ communications use the same nodal points that starships use to jump from system to system.” He pointed to the place he'd examined with the telescope. “There's a jump point right over there."
"Who are we communicating with?” asked Coffin, his shaggy brow furrowed.
"I don't know,” said Ellis, “but I'd very much like to find out.” His eyes fell on the whaleboat secured to the stern of the bark. “May I borrow one of your boats?"
"We're not exactly using them out here,” said Coffin, lightly. Even so, his shaggy brows came together and a worried frown formed on his features. “But, how can you make an interstellar jump in a whaleboat?"
"How can we be orbiting the black hole at the center of the galaxy in a whale bark?” Ellis met Coffin's gaze
. “There must be some open channel between us here at the center of the galaxy and the Clusters of Earth. Otherwise, I could not have arrived here. Last I knew I was on Earth. You've been out here a few days. Somehow, my mind was passed from Earth to here. I can sense it on the wind."
Coffin nodded. “You may have the boat, but be very careful, my friend."
"Trust me, I will."
* * * *
Kirsten Smart awoke as rays of early morning sunlight streamed in through the windows of the bedroom. She smiled a little mischievously and snuggled up against Mark's back. He was breathing shallowly as though he was awake, or near the surface, but he didn't respond to her at all. “Come on, sleepyhead, up and at ‘em,” she said playfully rolling him onto his back.
His open eyes stared upward at the ceiling and she caught her breath for a moment as she reminded herself that he was breathing. She checked his pulse and confirmed that it was there. With a worried frown, she got out from under the covers, found a terrycloth bathrobe and went across the hall. She knocked lightly on Fire and Manuel's door.
A bleary-eyed Manuel Raton, wearing only a pair of boxer shorts opened the door and blinked a few times. “What is it?"
"It's Mark,” gasped Kirsten. “I think he's gone ... he's gone wherever it is that people are going ... where Mr. Coffin and Ms. Meiji went."
Fire stepped up behind Manuel. Kirsten's eyes went wide when she realized that Fire wasn't wearing anything at all. Ignoring her reaction, Fire stepped past Manuel and Kirsten and went into the room. She checked her son's pulse and breathing, then gently reached up and closed his eyes.
Kirsten watched from the doorway, self-consciously holding her robe closed. “What do we do?” she asked.
Looking up, Fire sighed. “First thing is probably get Dr. Cooper up here and have her give him a more proper examination—make sure he really is in the same state as Coffin. From there we have two choices, we can wait until he and Coffin return or we can bring G'Liat here and see if he can tell us anything with his machine.” Noticing that Kirsten was staring, Fire looked down at herself and shrugged. “Sorry,” she mumbled half-heartedly as she made her way back to her own room and half closed the door behind her. She started rifling through the dresser.
"I don't want to involve G'Liat,” protested Kirsten to the closed door. “He's a murderer—he doesn't even see humans as ... well ... humans. It's more like we're animals in his eyes."
Manuel, now wearing jeans, stepped through the door, pulled a T-shirt on and shrugged. “I've been a cop a long time; humans can be animals.” Fire started to say something but he held up his hand. “Seriously, I think we need to take advantage of any resources we have at hand, no matter how distasteful."
"I'm afraid you may be right,” said Fire, as she pulled on a pair of pants. “Thing is, one of my dad's best friends was a Rd'dyggian pirate. Arepno was a little odd, but he was a good soul."
"That's the problem,” protested Kirsten. “I don't think this G'Liat is a good soul at all."
Fire pulled on a tank top and nodded. “I appreciate your concern. Mark is my son, after all and I don't trust this G'Liat very much either.” She pursed her lips. “Let's get Dr. Cooper up here, then we can talk about this more after breakfast. Agreed?"
"Agreed,” said Kirsten. “While you're getting the doctor, I'll get dressed."
Once Kirsten was dressed, Cooper came upstairs and examined Mark. As expected, she reported that he was in the same state as Coffin. Meanwhile, Manuel went downstairs to start breakfast. When the women smelled the rancid, sulfuric smell of burning eggs, they ran downstairs to find Manuel slumped over the kitchen table. Kirsten turned off the fire and dumped the eggs in the sink while Cooper checked Manuel.
"Is he...?” asked Fire, with a worried frown.
"Alive, and in the same state as Ellis and Coffin as best as I can tell,” said Cooper.
Fire looked at Kirsten, who nodded. “I hate to say it, but I think it's time we got G'Liat,” she said.
* * * *
John Mark Ellis rowed away from the Pequod in the whaleboat. He felt the oars push against water, though he certainly saw none. Coffin had given him provisions: food, blankets, and a first aid kit. He didn't know if any of that would be of any use. As the light that indicated a gravitational node grew closer, Ellis felt the boat pulled along, as though grabbed by a current. He came to the node surprisingly quickly. Looking back, the Pequod was lost among the stars. He had no sense of scale, but his instincts told him that he was moving somewhere near the speed of light.
As he entered the nodal point, he expected that he would experience something like a starship jumping from point to point in the galaxy. However, it wasn't like that at all. Instead, it was like entering a tunnel of light. All sensation of motion stopped. A few moments later, he found himself standing in front of a door. The boat and the provisions had vanished, though he was still dressed the same. Ellis opened the door and stepped into an electronics lab of some sort.
A drafting table stood against one wall, while the room's lone occupant sat hunched over a workbench, a test probe in one hand. Cautiously, Ellis approached the man. Alerted by the creak of Ellis’ shoes, the man looked up. “Ah,” he said. “You must be new here."
"Well,” said Ellis running his hand through his hair. “I just got here, if that's what you mean. But, I'm not sure exactly where ‘here’ is."
The man smiled. “My friend, you've just found paradise.” He put down the test probe and shook Ellis’ hand. “My name is Timothy Gibbs and for the first time in my life, I'm getting to build the computer I've always dreamed of."
Ellis’ eyebrows’ came together. “Who are you building the computer for?"
"For the Cluster, of course,” he said. “It's their legacy."
"Tell me more,” said Ellis.
Gibbs looked at his wrist chrono. “Let me show you around and I'll explain as I go.” He moved toward a door at the opposite end of the room. “I'm afraid I don't have a lot of time. I managed to leave a friend of mine back at the apartment. I'm sure he's worried. He just arrived from Sufiro when I had to leave for work."
"You have a friend from Sufiro?” asked Ellis. “I know some Sufirans. What's your friend's name?"
"Ed Swan,” said the man.
Ellis’ jaw dropped for a moment before he regained his composure. “Yes, show me around,” he said. “Let me know when it's time for you to go. I have a message for your friend."
* * * *
G'Liat stood over John Mark Ellis, his hands balancing the Rd'dyggian brain scan device on the captain's head. The device was designed for Rd'dyggians, whose brains were in their chest cavity. After a few moments, G'Liat looked up. “That's odd,” he said with a look of near-human puzzlement on his face. “Ellis was gone, just like Samuel Coffin."
"Was?” asked Kirsten.
"I'm now registering brain activity again,” said the eight-foot tall warrior. “He's much nearer again, like most humans. It's like his brain pattern was sent to a distant point, but now it's come back to one of the Clusters close to the Earth."
"How can that be?” asked Fire.
"I don't have enough data yet,” said the warrior. “However, I've never seen anything like this in any of the people I've examined."
"Perhaps you should examine Manuel,” suggested Fire.
"Perhaps,” agreed the warrior, retrieving the brain scanner.
"Examine Manuel for what?” Raton leaned against the bedroom door, stroking his mustache. He stepped over to the window and pushed it open, took a deep breath of the damp, salt air and grinned. “Man, it's a beautiful day.” He turned and looked from Kirsten to Fire. “Did someone get those eggs I left on the stove before they burned?"
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BEYOND SYMBIOSIS
Fire Ellis watched Manuel Raton as he ate his breakfast of oatmeal and toast with a look of peaceful contentment on his face. Fire and Manuel had grown up together on Sufiro and she knew his moo
ds well. She had see him raging mad when he'd seen an injustice committed, worried about friends in trouble, satisfied after solving a dispute, even joyously happy when things were going his way, but she rarely saw him completely serene.
"You know,” said Manuel, “the Cluster has made things so peaceful here on Earth, I wonder what it could do for other worlds, like Alpha Coma or Sufiro."
"I don't know if I want to find out,” said Kirsten, wrinkling her nose. “I don't care how nice the Earth seems, the fact is that over sixty percent of the population is gone."
"Besides,” said Fire, pointing her spoon at Manuel. “How do you know what the Earth was like before? You didn't even grow up here."
"But I was here before the Cluster, with you,” said Manuel, leaning forward. “My father and mother told me plenty of stories about living on the streets of El Paso and Juarez, not even able to afford a place to live. That's all been fixed."
"In the most draconian of ways,” said Kirsten. She threw her napkin on the table and picked up her dirty dishes.
G'Liat reclined on the couch and watched the interchange with some interest. He made a show of examining his fingers, then looked up. “So, what was it like to communicate with the Cluster?"
Manuel's mouth worked, but he couldn't quite get the words out. “It's hard to describe,” he stammered at last. “It was like being gathered into my mother's arms and being told that everything was all right.” His content smile dissolved into a deep frown as he remembered his own mother, murdered on Sufiro. He turned away from the warrior's gaze.
Eva Cooper looked from Manuel to G'Liat and back again. “You're in law enforcement, Mr. Raton. How can you condone what the Cluster has done?"
Manuel's brow wrinkled as though he was trying to think through a difficult problem. “I don't...” he began, but stopped. “I don't know how to explain,” he resumed after a few moments of silence. “I almost wish the Cluster had come sooner, not later. I find myself wondering if my mom and dad would still be alive."
"Who knows, if the Cluster had come sooner, perhaps your parents would still be dead and Sam Stone of Tejo would still be alive,” said G'Liat from the couch, referring to the man who had ordered the execution-style murder of Raton's mother and father.
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