Reality: The Struggle for Sternessence

by Daniel A. Liut

  Duncan’s attempt to tell his story without implying his being someone of relevance had just derailed. From his first day in Reality, he had been reluctant to accept his given role in the universal conflict. He found it hard to believe and had a feeling of incapacity in its regard. Yet at the same time, a sense of discovery and attraction to the unknown often made him flirt with the idea of putting his doubts aside. And always in the background, there was a strong perception of purpose for his alleged role, of a very fulfilling purpose.

  “I know it sounds . . . weird,” he continued. “It’s not been easy for me to accept any of this, but certain things tell me there may be some truth in it.” Duncan sighed, shaking his head again. “I don’t know.”

  Erina listened without making any comments.

  “By the way, are you staying here long, I mean, in this universe?” Duncan asked.

  “I wish I knew. The capsule’s tracking system is completely smashed. Unless someone figures out a way to pinpoint my position back on Earth, I’m afraid I’m pretty much stuck here.” Erina frowned, and took both her own and Duncan’s cup. “Do you want some more?”

  “Please.”

  Erina was back soon with two refills.

  “Thanks.”

  “I don’t have any particular directives of what to do under these circumstances.” Erina sipped some of her amis. “The main purpose of my voyage was, and still is, to study any culture I may come into contact with. So here I am, in the middle of a conflict in which you are deeply involved. And you’re traveling quite a lot, meeting different peoples and cultures.”

  Duncan nodded, his attention drifting to the perfectly human-looking woman in front of him.

  “Perhaps I could accompany you on your travels, Dahncion.”

  Duncan quickly tuned in to what she was saying. The prospect of traveling around with a woman from his own world—with a particularly attractive woman from his own world—was alluring. Erina looked young, although she was older than he. But it was precisely the age difference, combined with Erina’s wits, which conveyed a special appeal. Her beauty and maturity worked like a magnet to his fledgling manhood.

  “I’m positive O’sihn will like this. He is my commanding officer, and a very good friend.”

  “I may not fit in with the people you are working with,” Erina cautioned.

  “I’m sure you’ll like it here. The Royal Navy is like a family. You’ll see. I have met lots of people already—made many good friends.”

  Erina put a hand on top of Duncan’s. “Well, you’ve just made yourself another good friend.”

  _______________

  75 Sensors experience a significant loss of accuracy when moving at high speeds in ionized environments.

  76 Thermally Limited Speed, which implies slow speeds.

  77 Blishee was a contraction of Establishee, both being derogative terms referring to the Establishment.

  78 The attacking routine software was scrambled and spread over the cargo software in order to conceal it from the Establishment’s constant inspections.

  79 The port battery contained a standard plasma cannon. The battery was concealed and totally disconnected from the ship’s network, like any other weapon onboard, to hide it from Establishment inspections. The only link with the network (or any weapons system) was through an encoded channel that could be accessed through any standard communication system, but whose signals were shielded from leaking into space.

  80 High-Resolution, close-range scanners used to examine the inner structure and constituents of any object or device.

  81 Bioxyn and catalyon are gases comparable to oxygen and nitrogen, respectively, in our universe.

  82 Effervescent, transparent beverage reminiscent of coffee in flavor. In a dark room, a phosphorescent blue radiance sparkling from its small bubbles could be observed.

  83 Toast-like tablets with a tile-like texture that melts in one’s mouth with a sweet and satisfying flavor.

  84 Both in Realitas and on the Intrepid, he had spent several hours watching history scienscenes, which are a type of documentary.

  CHAPTER 8

  Tribulation and Trial

  42.

  It took Captain Foxso’l ten days to reach the rendezvous point. Once he arrived, he had to resort to all his experience and skills to keep his ship undetected. The track had been computed as meticulously as the situation allowed, in a quadrant where all navigational aids had been cut off or interfered with. As usual, Mr. Witts had been in charge of the track computations, and by then, he had completed the calculations of the last phase of their journey.

  With an E.P.E. (Estimated Position Error) of only ten kilometers, Witt’s fix correlated very well with the estimated track—much better than what would be expected from classical dead-reckoning calculations.85

  For a moment, Foxso’l thought of having the fix double-checked, but he simply nodded, turning back to the main display again. It would have been pointless to question Witts’ ten kilometers of conceivable error. At any rate, it was evident that the only ship in the sector was the Angel Spark. There was no sign at all of the Intrepid, which was supposed to have arrived earlier than they had.

  After a couple of hours of silent waiting, Foxso’l decided to carry on with the alternative plan. But even that had to suffer modifications. The piercing capsule that was to be used had to be reconditioned for two travelers. The vehicle had originally featured two compartments, one for its passenger and the other for equipment and supplies. However, for this mission, two humans had to be accommodated in one single capsule—one in each compartment—significantly restricting the assigned payload for the mission.

  More than five hours had gone by since the capsule had been launched into space. Before leaving, Witts had shown Duncan images of Aquaelight as seen from space. Its appearance, a bright blue sphere with crisp white threads spread all over its surface, and two polar caps, was very reminiscent of Earth. According to the navigational time-schedule, the capsule should, by then, be not far from the planet. But the only features Duncan could make out were two igloo-like bodies, which seemed to be orbiting around a point between the two. As the capsule closed distances, it became apparent that the portion of space between the two “igloos” was a dark, flat, starless circular blotch. The Establishment’s environmental reconfiguration of the biosphere had turned the vast blue oceans that extended from pole to pole into a lightless, monotonous sea.

  Duncan started the deceleration stage. With it, his mind began drifting towards the woman from his own world, physically very close but seemingly as distant as the Angel Spark due to the capsule’s compartment division. Erina had never been in a military piercing capsule, or been exposed to a seven-hour, launch-to-landing, tactical approximation to a military target in space. Once more, Duncan knocked on the opaque division panel, and again no answer came back from the adjacent compartment. He did not expect any response, though; he was aware that the panel’s material should absorb any vibration he produced.

  A couple of hours later, Aquaelight could be seen with a wide angular scope. As Duncan initialized the reentry sequence, the vehicle stopped decelerating, and started to travel along a trajectory that would take it to one of the poles. On the white surface below, geographical features were becoming discernible. The capsule finally made contact with the upper atmospheric layers, and as it did, its serene inertial trajectory rapidly shifted to a vibrating deceleration.

  After a few hours of weightlessness, Duncan gradually began to perceive the compartment division of his cockpit facing up, with the other end of the compartment facing down. A reddish-blue induced incandescence, always present in a capsule reentry, encircled the entire vehicle. For a couple of seconds, Duncan experienced the already familiar high-pitched landing chime resounding inside the cockpit. He looked at the altimeter display. Only two hundred thousand feet separated the capsule from the surface. At that point, the thermoinduced booster engine was automatically activated to prevent the vehicle fr
om losing momentum. The temperature display began to reach ever-rising levels, as the external reddish-blue radiance shifted to a white incandescent glow. Duncan moved an arm towards his face, partially covering his eyes. Then the external over-hitter was also energized, since the hull had not reached critical plasma temperature yet. A moment later, the engine booster engaged the over-thrust, and with that, the incandescence surrounding the vehicle flashed, rapidly dissipating after that.

  Although the planet’s surface was in a bright morning of a dawning spring, total darkness had suddenly enveloped the landing pod, which was now making its way under the ice.86 Immediately, the over-thrust disengaged, and the engine started decreasing its thrust. The vehicle decelerated rapidly until finally stopping several hundred feet below the planet’s surface, inside the core of an ancient glacier.

  The frozen walls of the icy tunnel drilled by the incandescent capsule trembled and cracked, but held firm.

  Once more, the external over-hitter energized, and large amounts of melted water started flowing between the hull and the glacier. The capsule was significantly lighter than the weight of the equivalent volume of liquid occupied by it, so it started to make its way up swiftly through the gelid water. During the reentry, the vehicle was expected to mimic an iron meteorite collapsing into the surface, in an attempt to conceal the pod’s true nature from enemy detection systems. That had been the first time such technology had been put into use, and so far, it seemed to have worked quite well.

  Before starting the emerging phase, the capsule had turned one hundred and eighty degrees about, so that now Duncan was sitting on the compartment division, facing upwards. The entire navigation had gone through without a glitch. Despite the circumstances, the contact with the planet’s surface had been much milder than Duncan’s previous experience in Althea 8, much to his relief.

  The capsule rapidly reached an area where the tunnel, drilled by the piercing vehicle a few minutes before, was clear from ice. Duncan kept looking upwards. The dark environment was gradually picking up the light of the polar morning above. As the external hitting system went off, the external hull temperature rapidly stabilized at about thirty-five degrees Fahrenheit.

  Breaking through a thin icy film that covered the small crater lake, the capsule emerged with an elegant swish.

  The first thing Duncan did was to check the environmental data. Everything seemed within reason, even though the temperature outside was about ten degrees below zero. Neither he nor Erina had brought along combat suits. However, they were wearing appropriate insulated clothing, which could be adjusted to handle extreme temperatures.

  When everything was ready, Duncan activated the opening system, and the top, bow quarter of the hull was jettisoned. A white, barren, flat landscape appeared, stretching to the horizon.

  Duncan extended a retractable paddle and started rowing towards the bank of the freezing pond. Reaching shore, he popped off the capsule and anchored it to the ice. He picked up some basic equipment from the cockpit (a few supplies and some handy instruments) and anxiously threw a switch. The pod’s circular divider was jettisoned into the polar air.

  Erina appeared on the other half of the cockpit. She looked perfectly well.

  “Are you okay?” Duncan asked.

  “I guess so.” Erina looked around, very much in control of herself.

  The local sun was very close to the horizon. The sky was clear, and an icy breeze was whispering. After helping Erina out of the pod, a much more relaxed Duncan proceeded to activate the bio-scanner he had picked up from the cockpit. He walked a hundred yards or so from the landing spot and placed the instrument on the frozen ground. Erina walked by him.

  Suddenly, the bio-scanner began beeping.

  “What’s the meaning of that?” Erina asked.

  “Life-forms nearby.” Duncan did not hide his concern.

  “What kind of life-forms?”

  “I hope this will tell us.” Duncan knelt on the ice, exchanging data and instructions with the sensor. “Well, at least they are loids,” he added, standing up in front of the bio-scanner, eyes focused on it.

  Erina looked at him and squinted.

  “Earth-looking life forms, for the most part,” Duncan explained.

  Abruptly, Erina slammed into Duncan. Instinctively, he threw himself down to the ground, pulling her along.

  The landing capsule, along with the supplies and instruments it carried, had been pulverized by a big explosion. Duncan reacted quickly, getting back on his feet. In front of him, seven white Earth-like military tanks were approaching fast, their gun turrets aimed towards him and Erina.

  “These are not Establishment forces.”

  “So they aren’t—” Erina said sarcastically.

  “Those insignias aren’t Establishment’s marks.”

  Erina stepped back with apprehension.

  The tanks did appear to be native machines. Foxso’l had told them about the indigenous technology, which had similarities to that of Duncan’s Earth. The characteristic sound of the diesel-cycle engines, plus the way the landing capsule had just been destroyed, agreed with Foxso’l’s briefing.

  The heavy vehicles stopped about thirty feet from Erina and Duncan, adopting a V configuration. The turret of the tank in the center lifted up, and an individual appeared on top. It had polar-bear-like features, though it still had a human resemblance in many ways. It was wearing a white beret and something similar to dark glasses concealing its eyes.

  “Drop your guns!” he shouted.

  The soldier definitively looked and sounded like a male. His physical appearance matched what Foxso’l had anticipated about the natives. Besides, nothing on him or in the tanks seemed to be under the Establishment environmental reconfiguration.

  Duncan carefully took the gun he carried on the side of a boot and dropped it to the icy ground. “Sir, we come to join forces—”

  Keeping his dark glasses fixed on the horizon, the soldier made a movement with one arm that clearly indicated that he did not want to hear any more.

  Skimming the ground, a helicopter rushed through from behind the tank formation, landing near an armored vehicle. The strong draft produced by the aircraft dragged the two extra-Aquaelitians against the caterpillars of one of the tanks. The roaring blades promptly spun down, giving way to the high-pitched revving of the turbo-engines.

  On one side of the helicopter, a hatch opened up. Two soldiers in thick white uniforms popped out. They carried weapons Duncan could not identify. Seizing him and Erina, they handcuffed them and forced them into the vehicle.

  The aircraft took off, stirring up a dense cloud of sparkling white dust, which lingered over the field with a smell evocative of kerosene.

  43.

  In the middle of the room, there was a table, and in front of it, a chair, where the only person present was seated. It was a comfortable chair, a fact reluctantly welcomed by Duncan, who by then, had already been seated on it for more than three hours.

  Before being put into the room, Duncan had had his handcuffs removed. Nothing in particular prevented him from walking around the place. Yet that did not seem prudent, since he had been strongly advised to remain seated, and since the surveillance camera, constantly watching him, seemed to follow even the movement of his eyes.

  Except for the table, the camera, and the chair, there was nothing notable inside the room, not even a window. The light came from the whole ceiling, which was a uniform glowing plate. The technology did not seem very advanced, since the lights dissipated lots of heat.

  A good-sized individual barged in through the door to the room, slamming it shut behind him. He was carrying a chair with his left hand and a pile of papers under his right arm. He approached the table and remained standing in front of Duncan for a moment.

  “Very well, Mr. Dahncion,” he said, placing the chair in front of him. “I hope you’re ready to tell us the whole story, thereby sparing yourself further unnecessary nuisances.”

  �
�Where is Erina?” Duncan demanded.

  “Mr. Dahncion,” the Aquaelitian said, with a heavy cadence. “You’ve been treated very kindly, so far. The least we expect from you is a few good manners.” He tapped on the table with one side of the stack of papers he had brought along. “Besides, I’m here for the sole purpose of getting some answers from you.” Taking a device from a pocket, he put it on the table and pushed a button on it. A red light went on. “The young lady . . .” The Aquaelitian fixed his eyes on Duncan’s. “She has some significance to you, doesn’t she?”

  Duncan nodded slightly, trying to conceal his emotions.

  “Well, I can tell you that she is perfectly all right and safe, and as long as you exhibit a cooperative disposition, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Do you understand this, Mr. Dahncion?”

  Duncan nodded, looking at the device right in front of him. Its red light blipped with every word said.

  “Do you understand what I am saying, Mr. Dahncion?”

  “Yes.”

  “Yes, sir, is what we expect from you, Mr. Dahncion.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I’m glad we’re starting to communicate smoothly. Now, Mr. Dahncion, would you kindly explain to us the real purpose behind yours—and Miss Erina’s—intrusion into our territory?”

  “We represent a large force of resistance against the Establishment. We are your friends, and—”

  “Friends, Mr. Dahncion?”

  “Yes, sir, and—”

  “I’m afraid your surreptitious landing in an area well within our borders doesn’t appear to be a friendly action.”

  “We were trying to avoid detection.”

  The interrogator stared impassively at Duncan for a moment. “Let me read to you a brief excerpt I happened to come across, of the preliminary report about your and your companion’s incursion.” The Aquaelitian put on some narrow glasses. “Apparently performing a stealth incursion into Aquaelight’s territorial space, with no indication of any intent of adopting and/or following any identification procedure and subsequent request for landing. It goes on . . . aha, their presence having been detected in a widely uninhabited area of our polar continent. Do you confirm these reports, Mr. Dahncion?”