Warp Point

by Darrell Bain

  “Better than what it was, but it's still going to be a long wait."

  “Sorry, Captain, that's the best we can do."

  “You've done well. Berlin, you and Brad can go off duty now. Same for you, Commander Saddler."

  Stacey winked at him and left Central Control. As soon as she arrived at their stateroom, she poured herself a snifter of brandy, something she almost never did alone. Like Dan, the seeming futility of their space voyage had begun to affect her and she was determined to get it off her mind, even if it took a hefty amount of alcohol to accomplish it. She was stretched out at one end of the big lounger with her feet propped on an ottoman when Dan pushed the door open.

  He laughed “Aha. Caught you boozing."

  “I'll bet it won't take you more than a minute to have your own little relaxer in hand."

  “You're right. Matt said he needed to fudge up a bunch of figures so I turned Central Control over to him and got here quick as I could. Then, by golly, I find my wife already into the happy juice.” Suddenly a frown crossed his face. “I thought pregnant women weren't supposed to have alcohol."

  Stacey was as chagrined as she had ever been in her life. “Oh, My god! I forgot, Dan. You're right, though. Here, pour the rest of this out!” She held out the glass.

  He took it and disposed of what remained. “I doubt you had enough to hurt.” Dan brought his glass over to the lounger. Stacey shoved the ottoman closer to him with her feet so they could share. He propped his feet on it, took a long swallow of the fiery liquid and sighed.

  “You were tense, too."

  “You know it, sweetheart. Despite all the assurances, I had my doubts Earth would still be there."

  “Same here. Now the waiting starts, and I'm wondering what in hell we've accomplished, if anything."

  Dan patted Stacey's thigh, then left his hand there. “We've done what we had to do ever since we took the first steps into the ship. We've come this far, love. Whatever happens, we'll survive. I just have that feeling now."

  “Curious. So do I. Think it means anything?"

  He squeezed gently just above her knee, then began making little circles with his hand. “I really doubt it, hon. Probably just the idea of coming home, even if we don't know what it's like in this reality."

  “It's our emotions. Deep inside, we think we're safe now, even while our brains are telling us we may not be."

  He sipped at his brandy, letting it linger in his mouth before swallowing. “Whatever happens, it's been a hell of a ride, hasn't it?"

  “All except for poor Terrell. I wish that hadn't happened."

  “Me, too, but it sure did quiet down the hyper-religious folks in the ship."

  “They're like us. A lot to think about and a lot of anxiety, wondering about conditions on Earth. In a way, I can sort of sympathize with McCoy. He thought everything he had believed and worked for all his life was going to be winked out of existence, just like the Termites who built Pioneer. They're not gone, but they might just as well be. Maybe the same for some religions on Earth if it follows the same retrograde path as Termen."

  “It might not."

  “Sure, we know that, but McCoy didn't think so."

  Dan contemplated Stacey's analysis for a moment. “You know, I think he must have harbored some doubts about the validity of his beliefs before we found ourselves in a different reality; otherwise it wouldn't have driven him over the edge."

  Stacey nodded agreement. “You're probably right. Others in the ship who're pretty religious are still holding tight to their faith."

  “They may need it. Well, McCoy's gone and so is Terrell. Let's talk about something else, like how much brandy's left in that bottle and what we can do to amuse ourselves after I finish it off."

  A smile crept slowly across Stacey's face. “I can think of a whole lot of openings that line gives me. For starters, why don't you just take the bottle to bed with us?"

  * * * *

  Time seemed to slow as they neared turnover, when for a brief few minutes, Pioneer would be able to send and receive signals. It also brought another decision closer for Dan.

  The day before they would have that brief opportunity, Matt was waiting for Dan when he came into Central Control. “The communications officer called while you were off duty, Captain. He wants to know whether or not we're going to try talking to Earth during the window."

  “I've been thinking about it. I'll let him know, but I'll go ahead and tell you. I've decided against it, unless they signal us first. If things have changed so drastically that we don't hear from them, then I don't want to talk until we get an idea of who we're talking to."

  “I think that's probably a good idea Captain. In fact, I'd recommend not doing anything until we get close enough to Earth to find out what we're facing. I seriously doubt we could find that out in just the few minutes we have while swapping ends."

  Dan had already thought of that, but hearing Matt come to the same decision convinced him. “That's what I think, too. I'll call communications.” He touched the console. As quickly as he got a response he gave the order for silence during turnover. Nevertheless, he was as hopeful as everyone else that something good would be heard when they had their chance.

  * * * *

  “Turnover commencing,” Brad announced. Dan had already given orders to send a synopsis of whatever was heard from Earth during the short interval. A few minutes later he was reading it on his screen, with a privacy barrier in place, just in case. It came down almost immediately as he saw there was nothing there which needed to be kept secret.

  Radio waves only. Short segments, mostly undecipherable as to meaning without more context for comparison. No references to Pioneer or space travel of any type, manned or unmanned. No known attempts to contact us. Possibility of unified government, but uncertain due to limited referents. Broadcasts alluding to moral values appear frequently. No specific church or religion mentioned. Conclusion: Not the same culture as before, but unable to determine predominant type now. End.

  Below was the complete text of every intercept, but as stated, Dan found most of it incomprehensible. Much more material, in the proper context, would be necessary before they could begin to understand the people of this Earth. And they still had no idea if their doppelgangers would be there to meet them. Probably not, he thought, even though that's going to be hard on Chet. It would suit him and Stacey, though. They had talked about it and neither of them wanted to have to deal with doubles, even though it meant they would never see some of their relatives again.

  After taking his time perusing all the text, Dan made a simple announcement that from the limited number of intercepted broadcasts it was impossible to tell what awaited them on Earth. The only thing that could be determined with certainty was that the technical level of the civilization was at least up to the stage of radio.

  “Didn't help much, did it?” Hawkins said. His face had grown new lines since realizing he had almost certainly lost his family, at least in this reality. It wasn't even helpful to know they still existed somewhere else, because it would be without his presence in their lives. To them, he would be lost in space. There would eventually be a memorial service and then they would get on with their lives.

  “Why don't you take a couple of days off, Chet? You'll need to be rested when we get home."

  “Home. Now isn't that a comforting word? Dan, I don't think we have a home any more."

  “If we don't we'll make one. Now go. Get drunk if that'll help, but get away from here."

  “I think maybe I'll work with the troops for a day or two. That always cheers me up. Those kids are more than ready for something to happen, regardless of what it is."

  “Whatever works."

  Hawkins left, which Dan thought just as well. There was certainly little to do in Central Control for the time being.

  * * * *

  As Pioneer passed the orbit of Mars, and neared their home planet, it became increasingly certain that the present Earth had
no form of space travel. There was no leakage such as might be found from the plethora of satellites orbiting the Earth they had left. Pioneer's magnificent telescopes could spot no reflections from anything in orbit. The International Space Station could not be found. No rovers on Mars or orbiting satellites around the red planet were broadcasting. So far as space travel was concerned, this solar system was pristine, completely free of the instruments of man.

  Dan and Stacey noticed that everyone they encountered was reacting much like them, with a mix of anxiety, hope and guarded optimism, along with some cases of depression as the realization hit that they would probably never see their families again.

  The radio signals told of a culture which had attained a fairly high technical level, so that at least their counterparts in this reality would know Pioneer wasn't a supernatural manifestation. What else they might think would have to wait, but not for long. Even before the ship curled around the home planet in a circular orbit five hundred miles up, its telescopes and every other useful instrument available were focusing in on the civilization below. They found cities mostly where they were expected, but not always. There were cultivated fields and smoke from industrialization, but no indication of atomic energy in use. There were what was thought to be dirigibles, but what looked like runways had also been spotted. All that had been learned before beginning the first orbit, as well as the fact that English was one of the predominant tongues. However, one of the semanticists aboard reported that the language was not that of the English they remembered and promised a more definitive report as her studies continued.

  Hawkins made his reappearance in Central Control just as Pioneer was completing its first orbit.

  To his surprise, Dan found him looking better than he had for weeks, and told him so.

  “Thanks, Captain. I feel better now that I've accepted the fact that I won't see my family again.” He shook his head like a horse being mildly annoyed by a fly. “It's an incongruous feeling, knowing they're still alive and well in our home reality but as far out of touch as if they'd been gone for centuries."

  “You're not alone. There's a number of others who left family behind, including Stacey and me. I feel for you all, but there's not a damned thing I can do about it, other than try to help us all get started again."

  “Here?"

  “Matt, I just don't know. I think I'd rather have met myself face to face than wind up seeing an Earth changed beyond recognition. However, we can't change ... damn! I was about to say we can't change reality, but that's no longer true, is it?"

  Matt allowed a smile to cross his face. “Guess not. When do we try getting in touch, or do we?"

  “I'm still waiting. The longer it takes them to notice we're up here, the more data we accumulate. However, I'll have to jump before too long. There's lots of people itching to get some dirt underfoot again."

  “I'm one of them."

  “Then let's set a time limit. By the day after tomorrow, same time, if they haven't contacted us, we'll break our silence. In the meantime, help me come up with something to say that won't sound crazy."

  * * *

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Forty-eight hours later, there was still nothing to indicate anyone on Earth knew of Pioneer's existence. Dan had delayed as long as he thought necessary. It was time for action. First though, he called Matt to Central Control. Hawkins had already arrived.

  “I was on my way,” Matt answered the summons. “Hold on. I'll be there shortly.” He touched Tara. Of all the people on the ship, he thought she had accepted their trials better than anyone he knew. Either that or she kept a lot inside her. He knew they were still learning about each other. She yawned sleepily, but came awake quickly when he told her the reason for the call. “I'm going to Central Control. You may want to head for the office and get ready to help with a landing if Dan needs you. This looks like our summons."

  Once he had the Central Control crew gathered, Dan announced his intention of landing. “And I'm not going to ask permission first. I want us to put down in North America, in the general area of where Amarillo was in our past reality. It doesn't look as like it's been settled here. Besides, every place that's occupied in North America is under the sway of something called The Braken Confederacy, so I doubt it matters much. Any idea what Braken Confederacy means yet?” He put the question out for everyone.

  “The name doesn't ring a bell with anyone so far, Captain,” Matt said. “However, it seems to be run by what they call a Head of State, by the name of James B. Johnston."

  “And what we thought of as Memphis, Tennessee appears to be the capitol."

  “Anything from overseas?"

  “England and the area of France and Germany, about the same but some subtle differences we don't understand yet. There's a big area of Asia dominated by what we think is a variation of Islam, but again differences. What we need is a good set of encyclopedias soon as we set down."

  Dan took a deep breath. “All right, let's get on with it. Matt, have Tara pick the spot and use the highest power scope you've got to be sure the area is still clear. Berlin, land us on this orbit if you can; if not, the next one. Chet, why don't you notify the diplomats and tell them they're finally going to have something to do."

  “I'll tell them, Captain.” He looked as if wanted to elaborate, but then changed his mind and began carrying out the captain's orders.

  “Brad, are we sure they don't have atomic energy?"

  “Almost certain, Captain."

  “Okay, it's all a go, then. May as well find out who we're dealing with."

  * * * *

  Hawkins was much more worried than he let on. He had caught some intonations of an ongoing hostility from various places on Earth, but the syntax was changed enough so that he didn't want to make a big thing of it. Besides, almost everyone on the ship was practically dancing at the exits in their eagerness to breathe the air of Earth again. The only note of dissent was at the remoteness from civilization of the area picked for the landing. He intended for his troops to be the first out of the ship, then set up a military perimeter. He thought Pioneer's defensive field would protect them from anything short of a hydrogen bomb, and possibly even from that, though he certainly never wanted to test it. Nevertheless, his military mind knew how often old man Murphy stuck his finger into things. It wouldn't hurt to be ready to fight.

  “Are you ready, Chet?” Dan asked, right after Brad announced the landing would occur from the present orbit, within a half hour.

  “Ready as we'll ever be. In fact, I'd better get back to the troops. They're so keyed up I'm scared of precipitating an incident if I'm not riding herd on them."

  “Take off then. Once we're down, let me know when it's safe for the rest of us to come out."

  “Will do.” He hurried away.

  Dan and Stacey sat next to each other in Central Control, watching the screen in front of them. Pioneer came down just slowly enough so that no plasma field built up in front of it. When they entered cloud masses, it roiled them, sometimes precipitating thunderstorms.

  “Which direction are we coming from—oh, never mind, I see it now. West to east. We're over California now. Except it isn't called California anymore, is it?"

  “You're babbling."

  “I know. It's just so strange. A completely different Earth, and we know so little about it yet."

  “We'll find out more pretty quick, I can assure you of that,” Dan said. “We're bound to be attracting attention already, and we'll get even more when we're lower. It's relatively cloud-free from Colorado onward."

  “Ten minutes, Captain,” Brad announced.

  Dan nodded, feeling his pulse speed up for a moment, then slow down as he realized he didn't need to be excited quite yet. Over what they thought of as eastern New Mexico, they began seeing the dirigible-like craft below occasionally. Then, like a missive from the Earth they knew, jet fighter planes with splashes of colors began accompanying them on each side and above. One tried to co
me in too close behind and abruptly spun down in an uncontrolled descent. Dan followed the icon of the disabled aircraft until it split into two parts. One slowed considerably; the other impacted the Earth and exploded.

  “The pilot bailed out in time. Good. I don't want to start out being the cause of casualties,” Dan said.

  “We weren't the cause,” Stacey disagreed. “That pilot tried to get cute, following so close. He ought to be damn glad he's alive. Or she, as the case might be."

  “Our semanticists haven't noted any gender neutraling of English like it was in our day—on our Earth, I should say. The pilot was probably a male."

  Stacey nodded, knowing her husband was right. All of the English broadcasts they had heard were male oriented, although no one was willing to advance an explanation of why. She wasn't willing either, but already she had caught herself thinking this probably wasn't an Earth she wanted to live on.

  The other jets peeled off and left Pioneer to descend by itself. Just before landing, Dan could see a stretch of sagebrush and prairie grass, broken by a small meandering stream bordered by slender trees. There came the gentlest of bumps and the ship's thrust died away.

  “We're here,” Stacey said softly, looking at Dan. He gazed back at her and she could almost see his thoughts. Concern for her safety. Curiosity about this reality. An almost desperate hope that it would provide a satisfactory home for them and their yet to be born child. And an almost equally desperate desire to keep the crew from harm.

  * * * *

  “Look, Dan!” Hawkins said, pointing to the east.

  Dan turned at the sound of his friend's voice. He had been staring to the west at the rolling plains, looking as they might have in pioneer days in his own reality, and wondering if the area was a nature preserve. “I'll be damned! It's a fleet of dirigibles."