by Scott Rhine
“We’re conserving our power for a long stay and hiding our energy signature,” Johann replied. “Tell us what’s new in the alien craft.”
Oleander gave them an update about the decontamination procedure and a few minor gadgets they had discovered. But this is like describing the movie posters outside the theater. We won’t even remember them once the main feature starts.
“Let’s just hope we can afford the ticket price.”
Her brother was the master of understatement. What happened?
“Casualties at L1 and moon base were 10 percent higher than expected.”
Not good, but not enough to make all of you look this serious. What else?
“We were told not to communicate the news.”
It hit Zeiss like a riot club to the head. We need to hear it.
“Brazil mission control was bombed. Technically it was the Algerians, but all the technology came from the Chinese. China owns the country’s debts and rail lines. We’re sure they pulled the strings but can’t prove a direct link.”
Oleander flickered for a second, unable to speak. Oh God. Who died?
“It was a nuke—everyone in a two-kilometer radius. Zeiss’ sister, anyone the astronauts invited, all but three board members, and all but one of the Smiths. It was the highest concentration of Fortune personnel and Active talents to gather in the last decade.”
Why didn’t the US military warn them? They could’ve evacuated.
“China owns a lot of US debt, too. The president was informed that advance warning of the target would pull the US into the war. No one wants to be part of this. As soon as the sun comes up at the Hague, criminal charges are being brought against Zeiss and Horvath.”
Any good news?
Johann sighed. “In about forty minutes, the first waves of survivors from L1 will be landing at the UN moon base. With our allies pulling out, moon base is already debating whether to send Cherub back out for the other half of the construction-platform survivors. At T plus 10 hours, mach 20 missiles from L1 hit moon base. With only one launcher to defend themselves, they won’t stand a chance. They need shuttles.”
For how long? We’ll be safe for a few hours.
“You’ll get the same treatment here soon after. Part of every wave will be aimed your way just to divide our defenses. Mach 20 capability was supposed to be allied tech. Some of the leaders sold out or changed sides.” He recited a depressing list of betrayals they had uncovered, plus UN resolutions pending for the next morning in New York City. “But that’s in the past. There’s a slower wave at T plus 19 hours. After a lull, at T plus 61 hours, moon base gets the fast missiles from high-Earth orbit. At T plus 120 hours, the slow hell rain arrives—every piece of nuclear ordnance they haven’t used since WWII. There’s no way we can stop it all. If you fellows on the Ascension don’t pull a rabbit out of the hat by then, we’re all dead.”
Aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play? What are they demanding?
“All the pages. Everything from the artifact, including the Ascension.”
I’ll be back with an answer as soon as I can, but I can tell you what it’s going to be.
Johann nodded.
****
Oleander explained to the crew of Ascension, “Z is suffering from exactly the same effects as the whale attack—on a much larger scale. A large number of Actives were murdered in retaliation for our landing.”
Red paled. “You’re saying they did this because of my plan? Because of me?”
Her friend Risa hugged her. “We all agreed, girl. Don’t make this your fault. The world needs what we’re learning. The breast cancer cure alone will help two million women a year. My grandma died of that. Because of us, no one else will lose a mother, grandmother, or wife that way. That was the first hour of our visit, and we’re not even in the front door yet.”
Meanwhile, the doctors went to work easing Zeiss’ symptoms. Their first step was to insulate his mind with the hood of a neoprene-like wet suit. The rubbery material blocked mental or Out-of-body attacks. The second step was to administer blockers.
“This cocktail will prevent neurons forming PTSD loops. He really needs sleep,” Auckland announced.
“Not a luxury we have right now,” Lou snapped. “He’ll get all the rest he needs once he’s in the decontamination pod. Right now, we need to decide our response. Which Actives died, and who killed them?”
The space worker put an arm on Lou’s shoulder. “Algeria nuked the entire Brazil spaceport.”
“Vanessa,” Lou gasped.
“Your fiancée is gone,” Oleander whispered back. Turning to the others, she added, “Everyone who cheered us on in the VIP seating—friends, family, coworkers, support techs, and all but three members of the Fortune board.”
There was a long silence. Several team members cried, mouthing the names of those they lost.
Zeiss said, “My sister Claire was staying at the Smith mansion for security. They treated her like one of their own daughters.”
“Grandma Claudette,” mumbled Red. “I thought she could survive anything.”
Risa shouted, “At least you didn’t fight with your family members before you left. I called my dad a heartless prick.”
“Your dad was a heartless prick, caro,” Herk said, patting her awkwardly. “He didn’t let your mom come on this trip because he wanted to sleep with his secretary.”
“I know,” Risa replied, tears streaming down her face. “But he died showing support for me.”
Herk said, “At least your mom’s safe at home, and Mary Smith’s alive, right?”
“Yes,” Oleander confirmed. “She was the only member of Mercy’s family who escaped.”
Lou changed gears. “Hold on. Algeria? France closed that spaceport years ago. What happened?”
“The Chinese lent the Algerians money to reopen the site—cheaper than building a new space city,” Oleander replied. Then she explained the layers of betrayal: allies who failed to act, and others who actively joined in the attacks from lunar orbit. “They’ll eventually wipe out the UN moon base unless we give them the pages and the tech from this ship.”
Lou had a wild look in his eyes as he shrugged off Oleander’s comforting arm. “We can still control the telescope’s lens. The first time it dipped into Earth orbit to deliver the pages, the device caused devastating tornados. We could sweep the Chinese space cities up with cyclones and eliminate the threat. If they want our tech, we’ll shove it up their asses!”
Yvette said, “We can’t, or we’ll break our charter. The aliens wouldn’t let us into the control room. We couldn’t be allowed to infect the greater gathering of souls.”
“That’s fine by me,” Lou shouted. “Then nobody gets it. People down there don’t deserve a better life. Let them drown in their own filth and decay!”
Herkemer held up a hand. “Only countries can fight like that.”
“So we declare our independence!”
With great difficulty, Zeiss squeezed out words. “I hurt, too. But we’re here to lead and save people, not kill.”
“Then do something. Burma and Nigeria have drafted a resolution. In about six hours, the anti-space coalition is going to ask for the pages, and the UN is going to cave. They’ll build their own teams to come up here.”
“Sensei said pages won’t be needed once we’re inside,” Zeiss reminded his wife.
“So you’re saying we should all climb inside the pods early?” Red asked. “Once we’re through, the pages on Earth will go blank?”
“That would minimize damage and what the enemy can demand,” Herk said. “Then they wouldn’t dare attack us—there wouldn’t be anyone else to send if they did.”
“Do you think that matters to the Saudis?” Lou asked. “They like the way things are now.”
Oleander stroked his back to calm him. He took world events personally, much like Johann did. She tried to gently guide Lou into the adult course of action. “It would buy us time to unlock
more here. We’d have about 114 hours after entering the control room to find some solution. It’s what we’ve trained all our lives for. If we can’t think of anything by then, we could still go the revenge route.”
Toby double-checked the remote monitors of the two women who had volunteered. “We’ll come out of these pods better than when we go in. I’d stake my life on it.”
“All in favor?” asked Zeiss.
Eventually, everyone awake in the room raised a hand. Herk asked, “What about Crandall? Will the pages go away with him out there?”
“No,” Red answered. “But Sensei made vague noises about sterilizing the outer regions before we could have access to the shuttle again. Everything has to be purified by water or fire.”
“People who don’t decontaminate in these pods are going to die?” asked Herk.
“I don’t make the rules,” Red said. “When Active lives are being lost, aliens start categorizing in absolutes in order to protect the ones left.”
Over the radio, they tried unsuccessfully to convince Crandall to join them. In the end, Herk said, “Pause recording.”
“Paused,” Crandall echoed over the link. “What do want to say that Big Brother can’t hear?”
“If you’re not coming in, you have to be part of our oil slick.”
“What?”
“When submarines are trying to fool the surface ships dropping depth charges, they release spare fuel and dead bodies.”
“Is that a threat?”
“We’ll send out the two empty suits with the other debris we have. The seats in Ascension are removable. When we don’t need the acceleration couches or extra radiation shielding, the flip-down panels built into the walls are good enough. You can claim you were the only survivor because of your EVA suit and Override talent.”
They could hear the crinkle as Crandall nodded. “It could work for a while, and buy you all some time while you cycle through the filtration process. How do I explain your death, Herk? You have the same gear and qualifications as I do.”
He replied, “Tell them you couldn’t drag me away from my wife’s body before the walls closed. You can ride Seraph back to help moon base and save a lot of lives. They won’t survive without you. Maybe our enemies won’t go after the part of our families that survived if they think we’re all dead. You can honestly say, ‘When I left, they’d passed out from blood loss, trapped under tons of alien junk.’”
“Okay. I’ll buy you some time. It’ll take an hour to gather enough garbage to look convincing. Can you tell me where the tools are?”
Sonrisa walked him through the maintenance procedures that she’d practiced hundreds of times in dozens of adverse scenarios.
When they had an ETA on Crandall’s departure, Oleander projected over to the Seraph to inform them of the plan. Her appearance still matched her nineteen-year-old self-image, proud and protective. We’re all climbing into decontamination now on the off chance we can help end this insanity sooner. Crandall is leaving at T plus 2.5 hours, with everything we can give you. We’re selling the catastrophe scenario. Swoop in as close as you can with your bay doors open. The thrusters on his pack can’t outrun a missile.
Johann nodded. “We’ll be back to check on you as soon as moon base is in the clear.”
Her projection shook its head. No. Mu shielding will prevent further contact. Whatever lies beyond, we come out victorious or not at all.
He bowed his head. “You went to jail for me, and now you’re doing this. How am I supposed to repay you if you’re not around?”
Live well, she thought at him before she disappeared.
****
Toby hadn’t been so busy since his residency. The others used the hour to step into the series of pods one at a time. Herk waited for his wife to immerse first, and then signaled Sojiro. The fluids would provide cushioning and possible healing in the event that weapons fire made it into the bay.
Sojiro opened the lens just wide enough for Crandall to detonate a shaped charge that sent debris upward out of the microgravity of the landing bay. Lights went off in the decontamination room. If the alien had any questions about the odd behavior, Red wasn’t awake to relay them. Smoke and particles were sucked out by the escaping air. Once the marine launched himself after the fragments, carrying the recorder, Sojiro closed the aperture.
When Sojiro climbed into his pod, he remarked, “It’s almost freezing in here.”
Herk climbed out of his armor, placing every piece carefully in the room Red called ‘baggage check.’ “Maybe heat leaked with exposure to the vacuum, or Sensei is just getting ready to mothball the area.”
Toby checked the monitors one last time. “The pod people are still snug as a bug.” The nanobiologist was the last to leave the decontamination room. He stood for a moment beside the sleeping Yvette, staring at her through the glass. She was stripped down to her underwear, a Nike custom sportswear set. These were the same bikini briefs she’d worn on that Tongan beach a couple years ago—before she’d laughed at him and rescinded her offer of recreational intercourse. He’d been unable to perform because the seagulls were watching and cyclists could happen by at any time. By contrast, Yvette was the team’s free-spirit. She’d no doubt tried out several potential team members since, but she poisoned the well against Toby with every woman who joined. Her continued laughter blocked any chance he had of being happy on this mission.
It was just like that old joke. What’s the difference between a bitch and whore? A whore slept with everyone. A bitch slept with everyone but you.
He inched around the fish bowl, examining the French woman from every angle and recording the journey. He still wanted her, after all this time. I could do it now, and no one would ever know. I could break the seal, and she wouldn’t wake up in time to stop me. When I was done, I could close her pod again, and scrub away all the evidence. It wouldn’t hurt her. As the expert, I could shrug and say it was a timing malfunction. Who knew what made alien machinery work the way it did?
Toby considered the plan for minutes, flush with excitement, but if she remembered anything, the group would crucify him. The entire world would know what he’d done. Worse, his mother might hear.
Eventually, he climbed into his own nutrient vat, knowing there were some things that even science couldn’t scrub out of a person.
Chapter 6 – The Seven Seals
At four hours past the event, the head of Mori Electronics sat at his desk managing the firestorm. Even thousands of miles away, his wife put plans in motion before his usual flunkies even knew that contingencies were necessary. His family had foolishly objected to his choice of a foreign woman—until she had saved his life for the second time, used her Simplification skills to raise profits, and borne him a model child. Now Amanda had arranged for his representative to be the first human inside the control room of an alien spacecraft. If Amanda could satisfy a Japanese mother-in-law, she could do anything. He decided that the success of any marriage depended on the willingness of each member to support the needs and interests of the other as his or her own. Over the decades, they had become extensions of one another. Not having her at his side in this time of crisis felt unbalanced, but the screen he kept dedicated to her on his desk helped shore up his confidence. An alien page had given her the ability to winnow reams of data and come out with important facts. Her latest diagram was a masterpiece more beautiful than a Tibetan mandala.
In the past few hours, the world stage had shifted to feature a conflict between the new superpowers—China and disenfranchised Muslim states versus the megacorporations, represented by Fortune Enterprises. His UN Space Agency allies were hiding behind thin moral fig leaves. According to recent debate, Brazil didn’t have a right to retaliate because the atomic blast had occurred just past the start of international waters. Nobody believed it, but the Chinese only needed a few hours’ delay to declare a fait accompli.
As one of only three surviving board members, Mori was part of a triumvirate that
could decide the fate of the world—if the others could wipe their own noses for a few minutes. Mori had to be consulted about every decision in this crisis, and he’d already put in a twelve-hour day. He was currently connected to the New York office of Fortune Enterprises.
Thanks to his wife, he knew that the ‘Mira’ he spoke with was an impostor. The real heiress was on the alien ship. However, he backed the fake’s claim because she had the true Mira’s proxy. Repudiating her would only cause chaos and weaken the company. Concealing his knowledge until the right opportunity presented itself could gain him nearly anything. Indeed, she didn’t know he was aware of the deception.
“Opposition forces tried to storm the corporate vault here,” the fake Mira said in English.
“How have you responded?” Mori asked.
“When the first Ascension team members on the artifact entered the control room, twenty-six alien pages went blank all over the planet. Only the Ethics page remains, etched with the charter we wrote. I told the UN that we purposely wiped them in retaliation for the bombing of Alcantara.”
The side effect of the Ethics page—the inability of the reader to lie or murder—was a strong reason the leaders in many countries refused to join the coalition.
Mori nodded. “That will make them cautious.”
“I’m hoping to prevent mass murders of Fortune employees and other Actives. Without pages, unless an Active who had the talent already bestows it, no one will acquire the alien abilities ever again.”
“You make Fortune resources too valuable for the world to destroy.” This gave them a modicum of safety and a whopping dollop of power. “Of course, eradicating all alien taint appeals to the religious extremists. However, their leaders won’t tell them what to believe for a few more days.”
The girl was good in the media and boardroom, but she was all defense. She could only stall while the other two board members did the heavy lifting. She asked, “How is Sanjay coming on his project?”
