Chapter 30: Insight
The oceans of the planet provided the last great hiding place. Everywhere else was mapped and surveyed and watched. Deep in the oceans were many unknown caves and caverns that could serve anyone with the resources to take advantage. Surveillance of more than a few metres below the surface was impossible. Energy was obtained from the many geothermal vents or derived from tapping the thin crust of the ocean floor. Food was grown or harvested from the bounty of the ocean. Perhaps the best attribute of hiding in the ocean, was the ability to pick up and move to somewhere else, undetected.
Professor Greenway tapped the emergency icon on his VID and within a few minutes the entire deck of the ship was filled with emergency response personnel (ERP). He ran to Jayne and helped her to her feet. He walked her back into the conference room and sat her down in a chair. He turned back to the ERPs. He spoke to the man overseeing the removal of the bodies. “Any alive?” he asked.
“Nope. What happened here? It is like they have been crushed by an incredible force. All their bones and organs are mush.” He indicated one of the swelling bodies. “All the gases were released causing the bodies to bloat much faster than normal. If it weren’t for the total lack of collateral damage, I would guess that a huge pressure bomb went off in here. They are dead and none of you were touched. This was highly directed pressure. A solid wall of air hit these guys and slammed them into the bulkheads. I think they were totally crushed before they hit the wall and when they did, they burst open like pieces of overripe fruit. The escaping blood was vaporized and spray-painted the walls. Quite the mess. It looks like you caught a bit of spray yourself.” He pointed at Greenway’s suit, wet with blood.
Greenway glanced down at himself and frowned. “Never mind that. I would like to see all their clothing and effects in my lab as soon as possible. Check for any subcutaneous electronics. I don’t want anyone tracking us through these pieces of….”
He stopped and turned. Jayne was standing behind him with her hand over her mouth.
“What happened? Did I do this? I didn’t mean to hurt them. I just wanted to stop them from taking me,” she sobbed. “It was the only way I could find to protect myself.”
“You did not do this,” lied Greenway. “Somehow you pushed them away and they hit the wall. Something in their suit, akin to the old cyanide suicide capsule, killed them before they could be captured.”
“I thought I killed them. I don’t know how I did it but I thought I did. I am so glad that it was not me. I never want to hurt anyone. Why would they kill themselves? Being captured is still being alive. If you are alive, then there are always possibilities. Sometimes I see all the possibilities,” said Jayne cryptically, yet innocently, never taking her eyes off the ERPs; never taking her eyes off the bodies that were being rolled out on stretchers and wheeled out of the hallway.
“Let’s get you somewhere safe,” said Greenway.
“I thought this was somewhere safe,” said Jayne. “But it is not safe, is it?”
“It is definitely not my idea of safe, that’s for sure,” he said and he grabbed her by the arm and led her to the lift at the end of the hallway.
“Maybe they tracked my star? I gave it to the men that picked me up at the security station,” offered Jayne.
“No, the Sentinels neutralized it as they went about the reverse engineering process,” said Greenway. “Somehow they tracked you here but they did not use the star.” He paused. “This is my fault. I trusted someone else to do what I needed to do. I will correct that error now! We must hurry.”
“But they are dead. They cannot contact anyone, especially if the ship has moved,” said Jayne.
“They found us once. Probably scanned this entire sector looking for ships that were just too damned random in their movements. That is the problem with computers. They tend to do things perfectly and since nature, especially human nature, is far from perfect, the anomaly of perfect randomness was detected,” said Greenway assuredly. “I have some friends and they can keep you hidden. I am sure of it.”
A few minutes later Jayne and Professor Greenway were in a flier. This one was not totally automated. It had a pilot, a tech and windows. They slipped out of the orbiting ship and headed for the surface. Jayne watched as the flier skimmed over water. It did not travel in a straight line but weaved over the surface. Suddenly the flier touched the water and slipped beneath the calm sea. The acceleration dampening field stopped the passengers from feeling anything inside the flier. A few minutes later Jayne felt a bump. The dampening field shut off and the door opened in an underwater flier port.
Jayne and Greenway stepped out of the flier into a large port surrounded by black walls that curved into a black ceiling. They were underwater but blackness prevailed at the depth of the port. Nothing could be seen outside, except where the occasional searchlight pierced the darkness.
“We are here and we need to talk right away,” said Greenway abruptly as he led the way to a lift. There were no PUT pads here. PUT pads left a strong, albeit short-lived, quantum signature. Entangled carbon atoms could be used to signal their use and track the users. Security of the ‘Greenway Safe’ ilk demanded that they not be used at all. The underwater flier port was very secure. It used lifts and stairs to travel to the different levels. The building was relatively small in size, so quantum devices were banned except the most important device of all. It was a quantum computer constructed in situ. There was no possibility of entangled particles of any type interacting with the core. The builders started with the components required to build a Papa Quantum Cray. Then they altered, reconfigured and added bits and pieces here and there. The result was a Super Quantum Cray also known as Super Q or SQ for short. SQ’s main job was to ensure the underwater flier port’s existence was kept a secret. Some thought it was overkill but so far it had worked. The location of the flier port changed constantly. Its location was known only by SQ and it would sooner self-destruct than tell. At least, that is what the programming told it to do. That point had always made Professor Greenway nervous. All programming could be hacked. Greenway had installed a much simpler solution to deal with an SQ-compromised event and he was not telling anyone of its existence.
“Where are we going?” asked Jayne, as they stepped off the elevator. The acceleration dampening field was in effect and, as a result, it was impossible to tell if the lift was going up, down or sideways.
“To my quarters,” answered Greenway. “This is where I live when I am not in one of my labs.”
They walked from the lift to an old fashioned wooden door. Greenway turned the knob and entered. Jayne followed. Her first thought was that this was not the kind of quarters she was used to. It was rather large by any standards and totally not like any quarters that Jayne had ever been inside. She entered a small and interestingly furnished set of rooms, separated by more wooden doors. Facing her was the most astounding space she had ever seen. There was a set of ornately decorated stained glass doors that led to what appeared to be a small flower garden, on a sunny day at mid-morning. The electronically generated sky and horizon illusion was so perfect that Jayne walked forward and opened the doors. The sounds of birds and insects subtly filled the air. The perfume of the flowers wafted into the room and the sun’s warmth was tempered by the cool breeze that blew the curtains aside.
“This is incredible. Is it always mid-morning?” she asked, wondering if the actual time was reflected in here.
“No. The time of day is synchronized with actual time. It is, however, always late spring. I do not like any of the other seasons. Autumn smells of death and winter smells of nothing and summer reminds me that autumn is on the way. It is always late spring in my garden,” he said, with a proud smile. “Do you like it?”
“I love it,” said Jayne, stepping out and sitting in a garden chair. She closed her eyes and faced the sun that was not a sun. A smile crept over her features. “It feels just like the real sun. I haven’t been out in the sun for what feels l
ike forever. Mmmmm, this feels good.”
“Take care. It will burn you just like the real sun. I did not want to filter the UV out. The plants, birds and insects are real and they would not like it.”
“There are real birds in here? Don’t they crash into the walls of this place? It must have walls. We are under the ocean after all,” said Jayne.
“All the birds are small. The anti-gravity push units keep them from hitting anything. The outer shell exerts a gentle push whenever they get close,” he said casually. He sat in the chair beside her. “I will make some tea and we will talk. I am hoping you will agree to follow my direction. It will benefit both my needs and your needs. Then we will get you settled. You can have quarters of your own or you can stay with me in my guest room. Your choice.”
There was a whistling sound from the ‘inside’ of the apartment. “I put on the kettle. It appears to be calling.” He caught a puzzled look in her eyes. “I like to do things the old-fashioned way.” He stood up and walked into the apartment.
Jayne sat and absorbed the rays. She relaxed.
A few moments later, Greenway emerged in fresh clothes and placed a tray with two cups, spoons, a teapot, cream, a dish of sugar cubes, a plate of biscuits, some lemon slices and a small pot of honey on the table between them. “May I pour?” Greenway said in a mock accent. “I do so love those old-fashioned manners.”
“Yes, sir, please,” said Jayne with a smile, trying to mimic the same accent used by Professor Greenway.
“How do you take your tea?’ he asked.
Jayne reached out and stuck her finger in the pot of honey and then into her mouth. “Gosh, is that real honey?” she said, her voice filled with awe.
“It sure is,” he said proudly.
“I like it black with lemon and honey,” she said and she licked her lips in anticipation.
He smiled and fixed their tea.
Jayne did not speak. She was trying not to think about her life. All her aspirations had disintegrated around her. She would never be what she was trained for. She would never be a Technical Electrical Mechanical fixer. She would never again run a low grav line and stuff the ball home to the cheer of the crowd. As long as she was being pursued by the Forevers, her actions must be kept secret. After the last attempt to kidnap her, Jayne knew she did not want to experience those horrible things ever again.
Professor Greenway broke the reverie. “I have been thinking about what to do. I have reached a conclusion. I would like you to listen to what I have to say before you decide anything about your future. Is that a deal?” he asked.
“It is a deal. I will listen,” said Jayne. She put down her teacup and picked up one of the cookies and nibbled at the edge.
“First and most important of all is the need for you to understand the severity of the situation you find yourself in. Secondly, you need to understand that none of this is your fault,” he said with sincerity.
“I know it is not my fault. I am only 13 years old. How could anything be my fault? I haven’t had time in my life to do anything wrong. I am a good person. I know I hurt those men in the ship but I did not kill them. I really felt threatened. I knew they were going to take me away and do me harm. I just pushed them away. They killed themselves. Right? They killed themselves. You said that they killed themselves. I just pushed because they were going to hurt me. Right? Right! Right?” cried Jayne, as tears and the dawn of realization swelled in her eyes and streamed down her cheeks.
“Jayne,” soothed Professor Greenway, “it is alright. You did nothing wrong.”
“But I didn’t kill them. You said that they killed themselves. I didn’t kill them. I didn’t kill them,” Jayne repeated. She looked up and into Professor Greenway’s eyes.
He looked back at her. His eyes were welling. He turned away and wiped before the tears could fall.
Jayne stared at him and the full realization hit her like a punch in the stomach. The air ooofed out of her mouth. “Oh God. Oh God. I killed them, didn’t I?”
She looked at him and her eyes widened and air would not enter her lungs. She sat frozen and silent.
Greenway reached up and touched her shoulder.
Jayne sucked in air and swiped at his hand to push it away. She got up and ran back into the main room. There was no place to go so she flopped down on a small couch and curled up into fetal position with her back to the room. She felt a tight bubble begin to form over her. She felt safe inside of it and she did not feel any pressure to act. She willed her body to relax.
With the relaxation came the inevitable curiosity that was Jayne Wu. She began to look at the bubble itself; look at what it contained. It was infinitely large but still tight to her skin. It held only her. It held all the possibilities of her. Without the fear, she could wander around inside and look at the myriad of possible events and the probabilities of each occurring. All the events included her. Every once in a while, she would see one that looked interesting and she would nudge it and watch it blossom. She would snuff it out like a candle before it burst into reality and it would fade into darkness. She also noticed that there was a current inside the bubble that carried her, and everything else, along. The current of the most probable. If she did nothing, the most probable events would become real. If she found another possible event, she could push it until it was the most probable. Jayne realized that pushing was her word. That was not really what she did. It was more like encouragement. Any event could be encouraged, but the less its probability of occurrence, the more resistance there was to her encouragement. She remembered the force she used when the men were about to kidnap her from the Sentinel ship. The likelihood that those men would fly off and crash into the walls of the ship was very small but she forced it into reality, and it blossomed and became real. She remembered now what happened. She made a cocoon of air conform exactly to the shape of the men’s bodies. The molecules of air formed a shell as hard as steel. The shell collapsed on her command and pulverized the men. Their insides turned to human soup, in a bag of skin. Jayne pushed the intruders away and they flew off and smashed into the bulkheads of the ship.
Jayne was filled with sadness as she let the tiny yet infinite bubble that surrounded her fade. She sat up and saw that Professor Greenway was sitting in a chair opposite, waiting. She smiled a weak smile and spoke. “I am sorry. I understand what happened. I was not really in control. I won’t let it happen again. There are always probabilities that do not involve anyone’s death. I will be more careful.”
Professor Greenway spoke hesitantly. “Can you explain to me what you did? What happened?”
“Not now. Not yet. Soon,” she said as she bounced up to her feet. “What have you got planned for me? I am up for just about anything.”
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