by J. Benjamin
“And I would never give the go-ahead to such a mission if those safeguards weren’t guaranteed,” Katelyn added.
The questions and answers went on for fifteen more minutes. Kiara, true to her scientific training, brought up plenty more technical queries. Matt inquired into more of the specifics of his mission duties. Leon had broader questions about extraterrestrial life that absolutely nobody could understand, except for Kiara. By the end, it became apparent that the secretary-general and defense secretary wanted to wrap things up. Isla picked up the hint.
“You have twenty-four hours before the main event. I suggest you relax, get some rest, and enjoy some of the civilian amenities that the orbital city has to offer,” Isla said, looking directly at the gammanauts. “For now, this meeting is adjourned.”
Kiara and Matt proceeded to shake hands with Admiral Perez and Captain Starling. As they did, Kiara noticed someone missing.
“Where’s Leon?” Kiara asked Matt.
“Beats me,” he replied. “Shouldn’t he be here with us?”
***
Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, Katelyn Lew and Thomas Adler disconnected their holograms. They were sitting in an oval-shaped room on the secretary-general’s spaceplane, the Nebula. It moved swiftly through the rainy night sky with two wings of fighter escort not far behind. Its destination was Shanghai.
Comparable in size to the Boeing 747s of generations past, the Nebula was effectively a flying fortress. Unlike planes of previous generations, it was powered by a mini-fusion reactor and had the thrust capabilities to lift itself into orbit. Though too big to dock directly with Space Station Sagan, the Nebula came equipped with ferry pods to escort personnel to the Sagan and back when necessary.
Thomas’ face was stoic. During the meeting, he had been reading something on his smart lens that nobody else could see. Hence, why he kept motioning to Katelyn and Isla to hurry things up. He sat opposite Katelyn at a massive oak desk. The world outside was visible through the 180-degree window pane behind her.
“You clearly wanted to get off that call. What was the rush?” Katelyn asked.
“Brace yourself,” Adler replied. “It’s bad.”
“Hold a second.” Katelyn took out that familiar silver device. She placed it on the table and activated it. Flashes of blue light temporarily filled the room and then dissipated. “Okay. No bugs. Lay it on me,” she said.
“It’s regarding Terra Rebirth. There has been a rampant increase in terrorist chatter on the dark web. We have no idea what specifically is happening, but we are certain that Terra Rebirth is preparing for another attack. Meanwhile, Manuel Carter’s physical trail has gone cold,” Thomas said.
“No. Don’t tell me that,” Katelyn said. “How is it that he is always two steps ahead of us?”
“Well, now here’s the good news,” Thomas replied. “We may have caught a major break. The Chicago Homeland Authority reported a dead body with a slashed throat that washed up on the shores of Lake Michigan. After running his biometrics through the worldwide criminal database, Chicago found a match for a Terra Rebirth associate named Palmer Nadir. He is better known by his alias, the Clock Tower. Chicago immediately reported their findings to GSF Intelligence.”
“What else did they find?” Katelyn asked.
“His smart lens and any potential electronics were removed, likely by his assassins. We are confident that the Clock Tower was the Terra Rebirth hacker responsible for the multiple cyberattacks on our facilities. We believe Carter was the one that ordered his execution,” Thomas explained.
“Because he fell for the honeypot?” Katelyn asked.
“Initially, we thought that the hacker was the one who slipped up. However, the Clock Tower has a reputation for flawless execution. If he fell for a honeypot, it would be out of line with his character. He would know better. We now believe that the Clock Tower deliberately opened the honeypot as an act of sabotage against Terra Rebirth,” Thomas said.
“Why? Why would Nadir risk his own life like that? He effectively signed his death warrant.”
“It is because Nadir was already dying from stage four cancer,” Thomas replied. Katelyn’s eyes broadened in response. “During the autopsy, it was revealed that Nadir had cancer antigens in his blood that were off the charts. He had three months left to live, at best. Any financial rewards from his work with Terra Rebirth would have been worthless. He had no family to share it with. His time was running out.”
“Do you think he became disillusioned or had remorse? Could that be why he exposed Terra Rebirth?” Katelyn asked.
“Who knows? Doubtful Clock Tower was ever a true believer at all,” Thomas said. “What I do know is that he got us closer than ever to finding the true origin of the IPv10 address that he exposed. Furthermore, some new revelations have come to light in the past few minutes.”
“What is it, Thomas? What revelations?” Katelyn asked.
“The address received significant pulses from GSF assets.”
“You mean…?”
“Our worst fears have been confirmed,” Thomas said. “Terra Rebirth has a mole within the GSF. That’s how they were able to coordinate their attacks. We have no idea. Could be rogue agents in the military. Could be a civilian with a top-secret clearance. Either way, they knew enough to roll out the red carpet for Terra Rebirth into the inner workings of GSF’s mainframe. Nothing is off the table, Madam Secretary-General.”
“What do you suggest we do?”
“To hell with this Shanghai trip. To hell with the spacetime sequence. We need to initiate emergency protocols. Give me the go-ahead, and I’ll order an immediate quarantine of Sally Ride City. I’ll order a strike force to storm the Sagan. It’s the only way we have any hope of tracking down Carter and bring him down before he causes more damage.”
“Cancel Shanghai? Are you crazy?” Katelyn asked. “If word of this got out, it would do tremendous damage to GSF’s credibility. It would send a message that we have no control over our government, over the solar system’s most powerful military. Governments all over the world would begin withdrawing and cease their foreign aid. We would go bankrupt. Think about what will happen the moment we change our flight vector. China will see our canceling of the summit as a sign of disrespect and immediately circle the wagon along with Cosmineral and our other adversaries. If we launch a strike against the Jellyfish, it would be unprecedented and would send the markets into a total freefall. Worldwide panic would ensue, and the very foundation of our government would crumble. Do you want that?”
“Madam Secretary-General, if we do not act now, our security remains compromised. Carter will continue to obtain intel from his mole on the inside. I beg you, please reconsider this course of action,” Thomas plead.
“It’s too risky. Collateral damage aside, Carter and his organization will be tipped off the moment we escalate your suggested counter-measures. The mole will go dark and hide deeper in the endless abyss of GSF bureaucracy,” Katelyn said.
“Katelyn. For stars sake, we still don’t know who is working with Carter, nor how deep the bottomless pit goes. This is more than just an act of espionage. This is an act of war. Alliances can be rebuilt. If you crush this high-treason now, the world will see you as a hero! Nobody will question your leadership. Are you saying we just let Terra Rebirth continue to steal our intelligence to use against us?”
“No! Of course not,” Katelyn replied. “I am saying that we bait Carter. You say you want to see how far down the rabbit hole this goes? Fine. Follow the pink rabbit and see how far it takes you.”
“By that point, it may be too late. You’re taking a huge risk,” Thomas said.
“I am well aware of the risks. I see it in the daily deluge of death threats against me. I am also your secretary-general, and I am ordering you to remain vigilant and remain underground until we know the full extent of what you are dealing with. Is that clear, Thomas?”
“Yes, Madam Secretary-General,” Thomas said.
“Good. Now, our friends up above have a mission to begin, and we have a meeting with China’s president and congress.”
20
December 16, 2081 - Deck #59 Spacetime Command Center
For the second time in several days, Kiara once again found herself in a white jumpsuit, tidily-locked above the ground, and getting ready for the big needle of ‘digital LSD.’ That was the tongue-in-cheek term Kiara and her fellow gammanauts used to refer to the neuroserum applied to them.
Kiara looked at Matt. His face showed a look of defiance. He appeared ready for the monumental journey in front of him. Yet Kiara wondered if he was as confident as his outward demeanor suggested. Nobody had any clue what was going to happen when they were in the virtual environment and crossed the spacetime boundary.
Though Kiara attempted to match Matt’s confidence, she was nervous beyond words. There was no preparation for where they were going. No human had ever made contact with an advanced extraterrestrial species. Before the Wolf 482 arrival, everything humans knew about alien civilization was based on the observations of an extinct species. The Zelthrati were ghosts.
Suddenly, the headsets descended from the ceiling and onto their heads. Kiara’s heartbeat jumped rapidly. This was it, and there was no turning back now. Before Kiara could even come to terms with the fact that this might be the last time she was ever conscious, Dr. Srivastava inserted and then removed the needle from her left arm.
Here we go again, she thought. This time, Kiara opted not to look at the blue screen encapsulating her field of vision. She closed her eyes and kept them shut for as long as possible.
So many thoughts ran through her head. What should she say to the Aquarians? Would they even understand what she was saying? Would she get the chance to meet them? What if they were unable to recognize any of the thousands of signals? Even worse, what if the sequence ended in a horrific failure? What if she died?
Kiara felt that too much thinking wouldn’t serve her well. Nevertheless, it was her job as a scientist to overthink. She wasn’t sure if it was how science transformed her or whether it was how she was born. That is if it was hardwired into her DNA.
Then, the second set of questions emerged in Kiara’s mind. Had the Aquarians also discovered the ancient Zelthrati? What of the universe had they known about beyond their icy planet, just five lightyears from Earth? Complex though their colonies appeared to be, Aquarian physiology could have limited them in areas where humans excelled and vice versa.
For instance, it appeared the Aquarians excelled at manipulating biology. After all, they managed to manipulate microorganisms to the point of being able to absorb sunlight with an efficiency that no human technology was capable of. The Aquarians managed to build self-sustaining, megacities beneath their surface.
However, what if they weren’t born with all the senses of a human? What if the Aquarians lacked vision? How would they be able to see the stars of the universe? Advancement in one area does not equate to progress across the board. These were questions that Kiara asked herself. She wondered if Aquarians could see something as simple as a light, like the one she saw in the distance.
Wait a second. How can I see that light? My eyes are still closed, Kiara thought to herself. The brightness widened to the diameter of a coffee mug. Kiara thought that perhaps it was going to grow or come rushing at her like a speeding train, but no. It stayed still. Suddenly, Kiara noticed that the area around her was feeling awfully cold as if she were floating in the water. Indeed, Kiara could feel her hair floating freely as if gravity were not holding her down.
She reached for the light. It rapidly rippled and dissipated into two smaller lights that moved next to each other. She thrust her right hand forward and felt a thick, slimy sensation. The glowing circles were empty pockets in the slimy body of liquid that she was laying in. She then shoved her left hand forward and yanked herself in the direction that she determined to be upward.
Kiara felt the black slime squeeze itself around her. Now she was having trouble breathing. Her vision was also being affected by it. She kept reaching her arms through the mass until she felt the cold air. Kiara struggled but successfully propelled her body up. Within moments, she was above the slimy mass and gasping to breathe the fresh, crisp air.
She looked around. A rocky surface sat a few yards away. Kiara forcefully kept herself above the black slimy mass that wouldn’t relent. She kept pushing and swimming until she was finally on solid ground. Kiara fell onto the rocks and caught her breath.
Kiara looked at the black mass that she just yanked herself from. It appeared as a pond, black as onyx. Yet, it was suddenly the least fascinating feature of the area where she found herself.
The ground beneath her was rocky and orange. It looked unlike anything on Earth. She stood up. In the distance, she saw hills and mountains. Some had the same black liquid sliding down them like waterfalls. There were lakes of the same substance, some even larger than the pond she crawled out of.
Kiara looked up. The sky was orange. At first, the immediate thought that came to her was Titan. However, that notion was dispelled quickly as she saw an unseemly sight directly above her.
A set of binary, deep-red suns filled the sky. They orbited each other so close to the point where it almost looked like they were touching.
“This is one hell of a cliff,” Kiara said to herself. She started thinking like a scientist again and wondered if such a strange world would even be habitable in the physical universe. She found it perplexing how a dream-state system could construct entire worlds from the fragments of her imagination. Yet the human mind was a vastly complex system. It was undoubtedly far more complicated than any machine or artificial intelligence ever constructed, at least that humans knew of.
The peanut-shaped red suns revolved at a noticeably faster pace. The sky turned a brighter hue of orange. The lakes of black slime begun to boil. The cliff was collapsing, and Kiara was about to enter the staging bridge. Within seconds, the twin suns exploded violently across the horizon. The shockwave blasts slammed into the fictional planet that was a figment of Kiara’s imagination. In a flash of white, it all vanished.
***
Dr. Srivastava and his team of engineers, medics, and scientists observed the gammanauts in the command center. They stood adjacent to the boarding room, separated by a thick glass window. The half-dozen rows of consoles and engineers resembled a NASA command center from the early 21st century.
The doctor paced through the third row, where a team of medics reviewed the vitals of the gammanauts in real-time. A young physician turned to Dr. Srivastava.
“Sir. Doctor Lacroix just finished the cliff. She is arriving at the bridge. It appears Captain Ashford and Doctor Esposito aren’t far behind,” she said.
“Very good. Kiara is adapting quite well to the dream sequence. Faster than I imagined. Almost as if she was born for this,” Dr. Srivastava said. As he continued monitoring the gammanauts, he received an incoming alert on his smart lens. Dr. Srivastava answered it. The familiar faces of Admiral Isla Perez and Captain Cade Starling filled his vision.
“Admiral,” Dr. Srivastava greeted.
“Doctor. What is the current status of the subjects?” The admiral asked simply.
“Subjects are crossing their respective cliffs. The staging bridge is now activated and ready. Subjects’ vital signs are healthy. Brain activities are stable. We are good to go.”
“Very good to hear,” she replied. “Captain Starling. Under my authority as commanding officer of the GSF Sagan, I am ordering you to initiate spacetime protocols. Inform engineering to divert resources toward the particle accelerator. Inform every department to initiate emergency energy conservation. As for our space fighters, order nine-fifty-nine is to commence immediately. Get the Lancers out of the bay and into defense formation. They are to protect Space Station Sagan while the sequence is ongoing. Do I make myself clear?”
“Acknowledged,” Captain Starling replied.
“Yes,” he replied.
“Good. You are dismissed.”
Far above the spacetime command center, on deck three, another team of engineers stood in the small disc of a deck overlooking the fusion core that powered humanity’s largest space-faring vessel. Despite the transparent appearance of the floor, the engineers inside were protected by ten feet of the most protective radiation shielding ever developed.
An engineer observed live data readings through her smart lens. Suddenly, she received an alert from Admiral Perez, similar to the one that Dr. Srivastava had just received. The engineer immediately waved away the data readings. She turned to the thirty other engineers walking around the sprawling deck.
“Okay! Listen up!” She shouted to command the attention of the engineers present. “By order of the admiral, prepare for wormhole event. This is not a drill people. I repeat this is not a drill! Set all non-essential systems to twenty-percent! Stage particle accelerator for spacetime event!”
The engineers of deck three immediately scrambled to carry out their specific duties. Within a minute, the effects were already being felt across the station. The first lights that filled the halls of each deck dimmed precipitously. Blue floor LEDs powered-up. In the grand food-processing levels, the powerful grow lights and meat-constructors responsible for feeding two thousand souls immediately powered down. The deck #52 observatory completely shut off. Below the dome, the robotic arms and docking stations that weren’t in use reverted to standby mode.
