The Orbs Omnibus

by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

  After several scans I’ve made a discovery that may help answer some of these questions. I’ve found Lieutenant Smith’s blood samples contain the same nanobots that Dr. Rodriguez found in the Spider specimen he dissected weeks ago.

  Using an electrical-based catalyst, I stimulated the nanobots. They instantly absorbed the energy and began to multiply. At first glance, the results indicate that the bots are trying to connect to an outside source.

  The implications are interesting. I conclude the active RVM generator is preventing the nanotechnology from connecting to the surge.

  I finally have a theory. The Organics are using the surge to carry an electromagnetic wave that serves a variety of functions. First, it powers the aliens’ defenses. Second, it sustains the human farms and the orbs.

  During the invasion there were reports around the world of the sky turning turquoise. By analyzing the timing of these reports, we can deduce that as the Earth rotated, exposing its face to Mars, the Organics used the surge to begin removing much of the planet’s surface water.

  I’m still not sure exactly how the aliens are able to filter water, whether from the surface or from humans. And I’m also not sure why Lieutenant Smith isn’t recovering. Without a solid answer, I have decided that it’s time to consult with Dr. Winston and Dr. Rodriguez. This time, I need their help just as much as they need mine.

  * * *

  The glow from the sun cut a halo between the mesosphere and stratosphere. Lolo shot by in low Earth orbit. She moved away from the light, about to cross over the darkness blanketing Asia a hundred miles below. The satellite transmitted thousands of images a second, far too many for Emanuel to sift through. Squeezing his fingers together every minute or so, he would freeze the display in front of him. He watched in silence, observing in awe.

  Darkness finally consumed Lolo and she slipped into the night, relaying only grainy pictures of abandoned cities. Months ago, their artificial lights would have sparkled like the stars in the sky, but the once-great metropolises of man were now dark graveyards.

  Emanuel’s stomach growled as he shut the feed off. He hadn’t eaten all day. Before he could take a break, he needed to check something. Earlier, he and Sophie had told Captain Noble that the Organics were heading for the coasts, that they were leaving the cities and human farms. When he thought about it further, that didn’t make much sense. The farms were sustaining the armies. Why would they leave them and head for the oceans? Historically, migrations always occurred when a species either used up all the resources of an area or the climate was too extreme for them to survive. Neither situation applied to the Organics. With their shields, climate shouldn’t matter, and with the farms they had plenty of resources.

  So why were they moving? Emanuel felt puzzled. Sure, the species was alien. Darwinism didn’t necessarily apply to them. But there had to be a reason they were moving that he didn’t yet understand. Lost in thought, he flinched when a voice echoed from the hallway.

  “Dr. Rodriguez?”

  Emanuel spun his chair and saw Jeff standing in the doorway of the command center with David at his side.

  “Hey guys, what’s going on?” he said, his best attempt to sound calm. Jeff eyed him suspiciously.

  “We have a question,” the boy said.

  David stepped in front of his brother and in a very matter-of-fact tone said, “About the aliens.”

  Emanuel leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Sure, what do you want to know?”

  “For one, why did they come? And when are they going to leave?” David asked quickly.

  Jeff pinched his brother’s arm. “I told you to just listen.”

  David glared angrily. “But I want to ask questions, too!”

  Emanuel waved his hands to get their attention. “It’s okay. I’ll answer all your questions.” With the two boys staring at him, Emanuel suddenly felt an awkward pressure. He’d spent his career making presentations in front of other scientists, but put him in front of two kids and he couldn’t even form a coherent sentence.

  “Go ahead,” Jeff said, seeing his brother looking sheepishly at the ground.

  “Sir,” David said with a slight pause, his eyes jumping to the ceiling as he thought about what he wanted to ask. When he looked back at Emanuel, he seemed very serious. “Why did the aliens kill our dad?”

  Emanuel frowned. He was expecting science questions, and wasn’t prepared to answer this one. Stumbling for words, he hesitated.

  With a sigh Emanuel waved the boys over and gestured toward a pair of chairs. “Sit down. You’re making me nervous.” The boys each took a seat. David began to spin his chair until Jeff grabbed the armrest and glared at him.

  “Stop,” he said. Then he looked over at Emanuel and said, “Well?”

  The screen behind the boys flickered, shifting to a new image Lolo had transmitted earlier that morning. Emanuel had set the blue screen to automatically filter through the pictures he wanted to send to Captain Noble. This one depicted the migration. A swollen mass of Spiders moved across what had once been lush Iowa farmland, and their shields reflected the sun overhead. Among the tangled alien shapes he could see the humped backs of the gigantic Worms, protruding like the whitecaps of waves in a storm.

  “The aliens,” Emanuel said, pointing at the display behind them. “They are here for our water, which I think you both understand. Right?”

  Jeff nodded, while David looked at the screen and said, “Wow. How many are there?”

  “See this group?” Emanuel asked.

  Both boys nodded.

  “They are the workers,” he said, scanning the boys’ faces to see if they understood. They both stared back at him blankly. He needed a different strategy. “Surely you’ve both seen ants before, right?”

  Jeff rolled his eyes.

  “Of course you have. These aliens are like worker ants. They perform tasks for the good of the larger colony. In this case, these Spiders collect water and eradicate any threats. They likely killed your dad because he was one of those threats.” Emanuel bit his lip, unsure if his answer would upset the boys. To his surprise both boys smiled.

  “Dad was a hero!” David shouted.

  “He killed Spiders, and taught us how to kill them, too,” Jeff added.

  “He sounds like an extraordinary soldier,” Emanuel said, relieved his answer hadn’t upset them. The image behind them switched to another shot of the migration. Without his glasses he was forced to squint. This one showed another mass of Spiders marching like troops through the clogged streets of Los Angeles. Behind the cluster of aliens, several orbs floated over the empty city streets. The shot was a still image, but he could see the Spiders had moved past the glowing spheres without tearing into them. It didn’t make any sense.

  Springing out of his chair, he made his way over to the row of screens. Spreading his fingers, he zoomed in on one of the orbs. Sure enough, the translucent blue skin, appeared fully intact.

  Why would they leave behind a resource they had fought so desperately for?

  “Did the queen tell them to move?” David asked.

  “What? The queen?” Emanuel replied, still staring at the image.

  “You said they’re the workers. Don’t workers get their orders from a queen?”

  My God, Emanuel thought, the kid is right. The Organics were not moving because they needed resources, but because they were being told to do so. This wasn’t a subconscious migration.

  The theory hit him in the gut. Why hadn’t he seen this before? The aliens weren’t colonizing Earth. They were preparing to leave the planet.

  CHAPTER 7

  IT was late, and the mess hall had mostly emptied hours before. Captain Noble sat in silence, his eyes glued to a piece of cold chicken positioned sideways on his plate. He studied it, wondering exactly how many chickens were left on the planet, knowing the answer w
ould not make the piece in front of him taste any better.

  The first bite tasted rubbery, far from the tender grilled cutlets his wife used to put on his salads. The meal was unsatisfying, and he found himself thinking that if this was the last chicken in the world, the cook had not done it justice.

  He slid the tray away and took a sip of water. His mind drifted to Alex. Noble still didn’t know why he’d taken his life. Especially after all he had been through. After surviving for days in the heat and running from the Organics, the former high school history teacher had been given a second chance. But the captain knew things had changed. It was the end of the world. The logic of the past no longer applied.

  Perhaps the survivor’s guilt had gotten to him, or perhaps Alex had decided he just didn’t want to be part of this new world. Whatever the case, Noble wouldn’t judge him. The man had seen the horrors of the outside. Alex had witnessed firsthand what the Organics were capable of and lived through the unthinkable. Noble had only watched from afar.

  Sighing, the captain checked his watch. It was almost midnight, but he didn’t feel tired. His thoughts wandered.

  He walked down to the engineering deck to clear his head. Inside, Blake Ort hunched over the sleek black profile of a drone. The whine from a power drill echoed through the chamber as he removed a panel from the craft.

  “Evening,” Noble said from the doorway.

  Ort slid off his safety glasses and smiled. He was handsome in a rough way. With dark skin and defined arms he liked to show off by rolling up his sleeves. A thick black mustache made him look much older than his thirty-some-odd years, but Noble had never seen him without it. In a booming voice Ort said, “What’s got you up this late, sir?”

  “I wanted to check on the status of our drone here,” he said, pacing into the room and eyeing the engineer’s handiwork. Like a corpse after an autopsy, the craft had been dissected. Wires snaked out in several directions. “We have a ways to go, don’t we?”

  “Not that long, sir. I should have her up and running by morning,” Ort said. “I just need to rewire her GPS system. Otherwise she won’t be able to transmit anything. Which reminds me”—he paused to roll his sleeves up farther—“the magnetic disturbance outside. I’ve been trying to figure it out, but I’ve just never seen anything like it. It’s like a never-ending EMP.” He looked over at the drone.

  Noble crossed his arms and took a seat. He was pretty sure he already knew everything Ort was about to tell him, but didn’t want to interrupt.

  “Sorry,” Ort said, sitting in the chair across from the captain. “This could take a while to explain. You sure you don’t want to catch some shut-eye?”

  The captain crossed a leg and smiled. “You know me better than that, don’t you, Ort?”

  “Yes, sir. I do,” he paused. “So I spent a week with Robert and John going over the RVAMP device we received from the biosphere team at Cheyenne Mountain. The non-weaponized version, the RVM, essentially uses magnetic technology to send out a pulse wave similar to the one the Organics are using. This effectively camouflages anyone within a certain radius.”

  Ort ran a finger across his mustache and locked eyes with Noble. “The weaponized version, the RVAMP, is where things get interesting. When the pulse is reversed, it creates a powerful surge that knocks out the aliens’ defenses for miles, depending on where the device is used.”

  “Basically, it uses their technology against them?”

  “Precisely.”

  “Do you think you can figure out a way to increase the range?”

  Ort hesitated. “Yes.”

  “That didn’t sound like a very confident yes,” Noble said.

  “It’s complicated, sir. Without understanding what’s creating the electrical disturbance, or how it’s working, I simply can’t say if I can engineer anything that will work on the level you want it to. Plus, even if we do get it to work, say, over a radius of one hundred miles or so, what then? Won’t the Organics just swoop in and crush us?”

  Noble frowned and said, “Pessimists never win wars.”

  “I’m not a soldier, sir. I’m an electrical engineer. And I’m a realist.”

  “You’re wrong, Ort. You are a soldier. Every survivor left is. All conscripted to fight the most important war in the history of the human race.” He uncrossed his arms and ran a hand over the surface of the drone. “Listen. I know it seems like my plan is impossible. It may be. But we don’t have any other choice—” He thought suddenly of Alex. There was another choice.

  “Actually, I take that back. We do have another choice. To give up. Do you want to give up, Ort?”

  He quickly shook his head. “No, sir. I’m just saying—”

  “And I’m telling you to rewire that drone and have it ready to go by morning. I want to see what’s at Offutt Air Force Base.”

  Ort’s cheeks filled with a rosy blush; anger or embarrassment, maybe a combination. Either way, Noble had offended the man. He never used to speak to his crew in such a manner, but things had changed. The crew was growing increasingly cynical, and as captain it was his job to encourage and inspire them to continue the fight.

  “Listen,” Noble said. “I don’t know if this plan will work, but we don’t have any other option. I promise you one thing. If you build me enough modified RVAMPs, I’m going to use them. I’m going to give those bastards a run for their money.”

  Ort nodded. “I’m sure you will, sir.”

  Noble stood and patted the man on one of his wide shoulders. “I’ll check back in the morning.”

  “I’ll do my best, sir,” Ort said confidently.

  “I know,” Noble said as he left the room.

  * * *

  Emanuel stood over Lieutenant Smith, watching the emaciated woman breathe. Her closed eyelids fluttered, a sign of a very deep sleep. Inching closer, Emanuel bumped into the feeding tube snaking out from underneath the white sheets.

  He cringed as he recalled the surgery. It had been messy. Without Alexia’s guidance and support, the marine would have likely died.

  The biomonitor told him that she was relatively stable. But even under the dim lights he could see her jaundiced skin. He was a biologist, not a medical doctor, but even he knew that Smith should have been recovering quicker.

  He thought of Saafi and Timothy, his good friends who had faced similar fates, dead at alien hands. He forced himself to look away from Smith’s frail body.

  No wonder the kids are scared of her, Emanuel thought. He shook his head and walked back to his makeshift laboratory in the corner of the room.

  Alexia’s voice suddenly sounded over the PA system. “Doctor Rodriguez. May I have a moment of your time? Doctor Winston is on her way to the medical ward. I’d like to speak to both of you about Lieutenant Smith.”

  Emanuel stopped in his tracks. He spun and caught another glimpse of the marine’s thin profile just as Sophie walked into the room. She shut the door quietly behind her.

  Between the cryo chambers, two makeshift hospital beds, and Emanuel’s lab space, the small room was packed. There wasn’t anywhere they could talk without disturbing Smith, which made Alexia’s request to speak there seem odd. Still, Emanuel sat on one of the barstools at his desk and gestured to the seat next to him as Sophie tiptoed across the floor.

  The AI didn’t wait for Sophie to take a seat. “Thank you for coming, Doctor,” she said. “I’ve made a new discovery.”

  Emanuel hated the fact he could never read Alexia. Her unwaveringly calm voice was frustrating.

  “Recent scans have detected a nanotechnology in Lieutenant Smith’s bloodstream that was previously missed.”

  “Is it the same as what I found in the Spiders?” Emanuel blurted, and then stopped himself when he realized he had interrupted her. Emanuel didn’t know much about nanotechnology outside of its use in the medical field. One of his college
roommates had gone on to make incredible advances in cancer treatment by developing specialized particles that attacked cancer cells.

  “Go ahead, Doctor,” Alexia said politely.

  He waved his hands. “Sorry. You first.”

  “I believe you were going to ask if this is the same technology you discovered in the bloodstream of the Organic specimen weeks ago.” The AI’s voice cut out as she transferred to the AI console. Her face flickered and solidified over the interface.

  Emanuel nodded.

  “The answer is yes.”

  “Fascinating.” He stood and walked over to Smith’s bedside. “Any idea what the technology does inside a human?”

  “You’re looking at it,” Alexia said. “It’s killing her.”

  Emanuel flinched. “It’s killing her?” He glanced over at Sophie. Her face remained emotionless.

  “She can’t hear you, by the way,” Alexia said. “Lieutenant Smith’s brain signals indicate she is in the deepest phase of REM sleep.”

  “I wonder what she’s dreaming about,” Sophie finally said.

  “What?” Emanuel asked. He was beyond puzzled. Alexia had just discovered a new alien technology killing the woman right in front of them, and all Sophie could think about were the marine’s dreams.

  “I wonder if she has seen them,” Sophie continued.

  Emanuel ran a nervous hand through his hair. “The aliens?”

  “The multidimensional Organics,” Sophie said. She turned to him, deep wrinkles streaking across her forehead.

  Emanuel didn’t know how to respond. Between her frizzled blond hair and her expression, she looked insane. He needed to pull Holly aside. Sophie needed another intervention.

  But first he needed to see what the hell Alexia was talking about. If she was right, then the discovery changed everything. Organic technology in the blood of a human? His mind spun trying to wrap around the implications.

  Crossing the room, Emanuel left Sophie and logged into the main terminal, swinging the screen around to face him. “Show me one of the nanobots.”