Gods of Titan- The Cosmic Constants
Page 21
‘Well, you’ve certainly got it.’ Sleeman stood and escorted her back to the bridge. ‘Shall we take a look and see what we can find?’
They went over to the science officer’s station and the Captain explained what they required.
‘Any problem with that?’ he asked.
‘No sir. It’s very straightforward to initiate, though maintaining such a scan for any time might be problematic.’
‘Okay. Just do the best you can.’
Tao watched the screen as the science officer initiated the X-ray scan and was disappointed when nothing showed up. Of course, it was a big planet and the ship could be anywhere, even on the far side. She’d been hoping for almost immediate results but had to accept it might take some time. Sleeman clearly felt the same.
‘Would you care for some refreshment while we’re waiting?’ he asked.
To Tao’s knowledge, Deira had never received this sort of treatment, so she must be doing something right. Since she hadn’t long had breakfast, she really didn’t need anything right now. However, she was reluctant to throw Sleeman’s offer back in his face since he was clearly making a big effort to be friendly – something that obviously didn’t come naturally to him. Perhaps he recognised a kindred soul. Tao, herself, had never found it particularly easy to be friendly on first acquaintance, and certainly not with people with whom she was interacting on a professional basis.
‘That would be very welcome, Captain. Thank you.’
Leaving the bridge, they returned to the ready room and were soon sipping mugs of coffee that Sleeman had one of the stewards bring in. He gazed at Tao. It was a long stare that others would have found embarrassing, but which Tao simply returned, silently examining the creases on the man’s face and wondering how old he was.
‘This fold you’re planning,’ he said at last. ‘I take it its dangerous?’
‘Could be if I’m not careful with the setup conditions. Assuming I have accurate data about the orbital period, I’m confident it’ll be okay. Once I’ve formed the portal, it’ll be obvious if there’s atmosphere on the other side – not Mars’ atmosphere, of course – and that should imply that the other end is on the ship.’
‘And what if that’s not the case? Suppose you fold into the Martian atmosphere, for instance? Would my ship be in danger?’
Tao frowned. She’d promised him there wouldn’t be any danger to his ship. Could she guarantee that? She knew she couldn’t, so she needed to be honest with him.
‘There’s a small risk, of course,’ she said. ‘However, if the terminus accidentally opened into space, I’d pick it up immediately and shut the portal down.’
‘But I assume we shouldn’t be trying this in a crowded space, like the bridge?’
‘Certainly not. I’d say the obvious place would be an airlock. Then, if there were any problems, the main bulk of the ship wouldn’t be affected.’
Sleeman visibly relaxed. ‘That works for me. Supposing it’s very hot on the other side, though – wouldn’t you be at risk of … erm …incineration?’
That was something Tao had been trying not to think about. The Captain was right. If she used an airlock, accidentally opening a portal into the Martian atmosphere wouldn’t cause any harm to the ship, but she’d be boiled alive. She’d been over this time and again and was confident in her ability to perform the necessary space-time-fold. But there was always a faint chance that she’d get it wrong.
‘Yes,’ she replied. ‘It’s a very small risk – my PWC says less than 3% – but it’s there all the same. Whatever the outcome, Captain, your ship will be safe. I guarantee that.’
‘Yes, but …’ Sleeman began, only to be interrupted by the science officer’s voice coming over the comm.
‘Sir, we’ve found it.’ The man sounded very excited. ‘It’s enormous. Do you want to see?’
Sleeman leaped out of his seat and hurried with Tao back to the bridge where most of the officers were crowding round the science station. They made way for them and as soon as she saw the screen, Tao knew they’d struck gold. There it was, just as Sol had described it, apparently drifting languidly in the Martian atmosphere. The bridge crew were gawping at it, and even Sleeman seemed impressed.’
‘My God, it’s colossal. How big is it, Mr Coombs?’
The science officer had been busy with his measuring devices in anticipation of this question, so the answer came back quickly.
‘Just over a kilometre long, sir.’
‘And has it reacted to our scan?’
‘No, sir. It doesn’t seem to have noticed us.’
‘Excellent. Maintain the scan for as long as you can. Do you have the orbital measurements for Agent Chen here?’
‘Yes, sir. What do you want me to do with them?’
Sleeman looked questioningly at Tao, who had been silently checking with Jiao that she’d got all the relevant data.
‘I’ve got it, Captain,’ she said. ‘My PWC is able to link with your systems, so as soon as you got it, I got it.’
‘PWC? You mentioned that before, but I didn’t take you up on it. What’s a PWC? Agent MacMahon never mentioned it.’
‘This is my PWC – my Personal Weaponised Companion.’ She took Jiao out of her holster and showed her to Sleeman.
‘Ah. A staff. Yes, Agent MacMahon had one of those, of course, but it’s the first time I’ve heard it referred to as a PWC.’
‘This is a little more than a staff. It contains a built-in AI, an AI that can communicate with me telepathically and interface with all your equipment. It’s this AI that will be doing the calculations to enable me to perform my fold.’
‘I’m impressed. I wasn’t aware AI’s had become so small. Must be very useful in your line of work.’ He moved away from the science station. ‘How do you want to play this?’
‘Just show me to the nearest airlock and I’ll be off your ship and out of your hair.’
‘Of course. Follow me.’
Unlike the CFR ships that plied the shipping lanes between the planets on regular schedules, this ship had been designed purely as a science vessel. As such, it wasn’t unduly large, and they reached the forward airlock after only a couple of short corridors. Tao turned and shook the Captain’s hand.
‘Thanks for your help,’ she said. Then, as an afterthought, ‘I hope you realise the data relating to this ship, even its very existence, is top secret. I know it’s exciting stuff, but it mustn’t be made public until I give the go-ahead.’
‘Understood.’ Sleeman was nothing if not professional. ‘We’ll continue to monitor it for as long as the X-ray scan holds out and I’ll embargo any outside communication on the subject.’ He opened the airlock door to let Tao enter. ‘Best of luck, Agent.’
‘Thanks. I may need it.’ Tao stepped inside and closed the door. ‘Are we good to go Jiao?’
‘All ready, Tao. I have the orbital vector calculated and will guide your fold. In your own time.’
‘Copy that.’ Tao hesitated for only a moment before initiating the fold, then held her breath as the portal flared open. There was no loss of pressure, so there was clearly atmosphere on the other side, and she hadn’t yet roasted to death, so she assumed she was within the El ship. Everything looked good. She turned and gave a thumbs-up to Sleeman – then she stepped through.
She folded into what seemed like a corridor, but one built for something far larger than any human. There was nobody nearby, though an alarm of some sort was sounding so loudly that her helmet automatically initiated audio-safe mode.
‘Well, at least we’ve arrived intact,’ she said to Jiao. ‘Any chance you could find a map of some sort?’
‘I should be able to do that. I have tried to interface with the ship, but the firewalls are ferocious and only the surface layers are available. Here, I think this is what you require.’
A map of the ship was overlaid on her visor, a flashing asterisk indicating their current position near the stern. So, now she had to decide whether t
o walk the corridors that led to the bridge or risk an internal fold. In the end, the choice was made for her. There was a mentalic dampening field operational in here. It had probably been activated, along with the alarm, when she’d arrived. That meant she was in for a short walk.
In fact, the walk turned out to be shorter than she’d anticipated. She hadn’t gone more than a hundred metres when a group of three El came around a corner and stopped not ten metres from her. She took a sharp breath in. Although she’d known what to expect, these guys were seriously impressive, their muscular torsos and massive folded wings making her feel small and insignificant in comparison. She remained still, avoiding any sudden, or threatening, movements.
One of the El spoke into something on its wrist, presumably a communication device, and the alarm was turned off. So, that confirmed her earlier thought – it had been activated by her entry to the ship, and this team was probably one of many that had come looking for her. The other two El pulled things that looked remarkably like guns out of holders on their belts and slowly advanced on her. She held up her hands, palm forwards, and stood silently, trying to look as innocuous as possible. While she was perfectly willing to fight if she had to, her mission here was peaceful, and undue aggression wouldn’t get her the data she sought.
The two El were talking together as they approached, and occasionally directed a comment or question at her. She remembered Sol saying that Uri had said the crew had learned English, so she ventured a comment of her own.
‘My name is Tao Chen. I’m a colleague of Sol MacMahon, who was recently on your ship. I come in peace.’
‘That sounded remarkably cheesy,’ Jiao remarked caustically. ‘I’m surprised you didn’t add “for all mankind”.’
‘Not fair. I’m having to make this up on the hoof.’
‘You must have given some thought to it.’
‘Hush. That one at the front’s saying something.’
Indeed, the large El who’d used the communication device, and seemed to be the leader of the group, had begun speaking in slow, but perfect, English.
‘How did you get on board this ship?’
‘And you are?’ Tao put on her best professional face and gazed up at the massive alien. ‘I’ll explain everything to your captain.’
‘Perhaps you should try explaining to me.’
‘No way. I’m not prepared to be interrogated by a minion.’
‘Whoa! That’s going it a bit,’ Jiao said. ‘Perhaps you should consider easing off a little?’
‘I think not,’ Tao said. ‘I want to convince them I’m not intimidated by their size.’
‘You aren’t?’
‘Well, slightly perhaps. But I’m not letting them see that.’
The El took a step back and examined Tao carefully, his eyes flicking towards Jiao in her holster. That wasn’t surprising. They’d been entertaining Sol until very recently, so they were almost certainly aware of a PWC’s capabilities. He turned to his colleagues, and a load of sibilants and glottal stops ensued as they discussed this. Finally, he turned back to Tao.
‘I am Jophi,’ he said. ‘You would call me the Chief Security Officer. Ordinarily, you would be confined for the hostile act of penetrating this ship. However, we are familiar with your kind, and realise your appreciation of galactic regulations is virtually non-existent. I will take you to the Captain.’
‘And the Captain is?’ Tao asked.
The El looked surprised, then smiled as one of the others said something in their strange tongue. ‘Your colleague, Sol, will have told you about the uprising. The Captain is Sama. The previous captain, Micha, together with the crew who remained loyal to him, are in stasis.’
‘And Uri?’
‘Uri fought for Micha. He is in stasis.
‘I see.’ Tao wondered where that left her mission. She’d known when she’d set off that the situation on board the ship was problematic. She’d identified the worst-case scenario as ongoing fighting from an unresolved mutiny and, although the uprising seemed to have played itself out, it left her having to negotiate with a complete unknown. Sol had never mentioned Sama, but for the guy to have successfully deposed Micha he must be quite a force to be reckoned with.
‘Sama-el is known as the Angel of Death in ancient Hebrew texts,’ Jiao said, helpfully.
‘You know, I really didn’t need to know that,’ Tao telepathed back.
‘Just saying.’ Jiao went quiet.
‘Follow me.’ Jophi said, turning and heading back down the corridor.
Tao glanced at the other two El, but they were watching her closely and obviously waiting for her to move. She gave a sigh of resignation and duly followed Jophi. Sure enough, the other two immediately fell in behind. She smiled grimly and put a hand on Jiao in her holster. Did they really think she was helpless? Surely they must know what a PWC was if they’d entertained Sol recently.
They marched steadily on towards the front of the ship, and Tao reflected on how long a kilometre seemed to be when it was made up of a series of relatively featureless corridors. After a while, she wondered if she was deliberately being taken by a circuitous route, perhaps for security purposes, and was just about to ask her captors how much longer it was likely to be, when they finally reached a large door.
At a hand movement from Jophi, the door slid open to reveal the bridge – a massive room, lined by electronic consoles, at which many El were hard at work. Most paused briefly and stared in her direction. One, who had been standing near a workstation in the centre of the room, left what he’d been doing and made his way over to them.
‘Welcome,’ he said, looking Tao up and down appraisingly. ‘I am Sama.’
‘Tao Chen.’
Tao gazed up at the El who now called himself Captain and wondered how he differed from Micha. The security chief, Jophi, seemed relatively squat in comparison with the other El on the bridge, and his hulking appearance was even more pronounced in comparison with Sama.
The new captain was significantly taller than Jophi, probably topping him by a good twenty centimetres or so, and his body was long and thin. He didn’t look physically weak – like all the El, his muscles were highly developed – but his litheness somehow gave him the appearance of being more refined. Be that as it may, the El captain’s face had a lean, cruel set to it and he was currently regarding Tao with a look of complete contempt.
‘How did you gain entry to this ship,’ he asked, without preamble. ‘The folded-space barrier is supposed to be impregnable.’
‘I’m sorry, that will have to remain my little secret for now. However, I’m not here to cause any trouble. I simply need to talk to you about something of mutual concern.’
‘The Founders and The Way.’ Sama’s mouth curled unpleasantly.
‘Yes, though I’ve never heard of The Founders. I assume you’re talking about the entities we discovered in sub-quantal space?’
‘I suggest we adjourn somewhere a little more private.’ Sama turned to Jophi. ‘Escort her to my … I think the term in your language is “ready room”.’ He smiled, but it seemed like an effort, as if it didn’t come naturally to him. ‘I will see you there shortly.’
Jophi wordlessly took Tao by the arm and steered her off the bridge. They walked silently down a short length of corridor and he showed her into another room.
‘Make yourself comfortable,’ he said. ‘I’ll be outside if you need anything.’
He closed the door from the outside, and Tao looked around. She wouldn’t exactly have given the term “ready room” to this space – it was more like an auditorium. There was an area at the far end that looked a little like an office, while nearer, and off to the right, was a seating area containing the enormous chairs Sol had mentioned. She went over and examined one, soon finding the control on the side, and adjusting it so that it suited her body perfectly.
She’d just made herself comfortable when the door opened and Sama strode in. Appearing to ignore her, he walked over to a machine
that stood on a nearby wall and said a few words in the hissing, stuttering tongue she’d heard before. Then, removing two mugs filled with liquid, he returned to where she was sitting and offered her the smaller of the two. She took it and sniffed doubtfully.
‘Jasmine tea,’ he said. ‘Your preferred drink, I believe.
Tao sipped and was surprised to find it really was a very passable imitation of her favourite hot drink. Could it be she’d misread this guy after all. Perhaps his appearance was just unfortunate.
‘How did you know?’ she asked. ‘This is the first time we’ve met.’
Sama smiled again, this time looking like he was genuinely enjoying the situation. ‘I’m afraid that will have to remain my little secret for now.’
Tao grinned and held up her mug in salute.
‘Touché,’ she said.
Chapter 27
Josh sat with Barth at a virtual desk in Barth’s virtual office and perused the data the alien had accumulated on sub-quantal space. It was dense mathematics, and without his double-doctorate in sub-quantal astrophysics and cosmology he wouldn’t have had a chance of understanding it. As it was, however, he was able to study the equations Barth had formulated with interest.
‘What about this one?’ he pointed to a sub-quantal function part-way through one set of equations. ‘Where did it come from?’
Barth leaned over to see what he was pointing at.
‘It’s to take account of the background consciousness of sub-quantal space. It took me a long time to realise it would have a major effect on the whole scheme. You must remember, I didn’t know anything about sub-quantal space before I got here – and I certainly couldn’t have forecast a space that appeared to be conscious. Also, it’s incredibly difficult to establish the parameters of a medium when you’re effectively embedded in it. I often feel I should have achieved this much quicker than I did, but then I remind myself that it’s quite something to have achieved it at all.’