But Pearce hated the politics of it all and was only stirred to do something because of the obvious callous disregard the Core showed. The insane demands and their arbitrariness were breaking civil society. It was creating and empowering more people like the boys he and Anais encountered. And now because of all the people he had watched die he couldn't stay silent. Many had been friends, all had wanted only to live in peace with freedom. The Core and its allies simply wouldn't allow that and the reason behind such an attitude was still a mystery to Pearce. Someday he hoped to find out. For now he would do what he could for the underdog.
Edmund had recovered from his injuries. The robotic dogs that had caught him seemed almost to relish their power over him. Their keeper had shown up in time to stop them in their attempts to gnaw off Edmund's appendages. But not before he had lost two fingers on the left hand. While the physical wounds healed, the mental and emotional were still being stirred up by his captors.
They've been after the same thing for weeks. For me to confess insurrection and swear allegiance to the Southeast Territory. But why? I'm no one. Why don't they just kill me or let me go? Haven't they done enough?
Edmund looked at his hand missing the two fingers. One stump missing a single joint and one missing two joints.
Enough to make another finger.
None of this made any sense to Edmund.
Many people in the Territory felt the same as Edmund. None of it made any sense. The government was determined to have its citizens sign a loyalty oath. While making it as easy as possible, a digital signature was acceptable, many felt that the coercion should be resisted. But how?
Everyone now knew of the disappearances. The overnight “rebuilding” that was heralded by the press as progress but left the neighbors concerned and frightened because now the disappearances extended into residential property. Sometimes several houses at once were “redeveloped” and all the previous owners had moved away suddenly, at least that was the official narrative.
Without knowing exactly what was happening and without trusting the official sources, civic life was breaking down. People were wary of each other. Small talk, which had always served as a kind of societal glue was avoided. Not much more than a quick acknowledgment with a head shake replaced the often purposeless but reassuring chit-chat.
In private when they felt they could trust others they expressed their disbelief and frustration with what had happened to their government. They couldn't understand how quickly they had been marginalized by those they had entrusted. Over and over the question was asked but not answered: How did we get here?
Pearce often thought the same thing. What had started out as a way to apply some neat physics had somehow turned into a life and death struggle with an enemy that not long ago was eager to use his abilities for the common good. Now he was in a place and working for people that were complete strangers. Only in their determination not to bow to tyrants did he have anything in common with them. But he figured that was good enough.
Pearce and Anais had rested for a week. They decided it was the only honeymoon they were going to have for some time so they had made the most of it. Now they were meeting with the Northwest Territory military to discuss how to proceed.
“Even with your defense Dr. Rawlings we are far outnumbered. We need something that will give us an advantage in the upcoming struggle.”
“Well Colonel Masters my wife and I haven't anything in mind but once we get the production of the temporal defense system going we could brainstorm with your people.”
“That's good Dr. Rawlings but I think we need to be even more aggressive. I want you to turn over your work on the defense system to some of our engineers and then we want to get you started on this brainstorming because otherwise I, and most of my colleagues, feel that the Territory doesn't stand much of a chance against the other side.”
“We will do as you ask General. But as far as coming up with a miracle weapon, well I make no promises.”
“Just promise to work hard Dr. Rawlings as if your life depended on it because I suspect it, as well as many others in the Northwest Territory, does.”
“What's wrong honey? You've been so quiet since the meeting with the military.”
“Don't you see Anais I'm right back where I started from? Weapons development, offensive weapons development.”
“I know dear but the situation isn't the same.”
“What do you mean? We are supposed to come up with some kind of killing machine for the military. What's different?”
“For one thing, we don't exactly have the choice to wash our hands of the matter and go about our lives. Remember we have been targeted for death. For another a lot of people will die or be enslaved by an enemy that seemingly refuses to compromise, to live and let live. And finally remember a lot of people have already died to get us where we are, remember Dave and Crawley and Cleveland and Captain Dodge.”
“Why me Anais?”
“Because Pearce, you know what needs to be done and you have the knowledge to do it. Now is the time to show your commitment, your determination.”
Pearce didn't answer for a moment.
“Do you feel it's the right thing to do?” he said.
Anais thought a moment, “Sometimes darling there isn't a choice.”
Pearce and Anais worked for a couple of weeks transferring their hard-earned knowledge in how to build a temporal defense system to the scientists, engineers, and technicians that would take over the work. All the time Pearce had expected them to be under attack again.
Mentioning this to Colonel Masters Pearce found out something even the Territorial news media hadn't been told.
“There have been incidents Dr. Rawlings. Quite serious incidents. We've lost nearly a third of our flying craft, that includes our drone forces, and a quarter of our personnel. You could say things are getting dire.”
“But I haven't heard any of this.”
“So far there has been a news black-out but the government doesn't know how long they can maintain it. They are hoping to have some positive news from your research to counter-balance the bad.”
Pearce was stunned. Suddenly he realized how important it was that he come up with something. Anais had been right, they hadn't a choice.
“I never imagined Colonel, I'm sorry. I've been kind of self-absorbed. You see, I hate to work on weapons. But as my very wise wife once said, sometimes you have no choice.”
“I'm afraid that's so Dr. Rawlings. And I expect we will need something very soon.”
“You're not talking about the temporal defense system?”
“No, that should give us an advantage. Maybe for a few weeks or months we'll hold our own but I expect the Core will either come up with their own defense system or take it from one of our craft or bases that they overrun.
“I just hope Dr. Rawlings that you and your very gifted wife along with the other scientists and engineers will come up with something to save the lives of my troops. You see it's already been decided that we fight to the last man and woman.”
Pearce had no response.
“Now Dr. Rawlings if you and your wife will be ready at zero-four-zero-zero hours tomorrow you will begin your trip to your new lab. It is in a remote part of the Territory. We are hoping it will be undetectable to the enemy.”
Pearce could think of nothing else to say but, “Yes sir, Colonel and thank you.”
“The enemy,” thought Pearce as he left the Colonel to return to his hotel room and Anais.
The enemy. Once we get these temporal defense systems into enough ships it won't be long until the enemy captures one and figures it out. It won't take long for the Northwest to lose the advantage. And they are fewer in number. They'll be overwhelmed like the Colonel fears.
Pearce left the building and called an electric using his Emmie.
And when that happens the temporal weapon will be useless as each side will be able to neutralize the other side's temporal bubbles. Then the side wi
th the most other weapons will win and I know which side that will be. Maybe instead of a new offensive weapon we could prevent that neutralization. Maybe that would give the Northwest enough time to sue for peace from a position of strength rather than weakness.
But how?
Pearce got into the electric. His Emmie exchanged credits and destination information with the vehicle. Many thoughts ran through his head.
Let's see. A fast-time bubble is launched, it is neutralized with a slow-time bubble. That's the status quo right now.
But I suspect that each side will change to slow-time bubbles for offense. They will still do the job and won't be countered until it's too late.
I mean you could neutralize slow-time with fast-time but by then the craft would already be hit once. And really it becomes a guessing game as to which type you need to counter. So, again, after a few months at most the Core will regain the advantage.
Pearce leaned forward with his head in his hand as his car traversed light traffic. Then he looked up.
Can the defensive bubble adjust itself to the needed type after launch when it encounters the attackers?
If it carried both chron+ and chron- particles it could. But the annihilation between the two would soon disrupt the bubble.
Pearce stared blankly a moment.
What if one could become the other?
That was his last thought as the electric pulled up to the hotel and he went inside.
“How did the meeting go with the Colonel honey?”
“He wants us ready at four AM to leave for a secret lab. He wants us to develop a new weapon.”
“What kind of weapon?”
“I guess an offensive weapon.”
“Did he say what kind?”
“No, it's up to us to come through with something and we don't have long.”
“Why?”
“Because the Colonel thinks it won't be long until the Core group comes up with something similar to our temporal defense system. Either on their own or they will steal ours.
“So we come up with the idea, we develop it, in a few weeks.”
“That's right.”
“And then we have to fight the Core planets alone?”
“Maybe.”
Anais almost laughed but it wasn't funny.
CHAPTER 28
Pearce and Anais were being flown by an aircraft of the Northwest Territory's military to their new lab far north in what used to be the nation of Canada. Colonel Vincent, the Commanding Officer of the installation, was telling them something about their destination.
“Since the last mini ice age the temperature has warmed a great deal. You should see highs in the twenties.
“That's Fahrenheit,” he added.
“I understand Colonel,” said Pearce, “that this location had been a lab previously.”
“For hundreds of years Dr. Rawlings we've used it as a remote lab. It was used by the robots back when they saved us from the Dhalkan's Great Barrier.”
“I've read about that Colonel.”
“Anyway, the underground cavern temperature is always constant and heated to seventy-two Fahrenheit, so it's quite comfortable. I've been the CO for the past five years and I've been in worse places.”
Soon the craft was landing at the remote base.
“It's warm enough to transport you to the entrance to the lab by electric,” said the Colonel apparently pleased.
Pearce and Anais and some of the soldiers boarded the electric which was reminiscent of the old half-tracks. They were soon at the cavern's entrance.
“It used to be quite a walk but now we have an electric which we will ride down,” said Colonel Vincent.
They all boarded the electric which was an open design similar to an amusement center ride. Two by two they climbed on board. The trip went quickly down a slight incline which turned into a steeper drop before the electric stopped in front of a large metal door.
“The door is activated by an encrypted code from my Emmie,” said the Colonel. “You will be given the code. It is changed often,” he said raising his voice as the huge door slowly opened.
Inside was a small waiting area leading to hallways with workrooms and offices on both sides. The Colonel led them down the longest of these.
“I wanted to show you the lab first and then we will see your offices.”
At the end of the hall the Colonel again used his Emmie to open a set of double doors and they walked inside.
“Lights,” said the Colonel.
As the illumination rose Pearce and Anais could see they were in a large cavern hundreds of feet across and maybe a hundred feet high.
“I hope this will be big enough for any experiments you might be planning.”
“I think it will be more than sufficient Colonel,” said Pearce.
“Up there you can see the control rooms,” said the Colonel pointing to one wall of the cavern where there were lighted rooms behind a glass-like wall.
“What do you think?”
“This is excellent Colonel,” said Anais, “thank you.”
“Good then let's go see your offices.”
After showing Pearce and Anais their offices the Colonel showed them their living quarters which were on a lower level. A bedroom and bath, two offices for each and a living room dining room combination.
“What do you think?” said the Colonel again.
“Very nice,” said Pearce.
“I agree,” said Anais.
“Good,” said the Colonel. “Now I want to show you the commons area.”
The three got back aboard the lift and went down another level.
“Colonel how many levels are there?”
“Well we use five but there are still others that we haven't found a use for yet. So I'm not sure how many levels really.”
“Didn't the Northwest military build it,” asked Anais.
“No we found it like this. It started as a mine but no one is sure who expanded it to its present size but the bet is the Aggies.”
“The Aggies were here?” asked Anais.
“Yes ma'am but that was long ago.”
Once Pearce and Anais had ordered the equipment they thought they would need the military engineers started building the lab setup while the two physicists began working on Pearce's idea.
“If we laded the bubble with more chron particles than needed then it will shrink to a size where quantum effects can dominate,” said Pearce.
“And you think that the quantum effects will be the creation of chron- or chron+ particles?” asked Anais.
“That's right the chron particles being bosons and uncharged will, through gravitational interactions shrink the bubble to just above the size needed to create a black hole.”
“The repulsive force of the exotic energy preventing the complete collapse?”
“That's right.”
“I don't know honey,” said Anais. “It sounds like it needs to be precisely balanced between collapse and expansion.”
“Yes that will be the trick. It will take some careful experimenting to find just the right balance. But when we do then the super-energetic chron particles will undergo pair production in the vicinity of another bubble and the chron- and chron+ particles will be copiously created. One of the other will neutralize the charged particles in the target bubble and the remaining charged chron particles will repulse each other and dissipate.”
“Rather explosively I think,” said Anais.
“Well I wouldn't want to find myself unprotected and in their vicinity but if the target bubble is encountered far enough from the ship that launched it then there shouldn't be any problem with the particle dispersion.”
“All we need to do is test then and find the sweet spot that will create the bubble we need,” said Anais.
Pearce nodded yes.
Far away, nine-hundred miles away and southeast of Pearce and Anais' lab was the Northwest Territory military base just outside the city of Moose Jaw. It had been o
n high alert since the destruction of the Opheim base. It had also recently received craft updated with the temporal defense system. It was also tracking incoming craft which weren't responding to the usual challenge.
“Yes sir, I count twenty-four incoming.”
“Have the Emmies identified them?”
“I believe we will have identification shortly sir.”
“Well I can't wait, scramble the squadron. Get me Captain Metts as soon as possible.”
Lieutenant Colonel William Lacey paced the floor while he waited. As far as he knew this would be the first time a squadron had used TDS in a combat situation. He didn't like being first.
“Lieutenant Colonel Lacey this is Captain Metts.”
Lacey used his Emmie to respond.
“Captain scare them away if you can but make sure they do not make it to the base.”
“Understood Colonel.”
Captain Metts lifted his craft vertically from the tarmac as he watched the rest of his squadron do the same. They soon achieved combat formation and headed straight for the intruders.
Upon engagement the temporal defenses came online. With its own Emmie managing the system the incoming fast-time bubbles were quickly neutralized. The enemy craft seemed confused as to what tactic to fall back on. The Northwest pilots put their enemy's indecision to good use. In moments on a first pass half of the foreign craft were brought down. The rest soon veered away and tried to escape.
Captain Metts halted the attack, he had fulfilled his orders. The enemy craft had gotten nowhere near the base.
Pearce and Anais were hearing good reports on the use of the temporal defense system. It seemed to have caught the attackers unprepared and given an advantage to the Northwest Territory. But for how long no one knew as the Territory was still outnumbered. A superior weapon system would still be needed for the Northwest to have a chance.
Time's End: A Future Chron Novel (Future Chron Universe Book 34) Page 18