It was a couple of days later and Pearce was trying to help the technicians repair a balky isotopic power supply. The weather which had been sunny and almost warm had turned overcast and colder, spitting snow. Captain Dodge stopped by.
“How's it going men?”
“I think we'll get it going sir,” said one of the technicians.
“Well I think we are going to need it for the heaters. Looks like the pleasant weather is over with.”
“Dr. Rawlings how are you?”
“Fine Captain.”
“If the technicians can spare you I'd like to discuss something with you.”
“Of course Captain.”
They took a few steps toward the periphery of the camp when Pearce asked, “Captain have you been able to make contact with headquarters yet?”
“Not yet though we have picked up some information. It's always easier to listen than to transmit you know.”
“Of course Captain. May I ask what you have heard?”
“Yes, that is what I want to discuss with you.”
They had walked some ways from the encampment and were too far away to be heard when they stopped.
“Dr. Rawlings what we've picked up from base to base chatter is both hopeful and distressing. It seems the remaining bases that are using your weapon configuration are having an impact on the enemy's forces. At the same time it seems it's not enough. The forces in orbit are overwhelming. It is still a losing battle however much we delay the final outcome. We need somehow to target those orbiting ships.
“And it can't be the way we normally link to orbit because we will not have locator information to pinpoint the location.”
“There's still a way,” said Pearce. “Do you remember the work Dr. Dagmar Mach and his associates at Robot Industries did?”
“I know that their equipment allowed ships to make longer and longer links.”
“Well their theory was that the longer the link the more the local end would vibrate. In that way they could find a subset of links that represent the longest and therefore shorten the time it took to find those links. As you said it allowed ships to make longer and longer links because they didn't have to sift through the astronomical number of local end-points to find those links. They could just focus on the distant ones.”
“Okay Dr. Rawlings I follow. But how does this help us?”
“Well what is not generally known is that the end-points of links are affected by the passage of matter. Matter actually dampens the vibrations as it intersects the local endpoints. We could use the spin-two drive to find these areas of dampened vibrations.
“You see Captain a link is like a vibrating string. So that the vibration at each end affects the other end. And that we can detect by using a monochromatic laser and spectrum analysis. All spin-twos now have that equipment built in.”
“What about other orbiting structures?”
“Their locators will keep them safe.”
“So this is just another operational change?”
“Yes, and a little practice.”
“Dr. Rawlings do you think you could write this up in such a way that even without your presence an experienced operator could implement it?”
“Yes I think so. I'll dictate it to my Emmie and we can put it on a datacube. Would that be sufficient?”
“Yes Doctor and hurry if you will.”
“Of course.”
Pearce told Anais what the Captain wanted and she agreed to help him.
“What do you think he will do with it honey?”
“I think he's going to try to get it to the nearest base.”
“How?”
“Not by radio, that's failed so far. I think someone will have to carry it there.”
“It's too far Pearce, isn't it?”
“Sixty miles in one direction, seventy-five in another. Depending on the weather that's three or four days for a man.”
“In good weather.”
“Yeah. Well let's get busy. The Captain wanted this as soon as possible.”
Pearce and Anais had finished their report and given it to the Captain. He had called a meeting for all to attend.
“Ladies and gentlemen I called you here to update our status and the status of the Territory as far as we know it. Our status is good as of now but the Territory's status is not so good and that could affect us in the long run. I'm sure that by now the base at Shingle Point knows we are overdue and they would send out a search party if they could. But from what I've heard on the radio I don't think they will be able to.
“You see the battle is going no better for them than it did at Tuktoyaktuk. It's just a matter of time in other words. But all is not lost. Dr. Rawlings has an idea that I believe could turn the battle in our favor and of course guarantee our rescue. If we could just get the information to them.
“That is what I propose to do. I've picked two men, Edgar and Rodgers to carry the information to the two nearest bases. Shingle Point and Olikuk. I believe that they both have an excellent chance of making it. However, they will need full rations to maintain their strength over such a distance.
“Therefore I propose to give them those rations. But that will mean we will have to cut the remaining rations to just above subsistence levels. If everything goes as I hope we will only have to maintain such restrictions for one or two weeks at the most until we are rescued by what I hope will be victorious forces.
“I'm sure all of you understand that this is a necessary consequence of the circumstances that not only we face but that the whole Territory faces. Therefore let us start our new rations immediately as these men will be leaving as soon as possible. Thank you.”
Pearce had found Edgar getting last minute instructions from the Captain. He waited until Edgar came out.
“Edgar.”
“Hello Dr. Rawlings.”
“I just wanted to wish you good luck.”
“Thanks Doctor, you too and your wife. I'll see you in a week or two.”
Pearce watched him walk away toward his assigned destination, Olikuk.
CHAPTER 33
It was ten days since Pearce had wished Edgar luck. The weather had turned bad with constant overcast and snowstorms. Keeping the path between pop-ups clear had been impossible. A system of lights had been rigged up to mark the way. But they were in danger of being buried by the snow and had to be constantly raised.
Ten days of only a few hundred calories a day had left Pearce weak and lethargic. He and Anais spent most of their waking time sitting and waiting for food to be served in the mess pop-up and walking there and back. They often were too weak to even talk.
Pearce was sure a few people weren't showing up for the meals. He wasn't sure what had happened to them and he was too tired to try and find out. Even the Captain had quit trying to buoy spirits and was trying to survive like everyone else. At least the isotopics were keeping the pop-ups warm.
Pearce was dozing after lunch. He was remembering something he had read.
“When I saw myself thus wholly cut off from human succour, incapable of attempting anything for my deliverance, I thought of heavenly succour. Memories of my childhood, of my mother...came back to me. I began to pray, little as I deserved that God should know me when I had forgotten Him so long; and I prayed fervently.”
Then he felt the ground shake. He thought he had dreamed it but then he felt another and a loud crashing noise in the distance. He slowly rolled over and crawled to the entrance to the pop-up and looked out.
The snow had stopped though the sky was still overcast. He looked to the horizon and thought that he was seeing pillars of fire. He was confused. It took him a minute to realize what he was seeing.
Debris. It's debris. We're winning.
He turned to wake Anais and show her.
“Wake up honey and see this.”
It took a few minutes before Anais was able to realize what her husband wanted her to do. Even though she would have preferred to continue to sleep he
seemed insistent so she crawled over to the entrance with him.
“What is it Pearce? What am I seeing?”
“Debris from the orbiting Core fleet honey. The spin-twos in Olikuk or Shingle Point are bringing them down. We're probably only seeing a small part of the battle. A battle the Core is losing.”
They watched for a few minutes until the light show was over and then they went back to sleep.
“Just another day or so honey,” said Pearce. “And we'll see our rescuers.”
But Anais did not hear for she was already sleeping softly.
The day or two turned into four and then five and those that were still breathing were staying in the mess tent full time. None had the strength to walk or crawl back to their own pop-up. They weren't even able to relieve themselves properly, though they hadn't much to eliminate. There had been no more light shows in the sky and the food was all but gone.
“At last, more than thirty million years hence, the huge red-hot dome of the sun had come to obscure nearly a tenth part of the darkling heavens.”
Pearce had awakened and was remembering. He lay looking at the entrance to the pop-up.
“Then I stopped once more, for the crawling multitude of crabs had disappeared, and the red beach, save for its livid green liverworts and lichens, seemed lifeless. And now it was flecked with white. A bitter cold assailed me. Rare white flakes ever and again came eddying down.”
His eyes were not focusing well and he wasn't sure exactly what it was that came through the entrance and walked toward him.
“To the north-eastward, the glare of snow lay under the starlight of the sable sky, and I could see an undulating crest of hillocks pinkish white. There were fringes of ice along the sea margin, with drifting masses farther out; but the main expanse of that salt ocean, all bloody under the eternal sunset, was still unfrozen.”
All Pearce could see were boots. He heard a voice.
“What a stench,” the voice said.
Pearce wondered what it was talking about.
With what strength he had left he asked the voice, “Are you from Olikuk?”
“The guys still rational,” he heard the voice say.
“No, we're from Shingle Point,” said the voice. Pearce felt a profound loss.
Then he heard the voice say, “The poor wretches.”
Pearce was pleased with that and continued to remember before he went back to sleep.
“Suddenly I noticed that the circular westward outline of the sun had changed; that a concavity, a bay, had appeared in the curve. I saw this grow larger. For a minute perhaps I stared aghast at this blackness that was creeping over the day, and then I realised that an eclipse was beginning. Either the moon or the planet Mercury was passing across the sun’s disk. Naturally, at first I took it to be the moon, but there is much to incline me to believe that what I really saw was the transit of an inner planet passing very near to the earth.
“The darkness grew apace; a cold wind began to blow in freshening gusts from the east, and the showering white flakes in the air increased in number. From the edge of the sea came a ripple and whisper. Beyond these lifeless sounds the world was silent. Silent? It would be hard to convey the stillness of it. All the sounds of man, the bleating of sheep, the cries of birds, the hum of insects, the stir that makes the background of our lives—all that was over. As the darkness thickened, the eddying flakes grew more abundant, dancing before my eyes; and the cold of the air more intense. At last, one by one, swiftly, one after the other, the white peaks of the distant hills vanished into blackness. The breeze rose to a moaning wind. I saw the black central shadow of the eclipse sweeping towards me. In another moment the pale stars alone were visible. All else was rayless obscurity. The sky was absolutely black.
“A horror of this great darkness came on me. The cold, that smote to my marrow, and the pain I felt in breathing, overcame me. I shivered, and a deadly nausea seized me. Then like a red-hot bow in the sky appeared the edge of the sun. I got off the machine to recover myself. I felt giddy and incapable of facing the return journey. As I stood sick and confused I saw again the moving thing upon the shoal—there was no mistake now that it was a moving thing—against the red water of the sea. It was a round thing, the size of a football perhaps, or, it may be, bigger, and tentacles trailed down from it; it seemed black against the weltering blood-red water, and it was hopping fitfully about. Then I felt I was fainting. But a terrible dread of lying helpless in that remote and awful twilight sustained me while I clambered upon the saddle.”
The next time Pearce woke he was in a clean bed in what looked like an infirmary. He felt amazingly good compared to the last time he was cognizant. Someone came up to the side of his bed.
“Dr. Pearce Rawlings?” the woman said.
“Yes I am Dr. Rawlings. Where is my wife?”
“Your wife is in another room. She is fine. You should be able to see her soon. How do you feel?”
“Fine I think.”
“Good, you seemed to be one of the more hearty ones they brought in. The nano-swarm can do only so much you know. But I think all of you be fine. If you will give me a minute I'll get the doctor.”
Pearce waited and a doctor came in.
“Dr. Rawlings, how are you?”
“Hungry Doc.”
The physician smiled and said, “That's understandable. We've had you own an IV while the nanos worked. But you'll soon be able to eat. Just start small.”
“Can I see my wife?”
“I think that can be arranged. The nurse will get a wheelchair. It will be a good measure of how well you are. I'll tell her.”
The doctor started to leave but turned back, “And Dr. Rawlings.”
“Yes.”
“Thanks for saving us.”
Pearce was confused but nodded. Soon the nurse came with the wheelchair. Pearce was able to get himself into the chair with the help of a male attendant.
“Just go slow Doc,” said the attendant. “You're precious cargo.”
Pearce was again confused.
The nurse wheeled him out into the hall and down to another room. He saw Anais sitting up in bed as soon as he entered.
“Honey,” he said. “How are you?”
“Fine sweetheart and you?”
“Remarkably well considering what we've been through. These doctors and nurses really know what they are doing.”
The nurse positioned him next to Anais's bed so that they could hold hands and then excused herself.
“Oh Pearce, is it over? Are we safe?”
“I don't know for sure honey but the fact that we are in these facilities indicates that things are looking up.”
Just then there was a knock at the door. It was Captain Dodge. He too was in a wheelchair but without attendant and in uniform.
“Can I come in?”
“Of course Captain,” said Anais.
“Well you two are looking good. I think the little bit of weight loss we experienced suits us all.”
“I thought I felt lighter when I stood up,” said Pearce.
“I was fifteen pounds lighter but I ate my first solid meal this morning. The first of many I hope,” said the Captain.
“Captain,” said Pearce, “there are a few things I'd like to know if I may.”
“Of course Dr. Rawlings, if I know and can reveal the information.”
Anais interrupted, “But first Captain perhaps after all we've been through together you might call us Anais and Pearce.”
“Of course madam, I mean Anais, and you two shall call me Bainbridge or Bridge or Bridges for short.”
“Well Bridges what I would like to know is the same thing that Anais just asked me, is it over?”
“We are under a truce with the Core planets and the other Territories. A meeting to work out a peace treaty is being negotiated.”
“Oh Bridges that's so wonderful,” said Anais. “Pearce and I have been hunted, shot at, bombed, and threatened with bodily harm for what
seems like forever now. I can't believe it's truly over.”
“It is ma'am, you can believe it.”
“Bridge I have a question,” said Pearce.
“Yes Pearce?”
“Have they recovered Edgar's body.”
“His body? Why do you ask that?”
“Well our rescuers were from Shingle Point weren't they? And Edgar was bound for Olikuk.”
“Ah, I see. Well Pearce Edgar is alive and a hero. You see he did make it to Olikuk and Rodgers has not been found.”
“Oh no,” said Anais.
“Yes Anais, Rodgers was a good man but he knew the risks he took. Anyway, as I said Edgar made it but Olikuk was under attack and could not send a rescue party so they radioed Shingle Point who did send a rescue party. They also radioed your information Pearce. That's why we saw those streaks of fire falling from the sky.
“My understanding is the spin-two operators got good enough that they were bringing down a hundred ships an hour. Finally the Core fleet bugged out. And you and Anais are now heroes.”
“That's why people have been looking at me funny,” said Pearce.
“I suppose so Pearce, you're famous across known space,” said Captain Dodge.
There was silence a moment.
“The loss of life must have been tremendous Bridges,” said Anais.
“No ma'am it was minimal for the enemy anyway, at least human life. You see all those ships were robotic. We can tell from the remains we've gathered.”
“All robotic,” said Anais. “Does the Core have the resources to build and launch that many robotic ships?”
The Captain began but Pearce said, “I think I can answer that Bridge.”
“Really Dr. Rawlings?”
“Yes do you remember what happened about this time last year? Remember all those missing ships? I was involved at the time with Pan-Universe and my wife's doppelganger. We were scrambling to figure out where all the missing ships were and how our time enhancement was causing it. Now we know.”
Time's End: A Future Chron Novel (Future Chron Universe Book 34) Page 21