Synthesis

by Rexx Deane

  ‘I think you may be more Human than you think.’

  ‘I will try not to take that as an insult.’

  Sebastian laughed.

  ‘However dangerous to myself, I would be willing to integrate the experiences if it helps to get your sister-in-law and nephew back.’

  He felt a lump in his throat and croaked, ‘Thank you.’ His stomach turned and he slid along the seats towards the cockpit. That must have been the longest launch ever.

  Wolfram paused. ‘A brief search of the data reveals that, in addition to the purging ability, there is a minor kinetic manipulation effect, rapid acceleration, slowing, something that translates as light from nowhere, and several more harmful sounding effects.’

  Sebastian opened his eyes. ‘What sort of harmful effects are we talking about? Anything non-lethal?’ He still hadn’t practised with the pistol, and the idea of getting into a firefight with Gladrin, where he could accidentally hurt his family, filled him with dread.

  ‘Some of the effects seem to be neuropathic. One appears to be shooting pains. I cannot tell whether this is something that would cause physical damage or whether the effect is hallucinatory.’

  ‘I’m hoping for the latter. Is there any way to trigger the effects instantly, rather than having to wait for the chanting?’

  The voice over the intercom paused. ‘From my experience of triggering the purging effect back in Yazor, I discovered that my processor locks up with practically one hundred per cent load processing the data. This prevents me from receiving sensory input, however the button on the side of my casing can be used as a hardware interrupt. If you notify me in advance, I could potentially hold a charged effect – casing temperature permitting – until you pressed the button to trigger it.’

  ‘So, I could strap you to a gun and press the button to fire the spell?’

  ‘Technically, yes. If you designated a face on my casing to be the front, you could simply aim me at the target and press the button.’

  He swung his legs onto the floor and sat up. ‘Aryx!’

  Aryx turned to face him. ‘What’s up?’ he said, narrowing his eyes. ‘Why are you grinning like that?’

  ‘I’ve got a job for you, my friend.’

  ***

  Sebastian had taken over piloting the ship, and now Aryx sat at the diagnostics workbench with Wolfram on the console. Where the heck was he supposed to start – Sebastian hadn’t even made it clear what he wanted.

  ‘How do you expect this thing to be attached?’ he said, waving the pistol about.

  ‘Can you fix the cube onto the barrel somehow?’

  He studied the pistol. In a departure from the conventional cylindrical design, SpecOps had chosen a square profile for the projectile weapon’s outer barrel. At least that might help with mounting the cube. ‘Right, I’ll fit it underneath in front of the trigger, because if it’s on top, you won’t be able to aim the gun. Not only that, it’ll be top-heavy.’

  ‘May I suggest,’ Wolfram said, ‘that if I am placed in front of the trigger, my top surface should be positioned towards the hand-grip and my vented face against the barrel. That configuration would give clear visibility of the bar indicator from the left-hand side of the gun in the event that I have to trigger one of the quantum effects.’

  ‘Call them spells,’ Sebastian said, ‘or choose a better word. Quantum effects doesn’t quite “say it”.’

  ‘Very well. One of the thaumatics.’

  Aryx picked up the cube and rotated it as directed. If it were mounted in front of the trigger, Sebastian’s finger, once extended, would be able to press the button easily. ‘How do you want me to attach you?’

  ‘I would prefer my casing to remain intact. I suggest mounting a plate on the front of the trigger guard. I can lock it into place using my interface port, providing greater security. Perhaps you could use the attachment you made to interface me with the beta cube?’

  He fumbled around in the storage under the console and took out the cabling. ‘Here it is. I don’t like the thought of stripping all these wires off after all that work, though.’

  ‘What is the trigger mechanism of the pistol?’

  ‘Electromechanical.’

  ‘Sebastian, how much practice have you had with this weapon?’

  ‘None. I haven’t fired one since basic training. I’ve been worried about what might happen if I came to use it.’

  ‘He probably couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn.’

  ‘That is why I asked about the trigger mechanism,’ Wolfram said. ‘If you can connect the wires to the trigger circuitry, I can override it.’

  Aryx laughed.

  ‘What?’ Sebastian asked.

  ‘Our friend here will be able to stop you from shooting the wrong person by accident.’

  Sebastian’s eyes widened. ‘How?’

  ‘He can override the trigger. He can calculate the trajectory of the bullet, based on your movement, and if he sees you’re aiming at the wrong person, the gun won’t fire.’

  The creases in Sebastian’s brow vanished. Had the thought of having to use the gun really worried him that much?

  ‘I can also do the reverse, if required, and fire on demand.’

  Aryx shuddered; he might trust the cube, but wasn’t prepared to let his own trust take Sebastian that far. Nevertheless, he set about trimming some of the wires short and welded the plate onto the trigger guard of the pistol. When he’d finished, he presented the contraption to Sebastian.

  ‘Good work. Let’s see what it’s like with Wolfram attached.’

  Aryx passed him the cube. Wolfram opened his connector cover and Sebastian placed the opening over the plate. The clamps locked into place with a loud snap. Sebastian weighed it in his hands.

  ‘It’s a bit heavy on the front, but it’s better than nothing. It’s a shame it won’t fit in the holster.’

  ‘You’re never happy.’ Aryx rolled his eyes. ‘You’ve got the galaxy’s first truly intelligent gun and it’s not enough.’

  ‘I’m joking. It’s brilliant—’ Sebastian yawned and put the gun back on the console. ‘Do you think you can take over again for a bit? We’ll be there in an hour or so, and I really need some sleep.’

  ‘Knock yourself out.’

  He headed down the ladder and within moments the snore was echoing up the shaft.

  ‘He is feeling very pressured,’ Wolfram said.

  ‘I know. I think it helps knowing you’ll be able to make him safer with the gun. I’m amazed he hasn’t cracked up one side and down the other with everything that’s gone on over the last few days, especially with how little sleep he’s had. That reminds me, he hasn’t had a chance to check whether the station computer has analysed those logs from the blank messages. Could you look into it?’

  ‘Fortunately, as we are within the path of a comms carrier wave, I can. One moment.’

  It was disconcerting to see the cube with a gun attached, flashing randomly. It looked like a bomb about to go off. He had to stop his obsession with bomb comparisons.

  The lights stopped. ‘The messages originated from outside the station. I am unable to determine the exact source, as it appears they were routed through so many communications relays the headers could not contain all of the addresses. What’s more, the signal that came through your terminal appears to have originated from the acceleration node network itself, and not as an interplexed communications signal through the relays.’

  ‘That’s … odd.’

  ‘Indeed. It also appears that a piece of code was inserted into the security network using Gladrin’s credentials several months ago. The code acts as a back door, a Trojan, allowing the signal to be routed to specific communications terminals on the station. One would assume it also configured the analogue relay antenna to pick up the aforementioned signal from the nodes.’

  ‘Is there anything special about the timing of the signal? We were having nightmares and waking up around three in the morning.’


  ‘That would be consistent with the terminal activation times. There is one other thing that I noticed while investigating Gladrin’s files. The date on which the signal was first routed to Sebastian’s quarters coincides with a date in Gladrin’s journal.’

  ‘What date?’

  ‘Four weeks ago. It correlates directly to the date Gladrin received the recommendation from Eleanor Bannik, referring Sebastian for membership into SpecOps.’

  Aryx bit his lip.

  ***

  Rainbow-hued stars poured by as the ship gusted through a bright, stringy nebula en-route to the node they hoped Gladrin would pass. The anticipation and constant monitoring of the comms map grated on every nerve in Aryx’s body. He could have allowed the ship to monitor the situation, or given the task to Wolfram, but he’d be able to act quicker if he stayed alert and kept an eye on the screens himself.

  ‘This is horrible,’ he said, rubbing his eyes. ‘I feel utterly useless.’

  ‘You are far from useless,’ Wolfram said. ‘You demonstrate great engineering skill and are an asset to all whom you assist.’

  ‘Shut up with the platitudes, it’s overdone. I wasn’t speaking generally. I meant this situation is frustrating. We’re at the mercy of the acceleration nodes as to how long it will take to catch up with Gladrin.’

  ‘He undoubtedly has similar delays.’

  ‘I know, I just hope he doesn’t hurt Janyce or Erik. It would kill Sebastian if anything happened to them.’ He turned his attention to the map once again.

  ‘If it comes down to it and Sebastian is forced to hand me over, I will destroy myself once I know you are all safe.’

  ‘We won’t let that happen. We both consider you a friend, and we don’t leave our friends behind.’ Aryx’s eyes stung as he forced the tightness out of his throat.

  The ship dropped out of superphase and navigated towards the next node. Half an hour into the flight, the relay map changed: Gladrin’s ship had passed the branch point.

  ‘He’s heading for Kimberley depot!’ Aryx entered commands into the navigation computer, realigning the ship for the next hop. ‘With any luck we won’t come out too far from the depot. I’ll wake Sebastian.’

  Sebastian was curled up in a foetal position on the webbing of the bunk. It was the first time in weeks Aryx had seen him without his permanent expression of worry. It was almost a shame to wake him, but at least they now had an explanation as to why they slept better away from their apartments. He gently shook his shoulder.

  Sebastian blinked awake. ‘What’s happening?’

  ‘I think Gladrin’s heading for Kimberly depot. I changed course. With luck, provided we come out of transit close enough to the nodes, we should be there soon.’

  He scrambled off the webbing and fell to the floor as he caught his foot between the straps.

  ‘Careful! We’ve got at least half an hour before we drop out of superphase.’

  ‘I can’t help it. I’m going to pieces.’ Sebastian clamped his hands over his head and the creases returned.

  ‘Come on, let’s go up,’ Aryx said, wheeling onto the lift.

  ‘I’ll be there in a minute.’ Sebastian disappeared into the aft section.

  ‘Excuse me, Sebastian, but a message from Gladrin arrived while you were below,’ Wolfram said.

  ‘What does it say?’ Sebastian shouted from below.

  Wolfram switched to the intercom and his voice echoed throughout the ship. ‘He has transmitted a locker number and expects you to deposit me. Once deposited, he will transmit the location of Janyce and Erik to you.’

  ‘Like hell, he will.’ Thump!

  Aryx winced.

  A few minutes later, Sebastian came up the ladder brandishing a handful of vials.

  ‘What have you been doing?’

  ‘I was in the airlock, getting more carbyne, just in case I need it. Wolfram can’t exactly purge Gladrin without it, can he?’

  ‘I guess not.’ Aryx said. Everything had become surreal; a computer performing magic … A few days ago he was ready to have Sebastian committed for talking about it.

  One by one, Sebastian slotted the vials into his belt. ‘Will these be close enough to you when I’m carrying the gun, Wolfram?’

  ‘I do not believe so,’ the cube said, still attached to the pistol on the console. ‘Kerl’s research indicates that unless the quantity is substantial, I will need to be closer to it.’

  Sebastian fumbled with his right-hand sleeve, withdrew one of the vials, and slid it down into the cuff. ‘How’s that?’

  ‘That will be adequate.’

  ‘Great, then we’re all set. I just wish I’d had a longer rest.’

  ‘That reminds me,’ Aryx said. ‘I got Wolfram to go over the message logs—’

  ‘Not the damned dreams again.’

  He glared at Sebastian. ‘For crying out loud, will you listen for once? Gladrin planted a Trojan on the station systems that enabled a signal to be forwarded to our terminals. He installed it a few months ago, not long after he first visited.’

  ‘That doesn’t surprise me.’

  ‘What might is that four weeks ago, when the signal started coming through your terminal and your nightmares began, Gladrin mentioned you in his private files for the first time, right after you were referred for recruitment.’

  ‘So, you’re saying it’s Gladrin’s fault we’ve been having nightmares?’

  ‘Sort of. The signal was relayed by the analogue antenna. It was directed through the acceleration node network from somewhere beyond.’

  ‘How is that unusual?’ Sebastian folded his arms.

  ‘You aren’t listening! The signal wasn’t relayed through the relays. It travelled directly along the network, through the nodes themselves!’

  Sebastian’s face twisted. ‘The signal caused us to have nightmares? Why would he do that? What sort of signal is it?’

  ‘I don’t know, but I’ve never heard of anything like it.’

  ‘There are instances of magnetic fields being applied to the Human brain inducing sensations of presences—’ Wolfram said.

  ‘Do they cause bad dreams, too?’

  Sebastian’s eyes narrowed. ‘Given our nightmares had demons in them, do you think Gladrin’s working with others who are possessed, and they’re doing something to us by sending the signal?’

  ‘I don’t know what they’d hope to achieve.’

  ‘Maybe the signal is two-way,’ Wolfram said.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Let me put it another way. Perhaps the entities can use the signal to test your responses to psychological stimuli.’

  Aryx looked at Sebastian. He could see the cogs going around in his head while he thought it over.

  ‘So Aryx, Karan, and I start getting “tested” with bad dreams the day I’m mentioned in Gladrin’s files … Perhaps his outside colleagues were somehow trying to determine whether we could be coerced – he did say I’d been selected for the job based on my personality. Maybe they’re trying to wear us down, weaken our minds, or something. The entity that possessed Duggan said it wanted to use me to destroy the abomination, the mechanism, which I guess is Wolfram – no offence.’

  ‘None taken.’

  ‘I don’t get it,’ Aryx said. ‘Why recruit and use you to investigate the SI if their intention is to destroy it?’

  ‘I have no idea,’ Sebastian said. ‘It could be they hoped I would learn how it worked, and then by possessing me at a later date, they could use my knowledge to destroy it or turn it to their ends. Only Gladrin would be able to tell us the truth of it.’ He re-folded his arms and leaned back in his seat. ‘If it is true, I find it ironic that by recruiting me, they’ve helped us to discover a weapon against them.’

  Aryx shrugged. ‘I can’t understand it. This is all like some bloody fairy story dropped in the Space-Age, and the only thing that can stop these invisible bogey-men from taking over the universe,’ he said, waving his hand towards Wolfram, ‘is this weird …
confluence of science and magic.’

  Sebastian slapped him squarely on the shoulder. ‘Hey, you told me that I had to be more open-minded!’

  ***

  Forty-five minutes later the stretched rainbows resolved themselves into stars and the ship dropped back into phase with normal space. Kimberley depot lay several thousand kilometres ahead, golden and glinting like a tiny Christmas-tree bauble.

  ‘We’ve arrived,’ Aryx said. In some strange way it didn’t feel right, having to chase down the man who had ultimately given him back his freedom.

  ‘You ever been here before?’ Sebastian asked, looking at an image of the station on the console.

  ‘No, but I hear it’s a technical masterpiece.’

  Kimberley depot was nowhere near as grand in scale as Tenebrae, but no less a feat of engineering. The structure hung in open space, slowly rotating, resembling a giant golden golf ball, with only a handful of large dimples in its surface.

  Sebastian leaned forwards to study the image. ‘What are those satellite things in orbit?’

  While Aryx watched, the dimples in shadow lit brightly in sequence, tiny solar explosions moving across its surface. ‘It’s all part of their power generation scheme,’ he said. ‘It’s too small for the rotation to create gravity and, being a fuelling depot, they didn’t want the burden of shipping out masses of radioactive reactor linings, so they use solar power to run the gravity generators. The dishes in the surface are reflectors and the orbital satellites are secondary mirrors. They direct the sun down into the collectors and the collectors reflect the light onto small reactors in the middle. The orbitals don’t stay in geosynchronous orbit, though – the beams would melt the collectors at the bottom, so they alternate, giving the mirrors just enough time to cool down.’

  ‘Impressive. How hot does it get?’

  ‘Put it this way, there isn’t enough sunscreen in the universe to protect you if you go through one of those beams.’ Aryx gestured at the ship around them. ‘It would probably even cut through this hull.’

  ‘Right, so steer clear of them. Where’s the entrance?’

  ‘There,’ he said, pointing out of the window.

  Now that they had drawn close enough to the station, two rows of widely spaced lights became visible, extending from each pole of the sphere. Beckoned in by the flashing lights, a long, rectangular ship slowly drifted in at the north, while another came out from the south.