Heartness looked into her eyes, searching for any kind of doubt. She couldn’t find any. “I hope you’re right.”
"I am! But, look, I realize you’re concerned, but please don’t worry.” Vilanna carefully touched Heartness on the shoulder. “Let’s change the subject while we wait. I’ve been a huge fan of yours for a long time. I’ve been dying to tell you why we’re doing all this research.”
Heartness closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them again, staring into Szuki’s deep brown ones. “Alright. I’m listening. Surprise me!”
Szuki pointed downwards, past the approaching elevator tower. “This is just the first step in our new research project. Our business and research isn’t just about flash drives and ships exploring universes.” She smiled, excitedly. “My dream. A new type of company. An Interreality Trading Network. If we could start trading across frequencies - imagine being able to have and own something that you might have previously seen in a to-room or while astral traveling!"
The shuttle clanged as magnets pulled it into the correct position for docking, and the airlock hissed as contact was made. Through the metal, Heartness could feel the rumbling of the massive elevator shifting up the vertebrae of the shaft. Another clang, a hiss, and the airlock opened to reveal a short corridor. They quickly exited the shuttle and headed to the next airlock, the windows of the corridor revealing further corridor like spokes spraying out of the main hexagonal structure, lit by a tiny red star blazing in the distance.
“You want to trade with other frequencies?” Heartness looked at her incredulously, stumbling on her feet for a moment as the artificial gravity changed. “But, we’ve barely been able to bring back our memories, or written records of these other realities’ existence. Video, audio, objects – they disappear as soon as we return to our reality.”
“But, it doesn’t have to be that way.” Szuki placed her palm on a panel next to the elevator airlock and it opened, lights flickering on as they entered the area.
Heartness had vague memories of some items she’d seen in another frequency that she would have loved to bring back. If Szuki’s team could find a way, it would be amazing.
Szuki touched the entry panel and the double doors opened. They headed into the cabin, and Heartness could see that five other doors had opened in the hexagon too, all leading to their respective airlocks. From their ship’s trajectory, she hadn’t been able to see the other sides. It must have six positions for ships to dock. She guessed that only small shuttle craft could use the facility.
Then she saw a ramp curling up around the outside. “I guess the larger ships land on top and space-suited crew take the ramps down?”
“Actually, the top is mainly used for deliveries. Cargo ships drop their boxes on top and it lowers, with the cargo being unloaded on the upper bridge level. The ramp is for emergencies.” Szuki palmed another wall panel and all six doors closed around them.
Heartness had taken space elevators before, and had expected screens and chairs, not just standing space. They must have been expecting crowds with a lot of luggage. Then she readjusted her footing again as the artificial gravity changed more dramatically, and the cabin dropped at high speed.
Szuki smiled at Heartness’ look of concern. “No need for seats. Inertial dampening fields everywhere. The most movement you’d expect is like a rough hypertunnel ride. So, what do you think?”
Heartness had almost reached out to hold the wall, but stopped herself, surprised at the smoothness of their decent. She felt the air around her change subtly, her skin buffeted by a slight wind as the pressure adjusted, preparing them for exiting at the bottom. The energy around them also seemed to thicken, holding them up but still allowing basic movement. With this system, Heartness knew they could safely plummet to the surface of the planet in minutes, and not have to worry about nitrogen bubbles in their blood streams as pressure remained standard. “Impressive,” she whispered.
“You know, the whole point of our peaceful exploration, and First Contact missions, has always been for some kind of trade,” continued Vilanna. “Whether that be for knowledge or just to get the confirmation that we aren’t alone. Trading between frequencies would be the next logical step.”
Outside, the elevator was a tiny white dot in a vertical black line speeding towards the surface of the planet. Far below, though approaching quickly, was a desert-like expanse of red, peppered with softer brown and white areas of dirty water and hydrogen ice. A thick, roiling atmosphere quickly swallowed what little light the elevator had as it continued its plunge, heading for the silver, honeycomb-shaped base that spread out across the surface like an insect eye.
The cabin began slowing, and Heartness adjusted her clothes, getting ready for their exit. “Alright, Vilanna. Let’s see what I can find, then we’ll return to the Traverse and send a flash message to Captain Hogart about the upgrade.”
Szuki nodded.
“What more can you tell me about the personnel?”
“All personnel files are now accessible through your lobe systems but, other than that, there’s not much more that I can tell you. Most of the scientist were screened by A.I. recruitment, based on projects proposed and available grants, though admin was screened by my father. Even so, I’m confident no one would have deliberately caused a problem here. Either it was an accident, or something external caused it. Micro time particles have been appearing randomly in the base, and steadily increasing, and we’ve lost a few boffs trying to get doors open remotely. I have a pretty good idea where the missing people are, and that’s what I need to show you.”
"Was it your flash technology research that killed them? What if they have just shifted to sixth density and left their fourth density bodies behind?"
Szuki shook her head. "That's the point. If they had been in the middle of an experiment, we would have simply assumed that and moved on. But they've all just..well..let me show you."
The elevator slowed further. 300 kilometers in just a few minutes. Momentum absorption, gravity dampening, pressure equalization, energy field support systems and more. Heartness marveled. It might have been here for decades but with this kind of tech, it must have been installed just a few years ago.
That could be a problem if it gets hit with a micro time particle.
The hexagonal cabin quietly slid into another hexagonal shell and stopped.
Heartness pointed at the six numbered doors, attempting to make light of the situation. "I don't really like multiple choice questions.”
Szuki looked solemn. "What's on the other side may shock you, but I assure you it isn't moving. I didn't want to show you an image of it, as I feel it could be much more frightening than reality. Are you ready?"
Heartness couldn't believe there'd be anything there that could shock her, but she went with Szuki's concern.
"I'm ready," she said.
Szuki pressed the button for door 3, and the double doors slid open quickly. As the light from the elevator revealed it, Heartness almost fell back in shock.
“Oh. My. God.”
Chapter 10
Zhou stood in Hangar 16 of Space Station X-1a, staring at the rings of Saturn, waiting for both Patel and Watanabe to arrive. She looked up at the black, rib-like grid of the ceiling. “Is this how it is going to be now? Always waiting for old people to turn up?”
“Are you talking to your ancestors again?” asked the Space Station A.I. in a motherly voice. “I have filtered neural networks containing human brain backups. I also have copies of some of your ancestors in my database. I can answer that, yes, you will now always be waiting for old people to turn up.”
“You’re joking, right?” asked Zhou, surprised, as the A.I.s voice was relayed around the empty hangar.
“Yes. Security Officer Puppy has been teaching me humor.”
Zhou groaned. “That’s all we need. An A.I. with a sense of humor.”
“He has also taught me about sarcasm, and that humans are quite fond of it.”
“Old,” yelled Watanabe from the hangar entrance. “I’m not old. Just mature!” He stomped in, clad in a space suit and helmet with the visor up.
Zhou grinned at him. “Well, mature man. I’m glad you could make it. There are walking frames available if you need one.”
“Someone reminded her about sarcasm,” said Patel, similarly dressed and walking in behind him.
Zhou laughed. When they were together they made quite a team, for ‘mature’ guys. “So, you two. All suited up, and ready to phase-shift?”
“All set!” said Watanabe. “Just waiting on your official authorization.”
Zhou looked around, confused. “But, where’s your ship?”
“Admiral Wei Zhou,” said Patel, more officially. “Please authorize a nanite-suited EM-propelled phase-shift, spacewalk and entrance into the Stellar Flash, exiting from Hangar 16, for education department civilian Doctor Hiro Watanabe. I, of course, have already authorized myself.”
Zhou’s mouth fell open. “You’re going naked?”
Watanabe laughed. “Well, sans ship.”
“But…”
“Now, now young Admiral. These oldies are also old hands at suit travel. If there’s been a reconfiguration of the Stellar Flash, then the last thing we want to do is accidentally set off any proximity alarms. Two humans with previous authorization and access are much more likely to gain entry than a shuttle craft of trainees with possible incompatible technology.”
Zhou nodded. “Authorization granted. Just, be safe you guys. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Watanabe laughed. “Well, of course we will!” And with that they clicked their heels together and a blue light flickered around the base of their nanite suits, lifting them slightly off the ground. Both bent forward with arms at their sides as their visors slid shut and darkened, then they shot through the now permeable force field exit, and headed off to the left into deep space.
Zhou looked up at the ceiling again. “Not so old then!”
“Now,” said the A.I. with a slight smile in its voice. “What are you waiting for?”
Chapter 11
Spiney and Hogart stood outside the Center, staring at an unmoving door, as Kumar came up behind them.
“The airlight stays solid,” said Hogart, turning to him. “Almost like it doesn’t recognize me.”
“It does not identify me, either,” said Spiney.
“Have you tried turning it off and on again?” asked Kumar.
Hogart pursed his lips. “I would, if there was an off switch.”
Kumar pulled a device from his pocket and placed it on the door. “Vibration override. I’m the door opener, remember?”
In moments, the door dissolved, and Kumar grabbed the device as it fell.
All three went into the Center, and were surprised to see that the whole room had changed.
“Someone’s changed the desktop theme!” said Hogart. “We’ve been upgraded. At least I don’t need to tighten screws anymore.”
Kumar immediately went over to the new and shiny metal stands. No longer white, the read out panels had thin metal edges and a reflective mirror-like surface. Images and symbols displayed briefly across the nearest one. He put his hand on it and the panel twisted 360 degrees. “Nice!”
Hogart had noticed something much more compelling. The floor and ceiling central columns were now surrounded by a glass sheathe. “I saw the record of my clone’s death. He dived into the initiator just as the isolation field was forming, to prevent the ship being flash-jumped into a black hole. I guess there’s been an upgrade to prevent outside control, and this shield to prevent inside sacrifices.”
Just then, the Japanese A.I. materialized and placed her hand on Hogart’s arm.
He jumped. “What?”
The A.I. released him and smiled. “A minor update in solid hologram technology. I don’t need to wait for you to request ‘tangibility’. I can choose it myself due to increased power available to the A.I. generation field.”
Spiney went over to his panel, scraping a spine across its surface. Nothing happened. He stopped and placed it carefully, then lifted himself away, turning to Hogart. “Sir. I don’t have to scrape my whole body across this information screen anymore. A slight touch and all information is available in my brain chamber.”
“That is excellent news, Spiney,” said Hogart. “Anything else?”
“Yes,” said Kumar. And he called up an internal map of the ship. “You’re not going to like it.”
“Try me.”
“These aren’t minor rolling updates. This is a major upgrade of the entire ship. Engines, software, database, monitoring, weapons, and… configuration.” Kumar pointed at a new triangular shape cutting through the three main corridors.
Hogart groaned. “But, it’ll remove hundreds of rooms to make way for those.”
“Yes, and one of those rooms is 347.”
“I so hate forced updates. Can’t we disable it? A.I.?”
“The upgrade has been waiting until the ship was not in use,” said the A.I. “The moment we entered orbit around Saturn and powered down, the upgrade began installing. There is no override. The only instruction is to not turn off the ship.”
Hogart sighed. “How long have we got?”
“Fifteen minutes.”
“Raj?”
Kumar was already running out of the corridor, slapping his flash band, finding that it didn’t work, then running faster.
“Right,” said Hogart, and ran after him.
Chapter 12
For a moment Heartness had been holding her breath. Now she understood where the 27 scientists had gone.
The sliding doors had revealed a long corridor of...something. For a moment Heartness' mind could not comprehend what she was seeing, as though there was nothing in her brain to correlate the visual information. And then her mind began to explain it to her. Something she'd never seen before in her life.
The walls, floor and ceiling looked like someone had tried to paint it yellow, and the paint had got all thick and bubbly and they had given up. But Heartness now knew that it wasn't paint. The disturbing details had become alarmingly clear.
Patches of bellybuttons, blocks of fingernails and toe nails, a large swathe of hair, collections of parts of male and female genitalia, groups of eye balls, a wall of teeth like tiles, left ears and right ears in rows, anuses in a circle…
“Oh, my,” whispered Heartness. “It looks so…alive.”
Wavy lines of some rubbery material made up the path in front of her. Brains or intestines? Heartness continued to hold her hand to her mouth.
She didn't want to throw up. There was enough human stuff here already.
"It's a bit shocking, isn't it?" said Szuki.
Heartness nodded.
"Don't worry, there's no smell. There's no putrefying blood, muscle or skin. It's been transmuted into the yellow mass. I have had a lot of trouble analyzing it, but as far as I can tell, all nutrients as well as trace elements are in the mass. Some of the cells are still pluripotent, though it’s difficult to get a real fix on anything. Almost as though it’s not really here."
Heartness took her hand away from her face, and carefully breathed through her nose. The air smelled of standard, filtered and sterilized, planet-module air. Like the air in an art gallery or a museum on Earth.
"What we want to know first," said Szuki, "Is why it's like this. Has an alien sorted the team's parts? Cataloguing? Why is it still here?"
Heartness looked closer at one of the eyes. It was still wet. It hadn't gone white with death. Frozen in time? But why were the eyes and teeth grouped? And other parts, for that matter? They weren't grouped into similar cells. Perhaps something lower or...
"It’s in frequency order!" Heartness said, surprised at working it out so quickly. "Similar frequencies of the parts have simply been grouped together!" She pointed at one of the eyes. "You know an ey
eball has a different frequency to a pupil. So, if it hasn't been divided further, this is what you would get!"
"That's why all the organs are further down. Heavier frequencies, absorbing metals and other toxins, but not separated further into copper and zinc. And the grey end of it made up of their organic clothing."
Heartness moved further down. A pale brown color replaced the yellow where hearts, livers and kidneys had collected. "They're all still alive. From our perspective, we can only see what has happened to them in this reality. Like seeing the frequency of gold on a monitor but not being able to actually see the gold. We're seeing a representation of the team in physical form."
"Can they feel this?" asked Szuki, horrified to understand that she was standing on still-living people.
"No idea. They're in another density now. Maybe they'll feel us while they're dreaming. But, I’m missing something.” Heartness stared at the macabre display, then slapped her head. “So easy to fall back into a human routine! Of course, as soon as I saw all the parts, I just started thinking as a human naturally would. Completely forgetting that...”
“Why just humans? Where are all the aliens?” Szuki nodded. “It’s like living in a city where you can have any food from around the world, then visiting a town that only has fish and chips. I felt the same.”
“And?”
“No aliens here. Cost cutting decision. Daddy wanted to use prefabricated systems to build the base quickly, and the cheapest contract only made human compatible parts. For the safety of our non-humanoid alien staff, they weren’t sent here.”
“A base, just full of humans? I haven’t been to one of those before in my life.” Heartness’ eyes showed wonder. It was just so unusual in 2133.
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