by Peter Wood
‘Talking is easy. Ask the centres to set up a holo screen for each pod and they can all hear me at the same time.’
‘There are approximately 2700 dolphins currently in association with 147 marine research centres or dolphin projects, and we don’t have the capability to either transport them or provide a suitable secure living environment for them. Burilda is correct in her assessment that the risk in taking Sonic out of a secure environment is unacceptable, but this could be overcome, and Sonic’s proposal is the best solution so far considered. With the targeted dolphins removed from the scene, the probability that wild dolphins would be hurt is minimal. The marine stations will be unwilling to part with their dolphins, but they could be invited to send human associates to accompany them. There is, however, a serious drawback with the proposal: Attunga itself would then become the focus of attention for any new actions by the directed habitats. Akama will be with us shortly to discuss this.’
Wirrin stared. Everyone stared. Turaku seemed to be giving a go-ahead, but with reservations?
‘But what about the security? We’ve only got one Sonic and the time lag would make you ineffective.’ The concern in Burilda’s voice sent a shiver through Wirrin. The thought of anything bad happening to Sonic was unbearable. Calen was clearly thinking the same thing.
‘I would be less than two per cent effective, as a reasonable approximation, but by travelling with you I can lift that to over ninety per cent, and with a security presence we would approach one hundred per cent.’
‘You can’t do that. You’re part of Attunga.’
‘Yes I am, Calen, and I will remain here, but with enough infrastructure developed on a transport vessel my identity and function can be replicated. With additional infrastructure a security presence could accompany us as well.’
‘You mean a copy of yourself would go with Sonic?’
‘More like an extension. There would be constant communication.’
A security presence? He meant another AI. Wirrin knew enough about the physical structures that enabled the existence of AIs to understand that Turaku was talking of a major, major project.
‘Infrastructure? It would be a lot more than that. You’d have to design the whole vessel from scratch.’
‘You’re correct Wirrin, and that design, including transport facilities for the dolphins, is ready for implementation.’
AIs performed at incredible speeds but that sent Wirrin’s mind spinning.
‘Ready? You’ve designed it in the last minute or two?’
‘I’m not personally able to do that in that time frame. The purpose of the vessel requires maximum capability, and in order to be prepared for Sonic and Akama, a group of AIs with expertise in engineering, defence, construction, security, science, and communication collaborated in semi-gestalt mode.’
‘Thank you, Turaku.’
Turaku acknowledged the formal thank you from Sonic. Wirrin was pondering what maximum capability must mean if it involved so many specialty AIs.
‘I am concerned about the danger to Attunga. It clashes with my wish to protect dolphins.’
‘We have to protect them, even if we don’t bring them here … What about that idea of taking them all to Northern Australia? It worked at Monkey Mia, and the Australian AIs could look after them at Ningaloo and the Great Barrier Reef as well.’ Calen sounded upset and Thom put his arm across his shoulders.
There had been many ideas about actions to assist the Earth dolphins in the eight to ten week respite that Turaku had confidently predicted before any new attacks were attempted. K74 would have been shocked when every one of their predator drones disappeared without trace and a full assessment of what might have happened would have been necessary before they instigated any new nastiness.
Burilda took over. ‘It’s the same dilemma, Calen, except the attention of K74 would be directed against Northern Australia and they aren’t as well equipped to cope with it. You’re right though, we do have to protect the Earth’s dolphins, and provided Sonic can be kept safe I think this should go ahead. I don’t know how we’d cope with two and a half thousand extra dolphins though. They’d all have to squeeze into the new reach on Warrakan and that’s been designed for five hundred. We’d have to artificially stimulate the food production levels till adjacent reaches could be made available … Can that be speeded up, Turaku? They’re already on high priority.’
‘The first reach is ready now and its extension will be ready in another three months. In six months we will have four neighbouring reaches available, and in eight months an extra twenty.’
Twenty-four reaches? That was staggering. Wirrin did a quick calculation … Enough for twelve thousand dolphins if they matched the specifications of the new one. Two and a half thousand dolphins would almost be lost in that amount of space.
Burilda was showing the same amazement as everyone else, then her whole face lit up with delight. ‘Twenty-four reaches? That’s wonderful, but why so many, and why so soon? Has something else happened?’
Turaku nodded. ‘The Witnesses have been meeting again, and Akama will be here in a few minutes.’
Wirrin looked at Sonic, wondering what he was making of all this. He hadn’t said much and Wirrin had the impression he was doing a lot of thinking. With his fixed facial expression it was hard to tell. Everyone was keen to hear about the Witnesses and what they’d discussed, but it was clear Turaku was leaving that to Akama.
‘How long would it take to build a transport ship?’
‘Time is critical, Thom. Almost three weeks.’
‘Then nearly two weeks of travelling to get to Earth. Five weeks is getting into the danger zone.’
‘Not two weeks, Thom. Travelling time would be twenty-nine hours. It’s the logistics on Earth that can’t be rushed.’
Wirrin almost wondered if he was hearing right, as normal travel time to Earth varied from twelve to twenty days. A rapid retinal InterWeb check showed the record time was eight days and five hours.
Thom looked like he’d been hit on the head with a club. ‘Turaku, you just said twenty-nine hours?’ Thom clearly wanted to believe but couldn’t.
‘Yes, Thom. It will be necessary.’
Thom didn’t say anything but the gears of calculation were fully engaged and Wirrin smiled at the excited earbashing they were in for.
‘We will ride on a comet.’
Wirrin was savouring the imagery of Sonic’s comment when it struck him that Sonic and Turaku had both just said ‘will’, as if the journey was now definite. He was about to ask when there was a holo shimmer. Akama’s image appeared and after a greeting he smiled at Sonic and then everyone else.
‘We’ve presented Sonic’s request to the conference and it has unanimous support and agreement.’
Wirrin felt a thrill of excitement, mixed with relief that the Earth dolphins could be helped, then a sudden awareness that if Sonic went ahead he could be placing himself in danger.
‘Already?’
‘Yes, Calen, when Turaku explained the plan and its implications the only real concern was for Sonic’s safety and that was quickly allayed by the decision to build a special ship for him. It’s fortunate that we had reconvened to discuss the enormous reaction to yesterday, otherwise we would have had to organise a special holo conference.
‘It was dramatic, Calen. After talking with you and Sonic yesterday a group of the scientists called for a complete new dolphin level to be added to Attunga and the idea has spread through the whole habitat and caught the imagination of the population in general. We were discussing how to handle that and I had to interrupt, introduce Turaku, and determine the will of the conference in very short order so we could get back to Sonic. It might seem rushed but the choice was really quite straightforward. Turaku has been explaining details and I must return as our conference has assumed a new level of importance.
‘Sonic, Attunga supports you.’
Akama gave a general nod and parting smile to everyone as his imag
e shimmered and disappeared.
Calen dived into the water with Sonic.
‘We’re going to Earth.’
Chapter 13
‘Five – one – one, and it’s nearly 8 kilometres.’
‘Nine minutes twenty seconds,’ said Thom.
‘Nine minutes fifty seconds,’ said Calen.
‘You won’t get there in nine-twenty. I’ll bet TransCom isn’t even that fast. I’m going for ten minutes fifteen seconds.’
The trio hadn’t played their TransCom game for ages and Wirrin thought Thom was so optimistic he must have forgotten half the strategies needed to race from one sector of Attunga to another.
‘That long?’
Thom and Calen gave each other a dubious look. Wirrin usually went for a faster time than either of them. Thom laughed.
‘You’re trying to bluff us into changing our times so you won’t lose.’
‘No I’m not. Calen’s the one who’ll lose. He always does.’
That was mostly true but he also had a knack of occasionally winning by a surprising margin. If Wirrin won today, Calen had to wear his dolphin skin on their next outing. If Thom won it would be Calen and Wirrin. And Calen, being embarrassingly fair-minded and sensible, had declared that if he won then they all had to wear them because they were all part of the dolphin trio.
The day before, Sonic and Calen had visited one of the big nurseries to meet different groups of children, and Calen had been asked to wear his special outfit. He hadn’t been keen, but evidently the children were expecting it and Burilda said he mustn’t disappoint them.
‘I thought it would be embarrassing, but when we got there half the kids were wearing them too. Sonic loved it, and with every group we met he asked the mums and dads to choose different children to jump in his mobility unit with him. They got so excited!’
Wirrin remembered how he’d felt when he first met Flute.
‘It’s not just kids who wear the suits. Akama’s going to wear one next time he talks on the InterWeb.’
‘Is he really? No-one told me about … you’re a dead wombat, Thom.’
The trio raced to the nearest set of TransCom portals and from there their paths diverged. Wirrin was going really well till his last transfer when a surge of travellers delayed his access. He wasn’t going to win this time and, sure enough, when he arrived Thom was there shaking his head in disgust and Calen was looking very smug.
‘You can show off your dolphin skins tonight when Sonic turns up, while I decide where we’re going to wear them.’
‘It better not be too public.’
Wirrin gave Thom a nudge, probably too late, to stop him giving Calen ideas.
‘Let’s go … Are you sure you know how to fly this thing? We don’t want someone scraping bits of us off some asteroid.’
Completely used to their derogatory remarks about his flying skills, Thom made a rude sign as he led the way to the docking area.
‘Anyone could fly this transporter, Calen. It’s pretty much like the automated viewers.’
Anyone could fly almost anything in fact. All that was needed was authority to give the automatic pilot instructions. What Calen meant was taking personal control, and Thom was highly capable after all the time he’d put into his training. They went through the entrance walkway, adjusted to the zero gravity, and manoeuvred to their seats.
‘Strap in properly, Calen. I’m going to use 2G today.’
‘What for? We’re not travelling far.’
Silly question. Like asking Thom why he breathed.
‘Yes we are.’
‘What are you talking about? Everything’s next to Attunga.’
‘No it’s not. There’s a convoy of asteroids for the new level about 4000 kilometres out and I’ve arranged for us to go and have a look.’
‘How long will that take?’ said Calen.
‘Not long. About twenty minutes.’
‘Twenty minutes at 2G? No way. They’ll be scraping us out of our seats after that long.’
‘All right, we’ll try 1.5G. Anyhow, with those swimmer muscles you’ll hardly notice the drag.’
Wirrin watched as Thom competently handled the controls and started the transporter moving. The initial burst was at least 2G but then it eased back and Thom pointed to a number on his console which said 1.4.
‘I couldn’t resist that.’
‘Where’s Attunga?’
‘Behind us of course. I’ll switch it in so you can watch.’
The real-time display flickered, and defined by its many external light sources, the elongated, regular shape of Attunga appeared, and off to one side the monstrous ellipsoid of Warrakan. It looked spectacular to see them both like this, then rather eerie as they rapidly dwindled to blobs of diffused light and merged with the background stars. The display switched to forward view and all sense of motion vanished.
‘This is spooky. Are you sure we’re moving? It feels like we’ve stopped.’
‘That’s because we’re travelling in a straight line and our reference points don’t change. Watch this.’
Wirrin lurched against his restraining straps as the stars started shifting across the screen, then again when they reversed direction and shifted back.
‘It does get more interesting when you change direction, except it puts you off course.’
‘How fast are we going?’
Thom pointed at another number – 2205.
‘That’s just over 2Ksec … But when we reach decel point we’ll touch a max of … 13.2 Ksec.’
They grinned at the neat-sounding jargon. Wirrin presumed Ksec meant kilometres per second, which didn’t mean much till he thought of Attunga’s 28 kilometres of length only taking a fraction over two seconds to travel its full distance.
‘It’s weird how we’re travelling so fast while it feels like we’re not doing anything.’
‘You’ve been a lot faster than this haven’t you, Thom?’
‘One of my training trips was at 5G for nine minutes and I reached 26Ksec, but that’ll be nothing to when we go to Earth.’
There was a blip of light on the console and the display of stars jumped slightly.
‘What happened?’
‘We just made an automatic correction to dodge an asteroid.’
Wirrin and Calen looked at him.
‘We’re dodging asteroids? Are there many here?’
‘Normally there aren’t any. These ones today are being guided to Attunga. Let’s see … There are seventeen of them spread out between here and the convoy.’
‘So why aren’t they in the convoy?’
‘They’re too big. They guide large ones directly from wherever they find them to save time.’
There were three more course corrections before they reached the convoy and each time Thom related the scanning information. The biggest asteroid was over a kilometre in diameter and mostly made of ice.
‘Look at them all. There are hundreds.’
‘There’s 497 for this convoy, Calen.’
‘I don’t get it. Why don’t they just bring one or two big asteroids?’
‘These small asteroids will all have been specially selected. They’ve probably got high concentrations of some element that’s important for the picofactories.’
‘So why are they in that globe shape?’
It did look spectacular, hundreds of randomly shaped asteroids massed in a distinctly spherical shape.
‘I don’t know. Someone probably likes it that way.’
‘A globe is the most efficient way to use space,’ said Wirrin.
‘I want to see one bump into another.’
Thom laughed. ‘Calen, you’re dangerous. There’d be bits of rock and ore flying directly at Attunga, and they wouldn’t anyway. Their guidance controls are as accurate as the ones on this transporter.’ He turned to Wirrin. ‘Tell me when you’ve seen enough.’
They were all keen to see what was happening with construction of the ‘Comet’, as Calen ha
d started calling Sonic’s special ship. Thom made the most of the trip back, practising his manoeuvring skills, and demonstrating short bursts of 3G acceleration, then they spent half an hour watching asteroids being attached to Attunga in readiness for decomposition and transformation to the new level.
‘Want to head for the Comet? We can watch this on the InterWeb.’
They would normally have spent much longer watching all the activity, but the Comet was a more powerful drawcard and Wirrin and Calen were almost as eager as Thom to watch the initial stages in its development. This was only the third day after the meeting with Turaku and life continued to be a whirlwind of activity and anticipation. The special ship had jumped to the top of the interest list when Burilda informed them that Sonic wanted the full trio to travel with him, not just Calen, as Wirrin and Thom had assumed.
Thom confidently piloted the transporter away from the new level of Attunga and towards the special construction area where all mobile transport was built.
Today’s trip had broken new ground for Wirrin and Calen and they’d developed an extra degree of respect after seeing first-hand the skills Thom was always talking about. The reality of dodging asteroids and adjusting to the isolation of deep space had been brought home to them powerfully.
As they rounded one end of Attunga the asteroid came into view. It didn’t look very impressive, just a lump of material nestled by the exterior wall of the habitat, but Thom pointed out that they were still nearly 10 kilometres away.
‘The asteroid is being transformed into the biggest ship Attunga has ever built, nearly twice as big as the tugs for Warrakan’s drive engines and 50 metres longer than the security ship that took us to Warrakan with Sonic.’
They manoeuvred closer and closer – Thom really was skilled at this – and from only 100 metres away the impression of size was totally different. Hugging Attunga, and apparently kept in place by a myriad of giant cables, the real size and shape of the asteroid was now clear.
‘Why isn’t anything happening? I thought we’d see all sorts of construction robots and other things.’