Usurper of the Sun

by Housuke Nojiri

  The chairman nodded. Aki began beaming the slides of her presentation. The title “The Ring: An Alternative Design” appeared on the monitors in front of the world leaders and on the gigantic screen behind her. The second slide showed the solar system circumscribing the Ring, as it had done for many years. The third slide showed the same Ring perpendicular to the orbit of the planet.

  “I propose that we allow the Ring to rebuild with this orientation. It will allow sunlight to reach Earth and allow the Builders to come to rest in local space. Compelling the Ring to reproduce itself in this configuration will be a major undertaking. Fortunately, our role in this project would actually be relatively small. If this plan succeeds, we would be freed from the burden of having to dismantle the Ring as it rebuilds itself. It is a simple concept. The Ring has followed Mercury’s orbit. Since this plane is only a few degrees different from our planet’s orbit, the Ring has blocked a fraction of solar radiation large enough to create the well-known ecological and economic crises of the past fifteen years. A perpendicular Ring, conversely, would still allow the Builders access to their deceleration lasers, while also serving to reduce total solar blockage to less than 5 percent of the total that is currently caused by the Ring in its initial orientation, a dramatic improvement.”

  A Pentagon representative asked, “Is it possible to change the configuration? We can’t get close to the surface without the grasers disintegrating as much as they can hit. How do we alter the trajectory of eighty thousand tons of ring material per second so that the Ring it builds will stand on its side? Will the nanobots continue to rebuild the Ring according to their programming?”

  “Those nanobots communicate with each other. I am sure the nanites are equipped with a function that allows reprogramming and the replication of information throughout the system,” Aki said. “Introducing this instruction as new programming, like a genetic mutation, is extremely likely to alter the behavior of the production facilities on Mercury.”

  “With all due respect, Special Advisor Shiraishi, the Ring killed almost two billion people,” said another member of Science Subcommittee, one who Aki knew had not stepped foot in a lab since before the Ring had even formed. “Even if their technology can be repurposed for this reconfiguration, why would we reward the deaths of two billion with a new Ring, especially one that will still block enough sunlight to kill…how many people? Another ten million?”

  “I believe those unfortunate deaths were unintentional. The Builders failed to perceive intelligent life in the solar system. People in this very room would have sworn we were the only intelligent life in the universe before the appearance of construction on Mercury. It is an honest mistake. Now that we know that we were wrong, we need to face the facts in a new light. Sentencing the Builders to death without communicating our intentions would be inhuman.” Aki set her shoulders and looked out at the representatives of the world. Many were looking down at their monitors.

  “Protecting ourselves is our number one priority! Let them sail into oblivion!” shouted an angry voice. Several cheers followed.

  “Destroying the Ring must have appeared to be an act of aggression. For all we know, the Builders will retaliate during their flyby. We must explain that our intentions were not hostile but rather a simple matter of self-preservation. Our safest recourse is to show that we mean no harm whatsoever. We need a message that transcends language to avoid misunderstanding. Rebuilding the Ring would communicate our amicable intentions more clearly than any other action we can perform.”

  Various shouts arose from the crowd. Multiple languages were quickly translated into tilted and passionless remarks through Aki’s headphones. “We’ve done enough!” “We’ve allocated ample budget to your research of the ring material and granted access to the Phalanx,” and finally, though she could not see who said it amidst all the grumbling, “I think the ETICC’s messaging efforts are more than sufficient.”

  “I disagree. We have not done enough to contact the Builders, to communicate with them.” Aki’s frustration was mounting.

  The meeting’s chair sounded an electronic gavel that also served to temporarily cut off translation. The floor was his. “Ms. Shiraishi, regardless of whether this unusual request can be funded or not, the flyby, and first contact, may be as little as six years away. How do we know that the Builders were not planning on colonizing Earth or purposefully trying to extinguish life on this planet for their own ends? They have fifteen billion tons of mass traveling at 6 percent of the speed of light. A slight course correction by one of their ships could result in a direct impact that would easily extinguish all life on Earth.”

  Aki exhaled and tried to look less upset than she was. She knew better than to point out the contradictions in the chair’s statement. Finally, she said, “Fixing the brakes would make a collision less likely. Think of the Builder fleet as a car. Even if the driver is ill-intended, wouldn’t you prefer that driver to have control over the vehicle?”

  “The first Ring took sixteen years to build. How could it possibly be rebuilt in six?” the chair asked.

  “The production facilities are still in operation, which suggests that the Builders have some margin for error built into the schedule. It would be unfathomable for a species to master interstellar travel but have no buffer in their design specs.”

  “You wrote several papers describing how the technology of the Builders lacked fail-safes because of an apparent inability to comprehend the possibility of either miscalculations or specific interventions by another technologically advanced species, did you not?” the man asked as he rose from his seat.

  Aki decided not to say a word. Any explanation would sound like she was either contradicting herself or backpedaling—chum in the water for politicians and career bureaucrats.

  “Many of our people are starving. Funding this project makes little fiscal sense. Our resources must go where they can do the most good for humanity, not to benefit a potentially belligerent alien species,” said the chair, turning to face the other members of the council.

  Aki leaned on the podium, unsure if any argument could change the situation. The debate moved on. Preparation for a potential retaliation during the Builders’ flyby was the next agenda item, and one that captured the imagination of the old hawks among the General Assembly. Aki could not help but feel that majorities rarely wanted anything more than to dominate anything that could be labeled as different. She was too disheartened to keep listening. Absentmindedly, she stared at the mural on the ceiling.

  AFTER THE SESSION, in the way that politics often work, Aki was required to attend a reception. It was little more than gladhanding, drunkenness, and expensive cheeses. After three glasses of wine, she returned to her hotel, exhausted from the experience and her jet lag but too restless to sleep. She checked her phone for the number she needed. The barrel-aged Cabernet removed any reservations about calling Raul this late. He answered immediately.

  “Do you know who this is?” she asked.

  “Hey, it’s that Aki Shiraishi impostor again,” he said jokingly. “Where are you? Back here at the ETICC?”

  “No, I’m in New York. I just ran your proposal by the UN Security Council.”

  “You did? Wait a minute. What proposal?”

  “The one about setting things right with the Builders. Well, I improvised a bit.”

  “Damn, crazy lady, you sure don’t fool around, do you?”

  “This is confidential information of course, but it was shot down. You have no idea how disappointed I am.”

  “I don’t even know what the proposal was, but I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “How are things back there? Have you made any progress with Natalia?”

  “I, uh,” he paused. “I’ve given up.”

  “You’ve given up? Just like that?”

  “Well, for now. I had a good chat with an AI professor of mine and told him what I had built. He said that it was a pretty typical example of how to build an AI system that d
oesn’t work. His guess was that she got stuck in an endless loop trying to solve an infinite number of non-linear equations.”

  “I am sorry, Raul. I am very sorry. I know that you are disappointed.”

  “Back to the drawing board. I’ll make improvements and try again.”

  “What?” Aki could tell she was slurring, but Raul’s attitude made sense. She realized why she had been compelled to call him.

  “Promise me you’ll make improvements and try again too. Promise me you’ll improve your plan to smooth things over with the Builders and present it again, Aki.”

  Aki laughed, probably a little too loud and too long. “Of course I will. Aki Shiraishi does not give up easily. If she did, she would not be able to live with herself. Good night, Raul.”

  ACT III: JUNE 20, 2024

  “LOWER THE ELECTROSTAT field by 50 percent.”

  “A gradual reduction would be better. Let’s go with a 20 percent decrease, Molly.” Anastacia adjusted the field.

  “Okay. Are you recording this?”

  “Maximum res.”

  Molly was excited. She made sure to exhale sharply before bringing her face down to the eyepieces. “This batch looks live. It was harder to obtain.”

  Up until this point they had extracted samples from areas that were relatively distant from Mercury. On the sixth run they decided to extract ring material that had just been launched from the mass driver on the surface of Mercury. Their working theory was that more recently generated material would allow for a greater range of observations. The first attempt ended in failure. The density of ring material in the area they sampled had been too high, causing minor damage to the sampler.

  Their second attempt at collecting fresher ring material was successful. The sample had looked like the previous batch, with no new cell types in the mix. In the way of many discoveries, a serendipitous error had combined with a modicum of insight to generate a monumental find. Molly prepared a slide but failed to remove all of the older sample when introducing the new material. Within the mix of old and new cells, the previously unnoticed fifth particle type jumped out, literally, to take its place in the matrix. Compared to the other cells, this nanomachine was like a tiny flea on a dog. The fifth cell attached to the interior of the other cells in the manner of a parasite.

  Molly and Anastacia decreased the electrostatic field containing the ring material and observed the reaction. The nanomachines began to vibrate at a higher frequency.

  “The field’s still too strong for them to migrate,” Molly said, the vibrations of her voice jostling the stereographic image slightly.

  “You’re right. Fifty percent after all, hotshot.”

  “Agreed. Lowering.”

  They lost themselves in their work, nearly forgetting the danger of working closely with ring material. After four hours, one of the tiny newly discovered cells merged with a tripod cell. Neither spoke for a moment after the two cells conjoined.

  “Whose turn is it to name the cell?” Anastacia asked after a while.

  “Haven’t we always shared? Messenger seems obvious,” Molly said.

  “Are we sure of its job?”

  “Aki predicted a cell that communicated. It’s definitely our missing piece,” Molly said. “My best assessment, barring a full assay, is that once isolated, the messenger cells would be harmless. Their job is transmitting information and replicating through the system to spread the ‘message.’ How daring are you feeling? You ready to take the leap and turn off the electrostat field?”

  Anastacia’s eyes met Molly’s. Both women smiled mischievously. “Took the words right from my mouth, boss. Working without the field will speed up our testing. We just need a way to filter out the messengers.”

  Over several hours they modified the optical processing machinery aboard the RMRF to create a makeshift filter that could isolate the messenger cells. Their initial tests showed the filter functioned perfectly. They isolated several hundred messenger cells and began observing them without using the destructive electrostatic field in the scanning tunneling microscope. They peeled back the outer atomic layer to analyze the interior. After finalizing their data they prepared to send their findings back to Earth where Aki waited anxiously for their results.

  ACT IV: AUGUST 14, 2024

  WITH A CLICK, Aki projected an image to the overhead screen. The presentation on her most recent findings had been meticulously prepared for this press conference.

  “The nanotechnology used in the ring material is beyond our wildest imaginings,” she explained. “The tiny particles have more in common with biological cells than they do with machines. With a small variety of these cells, the nanomachines combine to create an incredibly diverse, near-infinite number of structures.

  “Many of us wondered how a biological organism, even an anaerobe, could function in the vacuum of space. On a microscopic scale, biology cannot live or function without water. Cells are surrounded by membranes. Membranes divide, then fill with liquid to multiply. Cells are not cut off from the outside world. Cells use ingenious and complicated mechanisms to transfer material and information to each other. This is how biological processes occur.

  “Space suits are designed to get around easily in space’s weightlessness—it is how we, as biological organisms, have adapted to the environment of space. On Earth, astronauts train underwater to better mimic the qualities of low- and zero-G environments. The same holds true for ring material. It is similar to how crystal minerals deposit vapor—the crystal extends an arm that swims about, moving freely, eventually settling down and linking.”

  Aki showed several enlarged pictures of ring material.

  “The tripod cells link with these newly discovered messenger cells. The tripod absorbs the messenger, then the three protrusions separate from the tripod and locomote away. The protrusions reconnect with other tripod centers to carry on the message from the original cell. This chain reaction transmits information carried by the messenger cell. The ring material undergoes constant dynamic restructuring. For this reason, we knew there had to be a cell, or some other mechanism, that was transmitting information. The tripods are one of the more numerous types, but we did not understand the mechanism that allowed them to operate. The discovery of the messenger cell supports the model we hypothesized because we had predicted this cell.”

  After finishing, Aki opened the floor to questions. The first question was the one she had prepared for most.

  “What impact will this discovery of the messenger have on future UNSDF missions, and on a greater scale, the future of humanity?” asked a reporter.

  “By utilizing the functionality of the messenger cell,” Aki responded, “we will be able to manipulate the Ring at will. The UNSDF spends billions, if not trillions, to use its fleet to dismantle the Ring as it rebuilds itself. Decoding the information stored in the messenger cells and overwriting that code would instruct the Ring to adopt a new structure. In other words, instead of undoing the damage every time it is built, we could prevent it from ever harming us again. Changing the instructions is the more proactive approach.”

  “You’re suggesting that we insert a virus that causes the Ring to destroy itself?” the next reporter in line asked.

  “The destruction of the Ring is not necessary,” Aki said. “My personal thoughts on this latest discovery are relevant to this. Many of us lost family members, everything we owned or cared about due to the radical climate change brought on by the Ring’s shadowing of the planet. Much of the earth and its species, which we have fought extremely hard to protect, have been destroyed. I have no idea if we can ever recover from such cataclysmic losses. I understand the antipathy that many of you feel toward the Builders. Those same feelings—the desperation, the rancor, and yes, the hate—brought me to the surface of the Ring itself. Uniquely among humanity, I took physical action against the Builders. However, now I have come to believe that it is not their intention to invade.

  “I knew this from the moment I se
t foot on the Island and saw the defense system. It clearly had been designed to protect the Ring against damage from stray asteroids and comets. The Builders did not anticipate intelligent life that could possibly reach the Ring or sabotage it. Our encounter with the Builders is ultimately an unfortunate unintended consequence of their mode of interstellar travel. They meant no intentional harm. We have to ask ourselves whether we want to let our first encounter with an extraterrestrial intelligence be characterized by anger and hatred. Do we have the right, without knowing anything about their civilization or culture, to banish them to the dark reaches of interstellar space?”

  A few voices in the press corps murmured; to Aki the voices sounded positive. Hands shot up and then the shouting began. Aki waved her arms, signaling that she had more to say. “Please, please. I am not saying that we should surrender or leave the Ring intact as it is. Modifying messenger cells gives us the potential to control the Ring’s growth and orientation. As intelligent beings, as a species that has dreamed of contact with another intelligence, we have an obligation to rebuild the Ring, promptly, and allow the Builders to stop their fleet in our solar system. I suggest that we call the second Ring the ‘Vert-Ring.’

  “If we alter the messenger cells so that the Vert-Ring regenerates perpendicular to its previous orientation, the detrimental shadowing effect on Earth will become negligible. A number of scientists agree that it would even help alleviate the greenhouse effect. If an unexpected threat to our safety emerges, we have the means to dismantle the new Ring at any time. There is no proof that it is too late to rebuild the Ring in time for their arrival. The most powerful telescope we have launched into orbit has yet to make visual contact with their fleet.