Black Infinity

by Salvador Mercer

  “Not fair,” Jack said. “I heard everything you said, probably in too much detail, because per my notes you said he’d finished the sequencing but was going to present them shortly. So, did he present?”

  “We have all the data and I presented last week to the combined branches meeting with the president. I thought you were there?”

  “I’d hardly call that presenting ... it was more like arguing.”

  “No matter. Our conclusion remains the same. We’re sure the alien intent, while not nefarious per se, it is also not benign.”

  “Current events already proved that,” Jack noted.

  “So what’s your point, Jack?” Lisa asked, looking at him now.

  “My point is that it worked. The president is sending up nuclear weapons. I think Marge got their attention.”

  Rock didn’t want to intervene, but he did so as part of his job duty. “Alright, everyone, back to work. We have data to process, orders to send, and paperwork to complete. I’m heading up to the conference room, and I’d like to see some progress by the time I return.”

  “Just keep them off us for a bit longer, Boss,” Jack said.

  “I do my best,” Rock said, this time setting his headset down and not taking it with him. His part in this conversation had ended. It may have been for the best.

  “As long as I’m not the person who tells Craig he’s working on a nuclear-powered spaceship straddling two hydrogen-fussion nuclear missiles, then I’m good,” Jack said.

  “We’re all good,” Marge said, watching her boss exit the control center. “Rock will handle that.”

  “Yes, he will,” Lisa finished.

  RED HORIZON

  Mars orbit

  In the near future, Year 4, Day 185

  “COME ON, WHY ISN’T she waking? It’s been nearly forty-eight hours,” Carter said, the frustration evident in his voice. Jules had spent more than four months living in close quarters with the man, and could accurately say his tone was unusual.

  “I’m concerned, too, Ron,” Jules said, using Doctor Hill’s first name for a change.

  “I’ve upped the dosage four times in the last thirty-two hours. It seemed to be working, as her brain patterns have picked up considerably and her motor reflexes have shown the classic signs of a patient returning to normal. I can’t figure out what’s keeping her from waking up. There’s enough brain activity there for an entire classroom,” Hill said, looking at the small medical monitor, watching as several lines oscillated up and down rapidly.

  “Is it a good sign or a bad one that her eyes stopped moving?” Carter asked.

  “I think good, as REM sleep is what we don’t want from her right now ... though she was never in a pattern that was representative of that. Let me up it one last time and see what happens. After this, it’s back to Houston for answers or options.”

  The trio stood around the secured table that held their science officer. She was wrapped in warm blankets and restrained to the bed, not from fear of adverse behavior but to secure her in the event their rotating pod had to stop and be reeled back to the ship. It was imperative to keep her secure under any potential circumstance.

  Moving to the controls behind Maria, Doctor Hill dialed the dosage to maximum for the anti-sedation medication she was receiving through an IV tube. It was a form of stimulus that acted on the nervous system, sending signals to the brain that its attention was needed. He then checked the bandage over her shoulder for the third time that day, pressing where part of the tape was coming loose.

  “Has she been twitching like this for long?” Carter asked.

  “Well,” Hill began, “her motor reflexes have been more active as we’ve increased the dosage of her medication, and that’s a good sign. I’d be more concerned if there was no reaction at all.”

  Jules moved closer to one side, opposite the two men, and held Maria’s hand in her own. “Come on, you can do this,” she whispered.

  The two men looked at each other but said nothing. After nearly ten minutes, Carter nodded at the doctor and said, “I’ll head to our command post. Do call if she awakens.”

  “Of course,” Hill said.

  Carter left, and the pair stood in silence for another ten minutes. Then, ever so faintly, Maria stirred. Small movements that were barely perceptible.

  “Did you see that?” Jules asked when Maria’s chest heaved slightly.

  “Yes,” Hill said. “I think it’s working.”

  “Was it simply a higher dose that was needed this whole time?”

  “No, a high dose administered at once could have created seizures and anaphylactic shock. This is a new, experimental medicine only recently approved due to the nature of our mission.”

  Jules squeezed Maria’s hand tighter and willed for more movement. She was rewarded with slight pressure against her hand. “I feel something.”

  “Did she squeeze your hand?”

  “Yes, she squeezed back, but not hard.”

  Doctor Hill grabbed Maria’s other hand and held it between both his own. After what seemed an eternity, Maria’s eyes fluttered open.

  “Oh my God, can you hear me, Maria?” Jules asked.

  There was no reaction for several long seconds, then Maria tried to sit up and fell back, yelling, “No, they can’t do this!”

  “Now, now, take a deep breath, try not to exert yourself,” Hill said, maintaining his hold of her hand.

  “Rest,” Jules said simply, smiling at Maria, who looked at her in confusion.

  “Commander?” she asked.

  “Yeah, it’s me,” Jules answered. “Welcome back. How are you feeling?”

  Maria closed her eyes and started to tear up. She tried to shake her head, but her neck muscles rebelled, and she could barely move it. She stuttered for a moment, then opened her eyes again and looked from Jules to the Doctor, then back again. “Commander, we must stop them.”

  “Stop who, Maria?” Jules asked.

  Maria sucked in a breath and Doctor Hill made as if to leave, releasing Maria’s hand and saying, “I’ll fetch the major so—”

  Jules interrupted him. “Don’t, Ron. Give her a few minutes, alright?”

  “He should ... ah, yes, quite right,” Hill resumed his stance at the edge of the bed.

  Jules returned her attention to her science officer. “Go ahead, Maria. You were saying we must stop them. Who are you referring to?”

  Maria started to hyperventilate. Hill moved hastily to the head of the bed where the IV was located and turned a knob to stop the flow, then walked a few paces to the medicine cabinet and took out a syringe and a bottle. Opening it, he pierced the soft top and withdrew a measured amount of liquid, holding it up to the light to be sure. Walking back, he took her arm and said, “I’m going to give you something to slow your breathing down.”

  “What are you doing?” Jules asked him.

  Hill took her arm and looked for a vein. Finding one, he injected the drug into her system. He looked at Jules when he was done, and released it, pulling a ball of cotton from the tray near the head of the bed. “We’ve pumped her so full of a stimulant that we need to counteract it quickly.”

  “Will she relapse?” Jules asked.

  “No, she’s conscious now and should remain that way for a very long time.”

  Maria continued to breathe quickly, and Jules squeezed tighter on her hand. “Take shorter, deeper breaths Maria. Remember your training. You need to gain control of your body.”

  “Okay,” Maria said, managing to get only that out. She labored to control her breathing, and after a couple of minutes, she was rewarded with longer and deeper intervals.

  “Better?” Jules asked.

  Maria nodded. “I think so, Commander.”

  “Remember, you can call me Julie.”

  “Alright,” she said, then she took a moment to look around. “Where are we?”

  “Don’t you recognize my place?” Hill said, giving her a smile. “We’re on the Red Horizon, and you�
��re lying in sick bay while I take good care of you.”

  Relief seemed to cross Maria’s face, and she allowed her body to relax before saying, “So we made it out of Bravo Target?”

  Hill continued to answer, since Maria was looking at him. “Yes.”

  “Were there ... any other casualties?”

  Hill looked at Jules, who answered, causing Maria to shift her gaze. “No fatalities other than the Chinese ship that you already knew about. However, we did have one Navy SEAL seriously injured during your rescue, but he’s fine now.”

  “Where is he?” Maria asked, looking around.

  “He was here with you for a couple of days, but they make those SEALs damn tough,” Hill said, drawing her gaze to him. “He’s already back on active status, though I ordered it to be restricted and light duty only.”

  “Who?”

  “Flores.”

  Maria shook her head, then looked at Julie, “We must stop them.”

  She answered, “You said that already—now tell us who.”

  “The aliens. I saw what that place was designed for. It’s not safe.”

  “We know,” Hill said, his voice raising more than one octave.

  Jules nodded. “We were attacked, so we know the aliens are hostile. Houston is making plans for our next steps; in the meantime, we’re off-planet, so no need to worry.”

  “It’s not safe, even in orbit,” Maria insisted, her voice desperate. Her limbs started to shake mildly and her eyes fluttered, “We need to leave now.”

  “We’re not in Mars’ low orbit,” Jules explained. “We boosted to the other side of the planet, relative to where both Alpha and Bravo Targets were located, and inserted ourselves into geosynchronous orbit so that we won’t come into range of their transmitter again. At least not till we’ve neutralized it.”

  “Alright,” Maria said. “We must warn Houston.”

  “Tell me more.” Jules still held her hand tight. “What is it that we’re going to warn them about?”

  Hill also asked, “Did they talk to you?”

  “Help me sit up,” Maria said, looking up at them, frustrated at being on her back. “The lights are too bright.”

  “Ah, yes, I should have dimmed them earlier,” Doctor Hill said.

  Jules thought the lights were already soft, but the good doctor raised the back of her bed via an electrical motor then walked to the wall to dim the overheads further.

  “Better?” Jules asked.

  “Yes. Thank you.”

  Hill walked back. “No worries.”

  “There’s no sentient intelligence down there,” Maria said.

  “There has to be something governing their actions. Someone or something is directing their forces and activities.”

  “Right,” Jules said. “We saw more than one sign of intent within their actions.”

  “That’s where you’re both wrong,” Maria started. “The entire place is running on predetermined programming. There are no aliens on the planet.”

  “If there are no aliens on Mars then what was determining their actions?” Hill asked politely.

  “I already told you! It’s a predetermined script, not something like artificial intelligence.”

  “So, if there are no aliens here and now, where are they?”

  Maria looked at him intently, and her eyes went wide in fear. “They’re on their way.”

  Chapter 13

  Interview

  NASA SPACE COMMAND

  Houston, Texas

  In the near future, Year 4, Day 186

  THE ROOM WAS QUIET as everyone waited for the President of the United States to appear on camera. The interview video file had been received only fifteen minutes earlier and no one had watched it in its entirety. That made Rock more nervous than usual, as another executive session was being convened along with a few key members of congress and his team. Mister Smith and Admiral Nicholson would be presenting the feed to them almost in real-time.

  Rock knew that “real-time” meant well over a few hours after it was conducted, and over an hour since it was received, but his team had had no chance to look at it, other than the first five minutes, and only to ensure the signal wasn’t corrupt and that they actually had something to present to their head of state.

  NASA had the written report of the initial incident and of what Maria had said after regaining consciousness, but she was all over the place with her recollection and explanation of how it had happened, what it meant, and what her recommendations were for an entire planet. The report wasn’t going to be nearly as extensive as the list of interview questions that had been sent to Red Horizon and Science Officer Maria Mayer by NASA, the intelligence community, the military, and the executive branch of government.

  Rock thought that this could take some time.

  “All rise for the President of the United States.” Despite being on a video conferencing phone, everyone at the NASA location stood just the same.

  “Please be seated,” Powers said. “Director Crandon, I’ve been informed that NASA has the results of the interview and you’re ready to present?”

  Rock adjusted his position in his chair, scooting it closer to the table. “Yes, Madam President. Please be advised, however, that we’ve not had time to analyze the interview ahead of time. We’ll all be viewing this for the first time.”

  “Noted; proceed,” she said through the large monitor.

  Rock nodded at Jack, who queued up the feed. “Run it.”

  The screen was replaced by the video feed of the interior of the Red Horizon, specifically its crewmember’s lounge, which was one of the largest places on board the ship and could accommodate more than one individual with ease. Officer Mayer was clearly visible, seated in her in-ship uniform, which was considered a more casual wear than when they were operations-ready. Doctor Hill came into view and stood, blocking the scene so that only he was visible. He gave the usual date and time stamps and then started to speak.

  “This is Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Ron Hill. Our first report is on the status of Science Officer Maria Mayer. She suffered a subfascial avulsion to the upper torso region, specifically the pectoralis major, slightly below the clavicle and penetrating short of the left scapula, by an unknown, alien, metallic object.

  “She was treated for this wound as well as for abnormal reactions of her cerebrum, which demonstrated excessive and diffuse encephalopathy within the cerebral cortex, specifically located within the occipital and temporal lobes.”

  There was some commotion and Commander Monroe could barely be heard saying off-camera, “Give it to them in English.”

  Doctor Hill sighed and said, “We had to wake her up from an uninduced coma related to an unknown traumatic stress incident caused by interaction with an unknown, alien technology.” He then looked off camera and asked, quite audibly, “Clear enough?”

  There was no answer, so the man continued returning his gaze to the camera.

  “Currently, all vital signs are within normal and her prognosis is for a full recovery. I’ll now turn the interrogation over to Commander Monroe.”

  Doctor Hill left the screen and Jules entered, pulling up a chair that was one of only two not bolted to the floor. She sat just to the side of Maria and began speaking. “Per the NASA directive number twenty-five issued yesterday at twenty-three hours, we will begin the questioning starting in the listed order received.”

  Jules held a microphone out towards Maria.

  “State your name for the record.”

  “Maria Mayer, Chief Science Officer, Red Horizon.”

  “Doctor Hill gave your physical assessment for Houston, so the first question asks, how do you feel?”

  Maria smiled. “Houston, I’m fine. We’ve been through a lot, but Doctor Hill patched us up pretty well and has taken good care of us. All good now.”

  Mister Smith leaned over towards Rock and whispered, “Guess you had to begin with the pleasantries.”

  Rock ignored the man as h
e leaned back, both resuming their attention to the screen.

  “Good,” Jules said. “Let’s move to the next few questions, which are rather direct and short. I’m sure the follow-up questions will allow you to elaborate, but our leaders need to have context in which to make decisions, so, are you and your crew in danger?”

  Maria took a deep breath. “I don’t think so from where we are now. Personally, I believe we are in danger, but due to our orbital location and what has happened to date, I would have to say that for now the answer would be no.”

  “Thank you,” Jules said, bringing a tablet up and swiping at it for the next question. “Is Earth in danger?”

  “Immediate danger, I don’t think so, but I don’t know,” Maria said. “As I put in my report, there is a mobilization occurring here at the alien base. They are preparing for something ... something big.”

  Jules laid the tablet in her lap and looked at Maria, whose gaze went from the camera to her commander. “Can you quantify the danger or assess the risk?”

  “I can’t. Sorry, Commander. I just know that something bad is going to happen.”

  “Fair enough,” Jules said, resuming her prompt and asking, “Is there any imminent action that our space program and or military should be taking at this time?”

  Maria paused and looked down for a moment before shifting her gaze back to the camera. “I know it sounds strange, but we must either destroy or deactivate the alien construct before it can fully mobilize.”

  “What is it mobilizing for?” Jules asked, obviously not reading from the script.

  “I told you, I don’t know for sure....”

  She trailed off, and then suddenly, her eyes rolled back in their sockets, exposing only white. Her head tilted back slightly, and she used her hands to grab her own head over each ear.

  “Get out of my head, damn you!”

  Carter and Anderson came on-screen from either side where they had been flanking her and gently but firmly gripped her arms and stabilized her as her stance bordered on precarious.

  Jules stood, dropping the tablet on the floor. “Maria, get a hold of yourself.”