by Paul Dayton
The waiters asked them to take their seats. There was no indication on who was to sit where, and the group waited patiently while Bishop and the others took seats. Bishop looked the enthusiastic group over and wondered if the Council would somehow be joining them, but the table was completely filled by the time everyone had sat down.
‘More wasted time,’ he thought to himself. He could see Hoyt growing more and more impatient, but he stayed quiet. It seemed like whatever answers they came here for were going to have to wait. His frustration quickly disappeared as carts quickly arrived carrying trays of food, the aroma wafting through the air.
Before they started eating, one of the waiters approached and said loud enough for all to hear, “The Earth has a neurotoxin that was introduced by the enemy. Most people here have acclimatized themselves to this neurotoxin, but those from the World Federation ships have not. To protect you, our guests, we have included in your meal an antidote that must be taken as soon as possible. It is tasteless and odorless, but I felt it necessary to inform you before you started eating. You will find the antidote blended in with the first aperitif that will be served, the stuffed mushrooms in a white wine sauce.”
They looked at each other and Hollander kicked himself for not having checked the atmosphere before they disembarked. Timothy looked over at Hoyt who seemed as if he was going to protest, and he spoke up and said, “It’s true. All my life I’ve taken precautions on how to protect myself against these toxins. My own tribe has received this antidote. There’s no noticeable reaction.”
None of the others said anything as they stared at their food reluctantly, and to break the impasse Ruth took a moment to say a private grace, and then picked up a fork and started eating. One by one the others followed, until finally General Hoyt joined in.
Two hours later, Bishop couldn’t believe the meal he had just completed. He had never eaten pork chops before. He had heard of pork of course, but the species had been lost hundreds of years before. The salmon was also something they had all only heard about, and although he wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about it, the smoky taste and texture was definitely interesting. And the wine! He had never had anything like it and had to remind himself to be careful with the amazingly complex and intoxicating drink.
He overheard someone asking about what powered the base, and the answer was a geothermal heat collection system that provided more than sufficient power to operate both the base itself as well as the ‘Inuit’ village on the surface. Bishop didn’t know what an Inuit was, and didn’t ask.
“We’re hundreds of meters below surface level, and I’m guessing we’re about two hundred meters below rock level. Why so deep?” Bishop asked.
“Although the ice level changes little,” one called Aku said, “…there are numerous water currents and rivers at rock level. This causes instability in the ice, and caverns appear and disappear over time. At this depth, we are largely unaffected by these water currents. And of course, there is the protection this gives us.”
Most of the others also asked a lot of questions, and he was happy to see that every one of them was answered. The bigger and more important questions were left for this mysterious council they were eager to meet.
Finally, Hoyt asked a man sitting two seats down, “When will we have a chance to meet with Earth Alliance?”
The group looked at each other and gave a hearty laugh. One of them said, “You can call me Nun. And we are Earth Alliance.”
Everyone stopped talking when they heard those words. The incredulity on their faces was obvious as Nun continued, “Perhaps you were expecting someone else? I assure you, we are who I said we are.” He nodded to the waiters who removed all their plates and utensils and placed steaming pots of coffee and cups on the table.
“My ‘family’ has been expecting you all for quite some time, and it has been a very long wait. We are very happy to have you here.”
“You sound as if you know everything about us,” Jack said, eyeing his reaction.
“Not exactly everything,” a woman near Jack’s left said. She was the one who originally greeted them and was called Nan’mtek. “We have been following your progress…”
“and the progress of this whole group…”
“and of humanity in general…”
“for many centuries,” a number of the group said, one after the other.
Bishop found it hard to follow the disconcerting conversation but nobody commented on it. He watched Jack close her eyes and concentrate.
Nan’mtek continued. “When the World Federation ships left earth, we embedded a hardware chip in all computers that permitted constant…supervision. Of course, technology has changed and arrangements were made since then to keep us regularly informed of the progress made. This allowed us to plan appropriately. It also gave us hope as we kept track of almost every human, making sure that none got lost in the depths of space.”
“Pardon me for being rude, Ms. Nan’mtek, but it sounds like spying to me,” General Hoyt said.
“Well, call it what you will, but the ones supervising this ‘spying’ are freely in your midst. Their designation isn’t hidden at all.”
“You mean Anderson, and others like him,” Bishop interjected. “The Council Intelligence Agency.”
“Yes. At no time have they hidden their identity or who they reported to. If they openly admit they are in constant contact with us, is it spying?”
“But I thought…” Hollander said, and cut himself short as realization sunk in.
“Surely you can’t blame us for your disbelief, can you?” Nan’mtek said with a smile.
Bishop laughed at the perfect cover. An agency that said it contacted a council that no one believed existed. It was brilliant.
“I can understand your point of view General, but please consider it from our perspective. Our mandate as given to us by humanity was to ensure the survival of the human species. The only way we could do so was to make sure that we could eventually stand united against our enemies. Ironically, our survival also depended on us separating and staying that way for a period of time.”
“Because if we had remained together in the beginning, the aliens could have wiped all of us out in one massive attack,” Timothy said.
“Yes, Timothy. During the centuries it has been both heart wrenching to see our losses and heartwarming to see our gains in our struggle to survive and live as a human race. But live we did! Humanity has adapted, learned and grown. Advances have been made, both technologically and morally too. And then of course there was the master stroke against the alien home-world! Bravo to our heroes!”
“Thank you, Nan’mtek. I appreciate your explanation, but I still feel like we’ve been spied on,” General Hoyt repeated.
“I understand but assure you, General, that it was not our intention. Consider this. The transfer of information has gone both ways. No doubt you found it useful knowing the whereabouts of the alien home-world.” She waited for an answer. Bishop had no idea where the information had come from, and it appeared that Hoyt didn’t either. Even Jack had opened her eyes and looked at Hoyt curiously. “For your info,” she continued, “it was discovered by an illegal rim-trader looking for a shortcut. We verified it with one of your spy drones, and uploaded the info to our CIA operatives.
“And what of your new fighter now under development? Have you noticed that experimental technologies have worked unusually well, with little or no glitches? And what of the nuggets of information that allowed for advances in propulsion, weapons and overall efficiency?”
“That wasn’t you…I mean, how could that be you?” Hoyt said.
“Wasn’t it? Well, it wasn’t me specifically, that’s for sure. My knowledge of science is limited at best. It isn’t my job. But I assure you, it was us. Have you not noticed your computers getting…smarter, almost prescient? Their suggestions given to your scientists have almost always originated here as a result of our own research.
“Take for example
quantum physics. Recent discoveries have given us insight into many areas of our defense programs, areas that a smaller group of scientists traveling in resource limited ships that constantly engaged enemy craft couldn’t possibly consider. For example, Jack, that maneuver you did – the Jackson-Briggs maneuver.”
Jack was surprised to be addressed but replied, “Yes, what about it?”
“It started here over four hundred years ago. Two of our scientists worked out the hypothesis, but it was just recently that it was proven to work. It has taken us twenty years to leak these modifications to your fleet, and twelve years ago we implanted the thought into you and other top fighter pilots while you and they slept.”
Nan’mtek saw the worried look on Jack’s face and quickly added, “Don’t worry Jack, all we did was repeat the words Jackson-Briggs over and over through your room intercom while you were in REM. When you woke up, you obviously did research and found the information we downloaded into the ship computer.
“And then there’s the cloaking device. General Hoyt, during the last nine and one half years, your scientists worked on building and perfecting the Cloak. But it was only ten years ago that we cracked the formula Jonathan Diaz handed over to Mr. Grey. Once we understood it, we immediately contacted one of your scientists through one of our usual channels, passed on the information and made sure it went where it should. The result of course is the home world destruction and your new stiletto class fighter.
“This is the research we’re talking about, and a lot of it originated right here.”
Bishop saw the barely concealed shock on Hoyt’s face. Hoyt couldn’t get over the fact this woman knew so much about top secret projects, but he had no reply. It was obvious this ‘partnership’ had been there since the very beginning.
“Keep in mind that if we had lost all links with you, you would all be dead now.”
“How so?” Hollander asked, curious.
“Most early WF ships had positron drives. We strongly encouraged continued work on jump and particle drives for redundancy’s sake, and this saved our collective hides.
“Once our research established that large scale continuous contact with phased, concentrated positron emissions resulted in permanent brain damage, our scientists worked furiously to continue development on the alternatives. At the same time, we sent out a priority one signal to retrofit all ship drives to Beta-9, Nady, Glo-mese-4 and Striase Orbital. All drives were retrofitted within six years and any high ranking officers showing signs of dementia were replaced, thanks to our CIA officers.
“Today, the work continues. No doubt you’ve noticed the new models of fighter craft undergoing construction or testing in our hangar. Did you notice the rather small, unimpressive and odd looking ship in Hangar Three?
“We did,” Scratch said. “What is it?”
“It’s a test vehicle for our new Dark Matter Drive, or DMD for short. It will revolutionize space travel.”
“Why is the skin of the craft unfinished, then?” Hollander asked.
“I am so glad you asked. This is thanks to Jack and her original discovery of the stealth craft, the one you have in your bay and have been studying. Science officer Stasi has not yet given you the full report that he has just completed. We have, however, worked simultaneously with him on this.”
Bishop could see Hoyt glowering as he considered the implications. “I assure you General, Mr. Stasi had no idea he was being watched. And yet, look at the results his intelligence and our abilities have wrought. This is indeed a metamaterial, as Jack’s Rapier had originally identified. Its structure is intriguing and what we discovered and the changes we have made will be a nice modification to all future builds. Let me demonstrate.” She turned to one of the attendants. “Bring in a panel.”
After a minute, the attendant came back with the same panel Jack and Scratch had been looking at earlier, in the shape of a thruster cowling. The optical qualities were unusual, and they moved their heads in different positions, watching parts of the surface appear and disappear.
“This is the same material that the stealth fighter was made of?” Hoyt asked, recognizing the similar properties.
“Somewhat. Watch.” Nan’mtek shone a handheld diagnostic laser on the one end while pointing to the other. They could clearly see the laser signal absorbing into the material, but were surprised as the signal exited on the other end of the curved surface.
“How does it do that?” Hollander asked, fascinated.
“I’m sure I am bursting Mr. Stasi’s balloon,” Nan’mtek said laughing, “…but I’ll continue anyway. This metamaterial is composed of three layers. The outer layer is a thin coating of nanotubes. As you know, nanotubes transport energy, as many of your fuel cells can attest to. However, they also transport light, or photons. These nanotubes have been grown in specific directions to transport most of the light they receive from one point to another.”
“So, it’s bending light, but passively.” Hollander was impressed, as were the others.
“Exactly! But it gets better. The third layer is composed of C60 grown over a mold, which gives this strength, but the second layer is our own invention. In the early 21st century, we were experimenting with how light affects matter at the quantum level. At first, no one had documented this but eventually, it was proven that light does affect matter dramatically.”
“Excuse me,” Ruth asked, “…but why is this a surprise? Everyone knows light affects matter. That’s how vegetation survives.”
“I’m sorry Ruth, I should have been more specific. I know that not everyone here has studied up on quantum mechanics.”
“I was wondering when we were going to get to this,” Jack said.
Nan’mtek smiled, knowing she had brought up the subject much earlier but never amplified on it. “Think of it this way. You are familiar with geckos, right?”
“Of course. They can climb anything,” Ruth said.
“Have you ever wondered how?”
“Well, not really, but I’d imagine they stick to the surface.”
“Yes and no. They do adhere, but in a way you are not yet familiar with. Their pads are not sticky in the least. Quite the opposite really. Think of it. Have you ever seen a gecko with dirty feet?”
Everyone laughed, and Ruth replied, “Well, I’ve never bothered to look.”
“I have.” Timothy said, as Ruth look gave him a curious look.
“You have? Why?” Ruth said.
“I was curious. And, you’re right. Their pads are always clean. They have an interesting surface, like fingerprints.”
“Yes,” Nan’mtek agreed. “The truth is, a gecko can climb even a perfectly smooth surface. The reason is because of quantum principles. The ‘fingerprint’ pattern you saw, Timothy, is actually much more complex. Without going into specifics, when you look at this pattern with a SEM, you’ll see structures only one or two molecules wide. These bind with surface molecules at the sub-atomic, quantum level. A gecko has 109 of these structures, and you can literally hang 40 kilograms from it as it ‘clings’ to a ceiling.”
“That’s phenomenal!” Ruth said.
“Getting to our metamaterial here, the carbon filaments in this third layer also display similar unusual properties, bending and curling up when in direct contact with light. At the time this allowed for a variety of utilizations: nano-engines, more powerful solar cells and so on. Now we use it to trap light that hits it directly. Any photon entering nanotubes exits at predetermined spots, and photons hitting any area not captured by nanotubes is captured by the carbon filaments underneath. Although this produces energy, it is far too little for us to use. However, the ‘glint’ Jack saw while performing the Jackson-Briggs maneuver will not happen on our craft.”
“So, what happens if this new fighter crosses in front of a star and travels through an alien’s field of vision?” Scratch asked.
“Light from the star hits the nanotubes, travels along these channels or tunnels and exits at a predetermined
point on the opposite side. It won’t be perfect, but you’ll see a slightly dimmer and out of focus star for a brief second if you’re looking hard. This craft really will be invisible, for all intents and purposes. One added benefit is that the metamaterial can withstand laser pulses in the second range. As you know, most laser pulses last only 200 milliseconds.”
“Any other goodies?” Hollander asked, liking the new changes more and more.
“As you know, the stealth fighter we appropriated is very light – a necessity because of its simplistic gas drives that help keep the craft undetectable. But what if you could power a craft with a far stronger, but still undetectable drive?”
“Like the Dark Matter Drive?” Hoyt said, as he realized where she was going.
“At that point, it no longer matters what the underlying surface of the ship is made of. Here we have a hybrid – a craft with a powerful new drive, decent firepower, and it’s almost undetectable. The underlying structure is crystanium, but its atomic structure is significantly different from the one in use now. It is much stronger and just as light. And the surface will have these new panels, making it to all intents and purposes invisible. We’re also recalibrating all WF and Fighter sensors to pick up the enemy craft by doing what Jack had suggested earlier, scanning for obvious ‘holes’, or shadows left by the stealth craft in reference to the background. Because our material bends light so effectively, this new generation of fighter craft will have no ‘holes’.”
“How soon can I have one of these?” Scratch said. Everyone laughed.
Bishop and the upper command members thought quietly about what Nan’mtek had said. Hoyt spoke up and asked, “So why all the secrecy? All the hidden messages to scientists, pilots and so on? Why not just…” he cut himself short as he realized the answer.
“Exactly, General. If the aliens had gotten any idea on the sort of work we did here, they would have attacked. This would have given them access to top of the line research and development, and it would have been a death stroke to the human race. That’s why each WF ship had one CIA agent, and each agent was unusually quiet. He couldn’t reveal anything, because if he did, it put everything at risk. Encouraging the belief in a legendary but now non-existent council added to the unbelievability of the whole arrangement, which suited this issue perfectly.”