Starweb

by Warren James Palmer

  There was something strange about it—something secretive. However, if security had passed the envelope for her personal attention, then he had no right to interfere, regardless of what the contents might be. Reluctantly, he left the room, leaving Caileen Fitzgerald to her own devices.

  Which was unfortunate, because it was only when he went to inform the Prime Minister that it was time for the CNN interview, that he found Caileen Fitzgerald, resistance leader, mother, and driving force behind Europe's economic recovery, swinging from the light fittings—hung by her own scarf. The contents of the brown envelope lay scattered on the lush carpet beside the fallen chair and her dangling feet. When the head of internal security arrived a few minutes later, he immediately noted that the half dozen pages were entirely blank.

  Paris Air show, France

  14.23 hrs GMT May 19th 2057

  Maurice de Val, the Airbus industries chief test pilot completed his aircraft walk-round and stood at the bottom of the stairs. He looked back over the huge wings and fuselage of the hypersonic airliner with a sense of awe and pride, which was as intense now as it was the day the prototype, was wheeled out of the Orleans factory.

  Powered by a new generation of engines, which used water as a fuel and Point Zero as a catalyst, the A9000 could carry six hundred passengers into orbit, or to the other side of the world at hypersonic speeds. New York to Tokyo took under two hours, London to Sydney little more. Designed and built in under eighteen months, the A9000 was about to usher in a new age in civil aviation.

  As a flight of Russian Sukhoi fighters began their dramatic display in the blue skies overhead, Maurice took a deep breadth, clambered up the steps and entered the airliner. The head steward was waiting for him there, and quietly informed Maurice that the sixty or so VIP passengers where safely seated. The rugged, raven-haired test pilot, thanked the steward and made his way forward to the cockpit.

  There was no doubt that the presence of the VIP's made him nervous. Despite his objections at carrying passengers on a display flight, the president and committee of Airbus Industries had overruled him. Too much was at stake for them to worry about their test pilot's unfounded concerns. Buyers from around the globe were here today to see the first public display of the A9000. More importantly, representatives from Dyason were present to conclude a contract for license-built A9000's to be constructed on their home world. The new aircraft would form the basis of a new civilian fleet, which would aid that planet's economic recovery. And if they demanded a ride in the vast airliner, then that is what they would get.

  In the new era of inter-world co-operation, political and economic considerations were more important than the concerns of Maurice de Val. Besides after a grueling test schedule, the A9000 had proved to be a tough and entirely safe aircraft. What was there to be worried about? At least that's what he told himself as he entered the cockpit.

  Denise Ogilvy, his co-pilot, was already strapped into the right-hand seat going through the pre-flight checks. The A9000 was equipped with a self-diagnostic, fast-start system, but any sensible pilot would also go through the checklist themselves, which was exactly what Denise was doing. Striking, rather than pretty, the thirty-three year old co-pilot had been with Airbus since the company had reformed at the end of the occupation. Since then, she had done virtually all her flying with Maurice. Their rapport was legendary and they trusted each other implicitly. In return, Airbus trusted them.

  'All ready and ship-shape?' Maurice asked casually as he eased himself into the left-hand seat and began scanning the digital read-outs.

  'The ground crew have removed the steps and umbilical cords. We're running on internal power. Everything is within operational parameters. One of the cabin thermostats is playing up, but it's in the empty rear section. Speaking of which, how are our guests?'

  'Busy drinking Champagne and eating caviar on toast,' he told her with a depreciative shrug. 'I know we're in a new period of détente, but it still gives me the creeps to think we're treating Dyason as honoured guests.'

  'I know what you mean skipper. It's still too early for me to forget what some of those bastards did during the occupation,' she replied caustically. 'But to be fair, the atrocities were largely carried out by the overthrown military. We shouldn't tar them all with the same brush.'

  'Maybe,' Maurice agreed with a grunt. 'They're onboard now anyway, so we'll just have to put up with them. Let's just make sure everything goes smoothly—I don't have to tell you how much is at stake here.'

  'A9000, this is display control,' the radio squawked. 'Your slot begins in twelve minutes time. You are cleared to start your engines and move to the holding position.'

  'Thank you control. A9000 is starting her engines and will proceed to the holding position,' Maurice acknowledged. 'Okay Denise, let's get this show on the road!'

  Water was pumped from the wing tanks to the primary chamber where the Point-Zero reaction took place. The resulting hydrogen and oxygen was then separated and fed into the combustion chambers of the Rolls Royce RB399 hybrid engines. Within seconds, the turbofans had spooled up and the A9000 moved slowly toward the end of the main runway.

  As the Sukhoi aerobatic team completed their display routine and peeled away, Maurice pushed the throttles to the gates and the huge A9000 rolled down the runway. With the variable-sweep wings in the extended position, the take-off run was surprisingly short and the prototype airliner rotated well before the end of the runway. The three RB399 engines were developing a combined thrust of over 80,000 kg and the lightly loaded A9000 climbed into the blue skies of France at an improbably steep angle. Denise Ogilvy retracted the main undercarriage and as their airspeed climbed past two hundred knots, she retracted the huge flaps and slats. The A9000 prototype was airborne once more.

  All previous concerns vanished as Maurice concentrated on showing the Airbus prototype to the best of his ability. With his right hand resting gently on the side-mounted joystick, he banked the airliner to port in preparation for a low run along the length of the main runway. There were thousands of spectators waiting to see the best Europe had to offer and he didn’t intend to disappoint them. As the aircraft flew low over the airfield, the Dyason representatives peered out of the fuselage windows, duly impressed by the agility displayed by the vast airliner.

  Once the A9000 had cleared the airfield boundary, Maurice de Val raised the nose and put the aircraft into a climbing turn. The co-pilot selected medium sweep-back as the turn was completed and the A9000 lined up for a faster fly-by, designed to show the variable-geometry wings to good effect.

  It was as they crossed the airfield boundary for the second time that the Airbus test pilot first noticed there was something wrong. At first, it was a subtle thing; something he instinctively felt was amiss. As is the case with high performance aircraft, an apparently small problem can rapidly lead to total failure. The fatal last seconds of the A9000 were later replayed on the cockpit voice and video recorder, which proved conclusively there was nothing the Airbus test pilots could have done to save the aircraft.

  'Denise, don't cut back on the power!' Maurice de Val was heard saying.

  'I haven't moved the throttles!' was the reply.

  'Well, we're losing power…we're losing airspeed! Give me more power!'

  The video recorder showed the co-pilot pushing the throttles to the gates, but to no avail. After a brief moment of disbelief, she moved to the computerised flight panel.

  'The throttles are gated, but there's no response!' she told the test pilot. 'There must be some glitch in the flight computer. I'm disengaging it now!'

  'Do it quick Denise, then give me fully forward sweep!' Maurice de Val ordered, the concern in his voice clearly audible. 'In this configuration we could stall at any moment!'

  The tape later showed how the co-pilot attempted to disengage the flight computer. However, for some inexplicable reason the recorded instrument data showed that the computer was never disengaged. Indeed, instead of the flight computer b
eing cut off, it took complete control of the A9000, to the absolute horror of the two pilots.

  'What? What's happening? What have you done?' Maurice de Val was recorded exclaiming in desperate surprise. 'I've lost it…I'm locked out of the system completely! I've got no control at all!'

  'That's impossible…I've disengaged the flight computer!' Denise Ogilvy replied in a shocked voice. 'I don't understand it!'

  The last few seconds before impact were a flurry of activity in the cockpit as the two pilots desperately attempted to regain control of the fly-by-wire A9000 from the flight computer. However, their efforts were in vain—the recorded data later showed crash investigators that the flight computer was in control of the airliner prototype right up to the final impact.

  The last word uttered by Maurice de Val, like so many pilots in his position in the past was simply, 'Merde!'

  Analysis of video recordings taken from the ground later showed how the A9000 flew along the length of the main runway with the wings in the mid-sweep position. The engines were heard spooling down and the airliner steadily lost height. Halfway along the length of the seven-kilometer runway the A9000 was recorded rolling ten degrees to port, before hitting the ground alongside the main VIP enclosure. The resulting explosion and debris killed all those on board, plus two hundred and fifty spectators.

  Those dead included the Dyason ambassador to Earth, the entire Dyason commerce delegation, and several senior members of the World Defence Force.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Transmission from the CNK satellite.

  19.00hrs GMT, May 21st 2057

  The titles faded and popular anchorman Bruce Quaid stood in the centre of the studio surrounded by images from a recent spate of disasters, which had occurred in various parts of the world.

  'In the past few weeks,' he began, as the camera closed in on his chiseled features, 'there have been a number of catastrophes, disasters and bizarre events which have shocked the world.'

  Quaid's face faded and was replaced by recent news footage. 'In Japan, the brand new Miyako power plant was destroyed in a bizarre act of sabotage. An old lady, a regular church goer, strapped Semtex explosives to her body and blew up herself, a bishop, and thirty nine worshipers, in Palma cathedral, Majorca. The Airbus prototype A9000 crashed at the Paris air show killing over two hundred and fifty. And the European Prime Minister Caileen Fitzgerald committed suicide under very suspicious circumstances.

  'Then of course, we all heard this weekend of the terrible events which unfolded in Peru, South America. I'm sure there can be barely a person upon the planet who has not by now seen the horrific images of the mass suicide carried out in the Andes by the cult, which called themselves "Children of the Stars".

  'On the surface, there is little to connect these events. It is a sad fact of life that disasters, murders, and catastrophes no matter how horrific will, and do, occur. However, investigations carried out by CNK indicate that there may indeed, be a connection between these apparently random acts of destruction.'

  The camera zoomed in once more to the anchorman's deadly serious face as he declared, 'Tonight we ask; is there some sinister corrupting force at work on Earth? Have we all become complacent in the years of peace since the final battle above the Dyason home world? Has the Starweb finally returned and embarked upon a campaign to subvert the very fabric of our society? Is the new world order at threat from humankind's greatest enemy?

  Bruce Quaid's face was once more replaced by news footage, this time from the dark days of the Dyason wars.

  'Our story begins on that fateful day of March 15th 2045, the day all those on Earth learned for the first time, that we are not alone in the universe,' the anchorman's voice narrated over images of the original Dyason 'domes' floating in orbit. 'In a matter of a short few days, our world was invaded and enslaved by a military dictatorship more viscous and evil than any regime ever seen here on Earth.'

  The screen was filled with images of cities devastated by Dyason attacks, slave factories full of starving workers, and dark ash-filled skies which had entirely blocked out the sun's warmth.

  'It was some two years later in 2047, that resistance fighters, inspired by the now legendary Moss Pendragon and Paul Jenson, raised the ancient starship Excalibur and finally defeated the Dyason fleet in the Battle for Liberation,' the anchorman continued as the news footage changed to computer generated scenes of the infamous space battle. The vast bulk of Excalibur moved across millions of holographic receptors in homes across the world. CNK News was streamed in every continent on the planet, and was by far, Earth's most popular news channel.

  'As the skies cleared, and the people of Earth began to shift through the rubble, it was hoped that the nightmare was over, that the sword given to us by unknown ancestors, would protect our world from any future attack.

  'We all know that hope was in vain, and our first contact with a human race from another star system was only the beginning of the most incredible saga in mankind's history.

  'An expeditionary group, sent by Earth's World Defence Force to the Dyason home world, discovered a planet ravaged by years of industrial waste and pollution. The race that had so recently invaded our world, had done so because their own was on the verge of environmental collapse. Our team, led once more by the telepathic Moss Pendragon, and ex-resistance leader Paul Jenson, helped the people of Dyason overthrow a cruel and corrupt Imperial military government.'

  The news footage changed to show library material of the Dyason peoples own super-starship taking part in the second great space-battle above their home world.

  'The most incredible event of this time, was the launch of a sister ship of Excalibur, named Dominator. Identical in design and layout to our own ancient starship, Dominator was final proof that the people of Earth and Dyason came from a common ancestry.'

  'Dominator and her mixed crew of Imperial officers, mutant resistance fighters and TDWF marines were lost in a bizarre space-warp at the end of the second Dyason War. It wasn't until much later, that the fate of the ancient vessel and her crew became known.'

  Once more, computer-generated images showed viewers scenes of Dominator being engulfed by a huge structure floating in the depths of space. The now familiar shapes of alien crustaceans swarmed across the interior of the planetoid, intent on swamping the gallant multi-race crew of Dominator.

  'Extremity Station,' Bruce Quaid continued, 'was built at the edges of our galaxy by an ancient race of humanoids called the Samarcians. It was designed as a staging post for exploring uncharted areas of the universe, far from their civilized and technologically advanced worlds. Equipped with an artificial intelligence, extremity station was designed to be self-sustaining, able to communicate with the rest of Samarcia via a network of other “AI” computers. Similar in concept and operation to our own global network—the Internet; these super computers were able to communicate via the sub-ether and were collectively known as the Starweb.'

  The narrative was now illustrated by more computer-graphics, this time showing artist’s impressions of what the Samarcian civilisation may have once looked like. For those who had studied the subject, the CNK designers had taken great liberties with known facts. The news station vision of the Samarcian culture bore a remarkable resemblance to classical Greek or Roman civilisation, but this was holo-vision and even CNK had to occasionally distort the truth to attract audiences.

  'Brilliant in concept and execution, the Starweb must have seemed to the Samarcians, the perfect solution to their communication needs. After all, their civilisation had spread across hundreds of light years.

  'Who could have anticipated that the collective artificial intelligence that was Starweb would turn against its creators? Who would have thought artificial intelligence could create it's own bizarre religious cult?'

  The CNK anchorman, being the professional he was, lowered his voice ominously, then informed his spell-bound audience, 'We can only speculate as to the reasoning behind the Starweb’s actions—
only the bare facts are available to us. However, what we are certain of, is that the collective artificial intelligence decided that all Humans are vermin that must be eradicated from the universe!

  'The Starweb labeled itself the Guardians of God and set upon a war of genocide against its creators. The Samarcians, unaware of what was happening until it was too late, were slaughtered in their millions!'

  The scene changed to the final great space-battle above the Dyason home world. The great starships Excalibur, Dominator and the Heligsion ship Valvia battled against a fleet of ships of unknown design, whilst masses of small fighters engaged in violent dogfights.

  'The Starweb, having wiped out human races from virtually the entire galaxy, followed the Dyason starship back to her home world, and engaged the new three-race alliance. Thanks to the courage of the World Defence Force, Dyason Freedom Fighters and the survivors of the Heligsion race, the Guardians of God were defeated in the last great space-battle of the Dyason Wars. It was a desperate struggle, which eventually lead to the realisation that all humans must learn to live and work together if we are to defend ourselves from the warped and evil Starweb. Our very survival as a species depends upon it!'

  The computer-generated images faded and the face of Bruce Quaid filled the screen once more. His earnest and serious expression earned him a six-figure salary, and he was certainly earning his pay-cheque that evening.

  'That all happened nearly five years ago now,' he told the millions of viewers across the planet. 'Since that time, we’ve all had to adjust to the fact that we’re not the only human race in the universe. We’re part of a family that includes the Dyason and Heligsion people. Who knows how many other races, if any, have survived the acts of genocide carried out by the Starweb?

  'Scientists, politicians, churchmen and philosophers, argue daily about how our new knowledge affects our preconceived notions of evolution and religion. But, for the majority of us, life goes on and the world is now largely preoccupied with the rebuilding of our towns and cities.