The Swarm

by Orson Scott Card

  “I did not dismiss you, Mazer,” Vaganov called.

  Mazer turned and stood at attention, eyes forward, waiting to be dismissed. Vaganov merely walked away in the opposite direction without another word. When he was out of sight, Mazer went looking for Li. He found him in the docking bay, overseeing the arrival of the cadets’ equipment.

  “I spoke with several of the marines last night,” Mazer said. “Most of the men on board have never been trained for zero G combat.”

  “Which is why we’re taking them to GravCamp,” said Li.

  “Yes,” said Mazer, “but I highly suspect that we will intercept asteroids along the way, sir. If we do, someone will have to infiltrate the tunnels. The men aren’t ready for that. Navigating tunnels in zero G requires an enormous amuont of training. I propose we begin that training now, here, on the ship. We could start as soon as we reach a cruising speed. All we would need is space to practice in.”

  “I doubt you’ll find a room big enough,” said Li. “We’re nearly full of cargo.”

  “This ship has nine cargo bays,” said Mazer. “We might be able to squeeze the contents of one bay into the cracks and spaces of the other eight.”

  “If I can get approval,” said Li. “What do you have in mind?”

  “We need to re-create the tunnels of an asteroid. We can’t enter that environment unless we’ve mastered how to move and execute specific tactics. We’ll also need access to the ship’s machine shop and at least two dedicated machinists.”

  “Why? For gear? We have suits and equipment already.”

  “This is new gear,” said Mazer. “Lem Jukes and Gungsu are both working with Victor Delgado as we speak to perfect his designs. So we’ll need to maintain contact with all those parties as they shape and develop the tech. And our machinists here will need to be ready to develop every iteration of the prototype.”

  “If there is proposed tech,” said Li, “doesn’t that go to WAMRED for testing? There’s a process for this, Mazer.”

  “A painfully slow and inefficient process,” said Mazer. “I know. I saw it firsthand. If we give this gear to WAMRED, it will get mired in the bureaucracy. We only need a few units of highly specialized gear. Some for the marines, and some for the cadets. If it proves effective here on the ship during training, that will serve as well as any field test they’d conduct at WAMRED. Plus we must consider the sensitive nature of what we’re doing here. If word were to get out that WAMRED is testing child-sized exosuits, the press would beat the IF with a club.”

  “Good point. Two machinists, you say?”

  “As many as you can afford,” said Mazer. “At least two. Three or four would be better. And an engineer.”

  “I’ll speak to Rear Admiral Zembassi and see if we can’t bring up some more people from Luna. He won’t like that. It would delay our launch.”

  “Once we leave, there’s no turning back. If we don’t take it with us, we won’t have it.”

  “Anything else?” asked Li.

  “Asteroid tunnels won’t be our only war zone,” said Mazer. “Victor Delgado fought Formics above the surface of the asteroid as well. I propose we also begin training the men for zero G combat in wide open spaces. Launching, landing, handling a weapon. Those are different skill sets than navigating a tunnel. Flying in a wide open space is a disorientating experience. You have to be willing to abandon your current orientation. It takes a great deal of practice and coordination.”

  “You’re already taking over one of the cargo bays for tunnel simulations,” said Li. “There isn’t any room for more zero G training. We do one or the other. Not both.”

  “Perhaps we don’t have to do it inside the ship,” said Mazer.

  “You certainly can’t do it outside.”

  “Why not?” said Mazer. “Once the ship stops accelerating and we’re moving at a constant speed, it would be safe for us to build. The structure wouldn’t be a solid-walled cube, but a grid cube, like a cage. That way any man drifting away would come up against the lightweight grid and be contained within that space. We could practice in flight and run tactics and maneuvers.”

  “Build a giant cube outside the ship? You can’t be serious.”

  “There would be no acceleration, so the position of the soldiers would be relative to the grid and would remain constant, except for whatever motion they create with their arms and legs. It’s not as reckless as it sounds. This flight will last at least seven months, sir. Are we going to let all that time pass without conducting any physical training, particularly training that we may need to have before we reach our destination?”

  “And the materials for this supposed training cage, where will those come from?”

  “We gather scrap from Luna now. Then we use our engineers and machinists and volunteers to build it after we’ve launched and reached a cruising speed.”

  Li considered the idea. “Four machinists won’t be enough.”

  “Not if we want to build it well,” said Mazer. “For that, we’d need at least a dozen.”

  “You’re delaying our launch even further,” said Li.

  “Time we can make up easily if we accelerate a little faster. We adhere the scrap to the ship’s exterior, and we’re on our way, ready to assemble later.”

  “And who’s going to design this training cage?”

  “Victor Delgado,” said Mazer. “With my assistance. And yours, if you want to participate. Once it’s built, the men could conduct mock skirmishes inside it.”

  “Using what weapons?” Li asked.

  “Practice weapons,” said Mazer. “Slasers with low-powered lasers that can’t do any harm. And tight-fitting suits that won’t snag on obstacles and hinder movement.”

  “What about cosmic radiation?” Li asked.

  “I defer to Victor and the engineers,” said Mazer. “We already have such protection in our EVA suits. It might be a simple matter of adapting the design and tech.”

  “You have this already figured out, I see,” said Li.

  “The Formics know how to maneuver in zero G, sir. We don’t. That puts us at a crippling disadvantage.”

  Li was quiet a moment. “I’m beginning to wonder if bringing you aboard was a good idea. New ideas make the rear admiral nervous.”

  “Old ideas don’t win wars,” said Mazer.

  Li sighed. “Anything else?”

  “A minor request,” said Mazer. “Let’s not refer to it as the training cage. ‘Training’ sounds laborious and regimented. Soldiers groan at the word. These men joined the IF to fight, sir. Let’s call it the Battle Room.”

  CHAPTER 25

  Unraveling

  To: vico.delgado@freebeltmail.net

  From: lem.jukes@juke.net

  Subject: Wars and weddings

  * * *

  Vico,

  I’ll pretend I got a wedding announcement. May you have many children as handsome as me.

  I have passed the information you sent on to Father. He has no doubt relayed it to the new Polemarch and Strategos. I’ll return the favor by giving you some intel of my own. The Polemarch has divided the Fleet into three divisions. Two of them will attack the Formic warships above and below the ecliptic. The third and largest division will stay behind to protect Earth and address the Formic-occupied asteroids. It will be a year before the departing IF ships join up outside the ecliptic and continue toward their respective targets. And then another six months before they reach warships. I still haven’t decided if the whole operation is brilliant or ill conceived.

  There is one bit of good news: the asteroids explode easily. One of our Juke ships fired on one and the hydrogen-oxygen atmosphere detonated immediately. To our astonishment, however, the shell that covered the asteroid began to grow back only a few days later. Considering the speed of growth, it should cover the asteroid again in two weeks. I’m not sure what to make of this. Wila believes the cocoon weavers must be incredibly resilient and reproduce exceptionally fast.

  You shou
ld also know that the number of Fleet ships assigned to take out these asteroids is woefully insufficient. We were poorly defended before. Now it’s even worse.

  Stay safe,

  Lem

  Lem climbed into his private shuttle and buckled in to one of the posh leather seats in the main cabin. Benyawe was the only other passenger, already sitting in the adjacent seat, strapped in and ready to go. The pilot lifted off, and they left Luna’s gravity well behind them. Lem arranged the locking blankets around his legs and torso to keep himself snug in zero G; then he reached to his right to the bar and made himself a drink with a light sedative.

  “You didn’t have to come,” said Benyawe. “It’s not like you don’t have a thousand other problems to deal with.”

  “Figuring out a way to breach the Formic hull has always been my number-one priority,” said Lem. “That and finding the best cupcakes on Luna. Incidentally there’s a new bakery in Old Town that makes red velvet cake like a cloud. When we win this war, I’ll take you. I’ll even pay.”

  “I’ve cut sugar from my diet.”

  “Ah, so you’re into self-torture now,” said Lem. “Me too. I’ve picked up flogging. The scars get itchy, but the flesh-tearing is fun.” He paused. “Come on, you’re not even smiling.”

  “Because your jokes aren’t funny.”

  “Honest friends are the truest sort. Here. I’ve made you a drink. It will help you sleep.”

  “No. But thank you.”

  “It’s a long flight, Benyawe. And you look frazzled. I doubt you’ve slept in days. You might as well get some rest now, while we can get it.”

  They were headed toward the Rings. Benyawe and Wila had worked for over a month now on a new version of the NanoCloud, and they were finally ready for a field test.

  “Never tell a woman she looks frazzled,” said Benyawe.

  “Your eyes are bloodshot, hairs are out of place, you look barely conscious. What would you call that?”

  “Wearied,” said Benyawe, trying to brush her hair with her hand.

  He offered her the sealed cup. “Here. Just hold this. In case you change your mind.”

  Benyawe hesitated, then took the cup. She stared at it for a moment. “What if it doesn’t work?” she asked. “The NanoCloud, I mean. We’ve modified it completely. It’s nothing like what you saw last time. Its entire function is different.”

  “You’re not allowed to doubt,” said Lem. “That’s my job. I’m the skeptic. You’re playing the part of the wise and seasoned optimist.”

  “Never call a woman seasoned either. That’s the same as calling her old.”

  “You’re in your sixties, Benyawe. You’re stunning for a woman in her sixties, but you’re seasoned. Get over it. And relax, this new NanoCloud is going to work.”

  “You made sure it was loaded?”

  “I checked the cargo hold myself. We’ve got five giant crates filled with millions of inactive nanobots. As long as they don’t come alive and disassemble the crates and the shuttle, we should be fine. That was a joke, by the way. They won’t come alive, will they?”

  “We’re fine,” said Benyawe.

  “That’s the spirit. You sound like the seasoned optimist already. Though you may want to work on your delivery. I’m not feeling your performance.”

  “Everything is riding on this, Lem. It’s not like we have a lot of time here.”

  It was true. The two divisions of the Fleet had already left for the Formic warships above and below the ecliptic. The Fleet ships hadn’t gone very far, of course. They were massive and slow to accelerate. Smaller, faster, cargo-carrying quickships loaded with supplies could still catch up with them and deliver those supplies, if needed. But that window of opportunity was closing fast. Soon the Fleet ships would be too fast to catch.

  “We’ve armed the Fleet with the original NanoCloud,” said Lem. “They have the gravity disruptors from Gungsu. It’s not like we’ve left them defenseless. If we can get them something better, great. If not, they still have a pretty good chance. But if it will make you feel any better, we can pretend that I’m the doubter, and you’re trying to reassure me. Walk me through it.”

  “I did. You got a glazed look in your eyes last time.”

  “It was two in the morning. That doesn’t count. Come on. I haven’t taken my sedative yet. Try again. If I start to fall asleep, break into song or do jazz hands.”

  “All right,” she said.

  Lem immediately threw his head back into the headrest and snored loudly. He opened one eye a moment later and peeked at her. “Finally. A smile from the iron-hearted Noloa Benyawe. So you’re not soulless after all.”

  “You’re trying to put me in a good mood, Lem. It isn’t working. It’s only annoying.”

  “And yet you’re still smiling. Come on. NanoCloud 2.0. Let’s hear it. I’ll punch holes in it if I can.”

  “Actually it’s more like NanoCloud version 7.0. But that’s irrelevant. Picture in your mind a rope. A big thick climbing rope.”

  “A rope. Thick. Got it.” He threw his head back and started snoring again.

  “Are we playing a game or can we act like adults?”

  “Sorry. I couldn’t resist. I’m listening. This is important. Go on.”

  She glared for a moment then continued. “This thick rope. It’s woven with twine, which is woven of thread, which is woven of tiny fibers, which is woven of nanofibers, which is woven of molecules. So everything is woven on top of each other. It’s weave, weave, weave, weave. Over and over and over again. And the more woven it is, the stronger it is. Hundreds of woven layers, back and forth, in and out.”

  “Makes sense,” said Lem.

  “Wila believes that all Formic-made structures are built that way. Formic microcreatures weave. That’s their pattern. At the molecular level, inside the guts of these microcreatures, they take the trace minerals and elements mined from the rock, and they weave these molecular structures together, building microscopic threads like DNA. Consider what Victor found on that asteroid. Some of those minerals are essential elements for DNA molecules. I say iron, and you think building material for colossal ships, right? Or zinc, or magnesium. But these are essential elements of DNA as well. It’s possible that these microcreatures aren’t using the iron like we would, on a macro scale. Maybe they’re building proteinlike structures on a micro scale.”

  “All right.”

  “And if that’s true,” said Benyawe, “then the solution to this impenetrable Formic hull is not a big macro weapon that tries to punch through, like the gravity disruptor. The solution is a microweapon like an enzyme, a catalyst that undoes what the microcreatures have built. A nanobot weapon that can go in there at the rate of millions of transactions per second and unwind what the microcreatures have built. So it doesn’t break the rope, it unwinds it. First it unwinds the twine, then the thread, then the fibers, then the molecules. And on and on. It just follows the thread, unwinding as it goes. A chemical reaction. Destructive metabolism.”

  “So instead of programming the nanobots to sneak into the ship and open the door or hatch or whatever from the inside, we’re programming the nanobots to simply find the hull and make it magically disappear,” Lem said.

  “It’s not magic,” said Benyawe. “It’s chemistry. Your body does the same thing every time you swallow a piece of red velvet cake. It breaks down the sugars and carbohydrates. The problem is, we don’t know the chemical structure of the hull exactly. The hulls were built near the Formic planet. We have no way of knowing what elements and minerals they used when they wove the structure together. So we’re guessing. And we’re basing that guess on the metals and minerals Victor found on the asteroid. We’re essentially saying, the Formics clearly value these minerals. Is it conceivable that they used the same minerals to build their hulls? Could it be possible that they choose to harvest these specific elements and minerals because this is what they use on their home world?”

  “That’s not too big of a leap,
” said Lem.

  “It’s a huge leap,” said Benyawe. “It’s a gargantuan leap.”

  “We’re doing the best we can with the information we have,” said Lem.

  “Which isn’t much,” said Benyawe. “But we suspect that one of the main elements is silicon. The Formics used it to build the cocoon shell, maybe they also use it to weave their hulls. So the NanoCloud has been designed to act like an enzyme and find and remove silicon. We’ve essentially turned each nanobot into a motor protein that functions like a helicase, except instead of separating nucleic acid strands by breaking hydrogen bonds, we’re breaking silicon bonds. Unwinding and unwinding, again and again and again.”

  “Are my eyes glazed over yet?” said Lem. “You had me at red velvet cake, but you lost me at hydrogen-bonding mumbo jumbo.”

  “Should I break into song?”

  “You should drink your sedative and close your eyes and stop worrying.”

  “We’re guessing, Lem. I worry because this tech is a shot in the dark.”

  “I trust your guesses more than anyone’s facts. Do you think Wila is right?”

  Benyawe hesitated. “I think she could be right.”

  “That’s good enough for me.” He raised his cup to her. “To a good night’s sleep, with dreams free of Formics and plenty of cake.”

  “I’ll drink to that.”

  They tapped cups and drank.

  * * *

  Lem’s shuttle approached the Formic scout ship a day and a half later. The massive red teardrop-shaped ship looked like a child’s discarded top, with three giant white rings slowly spinning around it. Lem’s shuttle approached the ship and made its way toward the gaping hole on the far side. The hole had been made by a massive burst of gamma radiation during the First Formic War. Lem remembered the moment vividly. “If we could make our own gamma-radiation weapon, this would be so much easier,” he said. He and Benyawe were floating at two of the shuttle’s portholes, watching the Formic ship as they approached.