by Shawn Jones
Cort wanted to make the man comfortable, so he conceded, “Playing with time is a dangerous endeavor, but go on, Dvok.”
“We realized immediately that the abductions would destroy us. You see, we cannot reproduce.”
“How does your species propagate then?”
“We made the wrong bargain with the wrong devil, Mister Addison. We do not propagate. Our time in this universe is finite, but we did not want to fade away. We chose to fight.”
“Please, call me Cort.”
“Thank you, Cort.”
“On our planet, we discovered what you would call a fountain of youth. We stopped dying when the compound was discovered and put to use. But within two generations, we stopped reproducing as well.”
Cort thought he was beginning to understand. “You couldn’t have more children, so you realized once the Gryll found you, that eventually your society would become extinct.” Brinner nodded and Cort asked, “Why not just leave your planet?”
“Ah. That was the, how do you say? That was the rub. I believe I am using the term correctly. If we left, we died. Almost immediately. We could not even achieve orbit without dying in minutes. And our fountain of youth didn’t allow for further growth. Children remained children, adults remained adults. It was the same with the elderly. Those who were already pregnant were able to reproduce, and they did. But the babies never grew up. Actually, at the point the fetus was able to survive outside its host, it ceased to develop. It had to be surgically removed. Still, they didn’t grow up. A difficult decision was made to terminate them. Eventually, our females stopped trying to reproduce, except when we needed to try some new formula we thought might be an antidote. But finally, they simply ran out of eggs.”
Cort was suddenly concerned. “What was this fountain of youth? Was it similar to our synthetics?
“Yes. But it was more… complete. We used it to modify the genome itself. We advanced safety and medical care. We increased our knowledge, but we still lost a few hundred a year to accidents or animal attacks. Even to stupidity. Our society would have lasted millions of years though.”
“Why didn’t you clone?”
“We tried. Frequently. But they were never viable. Never allow your scientists to manipulate your aging genes. That was our hubris, and our downfall.”
Dvok was silent for a long breath, then explained about the abductions that which had occurred on his planet. They had advanced their knowledge far enough to quickly determine what was happening, but because they couldn’t leave the planet, the species was helpless to defend itself.
Cort was well - versed in interrogation, and he knew not to interrupt Dvok with more than simple questions. It was better to let the being tell its own tale. He did ask, “So you found me to do it for you?”
“Not exactly. We had...” Brinner stopped speaking and smiled as realization dawned on him “We succeeded. You succeeded. We will live now. The Gryll will never harvest from our planet again. That brings me great joy. Thank you, Cort.”
“I’m not sure yet if it’s a good thing. Please continue your tale.”
“Of course. We had a computer, similar to the one you call George. When the abductions began on our planet, we realized what would eventually happen to us, extinction that is, so we programmed the computer to run simulations. Every time it produced a potential solution, we attempted it. This attempt, the one involving you, is number ten thousand, four hundred and thirty-two. If another abduction occurred, we would know we had failed, and move on to the next attempt.”
“How do you know this attempt succeeded?”
“Because you are here. You would not have left the Gryll to continue the abductions, so if you are here, they have been stopped.”
“We were able to prevent the abductions with gravity generators on Earth and Threm. Why didn’t you do that?”
“No, you were not. You only delayed them. It would have worked for a brief time, as we found out. The Gryll would have changed the amplitude of their tachyon waves, and your gravity generators would have been useless.”
George flashed a message across Cort’s HUD—IT IS POSSIBLE THAT DVOK IS CORRECT.
“If your people die immediately upon leaving your planet, how did you get here?”
“I am a synthetic.”
“Like an android?”
“Not exactly. More like a genetically engineered being. I am completely human.”
“Can you explain that a little better? You said you couldn’t clone.”
“I should back up. We sent a ship to Earth over a thousand years ago. You have seen it.”
“The thing under the Bering Sea? Where I found the Nill Medallion?”
“Yes. Our plan, scenario ten thousand, four hundred and thirty-two, involved sending a probe to Earth. It contained the technology needed to replicate any life form Earth was capable of supporting.”
“So you lay dormant under the ocean for over a thousand years. Then you copied the DNA of people on the ship that passed over you.”
“More or less.”
“How did you get to this time? If what you are saying is true, you had to travel back in time to get here. Why not just go back and fix things on your planet?”
“That was another scenario that did not work. I don’t know why it didn’t. But when it failed, we moved on to another scenario. As you have seen, time travel is really quite simple. Moving forward in time is only a matter of velocity. Moving backward in time is a matter of controlling the energy and matter flow, of and through singularities. We could not control the matter itself, but we were able to affect it by using tachyons. The Nill medallions are quite effective at that, as you know. When you direct a tachyon burst into a black or white hole, you interrupt the gravity waves that are generated within the singularity, temporarily changing its flow.”
“How did you know where to land, and where I would be?”
“There is a saying on this planet. Hindsight is 20/20. We had the benefit of it having already happened. We watched it, then went back again, and timed our actions to coincide with events we wished to control.”
“Fair enough.”
Another message from George flashed on Cort’s HUD. MOTHER WANTS TO KNOW WHY, IF YOU HAD DESTROYED THE GRYLL, DID THEY BRING YOU BACK TO THIS TIME?
“Of course she does,” Cort said.
“What?” Dvok asked.
Cort looked at Dvok’s laptop, and wondered what data it might hold. He asked Kim’s question, then held a small scanner over the computer. While it copied the data on the computer, he listened to Dvok’s answer.
The synthetic human smiled. “I told you, I am completely human. Engineered, but human. You have done much for my civilization, and indeed, for the universe. Not just concerning the Gryll. You stopped the Cuplans, too. They were an even greater threat to our galaxy. Yet you somehow made that species an ally. As a human, it seemed only moral to give you the opportunity to save your daughter.”
“So this was a gift to me?”
“A reward.”
Cort could only thank Dvok.
Brinner looked at a clock and said, “My time is running short. My, uh, companion, will be here soon. He does not know any of this, and there is more I would like to say.”
“What else?”
“I will never meet you, Mister Addison. To prevent paradox, especially now, my people must all die before you join Jumprope. We will take care of that. For your part, how many days has it been, to you personally, since your wife joined you in the other universe?”
George flashed a number on Cort’s HUD, and he repeated it to Dvok. Dvok told him to be certain not to overlap timelines. Cort and the Remington could not appear back in their home space until after they had planned to return home, or it would create convergence, and his species would continue to attempt to stop the abductions. If they did, Cort might lose Diane, or even the Ares Federation, to one of their other attempts.
Cort was horrified at the thought of losing Diane again, even t
hough his reasoning mind knew he wouldn’t realize the second loss. “Okay. We’ll build extra time into our trip back.”
“Good. Don’t fail in that. I would hate for you to lose your daughter twice.”
“Me too.”
“I’m certain. I could never bring myself to reproduce as a human because it somehow seemed a betrayal of my society. But I do love children, so I adopted two orphans of the Korean War. I have outlived them, but they brought me great joy.”
Dvok stood up and motioned to the door. “You must go now, I’m sorry to say. Wait here just a moment.”
Dvok disappeared into the bedroom of the little house and emerged holding a small, clear, sphere. It was filled with a dense liquid, and sparkled from some internal energy. Inside the liquid, a needle pointed toward the sky. “You cannot follow it, but if ever you doubt yourself, or your life’s purpose, look at this, uh, compass. It will always point in the direction of a society you saved.”
Cort looked at the orb for a few seconds before Dvok again admonished him, “But please do not ever follow it, or at least, never go to the planet. The risk is too great. Some other of your line, perhaps even Diane, might visit there someday, but you yourself should not. There may be an unforeseen consequence. I just want you to have it to remind you that your course has saved tens of millions.”
Cort thought of all the billions, possibly trillions, he had killed. “There is some solace in that, Dvok. Thank you.”
Dvok said, “You were invisible when you arrived. Perhaps you should be again, lest my companion see you.”
Cort reached out an armored hand to shake Dvok’s, but the man hugged him instead. “Thank you, Mister Addison.”
“I have one more question, Dvok. How much of my life did you manipulate? When did it start?”
“Ah. You are asking if we are behind the death of your daughter. No, General Addison. We placed the medallion for you to find, of course, but our first manipulation of your life happened when you entered the transition chamber. You should have died as a result of the experiment. Do you remember that Doctor Barr adjusted your emergent point? We manipulated his calculations to prevent you from materializing inside solid rock.”
I’ll never know if he’s telling the truth, but I have to accept that. Cort reactivated his camouflage and said, “Goodbye, Dvok.”
The man opened the door, and as Cort stepped out, he saw the man he presumed was Dvok’s companion coming up the walk. Dvok greeted him as Cort moved to the side of the porch and slipped into the night. He took his time walking back to the HAWC, then took the suit into orbit, and to the dark side of the Moon.
Eight
Back on the Remington, Cort asked Ceram, “Well, what did my scans tell you?”
“He’s human,” Ceram clicked. “Too human.”
Cort washed in the shower as he asked, “What do you mean?”
“Was I not clear? He’s too perfectly human. I believe he is telling the truth about being a synthetic life form. Most of your species, of any species really, have minor genetic anomalies. The things that make us individuals, genetically speaking. Minor alterations in our DNA. And what you would call wear and tear.”
“And Dvok doesn’t?” Kim asked absently, as she watched her husband.
Ceram observed her intent look and physical responses to her husband. “No, he does not. I am always intrigued by human desire. Reproduction is an act of propagation, not pleasure.”
“Speak for yourself,” Cort said, as he let his mind wander. “Just speak quickly, so I can pull my wife in here with me after you leave.”
“Very well, I believe he was being honest with you. He is completely human, though perfectly so. I was able to look for signs of stress and actions that indicate deception. None of them were in evidence.”
Cort raised his arm and soaped under it. “Then why can’t I read him?”
“I don’t know the answer to that.”
“Bazal can’t read him either,” Kim said. “I asked.”
Cort’s eyes wandered over Kim’s clothed body and his nude one flooded with desire. “Anything else, Ceram?”
Kim looked at her distracted husband and signaled Ceram to leave.
The insectoid clicked, “May I watch? I am curious about your methods.”
Cort rinsed in the shower and looked at Kim. He saw the slightest shrug of her shoulders, and said, “Sure,” as he pulled her into the shower with him. “But you can’t talk about it to other people.”
He peeled off her tunic impatiently, and she whispered, “Oh my gods. I can’t believe we’re doing this.”
“We need to hurry though. Rai needs help on the surface.”
Ceram assured them that Lieutenant Rai had things well in hand, so there was no rush and to take their time .
--
Cort stood in the armory an hour later and asked what he had missed while on Earth. He put his CONDOR on while Kim told him that Ceram was printing a new design of synthetics that would feed on the exos.
“He checked on me while you were gone. I watched your combat footage from the enemy ship. I asked him to help. He saw the biosynthetics feeding on the exos.”
“That’s it!” Cort exclaimed. “I knew I was missing something. The synthetics eat them!”
Working on that premise, and a tachyon scan of the exos, Ceram figured out that a significant portion of exo DNA was human parallel. The synthetics were binding to that part of the exos and feeding on the rest of their cellular matter.
Rai’s plan was to seed clouds with specially programmed synthetics and use the planet’s weather as an ally.
“We’ll rain death down on them. Literally.”
“That’s the plan. The CONDOR teams will still have to clear the buildings, but it’s going to make our job a lot easier.”
Cort checked the seals of his suit, and reached back to his neck. He pulled the inhibitor out of his Atlas socket, and plugged the suit in. When the suit powered up and began receiving signals from his central nervous system, a metallic taste filled Cort’s mouth. Kim recognized the way he worked his jaw, and got him a glass of water.
--
“What’ve you got, Rai? I’m on my way down.” Cort was sitting in the cockpit of the shuttle.
“It’s good to have you back, General. Has Mrs. Addison brought you up to date?”
“Yeah. Doctor Ceram is printing some specialized synthetics to seed the clouds.”
“Yes, sir. The good doctor will have enough synthetics to seed a storm over the impact area in three days. In the meantime, we are only containing the seahorses. With regular tach scans we can track them, but it takes most of George’s computing power to track them all. We have over thirty thousand targets on the perimeter alone.”
“How many total?”
“Over a million, General. They’re dividing. That’s the problem. We won’t be able to contain them that long.”
“Send me telemetry and I’ll see you in a bit. Ares out.”
Cort looked over the maps that Rai sent him. He studied them for a few minutes, then commed Ceram. When the Jaifan’s head filled the flexpad’s screen, Cort asked, “Doc, what can you tell me about the seahorses?”
Ceram clicked, “Why do humans give aliens such strange names, General?”
“Association. The exoskeletons look like Terran seahorses, so that’s what we call them. Just like we call Jaifans cockroaches.”
“I see. General. As much as I have come to love you, not through our blood oath, but personally, I don’t understand how you defeated my forebears.”
Cort smiled at Ceram. “I guess I’ve grown fond of you too, Ceram. Now stop lamenting the weaknesses of your species and tell me about the godsdamned seahorses.”
Ceram clicked a sigh and explained the multitude of flaws in Cort’s analogy. Humans were not good hosts for the exos, because of the salinity of human blood. In fact, if they actually came in to contact with Threm’s seawater, the exos would be killed almost instantly.
—
“Okay, Rai, I’ve got a plan. We’re going to drive them to the ocean. They can’t handle the salt. Disband the containment line to the north and east, and use those fighters to reinforce the rest. That should give us time for Doctor Ceram to print the rest of the synthetics.”