by Isaac Hooke
“Really...” Sheila said. “So it’s almost like your birthplace, then.”
“That’s right,” Jain said. “I come here when I want to contemplate. The past, the present, the future. What I used to be, what I’ve become, what I will become.”
“And was that contemplating helping you at all today?” Sheila asked. “Given what you told me earlier, about the dreams, and the memories they awakened...”
Jain glanced at her, then sighed. “Not really. Those memories, they remind me that life is... meaningless. Especially now. This place...” He glanced up at the stars, and the rocky outcrop. “I can feel the ground pressing up underneath me. Smell the dew collecting in the grass. Feel the slight breeze on my face. And yet I know it’s all fake. I know I’m just a starship, floating in the cold, dark void of space, my hull bombarded by ionizing radiation.”
“What we have here, between you and I, it’s real,” Sheila said. “As is your relationship with the rest of us. And that’s all that matters. That we’re here for each other.” When Jain didn’t answer, she added: “You’ve had ten years to come to terms with what you are. You’re trying to tell me that you haven’t?”
“I have,” Jain said. “It’s just, sometimes I have to wonder, what’s the point? Of existing. It still feels meaningless to me.”
“Ah, the age old question,” Sheila said. “As a species, we’ve been grappling with meaning for millennia. It’s no different now that our minds are in machines. Life isn’t meaningless. Don’t let yourself go there. We have a purpose now. We have to help humanity, and the surviving Mind Refurbs.”
“All right, let’s say we somehow succeed,” Jain said. “We defeat this latest threat to humanity, and our Mind Refurb brothers and sisters. What then? We lose our purpose once more.”
“No,” Sheila said. “You will always have a propose. And that is to guide us, and lead us on to better and brighter days.”
“Ah,” Jain said. “But what if I decide to abdicate my position.”
“We won’t let you,” Sheila said.
He smiled sadly. “And if I die, you’ll just restore me from my backup, right?”
Sheila nodded. “You got it.”
“I suppose I’m stuck leading you for all eternity, then,” Jain said. “Am I in hell?”
“Far from it,” Sheila said. “Come on, it’s not so bad. I mean , would you really rather that I fragged you?”
He smiled. “No.”
An alert sounded on his HUD.
Jain stood. “According to my timer, the Daktor is ready to form a rift again. Let’s go.” He turned, and was about to log out, but then he glanced at her askance. “And Sheila.”
“Yes?” she asked.
“Thanks for the pep talk. It helped.”
Sheila winked. “Just for you, Admiral.”
“I love it when you call me admiral,” Jain said.
She smiled wickedly. “I know.”
The Void Warrior fleet made the jump to Nata, and shortly after arrival received a welcome message directing them to proceed to the colony world of Manamas, the third terrestrial planet from the sun. It was a Brazilian colony, and the eighty ships in orbit belonged to various South American countries under the command of one Admiral Rodriguez Santana.
When Jain reached the million-kilometer mark, he initiated a realtime holographic call.
The admiral appeared in the center of the bridge, just as Jain would be appearing in whatever virtual environment Santana had set up for himself.
“I heard you were looking for a few good warships,” Jain told the prim individual. The admiral’s features were so thin as to appear gaunt. Hell, Jain could see the outline of his eye sockets, as well as his cheekbones. Jain wasn’t sure what effect the admiral was going for with an avatar like that, but if it was only to scare the men under his command, it was working. The perpetual scowl the man wore on his lips only enhanced the overall effect.
The admiral looked Jain up and down, then said, rather coldly: “The fleet admiral wants you here. So I have to find a place for you. You’ll assist the third battle group, the Hull Burners, tasked with defense of the colony’s eastern perimeter.”
“We can certainly do that,” Jain said. “But you should know, we’re not getting any closer than one hundred thousand kilometers from any of your ships.”
The admiral raised an eyebrow. He chuckled gently, as if he thought Jain was joking, but when Jain remained serious, he frowned. “Is there a reason why?” His voice oozed contempt. Or was that… distaste?
“Yeah,” Jain said. “We’ve been duped too many times already. You could be Mimics.”
“Ah,” the admiral said. “You’ve been away for a while, haven’t you?”
Jain felt his brow crumple. “Yes…”
“I’m transmitting the blueprints to an add-on to your sensor package,” the admiral said. “You might want to get your 3D printers started on it. Or your repair drones, if you don’t have any printers.”
Jain received the blueprint send request. “Wait, just what is this?” It was in package format, meaning it contained not just blueprints, but a whole set of subroutines he’d have to add to his AI core in order to operate the device.
“We’ve been fighting the Mimics for ten years,” Santana said. “We’ve learned a few tricks since then. This device will allow you to penetrate their false holographic shells and thermal signatures, seeing through to the pyramid ships inside; it uses specialized gravity wave technology to achieve the feat. This is how we knew you were human, and not Mimic, for example.”
“The fleet admiral sent us here before confirming that,” Jain said.
Santana shrugged. “I suppose he figured the aliens wouldn’t be offering to lend a hand against themselves in battle. Most likely you sent a probe of some sort to communicate with him? Through a rift?”
“That’s right,” Jain said.
“There you go,” the admiral said. “He could have confirmed that the probe was real, and of human make, and that was proof enough. So, are you going to accept?”
Jain sent the request through his virus scanners, and when he was satisfied it didn’t contain anything nefarious, he rerouted it to Sheila. “Have a look at this.”
“On it,” Sheila said.
Jain turned back to the admiral. “Do we even know what they want? Why they’re attacking us?”
“No,” Santana said. “They do deign to communicate with us from time to time, but mostly to mock us. So far, the motive behind their attacks has never been revealed. They install bioweapons on every colony they conquer, apparently to terraform the worlds. But as to why they are conquering and terraforming planets we already inhabit, rather than picking from the profusion of available worlds throughout the galaxy, no human or Mind Refurb knows.”
Sheila looked up. “Hmm, these will have to be printed directly above the forward sensor region. I’d recommend programming fifty or so repair drones to handle it. Should be ready in about four hours.”
“Thank you,” Jain said.
“I trust that you will no longer insist on your foolish notion of remaining one hundred thousand kilometers from the closest Mind Refurb vessel?” Admiral Santana asked.
“Sorry,” Jain replied. “But if you want the help of my fleet, I’m going to have to stick to that request for now, at least until I can confirm these gravity wave devices actually work. And that means waiting until the aliens actually attack.”
Admiral Santana shut his eyes. His lip twitched slightly—in anger, Jain thought. He obviously was used to getting what he wanted. Then the micro expression faded.
Santana opened his eyes. “Normally I wouldn’t allow this, but we need your ships. So you may remain one hundred thousand klicks away from the closest warship until the battle begins. But once combat is joined, I expect you to obey the commander of the Hull Burners to the letter.”
“Thank you,” Jain said. “I will.” He wasn’t used to following orders anymore, but he would do
his best to see them through, considering what was at stake. “So, where can I find these so-called Hull Burners?”
12
The Void Warriors entered orbit well above the planet Manamas, keeping their distance from the cloud of ships in the area. Jain and the others had their repair drones at work on the new sensor add-on, but until it was complete and tested, he wasn’t going to place his fleet in danger.
“You know, if all of these ships are actually Mimics in disguise, it stands to reason that their so-called detection device would be a load of crap…” Gavin said.
“Can you imagine if that was true?” Mark said. “If this was all some grand deception, and these ships were Mimics? And instead of fending off a Mimic attack, we were helping them stave off an assault by the Link?”
“Mind blown,” Sheila commented.
“Mindfucked more like it,” Gavin said.
“It would sure make for a great twist at the end of a sci-fi novel!” Mark said.
“I’m sure it would…” Gavin commented.
“I’ve perused the specs,” Sheila said. “And reviewed the AI core subroutine additions. It does what it says it will.”
“And what’s that, exactly?” Gavin asked.
“It transmits gravity waves capable of penetrating holographic illusions to the hull underneath,” Sheila said. “It’s almost like echolocation, except it works in the vacuum of deep space. If you take a look yourself, you’ll find it’s rather intuitive. My only fear is that the Mimics will come up with a countermeasure at some point… their hulls can already selectively absorb photons, after all, altering the LIDAR analyses we’ve attempted in the past.”
“Yeah, but creating a hull that will absorb gravity waves requires technology that operates on a whole other level,” Gavin said.
“True,” Sheila said. “It’s not something the aliens will develop easily. But I’m just throwing that out there…”
The main continental landmass was visible on the planet below. Manamas, as a world, was relatively young in the cosmic scheme of things, and essentially had one large supercontinent, like the Pangaea of early Earth.
According to Jain’s ten-year-old database, the planet had been terraformed to a state that brought it close to Earth conditions in a comparatively short time. Fifty years ago, the oceans were seeded with phytoplankton that produced most of the planet’s oxygen. Oxygen and other gases were also released from stores under the surface, bringing the atmospheric pressure up to something humans could withstand. It required some acclimation, as the air was still thin, and in fact similar in pressure to the top of a tall mountain on Earth—but that was nothing a red blood cell injection couldn’t fix. Fifteen years ago the protective biodome enclosing the colony had been removed. Fish had been introduced into the oceans at the same time, and the planet’s ecosystem had flourished ever since.
The colony was located on the eastern coast. Called Manaus after the Brazilian city that had existed at the height of the late eighteenth century Rubber Boom, it was a sprawling city that spanned fifty square kilometers. On high zoom, Jain could see the many high-rises below. It was home to a lot of dispossessed Spanish and Portuguese citizens who had lost their countries when the Banthar invaded over a hundred years ago and destroyed half the Earth.
The Void Warrior fleet approached from the eastern side of the colony, where the task group labeled Hull Burners resided in low orbit, according to the tactical display.
“I have a request,” Sheila said.
Jain glanced at her. “Yes?”
“When you get in touch with the commander of the Hull Burners, I think it would be to our benefit if you could ask for an update,” Sheila said.
Jain frowned. “An update?”
“I mean to our knowledge,” Sheila said. She spoke quickly, as if nervous, or perhaps excited, and her hoop earrings jingled distractingly beside her face. “Our military databases are ten years old. Most of it is outdated by now. Who knows what we’ve discovered since then, especially as it relates to the Mimics. We have the sensor add-on already, well, we’re building it, but are there any other weapons? And what about blueprints of the Mimic fleet. And their different ship types, if any.”
“That’s a good idea,” Jain said. “I’ll ask for a general database update. You can peruse it first, make sure there are no viruses, and then share it with the rest of us.”
“Thank you!” Sheila said.
“We’re getting a hail from one of the Hull Burner vessels,” Xander said. “A Piranha class, the Beetlebrow.”
Jain glanced at his robed companion. “Good timing. Accept.”
A skinny man with large eyes appeared in front of Jain on the virtual bridge. His avatar was clad in the same dark gray uniform as the admiral.
“I’m Captain Hax Fatael of the Beetlebrow, commander of the Hull Burners,” the man said. “Meanest Mind Refurbs in the fleet.”
“Jain Sagan, of the Void Warriors,” Jain said.
“Okay,” Hax said. “Ever fought as part of a larger fleet before?”
“Well, no, but—”
“Then you’re going to have to pay real close attention,” the captain said. “Because I don’t give orders twice around here.”
“Given that we’re all machines, memory shouldn’t be a problem,” Jain said.
“And no lip,” Hax said.
“Sorry,” Jain said, and meant it.
Hax nodded. “Here’s the battle plan.”
Jain received the transmit request, and performed a quick virus scan before accepting.
“When the time comes,” Hax continued. “I’ll expect you to play your part. You can do whatever the hell you want until then. Loiter in high orbit if you want, doesn’t really bother me. But when the Mimics come in force, you’re going to be tight in formation, and ready to fire at my command.”
“What if I have input, something that might potentially change the outcome of the battle?” Jain asked.
“Input is always welcome,” Hax replied. “But the chances are, most of us will have thought of it already. But feel free to relay anything you might have directly to me. You are not to communicate with any of the captains underneath me, at any time, is that clear?”
“Of course,” Jain said.
Sheila shifted anxiously from foot to foot. She waved at Jain, as if trying to get his attention.
“Good,” Hax said, drawing Jain’s focus back to the captain. “I won’t be talking to any of your captains or Direct Reports either. You’re my interface to your fleet, just as I’m your interface to the admiral. So now, will you be needing any supplies?”
“No, we’re fully-stocked,” Jain said. “We have hellraisers, propellant, spare metals, you name it. Unless you have more upgrades for us?”
“No,” Hax said. “I guess we’re good then. Unless you have any questions?”
“Only one, but I’m sure more will come up while I review the battle plan with my fleet,” Jain said.
“And what’s this question?” Hax said.
Jain glanced at Sheila.
“I’d like a military database update,” Jain said. “We’re running on ten-year old cloud data here. We don’t know the full capabilities of these Mimic ships, other than what we’ve learned through direct combat. We don’t know their layout, whether they have more than one basic ship design, and so forth.”
Hax waved a dismissive hand. “Yes, yes. I’ll send an update immediately. Now, if there is nothing else?”
Jain shook his head and Hax winked out as the connection closed.
“Friendly sort,” Cranston said.
“At least he seems professional,” Mark said. “Relatively. Despite his ship name.”
Jain received the data request from the Beetlebrow a moment later and routed it to Sheila.
Sheila was quiet for several moments. Then:
“This is incredible,” Sheila said. “They’ve completely mapped out the insides of the Mimic vessels via boarding parties. They seem to be
AI-based, like ourselves, and don’t carry organics. They encountered what appear to be AI cores near the central region on two separate occasions, but weren’t able to interface.”
“But of course you’re going to figure out how to do it for us...” Medeia said.
“I wish,” Sheila said. “First we have to figure out their network infrastructure, the packet scheme, the communication protocols built on top of it, and so on. The Mind Refurb and human scientists have barely made a scratch in that regard, so why would I?”
“Because you’re the best?” Medeia asked.
Sheila smiled patiently. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“So when are you going to share the data with the rest of us?” Mark said.
“Oh, I forgot,” Sheila said. “I’ve scanned it for potential viruses. It’s clean.”
Jain received the data update request from Sheila, and placed it in a sandbox folder while he ran his own scan. Satisfied that it was clean, he installed the update, then perused the new data.
There was certainly some interesting stuff there. The blueprints of the two alien vessels were particularly interesting. They were exact copies of one another. The conduits along the outer edges were big enough to fit rovers and munchkins, but quickly shrunk—it was similar to what Jain and the others had originally encountered when they sent boarding parties onto one of the vessels ten years ago. Apparently micro machines had been used to explore deeper, because once past the initial outer layer, the conduits widened again, and were big enough to fit bigger units, including those the size of humans.
All of the Mimic ship types had the same external design, with the same weapons—at least, the space navy had never encountered any ships different from the basic pyramid design. They all had a lightning weapon they could fire at sub-six-thousand kilometers to disable human class vessels, longer ranged blob weapons that could disintegrate hull sections, and the smaller boarding party units they liked to launch when they got close.