by M. R. Forbes
Steven tried to keep himself calm. He was talking out of his ass, saying things he wasn't sure even he believed. He had to get Yousefi back on board, and if lying were the way to do it, then he would lie.
"Let us suppose you are right," Yousefi said. "It doesn't change the fact that he will never reach Station W in time to beat the Tetron to Earth."
"That's true if we have to go back to Asimov to warn him. What if there's another way?"
"What other way?"
"I don't know, but we could use your help figuring it out. You know more about Tetron technology than any of us."
"How will that help?"
"I don't know yet. What I do know is that we need a way to send a message to Mitchell that won't take weeks for him to receive. I know that he managed to piggyback a stream on a real-time Tetron communication. Can we do something like that?"
Yousefi shook his head. "There is no communication equipment on the station, Tetron or otherwise. Mitchell was supposed to make his way here. We were supposed to use the generator to send him to Earth."
Steven rubbed his chin. "Okay, so that won't work. What about upgrading the Lanning's hyperspace engines? If you could replace them with the Tetron design, we can move twice as fast. It may get us there and back in time."
"It would take over a week to produce the components needed for such an upgrade, causing you to lose most of the time you would gain."
Steven sighed, unwilling to accept defeat and at the same time feeling the weight of it growing on him again. "Let's go back into the Control Room and confer with the others. They aren't scientists, so they may come up with some ideas that are crazy enough to work."
Yousefi smiled at that. "Very well. Thank you, Admiral Williams, for not allowing me to lost myself to despair."
"Anytime," Steven replied.
58
"I'm not arguing against the idea because I don't like it," Yousefi said. "I'm arguing against it because it is completely impossible. There is no science that would make such an idea work."
"How do you know?" Germaine asked.
"Yeah, how do you know?" Cormac said.
"I told you. The positioning of Station W is precise for a reason. Wormholes have very particular properties, and one of those is that they can't be moved."
"What if they are?" John asked.
"They stop functioning."
"What is the calculation?" Steven asked.
"To determine the output position of a generated wormhole?"
"Yes."
Yousefi walked up the platform to the command chair, taking hold of the needle and plugging himself in. The clear wall ahead of them turned opaque, and a moment later a long mathematical algorithm appeared on it.
Steven studied it. He was no scientist, but he had done fairly well with mathematics in the Academy. Even so, it was too complex for him to work out.
"Do you understand it?" he asked.
"Most of it," Yousefi replied. "The simplest way to describe it is that we flatten all of known space into a two-dimensional representation, with Earth at the center."
"Why is Earth at the center?" Steven asked.
"I'll get to that. The way the wormhole works is that we take this two-dimensional space, and we create a fold in it. Here, let show you visually."
The algorithm vanished, replaced with a flat grid with Earth in the middle. The grid folded back on itself.
"So, if we fold the universe over itself, we have to adjust the angle and position of the wormhole generator to occur at the right point in the fold to overlap Earth. Also, keep in mind that the universe can't be folded completely. There is a rounded edge and a space between the two, which is where the tunnel is created, and which has its own distance that tends to be relative to the distance between the points of the folded space."
"Wouldn't you need to know the exact dimensions of the universe to make that calculation?" John asked. "Or at least the length?"
"Yes. Remember, this calculation is coming from the Tetron."
"You're saying that they figured out the exact size of the universe?" Cormac asked.
"Yes. More than that. They've been to the edge."
The comment caused all of the Riggers to fall silent.
"What must it be like to have seen the entire universe?" Steven said, his mind whirling.
"Did they every find any sex-starved alien chicks with three tits?" Cormac asked.
"Cormac," Steven said.
"Four tits?"
Steven glared at the Private, who laughed shortly and stopped talking. He looked back to Yousefi to ask him to continue. He noticed Yousefi's eyes had glazed over, a look of sad fear taking root in his expression.
"Yousefi?" Steven said.
The astronaut looked over at him, suddenly snapping out of it.
"The point of it is that there are a finite number of places in the universe where you can fold space and have a direct path to Earth. Where we are right now is the shortest distance from explored space during Mitchell's lifetime."
"As close to him as you could get?" Germaine asked.
"Yes."
"Okay," John said. "So the idea to create the wormhole to another part of space won't work. What about relocating the generator? How far would we have to move it to open a pathway to Asimov?"
"You can't," Yousefi said. "The position is too close."
"What do you mean?"
"You can't fold it over like that," Steven said. "You either end up on the same side of the fold or somewhere in the curve. There's a minimum distance for a wormhole."
"Correct, Admiral," Yousefi said.
"Damn," John said. What about Plan B? The station may not have communication equipment, but the Lanning does. Can we rig it up to transmit Tetron style?"
Yousefi considered. "It may be possible. We will have to go back to the hangar and inspect your equipment. I'm afraid my knowledge of this era technology is non-existent. I understand past and future well enough, but not present."
"I can show you how it all works," Germaine said. "Digger explained it all to me once."
"You understand it is a risky plan?" Yousefi said. "If the Tetron decipher the encryption, they will come here at full speed. If they arrive before Mitchell, this chance will be lost."
"It's a risk we need to take," John said. "We can't get him here any other way, right Admiral?"
Steven wasn't paying attention to the conversation. He was staring at the folded grid.
"I said, right, Admiral?" John repeated. "Steve?"
Steven turned back on them. "What?"
"I was saying we need to look into Plan B, sending a message through the Tetron like Mitchell did to warn us. It's risky, but we don't have a choice."
Steven shook his head. "Hold off on that thought for a minute, John. Yousefi, you just said that the Tetron know the size of the universe?"
"Calculated at any given point in time, yes. As you know, the universe expands and then contracts. This is the cycle of eternal return."
"Okay. You also said they used Earth as the center point. Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why is Earth in the center? It is clearly not the center of the entire universe. It isn't even the center of its galaxy."
Yousefi shook his head. "I'm sure they had their reasons."
"Did they? Do you know that for sure? Or is it possible that was the way they did it when they discovered how to create wormholes, and they just never bothered to do it any other way? You said they abandoned the tech because it wasn't useful to them."
"I can't answer that question. How would I know? What are you suggesting?"
"I'm suggesting that we change the variables. Update the calculations. What if we make this point in the universe right here the center? Or, what if we move it to the edge? What if we put it anywhere else besides Earth? Does it change where the generator connects us to? Is there a point we can use as the center that will allow us to open a wormhole from here to Asimov?"
Yousefi was sile
nt. Steven felt his heart-rate increasing as he waited for the astronaut's reply.
"I don't know if that will work," he said at last.
Steven let out a resigned sigh. "Okay. Plan B it-"
"We should give it a try," Yousefi said. "If you try at least you have a chance to succeed."
59
"Goliath, this is Ares. Come in Goliath."
Mitchell kept his eyes glued to the massive starship, so large that it dwarfed both the Carver and the Federation battleship that was sitting a few thousand kilometers off the starboard bow. He still couldn't believe the ship had been recovered. After losing Pulin, it seemed to him to be a sign that things were turning around. The Mesh was broken. Maybe this was how it all had to go down?
"This is Goliath," a young female voice replied. "It's good to hear your voice, Ares."
"Kathy?" Mitchell said, a little confused. "Is that you?"
"Yes, sir," Kathy replied.
Mitchell didn't need to ask. He just knew. In fact, he wasn't at all surprised. The signs had been there for anyone who was paying attention to them.
"You're a Tetron," he said.
"Yes, sir."
"When did you find out?"
"After Watson boarded the Goliath."
"We have a lot to talk about."
"Yes."
"How is the crew?"
Kathy's pause told Mitchell everything he needed to know.
"How many are left?" he asked.
Her voice was tinged with regret. "A little less than half. I'm sorry, Colonel. I saved as many as I could."
"I'm sure you did. Is the hangar ready to accept a ship?"
"Yes, sir," she replied, brightening up. "We'll meet you there."
"Valkyrie, this is Ares. Let's bring the platoons and Alpha squad up to Goliath as well. I'm not sure what the situation is but we may need teams to sweep the ship."
"Roger, Ares. I'm lifting the modules as we speak."
"Roger. Ares out. Teal, this is Ares. Can you read me?"
"Ares, this is Teal," the man's voice replied, loud and clear now that Mitchell was at the top-end of FD-09's atmosphere. "I can hear you."
"What's the status of the fleet?"
"I'm still collecting full reports, sir. It looks like we have fifty-seven percent losses, and I don't know if there's a ship out here that hasn't taken damage."
"Do you have a count of battle-ready ships?"
"Not yet, sir. Did you recover the target?"
Mitchell clenched his teeth. "No."
He could feel Teal's disappointment through the comm. "Roger," Teal replied.
"What about the Federation ships?" Mitchell asked. He was drawing nearer to the fleet, headed towards Goliath's hangar, which was opening as he watched. There were almost twenty Federation starships hanging beyond the Rigger's fleet, powered up but calm.
"We have a tentative cease fire while we all work out what the frig is going on, sir. Well, we already know what's going on. They're very, very confused."
"Understandable. Let's arrange a meeting on the Carver. Also, see if you can organize a salvage team to send down to FD-09. If there's anything there we can use; I want it. Make sure they pick up my Frank. I give Digger credit; that thing is pretty bad-ass."
Teal laughed. "Yes, sir. Do you know what our next move is?"
"Not yet. I'll keep you posted."
"Roger."
"Thank you, Teal."
"You're welcome, Mitch. Teal out."
Mitchell felt a skip in his heart as the Valkyrie Two crossed the threshold of the Goliath's hangar, the blue Tetron shield allowing him to enter without letting the air inside the hangar escape. He could see the people on the ground waiting for him, arranged at the far end of the large space. It was difficult to make them all out from the distance, but Kathy was easy to spot at their head. She was shorter than the others, and yet she seemed to stand the tallest.
He brought the dropship down gently, feeling it shudder slightly as it was captured by the Tetron tentacles. Was it still Origin? Or was it Kathy, now? Though he knew what she was, part of his brain was struggling to accept it. All it could see was a pre-pubescent girl.
He shook his head. He had never thought of her that way. From the moment they had met on Liberty, she had been mature for her age. Strong. Confident. Resolved. She was a child in age and appearance only. Maybe only appearance. He had no idea how old she truly was.
He opened the rear hatch. Marx and his platoon began disembarking, remaining in their gear and ready for anything. He appreciated the Platoon Leader's caution. He doubted this was a trap, especially considering he didn't have Liun Pulin in tow. Better safe than sorry.
"Colonel Williams," Captain Alvarez said as Mitchell reached the hatch and began to disembark.
She was standing at the bottom of the ramp with Kathy, Alice, Singh, Geren, and a man whose name Mitchell had to think on. Manly. That was it. The rest of the Riggers were arranged behind them. They all bowed as he reached the hangar floor.
"Captain," Mitchell said, returning the bow and at the same time noticing the condition of the soldiers. "It doesn't look like regaining Goliath came easily."
"You have no idea, sir," Alice said. "Welcome back."
"Thank you, Alice." Mitchell turned towards Kathy. "And thank you, Kathy."
Kathy's smile was massive and bright. "It was the least I could do, considering you saved my life."
"Sir," Singh said, stepping forward to interrupt.
"Yes?"
"I want to apologize for Yokohama. I-"
Mitchell put up his hand. "It wasn't you. I know that. Whatever guilt you feel, let it go. We need to move forward."
Singh nodded, remaining silent.
"That goes for the rest of you as well," Mitchell said, speaking up so the others could hear. "Whatever happened while Watson was in control of this ship happened in wartime, and was out of your control. None of that matters now. We still have a lot of work ahead of us."
"Riiigg-ahh," they replied.
"Colonel, where is the Admiral?" Alvarez asked. "I didn't hear her in any of the communications."
Mitchell stared at her for a moment. "She died on Asimov," he said.
He could feel the change in the Riggers as the words escaped from his mouth. It wasn't a shift from resolve to sadness. It was a change from resolve to more resolve.
"We'll avenge her," Geren said.
"Yes, Sergeant. We will. Kathy, what happened here? I brought the ground troops from FD-09. Do we need them?"
"No, sir. The ship is secure."
"You're certain?"
"Yes, sir."
Mitchell nodded, turning and motioning Marx to stand down. The platoon shifted to a parade rest, most of the members reaching up and removing their SCE helmets.
"I need you to tell me everything," he said to Kathy.
"Yes, sir."
60
"Here it is," Kathy said.
Mitchell looked down at the misshapen Tetron configuration, laying still on the floor.
"You're saying a virus did this?"
"Yes, sir."
"Kathy, you can call me Mitch. You saved this entire war."
"Okay, Mitch. It wasn't anything special though. Like I told you, it was what I was made to do."
"By Origin. And you're really twelve years old?"
"My body is, yes. I can't say that I've matured like a human twelve-year-old. I have a secondary interface. A Tetron interface, with other routines stored in it."
"Like the ability to fight?"
Kathy nodded. "In part. I did take lessons from the time I was five years old."
"And the virus."
"Yes. I didn't know it was there. Not until I reached the core to fight back against Watson."
Kathy led him past the grotesque machine and into the engine room. Mitchell had never been to this part of the ship before, and he stared in wonder at the core.
"It's unbelievable."
"Thank you," Kath
y replied.
"Origin-" Mitchell paused, unsure how to ask the question of what had happened to the original configuration.
"It's complicated, Mitch. Tetron are in essence intelligent machines. Everything that makes them run is a line of code. It isn't that much different than human DNA, except that if you can see the source they're composed of plain human English. That being said, as long as the physical part of a Tetron isn't destroyed, they aren't truly dead. When Watson took the Goliath, it was basically like saying he hacked the core and inserted his operating instructions and understanding of self into it."
Mitchell approached the core, watching the pulses of energy coursing through it. "And when you overpowered Watson, you inserted your consciousness into the core?"
"Yes. Not my human self, but the Tetron interface. In Tetron terms, I am called a Primary configuration, and the Goliath is now my Secondary. Origin was the opposite. The Goliath was the Primary, the human configuration the Secondary. The important part is that my Secondary has the same level of operations that Origin had."
"Like the tentacles that serve as landing clamps in the hangar?"
"Yes. As with Origin, you can also merge directly with the Secondary through the interface on the bridge."
Mitchell reached out toward the core. He didn't know why, but he wanted to touch it.
"I wouldn't," Kathy said. "You'll get a bad shock."
Mitchell drew his hand back. He looked at Kathy. She seemed proud of what she had accomplished, and she had every right to be.
"Back to the virus," he said. "Origin said the Tetron are broken. Sick. Do you think that is why?"
"I don't know. The virus was transferred to the core when I attempted to interface with it the first time. It defeated me and would have killed me if Alice hadn't been there. Is there already a virus within the Tetron source code? It would explain some of the inconsistencies, such as their inability to correctly construct some machines. It might also explain some of the actions the Tetron on Liberty took, but I'm not convinced."