Phasewave

by David Gill

  'I'm too old to believe in this kind of thing.' Vance looked down at the open panels. 'Okay, we'll give them a shot, but I don't think there's any way I can be convinced that this machine is capable of doing what they say. Grab some sleep and I'll wake you at mid-day. Will you be all right on your own?'

  Jenna nodded vacantly and made her way back to her cabin, already half asleep. After standing under a jet of hot water for a while she wandered around her cabin picking things up and putting them down again, trying to remember what she was looking for, before finally collapsing on the bed and falling asleep the moment her head touched the pillow.

  ********************************

  The sun hovered low in the sky, and the wind had developed a sharp edge. Declan drew his coat around him and studied the two long shadows that accompanied them by the side of the path. The smaller of the two walked with bowed head, the taller shadow with a familiar stoop, like two caricatures cut from card and held to the light.

  'Let's go back to Brant for a moment,' said Declan. 'You say he was electrocuted by the Phasewave although the unit was inoperative at the time. Could the surge possibly have been a stray current, one of those that run beneath the base?'

  'No, it was a powerful current that killed Brant, and it could only have been supplied by the sub-drive. Remember that the sub-drives always remain active.'

  'I'm not sure what you mean.'

  'The sub-drives are the most vital part of the Phasewave system. They link the transceiver units together, enabling the machines to synchronise and alter the Phase, which is why they need to remain active at all times. They also have another important function - when the sub-drives on Bouron link phases they produce and transmit a continuous signal, the Wave, which synchronises all transmissions throughout the Phasewave network. It's on the back of the Wave that data is transmitted. Very simply, all data received at Bouron contains a code which tells the Phasewave how far it has to travel to reach its destination. Following compression in the acceleration unit, the data enters the sub-drive which eliminates the time lag in the transmission by positioning it on a particular point of the Wave. That's the general theory of phased transmissions, but you can imagine the amount of energy the sub-drives and plasma chambers take to achieve such a task. In fact they absorb over fifty per cent of the reactors' total output. They are also designed to be invulnerable. No matter what happens to the unit itself, the drive forms part of a continuous chain that never fails, so even though Unit Nine had burnt out, its sub-drive remained active.'

  Declan tried to find some logic in the order of events Jenna had described. 'Are you telling me that this really happened, that four people were transported into the Phasewave and stepped out on Vennica?'

  'Yes and no,' said Jenna. 'Seeing is believing, Declan, and I can only tell you what I saw with my own eyes.' She looked into the sunset, lost in thought. 'It's funny, but I was the first to be convinced that Ellen and Carrick were telling the truth, then, when Vance went for it, I was the one with misgivings who wanted to stop him.'

  **********************************

  'What's holding you back,' asked Carrick. 'Why don't you believe us?'

  'I'm not disbelieving; I'm trying to be rational,' said Vance. 'Supply me with proof and I'll believe you.'

  'That's not a problem,' said Ellen, laughing. 'All you have to do is take the journey to Tracker South; that's no pain at all.'

  'So what exactly is involved?' asked Vance.

  'Just take hold of those two rails and hang on tight,' said Carrick.

  'How do I operate the controls if I'm holding onto the rails?' said Vance, looking down at the console.

  'There's a sequence selector on the console next to you, but you need someone to key in the right numbers,' said Ellen. 'Don't bother with that, we can take care of it from this end, that's what Scyros did the first time we went to the tracker. It worked just fine; I guarantee there's no danger.'

  'I don't know,' said Vance. He turned to Jenna, his doubts still unresolved. 'What state's the tracker in?'

  'It's good and the atmosphere's okay.'

  Vance nodded thoughtfully. 'What about the skimmer? Can you bring a suit out to me for the return journey?'

  'No problem,' said Jenna, although a tiny voice inside her head was telling her that something was not right with what she was hearing.

  'So there's nothing to stop you,' said Ellen. 'Once you've taken that first journey you'll find it a natural step to transfer to Vennica and join us. It's as easy as falling over.'

  'You say all I have to do is hold these rails?' said Vance. He laughed nervously. 'This is crazy. It can't be that simple.'

  Carrick sounded more insistent when he spoke. 'If you don't think we're telling the truth tell me why we're talking to you like this.'

  'Let's stop right here,' said Vance. 'I'm going to have to come clean with you. I'm not in good shape; I shouldn't even be here with this heart problem of mine. The strain of going inside that thing will almost certainly kill me.'

  Ellen and Carrick immediately burst out laughing.

  'Boy, have I got some good news for you,' said Carrick. 'That's exactly where you've got it wrong. Once you've been through Phasewave illness becomes a thing of the past, because the process actually purifies the body. At the receiving end the Phasewave uses your body's original DNA to replicate it, so by the time you pitch up inside the tracker your heart will be firing on all four again. You'll be like new.'

  'You don't have to take Carrick's word for it - look at my arm,' said Ellen, rolling up one of her uniform sleeves to reveal a perfectly normal left arm. 'Two years ago I was in a bad accident and this arm was almost severed. For over a year the wound wouldn't heal, and then I had to wait for surgery to repair the scars, yet, after one trip through Phasewave, there's no scarring left at all. It sounds incredible, but everything wrong with you simply disappears.'

  'I still don't know,' said Vance, feeling himself waver. Ellen and Carrick had hit him in the area where he was most vulnerable, and the possibility of being healthy again was almost impossible to resist. A new heart! And he wouldn't even have to pay for it; he was actually going to save money by going through the machine! It was as if all his birthdays had come at once.

  'All you have to do is take one step forward and grasp those rails,' said Ellen. 'The rest will be history.'

  But, as she watched and listened to the figures on the screen, Jenna became more convinced than ever that something was amiss. What was it? What could possibly be wrong?

  'Tell me, Jenna. Tell me what I should do.'

  'I don't know,' Jenna replied. The bad feeling grew stronger. Was that a gloating expression on Carrick's face, or did he always look like that when he smiled? Something definitely felt wrong, something she was unable to explain. Why? Was she scared of the unknown? But the others had come to no harm, so why should they?

  Vance was looking at her expectantly, waiting for encouragement. Jenna swallowed hard. Was Vance really going to go inside the machine that was responsible for Brant's death?

  Vance was grinning from ear to ear. 'What do you say Jenna, shall I give it a go?'

  'I guess there's no harm in trying,' said Jenna.

  'You'll pick me up, won't you?'

  'Call in on the land-line when you reach the tracker,' said Jenna. 'I'll wait to hear from you before leaving.'

  'If you don't believe that story about my arm, look at my medical records,' encouraged Ellen. 'It's all documented.'

  'You won't regret doing this,' said Carrick with a sly smile. 'Afterwards you're going to feel like a young man again. Get the picture?'

  'By God, I'm going to do it!' Vance shouted, flushed with excitement.

  Carrick gave Vance a conspiratorial wink. 'I don't think Ellen's got any complaints in that department.'

  Ellen's face lit up. 'Not anymore,' she said jokingly. 'It's quite the opposite in fact.'

  'You're convincing me,' said Vance. 'I'm mighty tempted to give this a wh
irl.'

  A pang of nervousness shot through Jenna's insides. The moment had finally arrived, and she still had no idea why she was getting such bad vibrations.

  'You're going to thank me for this,' said Carrick. 'Very soon we're going to make an announcement, and you're going to be standing right next to us when we make it. Now, step forward and hold the rails tightly.'

  'I don't believe I'm doing this. Look after the show while I'm away, Jenna.'

  Jenna stood back and watched Vance take his place in front of the machine. For what seemed an eternity nothing happened. She saw Vance's knuckles whiten as he tightened his grip. Still nothing happened. Jenna started to relax. It could not be true; a person could not dematerialize and then be reformed. The whole thing was a truly insane idea.

  Vance's arms were quivering with the effort of holding onto the rails. 'What's gone wrong, Jenna? Why isn't it working?'

  Jenna started to reply, but was interrupted by a low, humming sound that came from the machine. Then, without further delay, Vance disappeared from sight. Jenna's heart missed a beat. She slowly closed her eyes, but when she opened them again Vance was still gone and only a vacant space marked the spot where she had last set eyes on him. Jenna numbly approached the machine, and stood where Vance had last stood, her mind blank with astonishment, then went back to the monitor to find the screen dead and Carrick and Ellen nowhere in sight. She walked around the room in amazement. Had she just seen a body disappear into thin air or was it a trick? Was Vance hiding somewhere inside the room or had he actually made the journey to the tracker? She found herself searching behind the units for him and stopped and slowly shook her head. She was going crazy.

  **********************************

  'How far away were you standing when you saw Vance dematerialize?' asked Declan.'

  'As close as I am to you,' said Jenna. 'I could almost have touched him. It was no trick - he disappeared alright.'

  Declan's mind whirled in circles. The story was incredible, almost too incredible to begin to understand. Was this the real thing? Had Jenna actually seen a human being dematerialize? And where did the alien fit into the scheme of things? They had reached the edge of the resort, and only the line of pointed markers designating the electronic resort boundary separated them from the wide expanse of open countryside that flowed from the foothills of the mountain range where they stood. 'So what happened to Vance, did he turn up inside the tracker?'

  'No way,' said Jenna. 'That stuff about trying out the system was a pack of lies. All that happened was that I swapped Vance for Carrick.'

  'You did what?'

  'I did exactly that. Vance went into the machine and Carrick came out.'

  'I thought the Phasewave could only transmit. How did Carrick get there?'

  'Ellen and Carrick were a lot closer than Vennica,' said Jenna. 'You look puzzled, Declan, and I feel for you. I actually saw these things with my own eyes, and even I find them hard to accept. Let me explain how Carrick arrived on the scene.'

  **********************************

  Jenna stood alone, stunned by what she had just witnessed. Then another humming noise broke the silence and she turned round to see a human shape begin to materialize in front of the Phasewave console.

  'Vance!' she cried, and ran forward, only to come to an abrupt halt as the ethereal shape solidified into the physical form of Carrick.

  Carrick immediately started to pace rapidly around the room, while Jenna stood and stared at him in bewilderment. There was a wild, almost demented look in his eyes, and he kept frantically brushing the hair from his face, as if he could feel something clinging to his skin.

  'Thank God!' he cried. 'Thank you! Oh, thank you God!'

  'What's happened?' said Jenna. 'Where's Vance?'

  Carrick turned and appeared to notice Jenna for the first time. He took three quick paces towards her and roughly seized her by the arm.

  'What are you doing?' cried Jenna, trying to back away. 'Let go of me.'

  'Now it's your turn,' said Carrick. 'Get inside the machine.'

  Jenna managed to jerk her arm free from Carrick's grasp. 'Why? I don't understand. How did you get here? You said the machine couldn't receive.'

  'Don't argue with me!' Carrick's face turned harsh and ugly. 'Just do as you're told. Get inside!'

  Jenna stepped backwards. 'Keep away from me! I want to see Vance!'

  Carrick grabbed hold of Jenna again and started to pull her towards the machine while she desperately resisted, twisting and pulling away from him until he lost his temper.

  'Stay still you little fool,' he hissed through clenched teeth and raised his hand to strike her. Jenna cowered down and heard a woman's voice call out. Carrick immediately lowered his hand, and Jenna saw Ellen's face watching them from the monitor.

  'You clumsy oaf!' shouted Ellen. 'Don't harm her. Don't damage her body.'

  Carrick's response was to lift Jenna off her feet and carry her over to the machine. 'Don't tempt me,' he muttered. 'Now, get your hands on those rails.'

  Jenna was forced down onto the machine by Carrick's weight but managed to keep her hands away from the bars. She struggled frantically and slipped from his grip.

  'Come here, bitch,' snarled Carrick, lunging at Jenna as she evaded his clutches.

  'Be careful!' cried Ellen from the monitor. 'Don't let her go. Tie her up. Don't just stand there, stupid! Do something!'

  Carrick ran after Jenna and trapped her behind the console, pinning her against the wall with his body. After checking that he was out of Ellen's sight, a look of pure evil spread across his features. 'Yes, maybe I should tie you up.' Carrick crudely forced one of his legs between hers and crushed her breasts in his coarse hands. 'It's been a long time since I had a woman. You're not my type, but you're better than nothing.'

  Jenna panicked. She reached up and clawed at Carrick's face, feeling her nails rake the softness of his eyes. Carrick screamed and fell backwards clutching his face, giving Jenna the chance she needed to dart past him and out through the door. Jenna ran from the unit as she had never run in her life before, and all she could hear as she flew down the corridor was Ellen screaming abuse at Carrick and Carrick swearing back at her in reply.

  For the first time in her life Jenna was grateful for being small. She crouched in the tiny recess behind the water cooler and listened to the sound of her pounding heart echoing in the confined space. Footsteps approached along the corridor, accompanied by the sound of arguing voices. Had Ellen managed to join Carrick? No, there was only one voice - Carrick was cursing himself. The footsteps passed by her hiding place and then, as Jenna was starting to relax, stopped and retraced their path to come to a halt directly in front of the cooler. Jenna desperately stifled the scream that threatened to burst from her lips and began to shake with fear, fear of what Carrick would do to her if he found her. She bit hard on her knuckles and tried to ignore the painful messages from her tender breasts, testimony to the mauling that awaited her. Carrick was standing within touching distance, and there was no way of escaping. Jenna screwed up her eyes to shut out the horror and then heard the sound of running water - Carrick was drinking from the cooler! The noise went on and on, until it eventually ceased and the heavy footsteps resumed their rhythm along the corridor. For a long time after the footsteps had faded Jenna remained where she was, rigid with fright, until she managed to force her reluctant body out of its hiding place and fled down the corridor in the opposite direction to the one Carrick had taken.

  Jenna had a plan. It wasn't a good one, but it was the best she could think of. She pulled a safety torch from her uniform sleeve and carefully and quietly made her way along darkened corridors to the cargo bay, all the time alert for sounds in the adjoining rooms and corridors. She could hear no noises, so assumed that Carrick was searching the other side of the base. Her best chance, she reasoned, was to take the only serviceable skimmer to Tracker South where, hopefully, Vance would be waiting for her. Without transport, C
arrick would be unable to pursue her, so at least she would be safe for a while.

  The probing pencil of light from Jenna's torch showed that she was alone in the cargo bay. She quickly donned her protective suit and dragged the skimmer into the airlock. The air hissed from the chamber as the pressure started to drop and Jenna snapped her helmet shut and tried to think through the next procedure. The unscheduled opening of an outer door would trigger alarms throughout the base and immediately reveal her location to Carrick. The hissing stopped. Jenna took a deep breath and twisted the release handle. She was now committed; there was no going back.

  The skimmer's turbine whined into life, only to die after a few seconds rotation. Jenna checked the gauges under the light of her torch to find that the power unit was showing a full charge.

  'Come on!' she cried. 'Don't let me down, not now!'

  Jenna attempted another start, but the same thing happened again. Her heart began to pound. Carrick must by now have discovered her location and would be running as fast as he could towards the cargo bay. Perspiration ran down between Jenna's shoulder blades and she started to hyperventilate. Brant had fixed the skimmer, so why wouldn't the damn thing start? There must be something else wrong with it. Two squares of light cut through the darkness and appeared on the ground a few metres away as the interior lights of the adjacent building came on. Carrick had nearly caught up with her! After one final, futile attempt to start the skimmer, Jenna was forced to abandon it and move outside into the heavier darkness next to the base walls to consider her next actions. She stood on the firm hard-standing and thought rapidly. There was nowhere to hide outside the base. Behind her the cargo bay lights lit up. Carrick would soon discover the open airlock and skimmer, and it would not take him long to put on a suit and join her outside. She now had no alternative but to make it to the tracker on foot. Jenna stepped off the hard-standing and immediately felt the soft dust suck at her feet and legs. She started to wade through the clinging surface and found that the faster she moved the less time her feet had to sink, but, after only a few minutes, perspiration was running into her eyes and her leg muscles were quivering under the demands of the unnatural movement. She instinctively reached up to wipe her face, but the gauntlet slapped ineffectually against her helmet. She cursed loudly. Why was Carrick so desperate to catch her, and why had Ellen said she must not be hurt? None of it made sense. Jenna stopped to catch her breath and looked back towards the base. Only two hundred metres separated her from the buildings. She looked the other way and saw the elevated tracker in the distance and knew she would never make it. Then the vision of Carrick's evil face stung her out of inactivity. She had no choice; One and a half kilometres was the difference between life or living hell, and no matter how long the journey took she had to reach the tracker. Before setting off again Jenna automatically glanced down at the luminous gauge on the front of her suit to check the air supply and froze. The oxygen generator was showing a half charge, only thirty minutes of air remained in the container! Then she realised that it was the same suit she had worn when she visited the tracker with Brant, the one she had never got round to recharging. It would take over an hour to reach the tracker; her salvation now depended upon returning to the base and gaining entry without Carrick's knowledge before her strength failed. She tensed her body and pulled her feet free, but this time, because she was tired, her feet sank deeper with each step, making the going even more difficult. Soon Jenna started to flounder in the dust and was forced to stop before she lost her balance. She stood, breathing deeply, and looked around her while streams of perspiration ran continuously down her face and glued strands of hair across her eyes.