by J. J. Green
“No need,” said Flahive. “I’ve changed my mind. I’m no longer interested in going ahead with this project. Could someone show me the way out?”
“Wait a minute,” said Jas. “Are you sure? The Paths...I found them in a significant place. Maybe you can find out something important for us.”
“Maybe I could have, but I’m afraid that isn’t to be. I’m leaving now. Is the exit this way?”
No matter what anyone said, Flahive wouldn’t deviate from his abrupt change of mind. With an air of anti-climax, Carl, Jas, and Sayen left the research facility with the empath.
“Are you sure you won’t change your mind?” Sayen asked when Sparks had sadly said goodbye and they were outside. “What did you object to in the document? They seemed prepared to negotiate. Maybe we could go back tomorrow.”
Flahive paused and turned back to the facility. He waited until Sparks had gone inside and the doors were closed. “There won’t be any need to return. Not to talk with the Paths at any rate. A remarkable species. We had an interesting conversation as I was pretending to read that ridiculous agreement. I believe I may be able to shed some light on these Shadows, and the Paths, and what’s been happening both here and in their universe.”
Chapter Thirteen
Jas took them to the bar where she’d met Sparks so they could talk. It was, as she’d predicted, nearly empty. It wasn’t yet lunchtime. A few regular patrons were dotted around the place, sitting separately, their heads down and their minds on their beer and inner thoughts. Mars was a place of regrets and unfulfilled dreams, it seemed to Jas. How many had nursed hopes of a better life, only to find themselves trapped on a dry, barren world? A world that attracted no investment now that cheaper interstellar travel had opened the gateway to planets that offered richer, more easily exploited resources?
The bartender was cleaning the bar when they went in. He paused and did a double take at Flahive in his high-pressure suit and smoky face panel, but after a moment he continued wiping. Jas ordered everyone but Flahive a drink.
“Your friend not joining you today?” he asked as he made the drinks.
“You mean that guy I helped last night?” Jas asked in return. “No, he’s working. And he isn’t my friend.”
“Right. Well, thanks for lending a hand with him.” He put a full glass down on the bar in front of Jas. “I don’t mind the regular drunks; it’s the noisy, falling down drunks I don’t like.”
“Sorry about that, but, like I said, he isn’t my friend.”
“Whatever you say.” The bartender put down another full glass. When the order was filled, Jas handed over her card. As he gave it back, the bartender didn’t let go as Jas took it, so they were both holding it. “I get off at two. If you fancy going for a late lunch, meet me outside.” He released Jas’ card.
She couldn’t help but smile to herself as she took the drinks to the table where the others were waiting.
“Something funny?” Sayen asked.
“The bartender just asked me out on a date,” Jas replied as she gave everyone their drinks.
“Ha,” Sayen chuckled. “That’s nice and flattering. Did you tell him you can’t accept because you’re on a mission to save the galaxy?”
“Huh, no,” Jas said. “It was more strange than flattering. I’m not used to being asked out. I’m more used to negative attention. I keep forgetting that here I’m normal.”
“Maybe we could get on to what Flahive wants to tell us,” Carl said edgily.
Jas sat down.
“I’m not sure where to begin,” Flahive said. His deep voice boomed around the bar, causing heads to turn. He seemed to do something to his translator, for the next time he spoke it was at half the former volume. “I think it’s best if I begin by asking you a question. Where did you first encounter the Paths?”
Jas explained how she’d found them deep within a Shadow trap and, under Haggardy’s orders, transported them to the Galathea as a new resource for Polestar. She also explained how they’d ended up on Mars, according to Sparks.
“Their initial location makes a lot of sense to me,” Flahive said, “based on what the Paths said.”
“So you can talk to them?” Jas asked. “We only pick up on their emotions.”
“I can converse with them,” Flahive replied. “And when you say you pick up on their emotions, you should understand that they also pick up on yours. The best way to describe the phenomenon you humans quaintly refer to as telepathy or mind-reading is that feelings and thoughts are like music and lyrics. The analogy is accurate in that distance is inversely related to the strength of the signal received, and also in that the music of a song—the emotions—are easier to make out than the lyrics—the thoughts. Unfortunately for humans, you’re nearly all but deaf when it comes to perceiving emotions and thoughts, though you do transmit rather loudly.”
Carl said, “So how come we feel what the Paths feel?”
“On this plane,” Flahive replied, “the Paths are extremely handicapped except for their—for want of a better word—telepathy. Their signal is even louder than a human being’s. So loud, in fact, it’s equivalent to them shouting at the tops of their voices. Hearing them was almost painful. I had to ask them to whisper.”
“Wait,” Sayen said. “What do you mean, on this plane?”
“I mean in this dimension. The Paths are from another, um, place. Another universe, I think, or perhaps something different from a universe. It’s all a little confusing to me, even after talking with them for some time. I’ll explain it as well as I can, then please feel free to ask me any questions. I may not remember it all perfectly. I couldn’t write anything down under the scrutiny of the scientists.”
Flahive settled in his seat. He took up a whole bench, and, as always, he looked uncomfortable. His third leg stuck out at the front, which prevented him from sitting close to the table.
“The Paths are from a place that has no physical structure. According to the known laws of physics, it doesn’t exist. This place has no atomic particles, no forces, no time, nothing. I’m not sure if the word place even applies. I’m afraid the Paths didn’t seem to have words to describe their home. They could only tell me about it in terms of what it isn’t, not what it is, because even language doesn’t exist or have any meaning there.
“The next thing they told me may be the crucial key to understanding and defeating the aliens you call Shadows. The Paths said that Shadows also come from this place that isn’t a place. They create traps in our universe so that they can cross over. They absorb their victims, including their brains, which hold their memories and personality, and recreate that person, only with a Shadow mind. The Paths said that the Shadows are all one thing, but also many things together. They also said that they’re aware of what the Shadows are doing, and they’re trying to stop them, but here in the physical world, they’re nearly helpless.
“They didn’t actually tell me this,” Flahive went on, “but from what you’ve said, the Paths appeared in the Shadow trap because they wanted to fight the Shadows or try to warn their victims. Or it may have been because that’s where it was easiest for them to pass through. I’m not sure.”
“Woah,” said Carl.
“I thought I might find you all here,” said a voice. “Do you mind if I join you?” They’d been so intent on what Flahive was saying, no one had noticed that Sparks had come in.
Carl wondered how much he’d heard.
Sparks didn’t wait for an answer. He pulled up a chair and sat down.
“Doctor Sparks,” Sayen said. “Did you hear what Flahive was saying about the Paths? They’re fighting the Shadows too.”
Jas shook her head at her.
“Oh, come on, Jas,” Sayen said. “We’re all on the same side, aren’t we?”
“No,” Jas said, “I don’t think we are.”
“You’re right, in a way, Harrington,” Sparks said. “However, I’m not your enemy.” He turned to Flahive. “Am I right in unde
rstanding that you were pretending to read that agreement while, in fact, you were speaking to the Paths?”
Flahive didn’t answer, possibly waiting for an indication from one of the others as to whether or not he should tell Sparks what he knew.
“Carl, what do you think?” Jas asked.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s working with the research team. I don’t know whose side he’s on.”
“He’s on the side of humankind,” Sayen said. “We all are. We should go back to the research facility and tell them what Flahive found out.”
“I wouldn’t advise that,” Flahive said. “I don’t think those humans who have been working with the Paths are very good people.” He didn’t say more, but it was evident that that was the reason he’d indulged in subterfuge. The Paths must have told him something that caused him to distrust the scientists.
“They aren’t good people,” Sparks exclaimed so vehemently it made the others jump. “They are not good people. That’s why I came here to find you. I wanted to ask you if you could help me get away from here.”
Sparks proceeded to spout a torrent of words explaining his experiences over the last months and what the other scientists had been forcing him to do. From what he could gather, Carl concluded that the doctor had been turned from a researcher into a lab rat.
“The coma experience is pleasant enough while it lasts, I confess,” Sparks said, “but the Paths are capable of killing. They killed a member of staff on the quarantine station. They’ve killed animals that we set on them. I just know that those misborn colleagues of mine are going to push me to take more and more risks until the Paths kill me too. And then they’ll dissect me like they did all the other animals.”
Sayen’s eyes had grown round. “Jas, Carl, we have to do something.”
“Why don’t you just quit?” Jas asked.
“I can’t,” Sparks replied. “I’ve tried. Yesterday, when you met me here, I’d been to the spaceport. I had all my things packed. I was ready to give up my job, everything. I was ready to return to Earth with little more than the clothes on my back and start again. But I was stopped from boarding the shuttle. Travel permission denied, they said. Since when did we need permission to travel? And where could I flee to on Mars? Where could I hide? They’d find me in a second. Please, could you smuggle me aboard your shuttle, Lingiari? I’ll pay you anything.”
“You didn’t tell me this,” Jas said. “You told me you’d been working with the Paths. That was all.”
Sparks replied, “I was hoping I had my ticket out when you said you knew someone who could help with understanding the Paths, Harrington. I thought if we had a breakthrough in our experiments, it would take the pressure off and I’d be allowed to leave. When your friend refused to help, I despaired. That’s why I came to find you. I wanted to persuade him to reconsider.”
“Okay, okay. So you can’t leave, but wait a minute,” Jas said. “Back up. What did you mean when you said, the coma’s pleasant enough while it lasts?”
With so much for them to talk about, the group remained at the bar until the evening.
Chapter Fourteen
“What? No,” Phelan said. “I’m not risking my shuttle...I’m not risking my ship...on anything so hare-brained.”
“You have to,” said Sayen. “The Paths could be the key to defeating the Shadows. They could be the key to everything that’s been happening. We need to get them out of that facility. Then Flahive can talk to them. They could hold vital information. They’re our link to the dimension where the Shadows come from. We can’t leave them down there in the hands of those weapons scientists.”
Jas, Carl, Flahive, and Sayen had joined Phelan on the flight deck of the Bricoleur after leaving Sparks on Mars with a promise that they would consider his request for help.
“Sis, this isn’t like rescuing you from the roof of a burning building,” said Phelan. He threw his baseball at the ceiling and caught it. “Mars has defenses. If we swoop into their airspace without clearance, they’ll shoot us out of the sky.”
“We’ve got clearance, mate,” Carl said. “I’ve been planetside three times. It won’t look unusual if I take the shuttle down again.”
“So you’re going to land at the spaceport?” Phelan asked. Thunk. He sighed. “Okay, tell me your plan.”
Sayen grinned. “With Sparks’ help, we break the Paths out of the research facility, take them aboard the shuttle, and bring them up here. Then jump somewhere. Quickly.”
“Just like that, huh?” said Phelan. “You’re gonna break into a top-security facility, steal highly classified experiment subjects, somehow get them through export screening at the spaceport, and bring them up here?”
Sayen nodded. “That’s the plan.”
“Seriously?” Thunk.
“We’ll have to do it really fast.”
“You’re certainly a lot faster than I remember you being, Sis, but I don’t think being fast is going to cut it this time.”
“Phelan,” Jas said, “I understand your reluctance, but ever since we found the Shadows, we’ve had to take risks. We’ve risked our lives I don’t know how many times. Believe me, I’d rather face Martian security and a handful of mad scientists than Shadows.”
Phelan remained indecisive. He threw his baseball.
Sayen leapt into the air and caught it before it reached the ceiling. “I don’t understand your reluctance,” she said as she hit the ground. “You don’t sound like the Phelan I know, who ran away to space at eighteen, or the man who makes his living mining uncharted planets on the Outer Rim. What’s the problem, Brother? I don’t get it.”
Phelan looked intently at Sayen, and for a moment the confident, carefree mask fell away. In its place was the look of a man who loved his sister very much and couldn’t bear the thought of losing her, the last family he had.
Wordlessly, Sayen tossed him his baseball and went over and hugged him.
Jas thought she heard Flahive give a small sigh of contentment. She supposed there was an upside to picking up on the emotions of others.
“Captain,” Flahive said, “though this proposal is risky and the consequences of our capture are unknown, I believe we should make the effort. In the short time that I had to speak to the Paths, it became clear to me that these creatures are of great importance not only in defeating the Shadows, but also in helping us understand the nature of their universe. It’s little short of a crime that they’ve been shut away and experimented upon. To try to use their special ability as a weapon is immoral. It’s deplorable, in fact. The Paths are suffering, and we have a duty to rescue them.”
Phelan said, “I hear what you’re saying, Flahive, but I’m also wary of bringing these creatures aboard my ship if they’re killers, as everyone’s saying.”
“I think I may be able to shed some light on that also,” Flahive replied. “Doctor Sparks was saying that he enters a kind of trance or coma when he does something to threaten the Paths, and that they kill any living thing that might cause them serious harm. I didn’t discuss this reaction with the Paths as I wasn’t aware of it at the time that I spoke with them, but if I had to guess, I’d say that they aren’t intentionally killing their victims. I believe that the Paths’ only defense is their access to the dimension where they usually live. I believe they are stopping their victims’ actions by sending them temporarily or permanently into their own dimension.”
“Krat,” Jas said. “You could be right. It’s about the only power they have here. It’s the only thing they can do to help themselves.”
“So are you saying,” Phelan asked, “that as long as they don’t feel threatened, they won’t hurt us?”
“I’m confident of it,” Flahive replied. “If I’m here to translate for them, they’ll trust us. No one will come to any harm.”
Phelan sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I think I’m probably gonna regret this, but okay. Okay. Y’all can go and get these Paths and bring them aboard my ship, though where
we’ll go after that, I’ve no idea.”
“Thanks, Phelan,” Sayen said, giving him another hug.
“Whoa, hey Sis, those are some powerful arms you’ve got yourself there. Ease up a little.”
“Sorry.” Sayen released Phelan and turned to the others. “When are we going to do it?”
“No time like the present,” Jas said. “How about tonight?”
Chapter Fifteen
Phelan had provided an encrypted comm line to make the arrangements with Sparks. The doctor would meet them at the entrance to the research facility at ten o’clock, when everyone but the security staff would have left. Sparks would say he was working late. Though his status had dropped in the eyes of his colleagues, he retained the necessary clearances to admit guests into the building.
The plan for how they would get the Paths out of the facility was a little fuzzy. They would have to get them past the security guards. How they would do that was unclear. Phelan had the standard complement of weapons you would expect to find on a starship that regularly trawled lawless parts of the galaxy, but there was no way they would get them through customs. Even to try would arouse suspicion. They would be going in empty-handed and would have to rely on speed, bravado, and a lot of luck to see them through.
How they would convince the spaceport officials to allow them to take the Paths aboard the shuttle was another unanswered question. They would have to cross both those bridges when they came to them, Jas concluded as she strapped herself into her shuttle seat, ready to make the descent to the Valles Marineris Spaceport. Things were going to get worse, not better, for the Paths. This would be the best chance they had to rescue them. They had to take it.
Flahive was a concern. Jas had thought that, coming from a high-g planet, he would be fast and strong in Mars’ low gravity, but his awkward method of locomotion made him slow. She wondered if his species was aquatic and so walking on land was unnatural to him. His presence was essential, however, if they were to reassure the Paths that they meant them no harm and if they were to avoid the potentially deadly consequences of scaring them.