Third Player

by Warren James Palmer

  Finally, he grinned at the three of them and making himself comfortable in his chair, he said, ‘Well I guess I’d better listen to what you’ve come here to tell me... What’s it all about gentlemen?’

  Jenson grinned back at the Dyason rebel leader, glad that Hillmead appeared to be more like his old self.

  ‘It’s about the biggest civil-defence project ever undertaken and a scientific experiment known as Point Zero!’ he told him, then began his tale.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Excalibur

  The insectoid lay securely tied to the examination table, its four multi-jointed legs strapped in pairs to anchor points on the deck. Doc Patterson wasn’t taking any chances—he’d even taken the precaution of positioning armed marines at the four corners of the lab.

  He’d tried everything he could think of to revive the beast, but to no effect… He simply didn’t know anything about the physiology of the insectoid. Excalibur’s data-banks were devoid of any information on the crustaceans they’d encountered, so Patterson had been forced to apply techniques he would normally use to revive humanoids. He ruefully admitted to himself that his attempts had probably finished the bugger off; if it wasn’t dead already.

  With a deep breath he adjusted his surgical mask and using the laser scalpel cut an incision down the centre of the insectoid breast. There was a fountain of fluid which gushed out of its chest. Patterson’s assistant did his best to clear the mess up with a suction pump, but without any real success. The Doc swore and tried to wipe the worst of the creature’s blood off his apron. This was going to be messy!

  He sighed and made a few comments about the fluid looking and tasting like hydraulic fluid for the sake of the autopsy video recording. Then he took a deep breath and forced open the chest cavity.

  Just over an hour later he’d completed his first test. The results were the damnedest thing he’d ever come across, but there could be doubting them. Although, after what he’d seen on Heligsion he was willing to pretty well believe anything.

  ‘You’re definite about the findings?’ Black asked Patterson as he examined the dissected carcass lying strewn over the examination table.

  ‘Well there’s more work to be done yet, but yeah, I’m sure of the results to date,’ Patterson replied, peeling his rubber gloves off and letting his assistant finish the last few tests.

  ‘So what you’re telling me is that thing is actually a robot?’ Black asked once more staring at what looked to him like flesh and bone.

  ‘That’s right,’ Patterson merrily confirmed.

  ‘Well it looks to me like some sort of animal,’ Black protested eying the creature’s sinews with distaste.

  ‘That’s because it’s biological; not mechanical like the androids you’re used to!’ the ship’s doctor explained. ‘You see, the thing is grown in those tanks we told you about, like a clone. However, the brain of the beast is not like yours or mine, it’s a strange mix of organics and microprocessor circuitry. Whatever created it, planted the microprocessor, which is the core of its brain, during the cloning process. It’s clever, very clever, but definitely an android.’

  ‘That’s incredible!’ Black exclaimed with an appreciative whistle. ‘So what killed the bugger?’

  ‘It blew a fuse.’

  ‘It did what?’

  ‘It blew a fuse,’ Patterson repeated. ‘You see, when Moss hit the thing with a mental bolt it overloaded the microprocessor causing it to fail. Without that bit of electronics, the beast switched itself off and keeled over. It seems to me that Moss has accidentally discovered the crusties’ Achilles heel!’

  ‘Have you told him?’ Black asked.

  ‘No, I thought I’d leave that pleasure to you.’

  Black reached for his comm unit and hailed Moss who received the information with great interest. Patterson sat down and began to closely examine the information the autopsy had divulged. If he could find one weakness in the bugger, perhaps he could find another.

  Moss instinctively knew where to find who he was looking for. The acres of woodlands and gardens of the biosphere deck seemed to attract thought. It was like a magnet, a place where not only plants and animals thrived, but the psyche as well. He was sure this was the primary reason the biosphere decks were built. They acted as a focus for mental development.

  The vegetation in Excalibur’s garden of Eden was different from that flourishing on Valvia. The plants, trees and animals here were, except for a few exceptions, all from Earth. As he walked along the well-trodden woodlands paths, watching the squirrels dash from tree top to tree top, he wondered what would happen to the morale of the crew, if they didn’t have a little piece of home to take with them, on these long voyages. It would probably go through the floor, he admitted to himself.

  He knew that when they were orbiting the dying world of Dyason, the crew had spent an increasing amount of time in the gardens. After all the horrendous pollution they saw there, they obviously felt the need to remind themselves of the beauty of Earth.

  After walking for some time with the artificial afternoon sun glinting through the leaves, Moss heard the babbling of running water. The trees parted and the small lake, with the gentle waterfall stood before him. The golden sun glinted off the deep blue water and the two young girls splashing about in its centre. They were both about eight or nine years old, with brown tanned skin and long fair hair. Their laughter echoed off the nearby oak, ash and pine trees as they played with bright abandon.

  Moss sat down on the lush grass at the edge of the lake and watched the children play. Ten minutes or so went past and then there was a rustle in the trees behind him. Moss didn’t bother to turn around; he waited until the stranger had approached and sat down on the grass next to him.

  ‘Hello son,’ the stranger greeted.

  Moss turned to look at the man. He was somewhere in his mid-thirties, lean and muscular. His mass of dark hair was shoulder length and framed an angular, handsome face.

  ‘It’s good to see you again Arthur,’ he greeted his ancestor. ‘A lot has happened since last we met.’

  ‘Indeed it has lad…indeed it has,’ Arthur agreed. ‘Some of the prophecies have been fulfilled. However, some of what has come to pass had not been foreseen before.’

  ‘Well I’m glad we can still deliver a few surprises,’ Moss replied ruefully. He nodded toward the two little girls still playing in the water. ‘Who are they?’

  ‘You mean you don’t recognise them?’ the mythical Arthur replied. ‘I’m surprised at you lad. I always thought you were more observant than that!’

  Moss frowned and looked at the pair of them more closely. The girl nearest to him looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t put a name to the face. The other girl he was sure he’d never seen before.

  ‘Nope, it’s no good. You’ll have to give me a clue,’ he said.

  Arthur laughed gently then said, ‘You’re going to kick yourself when I tell you. The girl with her back to us is Excalibur’s holographic projection of its own persona. The little beauty facing us is the little girl you rescued from the growth tank on Heligsion.’

  ‘But she’s in the infirmary still in a critical state!’ Moss objected. ‘How can she be here?’

  ‘The child is very important to the future. Her mind has been badly traumatised by what happened to her and her people,’ Arthur told the younger man. ‘It was vital that the therapy of her psyche began immediately. Excalibur itself volunteered to begin the work. The nightmare the lass has been through is something our sentient computer has experience in. They certainly seem to be getting on well together. Of course, neither of them are really here you know. Just like me, they’re mental projections—holograms if you like.’

  Moss whistled appreciatively and looked at the children once more as they continued to play, blissfully unaware of his presence. ‘I didn’t know such a thing was possible! And that’s how Excalibur sees itself; as a little girl? Fascinating…’

  ‘Well I guess the g
irl is one of the ways Excalibur likes to project itself, but not the only one,’ Arthur answered then changed the subject. ‘However, they aren’t the reason we’re here are they Moss? What is it you need to ask me?’

  Moss turned to face the image of his ancestor. When he’d first met Arthur he was to some extent in awe of the mythical king, but as time went by that was gradually changing. He was beginning to realise that his great, great something grandfather was really no different from himself. Arthur had been a tool in some grand cosmic scheme; never made aware who, or what, was behind the plan. The legendary English king had, in the end, been a victim of events orchestrated without his knowledge. However, that was a long time ago and a lot had happened since then. Moss felt his ancestor was now privy to the greater scheme of things, and knew a lot more than he’d divulged in their last meeting. Moss was determined to have more control over his destiny than his unfortunate ancestor, and wanted some answers to some hard questions.

  ‘I want to know who, or what, invaded the Heligsion world,’ Moss said bluntly. ‘I know there’s some sort of connection between those crustaceans, Excalibur, Valvia and Dominator. I want to know the full story Arthur! If you want me to play along with the greater cosmic plan, then I want to know what that plan is! It’s my right!’

  Arthur returned his descendant’s glare with a steady stare, his face unreadable. Then a smile touched the corner of his lips and he said, ‘I guess you do have the right to the full story at that son. God knows you deserve it! I have been authorised to put you in the picture so to speak. However, the truth is perhaps more unbelievable than any fantasy. You may have trouble accepting what I have to tell you!’

  ‘Try me!’ Moss demanded. And so Arthur began to recount the history behind the cosmic plan.

  Before the age of dinosaurs on Earth, Arthur explained, there was just one race of humanoids who had evolved on a planet closer to the centre of the galactic core. Like the people on Earth this race had survived wars, famine and climatic change to build a technologically advanced civilisation. Nuclear power gave way to space flight, which gave way to the exploration of other worlds.

  Soon the Samarcion race had colonised thousands of worlds across the galaxy, all linked by hyper-space flight. The Samarcion commonwealth stretched for hundreds of light years in every direction and for centuries they enjoyed unparalleled wealth and prosperity.

  However, the size of the commonwealth had finite limits. The boundaries of Samarcion exploration were governed by the practical range of hyper-space travel. The problem was that even traveling at speeds in excess of five times the speed of light, it took over a Terran year, for a freighter carrying goods from the furthest colonies to reach the home-world.

  ‘Just like Terrans, the Samarcion people were naturally inquisitive and wanted the challenge of colonising new worlds. No one, however, wanted to sever the link with the commonwealth, which would have been necessary if colonists were to move beyond its boundaries. As the worlds within the boundaries of the Samarcion commonwealth became densely populated, the question of further expansion became a serious problem,’ Arthur told a rapt Moss. ‘However, that wasn’t the only matter concerning the Samarcion. Despite all the star systems they’d explored and visited, there was a growing concern that no other races had been encountered.’

  ‘What, not even one!’ Moss asked in surprise. ‘Out of all the thousands of worlds in the Samarcion commonwealth and they never found any other intelligent life-form?’

  ‘Well it’s a question of degree,’ the mythical king answered the question. ‘The Samarcion people found animals on the worlds they visited that were intelligent in the same manner as Terran whales, dolphins and gorillas. Creatures that were at one with their environment and highly intelligent in their own way. However, they found no other surviving civilisations—that is races who built cities and developed machinery.’

  ‘You say surviving,’ Moss picked up. ‘That means that they found evidence of past civilisations.’

  ‘That’s right,’ Arthur agreed. ‘There were the remains of one, particular civilisation, on several of the colonised planets. Unfortunately, the race who had created the ruins had long since disappeared. Archaeological findings suggested that this new race had been technologically advanced, with the means to travel from one solar system to another. It appeared that this one race had once colonised many of the same worlds as the Samarcion, but for some reason died, or left their cities in a hurry.’

  The image of the ancient king went on to explain that it was felt that the Samarcion people had to expanded the commonwealth and seek out the race who had been colonists before them. It was felt that knowing what happened to that other civilisation would help them sustain the commonwealth. If they knew what mistakes that race had made, the Samarcion could avoid the same pitfalls. There was also the need to continue to colonise new worlds before the commonwealth core became unsustainably populated.

  The Samarcions therefore decided to build a series of vast space stations along the boundaries of the commonwealth. These well-equipped self-sufficient outposts would act as stepping stones for exploration into the unknown areas of the galaxy. Each station would be equipped with the latest generation of super-computers. These machines were capable of independent reasoned thought and learned from their own mistakes. A mix of electronic and biological technology, they were considered ideal for operating these distant outposts. The machines would never tire or need a constant stream of supplies like a humanoid crew. The 2323 generation of super-computers would be able to run the outposts independently for centuries entirely without humanoid assistance.

  However, what really made the system truly viable, Arthur explained, was the network of sub-ether connections. Networking of computers had in the past always been limited by the speed of radio waves which, of course, was the same as the speed of light, which meant it could take years or decades for the computer on a colony to download information directly to the home-world. It was faster to send the information by starship.

  That is until the discovery of sub-ether networking. The Samarcions had known about the sub-ether for quite some time and understood it was the one of the dimensions outside time and space where thought patterns operated. What was new was the ability to transmit digital waveforms through this dimension. The effect of this was quite revolutionary. Instant communication was suddenly possible from one side of the galactic commonwealth to the other.

  The 2323 super-computers on the distant space stations were the first machines to be linked using sub-ether communications. Soon other computers across the colonies were being linked together to form one vast network.

  ‘Imagine if you will, the Internet that was created on Earth in the 1980’s,’ Arthur told Moss. ‘Since its creation it has grown to become a mammoth network containing mankind’s entire source of knowledge and culture. Now imagine the Internet on an interstellar scale; millions upon millions of computers all linked together across hundreds of light years—the Starweb!’

  ‘It’s a mind-blowing concept,’ Moss agreed trying to imagine such a huge galactic network. ‘In theory it would allow expansion to any part of the universe without losing contact with the commonwealth core.’

  ‘Exactly!’ Arthur confirmed, pleased that the young man sufficiently grasped the concept.

  ‘So what went wrong?’ Moss demanded.

  Arthur went on to explain how for a time the Starweb worked superbly, allowing colonists to move beyond the established edges of the commonwealth for the first time. The new outposts and their 2323 bio-computers were instrumental in this expansion. In fact everything went well until the final outpost in the chain was completed.

  ‘Outpost 397 in the star system 37/59.003 was known as Extremity Station because it was stationed at the furthest limit of the commonwealth toward the galactic arm,’ Arthur said. ‘As with all the other stations it was equipped with a 2323 computer and linked to the Starweb. It was soon after the outpost became operational that things beg
an to go wrong. Several merchantmen and colonists’ ships disappeared after making their way to outpost 397. A cruiser named the Gallagic was sent to investigate the disappearances but it too vanished without a trace.’

  ‘What happened to them?’ Moss asked his ancestor, completely absorbed by the fascinating story. He was so intent on what Arthur was telling him he was only partially aware that the two little girls had stopped playing in the water and were sitting at his feet listening to the tale.

  ‘The Samarcions never found out for sure, but the finger of blame pointed to the outpost’s 2323 computer,’ Arthur told him.

  ‘Why was that?’

  ‘Well, when interrogated the outpost computer denied all knowledge of the vessels and claimed they never made it to their rendezvous with the station,’ the ancient king told him. ‘The Samarcion’s had no way of proving the computer’s story because the humanoids still in residence on the station went missing as well. The only contact with the outpost was by sub-ether and the computer controlled all transmissions. It refused to allow direct interface with any humanoids.’

  ‘That must have really set the alarm bells ringing,’ Moss commented as he absently stroked the little Heligsion girl’s hair. ‘What happened next?’

  Arthur continued the tale, explaining how the Samarcions soon lost contact with all the other outposts in the same manner as Extremity Station. The Starweb began behaving erratically across the whole of the commonwealth. Whole worlds suddenly found that their Starweb; connected computer systems refused to operate properly, if at all. It was as if they simply did not want to co-operate.

  It was at about this time that the crustaceans began to attack the colonies furthest from the commonwealth core. Space cruisers moved to intercept, but by the time they arrived at the out-worlds they’d already been destroyed. There were no humanoid survivors.