Gregor's Search-The Filament Makers: Stories from the Filaments

by Saxon Andrew

  Solo’s head whipped around, and Gregor chuckled, “Toren, we have a new guest on board and you need to assume your cloud shape, so he won’t hurt his neck looking for you.” Solo suddenly saw a white cloud appear beside Gregor’s chair. “To answer your question, Toren, we are going to your community first to make sure they’re ok.”

  “Thank you for that, Gregor. If you don’t mind, I’ve been working on a new shape and want to see if it meets your approval.”

  “Go ahead.”

  The white cloud seemed to roll and boil for a moment, and then, a young human male appeared. Gregor, Elena, the computer, and Solo were all shocked by the sudden change. “How did you do that?” Elena asked forcefully.

  “I examined your DNA and changed some of my exterior energy to mimic it. If it’s not pleasing, I’ll change back.”

  Gregor shook his head, “No, that’s not necessary. But why did you choose that particular appearance?”

  “Why do you ask?”

  You’re a little different from most males I’ve seen. For example, everyone on Bellingham with the blue eyes and gold ring around them has blonde hair.”

  Suddenly, the dark-haired man’s hair turned blonde, “That’s easy enough,” Toren replied.

  “I like it dark,” Elena announced. “I like dark hair, no one in my family has it.” In an instant, the man’s hair was black again.

  “Toren, you look…familiar.”

  “He looks like he’s a Bellingham Warrior, Gregor.”

  Gregor’s eyes widened slightly, “You’re right, computer. How did you choose this appearance, Toren?”

  “While I was on Bellingham, I paid attention to the human males that Elena looked at longer than others. I incorporated some of the traits from all of them and developed this look.”

  Gregor looked up, “You nailed it again, computer.”

  “I am good, aren’t I?”

  Elena stared at Toren and smiled, “I like the look, Toren.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Gregor, I’m going to forego taking the filaments and go straight out to the 440; we’ll save a day’s travel.”

  “Go ahead, computer.”

  Solo looked up at the wall monitor and saw the ship moving away from Bellingham and away from the filament leading to it. He jumped out of his chair, “WHAT IS THIS?!”

  Gregor turned to him, “Relax, Solo! We’re converting the Kingdom’s warships to this technology as we speak.”

  Solo sat back down, “Why would you do that?”

  “Because we are now fighting together, and the Kingdom’s warships have a force field that can use this new technology.” Solo was silent, and Gregor continued to stare at him. After a moment, he smiled, “Have you figured it out?”

  Solo clacked slightly before saying, “Bellingham is now at risk from attack.”

  “At the moment, it is.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Solo, Bellingham will shortly be removed from every filament map in existence. The Clan Leaders have also approved for one of our continents to be used to start building our warships. We will not be depending on others to defend ourselves.”

  Solo was silent as Gregor, Toren, and the computer discussed the coming voyage. Finally, he interrupted them, “If you intend to use this new stardrive, you’re going to have to find a way to target where you want to go.” Everyone turned to him and Gregor said, “So?”

  “You need to develop a new kind of map.”

  “What are you talking about?” the computer inquired.

  “You’ll need to develop all the images of the stars in each galaxy and have them oriented such that wherever your ship is located, the map will orient with the ship. You target a particular star and activate the stardrive to move toward it. All those images are currently in every planet’s database; it shouldn’t be that hard to do.”

  Gregor’s mouth opened slightly, and then he closed it, before asking, “Did you just figure that out?”

  “I thought about using some sort of beacon, but that wouldn’t work for millions of years. It would take too long at light speed for it to be useful. However, the stars can be used immediately as navigation guides.”

  “I’ve always been amazed by the Insectoid’s genius. He’s right, Gregor. All that needs to be done is to have a virtual galaxy inside the navigation controls that moves the ship inside it, wherever it goes. The filament maps take up more data space than that virtual galaxy would.” The Computer paused and continued, “Making those virtual maps would be simple. Even new galaxies could be added as a ship moves through them.”

  Elena looked at Gregor, “This is not good!” Gregor nodded. “Why not?” Toren asked.

  “Bellingham will not appear on a filament map…but it would appear on a virtual map,” Gregor answered. He looked up, “Computer, you say the virtual galaxies would not take up as much data space as the filament maps. Do most ships have the space for the virtual maps?”

  “Most don’t. Only warships have computers with enough storage. Most vessels have to remove filament maps and pull up new ones when they make long voyages.”

  “This new technology must be controlled.”

  Elena nodded, “What are you thinking, Gregor?”

  “Computer, send a message to Madellee and tell her everything about this new stardrive. Include the conversation we’ve just had and make sure she understands that the filament maps are on the way out. She’ll know what to do.”

  “What is that?” Solo asked.

  “The Cartians will develop the new virtual maps and provide them to all of the civilizations currently using the filament maps. They will control traffic as they’ve done in the past and most civilizations will depend on their maps instead of making the effort to make their own. We’ll make sure the new virtual maps don’t have Bellingham’s star in them.”

  “That might work,” Solo muttered.

  “What?”

  “Gregor, every civilization knows what galaxy Bellingham is in. If they are determined to find you, they’ll scan that galaxy and see what star is missing. Once they find that, they’ve found Bellingham.”

  “Not if the Cartians leave out more than a billion uninhabited stars from their virtual maps of that galaxy,” Toren interjected.

  Solo looked at the strange human and clacked slightly, “Now that might do it.”

  Gregor stared at Solo and lowered his eyes, “Why are you telling us this. I thought you wished ill will toward the Alliance?”

  “I do. But my family and crew will be on Bellingham and it’s just as important to me, as you, that they are safe from attack.”

  Gregor raised his head, “Perhaps I’ve been a little hasty in naming you Solo.”

  “No, you were right about my motivations. But if I can save them from harm, I will endeavor to do it. You would have come up with the virtual maps on your own, eventually. The mere fact your computer is going straight to the 440 shows that it is targeting a star near it.”

  “Like I said earlier, I’ve always been amazed by the Insectoid’s genius,” the computer stated.

  “Does your species call yourselves Insectoids?” Toren asked.

  “Of course not!” Solo replied. “But our name can’t be pronounced by any other species, so we live with it.”

  “What is your name?”

  Solo began making clacking and squealing sounds that lasted about two-minutes. At the end, Toren smiled, “So, you include your ancestry in your individual names.”

  “As a matter-of-fact, we do. How did you figure that out?”

  “My species does the same.”

  “Shows you’re smarter than most.”

  “Don’t get full of yourself, Solo!” Elena spoke out.

  The Insectoid shrugged, as the computer announced, “We’ll arrive at the two-warships location shortly, Gregor.”

  “Get them on the monitor, computer.”

  The wall monitor split into two screens and the two-crews appeared side-by-sid
e on it. “What have you found out about your new ships?”

  “Gregor, you can get yourself killed traveling at high-speed in the filaments,” Embree answered.

  “Embree’s right about that, Gregor. This speed is almost uncontrollable,” Sam added.

  “A lot of the trip to our destination will only allow us to use half-power on the gravity thrusters. You will need to space out and keep a close look at what my ship does ahead of you. If you see us leave the filament, you need to leave it as well and not go back in until you arrive at the point where my ship reenters.” Gregor paused, “You’ll get the hang of it after a few billion-light-years.”

  Leonidas spoke up, “Gregor, I noticed that when I change the force field stardrive to a normal force field setting, it changes shape.”

  “Gamgel told me about that, Leonidas,” the computer interrupted. “It appears that at the maximum speeds, we travel in the filaments, a massive level of heat is generated on the ship’s hulls. The stardrive’s shape is wedge shaped in front of our ships to reduce friction with the filament material. The Bellingham coated hulls can withstand the heat, but I suspect the Greng warships can’t; that’s why we didn’t see any of them moving inside the filaments; their hulls can’t handle the heat.”

  “Just how large is a Greng Warship?” Solo asked.

  “About 50% larger than a Tronan Main Battleship.”

  Leonidas looked at Solo on the monitor and asked, “Is that your new shadow?”

  Gregor nodded, “Yes, he is, and he’s made some contributions that will make a huge difference in using this new stardrive. His name is Solo.”

  Leo smiled, “Welcome to the party, Solo.”

  “I’d rather not be here.”

  Leo turned to Gregor, “Is he always this grumpy?” Gregor nodded. “Well, at least he’s on your ship and we won’t have to live with it. When do we leave?”

  “Now, have you trialed your defenses and weapons?”

  “We have, although we’ve not fired one of the new missiles,” Jek responded.

  “Why not?”

  “Didn’t find a suitable vessel to try them on, Gregor. We’ll find out what they can do when we arrive.”

  “Don’t let him fool you, Gregor. Jek wanted to fire at a Crazet warship, but I refused to do it. It was only passing through and its defenses were down.”

  “We should have done it, Sam! The Crazet are real scum!”

  Elena laughed, “That wouldn’t have proven anything, Jek. I can take one of their warships out with arrows.”

  Sam rolled his eyes and Gregor chuckled, “You’ll get your chance later, Jek. I’ll enter the 440 and Sam will follow, when I’m two-thirds of the way out to the edge of his scanners. Leo, you and Embree will do the same.”

  “Why so far?”

  Gregor laughed, “Wait and see, Sam. You’ll wish for more separation shortly.”

  The Dragon Fly entered the filament, activated the force field stardrive, and instantly disappeared. A few moments later, the second-warship entered followed by the third, shortly thereafter.

  Sam flew the warship and realized Gregor was right. The other ships traveling the filament were moving toward his ship at incredible speed, and it was only by mimicking Gregor’s ships moves that he avoided slamming into one of them. Jek looked at him, “Do you want me to take over?”

  “Do you think you can do a better job?”

  “I can hear the thoughts of the crews on the ships we’re approaching and can react faster.”

  “What about the automated freighters?”

  Jek flinched, “I forgot about those, Sam. You’re doing fine.”

  “I can’t continue this focus indefinitely. You’ll need to spell me shortly.”

  “Just mimic Gregor’s ship, Sam. You don’t have to worry about anything else.”

  Sam relaxed and focused on the monitor. He moved left, when Gregor moved left, and right, when he moved right. He exited the filament when Gregor exited and re-entered when Gregor went back into the filament. Soon, Sam sat back, “I’m getting the rhythm of this. I can react in time to those ships coming at us from the front edge of our scanner.”

  “Let me take the controls, Sam. I need to learn how to do this, as well.”

  “The controls…are yours, Jek.”

  By the end of the first-week, both of the new crews had flying their new vessels nailed down. At that point, the level of traffic was greatly reduced, and the three-warships went to their dark energy boosters. The four-new participants began understanding the impact this new stardrive would make in their civilizations. The speeds they were moving were unimaginable.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Elena and Gregor were sitting on the bridge of the Dragon Fly and watching ships appear and then, quickly disappear behind them. “Are we worried about leaving a wake?”

  “No, Elena, we’re still five-weeks out from when that will be an issue.”

  Elena stared out of the viewport at the misty white filament they were traveling on and sighed, “I wish I had a ship like this.”

  “Even with a computer like this one?” Gregor asked chuckling.

  “HEY, BE NICE!”

  “Yes, Gregor. You were right about it.”

  “In what way?”

  “He’s an acquired taste. His confrontations make me think and improves how I see the world.”

  “Thank you, Elena. Gregor takes me for granted a lot.”

  “No, I don’t computer.”

  “Yes, you do! You haven’t even discussed how we’re going to confront the Greng, so I can help you see the best way to do it.”

  “Elena, when we get back, I intend to stay with Kaylee as much as I can. You can have this ship to use as you want.”

  “REALLY!”

  Gregor smiled, “Really.”

  Solo was sitting in his chair off to their right and he muttered, “I doubt that happens.”

  Gregor and Elena turned to him and Gregor lowered his eyes, “Is that so?” Solo just shrugged and remained silent.

  “Why do you say that?” the computer asked.

  Solo raised his multi-faceted eyes and then lowered them. He remained silent. “Are you ignoring me?”

  Solo made a soft clack and looked up again, “I think all of you are off base with this Greng thing.”

  “Do tell,” Gregor replied. “And you do know how we’re wrong?”

  “None of this makes sense.” Gregor stared at Solo and he continued after a small pause, “The Greng could not have killed the Filament Makers.”

  Gregor sat up straight, “Why do you think that?”

  “It doesn’t add up! The Greng’s civilization isn’t older than ours. And they’re saying they defeated an ancient highly advanced civilization. I just don’t see that happening.”

  “Why not?” Elena asked.

  Solo turned to them, “Technological development doesn’t ever really stop. The Filament Makers should be so far beyond all of us that they would be immune to a new civilization like the Greng. I’ve also been looking at the scans of the Filament Maker’s derelict and you’re missing something.”

  “Go on,” Gregor prodded.

  “Where were the food provisions stored on that ship? I didn’t see any in the scan you made.”

  “There were some provisions behind the bridge.”

  “Not enough to sustain a vessel very long, computer!” Solo retorted.

  “The rear-third of the vessel was sheared away; they could have been in there.”

  Solo snorted, “Come on, computer! The reactors were also missing, and they are normally located in the rear of a starship. The majority of the room in the rear of that ship was taken up with all the connections to the ship’s systems. If that ship was designed to travel the universe, it didn’t have enough space to carry provisions to keep them going very long.”

  “What are you suggesting, Solo?”

  Solo turned to Gregor, “I suspect that vessel was not one of their major ships; I believe i
t was a shuttle, or a work-ship, used to make filaments. It’s nowhere near large enough to carry an interstellar civilization. Besides, how many stations for the crew were on that ship?”

  Gregor looked up, “Computer?”

  “Give me a moment.” Gregor waited, and the computer answered three-minutes later, “I’ve checked our scans twice and it appears there were forty-work-stations in the remaining piece of that ship. I have no idea how many were in the missing rear-third.”

  “What about weapons?” Solo asked.

  “He’s making a good point, Gregor. There were only four blasters on that derelict’s hull and no missile ports.”

  “And the blasters were disabled when the rear of the ship was sheared off,” Solo added.

  Gregor stared at Solo and then turned to Toren, “I thought you said the Greng attacked and destroyed all the Filament Maker’s ships?”

  “They destroyed the ten-derelicts left behind after their attacks.”

  “TEN?!”

  “That’s how many vessels they had in my galaxy. Those ten-ships were larger than the Greng Warships of that time.”

  Solo clacked a laugh, “So, these Filament Makers had ten-vessels constructing new filaments in his galaxy and we can estimate that they had around six-hundred Filament Makers on those ten-ships. Sounds to me like there’s something missing in this picture.”

  “Computer, send a copy of this conversation to Sam and Leonidas and tell them I want to discuss it in an hour.”

  “Sending it now, Gregor.”

  Gregor looked at Solo in silence. “Do you want my opinion about this?” Solo asked. Gregor nodded. “In order for the Filament Makers to have constructed the filaments across our universe, they had to have a huge number of ships to do it. I suspect their major ships constructed the major filaments that connect the black holes in the galaxies and they sent smaller ships to go out and build the filaments in the newly connected galaxy. Also, the filaments are in every direction from our space…which means they are moving out from a common center. The Filament Makers here must only be a small part of their actual numbers. I think the major ship would make the huge galaxy connecting filaments, then move on to the next galaxy on one of them. The smaller vessels would be left behind to complete the job and would join the mothership once it was done.”