The Voyage Home

by D. J. Holmes

  It didn’t work, but as the numbness in her legs and arms subsided, she gingerly tried to move them. They felt stiff and sore. Something was stopping them from moving freely. Restraints, Sarah realized. In an instant her memory came flooding back. She had been attacked on the street. They had taken her. It was Adams’ men, Sarah howled to herself as she fought against her restraints with a new vigor.

  With an effort, she forced her eyes open. Immediately, she was bombarded by an overwhelmingly bright light. It sent shockwaves of pain through her head. She screamed again. Shutting her eyes didn’t help. Instead the pain pulsed through her head in tune with her heartbeat. Each time it began at her neural implant and rippled across the rest of her head.

  As her mind reached out towards the back of her neck, Sarah froze. Her implant felt different. It was smaller. Despite the pain, Sarah tried to mentally examine it. Nothing but its size seemed different. She could still access it. Though when she tried to talk to Alexandra there was no reply. She was too far away.

  Thinking of Alexandra being unreachable brought everything back to Sarah. She had been on Earth. She had gone to kill the Governor, her father. Yet she had failed. And he had betrayed her. What a fool, Sarah thought as she banged her head into her pillow. I wasted my only chance. Now the Elders have me, they have the datachip with all their key technology. They will know who I am, know about Destiny. How will Alexandra and Divar fare without me? What will they do?

  A new question occurred to Sarah. Why am I still alive? There was only one answer that she could come up with. They intend to interrogate me. To find out where Destiny is. Fear welled up from Sarah’s abdomen. She had read all about Elder interrogation techniques. She didn’t think she could resist them for long.

  “Don’t worry,” a voice said into Sarah’s mind. “No one is going to interrogate you. And I’m sure your friends will be fine.”

  Sarah panicked. The voice wasn’t Alexandra’s. It was female, but it was very different.

  “My name is Simmons,” the voice said. “I’m the Director of Hope V. You are in no danger from us.”

  Sarah didn’t believe the voice for a second. There was only one species who had the technology to speak directly into her mind. And they certainly meant her harm.

  “You are mistaken,” the voice said. “Open your eyes.”

  Fear prevented Sarah from complying. She didn’t want to see the beings from her nightmares.

  “It’s ok,” the voice said reassuringly.

  Sarah replayed the voice in her head. It sounded familiar. Then it hit her. The voice sounded human. Slowly, she obeyed the voice’s words. As light came streaming in, she blinked rapidly, though the pain didn’t diminish. As her vision cleared, a human came into view. She looked old, older than any human Sarah had seen. Her hair was completely grey. Yet as she stood, she held her body up straight.

  “Hello,” the voice in her head said. At the same time the woman smiled. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

  “You can speak to me?” Sarah thought.

  “Yes,” the woman answered. “The Elders do not have a monopoly on advanced technology. Despite what they like to say.” As the voice was coming into Sarah’s mind. The woman turned around and lifted back her long braid of hair. At the top of her neck, she had what looked like a small neural implant. “There are over sixty thousand humans on Hope V. We can all communicate with each other neurally.”

  “You can all read each other’s thoughts?” Sarah said. The idea seemed repulsive to her. Having Alexandra know her every thought was bad enough. She liked her privacy. She didn’t want sixty thousand other people’s voices in her head. How would one even make sense of them all?

  “Alexandra?” the voice said in an interested tone. “There is a story there to be told. We are all very intrigued to hear how you got your neural implant. We didn’t think anyone but ourselves and the Elders could design one.”

  Sarah tried very hard to keep thoughts of Alexandra and Destiny away. She didn’t want to give up her secrets. Having Simmons in her mind was making her skin crawl.

  Suddenly Simmons’ facial expression changed from contemplative to shock. Her eyes widened and she took a step back from Sarah. “I’m sorry,” the voice in her head said. “We have laws about forcing our way into other’s minds. In my excitement, I forgot to tell you that you can seal your mind off from the asteroid cognizance. Here, this is how.”

  Sarah shivered as she felt another presence enter mind. It felt similar to how she had entered Alexandra’s mind to fight the virus. Except this time, someone else was doing it to her. Instinctively, she fought the presence. It immediately recoiled. The woman in front of her fell to her knees, her hands went to her head.

  Though the presence was gone, Sarah could still feel what it had been trying to do. Examining its actions, Sarah found a protocol in her implant that she hadn’t seen before. Activating it, she felt a barrier erect around her mind. Sarah was impressed. She could think of a few ways to improve it, but it seemed sturdy. Significantly, she could no longer hear the voice that had been speaking to her.

  “You attacked me,” the voice said. For a moment Sarah was confused. Then she realized she had heard it with her ears. The woman in front of her was now looking up at her, her lips were moving. “I suppose I deserved that. Though I don’t know where you learned to do that. You nearly damaged my mind.”

  “I apologize,” Sarah said, though she wasn’t sure if she meant it. “I just reacted. I’m not used to another presence within my mind.”

  “Well you are forgiven,” the woman said, continuing to speak out loud. Slowly, she regained her feet. “Maybe we should try to introduce ourselves again. My name is Simmons. You are Sarah?”

  “Yes. I’d shake your hand, but...” Sarah said. As she trailed off, she raised her hand and shook it against the restraints that were keeping her down.

  “A necessary precaution I’m afraid,” Simmons said. “Your file said you tried to interrogate Governor Adams. After everything we have done to you, we thought it better to keep you like this until you have come to terms with your new reality.”

  “Everything you have done to me?” Sarah repeated in alarm. She already guessed they had altered her neural implant. What else had they done?

  “Yes,” Simmons replied. “I’m afraid it was necessary, but hopefully in time, you will thank us. We will come to your upgrades in a few minutes. First. Let me ask you. What is the last thing you remember?”

  “Washington,” Sarah replied with a growl. “Adams betrayed me. His men attacked me.”

  Simmons smiled. “I suppose that is one way to look at it,” she said.

  “How else would I look at it?” Sarah snapped back. “I should have shot him.”

  Simmons eyes widened. “Even knowing he is your father?” she asked.

  “Why would I believe such a lie. My father would never betray me,” Sarah almost shouted.

  “I can show you your genetic match,” Simmons said. “He most certainly is your father. But perhaps a different approach will help. Let me explain where you are.” Reaching over to a small device sitting at the end of Sarah’s bed, Simmons hit a button. A holo image of an asteroid appeared in between them. It looked large, easily larger than Elaijar. It also looked far more developed. She could see numerous weapon emplacements.

  “This is Hope V,” Simmons explained. “We are within the asteroid. Currently we are seventy light years away from Earth. My ancestors settled on this asteroid nearly fifteen hundred years ago. Before that, they lived on a ship. It was one of five that escaped Earth when the Elders attacked. We have been preparing to return ever since. So your father didn’t betray you, he sent you to the one place where you would be safe.”

  Sarah struggled to comprehend what Simmons was saying. A part of her people had escaped? They had been living free all this time, waiting, watching, preparing for two thousand years? It explained why they had the technology to use neural implants. But... “Why have
n’t you done anything to help our people?” Sarah demanded.

  “You have lived outside Earth. You must know the size of the Elder Empire. There are only sixty thousand of us. Three hundred thousand if you count the other four Hope bases as well. We have been waiting for a chance to free Earth permanently. Not just for a few days.”

  “I see,” Sarah said slowly. She had suspected it would take her a lifetime to help the Resistance find a way to beat the Elders. The idea of having to wait two millennia was mind boggling. “So you and your people have just been sitting here all this time, waiting?”

  “Not just waiting,” Simmons answered. “Preparing. When the Elders attacked Earth, they were far more advanced than us. It has taken us two thousand years to understand much of their technology. There is still plenty that is beyond us. But there are other areas where we have surpassed them. We believe we are now at a point where we can match or even beat their warships. In an even fight, at least. We will never be able to match their numbers.”

  My datachip could prove even more decisive, Sarah thought. Assuming what Simmons is telling me is true of course. Another thought occurred to Sarah. “Nano technology, genetic modification. You understand them. What have you done to me?” she demanded.

  “So you know of the Elder’s technology?” Simmons said. “You certainly have your own secrets, don’t you? I hope you will come to trust me enough to tell me your story. For now, I will tell you mine.”

  As Sarah listened to Simmons account of her father’s work. Of the need to have a human who was able to interface with Elder technology, she shuddered. Her mother had allowed one of Simmons technicians to implant Elder DNA into her. Sarah was part Elder. She was the very thing she hated most in the galaxy! It made her feel sick.

  “That is why your mother sacrificed herself,” Simmons finished, unaware of Sarah’s nausea. “We were all shocked by what happened on Earth. But she couldn’t let the Elders find out about what we had done. They would have destroyed Earth for sure. Your mother and father acted to save you, and our people. It may seem like a betrayal to you. But you have to think about all that was riding on your escape. Two thousand years of work. That is why your father sent you to me. He is the only person on Earth who knows about Hope V. He knows how important you are.”

  “Just what do you want with me?” Sarah asked, still full of disgust. “Am I to be your latest science project. Are you going to play with my DNA some more? Maybe you already have?”

  “No, we haven’t,” Simmons said quickly. “We would never do that. It would probably kill you. But yes. I would like to study you. To understand how the DNA combining worked. We found less than a thousand humans who were suitable for the splicing of Elder DNA. Even then, it only proved successful for a few. I would like to understand why. However, that is secondary. This is why we need you.” As she spoke, Simmons switched the image on the holo projector.

  “The Elder shipyard in orbit round Earth,” Sarah said, recognizing it.

  “Yes,” Simmons said. “The Elders have been working on it ever since they conquered Earth. We believe it is the largest shipyard this side of the Tyrilla Storm. Possibly the largest one outside of the Elder Homeworlds. If Earth is to be free, we need that shipyard. It is controlled by an Elder artificial intelligence. We have failed time and time again to produce an artificial intelligence that we can trust and we understand very little about it. Somehow, the Elders succeeded thousands of years ago. If we are to secure the shipyard and use it to build a fleet to protect Earth. We need someone who can interface with the artificial intelligence. We believe that with your Elder DNA, you can. That is why we need you.”

  Sarah looked at the shipyard with fresh eyes. She hadn’t thought of it as having its own artificial intelligence. It made sense though. If she could take control of the shipyard she could build a fleet of Elder ships. She could order them to obey human captains. Without the ability to imprint with each ship’s artificial intelligence nor use their interface helmet, they wouldn’t be able to fight them as well as she could, but they could certainly still fight. It would be easy to redesign the Elder ships to have controls humans could easily use.

  “It might work,” Sarah said. “I’m not sure I can imprint with another artificial intelligence though.”

  “Another?” Simmons said as she stared at Sarah without blinking. “You have already imprinted with one?”

  “How can I trust you?” Sarah asked. “I have spent most of my life as a slave, being mistreated and abused. Then, when I finally got free, I have had to flee from an Elder Admiral hell-bent on my death. How can I know anything you are saying is true? You have me tied down in some secret asteroid base. How can I trust you?”

  “Trust takes time to build,” Simmons answered. “We do not trust you yet. You have far too much knowledge of Elder technology for my liking. There is only one way someone comes into contact with an artificial intelligence. One might conclude that you are in league with the Elders, as strange as that sounds. I would like to think that is not the case. However, building trust is going to take time. There is one thing that may speed up the process. Though it requires you to take a small leap of faith.”

  “What is it?” Sarah asked skeptically. She wanted to get out of her restraints. But not at any cost.

  “The neural implant changed Earth’s society hundreds of years before the Elders came,” Simmons said. “Particularly how we taught our children. With the implant, we can upload information directly into the human brain.”

  “What?” Sarah said, shocked. Alexandra had never done anything like that. She had shown her data through her interface helmet, but she had never messed around with her memories.

  “Yes, it’s actually very easy. The human brain is still by far the most advanced piece of science we have ever discovered. It is even far more advanced than an Elder brain. Though they have useful differences.”

  “Like being able to use an interface helmet,” Sarah interjected.

  “Yes,” Simmons agreed. “But with our technology we can upload information directly to our brains. That is how our children learn.”

  “Isn’t that like mind control?” Sarah said. The idea of someone deciding what information to put into her brain seemed very dangerous.

  “No,” Simmons answered. “Think of it like reading a datafile. As you read you take in new information. It is stored in your brain, imperfectly of course. The information doesn’t change you. At least, it only changes you as far as you let it. As you read, as you process the information, you naturally assess it. Uploading information into the brain is like the reading is done instantly. Then the information is there for you to process and analyze. It doesn’t change who you are. At least not any more than it would if you learnt the information naturally. Of course, believing my explanation is the leap of faith I am talking about.”

  “What do you mean?” Sarah asked.

  “The best way for you to understand who we are, what we have been doing, is for us to upload the standard History of Humanity file into your brain. Then you can analyze it for yourself. It is the quickest way you can learn about us. Hopefully, it will earn us your trust,” Simmons said.

  Sarah felt a file enter her neural implant. It didn’t try to breach the protective barrier she had placed round her mind. But it was waiting for her attention. A quick glance told her that it was called The History of Humanity.

  “I have sent it to you, do you see it?” Simmons asked.

  “Yes,” Sarah said.

  “You will want to process other histories – to get a balanced view. But almost everyone on all five Hope stations agree, this is the most accurate account of humanity’s history.”

  Sarah inwardly licked her lips. This was just the kind of thing she had wanted all her life. Information about her people. About their present, their past. I might actually know what life was like before the Elders, she thought with excitement. “How can I know this is factual?” she said out loud, the file seemed too good to be
true.

  “You can’t. It’s a leap of faith. Though at worst, you can just ignore everything it says,” Simmons answered.

  “So what do I do?” Sarah followed up.

  “Access the file, it will have a prompt within it. All you have to do is give it permission to upload into your mind,” Simmons answered. “It will just take a second or two to upload, then you can process it. The processing takes several minutes, though to you, it will seem much longer.”

  “Ok,” Sarah said. I guess I have no choice, she thought. Here goes.

  As she accessed the file, it requested permission to upload into her mind. After pausing for a second, Sarah gave it what it wanted. Panic struck her as her mind seemed to shut down. For a split second, she couldn’t see or think. Her brain felt like it was about to overload. A small part of her could sense vast amounts of data being sent from her implant directly into parts of her mind. She could do nothing to stop it. Then, almost as quickly as it had begun, the sensation stopped.