by Karl Morgan
Dave laughed. “Please sit down, Alda and have some pastry. I know how you feel. Half the time, my crew is doing too many things and I feel I’m just along for the ride. And please call us Dave and Charlie. We’re all friends here.”
She sat and sipped her coffee. Alda was yet another stunningly beautiful Zu woman. Her silver-blue eyes matched well with her blonde hair. She was tall as were most Zu, at least six foot three. “Thanks, Dave. You two really came from eleven centuries ago?”
“That’s absolutely true,” Charlie said. “Apparently, Dave’s family will accomplish great things in this time. I think I’m just his side-kick.”
“You’re much more than that, Charlie,” Dave smiled. “You’re in charge of finding good coffee and chocolate croissants too!”
“You guys are so funny,” Alda said. “Most admirals around the Society are very serious people. I don’t think I ever heard General Zilma crack a joke when he was here.”
“Well, we’re not real military men,” Dave confided. “Charlie and I were business men back in our time. In fact, I was an accountant without a job.”
“I’ve never met a funny accountant either,” Alda laughed.
“Very true, but somehow Charlie brings out the devil in me,” Dave replied. Looking out the window, Dave could see the rain had stopped. “Alda, I was surprised to see the rain pouring outside with lightning and thunder. We’re inside a space ship, right?”
Alda said, “When this station was built, they knew the residents would spend many years here, so they tried to make it as much like a real planet as possible. If we were all in a traditional ship with small rooms and corridors, we’d all go nuts after a while. The rain was real enough, but the thunder and lightning were sound and light effects. We have rain to provide realism, but it also refreshes the air and cleans the buildings and streets. All the water is reclaimed and used again and again. With the five billion people in this station, we need lots of water. Almost fifteen percent of the interior space on Hive 1008 is water storage.”
“So you have a lot fewer people in this Hive compared to Tak-Makla,” Charlie said. “I believe they have ten billion in their Hive.”
“We’ve found that a Hive needs at least two billion minds to function well,” Alda replied. “There are three billion in our Hive. Another billion manage the station itself, like running all of these stores and making rain and performing maintenance. The rest are either part of the military command or the dependent children of other residents.” She took a knife and cut a small pastry with red icing in half. She took one half and popped it in her mouth. “Oh, these are my favorites. They are called Uluk Zu, which is also the name of the planet where they were invented. They are buttery with the flavor of the Uluk berry.”
“Alda, I don’t want you to give us any secret information, but even though I’ve experienced being part of The Hive on Tak-Makla, I still don’t really know how they work or where they get such amazing power,” Dave asked.
“Whether you know it or not, Dave, you and Charlie have the highest security clearance levels I’ve ever seen,” Alda said. “They are much higher than mine, and I work in the secure area of this Hive. So, there’s nothing I know that would be a secret from you. I assume you’ve heard of Universal Power?”
“The tekkans have told us a bit about it, but please put it in your own words,” Dave replied.
Alda said, “Universal Power is the engine of the universe. Everything is made from it. It is the basis for the matter and energy we all see and use every day. The tekkans like the term Universal Power, but in our Hive command, we just call it the Source. It flows through everything constantly. Like the background radiation from the Big Bang, it is not uniform though. The Source is strongest inside of galaxies where part of it manifests itself as matter and energy.”
“That’s where the lines of force come in, right?” Dave asked.
“Exactly right, Dave,” Alda smiled. “But we don’t know if they are lines of force or just a pattern caused by some other means. The Source does tend to flow along those lines, and where the lines are most abundant, the Source is the strongest. A strong force tends to go along with heavy mass, so most of the lines are not accessible, as they are inside stars or black holes. But there are other less powerful junctures of lines that we can access. Here near Tak-Makla is a great example.”
“Okay, so the Source is the root of all matter and energy in the universe,” Charlie said. “But how does a Hive interact with it?”
“Each Hive has massive computer banks and a powerful electric grid. The Chief Engineers use the computers to manage the electricity, which flows through the chambers in the Hive and out into the central column. When the electricity reaches a juncture of the lines of the Source, it pulls the Source down into the column and into each chamber. Our brains are electro-chemically based, so our own energy combines with the Source and our mental energy is pulled out of the Hive and becomes one with the Source,” Alda replied. She took a long drink of coffee. “Yikes, my tongue is getting tired.”
Dave said, “Alda, please catch your breath. Let me guess now. Once the minds in a Hive are connected to the Source, they can access the power of the Source to travel in space or time. If enough minds are connected through multiple Hives, they can even jump an artificial planet to the next galaxy! Is that right?”
“Bravo, Dave,” Alda cheered. “I think you’re ready to teach this stuff now. For the jump tomorrow, we’ll be coordinating thirty Hives, which is not easy since they are spread across space. That’s where the Chief Engineers come in. They have so much experience in Hives and with each other that they can almost instantly locate each other within the Source. All the minds in each Hive connect to their Chief Engineers for such a mission. Once the Chief Engineers find each other, all of those minds move in the same direction and almost anything can happen. That reminds me of the story of Balthazar Opa, the planet this community is named after. Balthazar Opa is the planet where the Opa civilization originated. The residential neighborhoods in its capital city look very much like this part of the ship. Fifty million years ago, the sun in the system became unstable. It happened too quickly to safely move all eight billion Opa to other colonies. The High Council of the Society was frantic. A young Zu engineer named Alda Condil brought a plan to move the entire planet to a new system. Back then, there were only thirty Hives in the Society and thirty thousand worlds. It took a year to find a dead planet of similar size in a system with a good star. Alda coordinated the Hives to recycle the dead planet. Then all the Hives in the Society worked together for the first time and relocated the entire planet.”
Dave gasped, “That’s amazing! It worked and everyone survived the move?”
“There were some problems, Dave,” Alda continued. “Once the planet moved, they had to get it spinning again and revolving around the sun in a safe orbit. It took five Hives a couple years before everything became normal again. I have been to Balthazar Opa on vacation, and it’s a wonderful place. Perhaps you can visit there while you are in the home galaxy.”
“Let me ask one last question, Alda,” Charlie said. “Some of the tekkans believe that our life energy joins with the Source when we die. What do you think?”
“I think that’s a matter of faith, Charlie,” she replied. “To anyone who has been in a Hive and been connected with the Source, it’s hard to believe anything else. Being part of the crew in our Hive, I get to spend a lot of free time just being part of the Source. When you are on assignment, you only think about your job and getting finished. When you can just be there, it is a powerful feeling of peace and connectedness. I’ve never sensed the soul of any others, but the sense of unity you feel is overwhelming. Personally, I hope I do join the Source when I die. There are no limits there.”
“What about the edge of the universe?” Dave asked. “That’s a limit, isn’t it?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Alda smiled. “There are those in our Hive who travel beyond this universe. Much
of their work is top secret, but we’ve been told there are multiple parallel universes that have been visited. Some of them are similar to this one and many are very different. Most of those universes have no matter or energy, but are still filled with the Source. I’m sure you’ve heard that more than ninety percent of the stuff in this universe is the Source. If you include just the universes the Society has visited, that number is well over ninety-nine percent. It’s really everything there is.”
“Thank you, Alda,” Dave said. “This has been an amazing chat. Charlie and I need to go find our wives who have been out spending our fortunes. Will you be at the celebration tonight?”
“Yes, Dave, I will,” she smiled. “But I’ll be far from the dais where you will be. I’m not very important here.”
“I disagree with you on that,” Dave replied. “I know more about Hives and the Source now than I ever thought I would. I’ll come looking for you tonight. I’d like you to meet Darlene and Aria.” All three stood and shook hands.
“Thank you, Dave and Charlie,” she said. “That would be amazing. None of my friends will believe it.” The men left the shop and stepped into the bright artificial sunlight. Small groups of birds sang and flew among the trees.
Chapter 27
It was 1730 when the Brewsters and Watsons left their brownstone to go to the celebration. The weather was sunny and warm now. There would be no rain on Hive 1008 tonight. People were coming from all over the planet and no one wanted to arrive wet and cold. Half a block from their residence a staircase led down to a large tube station. At the bottom of the stairs, the Balthazar One tube station stretched several hundred yards. The shuttles were larger here with a capacity for twenty people. Since more than half of the planet’s population worked in The Hive, many people needed to commute there continually. The back ends of shuttles faced the throng of people. Signs above said the destination of each shuttle. At this time, most shuttles were headed to the celebration and the signs read “Center City Square.” The four stood in a line with others headed to the party. When it was their turn, they climbed into the large transparent shuttle and strapped themselves in. They waited while the shuttle filled. Many people recognized the Admiral and Ambassador from the frequent news coverage about them. People would wave at them or shake their hands. When the shuttle was full and everyone was secure, the doors slid shut. A door opened in front of the shuttle and it dashed out into the tubes. As soon as it left, another shuttle backed out of the tube to take its place. The riders who were headed to Balthazar exited and more people headed for the celebration entered.
The shuttle hurtled forward through the tube. Center City was located near the center of the planetoid, so the shuttle switched into a downward tube and dove into the planet. Hundreds of tubes surrounded them. Dave could see others in their finest clothes headed to join them at the party. The size of the shuttle was disconcerting to Dave Brewster. It seemed like a small bus hurtling through the planet. He looked out the side and saw another shuttle passing them. There were only six chairs in that shuttle, and the six Galliceans filled the entire space. As it passed, he could see General Fa-a-Di looking back at him through the face mask of his breather. Ambassador De-o-Nu sat near him and was clearly crammed uncomfortably in the limited space. Dave waved at his friends just as their shuttle shot ahead.
“What are those things?” a voice said in front of him. Dave looked forward and saw a young Zu boy staring at him. The child must have been ten years old. “I saw you wave at those things. Are they your friends?”
Dave smiled, “Yes, the two Galliceans I waved at are like my brothers. My name is Dave, what’s yours?”
“Zak. My name is Zak, and this is my mom,” he said.
“I’m sorry, Admiral, Zak is a curious boy. Never mind him,” the mother said.
“Curiosity is a good trait. He doesn’t bother me at all,” Dave replied. “Please call me Dave, and this is my wife, Darlene.”
“Thanks Dave. I am Colonel Aneel Louk and you’ve met Zak,” she replied. “It’s nice to meet you both.”
“Please, we’re just Dave and Darlene,” Darlene said. “Your boy is very cute.”
“Thank you Darlene,” Aneel blushed. “I’m a section manager in our Hive. I believe Dave met one of my team leaders today, Lieutenant Alda Nackly?”
“Yes. Charlie and I had a nice discussion with her about your Hive,” Dave said. “Thank you for sending her back to talk to us. I hope that won’t affect the jump tomorrow.”
“Alda is great. She always knows what to do, even before I do,” Aneel said. “We will all be ready on schedule.” The shuttle leveled off and slowed. “I think we’re almost there now.” The shuttle entered a circular room with a diameter slightly larger than the shuttle. It spun around and backed into the Center City Square Tube Station and stopped. The doors opened, and people began exit the shuttle. “I hope we didn’t ruin your trip, Dave.”
“Not at all, Aneel,” Dave smiled. “This is the first time I have forgotten the moving and twisting and just relaxed. Thank you and thank Zak for that!”
Dave and Darlene stood and turned to Charlie and Aria. They were both asleep with Charlie’s head against the wall and Aria’s on his shoulder. “Now that’s relaxed!” Darlene laughed. “I almost don’t want to disturb them, but I know the shuttle won’t leave as long as they are here.” She shook their shoulders and they looked up sleepily. “Time to go, sleepy-heads.”
The Center City Square station was flooded with people. Everyone was headed up to the Square where the festivities were due to begin soon. Most people were in their uniforms which were every color of the rainbow. Hive agents wore white. Hive engineers wore light blue. Soldiers wore green. The crew flying the planetoid and her war ships wore dark blue. The senior leadership wore silver or gold, depending on rank. Other less common roles had their own colors. As they reached the stairway up to the street, an exceptionally tall Zu wearing silver held up a sign reading “Dave Brewster.” Dave walked up and introduced himself.
“Hello, Admiral and Ambassador, I am Mak Aloop. Governor Lonk asked me to bring you to the dais,” Mak replied.
“Great, let’s go,” Dave said. “You certainly are tall, Mak.”
“That’s why I get these jobs, Admiral,” Mak laughed. “If I hold the sign over my head, anyone here will see it. I just met the Gallicean team and they make me look like a child.”
“They are pretty big, Mak,” Charlie said. “You should try flying with one of them holding you in a harness against his chest. We’ve all had that experience, and it is amazing. Fly with them once and the memories will be with you forever. Isn’t that right, Dave?”
“That’s for certain,” Dave replied. “But you have to do it on one of their worlds. When you see one of them again, ask them about Ka-la-a.”
“I’ll be sure to do that, Dave,” Mak replied. They climbed to the top of the stairs and out into Center City Square. Dave remembered this park from the last time he and Darlene were here. Much of the large open park had been transformed into a giant banquet hall. The tables reached from near the small gazebo to the large balcony where he and Darlene stood and watched their son Bill kissing Loni Arrak. Dozens of portable bars were set up along the edges of the park and lines of people waited for a drink.
“Mak, can you give us a minute?” Dave asked. “There’s someone here I want Aria and Darlene to meet.”
“There’s not much time, Admiral,” Mak said, but the rest had already started toward one of the bar lines. Mak followed them sheepishly.
As they approached the line, Dave tapped a woman on the shoulder. Alda Nackly turned and blushed bright red when she saw who it was. “Admiral, what a surprise!” she giggled. “I didn’t think I’d see you this evening.”
“I’m a man of my word, Alda. Please let me introduce you to my wife, Darlene and Charlie’s wife, Aria,” Dave continued. “Alda is the Hive agent who spent some time with Charlie and me this afternoon. I practically feel like a Hive gen
ius now.”
“If you made my husband into a genius, you really are a miracle worker,” Darlene laughed. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“I’m glad to meet you too, Alda,” Aria said. “Charlie didn’t tell me how beautiful you are. I wonder why?”
“You are all too kind. I’d like to introduce you to my boyfriend, Captain Lons Macu, and my baby sister, Ilsa Nackly,” Alda said. After introductions, Mak touched Dave on the shoulder and hurried them to the dais, where several tables of dignitaries were already seated.
At precisely 1800 hours, a series of tones sounded to quiet the crowd. Governor Alin Lonk strode to the podium and stood smiling as the crowd applauded him. He waved to the crowd and then motioned for quiet. “Fellow citizens of the Society of Humanity and cherished guests, it is my pleasure to welcome you to this celebration of the coming together of new cultures and civilizations to join us on this voyage back to the home galaxy.” The area was filled with thunderous applause. “Our arrival in the home galaxy will mark the beginning of a new era for our universe. This will be an era of brotherhood among different Beings to create the Free Society in this galaxy. Tonight, you will hear from several new civilizations that have lived in this galaxy forever. They join us now to forge a new vision of the galaxy where race or species is irrelevant. Those of us who were born in this galaxy know we cannot always count on day to day support from the Society. The effort required to move ships and people between galaxies is taxing on our Hives. The fifty thousand worlds of the Society all have needs, and we are but a small percentage of the total. We need to learn to support ourselves as well. Only then will we be able to defend ourselves from those civilizations that want to enslave or destroy us. Just a few days ago, forces of the Maklakar culture mounted a ruthless attack on the peace-loving tekkans of Tak-Makla. Tonight, I can tell you that High Consul Zee Gongaleg and his Minister of State Fak Mondoka are here to join us on this trip and in our new alliance. The evil Maklakar also attempted to attack two Hives in the Nom-Kat-La system. They were easily dispatched by the forces of Greater Gallia. Tonight, the legendary general and High Commissioner of that culture, Fa-a-Di, and his brother-in-law, Ambassador De-o-Nu are here as well. We are honored by the presence of all of our guests. But I don’t want to talk all night. This is a party, after all. After dinner, I will ask a few others to speak, but for now, I raise my glass and offer a toast to our new Free Society!” Shouts and applause reverberated around the buildings edging the park.