“What the ___,” the ratifier was exasperated.
“We all of us know the history of this sir,” suddenly the underling seemed more assertive. “Creativity, original thought and innovation used to be skills held by at least some individuals in all line and program areas. Then came the decision to centralise these skills. Then the demand for creativity fell and these centralised areas were cut back without re-investment in the line and program areas. The rest is history.”
“It was intended that some specialised AI’s would move into these centralised areas and bolster them,” cut in the decision maker. Though we have yet to create an AI that is up to scratch in that area.”
“Is it too late for us then,” asked the horrified ratifier.
Both the decision maker and the underling were slow in replying.
End
Ground Team Report
“The ground teams are late,” said my Deputy Commander “the first of them should have been back by now. Shall we break communications silence sir?”
“Not yet,” I responded. “Give them another half planetary axis rotation. We’ve seen enough to know this is an unusual world.”
Waiting up here heavily cloaked and in high orbit was always difficult. Yet none of the ground teams had breached communication silence. Suggesting there had been no emergencies.
Two hundred individuals had gone down. For an intended duration of 60 planetary axis rotations. Spread across twelve megalopolises and several major regional areas.
We were not idle while we waited. Quietly, unobtrusively we monitored just about everything there was to monitor. Though long experience taught us that this passive observation had to be supplemented by what we learned from the ground teams.
When they came back up it was in dribs and drabs rather than the normal highly coordinated flow.
Off hand I couldn’t remember such tired, dispirited, bedraggled and befuddled looking ground teams in all my space faring experience. It rather looked as though this world had gotten the better of them. Though thankfully no one had been killed and there were no major injuries. Also it didn’t look as though we had been discovered.
I pored over the collective written report first. Some of it we knew from our passive observations. Though there were other things. Things we had not gleaned from our observations on high. I guess there’s nothing like actually being on the spot rather than remote observation.
I digested the full report and only then met with the ground team leaders and others for a verbal briefing.
The verbal briefing revealed passions not entirely evident in the more clinical written reports. As they sometimes do.
“I’ve never seen a race so self obsessed,” offered one team leader.
“Every one is trying to be more famous than their neighbour,” said another.
‘They are obsessed with self images, taking them at every opportunity,” added another team leader
“There’s also an unhealthy obsession with vacuous celebrity,” added another.
The comments went on.
One team leader described just transiting down a popular thoroughfare in a major megalopolis. “Almost every individual was self obsessed listening to unusual sound emitting devices or watching/listening to audio-visual devices. They were just oblivious of what was going on around them. Minor collisions between transiters were not uncommon but would have been much worse but for some crude form of body radar worn by most transiters.”
I realised that the group before me was only just getting started.
“My team witnessed several major incidents involving loss of life. Many aliens congregated in large numbers about the incidents not to help but just to ghoulishly observe.” I was staggered by this revelation.
“The general non responsiveness to individuals in distress was very high,” offered another team leader “granted some would help but many appeared to derive pleasure from the misfortune of others. Yet others simply didn’t want to get involved.”
“The extent of gratuitous violence is beyond anything in our past experience.”
“When they give the appearance of caring it seems to be just for show.”
The ground team leaders continued relentlessly.
“As revolting as all these things are to any who live under the universal moral code are they not just idiosyncratic traits peculiar to this world,” I interjected. “We’ve surely seen worse?”
The group fell briefly silent.
“It’s getting worse,” someone piped up. “We used time camera analysis to view attitudes of decades ago. The self obsession, the gratuitous violence, the lack of caring, or the false caring and the ghoulish observation of others in distress. It’s getting harder and harder to find any residual goodness in the peoples of this world.”
“I suppose the really important thing is how these unusual values, inconsistent with the universal moral code, impact on this civilization. Are they or will they impede its development?” I asked.
“So far they haven’t,” said our Chief Research Officer “yet psycho/socio/economic projections show that on the current decline in moral values it will start to impact quite heavily and quite soon. They could even fall below minimum tier 3 levels!”
“Well no one wants that. Least of all the locals.” I replied hoping the ground teams had done something that they shouldn’t do in terms of protocol.
“I take it there was no interference in the affairs of this world?” I asked surprising even myself with the authority in my voice.
The ground team leaders before me went very quiet.
“For the most part we complied with the non intervention protocols,” the overall leader of the ground teams replied.
“For the most part?” I asked
“Well, just one small thing,” the overall ground team leader continued “we left a copy of the universal moral code where it could be found, by one of the local dignitaries. An individual with the somewhat grandiose title of Secretary General of the United Nations.”
For the formal record I feigned outrage at the breach of protocol. Yet inwardly I felt relief. This was the best thing we could have done for them in all the circumstances. Yet would they be able to make anything of this great moral compass we had left them? In my experience some worlds do and some worlds don’t.
“We have sowed the seed,” I said. “We’ll have to come back to see if it bears any fruit.”
End
Time Capsules
“There are a lot of them,” I said looking at the long rows of capsule type containers each sitting neatly in its own slot.
Joy and I walked along the rows before returning to the building’s entrance. Then very cautiously we opened and examined the contents of the two units closest to the entrance. Joy looked around timidly as if we might be interrupted.
“I don’t think we need to be too timid about this,” I said. Yet the habits of a lifetime were hard to break. We both knew the likelihood of our being interrupted just now were not much more than zero.
I looked around at the inside of the building. Unchanged since the earliest historical images and serving only one function. It had its own particular timelessness about it. Rumour had it the once protected building was only ever entered when another capsule was added to the collection. At least until now.
Now with its protection very recently gone anyone could enter it. Assuming there was any one else left to enter it.
“Crude exo-skeleton boosted light armour,” I said examining the first capsule “and an example of early force field technology, among other things. I’d say circa 2025.”
The next capsule contained among other things a very early teleportation unit.
“Circa 2075?” offered Joy.
“Maybe 2080,” I suggested.
We continued going along the rows. Occasionally skipping a capsule or two in our impatience to come across something startling.
Then, quite a ways down, we came across a capsule the contents of which wer
e chilling.
The communication from the hologram projection within the capsule was still in audio form and our synthesisers still identified it as AmerEnglish. Yet it was considerably different to anything we knew of from earlier time periods.
“This item is said to be an alternate reality viewer and this one,” I pointed to something quite small, “is described as a miniature inter-dimensional transporter.”
“This isn’t a time capsule,” I said “at least not the sort that we are used to.”
“No,” responded Joy “it is definitely not.”
Alternate reality viewers hadn’t been created in our time and our inter-dimensional transporters were or had been a wee bit larger than the tiny object that lay before us.
“It’s from the future, presumably our future,” said Joy stating what was probably the absolutely obvious.
“That or it is advanced alien technology from an earlier time period that got positioned here,” I said not very convincingly.
With some trepidation we decided to continue on down the line. Occasionally skipping a capsule or two. Though we were both scared there was also still an impatience with our search. Just trying to get to the bottom of things.
All further capsules examined contained activated holograms with telepathic rather than audio communication.
Strangely these capsules apparently from our future didn’t state the year they had originated from. Though they did all purport to originate on Earth. Joy and I were left guessing when each capsule might have come from. Sometimes too the technologies, although different, were at a similar level. As if man hadn’t advanced that much for an unspecified time period in the future.
Sooner rather than later we came to capsules containing objects, items and artefacts we did not understand. Whose basic purpose was unfathomable. It was not simply that they were too advanced. There was also an alien aspect to them as well. Perhaps from whatever distant future they came man’s domination of Earth had finally come to an end.
“Even from our near future there are technologies here that could have helped us on present day Earth, possibly have prevented the Collapse,” said Joy.
“Why? why were these capsules from the future sent here,” I wondered. “Where we could never really discover them except by accident?”
“Yet we have discovered them,” said Joy “you and I have discovered them. Also the people of the future would have known of this place, would have known of the central repository. Would have known where to send the capsules.”
We went outside for a while and took in the dreadful view. Just for a while inside the time capsule repository I had forgotten about the Collapse.
“From where we are now I can’t see any possible future for human civilization,” said Joy “I just can’t see how any of these future time capsules can represent a future we will attain. It just looks like the end for us now.”
“You think this is a sick joke of some kind, that someone is having at residual humanities expense?” I asked. “What about the future artefacts? We tested a few of them and they are what they purport to be. Not just some kind of models but fully operational. The things we could have done with them. Still could do with them.”
“Alternate futures, I think,” I said suddenly coming to the realisation. “That’s why a lot of them didn’t show much difference in technology level. Some of the capsules are from alternate futures rather than the same time line.”
“It’s possible,” conceded Joy. “Just barely, but possible. I’m betting that for the most probable future timeline from this now moment there is no future and therefore no capsule to send back. What now?”
“You don’t think it’s a coincidence that you and I, Earth’s two greatest futurologists, just stumbled across these future time capsules? “ I asked.
Joy nodded recognising there had to be a purpose,
“Never mind the old past time capsules,” I was sounding enthusiastic. “They are meaningless now. We should examine all of these future time capsules and prepare a report on them. As Earth’s two greatest futurologists it is our duty to make a full report on everything we see here. Perhaps form a conclusion as to which of the alternate futures is best for Earth. Then we might start about using some of this newly acquired technology to improve our lot here on Earth maybe create some sort of future for what if anything is left of humanity.”
“That’s a tall order that could take a lifetime,” said Joy but she was already smiling for the first time in ages.
“Eventually they will come for us, someone will come, probably some of those impossibly hardy types from the Einstein-Newton Institute,” I said. “We need to be able to advise them on all this when they do come.”
I had lied to Joy. I was pretty sure no one would ever come for us and almost as sure that there was hardly anyone left to come. Of course I could be wrong. Yet if this lie gave my lovely wife purpose and happiness for at least some of her remaining years it was worth it.
Besides it was going to be a lot of fun looking through these future capsules and we didn’t exactly have anything better to do.
Who knows what we might achieve using some of the advanced technology we had discovered.
Conveniently there had even been some future food and drink in the capsules.
Which couldn’t possibly perish before they had even been made.
End
The Incursion
As we entered the precinct our electro-magnetic cruiser ground to a halt. Disabled by a massive electro-magnetic pulse. Then the cruiser took an almighty hit on the underside. Presumably from a target seeking shunter mine.
“Everyone out,” yelled our pilot.
Those of us with molecular manipulators gathered around the cruiser and collectively attempted to repair it. Though the vehicle was too far gone.
Dejected at the loss of our transport so early we trudged off on foot only to be assailed by a god awful wailing sound which nearly overwhelmed us. Until we adjusted our noise suppressors.
“Have we activated an alarm system?” enquired one of the lady members of our group.
“No,” I replied “the wailing sound is a perma feature of this entire precinct.”
The group moved on a little faster, everyone adjusting their exo-skeleton settings up from 5x to 7x normal speed and strength.
“Be careful,” I cautioned them all “the destruction is greater here, the sheer volume of debris more than in other precincts.”
Just then an energy broadside fell short of us.
“Concussion energies,” I said “intended more to stun than kill. Though to stun badly.”
Thankfully our individual cushion impact fields combined to take the brunt of it.
“Were we targeted?” enquired Dan, the oldest individual in our group.
“I don’t think so, these people are so busy fighting amongst themselves that they don’t even know we are here,” I replied. “At least not yet!” I added.
Our light armour in low stealth mode we moved through the debris occasionally flying at very low level only when it was absolutely necessary. Sometimes if the indigenous protagonists got too close we just buried ourselves in the rubble of the precinct. Which by and large seemed to work.
At one stage an indigenous combat unit moved so close by we could see into their faces without assisted vision.
“So young,” whispered one of our group as the fighters moved on away from us. This prompted me to instruct the group. “Set molecular disruptors only for people under 40 biological,” I said. “We are not going to find any one older than that here. And if they are, well they shouldn’t be here.”
I estimated we were about half way across this precinct when we stopped for a longer rest. Even with the exo-skeleton advantage many in the group were getting tired. “We’re almost out of Boostein,” I said “but we still have some supplies of Foreveryoung.” I looked around at Beth, the youngest of our group. “Legally you are not entitled to Foreveryoung but we can ignore that
technicality.”
Just then a motley group looked over our way. They didn’t quite measure up to some of the combat units we’d seen. Yet they could still give us trouble. About a dozen of them. Several equipped with partial exo-skeleton units and several with modern anti-energy weapon flak jackets. They were armed variously with lasknives, lasswords, energy knuckledusters, energy rods, even unenergised ordinary iron bars. I estimated their average age at 12-13.
“They’ve seen us now!” I yelled as they started to walk our way, their pace picking up as recognition dawned and anger grew on their faces.
We could have stayed and traded blows but frankly despite our tech advantage I’m not sure how it would have turned out for us
Instead we flew out of there quickly and at as low a level as we reasonably could.
We got away from the kids but our flight attracted the attention of some of their slightly older and definitely better equipped colleagues. Two squads of late teen youthpak enforcers sped in on souped up electro-magnetic bikes. I was dismayed to see what looked like nuclear rip saw weapons with them. Maybe even an anti-matter particle beam rifle.
Thankfully about then the cavalry arrived. Two cruisers each heavier and better protected than what we came in. The advanced cruisers came in too high for shunter mines and lay down an inactivity screen about them. In which weapons, on either side, would temporarily not be operable.
The youthpak enforcers thought better of it and disengaged. Though they continued to monitor us.
I looked around at Dan. “You got all this didn’t you?”
“All of our individual helm cams have relayed every experience to Council in real time,” he smiled. “Also my personal web cam has placed the whole experience on the reliable part of the splintered net and the official perma record archives as well.”
A Collection of Science Fiction Gems Page 7