by Dom Testa
“And yet it’s crumbling,” Gap said. “The additional power seems to have bought us the time we need to get out of here. Let’s make sure it’s buttoned up for the ride we’re about to take.”
He noticed Julya start to respond, then grow quiet. She was looking past Gap’s shoulder at something. He craned his neck to see Hannah standing in the doorway, her hands clasped together in front of her.
“Got a few minutes?” she said.
No, he wanted to say. No, I don’t have a few minutes. No, I’m not going to talk about anything right now. Instead he heard himself say: “Yeah, sure.”
After assuring Julya he’d be back in a flash, he walked out with Hannah and let her lead the way toward the lift. He knew where they were going without having to be told. In less than two minutes they stood in the corridor leading to the Spider bay, near the large window that offered one of the best views of the overwhelming star field.
“I don’t expect you to say much,” Hannah said, leaning against the curved wall. “So let me just say what I have to say. Deal?”
Gap faced her from across the hall, and nodded.
She began to speak, but immediately stopped with a nervous laugh.
“Yes?” Gap said.
She looked away when she answered. “Everything I want to say always sounds so good in my head, but sounds so awkward when it comes out.”
He wasn’t going to bail her out. Instead, he waited.
“I guess what it comes down to,” she said, looking back at him, “is that things were never that bad between us, and we somehow let it get worse. I’m sure I overreacted when you said you needed a break, and I think you overreacted when you heard me talking to Merit. Emotions, I guess.”
Gap held his tongue, wondering where this was going.
“You’re free to disagree,” she said. “I know that the last time we talked privately I said some things out of frustration, and I’m sorry about that. I … I guess what I’m trying to say is that I wish it hadn’t turned out the way it did. You got mad, I got mad, and all it did was drive us apart.
“Just for the record, I want you to hear what I’m saying. There was never anything between Merit and me. Nothing. He encouraged me to run for Council Leader, and I suppose I needed you to see me as more than just an ex-girlfriend. I wanted you to know that I had more to offer than just a few scientific equations and some oil paintings. I don’t regret running for the office, but I do regret that it made things worse between us.”
She shrugged. “I look back on it now, and it seems like ages ago. Maybe because Triana’s back, and there’s so much else going on. But I hope you believe what I’m telling you about Merit. He’s a snake. I let him manipulate me more than once, and that’s something I’ll always regret.”
Gap knew it was time for him to respond. He gave a slow nod and said: “I believe you.”
They were quiet for a moment, then Gap looked back down the hall toward the lift. “I probably need to get back to work. We’ve got a lot to do in Engineering to get ready.”
Hannah stepped forward and took his hand. “Gap, I’m leaving in two hours. And I don’t know when I’ll see you again.”
He saw tears in her eyes and fought back his own. “I can’t believe you’re doing this,” he said. “I mean, going with Torrec.”
“It’s the greatest scientific opportunity anyone’s ever had,” she said. “I’m a scientist at heart, Gap. How could I pass this up?”
“We’ll need a lot of scientific smarts when we get to Eos.”
“And you’ll have plenty of help. I wasn’t the only one training for this mission, you know. Plus, you’ll have Roc. It’s not like I’m leaving you completely high and dry.”
“No,” Gap said. “You’re right.” He shook his head. “I know you’re right about the chance to study. I just hope that you’re not making a terrible mistake. I mean, how will you live? How do you know they’ll be able to take care of you?”
Hannah grinned. “Gap, they made sixteen pods, and a realistic human replica, in about a week. I think they can rig up a hotel room and a few tacos.”
He finally cracked a smile. “Yeah, I guess so.” After looking down at her hand on his, he completely dropped his guard. He pulled her into a tight embrace and held on to her. “I’ll miss you, Hannah,” he whispered into her ear.
He felt the tremble and knew she was quietly sobbing. “And I’m going to miss you, too,” she said. “I’ll be back. I don’t know when, or how, but I’ll be back.”
* * *
Lita was cleaning the outside of Torrec’s tank when Triana walked into the room in Sick House, and the Council Leader couldn’t help but laugh.
“Are you washing his windshield?”
Lita grinned. “Can’t send him home in a dirty tank. What will his friends think of us?”
Triana dropped into a chair. “I’m not sure they think all that much of us, to tell you the truth. We’re just one insignificant entry in their master log of creatures around the universe. Isn’t that right, Torrec?”
“We have cataloged many,” the jellyfish said. “The significance factor is difficult to ascertain without a full study.”
“You’re a laugh a minute, Torrec,” Triana said. Her expression turned serious. “So, Lita, any comments about the way things are turning out?”
The girl from Mexico dabbed at a smear on the tank. “What’s there to say, really? We’ve got hibernating bodies in the Storage Section, along with fertilized human eggs. If you’re asking what I think of your decision to part with some of the embryos, I guess I’d have to say I’m not happy about it. But, like you, I don’t see any other choice. Not if we want to get to Eos safely.
“Of course,” she added, keeping her attention on the tank. “If we’d decided to go to the red dwarf system, then we wouldn’t be parting with anybody.”
“I figured you’d say that,” Triana said. “If it meant saving the lives of the embryos, I wouldn’t hesitate. But I trust Torrec when he says they’ll be well cared for, and eventually returned. I’m willing to allow him to study them. Plus, I’m assuming that Manu will do a good job of overseeing them, too.”
“I hate to lose him,” Lita said. “He’s a great worker, and an even better person. Just…” She paused, then finished. “Just like Alexa.”
They let that lie there for a moment. Then Triana said: “I’m assuming that Mathias will take his spot?”
Lita nodded. “He’s very good, so it’ll all work out.” She chuckled. “Quite the revolving door here at the clinic.”
Triana bit her lip, watching her friend meticulously clean each side of the tank. “Torrec, how many of the embryos are you requesting?”
“We will be satisfied with sixteen.”
“Sixteen,” Triana said. “You guys certainly have a thing for that number. Sixteen pods, sixteen embryos.”
“It is the base number in our counting system,” the jellyfish said. “The most widely used system on your home planet is base-ten. We use base-sixteen.”
“Ah,” Triana said. “Well, if it’s okay with you, I’d like to keep six of the pods that you produced. We can use them when we get to Eos, and I think we can cram that many into the Spider bay.”
“That is satisfactory,” Torrec said.
“Uh, and we’re also going to have you take back the ventet of the crew member that you made. I hope you understand.”
“We’ve had that talk,” Lita said. “He’s fine with it. In fact, as eerie as it sounds, I think Manu might want to do a little study on it himself.” She glanced at Triana. “You know, cell regeneration, that kind of stuff. Could be helpful later.”
Triana let out a long breath. “Sounds too much like the Frankenstein story to me. But if he thinks it can help us down the road…”
“What time do we plunge down the rabbit hole?” Lita asked, changing the subject.
“We’ll go ahead and plan on noon. Hannah and Manu will leave with Torrec—and the other cargo—around eleven.”
/> Lita stopped what she was doing and put her hands on her hips. “That means you’re opening the Storage Sections.”
“Uh-huh. In twenty-five minutes. Wanna be there?”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” Lita said.
“Okay,” Triana said, standing. “See you there. In the meantime, I have to go talk with the farmer.”
* * *
The farmer was in his office, and for the first time Triana could recall, the door to his office was closed. She walked around to the large window that looked out into Dome 1 and peered in. Bon sat at his desk, absorbed in something on his vidscreen. She wavered for a moment, then tapped on the glass.
Bon didn’t move his head, but shifted his eyes to the window. He saw her, but turned his attention back to the screen without acknowledging that she was there. Triana shook her head, then worked back around to the door and pushed it open.
“Begging your pardon, Mr. Hartsfield,” she said, closing the door behind her and then leaning against it. “May I take you away from your work for a few precious minutes?”
He continued to gaze at the screen. “What is it?”
“You bolted from the meeting before the fireworks began. I thought that, as a Council member, you should at least get caught up on what we discovered.”
“I’m all ears. Catch me up.”
“You seem so busy,” Triana said, “so let me give you a thumbnail sketch. Hannah and Manu are going back with Torrec, and they’re taking sixteen of the human embryos that are lurking in the Storage Sections, but they’re not taking any of the cryogenically frozen teenagers that are sleeping in there.”
Before she’d finished, Bon was staring at her. She raised her eyebrows and gave him a reproachful look. “See what you miss when you cut out early?”
“You’re serious.”
“Oh, I’m serious. Eighty-four Galahad backups in suspended animation, along with almost two hundred embryos.”
“And Hannah is leaving?”
Triana nodded gravely. “And Manu.”
“Manu is competent but replaceable. Hannah is unique, and brilliant.”
“Wow,” Triana said, with a mock look of surprise. “Bon compliments someone. I’ll be sure to jot that down in my journal tonight.”
He pushed back in his chair and put his feet up on the desk. “Does this change the operation in any way? The bodies in the basement, I mean. Still going to Eos, I’m assuming.”
“Yes. Torrec and company leave at eleven, and we go an hour later. You should dismiss all farmworkers by eleven-thirty. I’ll want everyone in their room, lying down, when we go through. That means you, too.”
Bon shrugged. “Fine. You could have told all of this to me electronically.”
“And miss your syrupy-sweet attitude?” Triana crossed the room and sat down in the chair across the desk from him. “Tell me about the Cassini.”
He gave a sarcastic snort. “What? Now? You want to talk about the Cassini now?”
“You’re not using the translator anymore, Bon. By now you must know more about them. The way you hustled down to the Spider bay, you obviously knew about Alexa’s ventet on the pod.”
“No,” he said. “They don’t tell me things. I get feelings.”
She waved this away. “However you want to put it. You voted immediately for going to Eos, rather than Torrec’s system. Did the Cassini play a role in that decision for you, too?”
Bon rocked slightly in his chair. “Yes and no. I get no feeling of dread regarding the Dollovit system, but I know that it would have been a dead end for us. Knowledge is one thing, but not at the price of stagnation.”
“Explain that.”
“Stagnation of spirit,” he said. “The Dollovit are all about securing knowledge. But they live only to acquire the knowledge, not to use it in any real sense. That’s why I don’t see them anymore as a threat.”
“Torrec essentially threatened us just a few minutes ago.”
“Probably only to protect their single-minded purpose. Am I right?”
Triana conceded the point.
“They’re living encyclopedias,” Bon said. “I’m all in favor of expanding our knowledge, of continuing to learn. But it means nothing if we grow physically stagnant, if we don’t use the information somehow. On Eos we’ll use everything we’ve learned by putting it to practical use.”
Triana knew that she was radiating a look of admiration, but she didn’t care. She was truly impressed with Bon’s analysis.
“You’ve changed,” she blurted out without thinking.
He grunted back at her. “We’ve all changed. Every one of us.”
She shook her head. “No, it’s different with you. I don’t know if it’s the mind alteration from your Cassini connection, or if it’s just the new mature Bon. Maybe a little of both. But you never would have said anything like that six months ago.”
His ice-blue eyes bored into her. “And how have you changed, Triana? Did the Dollovit change you? Are you the same person you were six months ago?”
She leaned forward. “I’m not the same person I was six days ago. For a while I even wondered if I was physically the same person.”
“Oh? Did you think you were a manufactured copy, too?”
“Don’t laugh, it crossed my mind.”
“How do you know for sure you’re not?” Bon said.
She looked out the window to her right and watched a team of farmworkers walk past with shovels and rakes thrown over their shoulders. “I remember something my dad told me once during one of our drives in the mountains. He said that more than a few scientists were convinced that every one of us on Earth was nothing more than a computer simulation, created by some advanced being or advanced computer somewhere. That we were only highly detailed sims, products of a supercomputer’s imagination.”
“Oh?” Bon said. “And how did these scientists figure this?”
“The theory goes that computer simulation is so good, and improving exponentially, that computer processing power can literally be more potent than a human brain. And if that’s the case, then at some point simulations will be created with human characters that actually think, and believe that they’re real.”
Bon shook his head. “Nice parenting skills, telling his daughter that she might be a video game.”
Triana laughed. “Oh, c’mon. It’s all mathematics, really. Once you factor in the number of potential alien civilizations in the universe, and add the combined computing power, it’s actually more likely that we’re simulations than real, living beings. And I find that very interesting, even if you don’t.”
“What’s the point of this?” Bon said.
“The point is what my dad told me when I asked if he really thought he was a computer simulation. He said: ‘Maybe I am, and maybe I’m not. But if I am, I still have every reason to be the best simulation I can. Why make my life difficult or unhappy, even if it’s artificial? I’m still living it, regardless.’”
Bon said: “Makes sense.”
“Right. So even if I’m a reproduction of the real me, I’m still living it. What am I gonna do, give up? No thanks.”
“Is that the real reason you voted for Eos over the Dollovit system? You didn’t want a reminder every day that you might be a clone?”
Triana rubbed her forehead and closed her eyes. “Now you’re starting to sound like Roc. Let’s forget about why I voted for Eos and just take care of business, okay?”
“No problem,” Bon said, looking back at his monitor. “Anything else?”
There was plenty. There were volumes that Triana knew she could pour out right now. But she said: “Just wanted to fill you in on what you missed. We’re about to open the Storage Sections, in case you want to join us. After that I’ll be in the Spider bay to see Hannah and Manu off.”
She hurried out before she could say anything else.
19
A flurry of activity put an electric charge in the air. The countdown for Galahad’s departure bro
ught back memories of their original launch, which now seemed a lifetime ago. Inside the Spider bay and its control room, crew members scurried about, making room for the six additional pod replicas which would be brought aboard as soon as Hannah, Manu, and Torrec slipped away in the original.
A second Channel had yawned open ahead, the quantum portal waiting to deliver Galahad to the Eosian star system. The wormhole’s cosmic shock wave had rippled through the spacecraft, but this time Torrec’s warning had spared them from injuries.
Triana was running on pure adrenaline. Just down the hall, preparations were underway to open the sealed Storage Sections, with Gap overseeing a team of workers gathered for the big moment. Triana would join them in minutes.
Everything was spiraling down to the finish line so quickly. Years of training and travel, billions upon billions of miles between Galahad and her birthplace, countless adventures and crises that had piled one upon the other, new and vivid emotions that had cascaded through her … and yet it came down to this. Opening the secretive vault, dispatching crew members who had become like family to her, and parcelling out living embryos in an exotic form of cosmic barter. All to guarantee their safe arrival at a planet—or planets—that could easily turn out to be hostile, even deadly.
The door to the Spider bay control room opened and Hannah stepped inside. She carried a look about her that hovered somewhere between all-out excitement and downright terror. Triana was sure it was the same look that she herself had worn when she’d piloted the pod into the wormhole.
“Ready to go?”
Hannah’s eyes were wide. “I don’t know. I can’t believe it’s actually happening.”
Triana gazed into the oversized hangar. “I know what you mean. But listen, don’t be afraid. I mean, I know it’s easy to say that, but it’s painless. It’s a shock, but painless.”
Hannah laughed. “There’s so much to see when I get there, and so much to learn from the Dollovit. But what I’m most looking forward to is crossing that barrier. It represents everything that got me interested in science in the first place. It’s … it’s symbolic.”
Triana wrinkled her forehead. “What do you mean?”