Through Glass Darkly: Episode Two

by Peter Knyte

  The servicing was a well-worn routine for me, which only took a few minutes, after which I was ready to sleep and after lying down nodded off immediately.

  Despite the odd noise from Bradbury’s team as they worked through the night, I slept well and deep, and woke up early the following morning feeling refreshed and ready for the day.

  For a moment it seemed odd to be back aboard ship, and not to have to relieve anyone or have a shift to start, but then I remembered all the work I had to get started on in preparing the new simplified lensing rigs for the search teams.

  Fortunately with all the workmen aboard ship, Bradbury had also sorted out some refreshments for his men in one of the refectories on the engineering level so I was able to get a good cup of coffee and hearty breakfast before I started on the work of the day.

  I began by checking in with both the Captain and Platt, in order to get up to speed with everything they’d done while I was at the sanatorium with Ariel the previous evening.

  Both men had been busy, the Captain had prepared all the information the manufacturer would need to mix up the appropriate batches of lens glass for the new lenses, and then cast the different glass types into appropriate sized lenses. It was a short but concise document containing several hand drawn technical illustrations, accurately drawn and fully detailed with precise measurements.

  He’d also selected a number of sample lenses and found an early prototype lensing rig frame that he’d further cut down and simplified so that it would hold only the lenses the search teams were likely to need.

  These would all make excellent templates for the manufacturer to use for their own castings, as well as a working model that they could use to see how everything was supposed to fit together.

  Where the Captain had found the time to rest after bringing all this material together I couldn’t imagine, as it must’ve taken several hours to put even this concise a document together.

  The police captain had made similar progress, and had not only identified a likely local manufacturer, he’d also dispatched one of his detectives to establish contact with the owner and impress upon them the urgency that we wanted the work delivering with.

  Again Platt had a car standing ready to take me to the site around mid-morning where I was to meet with both the owner and the relevant technical teams. Hughes had also volunteered to come along as a well-known business-leader to try and smooth the waters if it were required.

  This gave me time to do a bit of preparatory work in the ships lensing lab for the various coatings and baths that would be needed to finish the lenses off before they could be used.

  The day passed in a whorl. No sooner had I finished in the lab than I was transported to the manufacturers plant to discuss our requirements, but far from encountering any form of reluctance or hesitation on the part of optical manufacturer, we discovered they were incredibly keen to work with us, to such an extent that I couldn’t help but openly wonder why when I had the opportunity to speak to Hughes privately.

  ‘Ah yes of course,’ he replied as though trying to figure out how to phrase his response diplomatically.

  ‘There is a tacitly accepted truism in our society that war drives technological advancement, perhaps it is similar in your world?’

  When I indicated it was, he continued.

  ‘Well, your war with these creatures from the Expanse has I think improved your knowledge and understanding of many technologies to something far beyond our own.

  ‘You have some technologies we don’t have at all like those palely glowing Aetheric batteries or capacitors that are built into so many of your devices,’ he said indicating the small pale green capacitors built into my lensing rig.

  ‘But even the technologies which we recognise, seem much more refined and capable than our own versions, and these things have come to the attention of a great many very powerful people, even nations. Many of whom would in other circumstances have been happy to simply try and take these secrets from you.

  ‘Now, because of the high profile nature of your arrival over our city, and the continued interest in who you are and why you’re here the likelihood of anyone trying to take anything from you is almost zero. But don’t allow yourself to underestimate how much interest there still is out there in finding out more about these strange devices you have, and more fundamentally the technological advances you’ve had to make to create them.’

  ‘So the people we’ve spoken to today, they’re keen to help us because they think they can learn things that will give them a commercial advantage?’ I asked slightly surprised.

  ‘Yes, of course!’ He replied. ‘Simply think of the applications of the optical technologies that you’re sharing with these people today. The benefit in hunting this creature will be enormous, but these same technologies could also help our soldiers perform better at night, or allow our spy planes to see the ground clearer, or our astronomers to see further into the night skies. They could transform medical microscopy, give ordinary people better spectacles to wear, film-stars better sunglasses, paparazzi better cameras, and film directors a few more options on the film set.

  ‘And yet,’ he continued, having already blown my mind. ‘This is a level of technology so primitive to you that the greatest challenge you’ve faced in talking to us about it is whether you can simplify it enough to allow us to copy it.’

  ‘I had no idea,’ I conceded. ‘In the years that we’ve been battling these creatures we’ve come to take so much of this for granted. It had never occurred to me that the gap between us was so wide.’

  I should’ve seen and thought of it before and said the same to Hughes, but there had been so many other things going on I just hadn’t stopped to consider.

  ‘Has the Captain discussed this with you?’ I asked hoping that I hadn’t been the only one who’d been too busy to consider it.

  ‘He has,’ replied Hughes with a gentle smile. ‘He’s taking the view at the moment that the best way of achieving his mission is to share all of the technological advances from your world, in order to give us the best chance possible of joining the fight against these creatures.

  ‘In fact he’s encouraged me to act as a go-between for any and all interested parties,’ Hughes explained further. ‘But he’s also quietly urging everyone who will listen to start preparing this world in the same way you did your own.’

  I thanked Hughes for his candour in helping me to understand the much wider repercussions which our arrival had caused.

  When we went back to talking to the engineers and technicians that had been assembled to work with us in the factory I did my best to honour the Captain’s wish for us to share as much of our knowledge with this world as possible, so in addition to explaining as much of the early lensing technology which they needed to understand in order to manufacture what we were asking of them, I also tried to explain some of limitations that we’d subsequently also discovered so they had a better grounding in the wider field before we shared the more advanced techniques and technologies with them.

  It was another long day, but by the time we finished the engineers and technicians I’d been tutoring all seemed confident they had not only understood enough to get the job we wanted done, they also thought they could re-tool their machinery and have the first batch of lenses and rigs off the production line in only a little over two days, which was far quicker than I’d dared hope.

  We were just saying our goodbyes at the factory gates, and I was just beginning to think of where I could find an evening meal, when one of the technicians came back out to find us to say that the Staton Island Sanatorium were calling for me on the phone.

  I hardly dared hope it might be news that Ariel had woken up so soon after the operation as I walked back through the factory to take the call from Dr Bach. While Ariel was still unconscious, she continued to heal rapidly with no obvious counter indicators after being removed from the creatures carapace shell.

  ‘The thing is Mr Hall,’ he continued matter-
of-factly. ‘I’ve been talking to Dr Payne about the remnants of those additional limbs that are still attached to the patients spine, and now that we’ve had a chance to X-ray her again without that shell material weakening and blurring the image, we think it’s probably a relatively straight-forward procedure that could be completed with just a single surgery.

  ‘Unfortunately, we’re still no further forward on the whole anaesthetic and painkiller question, though we have now confirmed that her blood has definitely been hybridised in some way.’

  ‘So, you’d like to get this second operation out of the way before she wakes up?’ I said, anticipating where he was going with the call.

  ‘That’s it exactly,’ replied Bach. ‘We could be ready to start first thing in the morning if her situation remains unchanged, but because of her now unique physiology we’d feel more comfortable if you could be there to use your lenses again to monitor her condition both before we start and while we operate.’

  I confirmed I was willing to help out in any way I could, but that I’d naturally have to discuss it with the Captain before giving the final go ahead. Either way I promised to have an answer for him within the next couple of hours.

  Hughes had waited outside the office so I could have the conversation in private, but I saw no reason not to update him on Ariel’s condition as we walked back to the car.

  ‘I know it must be difficult for you and the Captain,’ he observed, when I finally finished telling him what was going on. ‘To go from a crew of thousands down to just the two of you in such a short period of time, let alone to find yourself on a new world so similar and yet different to your own.’

  ‘It is,’ I admitted after the briefest hesitation.

  ‘But it’s not something I feel consciously.’ I con-tinued, struggling slightly to find the words. ‘There have been times in the last week when I’ve pushed myself so far beyond what I thought were my limits that I’ve barely recognised myself, but at the same time I’ve also felt more at one with myself than ever before.’

  ‘Well, you’ve certainly confounded several people’s expectations in the way you carry yourself Ashton,’ Hughes confided earnestly.

  ‘There are those who wonder whether you’ve got some kind of a death wish after the way you’ve chased these creatures down time and again, constantly putting yourself in harm’s way to try and stop them. But there are other seasoned officers who’ve seen you in the field and are convinced nothing could be further from the truth.’

  I trusted what Hughes was saying to me, but had been caught so off guard by this change of subject and I barely knew how to respond.

  ‘Well I appreciate the concern I must’ve caused,’ I finally replied. ‘And while there’s a lot about my situation I don’t feel I can adequately explain, I can say with confidence that’s I’m not driven by suicidal thoughts.’

  There wasn’t much else that could really be said on the subject, and I thought for moment that Hughes was simply going to let the subject drop, but then he surprised me again.

  ‘You know,’ he continued, in a slightly lighter tone. ‘I have at various points in my life found that keeping a journal of my thoughts has helped. Purely for myself of course, not for anyone else to read.

  ‘I don’t know why putting pen to paper is easier for me than talking to someone else, but somehow it helps me to maintain my perspective. Perhaps you should give it a try? You could even use it to keep a record of your travels in a strangely familiar land.’ He finished with a flourish of his hand to indicate the city around us.

  The idea had never occurred to me before, but something about it appealed now.

  ‘I like the sound of that,’ I admitted. ‘Perhaps I will.’

  I’d been intending to talk to Platt the Police Captain when I got back to where the ship was moored in the park, to see if we could start running the lensing tests on his men from the search team, as well as any other volunteers from the Police and Fire departments that would like to give it a go. But after discussing Ariel’s condition with the Captain we both agreed that the operation should go ahead in the morning, and that I should attend in order to provide the support that the surgeons had requested.

  To make sure this didn’t cause a delay in the lensing trials the Captain agreed to give me a hand in setting up the lensing lab later on that evening, so that we could arrange for the tests to begin the following afternoon. He also agreed to cover the first appointments if the surgery ran over and I couldn’t get back in time.

  I knew he’d been up since before I had that morning, and as usual had already completed a full day of meetings and overseeing the work of Bradbury’s repair team from his now accustomed place down in engineering, and yet as we cleared away some of the debris that still lay around the lensing lab rom our arrival in this world, and sorted out the test equipment for the following day he still seemed as fresh as a daisy in both his appearance and mood.

  I thought about mentioning it, but wanted to mention the technology discussion I’d had with Hughes earlier on that day.

  ‘It’s something I was hoping to find the time to brief you on at some point,’ he conceded, taking a momentary pause from the work. ‘I’ve been approached by Jenkins superiors within the FBI and by a number of senior representatives from the military, who are all interested in finding out more about the different technologies we have aboard the ship. But after considering it I’ve informed them that as the technologies aboard this ship were developed by all the nations of our own world, it seems only right that if we’re going to share them at all then it should be with all the peoples of this world.

  ‘I’m not quite sure how it’s going to happen at the moment,’ he continued, ‘But they have something on this world called a World’s Fair, where each nation comes to exhibit its technological advances and celebrate its cultural differences and hopes for the future. It’s being held in Chicago this year, and is running until November. If we can get the ship fixed up before then and deal with this Lamphrey that is on the loose, I’m considering granting the crew some shore-leave to attend the event, and if we can arrange it with the organisers and the world’s scientific community we’ll also hold seminars to share the knowledge and technology we have.’

  ‘That would certainly give the crew something to focus on as they start to return to work,’ I said, thinking out loud. ‘And the flight over to Chicago might also be a good first shake-down for the ship once repairs are completed.’

  He clearly appreciated my echoing of the things he’d doubtless already considered, and for the first time in many months we had a relaxed and informal chat as we both worked away in the lab to get it ready for the following day.

  Apparently he was pleased with how the repairs to the ship were coming along, and was even hopeful that we might get a skin stretched over the hole in the side of hull within the next day or two, so that we could fully inflate the rest of gas cells in that part of the ship again. Many of the bags were already in place, partially inflated and secured with layers of netting as they had been originally before the hull had been ruptured, but as we were unlikely to need to take the ship up to extreme altitude anytime soon there was no point risking a full inflation of the bags until we were whole again.

  For my part I told him about Hughes suggestion that I should start keeping a journal to record our adventures in this foreign world, though I skipped over the fact that Hughes had suggested this in part as something that might help me to recover my perspective.

  ‘You know Ashton, that’s a splendid idea,’ he commented with a curious hint of a smile on his face. ‘I’m surprised I didn’t think of it myself!’

  It honestly took me nearly a whole second to realise the Captain had cracked a joke at his own expense, but when the penny dropped I couldn’t help but chuckle honestly.

  ‘I’ve never stopped to ask you how you’re finding having a twin brother for the first time in your life,’ I asked, unsure of whether I was stepping over the line for polite conv
ersation.

  ‘Well its odd and no mistake,’ he replied without hesitation. ‘But you know the strangest thing? There’s a large part of me that would like nothing better than to sit down with him for an evening or two simply to discuss how our lives are the same and where they differ. I think it would be like one of those pointless ‘what if’ scenarios where you can’t help but wonder how your life would’ve changed if only you’d acted differently.’

  We talked good naturedly for a short while longer until the lensing lab was completely ship shape again, and then as I headed back to my cabin the Captain took his leave of me and headed back down to engineering.

  CHAPTER 24 - RESTORATION

  I was up on my way early the following morning in order to get over to the Staton Island Sanatorium in time for Ariel’s second operation.

  It was much cooler at this time of the morning, and a low mist still clung to the grass across the park as I made my way to the waiting patrol car, but even so the clear blue sky held the promise of it being another bright and warm summers day.

  There was very little traffic on the roads at this early hour and as such I arrived at the Sanatorium and was getting cleaned up to go into theatre in the blink of an eye.

  By the time I entered the operating room the surgical team had finished prepping and examining their patient, and I was just about to greet them all when I caught sight of Ariel on the operating table. Her face and hair had been washed, and the puffiness or inflammation which her skin had after the shell was removed had completely subsided, making her look as though she were merely asleep.

  ‘She does look a lot better without all that gelatinous material covering her, doesn’t she,’ commented Dr Payne after seeing my expression.