Once aboard the station, Frell escorted Tessa to her quarters. She had never seen such an elaborate suite in her entire life. There was a huge, decadently styled bed that offered a choice of sleeping on a traditional Earth mattress or sleeping cocooned in a zero-G field. I will definitely be taking the first option, she thought with delight. It was a luxury not available in her quarters back in the Callistian System. Frell showed her each of the room’s many sumptuous appointments. She had always wondered how the Dextronin lived, if their lifestyle was as similar to Humans as their appearance was. Everything seemed strangely familiar, although much more rich than she was used to, but then her host may have had the room prepared that way for her.
Chapter 4
Erill Whynn wore many hats. To his business associates, he was the charming philanthropist. He supported many causes and spoke often at charity events. To his competitors, he was sinister, a ruthless man with means beyond their comprehension. Whynn had founded his technology company when he was very young, shortly after completing his education. Their first product was a component essential to the interplanetary drives used on most private vessels in the Dextronin System. After a few years, he expanded the company to add more drive components. Eventually, the company unveiled a new drive system of their own that was much more efficient than the models in use. It wasn’t long before they were installed in almost every ship in the System.
Whynn Technologies was doing pretty well already, but things really took off after the now-famous “radio message” had arrived. It wasn’t the first interstellar signal the Dextronins had detected—they had been picking them up here and there for years, but previously they were mostly stray signals from civilizations attempting to contact their own colonies. The Dextronins were just eavesdropping.
This radio message was different though. It had been directed at the Dextronin System and was intended for the Dextronin Race. It was a greeting from Earth and the Human Race. The message also included plans for the construction of a device. Once paired with an identical device back in the Earth’s Solar System, the two would open and stabilize a wormhole. The Humans called the device “the Doorstop” for its ability to hold the wormhole open indefinitely.
Since they already had a reputation for taking what existed and making it their own, Whynn Technologies was contracted to construct the Doorstop for the Dextronin side of the wormhole. They eventually produced a working device and the Dextronin people watched from all over their System as “Wormhole Z114” was opened.
The wormhole worked well for a time, but eventually became unstable and was no longer suitable or safe for starship travel. Determined to keep the relationship between the two systems alive, scientists finally deduced that interference from a black hole orbiting the Dextronin System at a great distance was the cause of the instability. Whynn took the knowledge and oversaw the development of a new Doorstop able to withstand the interference. “Wormhole 115” opened successfully and for the last seven years Whynn Technologies had received a steady flow of revenue from regular use of the new and improved wormhole.
Erill Whynn had amassed a great fortune through this revenue and a series of very clever economic decisions. He had an uncanny knack for knowing the right time to purchase other companies or to invest in a new line of research. His jealous competitors often accused Whynn of corporate espionage.
When finally he was able to meet with Tessa, Erill Whynn struck her with his appearance—he was wearing a sleek grey jumpsuit, cut in the formal Dextronin style. She had seen pictures of him, but of course those had been hand-picked by his PR team. He was slightly taller than an average Human male, giving him quite a few inches on Tessa. Like all Dextronin, his trapezius muscle was large, merging his neck and shoulders. He appeared to be in his mid-20s, but Tessa knew he was about 50 (in Earth years). He had been one of the first Dextronin to take advantage of Human age-reversal techniques once trade had begun seven years earlier.
He smiled warmly as he shook her hand and introduced himself. A handshake was not a common greeting for his race, but he frequently traded with Humans and was comfortable with the business etiquette. He prided himself on having perfected the technique. Tessa had been waiting two days for her slot in Mr. Whynn’s schedule, so there was more impatience than warmth in her greeting.
“I trust Frell has been taking good care of you,” he said seeming not to notice. “I told him, anything Dr. Lane needs, be certain she gets it.” He grinned even more broadly.
“Yes, the accommodations have been very…comfortable,” she forced herself to acknowledge. His pride in his own hospitality made Tessa even angrier. “Mr. Whynn, I have been here for two days already. I’m not trying to be ungrateful for the lovely stay, but I still don’t even know why I’m here.”
“I’m sorry, my dear. I’m sure that has been quite frustrating,” he said apologetically. She knew he was nearly twice her age, but she bristled at his use of a term of endearment—so patronizing. “Unfortunately, I’ll have to ask for your patience a little bit longer. I can’t quite answer your question yet, but I guarantee when I do, it will be well worth the wait for you.” That was that then—all she could do was say “thank you” and wait.
Frustrating as it was to be left in the dark, Tessa decided not to bite the hand that was feeding her or express any unhappiness to her bosses. After the quick meeting with Whynn, she reported back to Xeno-Bio that her impromptu “vacation” was going fine and how she hoped to be back to work in the near future, grant in hand.
In the meantime, she thought, there was no harm in taking advantage of the spa treatments and entertainments that were offered to her. She had grown up in a middle-class Earth family and was not used to being pampered. But she was careful not to overdo it. Between the massages and facials, and the expensive outings Frell took her on to keep her occupied, she continued to analyze that last curious set of fossil holograms from the Callistians.
On the fourth day of her stay, Frell informed her that she was finally scheduled to have dinner with Mr. Whynn. With resolve borne of impatience, she determined to get some answers finally. She also was surprised to find herself looking forward to seeing him again, to his smile and his handshake… Frell instructed her to meet Mr. Whynn in his private dining room, located on the uppermost deck of the pyramid-shaped station. He explained that she was expected to dress in formal attire for the dinner and provided her with an extensive collection of Dextronin jumpsuits to choose from. She picked one at random. Her appearance was not of any concern to her. She had only one motive for the evening—to find out why she had been brought here.
Chapter 5
At the designated time, she took an elevator alone up to the top deck of the station. So caught up was she in her quest for answers, Tessa was taken aback when the door smoothly slid open to reveal the wondrous room. A dome of nearly imperceptible glass gave her a stunning 360 degree view of the universe outside. As she spun around gazing wide-eyed at the display, she tried to find familiar star clusters. There were a handful that would be bright enough to be seen by both the Dextronin and the Solar System, she knew. Unfortunately, the patterns around those stars that she would normally have used as her signposts were completely different here, so she could not find them.
“Breathtaking, eh?” Tessa jumped at the voice. She whirled around to see Mr. Whynn standing by a second elevator door. She had not heard it open, she was so wrapped up in the glorious sky. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
She caught her breath and stammered, “I was just… just trying to find…” She found it unnerving to have him concerned like that.
“Ah, of course,” he interrupted knowingly. “Computer? Highlight Sol.”
A white circle appeared on the dome at the center of which was a small pinpoint of light.
“Your home world,” he said as he stepped up next to her, gesturing to that small light. “Ours as well, or so your people would have us believe. Though we do not know how that would be possibl
e…”
“You think the similarities of our peoples are coincidence,” she interrupted. She had thus far avoided the subject with any other Dextronins she had encountered, but Tessa found herself curious what Erill Whynn thought of his people’s origins.
“Our history tells us that we were created on our home world in this system by the gods Juna and Tolus. They breathed life onto our world. But then, the histories never claim that the gods didn’t take inspiration from elsewhere. Maybe we were created by them to emulate life on your world, where your people say you ‘evolved’.”
Tessa was quiet for a moment. “Maybe,” she relented. There had not been anything in what he had said that she found objectionable. After all, the Dextronins’ similarity to Humans was an unanswered conundrum.
“Please, join me,” he gracefully gestured to an elegantly set table and two tall chairs in the very center of the dome. Showing his comfort with traditional Human ceremony, he pulled her chair out for her, then seated himself. He made a gesture clearly meant for the computer and the elevator door opened with a slight “whoosh”. Out stepped a Dextronin man with an air of quiet dignity, who then proceeded to serve them plates laden with both Human and Dextronin delicacies. As silently as he entered, the man left through the same elevator.
As she ate, Tessa stole a few glances at Erill Whynn. He is rather handsome, she had to admit. He fills out that formal jumpsuit rather nicely… She immediately dismissed the thought. He was half-a-century old, and rich. Who knew how many procedures he’d gone through to maintain his youthful appearance?
“I’m sure the last few days have been confusing for you. I hope it has been pleasant, nonetheless,” he offered to start the conversation.
“Oh, yes,” Tessa answered, deciding to be civil.
“Ms. Lane, I do owe you an explanation.”
“It would be nice,” she agreed…civilly.
“Here’s the thing though. I’m afraid I’m not quite sure why I need you here either.” His charming and self-possessed demeanor surprisingly betrayed a hint of embarrassment.
“I don’t understand…” she said, tilting her head to one side.
A holographic window appeared in front of her.
“I will tell you what I know, but first I need you to acknowledge this non-disclosure agreement. What I’m going to share with you is unknown to the general public. Well, it’s unknown to practically everyone. Not even my closest associates in my own company are privy to this information. I need to be sure that you’re not going to share it with anyone, including Xeno-Bio. I will come up with an appropriate cover story for your stay here,” he said as if anticipating that would be her next question.
Having scanned the document while he spoke, Tessa reached out and tapped the holographic icon for accepting the agreement. She was committed, after all.
“Great. As you know,” he began, “I have managed to form a very successful company and amass a large sum of money in a relatively short period of time. For the first few years it genuinely was my doing, my work ethic and ingenuity, and I’m quite proud of that fact… But for the last few years I’ve also had something of an advantage.” He waved his hand and a hologram of a wormhole appeared in place of the document. “This is it. This is the secret to Whynn Technologies’ success.”
What is he getting at? Tessa knew it was no secret that his company was contracted to build and maintain the Doorstop device. “What you see here is not z115. This is not the wormhole you rode through to get to our system. This…” he pointed to the hologram, “is z114. The first wormhole ever opened in our star system. As I’m sure you know, it became unstable. Interference from our neighboring black hole caused changes in the wormhole’s inner structure that we’re still struggling to understand. Energy in the form of laser beams or radio waves was able to pass through, but if we sent anything composed of solid matter, it never emerged on the other side.”
Tessa nodded. She was familiar with the history of contact between Dextronins and Humans.
“Once z115 was opened, the first wormhole was no longer necessary, so it was decommissioned by the Dextronin government. We were told to close it off and disassemble the useless Doorstop device within it. And we started to do this. The human scientists in the Solar System closed their aperture, but then a funny thing happened.” He paused for effect.
“Everything we knew about wormhole physics said that once they severed their end our own end should have closed too in a burst of exotic particles, but this did not happen. Our aperture remained open. This meant that the wormhole must have formed a new aperture on the other side anchoring it to a different point in space-time. Sure enough, this was the case. We sent a probe into z114. With the unstable Solar System connection severed, it managed to emerge on the other side unharmed. We found that the new opening took our probe to a stretch of empty space about six light years from here.”
Tessa tried to take it all in. As far as anyone back in the Solar System knew, the wormhole had been successfully closed. Supposedly, that was what the Dextronin government also believed.
“We conducted more tests. Each time we changed our probe’s trajectory through the wormhole, it emerged in a different location. So we theorized that the black hole had had an even greater impact on z114 than we originally thought. It appeared to have caused our wormhole to…well, to ‘fray’. The one original pathway to the Solar System was now a series of branching pathways all leading to different points in space-time. We found that the wormhole could emerge in no fewer than 27 different places, all much closer to our own star system than to the Solar System. But here’s the real kicker—these endpoints varied not just in space, but also in time. Some emerged weeks after we launched them, but others arrived before they were sent.”
Whynn stopped for a moment letting her absorb that last tidbit.
“You’re serious?” Tessa was incredulous.
“Absolutely,” he smiled. “Stabilizing a single path through the wormhole for consistent use wasn’t easy, but we managed to do it for one particular endpoint. We now have the ability to send a probe into the wormhole and have it emerge on the far side of a nearby asteroid belt about one solar year in the past. I’m sure you can see the advantage that this has given to my company. For the last six years, we’ve been able to send ourselves messages that foreworn us about changes in the market or developments our competitors will make. With this information in hand, we’ve been able to corner the technology market in this System.”
“So, your competitors were half-right all along?” Tessa smirked. He gave her an inquisitive look. “You were committing corporate espionage, but you haven’t been spying on them. You’ve been spying on your own future.”
“Now, Ms. Lane, don’t judge us too harshly. You can’t really expect a businessman to come across an opportunity like this and not seize it?”
“Perhaps not,” she begrudgingly admitted. After all, who could resist a real glimpse at the future? “But, you still haven’t told me what any of this has to do with me.”
“Yes, well, when I received my last message, nearly an Earth year ago, it contained your name. There was very little detail. All it said was that you would be with me at a critical moment this year. I suspect you will be there when we receive the next message in just a couple days.”
Tessa was silent for a moment, waiting for more information, more clarification, more explanation.
“That’s it?” she finally said.
“Well, yes.”
Tessa slowly pushed her chair back and stood up. “So, you mean to tell me I traveled through two star systems and put my work on hold all so I can be arm candy to a spoiled rich boy when he gets his next message from the future?”
Whynn did not seem to know what to say for a moment. “I…well I wouldn’t put it like…”
“Well I would,” she cut him off curtly. “Thank you for dinner Mr. Whynn. Have a good night.” With that, she turned on her heel, marched across the room to the elevator and made
a swift exit.
Tessa holed up in her quarters for the rest of that evening. Whynn made multiple attempts to contact her, but she refused them all. I can’t believe that I was pulled away from my own life and my own work just to sit by as this man awaits a message from the future! Until that dinner, she had at least believed that her being in the Dextronin System had something to do with her own work. Now she knew that Mr. Whynn did not care in the least about her or her scientific discoveries. He had only contacted her because he was following a script he’d received from a year in the future.
Mr. Whynn was pulling a fast one on his fellow Dextronins and he wanted her to ride shotgun.
It was despicable. It was cheating the market. It was ethically and morally reprehensible. Worst of all… it was tempting as hell. She hated to admit it, but she was not immune to the allure of future knowledge. The message Whynn received the previous year had said that Tessa would be with him when he received the next message. Presumably, this new message would have information relevant to her as well. That possibility was not something she could afford to pass up.
Chapter 6
The next evening, she accepted an invitation from Whynn to join him in a garden on the middle deck of the station. She arrived about 15 minutes late, out of spite, but again resolved to remain civil. He was waiting for her at the entrance to a path that meandered through the colorful, fragrant garden. A multitude of large, impressive Dextronin flowering plants lined the path as they walked side-by-side.
“I’m sorry,” he began. “I didn’t mean to make you feel objectified. The fact that you were mentioned in my last future message implied to me that there was a very good reason for you to be present when I retrieve the next message.”
Romance: Scifi Romance: Mated by the Alien (Abduction BWWM Paranormal Romance) (Interracial First Contact Space Romance) Page 11