Heirs of the New Earth

by David Lee Summers

  Gibbs chuckled, shook his head and then he took a bite of food. “You'll have your work cut out for you,” he said.

  "My ship has sensed gravitational shifts from the center of the galaxy. From what Edmund tells me, this might be related to what you're doing."

  Gibbs nodded. “The Cluster is a very ancient lifeform with knowledge that spans billions of years of existence,” he said slowly. “They want a place to deposit that knowledge, so others can benefit.” He stood from the table and stepped over to his teleholo. He brought up a schematic that showed the black hole at the center of the galaxy, with intense jets of energy shooting out into the reaches of intergalactic space. A veil of gas surrounded the dense mass. “We're building a memory core."

  Kirsten and G'Liat both stepped up to the teleholo and examined the image displayed as Gibbs returned to the table and continued eating. “So,” said G'Liat, “why does the Cluster need a memory core? It seems they're perfectly capable of storing the information they've gathered."

  "They're dying,” Gibbs responded bluntly. “There used to be more of them than there are now. They want to make sure the information they've gathered is preserved."

  Kirsten chewed her lower lip for a moment before looking up at Gibbs. “Do you mind if I use your teleholo to call my ship?"

  "Be my guest,” said Gibbs.

  As Kirsten called the Sanson, Swan sat down with Gibbs at the table. “So that's what this is all about? The Cluster wants to save their knowledge for posterity?” When Gibbs nodded, Swan looked up at G'Liat. “That doesn't seem so bad, does it?"

  "It all depends,” said the warrior as he stepped toward the table. “Who gets to access the data?"

  "Anyone,” said Gibbs. “Part of the design is a beacon with coded instructions on how to retrieve the information."

  Swan noticed that Kirsten was deep in conversation with the Sanson's first officer. He stood up from the table and joined her as Yermakov whistled. He was kneeling next to a woman typing on one of the ship's consoles. A holographic simulation of the black hole appeared. After a moment, there was a flash of light.

  "Are these masses correct?” asked Yermakov, wide-eyed.

  Kirsten looked up. “Mr. Gibbs, are the masses you used for your simulation the same ones you're using in the memory core?"

  Gibbs nodded and wiped his mouth on a napkin.

  "What's the matter?” asked Swan.

  The doll-like figure of Yermakov stood up on the little dais. “Bringing that much mass together is going to trigger a massive shock wave throughout the galaxy,” he explained. “It will strip the atmospheres from a million stars. Long before that happens the tachyon burst from this event will devastate life as we know it. Zahir, Rd'dyggia, Titan, Earth ... and all of their colonies...” Simon looked down at his feet then back up. “Kirsten, if they complete this project, life as we know it is over."

  Kirsten, Swan, and G'Liat all looked at Gibbs.

  Gibbs looked from one face to the other. “The Cluster says they'll protect those of us here on Earth. They can control the gravity waves so we'll be safe in this solar system."

  "That still leaves everyone else,” said Kirsten. “Humans on Alpha Coma and the other colonies, not to mention all the people in the galaxy.” She deliberately avoided looking at G'Liat.

  G'Liat made a low, menacing growl while Swan dropped into a chair and put his face in his hands and thought about his friends on the far side of the galaxy on the planet Sufiro. Kirsten thanked Simon and then terminated the connection. Without another word, she stepped out of the apartment, needing to get to some fresh air.

  * * * *

  John Mark Ellis awoke in his room on Nantucket and found himself looking into the blue eyes of Eva Cooper. She started slightly, and self-consciously brushed blonde hair behind her back. He blinked a few times and she helped him sit up, then handed him a pill and a glass of water. Without thinking about it, Ellis took the pill and greedily drank the water.

  "Thanks,” said Ellis. He handed the glass back to Cooper. “May I have more?"

  "Certainly,” she said, and she stepped across the hall to the bathroom where she refilled the glass. “You must be dehydrated after two days asleep."

  Ellis swallowed the second glass of water and then nodded. With that, he leapt up and stepped across to the bathroom. When he was finished, he looked up and down the hall as he padded back to the bedroom. “Where are the others?"

  Cooper filled Ellis in on the events of the last two days while he rifled through the closet looking for some clothes. “I'm glad to hear that Mom's going out to talk to Richard. I think if anyone can help, he can. The Cluster's building something at the center of the galaxy and I don't like what I saw at all.” He looked out the door then at Eva. “How's Coffin doing?"

  "He's been doing amazingly well for someone who's been asleep for so long. I've been giving him some sucrose solution to keep his body from dehydrating too far. I was just about to check on him when I noticed you were waking up.” She looked at his pajama bottoms then smiled sheepishly. “I'll go check on him and let you get dressed,” she said.

  As Ellis pulled on his pants, he tried to remember what he'd seen just before he awoke. The image of the scuffle on the deck of the Pequod came to his mind. Quickly, he threw on socks and shoes, then stepped across the hall.

  Cooper looked up from Coffin and swallowed hard. “His life signs have dropped,” she said. “I don't know why—maybe he's been too long without food and water, maybe it's something else."

  "I need to get back,” said Ellis. “If I can get back to the Cluster, I think I can save him."

  "Oh no,” said Eva as she stood up. “I don't think that's going to be possible for at least 24 hours.” She pulled out a chair and indicated that Ellis sit down. As he did, she explained what they had learned about Proxom inhibiting the Cluster.

  "So that pill you gave me?” asked Ellis.

  "Was Proxom,” she said.

  Ellis took a deep breath, rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, and then tried to think. “Something major's going on and we're going to need help.” Ellis looked to his friend, lying on the bed. “He's going to need help."

  "Where are we going to get help?” asked Cooper.

  "Let's get Kirsten, G'Liat and Swan back here,” he said. “Then I think we need to have a talk with the people who should be helping us."

  "Who's that?"

  "The people who used to be subject to the Cluster,” said Ellis. “The Titans."

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  Part III: Battle for the New Earth

  "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet and upon her head, a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born."

  Revelation 12: 1-4

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  PASSION

  Fire pulled back on the throttle suddenly and turned to avoid hitting a dark gray form that leapt out of the water in the boat's path. Manuel fell out of the deck chair and rolled into the boat's rail. “What the hell?” he cursed as he pushed himself to his knees and rubbed his neck.

  Fire quickly set the boat on hover mode and turned on her translator in time to hear the clicks of the sperm whale that had just emerged in front of them say, “The cycle continues."

  "The cycle continues,” said Fire, mustering some resolve. She looked out at the whale and tried to decide if he was the one known as Richard. Manuel struggled to his feet and joined Fire by the rail.

  "You are the one called Suki Firebrandt Ellis,” said the whale. Manuel inclined his head, listening to the whale's static-like voca
lizations for a moment before turning on his own translator box. He heard the whale say, “Your mate and calf introduced us several seasons ago."

  "You're the whale called Richard?” asked Fire.

  "Your mate and calf knew me by that name,” said the whale. “I am content to be called that.” The whale swam close to the boat and turned so that one eye looked up at Fire and Manuel. “I do not know you, land ape."

  Manuel looked helplessly at Fire and shrugged. “He is called Manuel Raton,” said Fire. “He is a friend of ... my calf ... John Mark Ellis."

  The whale lifted its tail out of the water and slapped it down on the surface. “How is John Mark Ellis? Is he well?"

  Fire shook her head. “I wish I could tell you for sure.” She looked down at the deck and tried to find the right words. “He lives, but last we saw him, his mind had left his body. We believe it was stolen by a thing called the Cluster."

  "Ah,” said Richard. He swam a short distance away from the boat. “John Mark spoke to me of the Cluster when he last visited. It is a thing of space that understands the hunt and the death. I told John Mark that he should speak with a philosopher called G'Liat."

  "He did,” said Fire. “G'Liat helped John Mark find the Cluster; helped him follow it to its home, a cluster of ancient stars. There, John Mark communicated with it. Now his body is back on Earth. G'Liat is here as well."

  The whale swam a little further off and said, “Whales care not for the matters of space."

  "You can't just ignore the Cluster,” called Manuel. “It's over our heads, orbiting the Earth."

  Richard made a long, gentle arc and circled back to the boat. “I do not ignore the Cluster,” he said. “Suki Firebrandt Ellis has already told me that the Cluster has stolen the mind of John Mark Ellis. That matters to me, but I am powerless—just as I was when a giant squid carried my calf down to the depths—just as I was when my mate came to the end of her time. I am not a tool builder."

  "Neither is the Cluster,” interjected Fire. “What we need is understanding."

  "What would a tool-builder offer you?” asked Manuel.

  Richard exhaled and a spout of water washed over the deck, drenching both Fire and Manuel. “John Mark Ellis and Jerome Ellis offered me friendship. Beyond that, I do not know what a tool builder could offer me. I have no need for tools, no desire to build."

  Fire's eyes narrowed. “Why not?” she asked.

  "What have tools given you?” asked Richard. Again he swam away a short distance, circled around and came back. Manuel sensed the whale was growing restless.

  "Tools give us the means to support ourselves,” said Manuel. He rubbed his hands through his hair, trying to think. “They give us the means to feed ourselves."

  "My teeth and jaw do that for me,” said Richard matter-of-factly.

  "Tools have allowed us to travel far, to explore,” suggested Fire. “Without tools, we couldn't have built this boat to be out here with you."

  "That is true,” said Richard. “But why must you be out here? What drove land apes to leave their migratory paths?"

  "Curiosity,” said Manuel slowly. “The desire to learn and pass knowledge from one generation to another."

  Richard slipped below the water and came up on the other side of the boat. Fire stepped over to the opposite rail. Manuel, beginning to shiver as a slight breeze picked up, joined her. “What you describe is like the songs of the humpbacks,” said the whale after some moments of silence.

  "Except it's different,” said Fire. “The humpbacks make a living record of their travels. With pencil and paper we can write down our thoughts. With books and computers, we can store our thoughts for generations to come. I can read the exact thoughts of my grandmothers and great grandmothers if I choose."

  Richard exhaled again and slipped under the water, saying, “the cycle resumes.” Manuel looked back over the opposite rail to see if Richard reappeared, but he didn't. “Is that it?” he asked. Fire shrugged. Noticing Manuel's shivering, she went to the cabinet and retrieved two towels and wrapped one around his shoulders.

  "Humpbacks have a living memory,” said Manuel as he started to warm up. He looked up at the sky. Above, wispy cirrus clouds were thickening into overcast. “Living memories are passed down through oral tradition. They change with time. Things are forgotten; things are added. What if the Cluster's memory is like the whales'?"

  "How can that be?” asked Fire. “From everything G'Liat and John Mark said, it seems that the Cluster is little more than a giant computer itself."

  "But it's also alive,” said Manuel slowly. He tugged at the end of his mustache and looked over at the boat's control panel. “Even computers have data taken off and new data written in its place."

  Fire and Manuel were startled as a voice issued from the translator box. “The cycle continues.” Returning to the starboard rail, they saw Richard again. “You said that G'Liat is here on Earth?"

  Fire and Manuel looked at each other, then back at the whale. “Yes,” said Fire.

  "I must speak with him. You have posed several interesting ideas, but they are difficult to understand. Whales understand not the ways of land apes nor understand the ways of space. Perhaps G'Liat can help me understand. Then, perhaps I can help more. I am concerned for John Mark Ellis. I will help, if I can.” Before Fire or Manuel could say anything else, the whale said, “the cycle resumes,” and slipped back under the water.

  "I think that was it,” said Fire. She stepped back to the wheel and turned the boat around, back toward Nantucket Island.

  * * * *

  Kirsten was surprised that G'Liat had not simply killed Gibbs. She had enough friends on colony worlds such as Alpha Coma and stationed aboard ships throughout the galaxy that had she a gun in hand, she would have been tempted to pull the trigger herself. However, G'Liat explained that Gibbs was more useful alive than dead. Kirsten wasn't quite certain how to interpret that, but agreed with Swan's assessment that there might be some way to persuade Gibbs to help them from the inside. Even so, Kirsten felt no desire to stay with Gibbs any longer. “I don't know about either of you,” she said once Gibbs fell back into his trance, “but, I want to get back to Nantucket."

  Swan chewed his lower lip for a moment, then looked up at Kirsten. “I want to go with you, but there's something I need to do here.” G'Liat looked up with keen interest and Swan suddenly felt the need to get out from under the warrior's gaze.

  "Let's take a walk,” suggested Kirsten.

  Though he showed no outward emotion, G'Liat continued to watch as Kirsten and Swan left the apartment.

  As they walked down the hall and rode in the elevator, Swan told Kirsten about the resistance.

  "It sounds like a lost cause,” said Kirsten as they stepped out of the building into the glaring Arizona sun.

  Swan swallowed hard. “Probably,” he admitted. He took a few steps down the street and looked around at the buildings, then up to the blue sky. “I never thought I'd see blue sky in Arizona,” he mused. He held out his arms. “Out beyond the city there's desert—a little, anyway—and maybe Saguaro cactus can grow and Palo Verde trees can provide a little shade again. Maybe the scent of mesquite will perfume the air after a monsoon rain."

  "It's a beautiful thought,” said Kirsten with a slight smile.

  Swan dropped his arms to his side. “I can't change what the Cluster has done, but Earth belongs to humans—not just the ones who live here, but those humans on the colonies as well—not just to mindless zombies like Tim Gibbs, but to those that will appreciate the sights and smells.” He looked down to the ground then back up to Kirsten. “You are doing your part to stop the Cluster. I have to do my part. My part is helping the resistance here in Arizona.” He stepped forward and took her hands. “The problem is, I can't do it alone. I need Manuel or Mark—if he's awake again—to get a message to Ellison Firebrandt on Sufiro.” Swan reached into his shirt pocket, took out a piece of paper and a pen and wrote a note, then handed it to Kirste
n.

  "I'll do my best,” said Kirsten as she folded the paper and put it in her pocket. She turned back toward the apartment building, but noticed that Swan had not joined her. “Aren't you coming?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “Lock up when you leave. I just want to take a walk."

  Kirsten smiled a little sadly, then nodded and went back into the building. She and G'Liat traveled back to the island aboard the ship the Rd'dyggian warrior had chartered. During the short journey, Kirsten found herself staring at the pilot, Rizonex. She wondered how much he knew and what he thought of the situation with the Cluster. She looked at his hands resting on the console along with G'Liat's. Through the computer, the two Rd'dyggians could share their thoughts without vocalizing. It was likely that the pilot knew everything that G'Liat did.

  Landing at the island's spaceport, they were once again greeted by old Charlie Rogers, who all-too-cheerily drove the two back to the Ellis house. G'Liat went to the door while Kirsten tried to pay. “No need for friends of John Mark to pay me. It's my pleasure to have some company,” said Charlie.

  Kirsten joined G'Liat at the door, unlocked it and stepped inside then smiled when she saw John Mark sitting at the table having lunch with Dr. Cooper. She stepped across the room and put her arms around him from behind. “I'm glad to see you back,” she whispered in his ear. She then frowned as she saw the dour look on his face.

  Mark reached up and patted Kirsten's hand. “It's good to see you,” he said, gently. “It's just that Coffin's in trouble. I think he's dying."

  Dr. Cooper looked down at her plate. “And I'm afraid I didn't help any.” She looked back up at Kirsten. “I gave Mark Proxom as we discussed."

  G'Liat entered and pushed the door closed. Mark Ellis nodded acknowledgement at the tall warrior. “I'm glad to see you back,” he said. “The Cluster's building something big at the center of the galaxy and we need all the help we can get."

  "We know,” said G'Liat, somberly. He explained what they had learned from Timothy Gibbs and Kirsten reported what they had learned from the Sanson.