The World Game

by Allen Charles

  Sheila touched the second button and another dimage appeared next to the first. Following Evan’s instruction, she traced a path from the single shuttle dimage to the red colored miniature on the second dimage. All the other shuttles and transports in the group were represented by blue wire frames, except for one which was pulsing between yellow and purple. It was also the closest and visibly getting closer. The path lit up and the words “confirmed I.D.” flashed along the path. She told Evans who acknowledged.

  “Sheila, this is where you become a pilot, OK?”

  “Yes sir!” she replied, now full of confidence.

  “I want you to place your pointing finger of your right hand on the red image of your shuttle in the second dimage, then trace a path in a downwards orientation, away from the moon, between the other vessels in your area, then stop the trace just outside the grouping. Do not remove your finger from the path end. Do it now.”

  She did as instructed, checking carefully that the path avoided all contact.

  “Sheila, on the first dimage there should now be a response menu asking you to confirm the path. You have checked the path visually so please touch the confirmation menu with your left hand and wait for an activate menu message. Keep your finger on the path end through all this.”

  “Sir, the message is in front of me. It says “Path Confirmed. Action Move? Yes No”

  “Shelia, touch the “Yes” menu entry, wait until the word “Yes” turns from yellow to green, then you may withdraw your right hand from the path and sit back for the ride. You should watch the dimage for your travel progress. If you see any danger approaching, you can use your pointing finger again and drag the path to change it. Only you can do so as the system has read your fingerprint for this move.”

  Sheila went ahead and activated the Shuttle manoeuvre. She felt the acceleration and direction changes as pressure on her back from the pilot’s seat. The tiny shuttle in the dimage was on the move.

  “Sir?”

  “Yes Sheila?”

  “Is the dimage supposed to be flickering or completely steady?”

  Evans was cautious. “What are you seeing Sheila? Describe it to me exactly.”

  “The dimage is clear sir, but there is a flaring effect that flickers for about two minutes, then it stops for around fifteen seconds then starts again for two minutes. There appears to be a repetitive pattern within the flickering sir.” She paused. “I am watching it now. I don’t think it is random sir.”

  “What makes you say that Sheila?”

  “I can see a rhythm to it sir. My Pirogi Cholent martial arts training emphasizes rhythm and flow, so I am very conscious of such phenomena in the world around me. I also hold a Ph.D in stochastic processes and I can interpret what I am seeing as definitely non-random.”

  “Ph.D huh?”

  “Yes sir. That was my pre-requisite for being selected for the assistant cook’s position sir.”

  “They couldn’t make you the primary chef with a Ph.D in statistics?”

  “No sir. The primary chef is a Gourmand Master Chef only. He didn’t need a second discipline to get his job.”

  Evans rolled his eyes and chuckled to himself, only now realizing that his “pinch hit” pilot was possessed of an IQ that topped the charts. He felt a great deal more confident in the successful outcome of this evasive action. “Can you make anything of the pattern, Sheila?”

  “I am watching it sir.”

  “Please call me Bob, Sheila. Forget the sirs for now.”

  “Yes siree Bob!” came back the laughed reply.

  “OK. I am seeing something here. Crikey!” came out another of Granny’s expletives. “It’s code sir! Bob! Um.”

  “What code Sheila?”

  “Stochastic processes are used for code breaking. My Doctoral thesis was an analysis of the development of code systems from ancient times to the present. I am seeing simple morse code from the early twentieth century here. Give me a moment to transcribe the sequence then I can translate it. It’s a long time since I played with this stuff.”

  Evans, far away in his own shuttle, shook his head in amazement at how the right people surfaced just when they were needed. He told her to take her time while he monitored the path of her shuttle, now out of collision course with the transport, but on its way to infinite space. The one issue he had not checked was available reaction mass. Would he be able to bring the shuttle back to the group? Sheila was an invaluable asset, aside from the fact that there was a remnant of humanity at risk aboard the shuttle.

  Four minutes later Sheila came back to him. “I have it Bob. The message reads “X6 transport near moon trajectory. Need capture. No reaction mass left. 2 aboard. No line of sight until...” the rest is time and I assume position at a certain time.”

  Evans took the data and plugged it into the onboard computer. The information was sufficient to project a dimage showing the X6 transport, currently eclipsed by the moon, and the trajectory and future positions and relative velocities of all concerned at the point of requested pick up. This was going to be a difficult catch, if it could be done at all.

  “Sheila, this message is from Jeff Martin the commander of the X6 transport. He is in a trajectory that will swing him right past us behind the moon just as the fragment swarm reaches us here. His problem is that to get here he has used all his reaction mass so he can’t slow down. He has only himself and Alex Corcoran aboard... Wonder what happened to the passengers.”

  “Bob, my shuttle is already heading outwards. Maybe I can intercept them.”

  “Two problems Sheila. First is that the laser message they are using reflected off the anti-matter fragments is the cause of the epileptic seizures we have seen. The anti-matter is altering the radiation in some way. The second issue is that you do not have reaction mass to be able to catch them, let alone return here.”

  “It doesn’t matter if we can’t return immediately Bob, just as long as I rescue them. You will be able to take on more reaction mass once the fragment swarm has gone past and come get us. I think we can do it.”

  “You’re pretty confident for a cook’s assistant Sheila.”

  “It’s me old Aussie Granny Bob. She always said you’ll never know if you don’t have a go. So how can we save them?”

  Bob looked at his area dimage and gradually projected it forward in time. The reaction mass limitation and the relative velocity of X6 were being compensated so the extrapolation was reasonably accurate. The dimage showed X6 passing by Sheila’s shuttle at around 200 kph relative speed, X6 passing under the shuttle at an angle of sixty degrees and distance four hundred meters. Both craft would be shielded from the passing fragment swarm, but after that they were headed for the infinity of deep space.

  “Sheila, you must have some large mono filament cargo nets on board? Right?”

  “Yes Bob. I saw them when I was coming on board.”

  “I have a glimmer of an idea. It is crazy but better than nothing. We’re going fishing.”

  “But those nets couldn’t possibly hold the X6 Transport. It is just too big.”

  “Not the transport, just Jeff Martin and Alex Corcoran. We only have a few minutes to work this out so hurry and do exactly as I tell you.

  Deploy the cargo nets on long tethers, one for each corner, in the same direction as the travel of X6. The mono filament tether cables for ship docking are perfect for the job. Make sure the nets spread to maximum area. The mono filament cable must be at least three hundred meters long .”

  “The same direction as travel?”

  “Yes. We are going to do some high risk bungee jumping, but I don’t see any other way of rescuing the guys.”

  “OK Bob, I’m on it. I’ll keep you informed through my youniform comms. My buddy needs a little space exercise. By the way, before I go EVA, could you kindly inform all aboard here over the public address system that you have appointed me as command. I don’t want a mutiny on my hands from the ox I had to put out earlier.”

 
“You what?”

  “I had to subdue a passenger who objected to the cook’s assistant being in command. He will be coming to about now and have a raging headache.”

  Evans smiled to himself again and shook his head in disbelief, thinking that he must meet this Sheila one on one. She was someone really special apparently. He keyed his comms. “Put me on the PA Shelia.”

  He heard the click as the comms switched. “Ladies and gents aboard the shuttle, this is Commander Bob Evans speaking. Enough of you will know me to understand that I am the senior officer in this region. We are under US martial law due to the nature of the incidents that have occurred. We are presently engaged in an attempt to rescue two transport pilots from X6 which has run out of reaction mass.

  Effective as of this moment I am appointing Sheila Johnson, formerly cook’s assistant and Doctorate is Stochastic Processes as commander of the shuttle. You are all to obey her instructions. Failure to do so or any insubordination will be dealt with under Martial Law. Time is of the essence in saving our pilots and a plan is under way. Do exactly as Commander Johnson tells you. Good Luck to all in this attempt. Commander Evans out.” He waited until Sheila clicked back to the private comms channel.

  “Thank you Bob, I think that will do it. I have the cable covers opened on the outside and three space trained passengers to assist me. We are gathering the cargo nets now.

  What should we do about the laser transmission?”

  “I have used the same technique as Martin and sent back a message that we have received and understood, but on a different wavelength that should avoid the epileptic effect. That they should stop sending as it is causing epileptic fits, and be ready at line of sight to receive voice comms instructions for capture. They also know to get strap on jet packs ready. I will take a last confirming RODGER transmission as acknowledgement.”

  Evans told Sheila to stand by while he watched for the laser transmission to stop.

  Suddenly the pattern changed and his translator showed the word “RODGER”, then the transmission ceased entirely. “Sheila they have the message, go. Go!”

  Sheila and her assistants deployed through the air lock each pushing a bundled cargo net. The three assistants attached their nets behind them for the moment and each deployed to a corner of Sheila’s net. As there were only four tether cables available, they attached pre cut cable to the corners of the net and drew them back into a pyramid shape facing the shuttle. Sheila clamped the four ends together with the tether cable and added nano-glue to the junction for extra strength. The four of them each took a corner of the net and jetted outwards, making a huge square kite that they then drew away from the shuttle to the full five hundred meter length of the cable.

  The cable had enough elasticity to catch a high velocity projectile and slow it down at a rate that a human body could just survive, even in a youniform.

  The group repeated the task three more times and then they brought the kites together and formed one giant kite, joining and gluing at critical junctures.

  Provided Corcoran and Martin could hit this forty meter square target, they had a chance.

  “Target!” Shelia exclaimed as they jetted back to the shuttle. “We need to make the net highly visible. The guys will have seconds to correct any trajectory errors so they will not have time to search for the net if it is hard to see. Quickly into the lock. I need to refill my reaction mass and get back out there.”

  “What do you have in mind?” Came Bob across the youniform comms.

  “We have twenty four emergency visible light beacons on board and even more reflective safety patches for the City repair crews. We are going to attach these all over the nets.”

  “Great idea, but hurry. You have about twenty minutes before crunch time.”

  Sheila’s group recharged reaction mass in their personal packs and went about gathering the beacons, patches and any other light emitting items. They EVA’d minutes later and each took an edge of the net, attaching six of the beacons to each side with nano glue. They worked their way in attaching reflective pieces which may or may not catch sufficient light to be useful, and then meeting in the middle, they clustered light emitting games, communicators and flashlights, all turned on to their brightest settings, to form a bulls eye for the target. It was crude but effective.

  Evans came over “People, time to move out smartly now. You have four minutes until impact and three until they are in line of sight. Go back to the shuttle and wait inside the lock. Recharge your reaction mass in case you need to give assistance. Do not go out until the event is over, one way or the other.”

  “What are Martin and Corcoran supposed to do Commander Evans?” Sheila was formal now, with her team on the comms.

  “Here’s the theory. As the transport passes you at relative two hundred kph, they will orient so their air lock is facing back towards you. They will both be wearing emergency escape back pack reaction jets with extra reaction mass bottles for extended burn. I have calculated their best angle of egress to maximize the deceleration effect that the jets can impart, but also enough angle away from the X6 trajectory to bring them into your net at around one twenty kph. This should be very survivable for them provided they don’t miss the net.

  In the event of a miss, they will be able to slow down to relative eighty kph before their reaction mass runs out.

  As soon as you see that X6 has passed by safely and the guys are flying and not going to hit any of you, take off in twos pulling a mono filament lifeline out towards any one who missed. You should be able to catch up fairly quickly and grab on. The mono filament will stop you in a second bungee jump attempt.

  In theory!”

  “Yah! In theory!” came back Sheila with grim humor. “Let’s do it people!”

  “It just goes from great to amazing! Now we have Martin and Corcoran in what could be their finale interacting with Sheila and Bob who have come out of nowhere and are really contenders along with the performers out there on the fragment!” Peepers was shedding endorphins of excitement that were churning through the network. “Howley, who would you choose as the winner”

  “Peepers, I love all of them. They’re fighters, they’re funny, talented and they want to hold on to life like it was the most precious thing ever. You know, I wouldn’t want to see any of these finalists get squished, blown up, vaporized or horribly asphyxiated, but keeping in mind that they do get a second chance in stasis, I’m still particular to Hannaford and Shaw.

  I mean, this Sheila is great, coming out of left field like that, with her Pirogi Cholent martial arts taking down a guy twice her size in twenty seconds, but I just have a brain feeling that Felicity turns on my primeval engine.”

  “Thank you Howley. Charonelle, what do you think with this new development.”

  “Peepers,” came across the warm sexy voice, “Just when you think you’ve seen it all, well these groups pull out all the stops and raise the bar. It is too hard to call so I’m not going to try.”

  “What she talkin’ ‘bout raisin’ bars? She ain’t got no legs for high jumpin’ any mo! Fact is she just another blobby brain swimming in a glass bottle. Sheesh! It’s me Nickle Gannon that’s gotta keep a body going so’s I can service all them brains and I ain’t gonna jump no bars!”

  “Settle down Nickle. You will get to join us as soon as this game is over and a new com-repair is trained and active.”

  “That’s easy for you to say Peepers. You didn’t have to hang around for five and a half thousand years with a sore back and a blocked terlit!”

  “Just think about all those emergencies you took care of over the time to save our people the discomfort of isolation. You can feel good about that.”

  Nickle gave a middle finger in Peeper’s general galactic direction and went “Hmmmfff!”

  CHAPTER 51

  On the Iranian fragment.

  Felicity was a comet swinging in a tethered arc towards the unforgiving rock ridges of the fragment surface. Shaw had seconds to
attempt a rescue.

  He quickly looked to his own second tether to make sure it was secure as everything he had calculated depended upon it holding.

  “Felicity! I’m coming to get you!” He jetted forward at maximum thrust towards Felicity’s tether which was now steel taut as it swung her around. He snagged the tether in the crook of his arm and then released, to slingshot him back the way he had come. Applying full acceleration to his jet packs again, his own tether was now dragging Felicity’s down, shortening her arc of travel but also accelerating her velocity in compensation. Her splat on the surface would be even more severe if he has miscalculated.

  “Felicity, you with me?”

  “Yes!” came the panicked reply.

  “Grab hold of my tether really tight and release yours!”

  There was no time to talk about it. Felicity’s gut took over as she ignored the fast approaching surface that would shred her to bloody ribbons. She hooked Shaw’s sliding tether under one arm and used the other to flick the emergency release that had been redundant to this point. Releasing earlier would have shot her off into space with no hope of recovery.

  Shaw saw the change over and immediately vectored for an upwards trajectory that started slowing Felicity’s plummet to death.

  “Use your jets now Felicity! Help me slow you!”

  “Can’t!” She moaned, her shoulder in agony from the twisting and pressure that the youniform tried to compensate.

  She was already starting to swing into a parabolic dive, the question in Shaw’s mind, was it too late to avoid impact?”

  Seconds that felt like lifetimes had elapsed. Felicity saw the surface racing at her but now she was going to skim it at high velocity, hanging on to Shaw’s tether like a knot in the middle of a skipping rope. Shaw was now travelling against her motion, slowing her horizontal velocity. She bunched up her legs anticipating impact. Her speed relative to the surface was now survivable if she could miss the worst rocky outcrops.