Dark Space

by Stephen A. Fender

  “Why hasn’t anyone ever said anything about this before?” Melissa asked.

  “Again, it wasn’t until a few days ago that anyone knew what their purpose was. They were inert oddities, my dear. Nothing more. But now I know, and when my final thesis is prepared, so will the rest of the galaxy.”

  “Doctor,” Shawn began in earnest. “I’m not willing to wait that long. If you could tell us what this is all about, and what these objects really are—”

  “Don’t you see, Commander? Do you still not understand?”

  Shawn looked to Melissa, who only shook her head in confusion.

  “They’re broadcast amplifiers,” Uudon said triumphantly.

  “Amplifiers?” Shawn asked.

  “Yes, Commander,” the doctor replied. “Highly sophisticated ones.”

  “And how did you come to this conclusion?” Melissa asked.

  “Several days ago, moments before the signal was received, I was in the caves below studying the artifact. I was taking core samples, recording the procedure for posterity. That was when the object began to vibrate of its own accord. Once it reached a fever pitch, it began to pulse in steady, measurable ways. After a moment of initial surprise, I began turning on the various pieces of equipment down there to measure the object. A few moments later, the object’s glow diminished, and it returned to its previous state. However, the wave inductor managed to record a fragment of the incoming transmission, and the spectrum analyzer recorded the direction of the amplified outgoing signal. The bit patterns of the two were identical.”

  “I’m still not quite following you,” Shawn began after a moment of putting the information together.

  Uudon held his hands aloft toward the overhead of the cave they were in. “The lattice structures of the surrounding indigenous materials of Torval work in conjunction with the devices, helping to boost the signal. There is no mechanical force at work inside the objects. It’s pure energy transfer, but of a kind I’ve never before encountered.”

  “So they’re using them to spy on us, to gather information from across Unified space,” Melissa said.

  “Perhaps they are now, Agent Graves, but I don’t believe that was their intended purpose,” Uudon corrected.

  “What makes you say that, Professor?” Shawn asked.

  “Because our contact with the Meltranians is very recent, Commander. Oh, the Kafarans have known of them for some time, but galactically speaking, the Meltranians are just as new to them as well.”

  “But that doesn’t explain why this object is here,” Melissa said, “much less on other planets well inside Unified space.”

  “On the contrary, Agent Graves; it says a great deal about their purpose.”

  “So why, then?” Shawn asked, quickly losing patience.

  Uudon looked at each as if they had grown a third arm. “Because with little exception, each of these objects is over four thousand years old.”

  Shawn and Melissa looked at one another in astonishment before Melissa turned back to Doctor Uudon.

  “Show me.”

  %%%

  Once they were back in the softly lit corridor, Shawn and Melissa were met by Major Sisleon. In the dim passageway, his horn-like protuberances reflected what little light they received in all the wrong places, causing the slightly discolored surfaces to appear is if they’d just gouged an unfortunate soul.

  “We need to take the doctor to the lower levels, Major,” Melissa said in her most commanding voice. Her rank and position negated the need for the Tizarian’s permission, but etiquette and protocol required she ask before making it a demand. As it was, the SS team leader consented without any reluctance.

  “All I ask, Agent Graves, is that you allow some of my people to accompany you,” he grunted affably.

  “Oh?”

  The major nodded. “There are a great many untraveled spaces down there. I wouldn’t want you to be caught off guard.”

  “I know those caverns like the back of my hand, sir,” Doctor Uudon said with little protocol and even less concern. “I do not require a guide.”

  Shawn smiled at Sisleon smugly, then turned it toward the doctor. “I’m sure we’d all feel a lot more comfortable with a few extra hands down there, Doctor.”

  Uudon scowled and grunted at Shawn in disapproval. “Very well, Commander.” He then turned with little fanfare and began walking slowly down the corridor, with Melissa quickly stepping in behind him.

  Before he got in step behind her, Shawn was stopped by the major. “I’m a bit surprised by your willingness for my people to join you, Commander.”

  “And why’s that, Major?”

  “Let us just say I was led to believe that you prefer to work alone.”

  Shawn couldn’t help but smile a little. “You heard that, did you?”

  The Tizarian nodded while grunting an affirmation.

  “Well, I get the impression that the Doctor Uudon has serious reservations about the military in general. If my presence irritates him, then the addition of your men will only increase that discomfort.”

  Sisleon pondered the statement for a moment. “You believe that, in his frustrations, he might betray guarded information?”

  Shawn smirked. “Let’s just say … I like the fact that he’s under more than one heat lamp, and keep it at that.”

  Sisleon uttered a series of snorts, which Shawn took for laughter. “I like the way you think, Commander Kestrel.” He then reached into a side pocket and handed Shawn a small transmitter. When Shawn gave him a puzzled look, the Tizarian shrugged his massive shoulders. “Just in case. One can never be too cautious … in the dark. If you need me, you have but to press the red button.”

  Unsure of how to take the statement, Shawn flashed his most dashing smile. “I do my best work in the dark, Major.” He then turned to follow Melissa. As soon as he had rounded a corner and was out of sight of the major, Shawn held up a small flashlight and scanned the passageway ahead of him.

  I hate the dark.

  A few paces later, he’d caught up with Melissa and the rest of the team. The two SS officers were staggered, one leading the formation at the doctor’s side, the other between Shawn and Melissa. There was an apparent lack of lights in this part of the mine, and everyone save for Doctor Uudon had small lights waving around the corridor. The walls were smooth in some places, jagged in others. Occasionally they would observe other passageways or alcoves heading off in other directions, yet Uudon continued down further into the abyss.

  When Shawn saw Melissa checking her wrist computer, he quickly stepped around the SS officer to stand beside her. “What’s up?”

  She laughed lightly, obviously uncomfortable with their surroundings. “That would be the ground. We’re almost a half-mile below the surface and still descending.”

  “That worries you, Angel?”

  She smiled at the pet name Shawn seemed to have adopted for her. “We’re going to start running out of air soon, if I’m not mistaken.”

  “You are not, Agent Graves,” Uudon called back over his shoulder. “However, I have ample supplies of portable oxygen, enough for every one of us. They’re just up ahead.”

  Shawn looked toward the doctor, but the darkness obscured anything ten feet ahead of them. “So he says.”

  Melissa held her computer up for Shawn’s gaze. On it was a map of the surrounding area provided by the limited sensors inside the unit. Shawn noticed that they were fast approaching a dead end.

  “Everyone cover your eyes,” Doctor Uudon said. “I’m going to turn on the lights.”

  Everyone did as he instructed, holding their hands over their faces. With a flick, the area was bathed in a soft glow, and once Shawn’s eyes were adjusted, he could see several crates stacked up against the left wall labeled “Emergency Oxygen Canisters.” Carved out of the floor near the right wall was an eight-foot-square hole, with a portable magnetic lift erected around it. Stepping to the lift, Shawn looked through the grated floor at the endless ab
yss below. “How far does this go down?”

  “It’s over a thousand feet to the next level. There we will find another lift that will take us down a further five hundred feet.” Uudon said.

  Shawn reached out and grabbed the support structure of the lift and gave it a good shake. It seemed sturdy enough, but it looked far from it. Colored a rust-brown and covered in fine dust, the lift looked to have seen better days. “This is the only way?” Shawn asked, hoping his apprehension wouldn’t show through.

  “Afraid of heights, Commander?” Uudon asked mockingly.

  “Piloting a fighter is one thing, Doctor. Being slowly lowered a thousand feet into utter blackness by this thing … that’s something else entirely.”

  “I will personally attest to its safety.”

  Unconvinced, Shawn turned to Melissa and lowered his voice. “I don’t suppose that computer of yours can tell us anything about what we’re going to find down there?”

  Making sure no one was watching her directly, she reached into her backpack while the two SS officers and Uudon were donning their air masks. She withdrew a small, semi-metallic ball that fit neatly into Shawn’s palm.

  “What’s this?”

  “Sensor grenade.”

  “Beg your pardon?”

  “Just drop it down the lift shaft. When it reaches the bottom, it’ll emit a burst of ultrasonic waves that will be detectable by my computer.”

  “What good will that do us?”

  “As the sound waves bounce off the surfaces of whatever down there, the computer will use them to construct a basic topography. Efficient and quiet.”

  “Can it be used to detect life-forms?”

  She shook her head. “The grenade is for imaging purposes only and the range is extremely limited. If there’s something alive down there, we won’t know until we’re very nearly on top of it.”

  Shawn nodded. When Melissa left his side to get her mask, Shawn leisurely stepped to the magnetic lift and dropped the sensor ball in an opening near the shaft, then retrieved his own mask from a nearby crate. When everyone was fully equipped, they stepped onto the lift platform and began to descend into the darkness.

  After five minutes of uncomfortable silence, the team was gently deposited onto a dust-laden floor. The two Special Services officers were the first to disembark, their powerful rifles drawn as they swept the area. Doctor Uudon paid them little mind as he walked to another lift platform a dozen feet away. “If you’ll kindly step this way,” his voice echoed through his oxygen mask. “We need to get off this ledge and down to the cave floor.”

  “Ledge?” Shawn asked, then scanned his flashlight to the ground. A few feet from his position, the floor abruptly fell away into another abyss. Stepping to the rim, he saw that the beam of light was swallowed by the darkness.

  “Do watch your step, Commander,” the doctor chided from the lift platform.

  Kicking a small stone over the edge, Shawn waited for the sound of it striking the floor. When it didn’t come, he turned back to Uudon.

  “About five hundred feet, as I said. Also, the harmonics of the materials in this cavern direct sound in very peculiar ways. I suspect that is why the Meltranians chose this location for their signal amplifier. When we get to the bottom, be mindful not to make any abrupt oscillations.”

  As they descended, the air became crisper as the temperature dropped. Once they were at the bottom of the cavern, the team exchanged their nearly depleted oxygen masks for full-body environmental suits. With warmth quickly returning to their extremities, and the length of their oxygen supply increased by several hours, they made their way cautiously toward the center of the half-mile-wide cavern. Trudging across the flat, dusty floor of the cave, every step kicked up a cloud of superfine dust particles that glittered in the beams of the flashlights. After ten minutes of walking, Doctor Uudon stopped dead in his tracks.

  “And here were are.”

  Shawn lifted his beam until it was pointing just to the left of the doctor. When he caught the reflection from a polished surface he stopped his sweeping. A moment later the rest of the team’s handheld lights converged on the same location. Everyone seemed to take a collective breath.

  The object—for there were no other words to define it—was breathtaking. It was far taller than it was wide, a great translucent crystal of dark purple. There were hundreds of facets, each reflecting the lights and scattering the beams around the dark cave. It was embedded in and perpendicular with the floor of the cave, standing like a beautiful monolith for all to examine.

  “Isn’t it fascinating?” Uudon said with wonder.

  “It’s sure something, all right,” Shawn muttered.

  “This is exactly how I discovered it, save for a thick layer of dust that had coated its surface over the centuries.”

  “And this is the signal amplifier you were talking about?” Melissa asked.

  “You don’t believe me?” Uudon asked defiantly.

  Melissa looked to the beautiful object again, finding it hard to believe that it could do the things the doctor had ascribed it. “It’s just not what I expected.”

  “Of course it isn’t, Agent Graves. As I’ve said before, only a small number of them have been discovered, and none in this pristine a condition. It’s completely outside anyone’s frame of reference.”

  “How exactly does it work?” Shawn asked as he watched the two SS officers out of the corners of his eyes. There were taking up opposite positions on either side of the object and maintaining a discreet distance. “You said you were down here examining it when it did …” Shawn was momentarily at a loss of words. He simply waved his hands lazily at the device. “Well, when it did whatever you claimed it did.”

  “I recorded the entire experience, Commander,” Uudon said dismissively as he tossed Shawn a holographic recorder cube. “You may review it at your leisure. My own account could scarcely do it justice.”

  “But you also said you knew where the transmission was sent after it was received by this?” Melissa asked.

  The doctor smiled with satisfaction. “I believe I do. It was sent deep into Kafaran space.”

  “How deep?” Shawn asked as he continued to examine the object. As his light passed over the surface, it was leaving what could almost be described as a spectral trail—as if his light were inducing a charge into the object itself—but it quickly faded as he moved his light further away.

  “I’m afraid I can’t say for certain, Commander. I was only able to get a general bearing. If the transmission follows standard laws of physics, then it would have only been able to travel in a straight line.”

  “This thing seems a little beyond our physics, Doctor,” Shawn mused.

  “I had no idea you were so well versed in them,” Uudon replied sarcastically.

  “Did you run any type of analysis on what was lying along the transmissions path?” Melissa asked.

  Uudon grunted as he turned away from Shawn. “I did, but only for a short time. It passed near several planets in Unified space, but once it crossed the border … well, we all know how limited our knowledge of Kafaran space is.”

  “What else have you learned?” Shawn asked.

  “I speculate that the device here is more than just an amplifier. The message that was received was what could only be described as ‘stored’ in the matrix of the crystalline structure until the planet itself was in the right orbital plane to initiate the amplified signal.”

  “Can portions of the device be removed?” Shawn asked.

  “You’re projecting human terms upon an alien object, Commander,” Uudon said. “If you’re asking if the storage matrix portions can be removed and replaced, I don’t see why not. In fact, even a small slice of the device could contain a great deal of stored information.”

  “So it’s a computer as well?” Melissa asked.

  “Only as far as our gross understanding of what a computer should be. As I’ve said, this device has no moving parts that I’m able to d
etect.”

  “Then how exactly does it store the transmission?” Shawn asked as he stepped to Melissa’s side.

  “It received the transmission as energy. It stores it in the same manner. No crude binary or trinary code. It was simple, pure energy.”

  “Were you able to extract any information from the original signal?” one of the two Special Services men asked, startling Melissa. Her eyes shifted to Shawn, who shook his head quickly.

  “I was, but only to a small degree. It was carried on an amplification wave beyond the normal communication spectrum.”

  “Then how did you know it was a transmission?” the other SS officer asked.

  “There were latent characteristics reminiscent of more contemporary transmission sources.” He then looked at Shawn with disapproval. “In normal language, Commander, I would say that while the signal was intended for Meltranian ears, it was generated on traditional technology. The spectrum analyzer told me as much.” Uudon then nodded away from the device. When the two SS officers shined their lights in the direction, they converged on an impressive array of scientific instruments arranged on several tables. While Melissa understood some of their functions, most were completely foreign to Shawn. If the Special Services men knew anything about them, they kept it to themselves.

  “Did you attempt to decrypt the communication?” one of the SS men asked.

  Uudon considered the question, as did Melissa. She didn’t recall the doctor saying anything about the signal being encrypted, and she reasoned that Uudon was considering the same thing. Eyeing the questioning officer suspiciously for a moment, he simply shrugged the question off. “It was never really my primary concern. My focus of research has been the object, and by the time I really began to study what the received transmission was doing to it, the signal was beamed out. I had barely enough time to plot its trajectory before the device once again became completely inert. Again, I was only able to record a small slice of the original carrier.”

  Shawn reached for Melissa’s shoulder, guiding her gently away from both Uudon and the prying ears of the Special Services men. “We’re going to have to follow that signal.”