“Yes, but we trust Nuthros,” Mandy Somers said.
“But not Truly,” Asdrin replied. All but one of them, that one being Hiram, gazed at the floor and remained silent. “I cannot change your minds on that, I know,” Asdrin said. “Truly is a machine, and machines cannot be trusted. She won’t tell you, well, she won’t even tell me, everything I want to know, therefore she hides information from us.” He started to pace up and down in front of them.
“Here’s the problem with that assumption. Your instinct tells you she holds back information for malicious reasons, but she really does it for your protection. Picture a mother, who sees her little child go to place his hand on one of your cooking surfaces. She grabs the hand, pulls the child to a safe distance and says, ‘You mustn’t touch that, it is hot, and you will be burned.’” He pointed at his audience. “Why does she hide the truth from her child?”
They all looked at one another. “She doesn’t,” Mandy replied. “Everything she said was true.”
“Yes,” Asdrin said, “But it’s not the whole truth, is it? Why did she not explain that electricity is supplied to the oven, said electricity therein flows through a resistance coil. The resultant energy generated by the electrical resistance of the coil is thereby released as heat, which would cauterize the child’s skin if it came into contact with the surface?”
He smiled at their bewildered faces. “Because the child would not understand a word of it at that age, and would learn nothing. All that child needs to know is that he mustn’t touch, ever, because his Mom said it’s dangerous and he would get hurt. We are in the same position as that child. We do not have Truly’s knowledge or intellect. She recognizes that fact, and therefore gives us all the guidance she knows we can handle and no more. Some she holds back due to the fact that our knowledge of it would change the outcome in unpredictable ways. But, most of it is simply too hard for us to understand. Therefore, we must trust her.”
Nuthros, who had remained silent on the side-lines, spoke up. “I named her Truly for a good reason; because that is how she serves me, and always has. You say you trust me, and I say I have learned through the millennia to trust her.”
Asdrin spread his hands wide. “You are all still free to leave, if you have reason to doubt that Truly can defeat Kestil. Anyone want to do that?”
Hiram cleared his throat. He looked at Asdrin. “May I?”
Asdrin nodded.
“Truly,” Hiram asked, “Can you, and will you, protect this ship and its occupants from Kestil’s fleet?”
“I can, and I will.”
“Is there any risk attached to the engagement of Kestil’s ships?”
“There is a 0.3% chance of failure at this time.”
Jack Short put his hand up. “I’ll take those odds.”
“Hang on,” Mandy said. “I remember Truly said that the odds of Kestil’s victory over her were good a while back.”
Asdrin inclined his head. “Yes, she can be a touch obtuse at times. The reason the odds were good for Kestil at that time, was because she hadn’t built that,” he pointed to the sphere, “whatever it is.”
They all looked around at one another. Asdrin watched Christine closely. She returned his gaze and smiled. She gave him a slight nod.
*****
United States President Michael Maitland offered Kestil a cigar. The alien looked at him in astonishment. “Why on this or any other planet would I want to do that?”
Maitland looked at his own cigar dubiously. He stubbed it out and dropped it onto the ashtray. “So, Donald Vincent tells me the Chinese, the Indians, and even the damned North Koreans have bought licences for Vincent Generators. How the devil did you manage that?”
Kestil smiled. “I can be very persuasive when I want to be, Michael.”
“Well,” the president replied, “The progress on that project is outstanding, Kestil, honestly it is. And how goes our space program?”
“Ahead of time, Michael; well ahead, in fact. Once the people of Earth see a successful faster than light test done by what would seem to be their technology, their confidence will know no bounds.”
“And the Sixteen Galaxies people? Are they still a threat?”
Kestil shrugged. “Even if I defeat that damned AI my brother is slave to, they will remain a threat. Luckily for us, they are constrained by their inherent morality, which is mere weakness, in reality. I am confident we will triumph in the long run.”
Michael Maitland sat back and sighed. “Hard to believe everything that’s passed in this short time, Kestil. The UN gains more power by the day. Your suggestion of using it as a vehicle to move toward global unity is inspired. Much of the infrastructure is already in place. We have a long way to go there, though. The rogue nations are still a thorn in the side. They cause unrest every chance they get.”
“They are all in line to buy Vincent products, though, Michael. Once they have that golden chain around their necks, all we have to decide is how high to hang them.”
“If only they knew that the fuel cannot possibly be made here. Which reminds me, what happens if the Sixteen Galaxies wins this upcoming battle? You’ve told me it’s not certain. Won’t they block the fuel supply if your ships can’t get in?”
“Indeed,” Kestil replied, “I have accounted for that eventuality. There have been five freighter deliveries of Merkinias to Earth over the last few weeks. The loads were portaled down in small batches, and went successfully undetected. I have enough fuel stored down here to supply all Earth’s needs for at least 100 years. We also have special hauling ships under construction, much smaller than a freighter, but capable of infiltration behind enemy lines, should the need arise. I can assure you, Michael, every set-back at the hands of the Sixteen Galaxies makes me wiser, and stronger.”
“Well, let’s hope for a victory, this time around.”
“That would be nice, Michael,” Kestil replied. “But I am prepared for defeat, too.”
*****
Mandy Somers sat back and rubbed her forehead. “Coffee?” she asked Jack Short.
“Yeah, too right,” Jack replied. They started to walk down the short hallway and suddenly found themselves on the floor. “What the hell?” Jack cried. His head rang from a concussive blow he felt but didn’t hear. Mandy lay beside him, unconscious. He saw Nuthros get to his feet just over near the viewport. Jack shook Mandy and held her hand as she came round with a groan.
“Nuthros,” Truly said, “We are discovered.”
Everyone except David Markham, still in a coma in his cabin, staggered into the viewport deck area. Jack Short noticed the semi-transparent surface of the spherical structure in the centre of the ship had turned matte black. It emitted an odd radiance exactly the same as he remembered Nuthros’ suit had at his first appearance on Earth.
“Nuthros,” Jack heard Kestil say, “Surrender your ship. You have no hope of escape this time, brother.”
*****
Kestil smiled. John had set the fleet out in a perfect sphere around the lone ship. The range was the absolute optimal for the kinetic field generators to achieve maximum effect. The uncloaked ship was helpless and totally at his mercy.
“Kestil,” came Truly’s reply, “I give you just one chance to leave and return to your own systems. The planet Earth is under the protection of the Sixteen Galaxies. Any hostile act against this ship will be taken as an act of war, and will be dealt with accordingly.
“I will not speak with you, machine,” Kestil snapped back. “I will talk to my brother, not his blasted keeper.”
“Kestil,” Nuthros said, “Leave while you can. Truly has put systems in place to deal with your fleet. Please, brother, do not underestimate her yet again.”
Kestil’s face flushed deep red. “Not this time, Nuthros. She is good at keeping peace, but we are exceptional at war. Our weapons will shred that ship to pieces. But, I shall be magnanimous - I have no wish to kill you, brother. Surrender your ship to me immediately and I will spare you.
”
“Yet again, your vanity is your weakness, Kestil. You have no idea how powerful Truly is.”
Kestil slammed a fist on the console. “My awareness of my inherent superiority is not vanity!” he cried.
“Kestil, I beg you; do not do this!”
Kestil’s face stiffened. “Goodbye, brother.” He turned to John. “You are free to engage. Destroy them.”
John raised a hand to his ear. “All ships, broad spread field, setting six, open fire.”
*****
Nuthros stood with his head bowed. He heard the incoming salvoes of energy strike the ship’s shields, but there was no repeat of the violent concussion that accompanied the first strike. He realized Truly had not been able to put the shields up until they were no longer cloaked. The new shields deflected the incoming waves of energy perfectly. They felt no physical effects at all.
He glanced at the large sphere in the centre of the ship. He could see nothing through the matte black surface, but it felt like power emanated from it. As the barrage continued, he felt that power grow. He watched the energy waves slam into the shields on the holo-displays. Each wave lit up the shields, before the light vanished. As it dissipated, the light ran towards the six points where the tubes from the sphere connected to the shields. His eyes narrowed. What was Truly up to now?
*****
Undergraduate Michael Rodgers cursed at the hot coffee that stung his chest. His sweater was now covered in it. He’d been about to take his first sip of a fresh mugful when the anomaly alarm gave him the fright of his life. He frowned at the screen in front of him. A small red icon blinked over a point in space above the equator, in the region of the Galapagos Islands, the distance showed as right on 22,236 miles above Earth. Geo-stationary orbit. Satellite malfunction? He wondered. He knew there were no vehicles in space right now, except for…
He slid his chair across to the telescope control console and entered the coordinates. He grabbed out his cell-phone while he waited for the telescope to re-align.
“Jason? Mick here. Yeah, I know what time it is. Listen, I’ve got an anomaly above the Galapagos, in geo-stationary on US central time – same as you. You are still in Chicago, right? Great. No, no vehicles up tonight. What? I’ve got no alerts for satellite malfunctions, no. You think it might be-”
He gaped at the image now on the screen. “Shut up and listen, bud. I’m mailing you the coordinates now, get online and get the Austin ‘scope on it. Then get onto the Hobby-Eberly ‘scope, Mount Graham, and then, who else? Oh, yeah! Get through to the VLTs in Chile – do whatever you gotta do, man. What? Yeah, I know they’re not US funded; it doesn’t matter! Believe me, they’ll give you the Hubble Medal if you can get this done. Just check it out for yourself; you’re never gonna believe this!”
18
On board the flagship, John Crabtree frowned at the punishment the lone ship absorbed, with no apparent effect. “Give me some readings on those damned shields,” he commanded.
A nearby officer touched his display. “No change to their shields, sir. But…”
John strode over to the young officer. “But what? Speak up, man.”
“Well,” the officer replied, “I’m reading a large energy build-up inside that ship, sir.”
John rubbed his chin. He then put a hand to his ear. “Cease fire.”
Kestil rounded on him. “What are you doing, Crabtree? I never told you to stop!”
John waved him to silence. He turned back to the officer. “Energy still on the way up?”
“No sir,” the officer replied.
John turned back to Kestil. “Those shields are not deflecting the energy, Kestil, they’re absorbing it.”
“So?” Kestil demanded, “They can only absorb so much. Just keep firing.”
“I’m not sure, Kestil, this doesn’t feel right. I can’t be certain of overload on those shields no matter how much energy we throw at it.”
Kestil shook his head. John recoiled from the maniacal eyes of his leader. “They cannot continue to absorb energy forever without an outlet, can they?” Kestil said. “No, indeed they can’t. So, resume the damned barrage.”
John felt cold; he knew nothing was that simple in warfare. Why the hell had Kestil filled his mind with the military knowledge of thousands of people, if he wasn’t going to listen to him? He fought his instincts and touched his ear. “Change to setting one; pinpoint, narrow as possible. Open fire!” He turned back to Kestil. “Pinpoint might change the results. I wish I knew why she would make shields that absorb energy. It has a finite limit, and once past that, the ship will be torn apart. It makes no sense.”
Kestil shrugged. “She’s probably underestimated our power cores. They’re vastly different to the hub networks they use.”
*****
Garth Taylor pulled his pillow over his head. “Shut up, man, just shut up!”
Ever since he came out of hiding, after spending a week holed up in his grandfather’s cabin, Garth had spent dozens of sleepless nights trying to get to the bottom of what went wrong with their plans to distribute the NSA files. David and Chris had disappeared completely, and he worried for their safety, too. He took the pillow back off and glared at the ceiling. He groaned as he sat up and picked up his phone. “Noddy, are you insane? You know what the time is?”
“Yeah, sorry Garth. But you gotta check this out. Log in, and I’ll post you a link.”
Garth booted his computer up and logged into the server. He fumbled with his headset. He scowled when he saw Noddy’s link in the chat box. “I hate Star Wars, Noddy, you jerk.”
“That’s just the name they gave it. Click the freaking link, will ya?”
“Okay, okay. What am I looking at? Hold on, is that..? Whoa! No way! Is that a spaceship fight?!”
“Yeah, it doesn’t look good for that one ship, though. Looks like the damned Alamo, to be honest. Wish we knew who was shooting at who.”
*****
The deluge of pure energy resumed against their hull, and Nuthros took a few steps back from the vicinity of the sphere. The back of his neck tingled. He saw everyone else withdraw from around the deck edges. Nobody spoke, but they all looked apprehensive as the sphere emanated more and more of the odd radiance. Nuthros knew this phenomenon well. It was excess energy, and it usually came from his suit after a portal jump over a great distance. But, the emissions from the sphere were several orders of magnitude stronger.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to find Hiram beside him. “I hope she knows what she’s doing, Nuthros. That sphere can’t hold much more, it’s bulged outwards in places.”
Nuthros looked to where Hiram pointed. The sphere was indeed swollen around the tubular connections. He started to feel heat as it built inside the ship faster than the environmental control could cope with.
‘Truly, have you anticipated this turn of events? Is there more power than you calculated?’
He received no reply. He thought to update the council, but he could establish no connection. He turned to Hiram. “Is your implant functional?”
He watched Hiram pause and frown for a few seconds. He shook his head.
Nuthros suddenly felt very, very alone. A bead of sweat ran down his forehead and splashed on the floor. The heat started to build more rapidly, and his head swam with the waves of energy that now came off the sphere. He saw Mandy Somers sink to the floor. Jack Short dropped to his knees to help her, only to end up prostrate across her. Hiram fell to his knees, and Nuthros joined him ten seconds later. Just before he blacked out, there was a massive detonation; so low in tone as to be felt, but not heard. Nuthros couldn’t help but think; for the first time in over 16,000 cycles, Truly’s failed us.
*****
John Crabtree’s mind raced as he tried to work out what was wrong. The barrage continued, but the shields on Nuthros’ ship just soaked it all up. He had ample memories of encounters with energy shields; both from the defensive and offensive sides, and this just wasn’t righ
t. Energy shields relied on deflection of incoming energy in whatever form it took. This was different, and outside of his prodigious experience. Absorption shields had been tested, and many times. But, they never once passed into any field use John could recall. The problem with absorption shields was that the latent energy had to be stored somewhere. With their own fleet’s power supply able to self-replenish endlessly, no matter how large a storage facility the target ship had, sooner or later it would be full. At that point, the shields would overload and collapse. He tapped a console in an abstract manner. The only way to avoid overload was to… His hand flew to his ear. “Cease fire, cease-”
There was a sudden flash from the target ship. A huge hammer blow hit the fleet. There was no noise, but the entire crew of the flagship were tossed through the air like rag-dolls. Cries and screams of pain filled the air around him. John picked himself up from the deck. His skin tingled and the air around him crackled. The ship was in complete darkness. He heard Kestil groan from somewhere just across the room, and several crew members retched and coughed as they got to their feet.
Small red emergency lights lit up around them, but it was the only sign of any life the ship displayed.
“Kestil,” he heard Truly say, “You may listen, but I have provided you with no right of reply to anyone aboard my ship except me.”
“EMP,” John whispered to Kestil. “The bitch hit us with all our own energy at once. Every power source we have is dead.”
“You are wrong on two counts, John,” Truly replied. “While the electro-magnetic pulse did destroy all your power sources, I have already repaired and on-lined your life support and emergency lights. If you make any attempt to repair anything else, I shall fire again. That was not all your energy. I have plenty left, I can assure you.”
Kestil shook with fury. “Well, get on with it, you damned machine. Kill us all and be done with it.”
Truly spoke as if she hadn’t heard him. “You will be given enough energy to your portals for one jump for all your crews.”
The Sixteen Galaxies Page 20