NEBULAR Collection 4 - Second Reserve: Episodes 17 - 21

by Thomas Rabenstein

  Pleased, Kuster~Laap moved his ears back and forth for a moment.

  »We don’t know how, exactly. The degenerated technology infects the hosts, but it would have to have specific DNA information about the species beforehand. It gets this information from the host and integrates it into its reproduction process, perfectly matched. Why it doesn’t work with Humans or related species we don’t know,« he explained.

  »This is horrible!« Vasina shuddered. »I hope this plague doesn’t infect the entire galaxy.«

  »Hmm … what about Hassan Khalil?« Pi remarked, looking grim. »He’s a prime example that Humans have become more susceptible to the degenerated technology. Is it possible that the Atlantika crew was also infected? According to Hassan’s reports, the degenerated technology is not always destructive – it can enhance the host’s abilities and technical awareness.«

  »Progonauts are not resistant to the infections, and Humans are a hybrid species.«

  As usual, Kuster~Laap had called a spade a spade. It was hard for Ivanova, Arkroid and Pi to realize that today’s Humanity was the result of genetic engineering.

  »Then the Neo-Sapiens were actually lucky, despite their fate,« Vasina remarked. »Their resettlement let them avoid being manipulated.«

  Pi sighed heavily before he said, »These plans and counter plans are mind boggling. Why was Humanity allowed to develop further? Why weren’t we reduced to slaves to serve the Globusters, instead of settled in a large reservation, not a Retreat as you called it?«

  »Not even the Galactic Brotherhood knows that. Perhaps the enemy had special plans for you,« Kuster~Laap replied seriously.

  Your problem is our problem

  »I was told that you were able to help a large number of the Neo-Sapiens,« Arkroid remarked and patted Voit Masgur on the shoulder. »Some of them so badly wounded that Ray-Tor had lost hope for them.«

  Arkroid was using the moment of tranquility to talk to Masgur in private. He seemed exhausted. The healing processes had cost him a lot of energy.

  »It was their will to live, I just amplified their own healing powers, nothing more,« he responded.

  »Well, I’m glad to see you walking upright again. I was worried after the Looter attack, whether it would be too much for you,« Arkroid commented with a nod.

  Masgur thanked him with a smile.

  »I wish I’d never have to use these powers again, but I know better. I’m not sure, though, if I could do it consciously. It happened because we were in a very dangerous situation, under extreme stress.«

  Masgur looked at his hands and shook his head.

  »I’m concerned that the others like me know what they’re capable of. It’s not every day that you find out that you can kill hundreds, even thousands of people with the blink of an eye. It’s going to take a while until I come to terms with it.«

  »Hmm … it somehow implies that if a force used to doing good can also be used to do harm. Where there’s light, there’s shadow! In the end, the character of the person is what’s important, the path he chooses in life. You can control this force or it controls you. You have a great responsibility on your shoulders. We need to talk about it again when this mission is over.«

  »I understand,« Masgur replied quietly.

  »This is Nautilus,« Arkroid heard the ship’s call in his earpiece. When the ship contacted them like this, there was usually a surprise in store.

  »I’m listening, Nautilus,« Arkroid acknowledged. »More Looters?«

  »No, but I have analyzed the Temporal Vector,« Nautilus replied.

  »And? Did you find something new, any changes? The Neo-Sapiens haven’t said anything.«

  »The object is still at the same place, but there are some slight differences and deviations,« Nautilus replied quickly.

  »What do you mean, differences? Deviations, in what direction?«

  »The Temporal Vector is shifting toward our timeline, slowly but continually. I think the dimensional bridge is becoming weaker. If the Temporal Vector serves as a barrier or gate to the space-time fold, then somebody is opening the gate from the inside.«

  Arkroid paled, gripped Masgur by the arm.

  »We need to warn the others and the Neo-Sapiens. Something’s happening. Thanks, Nautilus!«

  Arkroid and Masgur left the bubble. It was snowing again outside.

  ›They named this place right – Frost Station,‹ Arkroid thought.

  Less than five minutes later, the team and Herimos had assembled inside the main bubble. Arkroid told them what Nautilus had reported. Herimos looked up as if he could see through the bubble wall.

  »So, your ship is right above us with an artificial intelligence capable of analyzing the object? Why doesn’t it land?« Herimos inquired.

  »I ordered it to keep a safe distance from the Temporal Vector. The ship can analyze the phenomenon from a great distance,« Arkroid explained. »I’m taking the warning seriously. Can your people verify Nautilus’ findings and what that could mean to us?«

  »Certainly, but that would take days. Experimental materials would need to be brought close to the Temporal Vector and remain there long enough to detect a direct aging relationship ...«

  Suddenly, a flash of light appeared beside Herimos and everybody scrambled for cover. A tall, slim, faceless humanoid figure emerged from the light. Vasina tried in vain to establish a protective field with her shield, while Arkroid was observing the figure interestedly.

  ›It looks like a mannequin ... naked, genderless and without a face – a pure energy transformation!‹

  »It doesn’t have a neuronal center ... it’s unreal,« Paafnas remarked.

  Neo-Sapien warriors surrounded the team, weapons ready. From the looks on their long, surprised faces, their weapons weren’t working.

  »I took the liberty of neutralizing all your weapons and energy fields. I don’t want somebody getting hurt because of my appearance,« a clear – and familiar – voice sounded from the figure.

  Arkroid smiled.

  »You’ve picked an interesting way to communicate with us, Nautilus. How did you do it?« Arkroid knew now who was standing before them.

  The abstract Human body leaned forward slightly.

  »It is … I am … an avatar, an animated energy projection. We’ll be able to communicate much better this way. How do you like me? I wanted to look like a Techno-Cleric, but I decided a Human appearance would work better,« Nautilus explained.

  »This is unbelievable!« Herimos roared. »You’re a projection ... not a hologram?«

  »Actually … no. I’m composed of flowing energy. I had to come to assist you this way since Toiber Arkroid has ordered me – the ship – to remain at a safe distance.« Nautilus explained.

  »It was you who deactivated my shield’s defenses!« Vasina cried.

  »There was no need for a defense field,« the avatar replied calmly and amiably »The fluctuations and deviations of the Temporal Vector have been increasing exponentially, and are no longer linear. I suggest …«

  More and more Neo-Sapiens had arrived and surrounded the avatar and the team, watching and listening.

  »Go ahead,« Arkroid invited the avatar.

  »We should form a reconnaissance team to advance into the Temporal Vector to find out what the space-time fold’s purpose is before the timelines synchronize. We don’t want to be taken by surprise by whatever is hidden inside the fold. We don’t have much time – we should seize this window of opportunity. It will take a while to analyze the data and to react in time.«

  A moment of silence prevailed, then Herimos replied, »If there was a way into the fold, we would have found it by now. I’m with you in principle, but it’s impossible to cross the interdimensional bridge. The team would only get stuck inside the temporal fields.«

  Lai Pi scratched his three-day growth of chin hair as he approached the avatar.

  »I assume you didn’t just come here just to talk, right?«

  The avatar seemed to look at Pi as
it replied, »By no means; I have a solution to this problem as well. The changing temporal field needs to be compensated for by maintaining your own real time.«

  Herimos laughed out loud and slapped his hand on his leg.

  »We’ve thought about that! Haven’t got a solution yet, even with all our advanced temporal technology.«

  »All you need is a temporal transformer to alter the compensation field in relation to the surrounding temporal coefficient. I have produced some compensators after studying the phenomenon,« Nautilus announced.

  Moments later, the avatar was holding several small objects in its hands, enough to equip the entire team

  The team stood staring at the devices, equipped with straps.

  Arkroid had decided in the meantime.

  »Maya, Pi, Vasina, Paafnas and Voit, each take one of the devices. Let’s have a look at this vector!«

  »Wait!« Kuster~Laap interjected. »We’ll come with you.«

  Arkroid looked surprised, but agreed – despite Ivanova’s skeptical glances.

  ›The ZyClonians could be a big help,‹ he thought.

  »Why do you want to go on such a dangerous mission?« Ray-Tor asked, perplexed. »The Temporal Vector and the Looters are not your problem.«

  Arkroid smiled enigmatically.

  »You still don’t get it, Ray-Tor. Your problem is our problem. The result might determine the survival of this galaxy.«

  Pitch black darkness

  The group stopped before the Temporal Vector. Arkroid advised his team to re-check their field generators, while the avatar watched them silently.

  »I’m really grateful for your help. We’d never have made it here without you,« Arkroid told the avatar.

  The avatar slanted his head slightly.

  »Thank you for not doubting me when you decided to explore the anomaly,« the avatar responded.

  »Oh, I had my doubts ... and I still have a lot of questions,« Arkroid laughed dryly. »Just looking at this thing scares me, and anybody who says differently is lying! But I do know that you’d never send us into the anomaly unless you were certain that your field generators will work. Right now I’m just asking myself what’s in there?«

  The avatar raised a hand.

  »You’ll be entering a space, which is not part of the normal universe, but which will rapidly synchronize with our space and time. Orientation will be difficult inside the anomaly. Use your temporal scanners so you don’t lose contact with each other. Beings from our continuum leave an echo. The scanner uses the echo and helps you find your bearing when you lose your orientation or when your senses play tricks on you.«

  Arkroid stared at the small device on his wrist, fascinated, as it displayed the positions of the other team members.

  He pondered for a moment.

  »If we can enter the space and time fold with these compensators, we’ll take our own time along with us. That’ll help, because the relative time inside the anomaly is many times slower,« he remarked.

  »The temporal coefficients will, however, synchronize over time,« Kuster~Laap warned.

  »Which means … ?« Pi tried to summarize.

  »… that we need to hurry up!« Arkroid finished Pi’s sentence. »Let’s go!«

  Without further delay, Arkroid walked through the holographic barrier. He looked back after a couple of steps to make sure that the others followed him.

  »Don’t be surprised by the warping effects of s p a c e …,« he heard the avatar’s voice stretched. »… u s e y o u r t e m p o r a l s c a n n e r s …«

  Arkroid moved directly toward the dimensional portal. His sense of balance seemed to trick him for a moment. As he advanced step by step the portal came closer rapidly, almost jumping at him. He looked back again and saw the Neo-Sapien following him at a distance … he was tall as a giant, while Vasina and Maya Ivanova, who were walking relatively close to him, seemed compacted, slightly dwarfed. Paafnas and Pi, were only 20 meters behind, were taller.

  ›Keep calm, Toiber!‹ he reminded himself and concentrated on his advance.

  The formerly small energy sphere had grown in size and was almost as big as a barn gate. Its shape began to change, the closer he came to the portal. Now it appeared more like a plain than a sphere. The path was becoming longer and longer.

  ›That’s totally absurd!‹ Arkroid thought, and walked faster. It still took him half an hour to reach the bridge through the portal. The unknown energy field loomed high above him now. As he looked back, he saw sky high, warped beings following his footsteps.

  »Nobody’s ever going to believe this!« somebody said over the comm-units.

  Arkroid started and looked at Pi, who was only a couple of meters away.

  Pi grinned at him from above and pointed upward with his thumb.

  »Can you hear me?« Arkroid asked, bemused, while Pi answered with a nod.

  »The comm-system uses the tachyon-channel and is working fine,« Pi remarked. »Here, check this out …«

  Pi came closer to Arkroid until their compensation fields merged, forming a larger sphere. He patted Arkroid’s shoulder and said, »We can touch each other, exchange things and help each other, even this screwed up continuum. I’m going to nominate Nautilus for the Nobel Prize!«

  Arkroid chuckled. »… for sure, Pi, for sure! Nautilus is one remarkable ship!«

  Moments later all the other team members had arrived before at the energy portal.

  »Good Heavens!« Voit Masgur remarked.

  Vasina and Ivanova stopped at Arkroid’s side.

  »I can’t tell if these effects are caused by our compensation fields or if this energy wall we’re looking at is real,« Pi doubted.

  »The inter-dimensional bridge surrounding, including time and space, are warped. What the Neo-Sapiens saw from the outside wasn’t the actual picture!« Kuster~Laap threw in. He walked toward the blue-shimmering energy field.

  »Wait!« Arkroid yelled. »You’re going to just walk through the field … just like that?«

  »There’s no danger,« Kuster~Laap assured him. »It’s just a diaphragm that acts as a portal or bridge into the time-space fold.«

  Kuster~Laap and his ZyClonians disappeared.

  Arkroid nodded at Pi and Vasina, glanced quickly at Paafnas and Ivanova and stepped through the energy field – into pitch black darkness!

  Incredibly dangerous

  The first thing he noticed was resistance. Each step he took felt heavy as lead. Suddenly, the space around him became a little brighter.

  ›Is this still the same planet?‹ he asked himself.

  He looked down and saw his feet submerged in ankle-deep snow. Snow that was not fluffy, but acted like molasses, greatly slowing his movements.

  ›What’s going on here?‹ he thought perplexedly, and tried to pull his legs from the white stuff – to no avail!

  »That must have something to do with the temporal coefficient,« assumed Pi, suddenly standing beside Arkroid. »Time in this fold runs way slower than on the outside. We’re carrying our own time with us thanks to our compensation fields, so we move faster. The snow probably is light and fluffy, but at our speed it holds us back. It’s like hitting a swimming pool on your belly at high speed.«

  »I’d prefer the swimming pool,« Arkroid responded dryly. »Where are we, Pi? Is this still Equinox?«

  »We’re dealing with a space fold. We’re still on Equinox, but we’re experiencing the planet from an entirely different dimensional plane,« Kuster~Laap replied overhearing Arkroid’s question.

  »It’s snowed!« Maya Ivanova shouted aloud. »If we see little angels or golden crystals flying through the air I’ll really believe that we’re in a different dimension. As it is, nothing has really changed except our speed and it’s night time.«

  »You’re wrong!« Vasina objected and pointed into the sky. There were still two suns, but they were dark red and barely visible.

  »I perceive this place as a strong disturbance of the planetary aura,« Voit Masgur
announced in pain.

  »Not stepping on your toes, Voit, but I sensed that too, even without your abilities!« Paafnas agreed.

  »What’s next?« Pi inquired. »This doesn’t really seem to be a depot, just the same world in a different dimension …«

  »Hmm … we had better explore this space carefully,« Maya Ivanova suggested, and slowly advanced forward. »We can’t see more than 10 meters in this light. It’s almost like fog. What causes that?«

  »That’s not fog. I think it’s snowflakes,« Voit Masgur countered.

  »But they’re not falling!« Paafnas commented.

  »No, Paaf,« Pi corrected him. »They’re falling … but very, very slowly! We’re probably moving so fast that an observer would only see us as a whoosh of us. Fantastic!«

  »Remember, the avatar warned us that the Temporal Vector will synchronize with us. We have to move while we have the time advantage!« Arkroid responded. He followed Ivanova and was able to free one foot from the snow, then the other one, increasing his pace …

  ›I can’t believe this, I’m walking on top of the snow!‹ he thought, mesmerized. The faster he tried to walk, the more the snow resisted.

  ›That can’t be the snow anymore … must be atmospheric drag,‹ he thought in alarm. ›The air molecules are denser, creating drag and friction.‹

  »Be careful when you move! The air molecules might make us burn like comets entering the atmosphere!« he warned.

  The team advanced more slowly into the wall of falling snow. The energy began to glow, forcing them to adjust their pace. After 5 minutes, a strange object appeared before them. Ivanova walked toward it to investigate, Arkroid on her heels.

  Arkroid squinted.

  ›What is that? Looks like a very tall metal object. Some sort of a tower?‹

  The closer they came to the structure, the clearer it grew through the fog. It looked like a steel pillar, rammed into the ground.

  »It’s like a 5-meter-diameter metal tube! Standing at a 30 degree angle I can’t see the top!« Pi commented. »What’s this … uh … thing? Kuster~Laap, can you send out the nanopods?«