Asimov's SF, January 2008

by Dell Magazine Authors

  Hisher right eye flickered in my direction. “Mr. Truffaut, if you had not behaved in such a boorish manner, none of us would be here. Indeed, this is not my choice either. But the High Council has demanded atonement for your actions, and since I am the Prime Emissary to your race, it has fallen to me to carry out their wishes."

  Ted and I glanced at each other. If Jas was telling the truth, then this wasn't hisher idea. In fact, heshe was caught in the middle, forced by hisher diplomatic position to do the bidding of hisher masters.

  “Right, then,” Ted said, “so let's hear it. But first—” he nodded toward Jas's weapon “—why don't you put that away? I give you my word, no one aboard will do you any harm."

  Jas hesitated, hisher throat sacs inflating for a moment. Then heshe visibly relaxed, and heshe slowly lowered hisher arm. “Thank you, Captain. I apologize for any offense I may have given."

  Ted didn't say anything, but instead folded his arms across his chest and waited for Jas to continue. Still keeping an eye on his, the Prime Emissary reached into a pocket of hisher environment suit and produced something that resembled a datapad.

  “This is our objective.” Holding it out in hisher right hand, Jas flipped open its cover and touched a stud on its side. “Kasimasta, the Annihilator..."

  A small shaft of light twinkled into being above the pad's surface, then resolved itself into something that I first thought to be a planetary nebula: a bright yellow nimbus, resembling a dust cloud, surrounded by a reddish-orange disc. Yet plasma flares above and below the nucleus told me that this was no infant star, but instead something much more menacing.

  “Holy crap,” I murmured. “That's a black hole."

  Jas's right eye swiveled toward me. “You do not know of this thing?” Again, heshe cocked hisher head as heshe looked at Ted. “Captain Harker, you have not told your crew about this?"

  “No, Prime Emissary, I have not.” Ted slowly let out his breath. “Most of my people are unaware of its existence. It has remained a secret, known to very few individuals within our government."

  “A black hole is classified?” I looked at him askance. “What for?"

  Ted shrugged. “Who knows? Most likely it's because ... well, because governments like to keep secrets, that's all. Maybe they thought people would panic if they knew it was out there.” He nodded toward the holo. “Believe me, when Emcee and I first learned about this thing, it gave us the creeps."

  “Since you do not know, Mr. Truffaut, I will explain.” Jas increased the magnification of the holo, and it slowly swelled in size. “Kasimasta is a rogue black hole, possibly created by the collision of two stellar clusters or dwarf galaxies billions of years ago. When the collision occurred, the intermediate-mass black holes at their centers, which were rotating in different directions, repelled each other, causing the smaller of the two to be ejected from the coalescent mass. It spun away at a velocity of four hundred miles per second, and hence began to travel through intergalactic space."

  The holo image changed; now we saw a miniature Milky Way, as viewed from some imaginary vantage point above galactic north. A red thread began to trace itself across the image, slowly moving toward the center of the galaxy. “At some time in the prehistoric past,” Jas continued, “Kasimasta entered our own galaxy. Since then, it has traveled on a spiral course toward the galactic core, one that has taken it through the outer rim and the Perseus Arm until, several million years ago, it entered the Orion Arm."

  “Damn,” I whispered. “That puts it right in our neighborhood."

  Ted said nothing, but only nodded as he listened to Jas. “During this time, Kasimasta has encountered several star systems. As it has done so, it has destroyed dozens of worlds. Most were uninhabited, but a few were the homes of intelligent races. The taaraq, whose ark Captain Harker's expedition encountered, was one. The askanta, of whom the chaaz'braan was the spiritual leader, was another. The majority, though, did not survive the encounter."

  “Hold on.” I raised a hand. “Look, I'm no scientist, but I know a few things about black holes, and one of them is that their singularities are actually quite small. Even if this—” I stumbled over the hjadd word, and settled instead for the Anglo translation “—Annihilator is moving from system to system, wouldn't it have to make direct contact with a planet in order to destroy it?"

  Jas's head rose upon hisher long neck. “Under normal circumstances, this might be true. However, since Kasimasta is a rotating black hole that doesn't remain in one place, every planet, moon, and even asteroid it has consumed during its long history has contributed to its mass, with a proportionate increase of its event horizon. At the present, we estimate Kasimasta to be nearly ten thousand solar masses in size, with an event horizon more than one hundred fifteen thousand miles in circumference and over eighteen thousand miles in radius."

  I let out a low whistle. A monster that big could swallow Earth without so much as a burp. Hell, even Uranus or Neptune could fit into its maw. And I didn't have to ask Jas to know that even a near-miss could be deadly; the accretion disc spinning around the ergosphere of its outer event horizon could exterminate all life upon a planet, while the intense gravitational pull of the hole itself would cause massive solar flares to erupt from any star it passed. No question about it, Kasimasta was a killer.

  “Please don't tell me it's on its way toward Earth,” I murmured.

  Heavy-lidded eyes regarded me with contempt, as if I'd asked a selfish question. “That is of no concern to you,” Jas replied. “The Annihilator passed your home system long before your race became civilized.” I breathed a little easier, and the Prime Emissary went on. “Nonetheless, it poses a real and present danger to this part of the galaxy. Even as we speak, it is approaching another inhabited system."

  Again, the holo image changed. Now we saw a schematic diagram of a star system, with a large gas giant in its outer reaches and a couple of terrestrial-size planets orbiting closer to its sun. “This is the star you know as HD 70642,” Jas continued. “It is located one hundred thirty-six-point-six light-years from our present position. Its second planet, Nordash, is home to a starfaring race known as the nord."

  As heshe spoke, a thin red line appeared within the system's outer edge, slowly moving toward the superjovian. “Kasimasta has recently entered this system,” Jas continued. “In four days, its course will bring it very close to the gas giant, Aerik, where it will consume Kha-Zann, a large moon in orbit around it. Although the Annihilator will not encounter Nordash, nonetheless the nord are evacuating as many of their people as possible, in expectation that its passage will precipitate a planetary catastrophe."

  “Smart thinking.” I nodded. “I wouldn't want to..."

  “Be quiet.” Once more, the holo changed, and now we saw a close-up of Aerik's satellite system. “The Talus has decided that this event, as unfortunate as it may be, represents an opportunity for us to gather precise information about Kasimasta. For this purpose, the hjadd have designed and built a robotic probe that can be deployed upon a planetary surface. This probe, once activated, will relay scientific data via hyperlink until the moment of its destruction."

  “Right...” Ted hesitated. “Let me guess. You want this probe deployed on the moon that the Annihilator will consume."

  “This is correct."

  “And, of course, you've found the perfect candidate for the job of putting it there."

  “You have made the correct assumption."

  “Uh-huh. And this probe ... it wouldn't already be aboard, would it?"

  Jas's head weaved back and forth. “It was placed within the cargo hold of your shuttle earlier today, while Mr. Youssef was still asleep.” When heshe said this, I shook my head. Doc wasn't going to like that one bit. “We did so in the belief that you would undertake this mission voluntarily,” Jas went on. “Unfortunately, since you refused to do so..."

  “You didn't bother to tell us until now.” I sighed. “Great. And I get to be the guy who carries it down the
re."

  “Jules...” Ted shot me a look, and I clammed up. “You realize, of course, that this makes the job even more hazardous. Why can't we simply drop it to the surface from orbit?"

  “Some of its instruments are intended to register and record seismic activity leading up to Kha-Zann's disintegration. Because of this, the probe is designed to be carefully placed on the surface. Otherwise, it is a very simple procedure. All Mr. Truffaut will need to do is unload the probe, carry it a short distance from his craft, and activate it. This should take only a few minutes."

  Ted didn't respond. He seemed to think about it for a few seconds, then he looked at me. “Your call,” he said quietly. “I can't make you do this, you know."

  Of course he could. He was the captain, after all. And even though Morgan had already fired me, I was still a member of his crew. Besides, there were two other people aboard qualified to fly Loose Lucy; if I chickened out, either Emily or Ali could handle the assignment. So he was offering me a way out of what could well become a suicide mission.

  Yet that was out of the question. I had gotten us into this mess; I had the moral obligation to get us out of it. Ted knew this, as did I ... and so did Jas, come to think of it, because there was no other reason why heshe would've summoned me to hisher quarters in the first place.

  “Sure ... why not?” I shrugged, feigning a casualness that I didn't feel. “Sounds like fun."

  “Very good.” Jas switched off the pad; the holo vanished, and heshe turned to retrieve hisher helmet from where heshe had slung it in a bulkhead net. “Let us then return to the command center, so that I may set course for Nordash."

  Heshe paused, then stopped to look back at us. “I am very happy that you have agreed to do this, Captain Harker. I did not wish to die in this place."

  “Yeah, well...” Ted seemed to be at a loss for words. “I'm not sure you gave us any options."

  “On the contrary, I did.” A stuttering hiss that sounded like a snake's laughter. “It is only that none of them were acceptable."

  (CONCLUSION NEXT ISSUE)

  Copyright (c) 2007 Allen M. Steele

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  [Back to Table of Contents]

  * * *

  Department: 2007 INDEX

  This index covers volume 30 of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine, January 2007 through December 2007. Entries are arranged alphabetically by author. When there is more than one entry for an author, listings are arranged alphabetically according to the story/article title. All entries are followed by a parenthetical note: (a) article; (c) cartoon; (ed) editorial; (na) novella; (nt) novelette; (p) poem; (r) review; (se) serial; and (ss) short story. Collaborations are listed under all authors and are cross-referenced. When a title, a parenthetical note, or an author's name is omitted, it is the same as that of the previous entry.

  Asher, Neal—

  Alien Archaeology (na) Jun 93

  Asimov, Isaac—

  Editorial: In Memories Yet Green (ed) Apr/May 4

  Nightfall (nt) Oct/Nov 88

  * * * *

  Barton, William—

  The Rocket into Planetary Space (nt) Apr/May 94

  Bear, Elizabeth—

  Tideline (ss) Jun 66

  Beatty, Greg—

  Baseline (p) Jul 11

  Bottles (p) Mar 38

  Place Mat by Moebius (p) Jan 85

  What We're Working For (p) Jun 140

  When the Radar Aliens Come (p) Aug 135

  Berman, Ruth—

  Alternate Astrology (p) Apr/May 159

  The Angel Who Writes (p) Oct/Nov 173

  Cat Spacesuit (p) Mar 7

  Bieniowski, Brian—

  Guest Editorial: A Second-Hand Sensibility (ed) Feb 4

  Boston, Bruce—

  Asteroid People (p) Sep 13

  The Dimensional Rush of Relative Primes (p) Apr/May 138

  Future Toast (p) Dec 82

  Star People (p) Oct/Nov 87

  Butler, Chris—

  The Turn (ss) Oct/Nov 174

  * * * *

  Carlson, Jeff—

  Gunfight at the Sugarloaf Pet Food & Taxidermy (ss) Jan 86

  Cassutt, Michael—

  Skull Valley (ss) Oct/Nov 140

  Thought Experiments: Me and Deke and the Paradigm Shift Feb 12

  Clark, G.O.—

  Little Red Robot (p) Oct/Nov 127

  Reservations Suggested (p) Sep 59

  Coates, Deborah—

  Chainsaw on Hand (ss) Mar 72

  * * * *

  Dann, Ja
ck—

  Café Culture (ss) Jan 48

  Davies, Colin P.—

  Babel 3000 (ss) Mar 68

  Di Filippo, Paul—

  On Books (r) Jan 127

  ———Mar 132

  ———Jul 132

  ———Sep 136

  Special Book Review: Alice Through the Looking Glass (r) Feb 132

  Disch, Tom—

  Paradise (p) Jan 136

  Dozois, Gardner—

  Editorial: In Memories Yet Green (ed) Apr/May 4

  Dutcher, Roger—

  Leaving for the Mall (p) Apr/May 149

  * * * *

  Egan, Greg—

  Dark Integers (nt) Oct/Nov 20

  Emshwiller, Carol—

  At Sixes and Sevens (ss) Oct/Nov 52

  * * * *

  Forest, Susan—

  Paid in Full (ss) Oct/Nov 63

  Fowler, Karen Joy—

  Always (ss) Apr/May 150

  Frank, Karin L.—

  A Meeting of Minds (p) Sep 107

  Frasier, Robert—

  The Void Where Our

  Hearts Used to Be (p) Dec 135

  Where the First Backyard Spaceship Lifted Off (p) Apr/May 71

  Frederick, Carl—

  Leonid Skies (ss) Oct/Nov 114

  * * * *

  Garrison, John—

  In the Light Room (p) Jan 125

  Goldstein, Lisa—

  Dark Rooms (nt) Oct/Nov 152

  Lilyanna (ss) Apr/May 120

  Goonan, Kathleen Ann—

  The Bridge (nt) Aug 57

  Gregory, Daryl—

  Dead Horse Point (ss) Aug 44

  Grimsley, Jim—

  The Sanguine (ss) Mar 56

  * * * *

  Heck, Peter—

  On Books (r) Feb 137

  ———Jun 133

  ———Aug 136

  ———Dec 136

  * * * *

  Johnson, Matthew—

  Public Safety (nt) Mar 40

  Johnson, PMF—

  Endangered (p) Oct/Nov 151

  Jones, Stephen Graham—

  do(this) (ss) Dec 84

  * * * *