The Star Collector

by Matthew William

  “Usually this is the other way round,” Joe said.

  “Which one of ya’s got the golden ticket?” the cashier asked.

  “I don’t know what your talking about,” Joe answered, staring down the barrel of the gun. It was like a miniature black hole.

  “I got a reading on my sensor that one of ya’s got a golden ticket from Halle,” he shouted, cocking the gun. “And you’re gonna hand it over. I’ll let you have the gas and snacks for free.”

  ‘But I’m already getting them for free,’ Joe thought.

  “Drop it!” Cassandra shouted from the candy aisle. Joe turned to see that she had evidently helped herself to a pistol from the gun locker. That right there encapsulated all the reasons he loved that woman.

  The cashier turned and took a shot at Cassandra with his eyes closed. The blast echoed through the room, causing Joe’s ears to ring. The shot missed everything except for an unfortunate carton of milk. The cashier scrambled out through a door behind the register. Cassandra with fury in her eyes ran after him, hopping over the counter. Joe dropped the snacks and gave chase through the office and out the back door of the mini-mart just in time to see the cashier starting up his mid-sized box ship and lifting off. Cassandra was able to hop on and climb up the on-ramp as it was closing.

  The ship pulled away and flew off into space.

  Joe stood there and watched it go.

  Alma came out and looked up with him. “Did we just lose Cassandra?” she asked.

  “Yep,” Joe said.

  “And she was the one with the golden ticket, correct?”

  “Yep,” Joe said, kicking a pebble on the ground. His phone dinged as he received a message. It was Cassandra. A rush of endorphins surged through his body as he realized she had kept his number after all these years.

  “Don’t worry about me, get to Halle!” the message read.

  With a smile he showed Alma.

  “That’s easy for her to say, when she’s got the ticket,” she sighed.

  The bell from the front door of the mini-mart dinged. Joe turned to see Tammy carrying out an arm full of snacks she had raided. In the other hand was a brand new communication antennae, stolen from the Ship Parts aisle. Apparently this whole ordeal hadn’t done wonders for her morals.

  Although the Talashaa culture spanned two galaxies, they only ever settled on 12 worlds in total. They were evidently quite picky over which planets they would colonize, some speculating that they wanted them to be perfect, not just valuable for one or two resources. This has led to the suggestion that their economy was very simple, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. To have funded building projects on the level that they did must have required a massive economy that was possibly very communistic in its nature. Examination of housing conditions allotments seem to indicate that poverty was an unheard of thing for the Talashaa, while some, meanwhile, were very rich. It appears that if you wanted to provide more for society there were incentives, but at the very bottom everyone’s needs were cared for.

  Enoch Applebottom - “The Talashaa – Architects of Forgotten Dreams” pg. 2

  12

  Applebottom called the Chairman, wondering how he could spin events of the past few hours as results.

  “Results?” the Chairman asked as soon as he answered.

  “So... we got this close to the artifact,” Applebottom said, holding his fingers an inch apart.

  “But you didn’t get it?”

  “They’ve stopped for gas out of range of my fleet, and they appear to be headed for the Pillars of Creation.”

  “What happened? You had the planet surrounded, how did you let them escape?”

  “The people we’re dealing with… they’re reckless. I can’t get a grip on them. No one would have been able to.”

  “I should’ve given this job to a professional,” the Chairman sighed.

  Applebottom coughed. “Don’t forget that I was the one who tracked them there in the first place. You’re generals were ready to comb the whole galaxy.”

  “You destroyed an entire planet instead of setting up a siege net. That’s what a general would have done.”

  “Well, what do you want me to say?”

  “I can’t believe you’ve done this. How do you think this will go over? Blowing up a planet – my approval rating will crash through the floor.”

  “Well, the news outlets aren’t covering it,” Applebottom said with a shrug.

  “What?”

  “No one’s picked it up and it’s looking like no one will.”

  “How can that be possible?”

  “No corporation to pay for the airtime,” Applebottom said. “Have you actually received any complaints?”

  “Actually... none as of yet,” the Chairman said.

  “And I don’t think you will. The way I see it, this was the perfect crime.”

  “Perhaps this could lead to a change of strategy for us,” the Chairman said, stroking his chin.

  “That’s something a general never would have found out for you,” Applebottom said.

  The Chairman sighed. “You say they’re headed for the Pillars of Creation?”

  “As far as I can tell,” Applebottom replied. “And once they get there we’ll be right on top of them.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Sir, Halle wouldn’t be much of a match for my fleet would it?”

  “Why would I send your fleet halfway across the galaxy when I can send one person who can actually give me results.”

  “Your favorite?”

  “David’s efficient. His middle name might as well be ‘results’. And Halle sits in Coalition space. Best to keep this operation as discreet as possible. This is the only time we’ll know exactly where they’re going to be. And I need the fleet close to the border of American space. They were quite unhappy over what happened at the ruins and we need to flex a bit of muscle.”

  “Why don’t you use the White Dragon for that, sir?”

  “I said I want to flex muscle, not declare war.”

  “You have Enoch Applebottom and you’re using him to flex muscle,” Applebottom muttered under his breath.

  “I could be feeding you to dogs,” the Chairman said. “So consider yourself lucky.”

  Applebottom rolled his eyes.

  “Will there be anything else?” the Chairman asked.

  “The boys down at the science facility think there are only three days left before the targeting is complete,” Applebottom said. “Thought you might like to know.”

  “Then time really is of the essence.”

  It was believed that they had some sort of organic computing system, plants if you will, that stored and processed their information. This gathered by the prominent placement of what we believe to be now long dead potted plants throughout Talashaa architecture. (They could, of course, may have just really liked potted plants.)

  But where one might expect to find computer terminals – in their ships, in their labs and in their homes – we find strange empty cavities. This had led to the theory that the Talashaa and all organic material in their ecosystem was consumed by some sort of flesh eating bacteria. However, little else has gone on to support this hypothesis.

  Until we find a Talashaa computer, the information they have collected will be completely out of our reach. And all we know of them will be from their written records that survived the eons.

  Enoch Applebottom - “The Talashaa: Architects of Forgotten Dreams” pg. 201

  13

  When Joe’s ship dropped out of warp he was immediately taken aback by the beauty that filled his view screen. Four-light-year tall purple columns made up of star dust and particles leftover from the big-bang, stood like impossible plumes in space. They twinkled ever so slightly. To add to the serenity was the perfect silence. You could have heard a pin drop in Joe’s cabin.

  There was nothing else at this exit. It was really just a small pull off from the highway that the designers had intended for
drivers to get a good view of the pillars, if they were so inclined. A small plaque served as an information board for those who stopped so they could read up on what they were seeing.

  Out a few thousand kilometers, sitting before the pillars, was a small black cube. You would have thought it was just a tiny square moon that had lost it’s planet to orbit. In a way she was. That was Halle.

  “Well, she’s not destroying us,” Alma said as they pulled in for the approach.

  “That’s half the battle,” Joe said. “I’d feel a lot better if we had that golden ticket with us, though.”

  “Me too,” said Alma.

  “Where’s Tammy, by the way?” Joe asked. He figured the girl would have probably wanted to see this.

  “She’s in the back praying to an instruction manual,” Alma said.

  “Ah, I should’ve guessed.”

  “Which is good, we need all the help we can get,” Alma replied.

  “I doubt that helps.”

  “It used to be you praying like that, Joe, not so long ago,” Alma said.

  Joe clicked his tongue.

  “And you were a lot happier then, if I recall.”

  “I was a lot stupider then too,” Joe said as he stopped the ship a few hundred kilometers short of the cube and sat there. Halle didn’t budge, or light up or seem to do anything for that matter. Had she even noticed they were there? Joe sent a hailing message.

  “Maybe she wants to get a good look at us, before she blows us to smithereens,” Tammy said walking into the cabin.

  “Why don’t you go and pray some more?” Joe asked.

  “Joe, I think she might be right,” Alma replied.

  “What do you want me to do about it then?”

  “Maybe we should get go...”

  “What are you doing here?” a woman’s voice came in over the ship’s intercom.

  Joe’s heart stopped in his chest. He looked to Alma to say something. She shook her head.

  He cleared his throat and spoke up. “Uh, we had an appointment.”

  “I don’t recognize any of you,” the voice replied.

  “Well, the thing is – it’s kind of a funny story actually,” Joe said. “The person who had the appointment got captured... by pirates. Cassandra V8. Maybe you recognize that name? Anyway, she had an appointment booked for nine hours ago.”

  “You missed your chance and I’m sorry, I’m going to have to destroy you now. It’s nothing personal, it’s just my thing.”

  A red light appeared on the face of the square moon as if a laser beam was heating up. There wasn’t enough time to run. Joe swallowed and guessed he might as well swing for the fences. He reached down for the plastic bag and pulled out the flashing artifact.

  “We were hoping you could tell us what this is?” he asked, holding it up to the camera on his dashboard.

  Halle said nothing, and stayed quiet for a long moment. The red light on the side of the cube remained lit. “I should have guessed it was about this.”

  Joe sat in silence wondering what the AI was going to do next.

  A moment later the red light dimmed and in its place an opening appeared.

  “Come in,” Halle said in an exasperated tone.

  Joe looked to Alma with suspicion. “Does she want to kill us inside?”

  “It wasn’t enough to blast us out here,” Tammy added.

  “It’s too late to run now,” Alma said. “It’s been a pleasure, Joe.”

  “Oh, come on. Don’t say that,” Joe said. “She might just wanna talk.”

  “She can talk just fine with us out here, can’t she?” Alma replied.

  “I wanted to keep this conversation private, thank you very much,” the voice said. “Now stop procrastinating and come on in. Someone’s coming.”

  Joe checked his long range scanner. There didn’t seem to be anyone in the surrounding area. Maybe Halle was just paranoid. He considered a snarky remark but decided it was probably best to keep the super intelligence happy.

  Black holes have long been the stuff of nightmares for the cautious starsailor. We can’t say for sure what happens to something, or someone, when they get sucked into these anomalies, because no information can escape them. What can be assumed is that matter is crushed into oblivion, never to be retrieved again.

  However, it has even been speculated that black holes are portals into other universes, but it seems this theory can never be proved or disproved.

  Enoch Applebottom - “The Talashaa – Architects of Forgotten Dreams” pg. 7

  14

  When Joe pulled up beside the AI moon, a long railingless platform emerged from the round opening. It was silver in color and perfectly straight. It seemed to be an invitation for them to come inside. This was too friendly. But the ship’s sensors indicated that Halle had, in fact, made a little biozone for them with breathable air and suitable pressure.

  “Come on in,” Halle said.

  “I’d like to state that I don’t give my consent to this,” Tammy said.

  “Noted,” Joe replied.

  As he left the ship his footsteps echoed on the platform approaching the large cube. Alma and Tammy followed, the deputy carrying the artifact in the plastic bag at her side.

  Joe stopped for a moment at the large, house-sized opening and peaked inside. The interior of the cube was hollow, like an inverse disco ball with millions of star-like processing lights.

  “Hurry up please,” Halle said to the three visitors who were dragging ass.

  ‘What’s her hurry?’ Joe thought to himself.

  He took the dive and entered the cube. His steps continued to echo. It smelled of computer parts inside. At the center of the cavernous, arena-sized room he came upon a smaller, luminous half-sphere on the floor. It was a graphene light processor. This place reminded Joe of the old planetarium he used to visit as a kid.

  The computer was silent until they all came inside and then she closed the door. The room went dark save for the soft white glow of the half-sphere at its center.

  “So, what is it you have with you?” Halle asked, her voice coming from everywhere.

  “We were hoping you could tell us,” Joe said.

  “Well, let me take a look at it.” A light glowed to life above the sphere on the floor, an invitation to place the artifact there.

  Joe nudged Tammy who reluctantly walked forward and placed the artifact in the light. The AI scanned the item. The processing bulbs around the room flickered and changed color as the computer thought.

  “Oh, that’s interesting,” Halle said.

  “What’s interesting?” Joe asked.

  “I’m not so sure you’d want to know.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “I’m just thinking for your own sanity.”

  “I see,” said Joe.

  “Is the artifact something we shouldn’t have found?” Tammy asked.

  The computer remained silent.

  Joe coughed. “I think we’re all adults in here, Halle.”

  “Yes, we’ll see about that,” Halle said.

  A strong beam of light shined onto the artifact from above and out from the metal orb popped a three dimensional holographic map. Joe recognized it immediately, since it had been pounded into his skull since grade school. Its was the star chart of all known space spanning the galaxies, also known as the local cluster. In the center was their location, the Pillars of Creation, and spreading out from there, in all directions at once, were thousands of white blips per second – a sphere, growing at a constant speed. It seemed to be already halfway towards the edge of settled space.

  “What are those dots?” Tammy asked. “Planets?”

  “No, there’s too many of them,” Joe said. “Plus what are those strips, and those random dots over there?”

  “Settlements?” Alma suggested.

  “It’s every single human being in the universe,” Cassandra said.

  “Jesus Christ, where did you come from?” Joe asked, nearly jumping
out of his skin.

  “I commandeered the cashier’s ship.”

  “Just like that?”

  She nodded.

  “And how long have you been standing there?”

  “Since the beginning of the light show,” she said pointing to the map.

  “You’re correct, Cassandra,” Halle said. “The artifact is locating all humans.”

  “Locating them?” Joe asked. “What for?”

  “Perhaps targeting would be the better word to use here,” the computer said.

  “Targeting?” Joe asked.

  “Yes, that’s what I said.”

  “Targeting us for what?”

  “What else do you target things for?” Halle asked. “To destroy them.”

  Joe watched the map in horror as the computer simulated the targeting to its conclusion. The blips expanded out to the edge of known space and then, when there were no more blips to be found, there was a brilliant flash of light from the map’s center. All the white dots in the universe faded to black – blipped out of existence. For a moment there was nothing. Then the simulation turned off.

  “Wait, so you’re saying that this is going to happen us?” Tammy asked.

  “That’s right,” Halle said.

  “Why would it do that?” Joe asked skeptically. This seemed more like conspiracy theory nonsense. “And how would you even know this?”

  “Let’s just call it an educated guess,” Halle replied.

  “But who’s doing it?” Alma asked.

  “The artifact is.”

  “And why is it doing it?”

  “That I can’t tell you, because I honestly don’t know.”

  “So the Talashaa made this thing, they destroyed themselves with it, and now we’ve stumbled onto it?” Tammy asked.

  “More or less correct,” Halle said.

  “The Talashaa would never do that,” Cassandra stated.

  “It’s a superweapon,” Alma said, shaking her head. “All this time… my first instincts were right.”