The Gods We Seek

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The Gods We Seek Page 21

by Eric Johannsen


  Sara was on a stretcher supported by four robotic legs.

  “Something I cooked up,” Chad said. He picked imaginary dirt from under his glove-covered fingernail. “You don’t expect me to do manual labor carrying you out of here, do you? That would ruin my rich CEO image.” Chad helped Musa lift Dylan onto another automated stretcher. “Let’s get back to the ship.”

  Musa led the march toward daylight while Dr. Skye and Ji-min tended to Sara. Chad took rear guard, walking behind Dylan’s stretcher.

  “What did you find?” Chad asked.

  “You won’t believe me,” Dylan said. “There’s technology up top of the shaft. A robotic watchdog. Wait. Here.” He fished a chunk of metal out of a pouch and handed it to Chad. “And…”

  “And what?”

  Dylan shook his head. “An honest-to-God UFO, just like what you’d expect from an old, black-and-white sci-fi movie.”

  Chad leaned over him and shined a light in Dylan’s eye. “Did Sydney check you for a concussion?”

  “It’s there,” Dylan said. “You can hang your hat on that.”

  “What?”

  “That’s Texan for, why yes, I’m certain.”

  “You mean to tell me there’s a flying saucer up there?”

  “Yep. Well, it doesn’t fly anymore. But it’s up there.”

  “Did you find any cows or farmers?”

  “Don’t be a smart ass,” Dylan said. “Look for yourself if you don’t believe me.”

  “I believe you. And yes, I'll look for myself. Alien technology. How could I pass that up?”

  Daylight, such as it was on this world, filtered into the cave. They emerged into a jungle glistening with fresh rainfall, yet the clouds had already vanished. The sun grazed the mountain, an orange ember against a maroon sky without the vision enhancement his discarded helmet provided.

  Jake called from an opening in the Quadriga, “Thank goodness. I was worried you all fell down a fissure and I would have to save humanity all by my lonesome. Did you find anything interesting, at least?”

  “Oh yes,” Chad said. “Oh yes, they did.”

  “Yeah, we-” Dylan’s face became ashen. “Doctor, I don’t feel so-” He twisted his head sideways but not in time. A fountain of vomit flooded his face, neck, and the stretcher. “The world’s spinning.”

  The world went dark.

  #

  Sara and Dylan sat reclined in the two forward bridge chairs, observing jungle creatures scamper through the trees and among the vines. Sara’s chest was wrapped in a more comfortable, more flexible brace.

  “You awake?” Dylan asked, his vision still blurry.

  “Uh huh,” Sara said.

  Dylan blinked. “I think that makes two of us.”

  “I have a fuzzy memory of your air in my lungs, of you with your helmet off. Did that happen?”

  “Yep.”

  “Was your helmet damaged?”

  “Nope.”

  “Dylan, I wasn’t the mission. You risked Earth to save me.” She bit her lip and shook her head. “That wasn’t the right move.”

  “It was the only move.”

  “Dammit, Dylan. We're here for the people back home. Every one of us is expendable.”

  “I see ghosts, Sara.”

  “Ghosts? Are you still feverish?”

  A cough shook Dylan, and he expelled something wet from his lungs. “Hardly a day goes by, I don’t see the men of that Chinese ship I let perish. For the mission.”

  Sara stretched out her arm and found his hand. “You had orders.”

  “I was in command of that ship. I could have saved them. What would it have changed, really? A Chinese crew would be out here now instead of us?”

  “You made the tough choice.”

  “A damning choice.”

  “The right choice.”

  He grasped her hand with his weakened fingers and squeezed it.

  “Thank you,” Sara said. “For saving me.” Wincing in pain, she turned to Dylan.

  “I wasn’t about to let anyone else die on my watch,” he said. He moved his lips to say something else but thought better of it. “Say, isn’t that Garrat outside at the edge of the clearing?” He strained to focus his eyes.

  “Looks like it,” Sara said.

  “I’ve got to thank him before we leave. He risked a lot to help us, and it would’ve been much harder without him.”

  Sara nodded then closed her eyes, relaxing in the quiet of the moment but unable to still her mind. “What does it mean? That craft we found in the mountain?”

  “I don’t rightly know. It looks different from both the Quadriga and the Demons. I suppose Chad will learn something more.”

  “He is a clever one,” Sara said.

  “Yeah.”

  Ji-min, wearing a biohazard suit, brought a tray with two steaming bowls of soup. “I’m glad to see the both of you awake.”

  “What’s with the get-up?” Dylan asked.

  “You were both exposed to the planet, remember? We sealed off the forward section.”

  “Quarantine?” Sara asked.

  Ji-min nodded. “You two had a high fever when we brought you aboard.”

  “I remember burning up,” Sara said. “I don’t even feel sick now. Exhausted, but not sick.”

  “No, you’re not sick,” Ji-min said. “Not anymore. But you’ve been asleep for almost two days.”

  “Two days?” Sara asked. “How did we recover?”

  “Chad thinks the ship helped you. I’ve seen something like that before.”

  “Korea,” Sara said.

  “Your spine is healing because of earthly help.” She checked Sara’s bandage. “Colonel Snell had the foresight to load an automated battlefield microsurgery unit in the minutes before the attack on Area 51.”

  “I’ll be sure and thank him when we get back.”

  Ji-min nodded. “Eat. Get your strength back.” Each seat morphed to create an integrated table just as she set the bowls down. “I’m still not used to the ship reading my mind.”

  “You mean like you read our minds?” Dylan said. He attempted a grin, but it came out a grimace.

  “I don’t exactly read your mind-”

  “He’s kidding you, Ji-min,” Sara said.

  “I know. I can see that,” she said with a coy smile. “It looks like tangerine rings orbiting his head if you’re curious.” She turned to the transparent wall. “Chad and Musa are in the cave to examining the crashed UFO.”

  “How long have they been gone?” Dylan asked.

  “They left around three hours ago. It’s their third trip. They set up a radio relay network, so they’re in contact with the ship.”

  “Did they find anything new?” Dylan asked.

  “I imagine they’re too busy exploring their new toy. So far, they missed every check-in time. We have to call them to make sure they’re still alive.”

  “Musa should know better.”

  “Don’t be too harsh on him. Chad probably needs Musa’s help, and the man can be rather insistent.”

  Dr. Skye swung open the protective screen. “Good news, you don’t have the Gliese 876 flu or whatever those alien bugs were. You do have a host of new antibodies no human ever did.”

  Dylan arched an eyebrow.

  “The ship’s influence, I presume,” Dr. Skye said. “Don’t ask me how or why, but it cured you.”

  Dylan crossed his arms and looked at the ceiling. “Thanks, ship. I appreciate it.” He cast a half-smile at Dr. Skye. “And thank you, too, doc. I appreciate you tending to our wounds.”

  “Of course,” she said.

  “Is it OK if I go thank our native host before he disappears?”

  Dr. Skye nodded. “If you’re not dizzy when you stand, a short trip outside should be all right. Want me to go with you? Or Ji-min to translate?”

  “Thanks, but I picked up enough vocabulary to do it on my own. It feels more genuine that way.”

  #

  As the a
irlock sealed behind Dylan, Jake took a step toward Sara but froze when Ji-min sat next to her. He slipped toward the exit and leaned against the far wall.

  “I’d ask how you’re holding up,” Ji-min said in a quiet voice, “but we both know I can see the answer. The President put you in charge of this mission for a reason. You’re letting Dylan make the calls and it nearly got you both killed.”

  “He’s an experienced officer and mission commander,” Sara said. “It would be foolish to ignore his advice.”

  “True, but that’s not what this is about. You’re letting him make decisions, some of them against your better judgment.”

  Sara’s expression fell. “Why?” she asked, more of herself than of Ji-min.

  “That, I can’t see,” Ji-min said.

  She bit her lip and mumbled, “When in charge, be in charge.” Louder, she added, “They drilled that into us in leadership college.”

  “You have no trouble standing up to the President of the United States,” Ji-min said. “Assert yourself on this mission.”

  Sara’s attention turned to Dylan and Garrat talking at the tree line. “You’re right.” She touched Ji-min’s arm. “Thank you.”

  Dylan returned to the ship and entered the airlock.

  “Most people outside the NSA assume I got my job because I’m a hard ass. That’s not it at all. In reality, I’m soft. I care about what happens to people under my command, about their safety and their success. I got the promotion because I helped many people and they, in turn, helped me.”

  “I see,” Ji-min said. “It’s just the seven of us alone in the cosmos now, this ship our world, with the fate of humanity in our hands.” She gave Sara a sympathetic frown. “If you need to be a hard ass, be a hard ass.”

  Sara bit her lip then nodded. “You sound like Abel.”

  “You’re comparing me to Dr. Okoye? That’s a high compliment.”

  Dylan cleared the airlock, a pleased smile on his lips.

  “You’re in a good mood, boss,” Musa said.

  “Yeah, well. I always dreamed of meeting ET. It’s part of what motivated me to join the space program. I had my first one-on-one sit down with an alien and it went well. I think we even bonded.”

  “Lucky,” Musa said. “I guess you’ll be the one writing a book about this mission. It’ll put Ian’s book to shame.” Musa chuckled at the thought of Dylan writing a book.

  “Say, would you print me up a new ceramic knife?”

  “Did you lose yours on your daring expedition just outside the ship?”

  “Naw, I gave it to our host as a thank you.”

  Sara stood and strode toward him from across the bridge. “You what?”

  “He was so fascinated by it, it seemed a good-”

  “You may as well have given him your assault rifle, Dylan.” Sara planted her arms on her hips. “They have no metallurgy. Your knife is now the most potent weapon on the planet.”

  “It’s just a knife,” Dylan said.

  “It’s a sword straight from the gods.”

  “I-” Dylan’s stubborn features melted. “You’re right, I’m wrong.”

  Sara shook her head. “It’s not about who’s right. I’m worried about the mark we leave behind on this world.” She rubbed her eyes. “I’m also exhausted. I’m going to catch a few hours’ sleep. And you’re going to ask me before transferring any more technology to aliens.”

  #

  Jake squatted next to Sara, who was settling into her reclined seat. “Are you OK?” he asked in a whisper. “You were a little rough on the Commander.”

  “I’m tired,” she said, stretching her arms.

  “I get that, we’re all dancing on the edge of exhaustion, and you had the alien plague to boot. Can I do anything for you? Get you something?”

  “I just need sleep.”

  “I could give you a back rub like I used to. Just to help you relax.”

  Sara twisted in her chair to face him. “Thank you, but no.”

  “While Chad’s been having fun with the big prize, I’ve been trying to figure out that robot you and Dylan shot up. Do you recall anything unusual about it, anything at all?”

  “It stalked me in a cave and damn near threw me off a cliff,” Sara said. “Does that count as unusual?”

  “I mean in the way it functioned.”

  “I know what you mean.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry. Let’s talk about it after I sleep?”

  “Yeah,” Jake said. “No problem.”

  #

  Chad and Musa emerged from the cave, two robotic stretchers following on their heels, both laden with canvas-wrapped cargo. They passed through the airlock, decontaminating their environmental suits before entering the Quadriga, and went to the bridge.

  “Hey, nice to see you awake,” Chad said. “For a while there, I thought the native bugs would claim you.”

  “They’ll have to try a whole lot harder to take out a Texan,” Dylan said.

  “Yeah,” Sara said. “Texans are too stubborn to die.” She closed her eyes and willed the chair to swivel.

  The chair complied.

  “Look at that,” Chad said. “You’re a natural now. I thought you gave up after you had trouble stopping the ship.”

  Dylan stood and ambled toward Chad. “Did you figure anything out?” He nodded toward the mountain.

  “You bet,” Chad said. “I have a basic lab set up. We’re fabricating the next round of instruments.”

  “A lab?” Dylan asked.

  “Oh, yes. There’s a ton to study. Their tech is somewhere between Earth technology and the Quadriga. How can I put this? It’s like we humans just discovered electricity, the UFO is like the first transistor, and the Quadriga’s, well, far more advanced than anything I could use for a comparison. I’d say hyperparallel quantum processing units, but that still doesn’t do the Quadriga justice. The point is, I have an idea how the spacecraft buried under that mountain works.”

  “That’s great, but what about the theory you told me?” Musa said. “You know, the one that helps us save Earth, not the one that helps you play with cool alien tech.”

  “Huh?” Chad asked.

  “The one about how we can track this ship back to its home.”

  “Oh,” Chad said. “That’s not what I said.”

  Musa frowned. “You told me it might leave a trail.”

  “A faint one, yes. Even if we can detect it, there’s no reason to believe it leads to any homeworld. For all we know, this UFO was on a grand tour of the galaxy, a giant loop around the Milky Way.”

  “What did you figure out?” Dylan asked, his voice still gravely.

  Chad looked at Musa then back to Dylan. “I’m confident this particular alien’s interstellar travel is limited to sub-light, but they get around in a fascinating way.” He reached under the canvas wrap atop one of the robo-carriers and withdrew a chrome-like plate of metal, rectangular shaped, with both long sides gently curved the same direction. “Check this out.” He connected a pair of wires to the shiny plate and pressed a button attached to the other end of the wires. The plate floated up, gaining speed until it smacked into the ceiling, one of the wires came loose, and it crashed to the floor.

  “What did we just see?” Sara asked.

  “I’ll run more tests, but my gut says… anti-gravity.”

  “What the hell?” Dylan asked. “That’s impossible.”

  “Not at all,” Chad said. “Anti-gravity is mathematically possible, but it requires exotic matter. We’re not sure if that exists in the universe, and we have no clue how to make it. But impossible? No.”

  “OK,” Dylan said, “but how does that help us save Earth?”

  “The anti-gravity?” Chad asked. “It doesn’t.”

  “Musa, what did you mean about saving Earth?” Dylan asked.

  “It’s about how they generate the power for-” Musa said.

  Chad clapped a hand on Musa’s shoulder. “It takes energy to keep the anti-gravity work
ing, and the ship in there uses a fusion drive to create it, like what the Chinese developed. The UFO has a magnetic scoop to collect interstellar hydrogen and…”

  “In plain English?”

  “The waste product has to go somewhere,” Chad said. “It produces helium.”

  “Any traces of the ship’s exhaust would have dissipated within a few days,” Dr. Skye said. “In the vacuum of space, that happens terribly fast.”

  “Like I said, detecting the trail is a longshot,” Chad said. “Even if we found it, there’s no reason to believe it would lead to an intelligent civilization any time soon.”

  “It’s a longshot to detect a trail in interstellar space,” Musa said. “That’s not the best place to look.”

  “The heliopause?” Dr. Skye asked.

  “The heliopause.” Musa grinned, delighted.

  “The helio…what?” Ji-min asked.

  “It’s where-” Musa and Dr. Skye said together.

  “After you,” she said.

  “It’s the edge of the solar system, where the solar wind and the interstellar medium, deep space if you will, collide.”

  Ji-min was still puzzled.

  It’s the edge of the star’s influence on surrounding space,” Dr. Skye said. “There’s a big increase in pressure and stable magnetic bubbles can form which can trap particles.”

  “So, there’s a trail of helium leading to where the UFO came from?” Dylan asked.

  “It’ll be faint,” Dr. Skye said, “but if this UFO’s been here under a century or two, we should be able to detect it by direct observation. There’s a vast amount of space to test, but if we assume it traveled from one of the nearer stars-”

  “We can fly out to the path it would have taken from each star, and if there’s a higher helium concentration, that’s our breadcrumb. We follow it right back to where the UFO came from,” Dylan said.

  “That plan could also waste weeks poking around the edge of the stellar system,” Chad said. “There's technology right here that’s vastly superior to anything humans created. Our best bet is to stay put and continue studying the bird we have in hand.”

  “Have you found anything resembling a weapon on the UFO?” Dylan asked.

  Chad shook his head. “I just started the project. It’ll take weeks or months to dissect the craft.”

 

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