by A. K. DuBoff
She tilted her head, narrowing her eyes slightly. “Do not pretend you aren’t using us as a political tool to further the TSS’ objectives.”
It’s true, we’re using them as an intermediary to play out this scenario to our own designs. But what else can we do?
There were many ways Jason could respond, and most of them would end in the Lynaedans dismissing him and never inviting him back for future talks. To bring them around to his point of view, he’d need to lay it all out there.
“This isn’t just about the TSS,” he said. “In fact, we have little to do with it. The reality is that the TSS is about as neutral an entity as we have in a high-powered position with the Empire right now. None of the High Dynasties could fully set aside their corporate interests to be impartial. It’s imperative that the TSS maintain as much of its neutrality as possible, so we can’t be a supplier for a product. The fact that you don’t want to be involved in Taran political or commercial affairs is precisely why you are the perfect stewards to bring this energy core to market.”
Chancellor Ewen leaned back in her seat, studying him with slightly narrowed eyes. “It’s curious that you, Jason Sietinen, are here representing the TSS. It is impossible to see your role here as being anything other than political, despite your claims.”
“I can’t deny that I sit at the intersection of great powers. SiNavTech, DGE, and VComm—they’d all take my call with no delay. My parents run the TSS. Yes, I’m here because I’m someone people will listen to. Because of my connections, I can make grand promises and actually be able to deliver. A lot of people can talk without having any means to follow through.
“However, I have no ambitions of wielding that power myself. You’ve seen in my mind, and I’ll let you in again, if that’s what it takes. I’m here asking this of you because I see it is the best way forward for the Taran Empire. As much as you and the Aesir try to distance yourselves from the other goings-on, we can’t ignore the fact that we’re in this together. The Erebus hold great power over us, and quibbling over petty civil differences will only weaken our position against that potential threat.”
“You don’t trust them,” Ewen stated.
“The Erebus? No. Not at all.” He chuckled. “Yet I’m asking you to manufacture this device that they gave to us. It doesn’t make any sense, does it?”
“It is a means to other ends,” Ambassador Greggor assessed.
“Yes.” He nodded. “If we can get this core manufactured at scale, we believe we’ll be in a better position to grow and strengthen our position across the Empire. Unite our worlds against a common threat.”
“That makes it more intriguing,” Ewen said, straightening in her seat, now fully engaged.
Jason smiled. “Let’s go over what we were thinking.”
Chapter 8
As Raena reviewed the latest injunction against further investigation into a particularly intriguing historic site in South America, she couldn’t help but wonder if starting an interstellar incident was worth it to continue the investigation into potential ancient technology hidden on Earth.
She set down her tablet and sighed. “What do you think, Trevor? Do we try to fight it in the courts or take another tactic?”
The young liaison shrugged on the other end of the vidcall. “I don’t believe taking up a legal argument would get the desired outcome. If anything, bribery would be much more productive.”
It didn’t take him long to understand how things work on Earth. She shook her head. “I’m not comfortable playing it that way.”
“Then I don’t know what to suggest. So long as there are public protests, I believe government leaders are unlikely to cooperate.”
Serving as the Taran ambassador to Earth illustrated for Raena just how similar Tarans and humans were, despite tens of thousands of years of cultural separation. There was something in their genetics, she was certain of it, that made people defensive of their territory and their way of life. No matter how different the details in their everyday existence, that rang true across the Taran worlds.
It stunned her how much those common elements of their nature could be found across the Taran Empire. Millennia of development, with microevolution and cultural diversion, and yet everyone was still fundamentally the same. It didn’t make a lot of sense from a scientific perspective, but somehow she wasn’t surprised. Those traits persisted because they worked—they’d gotten people to that point in the first place. Sharks and crocodiles had remained unchanged for millions of years, so why would Tarans be any different? They’d simply substituted technological advancements for biological adaptations to suit their changing environment.
Unfortunately, that shared nature was proving to be a challenge for her at present because the people of Earth were understandably reluctant to let aliens—no matter how similar they looked to the locals—dig up their revered historical sites in the vague name of ‘research’.
There had to be a solution, but her suggestion to approach Earth’s leaders with the truth about Tarans’ motivations hadn’t been received well by the High Council.
“We need to up the coolness factor,” she mused.
Trevor’s eyebrows knitted. “What does that mean?”
“They don’t want us digging and disturbing the site—but I think it’s more because they don’t want to disrupt tourism. To get them to agree, we need to make the site even more alluring.”
“What do you propose?”
Without information to the contrary, it was prudent to proceed as though the civil unrest on Earth was being perpetrated behind-the-scenes by the same group involved in the other Outer Colonies disruption. The sudden planet-wide coordination had too similar tactics to write off as a coincidence.
While the Coalition had proved difficult to combat on the Taran worlds, Raena had an advantage when it came to Earth. Having grown up on the planet, she had experienced the worldwide interaction between media and public opinion. She was all too aware of how transient sentiments could be, quickly shifting in response to current events. If she could lay the groundwork to capture the public consciousness and turn them to the Taran government’s side—to encourage the excavation efforts rather than condemn the involvement—they could mitigate both issues at once. All they needed was to shift the momentum.
Doing so would take another big spectacle, much like when they jumped in the TSS fleet to make their public first contact. This display would need to be more tailored but every bit as impressive.
A smile tugged at the corners of Raena’s mouth. “It’s a simple plan. The objections are to us destroying important monuments—which we have no intention of doing. The technology on Earth simply isn’t advanced enough to relocate structures of this scale, but we can. So, we need to simultaneously preserve the sites and turn them into even more interesting tourist attractions.”
“What about the people who worship these sites as holy land?”
“It’ll take some convincing that a dig will let them get closer to the power of a site—which is true. The religious concerns only pertain to some of the sites, so we can save those for the end.”
“Okay.” Trevor nodded. “How would you go about making this impressive tourism display for the rest?”
“We take up the entire section of ground around the historic sites in question, slap an anti-grav platform under it, and suspend it in the air.”
He blinked at her. “That’s, uh…”
“Bold? Yeah.” She grinned. “But come on… what person on Earth wouldn’t want to see tech like that in practice? The only thing more interesting than going to visit an ancient pyramid is going to visit that pyramid while it’s floating in the air, right?”
“I can’t argue with that,” Trevor said cautiously.
Raena tapped her foot while she thought through the logistics. “It’s not a guaranteed sale, but I think if we can just get one country to agree, the others will follow. A little well-placed social media marketing and we’ll let the public drive t
he demand.”
“It could work.”
“There’s too much promise in the subterranean scan data to not pursue this,” she said. “I’d like you to begin making preparations for a proper excavation. I’ll make sure we get the approvals.”
“How public do you want it to be?”
“Shield it as much as possible. Let people focus on the floating monuments; what’s happening underground can be our business alone.”
Trevor inclined his head. “Yes, my lady, I’ll make the arrangements right away.” He paused in quiet consideration. “I do believe there’s something here worth finding. The most important answers don’t come easy.”
“I feel it, too. There’s something significant about Earth to the Taran people as a whole. Now, more than ever, we need to chase every lead we can.”
“What we’ve already seen in the deep ground scans… no human tech could have ever detected it.” He shook his head with wonder. “I don’t think anyone will believe it if it pans out. It may change our entire understanding of human and Taran history.”
She smiled. “More importantly, it may change our future.”
— — —
Delegating should have given Wil more time and mental space to deal with his most critical responsibilities, but he found himself preoccupied with thoughts about the Erebus. Too much was riding on his son’s conversation with the Lynaedans for the worries to fade into the background. He trusted Jason to get the job done—that wasn’t the issue; he was just used to being involved in the conversations firsthand.
I can’t do everything myself. Jason can never grow as a leader if I’m always there taking charge.
Wil knew he’d been a control-freak for much of his life. He consistently tried to take on too much and do everything himself. It wasn’t sustainable, and he’d burned out more than once over the years. Lately, he’d been making a concerted effort to let go and allow others to shine—especially when it came to shaping the next generation of leaders.
Requesting that Jason take point with the Lynaedans was a test not only of his son’s command aptitude but also a measure of Wil’s progress toward once and for all leaving behind his micromanagement tendencies. Their greatest challenges would soon be upon them, and he needed to trust others to fulfill their roles without his direct oversight.
Wil’s desktop lit up with an incoming communication from Jason’s handheld, and he immediately snapped to attention. He took the vidcall on the holoprojector above his desk.
“Hi, Jason. How did it go?”
His son smiled. “We have a deal. I needed to pull a little more political leverage than I’d intended, but that made the difference.”
Some of the weight that had been pressing on Wil’s chest began to lift. “That’s great news. Any indication of when they may be able to begin production?”
“They’d like to run their own short field trial first—just a week or so. Assuming that goes well, I think we can expect production-ready designs for several new core form factors by the end of the month.”
“Thank you, Jason. Well done.”
“Took name-dropping you to make it happen. I think they may have said ‘yes’ right away if you’d come yourself.”
“That would have introduced other problems.”
“I know. The point is, we’re good to go now.”
“Or at least moving in the right direction.” Wil took in a deep breath and let it out. “All right, get back here and we’ll go over the next steps. Pass on my appreciation and congratulations to Sabrina, as well.”
“Will do. See you soon.” Jason ended the vidcall.
Wil passed on the good news to Saera telepathically, and a few minutes later she joined him in his office.
“What a relief,” she said as she entered.
“I don’t want to celebrate just yet since there isn’t a production facility up and running, but having an agreement in place is certainly a big hurdle to have overcome.”
“It’s wonderful to see our son grow into this role,” Wil said.
“We got very lucky having two good kids.”
“It helps that they had a fantastic mother.”
“And dad. You were with them a lot more than I was when they were little.”
“A team effort.”
She smiled. “I’m proud of you for handing over the reins with this.”
“It’s good experience for Jason, and I can’t always do everything—as begrudgingly as I must admit that.”
“We do have bigger issues to worry about.”
He nodded. “Like what’s going on with the Erebus.”
“I still don’t fully understand how they interact with our reality,” Saera said. “Without that knowledge, how can we figure out a method to prevent an attack?”
“I’ve been trying to piece it together, but most of it is still hypothetical. It’s difficult to measure what we can’t readily observe.”
“Are there any threads worth chasing?”
“Well, I believe there’s a connection between our abilities and the aesen, so we have some sort of common ground with the Erebus in a roundabout way.”
She gave him a knowing look. “It really puts it all into perspective, doesn’t it? I’m sorry to admit that I’ve taken these abilities for granted… that I can always have instant access to power when I want it, the way I expect a light to come on when I flip its switch. As I learn more, it’s truly amazing that we can tap into those cosmic energies at all. We are Gifted in more ways than one.”
“It is remarkable,” Wil agreed. Though he hadn’t articulated his own abilities in terms of aesen until recently, the words were simply an expression of what he’d felt ever since his Awakening. He was connected to something bigger than himself, and that link was stronger for him than it was for most others. If nothing else, it was comforting to now have vocabulary to explain how and why he was different rather than being a mysterious anomaly.
“I’m shocked that there weren’t more studies before now about the Gifted and the apparent transdimensional connection to that ‘energy well’.”
Wil shrugged. “It wouldn’t surprise me to find out that the Priesthood had done a lot of research about it and kept those findings suppressed.”
She scoffed. “Yeah, for sure. They clearly knew there was life in higher dimensions capable of manipulating that cosmic power.”
“To that end, I’ve been thinking about how the Erebus use aesen,” Wil said. “I believe the Erebus still wield the aesen, just like we do. They’re not all-powerful beings.”
“They can do things with it that we can’t begin to fathom. If it’s all the same energy source, what makes them so exponentially more powerful?”
“It might be a matter of saturation. I’ve been thinking of the aesen like particles. Some people have a genetic propensity to attract those particles and become saturated by them. The higher the saturation level, the greater one’s Gifts, as enabled by access to the aesen energy. We appear to continually recharge our ‘power reserves’, so to speak, through a transdimensional connection to that aesen energy well. The Erebus just happen to have a very high capacity—and perhaps residing on a higher dimensional plane, they might be ‘closer’ to that raw energy source.”
She nodded. “So, if we’re saturated with the aesen particles and that’s what gives us our abilities, does that mean that we might be able to counteract what the Erebus do since we’re using the same base energy?”
“Maybe.” Truthfully, Wil wasn’t confident enough to give a more definitive answer. Everything he’d stated on the matter up to that point was hypothetical, and he wasn’t about to stake the Empire’s future on an educated guess without conducting further research.
“I’ll take ‘maybe’ over a definitive ‘no’,” Saera said. “It’d be amazing if we could use the Conquest’s TK weapon.”
“Aside from the obvious problem of us only having one ship like it—and it’s unlikely we’ll be able to get enough ateron to bu
ild more—we may have another issue with that,” Wil began.
Saera’s smiled faded. “What?”
“It’s possible that trying to focus an aesen-fueled energy-attack toward the Erebus would actually heal them, or at a minimum, do nothing at all.”
“Stars, you’re right.” She shook her head and sighed. “It’d be like giving them a concentrated shot of power-juice.”
“Or maybe not,” Wil emphasized. “The nature of the aesen is pure energy with infinite potential to be shaped into any form we can imagine. What I can’t begin to guess is at what level the energy’s use is ‘set’. Is it fully under our control once we’re saturated by it, or can the aesen be intercepted at any given moment?”
“The Erebus can clearly ‘un-make’ objects—and people.” She grimaced.
“Yes, but that’s once the aesen has been placed in a fixed state. I’m curious about when it’s more ‘raw’. For instance, what would happen if we were to charge the Conquest’s TK weapon from inside the Erebus? It might be possible to draw on their individual energy saturation, and we could then channel it away from them—like draining a battery.”
“Do you think it would be possible?”
He nodded. “Between the data we’ve recorded during Erebus encounters and the records we have about the Gate sphere, I believe we could modify the Conquest’s TK weapon to make it harmful to the Erebus.”
She nodded solemnly. “It’d be barbaric—like tapping into an artery and trying to bleed them dry.”
“I’d prefer to avoid that option. We’re trying to show them we’re worthy of respect. This would not be the way.”
“Yeah, hurting someone isn’t a good way to make friends.” She frowned. “Which is why the Gate tech was banned in the first place.”
“Correct.”
“And those Gates draw on aesen to power them, right?”
“That’s the working hypothesis.”
“How is that transdimensional energy transfer any different than when we use our Gifts?”