Last of the Treasure Hunters

by Warren Dean

  As a teenager, her academic exploits, particularly in subjects such as science and mathematics, came to the attention of NASA, and she was offered an internship. Having completed school at age fifteen, she accepted, and moved to Langley where she was pleasantly surprised to come into contact with other young prodigies. Initially homesick, she came close to going home a few times, but found that she couldn't leave without first exploring the massive amount of information she found at her fingertips.

  So she stayed, and began collecting university degrees in her spare time like they were confetti.

  Her access to NASA's network was restricted, of course, but with people like Ant around, those restrictions didn't hold for long. By the time her superiors learned that she was surfing their network day and night, she had already memorised huge chunks of data, a lot of it classified, and they were faced with a problem. The information in her head was not just sensitive; it could be dangerous in the wrong hands.

  The director, Jim Carney, was faced with a difficult decision. What she had done was both illegal and a breach of trust, but firing her was not a viable option. That would just put her at risk of being exploited by parties unfriendly towards the United States. And incarcerating her couldn't be countenanced either. Imagine the headlines which would accompany the imprisonment of a sixteen-year-old girl from Korea for the crime of being too clever?

  So Carney did the only thing he could, he offered her a permanent job. Officially, she would remain an intern until she came of age, but behind the scenes she was the head of a program responsible for researching the enhanced abilities of people like herself. By the time she was nineteen, she had recruited, studied, and trained dozens of prodigies to optimise their talents. Some of her trainees were deployed to other departments within NASA itself, or to various government agencies, although she always kept a group of fifteen to twenty of the most talented individuals around. Officially tagged as research assistants, they became Carney's unofficial think-tank.

  And now, for the time being, they were the Journeyman's unofficial think-tank.

  The Constructor's voice broke into her thoughts, telling her to disengage, and she felt like a drug addict being asked to surrender her syringe. She resisted the urge to browse through a few more things, and swam over to the side of the cell. As she did so, the fluid began draining away and, by the time she pushed up against the membrane, she was completely dry. The membrane opened at her touch and let her out.

  The room seemed much brighter than it had earlier, and she suddenly felt faint. She swayed and would have fallen had the Journeyman not grasped her upper arm with a giant hand. Squinting through half-shut eyes in the glare, she noticed for the first time that his hand had seven digits. Five thick, strong fingers, each the size of her calf, curled over her arm, while two opposable thumbs slid underneath it. Although the grip was gentle, the hand looked powerful enough to snap her arm off like a twig.

  She steadied herself and looked around, trying to shade her eyes with a hand. There was no sign of the other Nerds. "Where is everyone?" she asked. "And why is it so bright in here?"

  "When the other younglings emerged, I took them to their sleeping quarters. You were so immersed that I wasn't able to reach you until now. And this is the light of day here at the Repository. You have been in the 'hive for almost half of the day/night cycle. That is why you feel so weak."

  "You mean, when we arrived it was night time? But it was so bright outside…"

  The Journeyman released her arm and motioned for her to follow him. "Come, I will take you to the living quarters. There you can have a meal. I will explain along the way."

  They left the 'hive and entered a long corridor which curved gently into the distance.

  "As you might imagine," said the Journeyman, "the Repository requires a great deal of power in order to function. When it was built, we deliberately chose to put it on a planet which was closer to its star than is optimal for sentient life. That way, we were able to ensure a plentiful supply of radiation for energy, and there were no native life forms to be displaced by our workings.

  "As time went by, the Repository expanded and outgrew even that abundance of power. The planet's night was limiting the amount of time available to harvest the starlight, even though we built receptors all around the planet. So we came up with the idea of creating a form of daytime at night. Billions of light-sails were deployed in orbit around the planet. The sails collect light during the day, and radiate it back to the surface at night. That way, receptors on the ground are able to harvest radiation all day and all night."

  "That explains the silver sky," mused Azee. "But how are we able to breathe here? And if we're so close to the star, why aren't we being fried by its harmful rays?"

  "There is a field around the Repository which filters harmful radiation. It also encloses an adjustable atmosphere. Before you arrived, I sampled the gases of your planet's atmosphere through fold-space, and then replicated the mixture here."

  "But what about the other, er, people who work here?" Azee asked him. "Are they able to breathe the same air we do?"

  Before answering, the Journeyman took a turning, and they arrived at a large doorway shaped like a giant submarine hatch. The hatch stood open and she could hear the voices of the other Nerds beyond.

  "No-one else lives here," he said, "only me. And my proboscis is able to sift what it needs from the available atmosphere."

  He turned and went back the way he had come.

  She stood and stared after him, trying to comprehend how lonely it must be to be the only living being on a whole planet.

  Eventually she gave up and stepped though the hatch to re-join her companions.

  TEN DAYS LATER

  For the first time, Azee began to feel a sense of hopelessness. For about ten days, she and the other Nerds had explored the Repository, but they were no nearer finding any answers than they had been at the beginning. On the contrary, each day the size of the task confronting them seemed to expand exponentially.

  Part of the problem was the sheer volume of information available. The Repository comprised the knowledge of thousands of different civilisations accumulated over hundreds of millennia. Data was recorded in many different forms, cyphers, and languages. These, at least, were not a complete barrier, as most of them contained readily understandable visual imagery and mathematical integers.

  More problematic was the nature of the information itself. The Repository did not reduce data to code as a computer on Earth would. With an entire planet at their disposal for storage purposes, and the ability to instantly access remote data through fold-space, the Constructors had not felt the need to reduce everything to the smallest possible size. As a result, much of the information was in its original form. Users interacted with it virtually, experiencing it in real time, which made searching extremely time consuming.

  Ant Jennings immediately hatched a plan to design an operating system, but with nothing resembling code to manipulate, the arch-hacker was soon stymied.

  The Journeyman helped his new charges along as best he could. To avoid overwhelming them with too many new concepts at once, he introduced them to one thing at a time. The day after their arrival, he taught them how to conduct a telepathic mindmeld, an activity they took to like ducks to water.

  The next day, he showed them how to levitate, and then watched in consternation as they went berserk. They hopped, hovered, swooped, collided, crashed, and somersaulted, all to the accompaniment of a constant barrage of whoops, howls, and epithets, both vocal and telepathic. He was forced to retire to the far side of the Repository to get away from the chaos.

  The following day, he decided that his charges needed to take things a bit more seriously, and raised the thorny issue of longevity. He explained how an infusion worked, its long term effects, and the pros and cons as he saw them. The response of the individual Nerds was predictably diverse. Some, like Napoleon Smith, opted for the infusion immediately, while others, concerned about out
living loved ones, refused. The remainder were undecided, and the Journeyman did not pressure anyone to make an immediate decision.

  He had promised that they would be entitled to return home once their task was completed, successfully or otherwise, and he made it clear that each individual was at liberty to keep his or her natural lifespan intact. The offer of an infusion he left open-ended. Anyone who wished to accept was welcome to do so at any time.

  Initially, Azee considered herself to be in the 'no thanks' camp, but the more she learned of the Repository, the more she thought that it would be nice to have more time to trawl through what, to her, was the ultimate treasure trove. Every day, the Journeyman or one of the others had to pry her out of her cell when it was time to eat or sleep.

  But even she was glad of the interruption when the visitors arrived. The Constructor called telepathically from his private chambers, asking the Nerds to go up and meet them. Other than their host, they hadn't seen another living being since leaving Earth. Most of them disengaged from the 'hive and made their way to the roof, where they gathered excitedly under the silvery night sky. The Journeyman had not told them who it was that was expected, and the Nerds were not shy with their speculation.

  "It's about time…"

  "For what…?"

  "Now we're going to see some proper aliens…"

  "Garbage, it'll be the astro's Carney's sending…"

  "Have you been walking around with your eyes closed…?"

  "Furrowface doesn't count…"

  "Don't call him that, it's rude…!"

  "You know he can hear us, don't you…"

  "He doesn't scare me…"

  "Quiet, retards, the portal is glowing…"

  "Have you seen his hands, they could crush…"

  "I saw his teeth once, when he yawned…"

  "I wonder if this portal is permanently tuned to the one on Earth…"

  "It's not a radio, you know…"

  "Constructors can't yawn…"

  "They can, that flap is detachable…"

  "Portals can connect to different places…"

  "How do you know that…?"

  "Ouch, the light is hurting my eyes…"

  "Then don't stare at it, genius…"

  "I saw a vid about them in the Suppository…"

  "It always does that just before someone comes through…"

  "It's 'Repository', you disgusting…!"

  "Why did you look at me when you said that…?"

  "I'm not looking at you; I'm looking away from the portal…"

  "Tomayto, tomahto…"

  "Food, where…?"

  "Can everyone be quiet for a minute…"

  "I'm not talking about food, I'm just making a point…"

  "…there might be someone important coming through…"

  "Now you've set him off about food again…"

  "I doubt they're all that important, if Furrowface isn't here…"

  "Too late, someone's here already…"

  "It's a little red-haired girl…"

  "Will Charlie Brown be next…?"

  "Who is she…?"

  "Give her some room, she's still a bit woozy…"

  "She's the envoy, remember…"

  "Why would Charlie Brown be with the envoy…?"

  "Charlie Brown isn't real, you know…"

  "She's trying to say something…"

  "Can everyone shut up about Charlie Brown…"

  "Oh, were we speaking aloud…?"

  "Now there are two of them…"

  "It's that hayseed who came to NASA…"

  "…Master, and apprentice…"

  "…when we found the Pineapple…"

  "Oh, very funny…"

  "The guy from Boston…?"

  "No, my uncle was from Boston…"

  "What has your uncle got to do with it…?"

  "Is someone going to say something…"

  "We are saying something…"

  "Is Charlie Brown your uncle…?"

  "No, I mean say something to them…"

  "I'm hilarious, aren't I…"

  "Yes, but not in the way you believe…"

  Connor staggered groggily away from the portal. "Er, hello everyone, it's nice to see you again," he said.

  "Doesn't he know it's rude to interrupt…"

  "They have no manners in Boston…"

  "He's not from Boston, he's from Ireland…"

  "Oh, well, that's even worse…"

  Azee shouldered her way forward, embarrassment at her colleagues' antics overcoming her natural reticence. "Please ignore them," she said. "They aren't very polite."

  Connor managed a grin. "I remember," he said. "By the way, everyone, this is Christina."

  When called upon to converse with normal people, the Nerds' bravado evaporated. One or two of them muttered vague greetings.

  Christina's expression could best be described as perplexed.

  "Hi Ant, how are you?" Connor called out, spotting the hacker hanging back in his usual fashion.

  "Hey man," came the laconic reply.

  "--Bring our visitors to the dining area, if you would,--" boomed the mind-voice of the Journeyman. "--I shall greet them there.--"

  Azee acknowledged him and took up station closer to the portal, waiting for its light to fade. The rest of the Nerds gravitated towards the railing, so that they could look out over the Repository. Ant beckoned the newcomers to join them.

  "I've heard of the Repository many times," said Christina, her eyes sparkling in the brilliance reflected from the city below. "But this is the first time I've seen it."

  Azee continued to watch the portal and, once its light had gone completely, she made the hand gestures the Journeyman had shown her. Then she called the others, and led the way through. The portal spilled them out into the refectory adjacent to the Nerds' quarters.

  Their host was not there yet, so the Nerds took the opportunity to tuck into some lunch.

  The newcomers were feeling too queasy to eat and sat together in a corner to recover from their fold-space trip. "What's this 'suppository' they were speaking of?" Christina asked Connor in a low voice.

  Hovering nearby, Azee overheard the question and winced. "They're talking garbage, as usual," she said hurriedly, and gave a sigh of relief as the Journeyman strode into the room. He greeted Christina warmly, and Azee was surprised to feel a little pang of jealousy. Until then, she had been the focus of much of the Constructor's attention, and she hadn't realised how much she valued it.

  A little annoyed with herself for her reaction, she began to walk away, but the Journeyman called her back. "As you know," said the Constructor to her, "Christina hails from your own world. Although she has spent most of her life away, I believe that she can bring a unique perspective to the challenge we all face."

  "Pleased to meet you," said Azee meekly.

  "And I you," replied the diminutive Spaniard. "And this," she continued, addressing the Journeyman, "is the young man I told you of, Ancient… er…"

  "Ah yes," boomed the Constructor, "the youngling who was imaginative enough to think of sending Azee and her companions to me. You are a credit to your race." He clapped Connor lightly on the shoulder – a gesture he must have learnt from observing the Nerds – almost knocking the Irishman off his feet.

  "Er, thanks, I think," grimaced Connor, gingerly rubbing his shoulder.

  "When you are rested, Azee will show you how to use the 'hive, and integrate you into our program."

  "We have a program?" asked Azee.

  "Indeed," he said. "Since you and the other younglings began interacting with the Repository, I have been monitoring your activities so as to gain some understanding of your thought processes. They are more chaotic than I anticipated, but I have tailored a directive which will assist in excluding a great deal of the extraneous information your queries are currently attracting. From now on, you should be able to proceed more swiftly."

  He spoke to Connor for a few minutes, asking h
im one or two polite questions, and then bade them all farewell.

  After the giant had left the room, Azee offered Connor and Christina something to eat, which they declined. Then she took them to the 'hive, leaving the Nerds behind so that she could speak to the visitors in peace. She spent the rest of the night showing them how the 'hive worked and tried to answer their questions as best she could.

  By the time they got back to the refectory, day had dawned, and the Nerds had gone to bed.

  "You sleep during the day?" asked Connor.

  Azee launched into an explanation of the whole day/night thing. "So, because the light at night is more comfortable, we sleep during the day. I'll show you how to darken your sleeping quarters."

  "When does the Journeyman sleep?" asked Christina.

  Azee shrugged. "I'm not sure that he does," she replied. "Other than when he is having an infusion, he always seems to be busy with something."

  While they were speaking, they helped themselves to some food and sat at a table to eat.

  "This is good," said Connor through a mouthful. "Who cooks?"

  "Food preparation is automated," said Azee. "The refectory provides whatever meals we want whenever we want them."

  "That's the most awesome thing ever!" said Connor.

  Azee and Christina both looked at him blankly.

  "Oh, except for the Repository, and space travel, and the whole alien civilisation thing, of course," he said sheepishly.

  They all laughed.

  For the next few days, Azee spent a lot of time with the diminutive Spaniard and the young Irishman. They were both fascinated by the Repository, but weren't as quick to understand things as the Nerds had been, and Azee enjoyed being their tutor. In that time, a strange thing happened. At first, the Irishman's brash humour was daunting and the Spaniard's reserved demeanour intimidating but, as time went by, she found herself liking the two of them more and more. For someone who had spent the last three years of her life with no-one but a bunch of socially odious prodigies for company, it was refreshing to become friends with a couple of normal people.