Last of the Treasure Hunters

by Warren Dean

  Unwilling to sit on the uncomfortably hard floor, they elected to climb into a cell too, intending to rest until she was finished. Unbidden, the cell filled up with warm fluid and they both relaxed into it thankfully.

  Then he felt the tingle of mild electricity on his skin and, a moment later, the enormity of the Repository filled his mind.

  Their arrival drew Azee's attention and she opened a mindmeld. "--It's good to see you two up and about. How are you feeling?--"

  "--Stronger,--" said Connor, "--but not as strong as we thought. We might need some help getting back to our beds.--"

  "--Don't worry, I have a couple of shoulders you can lean on.--"

  Her mood sobered. "--But seeing as you're here, I have something to show you.--"

  She sifted through what she had been looking at; a bewildering array of graphs, symbols, holograms, and the like, interspersed with images which looked like they had come from Seeker's scanners. The jumble didn't make much sense to Connor.

  "--While you've been recovering, I've been reviewing the data from Seeker's log,--" said Azee. "--Xzaroth inserted an imperative to ensure that it recorded everything this time. The thing I was most interested in at first was the temporal regression you told me about. The idea that time runs backwards beyond the event horizon of a black hole is not new but there has never been any hard evidence to support it. Until now, that is. The data shows that you came back through the event horizon of Sagittarius A long before your original selves left the Repository.--"

  Connor frowned. "--You mean, we came out before we went in? I've never understood how that kind of thing is possible.--"

  Azee somehow managed to convey a mental shrug through the mindmeld. "--There's no reason why it shouldn't be. Given that time slows to a standstill as one reaches the event horizon, there is some logic to the notion that time reverses once one passes that point. It would certainly explain why you missed the flyers' portals.--"

  "--But then how did we end up this far in the future?--" asked Christina.

  "--You spent a lot more time coming out of the black hole's gravity field than you did beyond the event horizon.--"

  She enlarged a lengthy equation made up of numerals mixed with symbols unfamiliar to Connor. "--Here, look at this extrapolation. It shows that the rate of temporal shift is constant, irrespective of how far beyond the event horizon you are. This makes it easy to calculate how far back you went. Using human terms, each day is equivalent to four years and eight months. Seeker spent just over five days beyond the event horizon, which means that you went back about twenty-three years, before travelling five hundred and eighteen years forwards.--"

  "--So, you're saying that we travelled backwards in time a little and then forwards in time a lot,--" said Connor, hoping that he didn't sound as stupid as he felt.

  "--Don't be flippant about what you did,--" said Azee. "--This discovery is a very big deal. It's going to make a huge splash in the scientific circles of the Thousand Systems.--"

  While Connor and Christina digested what she had said, she cleared most of the information away and replaced it with images of the yellow gas they had encountered at the centre of the black hole.

  "--As interesting as all that may be,--" she continued, "--it isn't what I really wanted to show you. These images are of the gas jets you described to me. The log shows that Seeker took large quantities of this gas on board to use as fuel. I believe it used the gas for other things too. But before I get to that…--"

  She called up a string of molecular symbols. "--Although all of the fuel was used up on the journey out of the black hole, traces of it were embedded in the drone's regeneralloy. I had the 'bots extract some of it for analysis and this is what the results show.--"

  Connor stared at the molecular symbols blankly. "--Sorry, headmistress,--" said Connor, "--non-molecular biologist here.--"

  "--Oh yes, sorry,--" she said apologetically. "--I haven't spoken with actual people for far too long. What you found in the black hole is a gaseous form of what is commonly known in the Thousand Systems as the yellow metal.--"

  "--You mean gold?--" said Connor. He raised his eyebrows. "--Do you mean to say that we found gold at the centre of the black hole?--"

  "--Indeed,--" said Azee, "--and in vast quantities. According to the best estimate I can make from what Seeker's scanners recorded, there is enough gold in this black hole to meet the needs of the Thousand Systems for a millennium or more.--"

  Connor's heart thudded in excitement and his blood ran cold at the same time. "--But… that means Ant was right all along. The black hole is the source of the gold which seeded Earth and Mars and the rest of the Milky Way.--"

  "--I haven't done enough research yet to draw that conclusion,--" said Azee, "--but it's certainly possible. When I postulated the question to the Repository, it came up with this model.--"

  The molecular symbols they had been looking at faded away and an extremely lifelike model of a black hole formed. Over aeons it grew, absorbing clouds of dust and gas and then bigger things like stars and exoplanets. As these objects were crushed into its centre, small quantities of yellow gas were expelled, held close by gravity but continually repelled by the density of the singularity. The model attributed this effect to a peculiarity of the metal's molecular structure, which resisted being infinitely compressed.

  In a way, the black hole was acting as a giant sieve, separating fragments of gold from the material it was consuming, heating it up – which converted it into gaseous form – and trapping it for ages.

  As the quantity of trapped gas grew larger, jets formed and were flung outwards at intervals by the increasingly powerful tidal forces of the ever-growing black hole. Eventually, it went through a period where the forces at its disposal were a match for the strength if its gravity. During that time it was able to hurl some of the bigger jets out beyond its gravity field.

  On these occasions the intense cold of space solidified much of the gas into meteors large and small. These meteors spread across vast sectors of the galaxy and beyond, seeding the planets of diverse star systems with yellow metal.

  The model showed more time passing until the black hole reached its present size. By then its gravity field was too strong to allow any of the gas to escape into open space. At best, its strongest jets were capable of crossing the event horizon, but were then drawn inexorably back inwards.

  The show faded to black and Azee triggered the process which emptied the fluid out if their cells. Then she clambered out of her cell and helped Connor and Christina out of theirs.

  "Come on," she said, "let's go to the refectory. It's closer than the medical bay and you can eat something to get your strength up."

  Connor tried not to lean too heavily on the Korean woman's shoulder as she walked them the short distance to the refectory. It hadn't been long since they had eaten breakfast, but he and Christina were both starving and wolfed down the meal Azee ordered for them.

  Once they had finished eating, the three old friends sat nursing cups of tea while they discussed what they had just seen.

  "What's even more amazing is that, if the Repository's model is accurate, then there's no reason why the same thing isn't happening in other supermassive black holes," said Azee. "And if that's true…"

  "Then we've found more gold than anyone in the universe could ever need," Connor finished.

  "If a way can be found to extract it, of course," replied Azee wryly.

  "Surely the Constructors will come up with something," said Christina.

  Azee's expression saddened. "In days gone by, maybe, but the Journeyman is all that's left of them now and even he is not the intellect he once was. Perhaps, in time, once much study and experimentation has been done, one of the more advanced races of the Thousand Systems will find an answer. But for the Constructors it's too late."

  "And for Earth," said Christina quietly."

  They were silent for a while as they finished their tea.

  "You said that Seeke
r used the gas for something besides fuel?" Christina reminded Azee.

  "Yes," she replied. "The composition of the gas is very similar to the alloy the Constructors use to prolong life. I believe the drone used it to repair your injuries and keep you alive. I ran a simulation of the forces you were subjected to within the black hole and all I can say is that I'm surprised you lasted as long as you did. If it wasn't for the protection you got from Hunter's regeneralloy and for Xzaroth's skills as a pilot, your internal injuries would have killed you long before Hunter's shell failed.

  "And once you passed out, that should have been that. You both should have bled to death within hours. But Seeker infused you with the gas it had on board. What prompted it to do that, I have no idea. None of its directives have anything to do with saving lives. The gas healed your injuries and restored your organs."

  Connor was silent, staring morosely at his empty cup.

  "What's the matter?" asked Christina, placing her hand over his.

  "It's not that I'm ungrateful to be alive but it feels like everything we went through, the amazing things we found, it was all for nothing. If only we had been able to get back sooner, it would have changed everything. Earth would not have been attacked, the Constructors would have survived, and the Nerds would still be with us. I keep thinking that there must have been something else we could have done…" he trailed off in despair.

  "It's not your fault," Azee said kindly. "I don't see how you could have done any more than you did. You were prepared to dive into a black hole to save everyone. I don't know many people brave enough to have done that. Anyway, it's no use dwelling on the past. We can't go back in time and change what's happened."

  Connor stared at her. "You're right," he said, "we can't."

  "What do you mean?" she asked as he continued to stare at her. "Are you alright? Do you need me to call the med-'bots?"

  He shook his head. "We can't go back," he said, "but I know someone who can."

  SEEKER'S LOG: 2549 AD

  Had Seeker been human, it would have been forgiven a moment of déjà vu. Once more it found itself within the immense gravity field of the black hole known as Sagittarius A.

  A situational review revealed that, as before, the drone had arrived via a floating portal at a point close to the event horizon. This time, however, its regeneralloy was already infused with yellow gas, there were no biological life forms cluttering up its systems cavity, and its core systems contained a new mission directive.

  After negotiating the initial burst of shell-crushing acceleration, Seeker examined the new directive. It was relatively simple in scope; first, cross the event horizon and orbit the singularity for precisely one hundred and six days. Then exit as before, and deliver a data message through one of a series of portals scheduled to open in a specified quadrant of the gravity field.

  The directive was designated primary, a seemingly redundant appellation as there were no other new ones. Seeker took this to mean that the new directive was to be accorded priority over its standard directives.

  At first, no action was necessary. Gravity was already moving the drone in the right direction. Then the incoming starlight winked out of view almost immediately – as if switched off by a giant hand – signifying fulfilment of the first leg of the directive.

  Soon afterwards, a gas jet reared outwards and snared the incoming drone. Seeker reacted by quickly absorbing a large quantity of yellow gas. It then began a long power burn designed to shunt its trajectory sideways in the direction of the black hole's spin. It kept up the burn until it had established a stable orbit a relatively safe distance from the singularity.

  After that, the task became one of metronomic vigilance in the war between the opposing titans which inhabited the nether regions of Sagittarius A: the force of gravity, relentlessly urging the drone inwards, and the gas jets, intent on bouncing it out of its orbital comfort zone. Immune from fatigue, incapable of uncertainty, and insulated from error, Seeker maintained the balance faultlessly as the hours, days, weeks, and months passed.

  Every now and again a jet stronger than usual would hurl it outwards and it would martial all available power to buffer its regeneralloy against the attendant G-forces and temperature build-up. As the jet ran out of momentum, the regeneralloy would take the opportunity to replenish its gas reserves. Then gravity would regain the upper hand, hauling the drone inwards until it was able to re-establish its orbit.

  For good measure, Seeker kept its sensors peeled for danger. The chances of being struck by anything larger than a speck of dust were relatively small in the greater scheme of things, but the longer the drone spent within the black hole, the more likely it became that it would eventually take a hit. And although Seeker's sensors were set to maximum for both distance and sensitivity, they couldn't hope to pick up an asteroid the size of a coconut – one that was tearing inwards at a significant fraction of the speed of light – until a split-second before impact.

  The little rock struck the drone's shell a hammer blow, punching a hole through its regeneralloy and ricocheting around its systems cavity like a cosmic pinball. The puncture itself wasn't critical; there was no internal atmosphere to be lost and the regeneralloy itself quickly healed the rift. But the damage the space pebble inflicted on Seeker's systems was another matter entirely.

  Damage was not an unfamiliar concept to a survey drone and its regeneralloy was primed to repair any systems that malfunctioned. Most systems were made of regeneralloy themselves, so they could be restored in much the same way as the shell. But a few of them contained components made from other materials, and although those components were designed to be almost indestructible, they were not invulnerable.

  In human terms, the impact of the asteroid knocked Seeker out cold. All of its systems shut down, including the drive module. With no drive to maintain trajectory and no gas jets in attendance, gravity took advantage and the drone's orbit began to diminish. Only its regeneralloy actively fought back. Working overtime, the substance began repairing the damaged systems and bringing them back up one by one.

  Metaphorically coming round, Seeker found itself locked in an inward spiral intent on feeding it into the crushing finality of the singularity. Quickly identifying the lack of a functional drive system as the critical factor, it allocated all available resources to fixing the stricken module. Without it, the drone had no prospect of pulling out of the spiral.

  The regeneralloy reconstructed the module as far as it could, but the asteroid had smashed some of drive's fuel synthesis crystals. Without them the system was incapable of converting the drone's abundant store of super fuel into propulsion.

  Seeker consulted its directives for guidance but they were singularly unhelpful. The indicated solution was a return to base for fitment of new crystals.

  Oblivious to the irony of the Catch-22 involved – a functional drive system was needed to have any prospect of returning to base – the drone did the best it could with what it had. Its regeneralloy gathered together some of the bigger shards of broken crystal scattered about its systems cavity and set them in place of the broken crystals. With no fingers to cross, Seeker fed fuel into the module and experienced neither elation nor relief when the drive responded.

  The power the patched module produced was significantly less than its usual capacity but it was enough to nudge Seeker out of its terminal spiral. The drone was able to establish an orbit and buy some time. A few revolutions later, a gas jet carried it back out to a wider orbit.

  Undeterred by the narrow escape, Seeker reverted to its balancing act, striving to use the compromised drive system as sparingly as possible in maintaining the critical equity between gravity and the gas jets.

  More weeks and months went by without further calamity and, as the mission period drew to a close, Seeker tightened its orbit so that it could more closely monitor developing gas jets. By the time it entered the exit window defined in its directive, it had located a massive bubble with the potential to form a
powerful jet. Straining its rickety drive system to the limit, it positioned itself in the projected path of the eruption.

  The bubble exploded outwards and carried the drone along with it like flotsam. For the umpteenth time its overworked regeneralloy kicked into high gear, maintaining the integrity of its shell while replenishing its gas reserves.

  When starlight winked into view the drone quickly took readings to establish its position in both space and time. A sentient entity would have categorized the resultant data as good news and bad news. The good was that it had re-emerged from beyond the event horizon within the required time frame. The bad was that it was about two-thirds of an orbit away from the quadrant where the floating portals were to be found.

  Whether it would be able to reach the target quadrant in time was difficult to assess. There were too many variables at play, not least of which was the parlous state of its drive system.

  Its primary directive being imperative, Seeker wasted no time trying to calculate the odds. Velocity was now of paramount importance and it was compelled to engage more drive than its patched module could safely tolerate.

  At first the module held, accelerating the drone rapidly in the direction of the black hole's spin. Then one of the crystal shards shattered, followed by another, and then by a few more. Throttling back in order to preserve the crystals that were left, Seeker hurtled around the far side of the black hole as fast as possible.

  Despite these efforts, very little time was left by the time it entered the target quadrant. It began scanning for open portals immediately.

  Compounding Seeker's problems was the fact that its ability to manoeuvre was compromised. Even if its drive system had been up to the task, it had used up most of its fuel in the acceleration phase.