Humans did, however, have very little bias against consuming and using technology to every benefit imaginable.
Humans were the most creative in that regard.
Pieces of technology and interfaces got smaller and smaller, superconductors allowed power for these devices to become minimal requirements depending on requirements. The insertion of small capacity computing into the human body was a logical step.
Small chips and storage inset into the bones, powered by the human body’s bioelectric field.
Additions to the optic nerve to add visual interfaces manipulated my muscle and eyesight reactions. Linked to the processors, these became the primary point of any interface with any external hardware.
Touchpoints under the skin could transmit high bandwidth signals to wearable computing power. Additions to the capabilities required for different jobs, with the programs in the inserted chips able to adapt to all manipulation requirements.
Pilots didn’t need every new upgraded plane or starship to include the interface upgrades in the hardware. Their internal interface programs received the updates and seamlessly linked to the more modern technologies.
Scientists with improved computing, engineers and equipment, cars, databases, communications all the way into general life including gaming.
Sleep learning also came into play, visual and auditory stimulation of the brain placed information into the subconscious mind. Ready to be accessed and become part of memory and the skills portions when external events occurred.
Children were taught as they slept, then their early interfaces would prompt the practical use or interaction that brought the memories to the surface. Education proceeded at a phenomenal rate, specializations in medicine, engineering, sciences, and military applications would be able to catch up with the current standards in a week of rest.
One of the hurdles to consistent progress had been that newly educated generations of children had to relearn all the progress made to date before they could add their own initiative and innovation.
This shortened that period and added to the collective pool of progress in less time.
Genetically there were advances in correctional DNA splicing. Unlike the visions of superhuman beings, it was found that radical changes to DNA made fundamental changes to the human being. Some accepted and even pursued this to the point of becoming non-human.
Most DNA gene therapy removed diseases, strengthened the bodies to the peak of evolution and created the highest growth potential for the next generation of children to add to evolution. The evolved children were then analyzed, and those gene sequences stripped for the most positive impact to be placed in the next generation and so on.
Poverty and restrictions were removed over time, and all of humanity started to live longer, be healthier and enjoy bodies and minds that had much higher potential. The gene therapy didn’t remove the need to exercise and train the latent genes.
Athletes still had to train to use their improved bodies, intellectuals had to practice in mind based skills.
The understanding of delicate hormone and pharmaceutical interactions created a science that allowed people to manage personality, drive, projection of reactions to given environments and a host of other fight or flight based primal brain responses.
The military, in particular, used these to significant effect but so did explorers who needed to deal with new environments and cultures without reacting in harmful ways.
Materials sciences expanded to encompass many other alloys, the integration of new elements of the periodic table, and continued use of expensive theories made into hard infrastructure. Carbon Nanofibre was the first advancement to show the potential, then others followed for engineers as well as clothing.
Particularly wearable computing, added to by the subconscious learning mechanisms and gene therapy with hormone control and you had superior humans, just as these five now found.
Humans explored so many alternative power supplies in parallel development, designing clean energy but with a high material cost. Smaller containers with more complexity, the capacity to harness ambient power.
Ultimately though, the inclusion of exotic particles like neutrinos, tachyons and quantum properties led to the most significant achievement.
Gravitonics.
* *
What Connor had expected to happen that morning was not quite what ended up happening.
The first thing that occurred was that the five of them were both thirsty and hungry, on the previous two days, that hadn’t been as much on their minds, but today, they were.
So they dug into the crates under their bunk beds to drink from the Coca Cola provided sachets and, as Ormond put it, “partake of the grand fare of ration bars.”
Lekiso had agreed with him.
The packets of food bars were very similar to what almost any military would provide for its soldiers, no wasted carbs or space, the most nutritional value that could fit into the easiest-to-carry form, though they were also pleasantly surprised to find that these tasted nice and had the names on the labels.
Although the means of providing them with food and drink did pull out a host of theories about what kind of abduction had been done, the next priority was regular ablutions.
The trip through space and changes to their bodies must have had a prolonged effect for those first two times they’d woken up because this was also the first time any of them had needed the toilet.
The good news was that the docking arc provided multiple options for various species so long as an authenticated docking permit was submitted to unlock the door, which was probably to discourage squatters or any refugees traveling up and down the lifts to get to them.
An hour later, and all five of them were in the park entrance area, after discussion along the way about the further evidence that they were on some sort of military operation.
Taking into account their skills and equipment and the kinds of beds and rations provided, there was a lot of evidence that their abductors had organized action in mind.
But again, the conversation tapered off without much of a conclusion since they still had very few concrete facts to go on. So, they were back in the park, which, according to Marc’s scans, took up only a fraction of the inside of the planetoid-size chunk of rock.
Looking at it from the entrance, Connor could see how they hadn’t given it much regard the last time they were there.
Walkways and metal-plated passages went in all directions from the entrance, some curving in meandering paths into the alien grass hybrid that was growing up from transplanted soil through the main cavern the park was in.
They had taken a side path last time into a secluded area, and there were dozens of those. The refugee camp had grown along the paths and was entering the caves as more space became needed.
The main cavern that housed the park covered about half a dozen square miles hollowed initially out for the mining operation. Even from this distance, the old mining tunnels could be seen gaping from the far side.
What was weird, though, was that other tunnel openings were all over the inside cavern walls.
Then Connor realized that there was no gravity over there, as rudimentary knowledge from his implanted memories reminded him that artificial gravity required centrifugal rotation or the fake gravity generated by the floor plates.
The park itself had gravity plates on the walkways and embedded under the soil of the grass, but back along the cavern, the Domums had not installed gravity plates. It was easier to deal with strip mining in a low-to-zero-gravity environment, they had found and applied to profitable effect.
The light strip suspended from the cavern ceiling provided a uniform illumination over the entire park, the soft white light different from that of a yellow sun, giving the park an office feel.
Not that it seemed to bother the refugees much.
They had been organized into groups and had staked out areas all over the park. More of them must have come in since th
e humans’ last visit, as Connor couldn’t remember seeing so many in here before.
Most of the park area was covered all the way up to the back by the mining tunnels.
Connor considered their available options while Marc fiddled with his scans. Meriam was also working at one of her forearm pieces of equipment, with Lekiso and Ormond taking the lead. They were following a path towards the mining tunnels since the scans still needed to be closer.
“How is it going, Marc?” Connor asked.
The small man didn’t look up as he replied, “Uh, not much better yet. I can tell that there are dozens of tunnels, long tunnels, and they go out in all directions. Like this was a three-dimensional sphere, and the mining tunnels go right out to big hollowed-out areas, probably where the richest deposits were.
Then smaller tunnels branch off from those high tunnels to lesser deposits.
“But even with that rock all removed from these areas”—Marc waved a hand vaguely past his head as if to illustrate—“the remaining rock is dense, and the more of it between us and the innermost areas, the harder it is for our scanners to detect anything with accuracy.”
“Lovely. So, we’ll need to get in there and mess around in the dark until we find something?” Connor asked.
“Uh, probably.” Marc looked up at that thought, anxiety clear on his face.
“Don’t worry, bud. We’ll be really cautious,” Connor reassured him.
* *
“Keep the monitors running as long as you can,” Obragon Vax ordered the officer.
“Yes, sir,” the officer replied, his focus going back to his console.
The officer had called Obragon Vax over when the monitoring had notified them that the humans were leaving their airlock again. He had noted the sample case they were carrying and that they were headed towards the Enone Hub parkland.
It had been a silly idea by the original species who had bought the mining planetoid to create an area of plant life to provide relaxation in a more natural experience.
Surprisingly, it had been used, although now it was far more useful as an oxygen-rich area in which to house the constant influx of refugees still straining the available space in the Puzzle Box. If only he could get some of the owners of the buildings linked to the carriage network to allow refugees lodging.
But then, that was a different problem.
It seemed humans needed a long sleep cycle, almost eight hours according to the monitor program, unlike Domums, although the different Manors did make changes to those needs as well.
The Domums had been making use of the time, although he couldn’t discount that the humans may have been doing some kind of work of their own since they could tell nothing from the airlock or ship they were on.
The gang members had cooperated while undergoing interrogation techniques. They had explained that the Devourer sample had come from the park, and obviously, the humans had learned of this as well. It was the only explanation for their need to hike the distance towards the old mine tunnels that he could conclude.
It was a pity that they weren’t going to invade another criminal building, but then his information was also troubling.
If the Devourer were in the park, then he had a host of different problems, and besides, a communication going on right now would probably provide him some more criminal activity that he could act on. In the meantime, he needed to prepare as per protocol.
Obragon Vax stomped over to another officer in the command center.
“Pull up all records on the refugee numbers and correlate those we have sent to the park area for housing to the movement records in and out of the park. Also, run a scan of the visible areas of the park and perform a count. See if we have large numbers missing.”
“Yes, sir.”
The officer started the task immediately while Obragon Vax considered the implications of refugees having gone into the tunnels and how a single Devourer parasite could make use of so much available biological matter.
The big blue man felt his skin get goosebumps at the horror that might be in store.
* *
Kalinvar Lopokin listened with intense interest to what the insectoid was saying.
“Yes, sir, the humans are still docked at the Enone Hub and have since left their vessel and made their way to the park. I believe they walked through the entrance scanners not moments ago,” Izzix explained.
It had taken a lot of effort to find and forge new codes for the harbor master’s communication network.
The energy it had taken to learn the proper rules and protocols so that he wouldn’t be caught out, though, had served Kalinvar well, not only in understanding ways to smuggle goods in and out, but also to communicate flawlessly with the Dadarians who worked in the administration areas of the hubs.
He had done the work personally as a challenge to himself, something he enjoyed doing to show his subordinates quite how skilled one could be. Particularly how skilled and diligent one should be to be a step ahead of the Domums and the other galactic citizenship authorities.
His ability to stay ahead had been spotless—until Wonovar’s idiotic escapade in the refinery.
That loss, while the refinery was under investigation, was going to cost him.
But not as much as the reputational effect was costing him from the impact of these humans, among them the females who had caused him the first degree of direct harm. At any rate, Izzix was one of the Dadarian sources he could use to monitor many of the comings and goings on the Enone Hub, all under the official record, according to the Dadarian, of course.
So, nothing was reported to the Domums, a great way to snub the nose of Obragon Vax if the commander every found out.
That Domum had caused many of the Lanillan families operating on the Puzzle Box a lot of damage, reputational and financial. But in some ways, Kalinvar would thank the commander for culling the weak and proving just how capable those remaining really were.
Surviving in such a climate was a proud achievement for the Lopokin family, one they used to significant effect in their dealings on other worlds and space stations.
If the commander only knew the effect he’d had, he might have been able to gain some vaunted Domum honor from it. But Kalinvar would never allow that information to get out unless he knew who the replacement would be.
Commander Obragon, he could handle; a replacement would have to be less capable to be useful to him.
“Thank you, Harbormaster Izzix, for your attentive efforts as always. This concludes the summary for today. You may continue about your normal work.”
Kalinvar maintained a formal tone and way of speaking. Having set up the daily updates with their drudge and drivel so that he could wean out the specks of useful information.
Today, of course, it was all about the humans, but he had persevered through the entire report so that there would be no suspicion, as small a chance as that was for the well-ordered mind of a Dadarian.
But still, the humans might only be transient—terminally so if he had his way—and his operations needed to continue.
No need to disrupt this information source unnecessarily.
“Yes, controller, thank you for the compliment. I bid you a good cycle and wish upon you the hope that it is prosperous as well.” Izzix sounded quite sincere.
Sometimes, Kalinvar worried about that; this Dadarian indeed behaved strangely for an example of its species ever since it had started studying other cultures.
Curiosity, such a strange trait for one of the insectoids.
He closed the connection and then tapped in the code to connect with another of the Lopokin enforcers. The link was answered, and as soon as it was established, the gravelly voice from the other end replied.
“Yes, master?”
“Get your group together, Engestine. I have a job for you in the park,” Kalinvar ordered.
“Come now, master, you know we don’t do those search and capture jobs.” Engestine’s voice spoke volumes about the wast
e of time that would be.
“I know, Engestine, which is why this is not the case. This one is far better suited to your particular talents.”
“Oh? Well then, tell me more, master.”
* *
Lekiso had been in abandoned mines before while hiding with “freedom fighters” in her homeland.
They had used caves and old mine shafts to strike in guerilla raids against the opposition: the white capitalists, current dictator, or just about anyone else they had picked a fight with. She had commented on the lack of support beams in the tunnels. Connor too had spent some time in a mine, and he had agreed.
But Marc had sparked their implanted memory knowledge.
According to the science behind it, the tunnels didn’t need supports, or at least not supports with as much strength as on a planet. The chunk of rock that was the size of a small planet was still smaller than that of Earth’s moon.
So, its gravity was much less, a fact they had all noticed as soon as they’d stepped off the gravity plating.
The singlesuits had infused them with anti-nausea and vertigo drugs to help with the feeling of their stomachs wanting to float up out of their mouths. Not that they were utterly weightless; the surrounding mass provided something like an eighth of Earth’s gravity.
But it was drawn to the core of the planetoid, which put it at an angle slightly forward as they went through the tunnels as if someone was pulling gently on them from the front and slightly downwards.
So, effective movement in the mines meant that they drifted on short hops that carried them more forward and down than letting them float up, which helped on their first number of attempts at moving to keep them from banging their heads on the ceiling.
The tunnels didn’t need support, because they wouldn’t come down under their own weight. Whatever support had been put in was then also easy to remove, and had been, leaving the tunnels bare and lifeless: no communications nodes, no network, and no lights.
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