“I’ve seen enough of this system,” Daniel said. “Let’s move on.”
He walked in front of Jason as he made to leave the Tridar display, his hand casually brushing the glass case. The tiny chip fell into his hand, and he walked back out into the corridor. They spent another hour at the museum, trying to seem interested in what they were looking at. Both men were tired and so decided to cut their visit short. They made their way down to the communications unit and called Norixum. He was busy and they told him they would be fine returning to their room alone.
As they walked outside, Daniel could smell the ocean. There was a light breeze blowing and the trees, with their purple leaves, were waving noisily. Daniel decided this might be their best opportunity to talk.
“You think we’re still being monitored?” he said quietly, his voice barely audible above the sound of the wind in the trees.
“Yes, for certain,” Jason said. “I think they want to see where we’ll go on our own.”
“Do you think they can hear us?”
“That’s hard to say. There’s a lot of ambient noise out here. It would be difficult for our technology, but maybe not for theirs. What about their ESP abilities?”
“I talked to a friend,” Daniel said discretely. “I don’t think they can do it without our knowing they’re doing it. It’s that strange buzzing sensation and I don’t feel that right now, do you?”
Jason shook his head.
“When we feel it we need to think of something normal, something that would not raise any red flags.”
“Alright, that should be easy enough. You sure they can’t explore our minds?”
“Pretty sure, but in the end we’ll just have to take some chances. Are you up for that?”
“Yes, I agree. Do you believe all this?”
“No, I feel like we’re being set up.”
“So what do we do about it?” Jason asked.
“I don’t know yet. We’ve got to find a way to get this information back to Earth, for one thing.”
“What was on that chip?”
“Access to their technology. We’re going to have to find a way to smuggle it back home, along with some type of data reader.”
“How are you planning to get something like that?”
“I’m just going to ask for one.”
Jason laughed and they continued their stroll. They were nearing the building where they were staying, and Daniel moved over to the railing separating the walkway from the trees. He was looking through a gap in the buildings and leaning on the railing. Jason joined him and stood with his back to the polished metal rail. He leaned back and propped his elbows on the metal so that Daniel was facing one direction and Jason the other.
“We’re outclassed,” Jason said. “Even if we can reawaken people from the plague, they can just come through their transporter and wipe us out again.”
“Yes, we don’t even know if we’ll be able to develop their technology. They may use materials that we don’t have.”
“So what do we do?”
“We’ve got to buy ourselves some time.”
“It could take decades just to explore what’s on that chip, how do you think we are going to buy that much time?”
“We could if we take out their transporter,” said Daniel softly.
Jason snorted, as if the idea was ludicrous.
“Of course we’d have to take out their space station, too, or they’d just rebuild the transporter.”
“Okay,” Jason said, “we might could do that if we have enough high level explosives. But how are you planning on doing that? Last time I checked, New Washington didn’t have NASA back on its feet yet.”
“I don’t know,” Daniel replied. “Our friends will have to help—”
He stopped talking the moment he felt his brain start to buzz and immediately wondered about the strange looking aliens they had seen at the restaurant. He mentally asked himself questions about them: how did they eat, where did they come from, where was the transparent blob’s mouth, how did they mate?
When the buzzing finally stopped, he looked at Jason. The soldier was looking down at the ground and rubbing his ears.
“That was strange,” said Daniel. “I guess they don’t like us standing out here talking.”
“Maybe that’s a good sign that they can’t hear us.”
“I hope so, you ready?”
“Yeah, I only hope when our friends call us again they can do more than just make recommendations.”
“Me, too,” Daniel said. What he didn’t say was that a knot of dread was forming in his stomach. He felt that they had started down a road that would lead to war and loss. He couldn’t stop it now, it was too late. He couldn’t in good conscious let the Tolligarkians do whatever they wanted with Earth. If there was some way to wake up the people frozen by the plague, he would have to do it. And that would be proof that the plague was caused by the Tolligarkians on purpose. They would have no choice but to fight.
Chapter 39
They made their way back into the building and through the massive room of columns. When they reached the elevator doors, there were no buttons, no way of calling for the elevator to return them to their rooms.
“Okay, now what?” Jason said.
“Well…I’m not sure,” Daniel replied. He placed his hand on the golden elevator doors and imagined himself and Jason riding up to their rooms.
Suddenly the doors swished open.
“Hey, man, you’ve got that mind over matter thing down cold,” said Jason.
“Yeah, well, let’s see if we can get it to take us back up to the right room.”
Daniel had planned to use his mind to order the elevator back up, hoping it could find his room using his memory. But before he could do anything, the elevator began moving upward. At first Daniel thought that it might be taking them to the lobby by default, but the elevator kept soaring up higher and higher.
“You think this thing knows where to stop?” Jason asked.
“I hope so, I never got a room number.” Daniel was pleased when the elevator began to slow and finally stop. The doors opened onto the room that seemed as much an empty field as a room in a towering skyscraper.
“Home, sweet home,” Daniel said.
“You did it,” Jason said excitedly. “I’m first in the bathroom.”
Jason grabbed up the Claxton, which was now on a boulder near where their sleeping pads had been. The room had been serviced, and the gathering place was empty again. Daniel picked up the educational headsets and focused his mind on Coolique. The image fluttered to life, and the furry alien’s mouth opened wide when he recognized Daniel.
“It is not safe for you to contact me,” said Coolique into Daniel’s mind.
“I’m sorry, but I need a few other things if we’re going to be able to work together.”
Coolique was in a large room, and the vague outlines of others could be seen moving about the room.
“This is not a good time,” Coolique said.
“Alright, then contact me as soon as you can.”
Daniel pulled off the headset just as the doors to the elevator swished open. Norixum floated into the room.
“Good news,” he said in the strange, clipped voice of the translator unit. “I have arranged for you to meet with Supreme Commander Huxley first thing in the morning. Then we shall return to Earth and begin our work there.”
Daniel smiled but groaned inwardly. If they were to have any success, he needed some way to destroy the space station and transporter in Earth’s orbit. He doubted if he would be able to return to the station once they had returned to Earth.
“Shall we dine once your defense minister is ready?” Norixum asked.
“I’m coming,” said Jason from the bathroom.
Daniel knew there was no more time to waste. “Norixum,” he said, “I was enthralled with your history and wondered if there were any books that I could take with me back to Earth to study further?”
“Books are no longer used by the Free People,” Norixum said. “But I will be glad to get you an excellent video presentation and your own educational headset.”
Daniel’s heart dropped. He knew he needed a data reader or the chip Coolique had given him would be useless. His mind raced for a reason not to use the headset.
“Well, that is generous,” Daniel said. “But I’m afraid with the loss of my right eye the headset is difficult to use.”
“Oh,” said Norixum, his voice smooth, but his posture straightened just slightly, as if the little alien had suddenly stiffened. “I could get you a data reader, but I’m afraid that the information might not be translated in time.”
“A data reader, you say?” Daniel said, pretending he had never heard of one before.
“Yes, they are handheld devices used to store information, much like your computers on Earth, but more intuitive, of course. It is possible that I could get one of the programmers to run a translation program tonight. It might be completed by the time we leave tomorrow.”
“That would be excellent,” Daniel said. “I would very much appreciate it.”
“Then I will do it now,” said the little alien.
Daniel immediately felt the buzzing in his head that he now knew meant that Norixum was communicating telepathically. Apparently being close to someone who was using their neuro waves had a physical effect. He gritted his teeth and tried not to let the ambassador know how his telepathy affected humans.
Jason came out of the bathroom rubbing his ear and Daniel fixed him with an icy stare. The buzzing stopped as Jason reached Daniel’s side.
“Excellent,” said Norixum. “We shall dine at the Cloishandrim. It is very exclusive. I was able to get us a table through the embassy, and we shall hear the reading of the Tumlose Odyessy. It is a story of adventure from the earliest histories of Tolligark. It is a rare treat, and the Cloishandrim Company are the finest reenactors in the Federation.”
It was apparent that Norixum was excited, he had even begun to bounce slightly on his floating cushion. Daniel gave Jason a look that said, “Oh, boy, more history.” But he kept his mouth shut as Norixum rattled on and on about their evening.
They took the shuttle to a tower that was on the edge of the ocean side of the capital city. Inside the tower were rows and rows of what looked like box seats at an opera. A Tolligarkian ushered them to a private box with an excellent view of the stage. Dinner was served by beings even smaller than Tolligarkians. The servers reminded Daniel of moving flowers, their bodies, or stalks, were thin and willowy. Their heads were perfectly round, with different colored appendages that grew like flower petals on and around the head. There were eyes, small black dots that never seemed to blink or move, but no other facial features. Daniel felt nauseous from the constant bombardment of neuro waves. He noticed only Tolligarkians in the other theater boxes he could see and he wondered if the telepathy would continue throughout the evening.
Dinner was a form of meat that was apparently raw and covered with a thick, spicy sauce and topped with some form of crunchy, fried vegetable. Daniel wasn’t too thrilled with the dish, but Norixum devoured his own, his trunk seemed to emit some sort of acid or other chemical which liquefied the food just at the end of his appendage. He then sucked that gelatinous portion up like a child tackling a very thick milkshake. They drank a sort of wine that made Daniel feel even dizzier and more disoriented. There were several courses of the meal served throughout the evening; the Tolligarkians obviously had a voracious appetite. Just before the drama began, a server delivered what seemed like a standard set of headphones. Daniel and Jason put them into their ears and plugged them into a translator unit that was built into a console between their seats.
Daniel was surprised to find himself engrossed in what amounted to a play that utilized holographic set designs and visual effects that were totally stunning. The Tolligarkians on stage were skilled actors and, even though it was still strange to see aliens, Daniel was able to lose himself in the story—at least until a familiar voice interrupted the translation of what was obviously being performed through the use of neuro waves.
“Daniel, can you hear me?” said Coolique’s voice.
Daniel’s eyes grew round and he turned to look at Norixum beside him. The little alien had hardly moved throughout the production, except when food was brought into their box. Daniel couldn’t see Norixum’s eyes, they remained covered at all times by the bulbous eye coverings, but he was still facing the stage, unmoving.
Daniel wasn’t sure if he needed to speak out loud, but that seemed a very foolish thing to do, so he thought to himself, “Coolique, is that you?”
“It is me, and I am sorry to interrupt. It was obvious you were enjoying the reading.”
“No, that’s okay,” Daniel thought. “Is this a safe time to talk? I can’t tell if I’m under telepathic monitoring or not.”
“Yes, it is safe. I can sense no other beings focused on you at the moment. I doubt that any would try. The Tolligarkians’ love for their readings is matched only by their love of lavish meals. I doubt any would consider that you weren’t totally engrossed in their production.”
“It is quite well done,” Daniel thought.
“You needed something from me?” Coolique’s voice said.
“Yes, I’m afraid I need a few things. First, I need some way to destroy the transporter in orbit near my planet. And some way to destroy the space station there as well.”
“I’m afraid I have no idea what could be used to do that,” said the alien.
“Don’t you have explosives of some kind?” Daniel thought desperately.
“I…no, I don’t have any weapons, I’m sorry.”
“Damn, I don’t think we’ll be able to offer much resistance without time to incorporate the new technology you’ve given me.”
“Let me look into this,” said Coolique. “I have comrades that might be of service.”
“Well, make it fast. We’ll be meeting the supreme commander first thing in the morning and then returning to Earth. It’s now or never if we’re going to pull this thing off.”
“Alright,” said the voice through the headphones. “When you return to your quarters, use the educational headset and focus on the concept of Plithnex.”
“Plithnex?” Daniel thought.
“It is a philosophical discipline, but if I am able to help you, I’ll hide it in your database under that keyword.”
“You got it,” Daniel thought, and suddenly the drama being enacted below on the stage could be heard once more. Daniel looked at Jason, who was beginning to nod off. If what Coolique said was true about Tolligarkians loving their reenactments, it would be offensive for Jason to fall asleep, and it was obvious he hadn’t heard Coolique’s message. Daniel threw a discrete elbow into Jason’s side. The soldier’s posture had begun to slump, but he suddenly sat up straight and stiff. It was obvious that any surprise brought the soldier to immediate attention. He blinked as he took in his surroundings again and then looked over at Daniel, who mouthed the words, “stay awake.” Jason nodded and was good to his word.
***
Norixum raved about the reading, as he called it. He talked incessantly as the shuttle took them back to the towering, spiral shaped building where they were staying. Luckily for Daniel, he didn’t have to engage in the conversation, since his mind had been focused on the problem of destroying the transporter for rest of the production. He knew they had to do more than just disable the transporter. Even if they managed to take the space station out of commission, they had no idea what sort of technology the Tolligarkians had on Earth. Daniel had seen a large ship releasing hundreds of animals onto Earth, but he had no idea if any of the ships remained there, or what the alien population might be. His only chance was to destroy the transporter somehow so there was no chance it might be rebuilt.
After assuring them that he would pick them up shortly after sunrise to escort them to their meeting with
Supreme Commander Huxley, Norixum left them alone. Daniel wanted desperately to tell Jason what he had learned, but he had no way of doing that. Instead, he ordered their bedding, and once they were both settled for the night, he handed Jason one of the educational headsets.
“I saw a thing about the philosophy of Plithnex while we were at the museum today,” Daniel said. “Why don’t we check it out?” He raised his eyebrows up and down as he said it and hoped that Jason would take the hint.
The soldier winked and put on his headset. Daniel did the same and said the word Plithnex in his mind over and over until the screen flickered to life. On the screen was the face of an alien, long and rounded and exactly the color of a ripe eggplant. The alien had eyes that rose on tentacles from the top of its head and then hung down in front of what must have been its face. The mouth was where the chin should have been, and there were three narrow slits that Daniel took for a nose. There were no ears visible, and the alien seemed to speak straight into Daniel’s mind exactly like Coolique had done.
For almost five minutes, the alien droned on about abstract principles of the Plithnex disciple. Daniel had hated the one philosophy class he had taken in college and he was about to pull the headset off when Jason cried out.
“Thank God,” he said, “I was about to go insane.”
Daniel couldn’t see Jason, but before he could see what the soldier was talking about, the screen on his headset flickered and the droning alien disappeared. He was replaced by Coolique.
“Earth men,” said the furry alien. “I have found a possible solution to your problem, although there are still many factors that you must consider. First, the supreme commander’s security force will scan you for all none biological matter. If they find the chip I gave you, all will be lost. You must hide it carefully. Secondly, as for the transporter and space station, there is a flux field that surrounds deep space transport stations. Flux is a sort of backlash, if you will, that occurs in the one trillionth of a second after a transport takes place. If space and time are like a giant sheet that can be bent and manipulated, once the bending occurs, the sheet rebounds back into place and there is an instantaneous overcompensation that occurs. Thus no objects are allowed into the flux field, or they would be sucked into the transporter as well. The transporter itself is shielded from the flux field by gravitational isolators. If you can maneuver the space station close enough to your transporter, and disable the gravitational isolation shields, the entire structure should be sent through to Tolligarkian space. The only downside to this plan is that the space station must be operated by someone, due to safety devices that must be manually overridden. My colleagues assure me that you should be able to operate the station and the transporter from the station’s main control deck. You will need to obtain a Tolligarkian’s neuro wave amplifiers. They are surgically grafted over every Tolligark’s eyes and work much like the headset you have on now. Most of their technology is controlled via the wave amplifier. I will try to see to your safety upon your return, but I can make no promises. Our movement is cell based, meaning I do not know anyone beyond my own contact, although Tolligarkian wave intercepts report our numbers in the thousands. Good luck, my comrades, I will not forget you.”
The New World Page 35