Q-Gates
Page 19
“Probably long after we’re gone,” Jess remarked.
“Maybe and maybe not,” Lucia interjected. “We’re thinking about these possibilities being solved at the pace of biological invention and engineering. We’re not SADEs.”
“Point taken,” Ophelia said. “Still, I think there’s a good reason for considering that Pyre’s five new gates should connect to alliance races.”
“There are Resistance allies who need support and communications from the outpost,” Jess offered.
“I —” Ophelia and Lucia said simultaneously.
“Please, Admiral,” Ophelia said, indicating Lucia with an extended hand.
“I was going to say that I agree,” Lucia replied. Then she turned her palm upward toward Ophelia.
“I thought the same,” Ophelia said. “In fact, I thought offering the gate connections to the most ardent Resistance races would send a strong message to the Tsargit.”
“Yes, it would,” Jess said, grinning.
Ophelia sensed the elation within Jess, and she received a single word from him. He’d thought, Success. The word hadn’t come to her via implant.
“So, who’s to be offered the connections?” Lucia asked. “I advise that we make a list of about ten races in the order of our priorities.”
“Good point,” Jess said. “Just because we offer connections to Triton doesn’t mean races will accept. They’ll have their own priorities, such as getting direct access to critical trading parties.”
Ophelia started laughing.
“What?” Jess asked.
“I imagine us going to a president or monarch, thinking that we’re bearing this incredible gift,” Ophelia replied. “Then we’re told that they would love to have a new gate connection. However, could we link their gate to this other world?”
“And we’re standing there with our mouths open,” Lucia said, joining in Ophelia’s laughter.
“I could be good with that,” Jess said.
“I know that calculating look,” Ophelia said, pointing a finger at him. “What are you imagining?”
Jess regarded Lucia. “Didn’t you tell me that Omnia Ships receives licensing fees for some of its technology?”
“Yes,” Lucia replied. “Not for medical tech or implants, but for ship tech.”
“You’d charge for new gates and their use?” Ophelia asked, aghast at the idea.
“It’s a thought,” Jess replied, undisturbed by Ophelia’s reaction. “Recall that the outpost plays only a minor role in these discoveries. Essentially, we’re assisting, but the primary responsibility for the investigations falls on Mickey and his engineering teams.”
“Oh,” Ophelia replied, suddenly taken aback.
Jess nodded, while Lucia enumerated the extent of Omnian assistance that was making the investigations possible.
“I think Alex, Renée, and Julien will have something to say about what’s discovered and how the tech is employed,” Jess said. “What we’re trying to do is plan how to solve the political issues of Pyre’s gate connections.”
19: Let’s Try Again
The four humans — Pia, Kasie, Edmas, and Jodlyne — finished their evening meal of paste at dome two, the original target dome. They’d spent several nights aboard their Trident, following the demolishment of dome one’s moon.
Then Kasie told her companions that she couldn’t focus on the gate installation problem, while wandering the ship. So, the group transferred to the moon and took up residence in two dorm rooms. Edmas and Jodlyne shared a room, as did Pia and Kasie.
Only four SADEs accompanied the humans. Luther assigned responsibilities to the other SADEs as to which human they would evacuate in an emergency.
While the humans finished their meals, Luther and Minimalist stood silently just inside the room, listening intently to the conversation. The other two SADEs stood in the corridor on either side of the door.
“I think it’s important to decide whether the detonation was human error or a deliberate intervention by the Messinants for meddling,” Jodlyne volunteered. “In short, I’m seeking consensus.” Then she winked at Luther and Minimalist.
Minimalist mused about the complexity with which humans communicated. Much was transmitted through subtle displays without expressing words, which he found unnecessary.
“Why would the Messinants give us a countdown if they intended to punish an improper investigation?” Edmas asked rhetorically. “I think it was a warning to the installation engineers.”
“For what?” Kasie asked.
“I don’t know, but that’s my belief,” Edmas replied.
“Let me offer this group the benefit of my life experience,” Pia said. She chuckled when she saw Kasie frown. “Thank you, Kasie, for that observation,” she added. “I appreciate that I don’t appear that I’m fast approaching the equivalent of eighty Pyrean annuals.”
This time, Kasie’s mouth fell open.
Turning to the SADEs, Pia asked, “Could you tell us about the event ... the explosion?”
“We detected primarily high-energy photons,” Luther replied. “There was degradation of the energy levels when the wave interacted with matter.”
“I’m not an engineer, but does that make sense?” Pia asked. “If the Messinants wanted to dissuade interlopers, why not shut down the dome? The investigators would suddenly be exposed to vacuum, and the dome could be preserved.”
“What you’re saying makes sense,” Kasie admitted, “but it doesn’t solve the puzzle.”
“Then tell us of the history of dome exploration,” Pia encouraged. “Educate us.”
“You mean recent discoveries?” Kasie inquired.
“Start from the beginning,” Pia replied. “I believe that one of your ancestors was the first to unlock many of the domes’ mysteries, and I think we’ve got the time.”
The others chuckled at the idea that they might be in a hurry.
Kasie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Well, an empath named Aurelia Garmenti and her partner, Devon Higgins, were responsible for much of the initial work,” she began.
For the next several hours, the other humans and the SADEs learned the intimate details of the efforts of the many to tease out the workings of the console, the meaning of the glyphs, and the mapping of the dome network.
While Pia listened to Kasie, she was reminded of the time when she was awakened from seventy annuals in stasis, while her derelict liner had floated through space. She’d been aboard the Rêveur to care for the medical concerns of a young woman, Renée de Guirnon, the daughter of a powerful Confederation House.
After waking, Pia’s circumstances had changed. She’d become an advisor to Renée, who had been placed in the delicate position of negotiating with the captain who had rescued the liner and the foreign human world that hungered for the ship’s technology.
While Pia mused about the past, she’d continued to record Kasie’s lecture. One item stood out to her, and she thought to follow the thread of an idea. Interrupting for the first time, she said, “Pardon me, Kasie. I would like to know how the Messinants planned to track their work.”
“Elaborate,” Minimalist requested.
“Well, it’s acknowledged that the Messinants are a superior race,” Pia explained. “Surely, a race who had achieved this level of engineering skill would have a plan to track the d
ome locations and connections. How did they track the work?”
“Kasie, you said that a console uses a special set of glyphs to reach its submenus,” Jodlyne pointed out.
“Yes, each console has a specific set of glyphs that must be used,” Kasie supplied.
Edmas understood the point that Jodlyne was trying to make. “Kasie, consider this idea,” he said excitedly. “What if a console’s code is meant to do more than access the submenus? What if those glyphs are the critical keys to how the Messinants tracked their engineering map?”
“It couldn’t be that simple,” Kasie protested.
“Why not?” Pia asked.
“The Messinants have always been circumspect, if not crafty, about the presentation of glyph entries,” Kasie argued.
“I’ve been with Alex since the beginning,” Pia said quietly. “If I’ve learned one thing from the man, it’s that humans are challenged when they first meet alien races. When I say humans, I mean just about everyone but Alex. So, I would recommend that we not assign personal characteristics to a race who has never been met. It’s entirely possible that the Messinants had solid engineering reasons for the construction of the domes.”
Kasie shook her head gently. She wasn’t convinced by Pia’s argument. She regarded Edmas and Jodlyne. “Are you saying that the window with the countdown that we encountered only needed the entry of the console code?”
“Kasie,” Luther said, interjecting for the first time. “There’s the distinct possibility that this line of reasoning has value.”
“How?” Kasie asked.
“We installed a platform at each dome, but we don’t understand the mechanism by which the domes connect the new gates,” Luther replied. “We might assume that it’s a single step, but that might be false reasoning.”
Edmas slapped his thigh, drawing attention to him. “That’s it,” he declared, pointing affirmatively at Luther. “Visualize it. Messinants are working throughout alliance space and beyond. It would be many teams, and they would be in all phases of their domes. One team is installing a new platform and intending to connect to a new gate in another dome. What’s the best way to ensure that the process is accomplished correctly?”
Kasie frowned at Edmas. He was speaking about engineering methods, and he’d lost her.
“Call and wait for a response,” Minimalist replied.
“Exactly,” Edmas exulted.
“Someone translate,” Kasie complained.
“Please,” Pia urged.
“In the first dome, we needed to enter the glyphs of the second dome,” Edmas started to explain.
“But we had the laser pointers that indicated the systems that were needed for the connection,” Kasie objected.
“We’re assuming that those tools were designed to complete the process, Kasie,” Edmas argued. “They might have been used to confirm the Messinant map.”
“So, you enter the glyphs of the second dome. Then what?” Kasie asked.
“The energy that spun up in the first dome might have been designed to be fired at a target selected by entering the glyphs of the second dome,” Luther suggested.
“And that would make the connection?” Pia asked dubiously.
“No,” Jodlyne replied, snapping her fingers. “I think Minimalist is right. The second dome has to answer.”
“Intuitive,” Luther remarked. “That reasoning would indicate that the second dome’s auxiliary power supply would spin up and release its energy at dome one. Although, there’s the distinct possibility that the quantum coupling could be accomplished merely by the first dome.”
“But the second console would require the glyphs of the first dome to accept the first dome’s sending, yes?” Kasie asked.
“Undoubtedly,” Minimalist replied.
“Well, let’s test the idea. We’ll call this location dome one,” Kasie said, shrugging her shoulders, as if it to indicate that it was the most natural course to follow.
Anticipating that the humans would pursue the investigation, despite the increasing potential for death, Luther and Minimalist had chosen a second location. Now was the time to discuss what the SADEs believed was the appropriate approach.
“It’s our consensus that only four individuals will be required to test this hypothesis,” Luther said.
“Two of whom would be SADEs,” Edmas supplied, which brought Kasie’s head swinging toward him.
“Affirmative,” Luther replied. “Minimalist will relocate to the second location, and I’ll remain here.”
“Why only two humans?” Kasie demanded.
“After setting up the new platform, only one human is required at each console,” Jodlyne supplied. “The SADEs are minimizing the number of individuals exposed to another detonation.”
“If the experiment is successful,” Minimalist added, “the precautions will be unnecessary for any future gate connections.”
“Well, I’ll be the console operator at this location,” Kasie said determinedly, which generated laughter from her human companions.
Kasie was annoyed by the response, and Jodlyne hugged her.
“We knew you would insist on that role, Kasie,” Jodlyne said. “None of us would have wanted to take that opportunity away from you.”
Edmas regarded Pia, and she responded privately,
Pia smiled at the thought that she would abandon the love of her life.
“What are you two discussing?” Jodlyne asked.
“Undoubtedly, who should take up the second console,” Luther replied. “We’ve a critical suggestion to make on this issue. It’ll be imperative that the operator enter the glyphs with minimal errors. Most operators train for months to accurately capture the Messinant curves.”
“How do you suggest we determine who should do it?” Jodlyne inquired.
“If the three of you would step into the corridor?” Minimalist requested.
Pia, Edmas, and Jodlyne followed the SADEs out of the dorm room, and Kasie, who wanted to observe the SADEs’ methodology, hurried after them.
“Pia, please focus on these three glyphs,” Minimalist said, pointing out the symbols next to the doorway. Using a single digit, recreate the glyphs in the air. Do so with a bit of alacrity, as if you were entering them on a console panel.”
Pia’s eyebrows twitched upward. She didn’t completely understand what the SADEs were doing, but they were SADEs. Focusing on the glowing glyphs etched into the wall, Pia quickly swirled her right hand’s pointer finger in imitation of the symbols.
Minimalist asked Edmas and then Jodlyne to do the same.
Afterward, the four humans received a single image that contained four layers. The original glyphs glowed in their customary blue. The finger tracings of Pia, Edmas, and Jodlyne were displayed in other colors.
It was easy for each human to note the quality of the overlays. There was no doubt about the outcome. Pia’s tracings closely matched the Messinant curves. Jodlyne’s technique often elongated the curves, and Edmas ... well, he wasn’t even close.
“Apparently, I’ve won the contest,” Pia said, smiling warmly at Edmas and Jodlyne who appeared stricken.
Pia, Jodlyne, and Minimalist exited the dome, boarded a traveler, and rendezvoused with their Trident. After the warship made transit, there were four days of sailing time before reaching its destination, the new target dome.
A traveler from the Trident observed the new dome carefully. When no insectoids or local sentients were observed, Pia, Jodlyne, Minimalist, and a second SADE entered the dome.
In quick order, Pia and Jodlyne executed the operations on the primary and secondary panels that allowed access to the lower levels beneath the console. Then the new platform was installed. It was to be the dome’s second gate.
Therefore, it emerged on the deck sixty degrees clockwise from the existing gate.
When Pia and Minimalist were ready to respond in concert with Kasie and Luther, Jodlyne and the second SADE exited the dome. Jodlyne rode the back of the SADE, as he swiftly climbed the line.
A laser pointer was mounted atop each console and readied to select the opposing location in the dome’s star field.
When Edmas and the second SADE exited the primary dome, Luther sent,
Displayed on the primary panel was the popup screen with the countdown beneath it.
Moments later, Kasie received an image of the second dome’s console ID glyphs, and she entered those.
Luther had the ships on standby to accelerate at full power in the event their experiment failed. As Kasie finished her entries, a fierce blue light exited the new platform and brilliantly but briefly lit the dome.
Pia received the image, as her dome lit so brightly as to nearly blind her.
Minimalist swiftly focused the laser pointer on the star overhead, where the first dome was located. That resulted in a window opening on Pia’s primary panel.
Shading her eyes, Pia entered the glyphs Kasie had sent her. Decades of medical training and experience steadied her finger. The window accepted the entry, and the new platform absorbed the energy blazing overhead.