Encounters 1: The Spiral Slayers (33 page)

Mac’s mouth dropped open, “You mean you’re shitting right now
as you speak to us?”

“I could be.” Bugs said. “But…no…not right now.”

Flannery scratched his head in confusion and asked, “Bugs, as
I understand it, to ‘speak,’ you Loud must first expand upward, drawing in air,
and I heard you can rise as much as 100 feet. Then you come back down to force
the air out through chambers in your head and then out of…well, that all-purpose
hole we’ve been talking about. During the expulsion of the air, the hole you
use for…everything is moving downward so…if waste byproducts are expelled
during this action…where exactly do they go?”

“Ah…I see what you mean. You have to understand that our
waste byproducts have unique characteristics,” Bugs explained. “When they dry,
they form a semi-hard auto-sealing surface that absorbs noise, blocks certain
types of radiation and serves as excellent insulation against severe
temperature differences. This surface is also good for the type of locomotion
we use, and more importantly, the fungus we consume will only grow on its
surface. We consume this through the membranes of our lower locomotive section
or, when it becomes airborne, through our pores and that ‘all-purpose’ hole, as
you call it. Also, our excrement ‘paints’ all surfaces with a soothing
yellowish, greenish brown color. You ask where exactly our waste goes? It is
sprayed on all of the walls, floors and ceilings of our ships, our buildings
and our homes. It is constantly replenished as it wears down and this is done
without us even thinking of it.”

Both Flannery and Mac were completely astounded. “So, it’s
like…” Flannery stammered, “all totally automatic? Well, that is certainly a
good thing! I mean, I don’t know if I’d be a-wantin’ to be a thinkin’ about…”
he waved his hand, “ah…all of that either.”

Meanwhile, Mac’s mouth hung open as he stared wide-eyed at
Bugs while this new information was organized, correlated and processed in his
head. This resulted in pristine insights and suppositions, and his eyes widened
even further as new conclusions formed. He turned to Flannery with the results
of all this deep thinking, “Flannery, there’d be a lot of bad breath, wouldn’t
you think?”

“Perhaps that’s why they rise up a hundred feet when they
speak,” Flannery replied without skipping a beat. “But if the walls, floors and
ceilings are all made from…that stuff, then I guess the smell would be
everywhere anyway.”

Mac turned back to Bugs, “So then, sometimes when ya be
telling us things, you’re really just sprouting a bunch of sh…”

Flannery whacked him on the arm interrupting him yet again, “Maker,
forgive us! Watch your mouth, idiot!”

Adamarus took a drink to hide his smile. He had heard enough.
He had intended to come to Bugs’ rescue, but he could see Bugs was holding his
own. He snuck away from their table and headed back to his own.

---

Day One…

Large indirect lighting fixtures were mounted on the rounded
ceiling of the huge domed room. They bathed everything in a soft light and cast
indeterminate shadows in all directions. The eight newly overhauled and
decorated elevators opened inside a large well-appointed granite and marble
building which stood in the center of the atrium.

The main area set aside for the meetings was a large
auditorium like affair in front of the building. All of this was surrounded by
a virtual forest – over a thousand trees and plants. Scattered among this
foliage were fountains, waterfalls, reflection pools and meandering paths with
benches. Around the outskirts of this forest, running along the bare armor
walls, was a jogging trail.

The auditorium where observers would sit surrounded a large
raised platform. On this platform sat a large circular wooden table with
eighteen seats evenly spaced around it. Each seat had a workstation set into
the dark wood table.

Being the leader of the President’s special team, Leewood's
rank had been jumped up to Rear Admiral and he had been placed in charge of the
meeting. He sat at the head of the table.

To his right sat Ed Fisher, the Secretary of State; Fleet
Admiral Adamarus Maximus; General Earl Yuban; the General Chief of Staff,
General Burnwall; Captain Radin Talvin; Mr. and Mrs. Eden; Ashley Hern, head of
the Anderson Shipyard; Mary Olman, head of the Bernard Shipyard; and Wendell
Warren, a billionaire representing Amular's industrial base. On Leewood’s left
was Bugs’ avatar, representing the Loud; Dr. Lorraine Harrington, language
specialist; Dr. Bradford Donnelly, astrophysicist; Dr. Gerald Van Loader, the
reigning scientific genius; and finally, Jan Parker of Public Relations and
Professor Floyd Woodworth, Historian.

Probably the biggest problem with this large and secret
gathering had been Shelly White. President Wicker could not risk telling her
about the approaching ship so she could not be let in on the meeting, not an
easy chore. The President personally distracted her by having her put together
another special on the attack on the Loud’s home system.

Above Leewood were three oversized telecommuting screens. On
the left screen was Secretary of Defense, Lance Thornton; on the right was Vice
President Newman, and on the center screen was President Wicker. Above the
three screens was a single screen twice as large – on it would appear the
current speaker. For now, it was blank.

About ten feet away from the circular conference table and
running most of the way around it was a recess in the raised platform which
held work areas for the aids of those at the table who had them.

At precisely 8:00AM, with everyone in place and seated, a
chiming sound rang out silencing the soft sound of chatter. President Wicker’s
face appeared on the larger display for speakers. “Good morning, ladies and
gentlemen, and welcome to the Hideaway Shipyard. I wish I was physically there
with you, and I wish we were meeting under different circumstances. This opens
a week full of daily meetings to discuss our plight and our options. It is our
first council of war.” Wicker let that sink in. “It is significant that we did
not have a single no-show, and although myself, Vice President Newman and
Secretary of Defense Thornton have pressing matters keeping us planet side, I
want to express my gratitude to each of you for making the long journey through
space; for many of you, a first time experience. I felt it important that all
of you get a tour of the Hideaway Shipyard facilities.”

The President leaned forward, “Every single person who knows
about the alien ship and its approach to our system is present here today. I
don’t have to tell you how important it is that this information not leak to
the public prematurely. The panic and uproar it would create would be
counterproductive in the extreme. This information must be revealed to the
public in the proper manner and at the proper time. Due to the importance of
this, the penalty for such a treasonous act will also be extreme: Anyone caught
revealing this information to anyone outside of those who already know will be,
extenuating circumstances excepted, sentenced to permanent imprisonment.” The
President paused to let this sink in. Immortality made “imprisoned for life”
imprisoned forever.

He took a deep breath then continued in a strong voice, “I am
confident that, with the help of the Loud, we will prevail despite the
monumental hurdles and disadvantages we face.” Some applause broke out, but
faded away. “We have much to do so I will now turn things over to Admiral
Leewood so we can get started.”

Wicker’s face vanished from the large screen and Leewood’s
appeared. “According to the official agenda, the first topic was to be a review
of what our friends, the Loud, had accomplished so far in their plans for
improving our defenses and weapons. However,” Leewood cleared his throat, “some
new and disturbing facts have come to light.” He paused taking a breath. “As
you know, the object is maintaining exact curves in its course and
deceleration. Assuming this remains unchanged – and we have every reason to
believe this—it is easy to project the status of our solar system, that is, the
positions of all the planets when it arrives and as it passes through the inner
system. Dr. Walters and his team at the Aster-Tritium Observatory put together
computer models to determine this. The Loud double-checked his work by doing a
separate study and they confirmed what Dr. Walters found. As you may be able to
guess, it was not good. If I can direct your attention to the center hologram.”

The lights dimmed and midway between the conference table and
the observer section, a large hologram formed showing the solar system with the
sun in the middle. It was incorrectly scaled so that all six of the planets
could be seen – their names flickered beside each—their orbits were indicated
by blue lines. Leewood leaned forward, adjusted controls on his console and the
holograph shrunk until the solar system’s planetary orbits were barely visible
and a gray sphere came into view. The words ”Ice Cloud” appeared next to this. The
ice cloud was a sphere that surrounded the solar system. It was made up of
millions of chunks of ice left over from the creation of the planets. It was
the source of all comets. Just outside of the ice cloud, a blinking red dot
appeared. Next to it appeared the words “Black Hole.” Also, a date appeared
below the hologram.

Leewood made another adjustment and the date started changing
and the holograph came to life. The planets orbited the sun and the red dot
started moving inward. The dot passed through the ice cloud and then Leewood
paused the hologram and everything froze. Instantly pandemonium broke out in
the observers section.

Leewood used the chime to restore order. “Yes, that’s
right…that’s right,” he said, his voice far gloomier than he intended, “and of
course we should have anticipated this particular problem. The black hole will
be the size of a gas giant when it passes through the ice cloud. As you know,
the ice cloud that surrounds our solar system contains millions of
comets—chunks of ice from fist sized to planet sized, matter left over from the
formation of our solar system. As you’ve surmised, the black hole’s
gravitational field will drag hundreds, perhaps thousands of these comets in
behind it and disrupt perhaps millions more, eventually sending a large part of
these in-system. The first wave of comets will arrive within the inner system
about three years after the object arrives, but arrive they will, and presuming
we survive the object’s passage, we will have these deadly chunks of ice flying
around all over the place. Projections indicate that every planet, including Amular,
will be hit multiple times. Then more will come on a regular basis. Indications
are that Amular will be hit at least half a dozen times with comets large
enough to cause extinction events.” Noise from the assembly had been increasing
steadily and Leewood used the chime to restore order again. “However, as bad as
this is, I’m afraid…it gets worse.” Stunned silence followed.

 “I again direct your attention to the overhead holographic
display…” he restarted the simulation, the clock ran forward, the red dot
continued moving along the perfect arch the black hole/ship would take. The
view zoomed in showing the inner system with dots representing the planets
following their age-old orbits around the sun. The object aligned with the
elliptic as it passed through the orbit of Farnom—the most distant gas giant. The
planet itself was far away, almost on the other side of the sun. Then, in
silent horror, they watched as the red dot approached the orbit of Aster, the
system’s largest gas giant, and Aster made its way along its orbital path—it
was obvious that the two would come close. Then the red dot met with and merged
with Aster! The assembly was stunned. The gasp was audible. This was utter
disaster.

But the hologram did not pause and the red dot continued on
for that was not the end of it. Almost immediately it was easy to see that as
it approached the next gas giant’s orbit – that of Serena, the
second
largest gas giant and about three quarters the size of Aster – it would once
again meet and merge with that planet as well. When it did, Leewood paused the
hologram and again mayhem broke out throughout the room. It took over five
minutes to calm the assembly this time.

Finally, Leewood said, “The black hole will not actually hit
either planet, but Aster’s thirty-six moons and rings, as well as Serena’s
twenty-two moons, will be disrupted. The gravitational disruption will strip
many of the moons from their orbits and fling them across the solar system. In
addition, when the black hole passes Aster, it will do so very closely – within
Aster’s rings, in fact. Our best guess…there is a fifty percent chance that
Aster itself will be destabilized, possibly coming apart, possibly exploding.” For
the third time chaos spread across the assembly, but there was no hope of
regaining control this time.

---

Day two…

On the second day, they got right to the subject of how the
Loud, with their advanced sciences and technologies, could help with defenses
and improve weapons. After the revelations of the previous day, the assembly
was subdued, morale was low, and a feeling of hopelessness and inadequacy had
settled over the group. Seeing this, Bugs started by saying that solutions for
both the comets and the moons of the gas giants existed. This went a long way
in restoring morale. Bugs studiously avoided the subject of the stability of
their largest gas giant, Aster.

The avatar spent the morning discussing improvements that
could be made to engines, missiles and to the maser and laser cannons mounted
on the battleships and fighters. These improvements were very impressive and
everyone went to lunch with renewed sprits. After lunch, the discussion turned
to orbital fortresses. These could only be discussed in broad terms as designs
had not yet been drawn up. A panel was selected and assigned to begin
deliberations on planning and design. Finally, after the 3:00 p.m. break, they
got to the subject of the bomb.