The Aurora (Aurora Saga, Book 1) (39 page)
‘What went wrong?’ James asked.
‘According to the diary, to escape from the gravitational forces of the Paradoxica’s wormhole, the
Aurora
had to run its event horizon drives at a speed of Q4. That’s far beyond the drives’ safe operating speed, and the increased pull of the black holes ripped the drive chambers part, causing them to implode. The plasma ignited and an explosion ripped through its interior. This meant that the
Aurora
got misplaced in time and ended up heading directly for Earth in 1964. The other Londuo says that the
Aurora’s
remaining reactor was damaged by the explosion and was ejected before entering Earth’s atmosphere. If it had not, then the venting plasma would have detonated, and the
Aurora
would have been destroyed, killing every living thing on Earth within a five thousand kilometre radius of the ship.’
‘So that’s how the other Londuo got to Earth, back in 1964,’ James commented. ‘That’s why when I met her on Earth, six weeks ago, she was old.’
‘I think you’re missing the point, James. What Londuo was trying to tell us was that, in her timeline, the war began because Polimop was attacked by two ships, and those two ships were the science ships,
Aurora
and
Pulsora.
They must have been the first ships to have entered the Paradoxica. Up to that point no one was able to travel in time, so the timeline of those ships must have been the original one. However, everything changed when they decided to explore Polimop and upon exiting a wormhole from the Paradoxica, would have experienced a failure of the event horizon drives. This must have been very similar to what happened to the other Londuo. The event horizon drives must have imploded, and the original
Aurora
and
Pulsora
would have been forced to head for the nearest planet.’
‘Polimop! The science ships landed on Polimop.’ James said.
‘They would have tried,’ Kalrea added. ‘Well, we know that in the diary timeline the war was caused by two ships attacking the Treitans. We also know they caused an explosion, in the upper atmosphere of Polimop, large enough to destroy eighty percent of the surface. The only way such an explosion could have been caused would have been if one or more of the
Aurora
and
Pulsora’s
reactors were venting at the time. When they entered Polimop’s atmosphere, the plasma would have been ignited, resulting in a massive explosion, destroying both ships.’
‘Six reactors onboard two ships,’ James commented.
‘Yes, and just one exploding reactor would have been enough to destroy both science ships and a large area of Polimop.’
‘But in the diary, the other Londuo said that
Aurora,
which was forced to land on Earth in 1964, managed to eject its reactor before entering Earth’s atmosphere. Wouldn’t the science ships have done the same, before entering the Polimop atmosphere?’ James asked.
‘Only one reactor can be ejected at a time, because the ship needs to clear the wake of the explosion. I believe the science ships didn’t have the time to eject all their reactors or were just unable to do so. I believe that both science ships were destroyed in that way, unintentionally wiping out eighty percent of the surface of Polimop.’
‘Are you saying it was an accident?’ James asked. ‘The change in time; the war: everything is the result of an accident?’
‘Yes, James.’
‘If the original
Aurora
and
Pulsora
accidentally attacked Polimop, the timeline must have been different before that,’ James said.
‘Before the accident, the Treitans would have been a peaceful people. They probably became a war-faring race because of that attack. We must restore the original timeline. We must stop those science ships from going back in time to Polimop.’
‘But that’s already happened,’ Londuo said.
She’s right,
James thought.
Kalrea replied,
‘According to the diary, it would appear that time doesn’t exist inside the Paradoxica. If ships entered it from different points in space and time, they would end up being there together. That’s why the other Londuo saw the
Aurora
and
Pulsora,
built as science ships, inside the Paradoxica.’
‘So if we enter the Paradoxica now, we can still stop the science ships from exiting it, can’t we?’ Londuo asked.
‘Or, we could try and destroy the Paradoxica.’ James said.
‘Is that possible, Kalrea?’ Londuo asked.
‘The diary mentions a large structure, at the heart of the Paradoxica, which controls gateways that are used to access the wormholes,’ Kalrea said. ‘Destroy that structure and the Paradoxica will cease to exist.’
‘What would happen to the ships still inside the Paradoxica?’ James asked.
Kalrea answered.
‘Sorry, James, I have no way of knowing the consequences. If we can’t destroy the Paradoxica, then we’ll have no choice except destroying the original
Aurora
and
Pulsora.
They must not be allowed to use any of the wormholes.’
‘The only problem is that, like us, they’ll also have Plyane hulls, which protect them from attacks.’ James said.
‘But we have an advantage. We know the one weakness in their hulls: the drive cones,’ Kalrea said.
‘Kalrea,’ James said nervously. ‘Is there anything in your subconscious that would stop you destroying your counterpart?’
‘No, it would be self-sacrifice to save others.’
‘But what about the feelings you had when Sarhao was destroyed?’
‘James, I’m over that now. And there’s a reason why we have to do this.’
James was relieved.
‘Then we must enter the Paradoxica,’ he said, ‘and it doesn’t matter when we enter it. We’ll inevitably meet the original
Aurora
and
Pulsora
somewhere inside.’
Kalrea added,
‘As long as we either destroy the Paradoxica or the original
Aurora
and
Pulsora,
the initial timeline will be restored.’
‘How did the other Londuo know that she needed to give us the diary?’ Londuo enquired.
‘She didn’t realise that she had failed to change the timeline until she found James living on Earth. The fact Lex, Carol and James were there meant nothing had changed. We were still at war. It was all happening again: everything!’
Hang on a minute; where was I then?
James thought and then said,
‘Why was the other James not there? The other Londuo ended up on Earth, so the other me had to be there too, right?’
‘James, there’s no easy way to say this. The other you died when the
Aurora
crashed on Earth.’
‘Oh,’ James said and then thought,
Shit! Not sure I like that future!
Kalrea continued,
‘And the other Kalrea
activated the self-destruct to stop the
Aurora
ending up in the hand of the humans.
’
‘So the other Londuo was left all alone on Earth,’ he said sadly and then thought,
she must have been so lonely.
‘Yes, James she was. It looks like Londuo and you were also in love in the diary timeline and she really missed you after your death.’
James looked over at Londuo. She was wiping her glazed eyes.
I never want to leave her,
he thought.
‘James, I don’t want to lose you. I want to be with you,’ Londuo said, before getting up and walking over to the seatra.
She wiped her eyes, before she sat down on its edge.
‘If we enter the Paradoxica we won’t come back.’
‘Then we won’t go,’ James said.
‘We have to; don’t we, Kalrea?’ Londuo sounded solemn.
‘Londuo’s right, James. We have to enter the Paradoxica,’ Kalrea said. ‘We can’t destroy it from here.’
James sat down alongside Londuo on the edge of the seatra.
‘There’s no coming back if the timeline is restored.’
Londuo paused.
‘We will cease to exist in this time.’
James looked over at Londuo. He felt her hand on top of his. He nodded slowly.
‘This is what my heart is telling me to do.’
Londuo stared into his eyes.
‘I… I love you,’ she said softly.
‘I love you, Londuo,’ James replied.
He felt strangely relaxed.
‘When we restore the original timeline, none of this will have happened,’ Londuo said. ‘Our meeting on Qintaino, this conversation and most of all, how I feel about you.’
James caressed the side of Londuo’s face with one of his hands. She closed her eyes and tilted her head backward. He then ran his fingers through her hair.
You’re so beautiful. I wish I could meet you again, in whatever place or time I end up,
he thought and then said,
‘At least we’ve had this time together. Who knows; maybe this timeline was meant to be…’
Their faces slowly edged together and they kissed gently.
I really want to stay here with you,
James thought.
‘I wish this moment could last forever,’ Londuo said, as they embraced.
‘Me too, Londuo. Me too,’ James replied.
James kissed Londuo passionately and then looked into her eyes.
‘I don’t want to lose you,’ Londuo said quietly.
James kissed her on the neck. They fell gently backwards inside the seatra. The lights dimmed before James placed the telementor on the rim of the seatra, interrupting his connection with Kalrea, who understood immediately they wanted to be alone.
James picked up the telementor and placed it on his wrist just as Londuo entered the bridge. They were both dressed casually.
‘Your steam shower’s much better than those on the
Lonori
,’ Londuo remarked. ‘At least there’s room to swing a kiol in it.’
She walked over to the monitor and combed her hair in the reflection.
James watched her.
‘It took me a while to get used to the zero gravity. I have to say, the way they massage the skin is very relaxing. Could have done with showers like that on Earth,’ he commented.
Londuo turned toward him.
‘This is it, then?’
James nodded and gazed at her for a moment and then thought
, this could be the last moment we spent together. I hope I get to see Londuo again.
He walked over to her and looked into each of her eyes.
I’ll always remember those eyes. Always.
James felt Londuo’s hands touch his. She pulled him closer and they kissed lovingly.
If only things were different,
James thought. He felt sadness, like it was the last day of a long holiday and he had to be at work the next day.
‘We’d better get in the seatra, James,’ Londuo said.
I could stand here all day, looking at you.
He nodded slowly, and then sighed.
‘Okay, let’s do this. Kalrea, can you disable your internal interface with the other
Aurora
and
Pulsora
? I wouldn’t want them to know what we’re doing.’
‘Done.’
James and Londuo entered the seatra together. As the lid started to close, James remarked,
‘It’s time to go.’
Londuo smiled and looked over at him, but her thoughts seem to be elsewhere.
‘What’s on your mind?’ James asked.
‘It’s what you just said, “time to go”,’ Londuo replied. ‘I was thinking about the other me; the older Londuo who also exists on Earth now. I’ll never view time in quite the same way, anymore.’
James smiled back.
‘I see what you mean.’
The lid of the seatra clicked shut.
We’re ready to go into the Paradoxica, Kalrea,
James thought.
To enter it, I will need to get the temperature of the Plyane hull increased in a controlled manner,
Kalrea said, turning the
Aurora
towards a nearby star.
That star will do, but its intense heat will put me offline for a while, so you’ll have to keep the ship under control.
Don’t worry, Kalrea; my piloting has come on a bit since Normia,
James thought cheekily.
The
Aurora
accelerated toward the star.
We only need to skim the surface,
Kalrea said.
Keep the Aurora on this vector, James.
Will do.
Temperature rising. Now at 10,000 Joplis; 20,000; 50,000; 80,000
—
Kalrea’s voice stopped abruptly.
James took over control of the ship.
120,000. Okay, keep it steady,
he thought.
We’ll approach critical phase in five seconds.
Without warning, the
Aurora
was enveloped in an orange and yellow swirling space.
We’re in,
James thought, before looking expectantly outside the ship. The broken reflection of the
Aurora
shimmered across the surface of a patchy mist.
What an eerie place,
Londuo remarked.
The mist is thicker than I imagined,
James thought.
It looks almost metallic. There must be billions of small pieces of metal or something similar floating within it.
He watched the mist part ahead of the ship.
What do we do now?
Londuo asked.
We’d better wait for Kalrea to come back online before we attempt to find those other ships.
A few seconds passed.
All systems responding,
Kalrea informed.
Kalrea, see if you can locate the other ships,
James thought with urgency.
My scanners cannot penetrate the mist. You have visual only,
Kalrea replied.
I’ll try to interface with the Paradoxica’s systems to establish their position.
Without warning, a bolt of white light streaked across space close above them and headed into the distance.
What was that?
Londuo asked.
That was a charge of plasma energy, which is used to power the gateways,
Kalrea replied.
As James looked out from the
Aurora
another bolt of light passed by.
I think I’ve located two ships. They will appear somewhere off the port side,
Kalrea said.
James replied,
Somewhere, Kalrea! It’s not like you to say, somewhere. It’s not very accurate.
Sorry, I haven’t managed to access the Paradoxica’s tracking scanners, as yet. This is based upon entry event data and a bit of a guess, I’m afraid.
James looked anxiously out into the mist for other ships and thought,
she guessed!
Two minutes passed.
Kalrea, are you sure they’re heading this way?
James thought.
It seems like it wasn’t a very good guess
—
Wait. There!
Londuo thought.
In the distance, off the port side of the
Aurora
, the outline of a ship was just visible through the mist. The
Aurora
turned towards it, but the mist enveloped the distant ship. The
Aurora
quickly reached the location where the ship had been seen.
It’s gone
, Londuo thought.
It can’t just disappear. It’s got to be somewhere around here. Come on, Kalrea,
James thought impatiently.
Where are they?
The
Aurora
moved slowly through the mist on an approximate course of the other ship.
This is no good.
James thought to himself for a moment.
Kalrea, if the other Aurora and Pulsora were here, then they would have tried to use the nearest gateway. Are there any along this vector?
The nearest is two hundred and twenty kilometres away,
Kalrea replied.
That’s got to be the one.
James thought.
Try and get there before them. I don’t want any surprises.
The
Aurora
powered rapidly away in an arc to avoid detection by the other ships.
Look James! Is that a gateway?
Londuo thought, indicating towards something which appeared to be a hole in space.
Kalrea, is that what we’re looking for?
James thought.
Yes it is. That’s one of the wormholes.
The
Aurora
approached slowly.
James peered out at the gateway in amazement.
It’s huge
, he commented.
It must be three or four kilometres in diameter. The edge looks like it’s pulsing.
He watched a regular ribbon of white light which was travelling around the edge of the gateway.
It’s dancing,
Londuo thought.
So beautiful.
James could see the hole was shimmering, like the surface of a still pond. He was captivated by it and watched as a bolt of white light flashed past the port side of the ship and dissipated into the edge of the hole. Beneath the surface a planet appeared and then disappeared within the hole, staying visible for just nine seconds.
Wait! There’s Earth,
James thought.
Earth appeared, and then faded.
Those planets must be where you can travel to,
Londuo thought.
It’s incredible.
Qintaino!
Londuo thought.
It must be in the past. Look, James, you can see some of the tall buildings.
Time appears to be random within the gateway,
Kalrea said.
You just saw Qintaino 83 sykals ago.
She continued to speak while planet after planet appeared in the gateway.
There’s Uolcol at 639 sykals in our past, Kollonm at 4635—
That’s the Treitan home world, Polimop!
James thought, interrupting her.
Londuo peered at the planet.
Are you sure?
I’ve seen a holographic picture of it. That’s it!
That was Polimop, 823 sykals ago,
Kalrea said.
I’ve just managed to access the Paradoxica’s tracking scanners and have located the two ships. You were right, James, they’re on an approach vector.
Can you disable all the gateways?
James thought.
He glanced out of the ship in all directions.
I need more time!
Kalrea replied.
What direction are they coming from?
James asked.
They’ll appear on the starboard side in 17.3 seconds,
Kalrea replied.
I don’t want them to see us, Kalrea. Move us away from the gateway, but keep us in visual range,
James instructed.
The
Aurora
slowly drifted away from the gateway. Occasionally the mist thickened, obscuring their view.
I still can’t see them,
James thought.
There!
Londuo thought.
Passing parallel to the
Aurora
were two identical ships.
‘WEAPON SYSTEMS ACTIVATED.’
It is them?
James thought.
The original Aurora and Pulsora? Look, they don’t have any weapons.
The mist thickened once more.
The mist keeps getting in the way,
Londuo thought.
I still have them,
Kalrea said.
The two ships reached the gateway.
Keep out of sight
, James thought.
What are they doing now?
Londuo thought.
The other Kalrea and Sarhao are working out what it is,
Kalrea said.
Damn, I have a problem!
she added suddenly.
Sarhao is interfacing with the machine. He hasn’t detected me yet.
Make sure he doesn’t.
James was starting to get nervous.
You must disable the gateways.
Look!
Londuo thought.
The ships are starting to move into the wormhole.
‘PLASMA TORPEDOES GENERATED.’
James looked out of the
Aurora
. The two ships moved slowly closer to the gateway.
They’re about to enter,
Kalrea said.
We must stop them!
I know
, James thought, targeting the rear event horizon drives of the
Aurora
and then the ones of the
Pulsora
.
Quick, before they disappear!
Londuo thought.
James hesitated.
Suddenly, six plasma torpedoes left the front of the
Aurora
. James watched them scream through the mist, striking the rear of the
Pulsora,
just before it penetrated the gateway. There was a bright orange flash from its event horizon drives, followed by a huge explosion within the ship. The
Pulsora’s
hull distorted and changed from black to a rainbow of colours, before the internal forces cracked it open. There was a massive explosion. Large rings of white light swept away from the debris.
The other
Aurora
was hit by the blast and thrown away from the gateway. Kalrea turned the
Aurora
towards the shock wave. It swept into them and James heard the noise from the drives deepen. Kalrea tried desperately to keep the ship stable, but suddenly an alarm sounded, and the ship was tossed, like a piece of paper in the wind, through the mist.
‘OVERRIDING DRIVE PROTECTION.’
Kalrea, what happened?
James thought.
We’re all right,
Kalrea replied.
She regained control over the ship.
The force from the explosion was too great. Drive protection engaged.
Did the explosion penetrate the gateway?
James thought.
No. There’s some kind of shielding built into it. The blast was contained,
Kalrea replied.
I think that got their attention,
Londuo thought.
Where’s the gateway?
James thought,
and the other Aurora?
