Worlds Away (16 page)

25

Gliesan
Ship :

Centauri
System :

“Stop,” Justine
said
the moment after she returned to her corporeal self on the bridge of
the alien ship. “Don’t kill them.”

To her surprise, the two bird-like bipeds stopped their
attack. A power indicator on the display of the control array leveled down.

Both aliens, sitting on chairs that floated a meter off the
floor, turned to face her. Their faces were vaguely human in shape, except that
the lower halves were drawn forward and came to a point, like a soft beak. Neither
had hair; instead, their heads were covered with a feather-like down. One of
them had predominately blue and green coloring, while the other was yellow and
orange.

Both regarded her with cocked heads.

It was only under their scrutiny that Justine realized she
was completely naked. When she’d quantized herself, she had not converted her
clothing, since she’d only just developed the theory on how to quantize other
beings or objects. Her attention had been focused on Three Crescents’ attack,
and defending herself by changing him into photons. She realized that, from
this point on, she should be able to quantize her clothing and spare herself
further embarrassment when she returned to her physical form.

Self-consciously, she threw one arm over her breasts and
used her other hand to cover her lower regions. As hard as she could, she
willed herself not to let her face flush red with embarrassment.

Justine’s discomfort was forgotten when the blue-and-green-colored
alien spoke, and she heard the translation a split-second later. The voice was
male and soft-spoken; a complete contrast to the impersonal machine voice of
the Kulsat translator computer.

“Apologies. You must be Major Justine Turner. We sensed your
Aetherform.” He pointed to the ship on his display console. “We believed you
were trying to destroy the Kulsat shuttle, and we were attempting to assist.”

Justine, stunned that they knew her name, said, “The Kulsat
on the shuttle helped me escape the mining ship where I was taken prisoner by
two of their ‘Risen’.”

Although she’d been one of the first to discover the
evidence that the universe was home to thousands of different species of
sentient beings, and had just spent the last few days interacting with a race
of cephalopods, it still took her some time to adjust to meeting a new life
form. She wished the circumstances were less dramatic and proper introductions
could be made.

“It is amusing,” the alien said, and Justine wasn’t
immediately certain the translator was working correctly. “We came to the
Centauri System to attempt to rescue you from the Kulsat. Now, you are rescuing
the Kulsat from us.”

“Rescue me?” Justine asked. “Who are you? How do you know
who I am?”

The pilot got up from the floating chair. A moment later,
the chair slowly sank down and seemed to melt into the floor, as if being
absorbed into the superstructure.

Standing well over three meters in height, the alien made a
bowing motion and fluttered two wing-like hands.

“Forgive our impoliteness. Our names are not completely
pronounceable in your language, but a reasonable representation of mine is ‘Naila’.
I am the Primary Sentinel of the
‘Fainne’,
our ship. This is ‘Fairamai’.
She is the navigator and copilot. We are from the system you call Gliese.”

The other alien stood up and made a bowing gesture of her
own. Her translation voice was feminine with dulcet tones. “Pleased to meet
you, Solan being.”

“I’m Justine,” she said. The two Gliesans made a funny
little cock of their heads, and Justine flushed when she remembered that they
already knew who she was. “Uhm. Is it possible to borrow some clothing?”

The two aliens conferred, and Fairamai nodded to Justine.
“We have some nesting fabric that may be long enough for you to use as an outer
wrap, if that is suitable.”

“Thank you,” Justine said, and offered a grateful smile as
the tall alien exited the bridge, presumably to retrieve the clothing.

Naila resumed his story. “We received a report from one of
our patrol vessels detailing your arrival in this system, followed by the
Kulsat attack and your abduction. They requested we come to this system to investigate
and should you still be here, retrieve you.”

“Patrol?” Justine asked. “Did they find my friends, our
ship?”

“According to our readings, the remains of your vessel are
on a disused port several hundred-thousand kilometers from here. Your ship is
no longer serviceable. It was severed with a mining energy beam. Your friends
are no longer in this system.”

His last sentence had a reproachful tone to it.

“Where are they?” She looked up as Fairamai returned with a
long, multicolored sheet of thin fabric. It was very soft and bore a faint
floral scent. Justine wrapped it around herself in a makeshift toga, and
immediately felt less vulnerable.

Naila made a clucking sound. “Our colleagues have escorted
your friends to your home system after transmitting their report to us.”

“That’s a relief,” Justine said. “Can you take me to my
system as well?”

The alien made a vibrating motion with his head, which
Justine interpreted as a negative. “I’m afraid travel to your system is
forbidden to us by law. Aliah and Ah Tabai have broken protocol. When they return,
they will certainly face criminal charges for their transgression.”

Justine felt herself grow more frustrated. New obstacles
seemed to develop at every step.

“Why is it forbidden?”

“Yours is not an Emerged system. The ancient law of the
Grace forbids interference with non-Emerged cultures. I will be happy to
explain this all to you, but for now, it is vital we leave Centauri and return
to Gliese System.”

“Will the Kulsat return?” Justine guessed.

Naila nodded. “Centauri is barren of a native population. The
Kulsat frequent this system, looking for Aetherock to mine—I believe you refer
to it as ‘Kinemet’. They obviously detected your presence.”

“What will they do now?” Justine asked.

Naila said, “They will report your presence here, and the
Kulsat will return in force. We must leave this system.”

Justine’s mind was awhirl with all the information. Her
immediate concern was the safety of her friends and Earth. “Won’t the Kulsat be
able to follow us to Gliese?”

“No. Emerged systems have some defense against attack. Our
star beacons are masked. Only when a star beacon is active can an Aetherbeing
detect it.”

“So the Kulsat won’t be able to follow the other patrol ship
to my home system, either?”

Naila shook his head. “Only if they were close enough to the
star beacon to sense the activation. If that were the case, they would be in
your solar system now. We do not have any indication that is the case.”

“Why wouldn’t they just go to the nearest solar system in
this area of space?” she asked, aware that Centauri and Sol were close
neighbors.

Naila crooked his head in what Justine assumed was a sign of
amusement. “There are billions of systems in the galaxy, and spacial proximity
is not a factor when traveling by the star beacons. You could have arrived here
from anywhere. The star beacon in your system is unknown to the Kulsat or the galactic
network. The Gliesans are the only ones who know its location, and we have
guarded the secret for a very long time.”

“How will they find us, then?”

Naila said, “The Kulsat will most likely set up a permanent
post in Centauri at first. Should anyone from Sol System travel here again, the
Kulsat will be able to track them.”

It took a moment for Justine to absorb it all. The next ship
to use the star beacon to travel to Centauri would be flying into a trap. She
felt overwhelmed. “So what can I do?”

“Return to our home system with us. You will be safe until
our Council can make a determination.”

“Determination?”

“On whether yours is to be considered an Emerged system or
not.”

“And what will that accomplish?”

“If you are invited to join the Collection of Worlds, we may
offer your system the technology to defend yourselves.” Naila paused before he
added, “If you are not granted status as an Emerged system, we cannot
interfere, even if the Kulsat invade you.”

Justine took that all in. She knew she was a guest aboard
the Gliesan patrol ship. Though she didn’t want to seem ungrateful, she couldn’t
accept or understand their policy.

“If you can’t interfere, then why are you helping me?”

“Simply put,” Naila said, “there is an ambiguity in the
galactic law. You, individually, are physically outside your pre-Emerged
system. We may assist you, personally, without actually interfering in the
pre-Emerged progress of your world. Though we can offer you amnesty and
protection, we are not permitted to offer you technological advances. You will
be remanded to a holding station at the outer edge of our system until a
decision can be made, and you will not have access to any restricted
information or material.”

“What happens if you break the law and interfere?” Justine
asked.

“The other member systems of the Collection would turn
against our world. This is the reason we are at war with the Kulsat; they broke
the law of the Grace.”

“And you’ve been at war for how long?” Justine asked.

“The equivalent of over one-thousand Solan years.” Naila
seemed to be growing impatient with all the questions. “Though there are more
than twenty-thousand member systems in the Collection, the Kulsat outnumber us.
They have colonized thousands of non-populated systems.”

“Twenty-thousand?” Justine remembered the writing on the
Dis
Pater,
the monument housing the star beacon on Pluto. “I thought there were
over thirty-thousand races out there?”

Naila dropped his head. “At one time,” he said, “there were.
Many systems were destroyed in the early days of the war, before we developed
technology to restrict how many Aetherbeings can enter our system at the same
time.” He made a gesture to the display showing the Kulsat shuttle. “We cannot
delay anymore. Once we are in Gliesan space, I will grant you limited access to
our history files, though I must warn you, many of our records will be off-limits.”

“I understand,” Justine said. “Thank you for taking the time
to explain what you have. I look forward to meeting with your government.”

Naila nodded to Fairamai, who used her feathery fingers to
tap instructions into their control computer. The targeting system went back
online, and the power level indicator rose.

“What are you doing?” Justine barked out.

“We must destroy the shuttle,” Naila said. “If they report
our presence here to their masters, the Kulsat will focus their aggression on Gliese.
Even with our technology, they may eventually be able to swarm us.”

Justine took a few steps forward. “You can’t kill them. They’re
innocent. Red Spot risked her life to save me.”

“Red Spot?”

“She’s a Potential.” Justine hoped the Gliesans were
familiar with the Kulsat social structure, and understood what she was trying
to tell them. “The science leader on the ship, Three Crescents, killed her
friend, Green Stripe, just to scare me into talking. Then he went on a rampage,
and was going to kill all the crew. Red Spot saved the other Kulsat from
destruction, and she saved me.”

Naila continued to regard Justine as if her words weren’t
translating properly.

Exasperated, Justine said, “Not all Kulsat have a complete
disregard for life.”

The two Gliesans exchanged glances with one another, but
made no comment.

Justine took a deep breath. “From what I’ve experienced, it
seems the Risen are the aggressive caste in Kulsat society. The others are
subservient, almost like peasants.”

“Kulsat hierarchy is familiar to us,” Naila said. “Though
the non-Risen on the shuttle pose little direct threat, they would reveal
knowledge of our system should they ever escape and return to the Consortium.
Bringing them with us to Gliese is a security risk, as is leaving them here.”

“Red Spot said there are other non-Risen who don’t agree
with the Consortium’s policies,” she added. “She could prove to be a valuable
ally.”

“The Solan may be right,” Fairamai said to Naila. “Perhaps
the Potential will give us tactical information on their fleet movements.”

That wasn’t what Justine had in mind. She didn’t think Red
Spot would betray the Consortium, but as long as the Gliesans didn’t destroy
the shuttle, she would go along with them.

Naila nodded. “Very well. I will leave the decision to our
commander.” He turned back to his console. A blob of Kinemetic material rose
out of the floor and formed into a seat that floated up behind the Gliesan.
Automatically, he sat and began to flick his feathery fingers over the computer
controls. “We will take them with us as prisoners of war.” He glanced back at
Justine.

Justine nodded. However the Gliesans chose to consider the
Kulsat on that shuttle, she thought of them as political refugees, not
soldiers.

26

Qin
Station :

Sol
System :

After his conversation
with Alice, Alex gave her a brief rundown of the events that occurred from the
moment he first entered the Centauri system over more than fourteen years ago,
to the point when they were captured by Chow Yin’s patrol.

He left out a few choice tidbits, such as the fact that Ah
Tabai was human, and that Justine had been captured by the Kulsat. Instead, he
told her that his friend had died when the alien ship was destroyed by the
mines around Pluto.

When he’d finished his story, the two of them returned to
the larger lab and approached Sian. The programmer gave him an inquisitive
look.

“How is it coming along?” Alex asked. He kept his voice
even.

Sian blinked. “Slow going. There are a lot of variables.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Alex asked. “We need
to speed up the timetable.”

Glancing at Alice, Sian took on a look of concern.

Alice turned to the guard. “Leave us.” At first, the soldier
didn’t budge, but under her continued glare, he finally nodded. “Your Highness,”
he said, and stepped outside.

Alice closed the door behind him and faced Sian. “I am aware
that you and Alex have been dragging your feet on this project.” She held up a
hand. “Not to worry. I will report that you were merely being meticulous in
your calculations. There are new developments that require the utmost
efficiency.”

Sian said, “There’s a lot of work to do, in that case.”

Stepping over to the other computer, Alex opened the program
code. “Just tell me what you need. It’s been a while, but I catch on quickly.”

∞

Over the next two days, Sian and Alex worked through the
program to create the algorithm to disseminate the frequencies hidden in the
Song of the Stars. While they wrote code, Alex wondered at how Klaus had
managed to create his program so accurately: according to Justine’s report, he ended
up with six possible combinations of the code.

At one point, Alex couldn’t follow Sian’s work anymore, and
he was just getting in the way.

Every few hours, Alice came in to check on their progress. Whenever
she was there, she ordered the guard to leave them alone.

One such time, as the code was nearing completion, she
motioned for Alex to join her on the other side of the lab.

“Yes?”

She turned on a holoslate and called up several astrophysics
charts.

“I don’t know how much you learned from your alien friends,
or how much you’ve theorized on your own, but I have a few thoughts I’d like to
run past you.”

“Of course.”

“It has to do with the nature of the star beacons. When you
traveled to the Centauri System, you did so just under the speed of
light—though you were not conscious for the duration. However, once the
Gliesans returned you here, the trip was near instantaneous.”

“Yes,” Alex said. “They said the star beacons exist at the
same point in space.”

Alice’s face clouded over. “That would imply some kind of
quantum entanglement, but that’s not what you said earlier. You said, ‘outside
light, the star beacons all occupy the same space.’ ”

“Right.”

She shook her head. “That’s not the same thing.”

“I don’t understand.”

“For centuries, physicists have been toying with the
concepts of faster-than-light travel. For example, Einstein-Rosen bridges, or
wormholes. They’ve toyed with the concepts of quantum tunneling based on the
Casimir effect. There’s the slipstream theory, which you might know as
hyperspace. Now, one might assume ‘outside light’ is a reference to this. After
all, how can light exist if you are traveling faster than it? But something
doesn’t add up. I don’t think that’s the answer.”

“Then what?”

“Well, how can two or more objects occupy the same space? It’s
a physical impossibility.”

“What about decoherence?” Alex asked. “Some kind of a
quantum immortality and quantum suicide relationship?”

Alice nodded. “That’s what I was thinking. But I think there’s
something more to it.”

“Go on.”

“Well, that’s where I run into a wall. I can’t help but
think that many of these concepts have roots in ancient religions. It’s almost
as if our ancestors from thousands of years ago had a better grasp of the
metaphysical aspects of the universe, and weren’t encumbered by our need to
quantify it in scientific terms.”

“You think this all might have something to do with
religion?”

“Well,” Alice said, “a great deal of your Mayan mysticism is
based on your ancestors’ contact with these ‘luminous’ beings. The Grace, as
you called them. Is it such a stretch that other religions and cultures may
have had some kind of contact, and developed their own explanations for it?”

Not certain where the conversation was going, Alex asked,
“So you think the ancient religions had a better understanding of the universe
than we do?”

“Maybe not in a scientific way, but their lack of hard
astrophysical knowledge didn’t hinder them from coming up with theories.” Alice
raised a finger. “Now, if we examine your alien friend’s use of the phrase, ‘outside
light’ again, we must admit the possibility of dimensional transference.”

“You think the star beacons can send a ship to another
dimension—”

“Where there might exist a corresponding star beacon at a
fixed point in their space.”

“—and then send the ship back into our dimension in a
different point in space.”

“That would explain it, wouldn’t it?”

Alex nodded. “I guess it would.”

For the first time since meeting Alice, Alex saw that her
expression was one of pure wonder. Gone was the angry and bitter young woman.
Astrophysics was her calling, and he could tell it was what made her the
happiest. Deep inside, he wished the events that had led her here had never
happened, and that they’d met in other circumstances.

Alex was aware that, though he was over thirty-years old
chronologically—only a few years younger than Alice—because of the time he’d
spent in photonic travel, he was biologically an eighteen-year-old. There were
too many differences between the two of them besides age.

A sharp pang of regret ran through him over how the course
of his life had affected him. Suddenly, Alex felt more alone than he ever had.

“Done!” Sian said, shocking him out of his reverie.

Practically jumping out of her seat, Alice hurried over to
look at the completed code. Alex followed at a slower pace.

“It’s compiling,” the programmer said. “Give it a minute,
and then we can run the algorithm.”

Together, the three of them watched, as if that very act
could speed up the process.

When the program was ready, Sian looked up at them. “Shall I
run it?”

Alice nodded, her face revealing that she was too excited to
say it aloud.

Sian ran the program. Within seconds, it spat out two
possible combinations for the priming sequence.

“Two?” Alice said, frowning.

The programmer gave a slight shake of his head. “I’m not
sure how Klaus managed to get the sequence correct the first time.” He turned
in his seat. “The only thing I can think of is that he must have used Yaxche’s
grandson’s recitation, whereas we used Yaxche’s—and yes, we have two recordings
of it.” Taking a breath, he said, “It’s possible the old man’s voice has become
weaker over the years. He was off on one note.”

“At least we don’t have to worry about variables,” Alex
said. “Klaus didn’t have access to me, or to Quantum Resources’ trials, so he
had to test for environment conditions, gravity, atmosphere, Kinemet volume and
so forth. From the records of our trials, and from what Major Turner told me, I
can recreate the necessary conditions.”

Alice took a deep breath. “But it still means we only have a
fifty-fifty chance of getting it right. Which means—”

Another voice cut through their discussion. “Which means
there will have to be a necessary sacrifice.”

Alex hadn’t noticed the main door to the lab had opened. In
the frame, standing up with the aid of his biomechatronic legs, Chow Yin put
his hands on his hips and surveyed the occupants of the lab.

He gave them a disapproving glance. “Did you think I would
leave you to your own devices without monitoring you every step of the way?”

“Sire!” Sian said in a gasp.

“I expected betrayal from Mr. Manez, but you, Sian? I
rescued you from life imprisonment. I’m very disappointed.”

Then he wagged an accusatory finger at Alice, his face
pulled into an expression of disapproval. “And you, my daughter.” Then his lips
spread into a wide smile. “You were correct. All you needed to do was to play
the damsel in distress who needed rescuing, and look, your knight in shining
armor gave up all his secrets for you.”

Alex’s stomach did a lazy flip-flop. He’d been duped, and
easily at that.

A crooked, satisfied smile on her face, Alice separated
herself from the other two and made her way over to stand beside her father.

Shaking his head, Chow Yin motioned for the guards who had accompanied
him to enter the lab and seize the prisoners.

Sian took a step back, and tried to resist when one of the
guards grabbed his arm. “What are you going to do?”

Chow Yin, Emperor of Sol System, said, “It’s quite simple.
We have two possible formulas to create a Kinemat, and now we have a volunteer.”