In the City of Tomorrow: Chapter 6

The twins found themselves standing in what used to be the Starfire‘s forward cafeteria. At one time the large room was furnished with tables and chairs, and food was served on several counters that were strategically placed throughout the room. Those days, however, were long past. All of the room’s furniture had disappeared long ago, and nothing remained of the meal counters but twisted pieces of metal. Two of the room’s walls had been torn away, exposing the room to space. The cafeteria was airless and empty and there were no sources of light. Broken ceiling tiles dangled down from the ceiling, revealing a twisted maze of burnt-out wiring. Through the gaping holes in the ship’s hull they could see the Starfire‘s cylindrical hull stretching off into the distance.

“This ship is a total wreck!” Amy exclaimed.

“And dark,” Amanda added. “If we weren’t plugged into the network we wouldn’t be able to see anything. In fact, we would have suffocated because there’s no air here.”

“Hey, that’s right! I guess the nanites have created some kind of air bubble around us or something. That’s pretty neat. But what are we doing here, anyway?”

“This portion of the ship is no longer used,” the Sentinel explained. “In 1859 this ship ran into the Polaris, which caused extensive hull damage. Rather than repairing the damage the captain simply sealed off those portions of the ship. By remaining here we can explore the ship without interacting with its inhabitants.”

“But we have our shields up, right?” Amy asked. “They can’t see us anyway so why bother hiding?”

“But they can run into us,” Amanda pointed out. “Having a cloaking shield isn’t going to stop them from colliding with you in the hallway. Here we’re both out of sight and out of the way.”

“But how can we explore the ship from here?”

“Just use your mind,” Amanda said. “Try it.”

Amy suddenly realized that she was aware of the ship. When she closed her eyes and opened her mind she could visualize every detail of the Starfire – right down to every nut and bolt. She could trace every wire and see every damaged hull plate. What she saw horrified her. “This place is a terrible fire hazard! Why do they even allow it in space?”

“This ship is a Spanish vessel,” the Sentinel explained. “That gives it access to Earth. Since no Ranger ships are allowed within Sol that has given this ship great value in spite of its deplorable condition. Of course, now that the Wall has been erected that ability is meaningless, so I suspect this ship is at the end of its life. This may be its last voyage.”

“What Wall?” Amanda asked.

“An hour ago Governor Jack Nicholas ordered that a Wall be erected around Sol in order to prevent anyone from that star system from leaving. That was the Ranger’s response to the Emperor’s attack on the Sparrow.”

“Oh,” Amanda said. “I didn’t know about that. What’s going to happen now?”

“For the time being there will be peace,” the Sentinel explained. “Since the Emperor can no longer threaten the Rangers the Tau Ceti civilization will grow and prosper. It will continue to flourish until the 25th century, when the endless war will begin. That will wipe out all colonies except for two – one on Epsilon Eridani and one on Tau Ceti.”

“What about Earth?” Amy asked.

“In my time Sol is still locked behind the Wall,” the Sentinel said.

“No one ever let them out?”

“Not before the Tau Ceti civilization collapsed. Neither I nor the Artilect had the authority to bring down the Wall so we left it alone. That decision will be left to you.”

“We can think about that later,” Amanda said. “Like, five thousand years from now. Right now we’ve got other problems.”

Amy turned her attention back to the Starfire. She quickly located all eight people that were on board the vessel. It was shortly before noon, local time. Captain Brahms was on the bridge sound asleep. Laura Fields, the navigator, was also on the bridge. At the moment she was talking with someone at the Alpha Mensae colony, making arrangements for the ship’s arrival two days from now. Lee Bailey, the chief engineer, was in the engine room doing nothing in particular. Davis Carpino, the ship’s first mate, was trying to find Lee but not having any luck. Vernon Fisher, one of the passengers, was in his cabin writing software. Karen Perkins and Charlie Stephens, also passengers, were in the cargo hold. Reverend Gene Knight was in his cabin studying the book of Romans.

“I feel like I’m spying on people,” Amy said.

“You’re not supposed to be watching the people,” Amanda said. “You’re supposed to be looking for Poneri! The people don’t have anything to do with this. Have you forgotten why we’re here?”

Amy turned her attention back to the ship itself. She didn’t see anything that looked like it might be a Poneri. She tried different scans. Over time she began to notice that something was wrong with the cargo bay.

“I don’t get it,” she said at last. “It’s like there is a wrinkle there or something. I can’t get a good look at it.”

“I see it as well,” the Sentinel replied. “It is well hidden, but it is there. Let’s take a closer look.”

In an instant the three of them vanished from the ruined cafeteria and found themselves in the cavernous cargo bay. Crates were stacked from floor to ceiling as far as the eye could see. The room was dimly lit and filled with shadows. It was an eerie place. Over in one corner Karen and Charlie were talking over the events of the day. They had heard about the destruction of the Sparrow and the creation of the Wall and were speculating about what it might mean.

“Look – they’re talking about us!” Amy whispered.

“Focus!” Amanda hissed. “We’re not here to eavesdrop.”

Amy and Amanda walked between the crates toward the back of the room. They soon found themselves in a little open area that was right next to the loading dock. The Sentinel stood beside them, staring at it intently.

“I don’t see anything,”Amy said.

“I do,” Amanda commented. She mentally transferred some patterns to her sister’s mind. “Try these settings.”

“That’s much better!” Amy replied. “Thanks, Atzi.” Now she could see what her sister did – a wavy anomaly that shimmered in an out of existence. “It almost looks like a tear of some kind.”

“I think it is a portal,” the Sentinel said. “I may have misunderstood how the Poneri work. It appears that they do not live in our region of space. They have created another home for themselves – an area like the Infinite Room that has been designed to support their type of life. The star system that I found was not their home; it was simply the place where they first found a way to connect to their own space.”

“And this portal connects our world to theirs?” Amanda asked.

“I believe so,” the Sentinel replied. “When I froze their star system in time I apparently only closed one of their entry points. This must be the other one.”

“Do you think there are others?” Amanda asked.

“It is possible but not probable,” the Sentinel replied. “When I stepped into this century I performed a thorough scan of all local star systems. The only Poneri I found were in their hidden star system and on board this ship. I believe those are the only two portals to their home. It is possible that they may have other gates that are hidden in other galaxies, but I do not believe that is likely.”

“How did it get here?” Amy asked.

“Didn’t Captain Max say something about that?” Amanda said. “He said something about this ship visiting a strange planet and then bad things happened. Maybe the crew did something they weren’t supposed to and somehow created this portal.”

“You may well be right,” the Sentinel replied. “Perhaps we can ask him about it when we return to the future.”

“I guess we just need to close this portal, then,” Amanda said, eying it critically. “Do you have any ideas?”

The Sentinel nodded. “I can just freeze it in time and then collapse the time singularity. That will destroy the conditions that make the portal possible. Of course, doing so will destroy this ship so before we can proceed we will need to–”

At that moment the portal came to life! A brilliant white light poured out of it and countless shadow beings streamed out of the hole. Before they even knew what happened the trio found themselves under attack!