14 Feb 2011

In the City of Tomorrow: Chapter 26

Posted by joncooper

The Sparrow dropped out of hyperspace a few minutes later. The crew was surprised to find themselves in an immensely crowded star system that was packed with dozens of planets. At the center of the system was the brightest and most massive star they had ever seen.

Jones spoke up, surprise evident in his voice. “Sensors are detecting 74 planets, all of which are quite large – nearly big enough to be stars themselves. All of them are in a tight orbit around a rather large star.”

“How large?” Richard asked.

“It’s about 90 million miles across,” Jones replied. “Its output is beyond anything I’ve ever seen. The energy it releases every six seconds is equivalent to the yearly output of Sol. This is a star system of giants.”

“This is my home,” the Artilect said softly. “I was created in another place but this is where I achieved sentience. Today the machines that make up my mind span all of these planets. Of course, in 2431 this system was quite different – the star was much smaller and there were only twelve planets. Since that time I have enhanced this star system in order to support the needs of the network.”

“You changed the star?” Sergeant Howell asked. “How is that even possible?”

“The Nehemiah IV probes were designed for just such a task,” the Artilect explained. “Many star systems have stars that are hostile to life so the final version of the Nehemiah-class probes was given the ability to alter stellar chemistry into something more friendly. I simply borrowed one for a time and used its capabilities for my own purposes.”

“Very impressive,” Captain Max replied. “Very impressive indeed. So why did you bring us here?”

“I need to prepare your ship for its journey into the hostile region of space. My Steward did an excellent job but now that you are here there are some enhancements I can make that were beyond his abilities. In addition, I need to place some equipment on board your vessel so that I may accompany you on this journey.”

“Can’t you just project yourself, the way you did before?” Sergeant Howell asked.

The Artilect nodded. “I can but then I would be a mere image with limited capabilities. By extending myself onto this vessel I can channel a great deal more of my power, which may be necessary if we are attacked.”

“But I thought you weren’t allowed to go to war,” the sergeant said.

“That is true. That is why we are going to take only this single ship instead of building a fleet to accompany us. However, I am permitted to defend myself. Sol is well outside the realm of the eternal war and going there is not a deliberate provocation. If we are attacked it will not be because of any action I have taken, and the defense of your lives is well within my authority.”

Richard nodded. “That sounds reasonable enough. How long will this take?”

“It is already done,” the Artilect replied. “I have finished all of the modifications while we were talking. We are now ready to depart.”

“That’s amazing!” Laura exclaimed. “How is that possible?”

The Artilect smiled. “Even in your day, ma’am, you had machines capable of executing trillions of calculations in a fraction of a second. With the resources I have available to me I am able to do a great deal more than that.”

“Fair enough,” Captain Max said. “So what’s our plan?”

“This is your ship, captain,” the Artilect replied. “It will be up to you to form a plan and execute it. My advice would be to set a course for Sol. With the new FTL drive you should be able to reach it in just a few moments. I would then suggest raising the shields, scanning the area, and making sure we are not under attack. If you are comfortable with the situation I will then shut down the time stasis field and see what is inside.”

“Is there a way you can see what’s inside before you shut it off?” Sergeant Howell asked.

“The very nature of time fields prevents that. Consider, sergeant. If time is not passing then how could one send a beam of light inside to illuminate its contents? Without the passage of time the light would be unable to reach its destination. It would be forever trapped just inside the field.”

Sergeant Howell nodded. “That makes sense. Could you release the time field slowly, then – perhaps just start up time a little bit, just enough to see what we’re getting into?”

“Are you concerned about what the field might contain?” the Artilect said.

“I am. Anything could be in there – it might contain the twins and it might contain something entirely different. We just don’t know. I think it would be a good idea to find out before just letting it lose and finding out the hard way.”

“I understand your concern but in this case I do not believe we are in any danger. To the best of my knowledge no one else ever developed time stasis technology. Only myself and the Sentinel have that ability.”

“But you don’t know everything,” Sergeant Howell pointed out. “Five thousand years of history has gone by and you have only the vaguest idea what has happened during all those years. That’s a lot of time. Besides, the whole reason we’re here is because something went wrong, and that tells me the Sentinel encountered something he didn’t expect. I think we should be as careful as possible – especially when dealing with the unknown.”

“That’s a good point,” Captain Max said. “For that matter, why would the girls suspend themselves at the outskirts of Sol anyway? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“It was the Old Ones,” Jones said. “They had a hand in this.”

“Really?” Richard asked.

Jones smiled. “I see the future, not the past, Richard. It is only a guess. But I cannot think of any other 19th-century power that could have posed a threat to a machine from the 73rd century.”

“It is a reasonable guess,” the Artilect agreed. “Then have we settled on a plan?”

“I think so,” Richard said. “Are there any objections?”

No one spoke up, so Richard nodded toward the captain. Captain Max gave the order and Jones laid in the course. A moment later the ship jumped into hyperspace and was on its way to Sol.

* * * * *

“Looks pretty quiet to me,” Jones remarked after the ship had arrived. “The ship’s sensors are picking up on the Wall and the time stasis field but that’s it. There aren’t any other vessels around for dozens of light-years.”

“The machines of the endless war give this system a wide berth,” the Artilect replied. “For reasons I do not understand they will not go near it.”

“The whole endless war thing doesn’t make any sense to me,” Sergeant Howell remarked. “Their recent foray into your territory proved that they’re quite capable of widespread destruction. How is it possible that both sides could remain stalemated for thousands of years? I just don’t believe it.”

“What do you mean?” the Artilect asked.

“In a real war both sides use all the resources available to them in order to gain an advantage. Why aren’t these bots taking over all these unclaimed planets and using them to get an edge? They’re definitely capable of mounting extremely violent offensives and yet all both sides seem to do is inflict just enough damage to keep the war going but not enough to end it.”

“What are you getting at?” Richard asked.

“I think the war is phony. Somebody is controlling both sides and has set them up to appear to be fighting. They want it to look like there’s a war going on when there really isn’t. I bet whoever started this could stop it if they wanted to – but they don’t.”

“But why would they do such a thing?” Laura asked.

“I don’t know,” the sergeant replied. “They must have something to gain by it or they wouldn’t do it.”

The Artilect looked at him, puzzled. “So you believe that mankind is not in any danger?”

The Sergeant shook his head. “Look at it this way: if mankind is the target then why aren’t they being attacked? If the people behind the Tau Ceti Wall are stronger than the bots then why haven’t they defeated them – and if they’re weaker than the bots then why haven’t they been wiped out?”

“Maybe they can’t get through the shield,” Captain Max offered.

“But they’re not even trying,” Sergeant Howell pointed out. “You can see right there on the console where the war is, and from what I’ve been told the war has always been going on in that very same sector – far away from where it could do any actual harm. They’re not even fighting over anything. Oh, sure, maybe they used to be, but they’re not anymore.”

The Artilect spoke up. “If mankind is in no danger then why do they stay hidden behind the Walls of Tau Ceti and Alpha Centauri A?”

“I don’t know,” Sergeant Howell replied. “Maybe they don’t want to explore the stars or maybe they’ve lost all their advanced technology and can’t leave their home worlds. I don’t know. But I think something important is going on that we don’t understand. Things aren’t what they appear to be. I don’t believe the real danger is that phony endless war.”

“Do you believe there is a real danger?” Laura asked.

Jones spoke up. “The only reason the Artilect was able to bring us here is because the Lord opened up a portal through time. That’s pretty serious business, ma’am. If there was no danger I don’t think He would have done that. We’ve been brought here for a reason. Something is very wrong and only your two girls can fix it.”

“Which brings us back to the matter at hand,” Richard said. “Andy, it’s time for you to do your thing.”

The Artilect nodded. The elderly gentleman closed his eyes and appeared to be concentrating. For a few minutes nothing happened and then he spoke up. “You were correct, Sergeant Howell. Your approach is wise.”

“Are my girls not there?” Laura asked, disappointed.

They do not appear to be on board,” the Artilect replied.

“On board what?” Richard asked.

“The Starfire,” the Artilect said.

Captain Max gasped. “Don’t tell me the Starfire is inside that time field!”

The Artilect opened his eyes and nodded. “The stasis field does indeed contain that vessel. On board is an evangelist named Reverend Gene Knight and a host of Poneri. There are no other passengers. Neither the twins nor the Sentinel are present.”

“That’s strange,” Richard said. “Didn’t the Sentinel stay in the 19th century for the sole purpose of wiping out the Poneri?”

“He did,” the Artilect replied.

“Then why did he just freeze them in time instead?”

“Why not ask the passenger?” Laura said. “I’m sure he knows what’s going on. After all, he’s right there in the middle of everything!”

“Can you extract him without letting the whole field down?” Sergeant Howell asked.

The Artilect nodded. “At the moment time is passing extremely slowly inside the stasis field. I can extract the evangelist while maintaining the field that this level. However, it will take almost an hour to do so.”

“Works for me,” Captain Max said. “My evening was clear anyway.”

“Then I shall begin the process,” the Artilect replied, smiling.

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