CHAPTER 27
Luyten’s Star
“The ship is approaching fast, Captain!” XO Koeq pointed at the viewscreen. “And the second ship simply vanished.”
“That’s not a second ship, Yohon,” Rain added. “I’m pretty sure it isn’t, anyway.”
“What?” simultaneously came from Walker and the XO.
“It’s this ship. It traveled here faster than lightspeed from that point twenty minutes ago. It took that long for the light to get here for us to see it leave,” she explained.
“Damn, this speed-of-light thing takes some getting used to!” exclaimed Walker.
“What is the alien ship doing?” Captain Jacobs asked. “Layla, what are they doing to my ship? And what have you done to my crew?”
Captain Jacobs tapped a message to medical to send help to the security detail team. Mak replied back with a thumbs-up emoji. He prayed that Mak would be safe there. With second thoughts he considered telling him not to go until they understood the threat further. But Jacobs knew that Mak would just go in anyway.
The alien ship stopped above and in front of the Emissary and emitted a blue-white field of light that seemed to be encompassing the ship. Suddenly, the stars in the distance stretched into long, thin streaks of rainbow colors, and then just as soon as it started, the effect stopped. For a brief moment, Jacobs felt like he was outside reality. He felt stretched super thin and almost like he was on some sort of drug-induced hallucination. But as suddenly as the feeling started, it ended.
Outside the ship, according to the view on the screen, was a super-Earth-sized mechanical structure. Luyten b had long since been estimated as 2.89 times the mass of the Earth, and this mechanically encompassed planet or construction was most likely it. Luyten b might once once have been a planet with actual oceans and mountains and weather. But now, it was impossible to tell. The surface was covered with mechanical structures so large that they were visible from the thousand-kilometer Keplerian orbit they had settled into. It was clearly the work of a civilization far more advanced, by at least thousands of years, than the Terrans’.
“What in the actual Hell is that?” Walker asked.
“I’m guessing this is the home world or headquarters,” Captain Jacobs said calmly. “Rain, can you get on the science station and see if any sensors are working? Learn as much as you can.”
“Certainly.” Rain released her magboots and kicked to the starboard side of the bridge to the science console. “It appears to be locked out still, Captain.”
“Layla? Answer me!” Jacobs shouted. “What is going on!?”
“Alan Jacobs, captain of the Earth vessel Emissary,” Layla’s voice responded—although it didn’t quite sound exactly like the AI’s voice. “We are New Atlantis. State your business here.”
“We received a signal from here while on Proxima b—the locals there call it Fintidier,” Jacobs started. “We also encountered survivors of some ancient race we believe called themselves Atlanteans. One survived being brought from cryostasis, and then she became violent and tried to steal our ship. During that incident, this Atlantean woman sent an encrypted signal in this general direction. Upon looking, our scientists found an old-style radio signal coming from here. So, you could say that events led us here looking for answers.”
“We surmise this from your files,” the altered voice of Layla said. “I repeat: State your business here.”
“As I said, we are looking for answers,” Jacobs started again. “That is why we came here.”
“Which answers do you seek?”
“Captain.” Rain held up a hand to get his attention.
“Rain? You got something?”
“Uh, no, but I have a thought.” She hesitated.
“Out with it. If you have any idea, it is probably more than anything the rest of us have at the moment,” Jacobs told her. “Talk. That’s why you’re here, Rain.”
“Listen to how we are being addressed,” she explained. “It sounds almost like an AI itself asking for more parameters to do a search. I don’t think it is an actual person.”
“On the contrary, Dr. Rain Gilster,” the AI voice interrupted. “While, indeed, we are not ‘a person’ as you perceive, we are also not simply an AI. But you are correct in your suggestion. Please provide us with more parameters regarding your quest for answers.”
“Okay, but first, can you give us back control of our ship?” Jacobs asked.
“No.”
“Just ‘no.’ No explanation? Why can’t you give us back control of our ship?” Jacobs did his best to speak calmly.
“Your first actions were to point your weapons at us. We have yet to ascertain your threat level or intentions.”
“We didn’t fire any weapons. We were simply being prepared. We have no idea of your intentions either,” Jacobs pleaded. “And following our interaction with the violent Atlantean woman back at Proxima, we must be cautious. Then you attacked our ship!”
“Please clarify. What answers are you seeking?”
“Jesus Christ!” Walker blurted out. “What a broken record.”
“Okay, okay.” Jacobs stared daggers at Walker to remain quiet. “First, are you the same people as the Atlantean we found at Proxima?”
“No.”
“No?”
“No.”
“Are they your ancestors?”
“No.”
“Then why do you call yourselves the New Atlanteans?” Jacobs threw up his hands.
“This system was known by its original inhabitants as Atlantis. They were Atlanteans. We are the new inhabitants. We are the New Atlanteans,” the voice explained.
Rain let out a laugh. “Sorry, Captain. But how pragmatic of them.”
“Where did the Atlanteans go?”
“We do not know.”
“Do you have any ideas?”
“Yes.”
“Can you share them with us?”
“Not at this time.”
Jacobs considered that for a moment.
“Before we go any further here, can you at least let our people go? Are they still alive?”
“They are alive for now. You might say they are in stasis.”
“Let them go.” Jacobs used his command voice and added, “That was as an order.”
“Not yet. We are still analyzing your intent here.”
“I told you. We are looking for answers!” Jacobs repeated. His frustration was starting to show.
“Continue your questions or we will cease this engagement.”
“Okay, okay.” Jacobs held up a hand as if they were watching him. “These Atlanteans, did you run them off?”
“Their departure was a mutual agreement.”
“Agreement? Like a peace treaty or something? Was there a war?” Jacobs asked.
“Yes, to all three.”
“Were you the victor of this war?” Rain added.
“The outcome of the war was beneficial to us,” the New Atlantean voice said through the Layla AI interface.
“Okay, I understand,” Jacobs returned. He took a long breath and held it for a moment. Then he exhaled through pursed lips with a slow sigh. “Do you know if the Atlanteans created or seeded humanity across the Sol and Proxima systems?”
“Yes, and many others.”
“Do you know where those others are?”
“Yes. We have records.”
“Are the Atlanteans the reason for the Fintidierian fertility crisis?”
“Yes.” As that statement ended, a flash of green light filled the Emissary from bow to stern and port to starboard.
“What just happened?” Crosby did his best to hold the alarm in his voice back.
“We scanned your crew.”
“Why?”
“We needed to determine the status of your lives.”
“Our lives?” Walkersounded panicked.
“Your current medical status, perhaps?” The voice sounded uncertain.
“And what was your prognosis?” Rain asked.
“You have all been infected with the Atlantean technophage.”
“Technophage?” Jacobs, Rain, and Walker mouthed simultaneously.
“Most similar to your bacteriophage, but it is an artificial viral mechanism used to deliver genetic payloads to human cells. It is controlled through a quantum transceiver system,” the voice explained.
“Is there a cure? Who controls this quantum transceiver?” Mak’s voice came over the network. Apparently, the entire ship was listening to the conversation.
“There is no cure as you define the word. We believe the Atlanteans had this transceiver ages ago, but they must have lost interest or taken it with them.”
“You said ‘no cure as you define the word.’ Elaborate please,” Rain asked.
“The system can be interacted with, and the original entanglement broken. Your records describe an Alice and Bob experiment where an Eve sneaks a peak and destroys the entanglement between Alice and Bob. Are you familiar with this?”
“Yes, of course.” Rain smiled. “Standard Einstein, Podolsky, Rosen experiment-and-entanglement communications protocols.”
“Very well, then,” the voice continued. “We can use an Eve to break the connection and then reconnect and reprogram the technophage.”
“Hallelujah!” Rain shouted and clapped her hands together. “If anything, that is why we have come here—to save the Proximans.”
“Since you have our files,” Jacobs interrupted, “can you analyze the encrypted signal the Atlantean sent? We haven’t been able to crack it.”
“Yes.”
“What does it say?”
“Not being able to crack this quantum encryption expresses the level of your technological advancement. Your sublight electromagnetic Rindler Horizon propulsion system does as well,” the voice said.
“Yeah, we get it. You are far more advanced than us,” Jacobs retorted. “You’ve probably been around millions of years, and we are infants in comparison.”
“That is incorrect, Captain Jacobs,” the voice explained. “We were created less than twenty thousand of your years ago.”
“Created? By whom?”
“The Atlanteans.”
“Then you are an AI?” Rain asked.
“No. We started that way. But we are more than that now.”
“What does the message say?”
“The message is to ‘The People.’ The Atlanteans viewed themselves as the only ‘people’ in the universe. All others were lesser creations. The message explains that Terrans have harnessed star travel and must be eradicated. The location of the Sol system is identified as ‘Terra.’ There are only technical details of your ship and its capabilities that follow. It would appear that you have made an enemy of the Atlanteans.”
“The enemy of my enemy may be a useful temporary ally,” Jacobs said.
“We didn’t come out here for a war. We came out here to help save the Proximans. And now it looks like we may have Proxima saved, but at the expense of Earth,” Rain said fearfully.
“Please, New Atlantis, or whatever you prefer,” Jacobs said. “We came with peaceful intentions. We were on a rescue and exploration mission. It took us eighteen years to get here. There is no harm we can do to you.”
“Captain!” the XO shouted. “Look.”
The video feed showed the tentacles withdrawing from the security detail. They seemed to regain consciousness as the metal tubes rippled free of their bodies. There was no blood or damage to their armor. They appeared to be perfectly fine.
“We will help you.”
“Wait just a minute. You attacked my ship, forced us to defend ourselves in a firefight, causing who knows how much damage, incapacitated my marines, took over the ship’s AI, and now you say you want to ‘help’ us?”
“What you say is correct.”
Jacobs couldn’t help but let his exasperation show. “Help us? With the cure? Please pardon my seeming ungratefulness, this is all happening very quickly, and I just want to make sure I understand.”
“Yes, we will help you break the entanglement and ‘cure’ those modified by it. We will also help you in your war against the Atlanteans.”
“Whoa. Wait a minute. The message was sent here, to you. By radio. At the speed of light. The Atlantean who sent it clearly thought that this system was still occupied by her people, but it wasn’t. You are here instead. If they aren’t here to get the message, then how can the Atlanteans know we exist and begin a war with us?”
“Because the technological constraints that existed when Proxima was occupied by the Atlanteans are no more. Neither we nor they continue to be limited by lightspeed communications or travel.”
“Uh, that’s interesting, but it doesn’t really answer my question.”
“They are aware.”
“And you won’t tell us how you know this?”
“Not at this time.”
“Would it be acceptable for me to confer with my crew before we respond to your offer to help? It is our custom,” Jacobs asked, not sure how the request would be received.
“Certainly. But I did not make an offer, merely a statement of fact. Nonetheless, when you are ready to resume discussions, simply speak my name, Udus.”
“Before that, I do have another request,” interjected Jacobs.
“And that is…?” replied Udus.
“I would like to regain control of my ship and have Layla back. It would be a sign of goodwill on your part.”
“Of course. We have concluded that you are not a threat,” Udus offered.
Jacobs looked around and settled his eyes on Rain, nodding his head.
“Layla, are you there?” asked Rain in response.
“Yes, Dr. Gilster. I am here. Have I been away?” The voice was Layla’s, but Jacobs was certain that Udus was there also. The New Atlanteans had taken complete control of his ship and were not likely to suddenly erase themselves from it. Besides, how else could Jacobs speak to her so easily if she weren’t listening to everything, waiting for her name to be mentioned?
“Yes, you certainly have. Welcome back,” Rain quipped.
“XO, CHENG, Commander Rogers, and Dr. Gilster. I want options.” Jacobs’s face was granite. “Meet me in my ready room in fifteen minutes. I think we need a few minutes to relieve ourselves, get some water, and think.”
* * *
Fifteen minutes went by quickly. Jacobs looked around the table at the faces of his most trusted advisors and hoped they would be able to provide something, anything, to guide him in the decisions that needed to be made.
“First, we have to assume that anything we say is being heard by Udus and the New Atlanteans unless engineering has figured out how to purge them from the ship’s systems,” Jacobs stated.
Mastrano shook her head. “No way we can get them out. We haven’t had time to do any serious diagnostics but the way they physically penetrated the hardware makes me think they are still in complete control and just granting us the temporary appearance of being in charge of our own ship. My team is looking at options, but it will take more time.”
Jacobs nodded.
“Second, given what you just heard, there is not a damn thing we can do other than cooperate with these bastards. Yes, I’m using that term intentionally. They attacked us and took over my ship. We have no idea whether or not they are telling the truth. Hell, they might be just playing us for suckers and are really the Atlanteans messing with us and waiting on a good time to pull up the curtain and say, ‘It’s time for you to die.’” Jacobs did not break his countenance.
“Third, assuming they are being honest, what is their motivation? Compared to them and the Atlanteans, we are ants. They fought a war with their creators, somehow ended it—Udus was damn vague on that—and now they’re willing to join forces with us to fight the Atlanteans again? What can we possibly contribute to such a war?”
“Captain, I’ve been thinking about that, and I see two possible answers to that question,” Rain replied. “Either they are using us as an excuse to restart their war, or they are very beneficent and don’t like seeing primitive cultures being bullied.”
“Or they really do need us for some reason that we just don’t understand,” interjected Mastrano.
Rogers looked pained. “I saw these things in action when I thought they were going to rip this ship apart. They’re advanced, sure, but we were able to hurt them, or at least damage them. That means they’re vulnerable. Maybe they need us to do their dirty work. Maybe they’re afraid they’ll get damaged in a one-on-one confrontation and we’re the cannon fodder.” He leaned back in his chair and watched the faces of those around him for a reaction.
The room was quiet.
“I don’t buy their story about being AI creations of the Atlanteans, the war, the whole schtick. It sounds too much like something we’d want to hear, including the offer to help us in war. Too good to be true,” added Rogers.
“I agree,” Rain said. “This whole encounter reeks of deception and intimidation.”
Mastrano and Koeq nodded in agreement.
“XO, you’ve been too quiet. What do you think?” Crosby asked, looking at Koeq.
“I don’t think we have much choice, Captain. They could fly us into the star or simply tell our reactor to overload and blow us to shit. And they know it—don’t you, Udus?”
Everyone in the room looked around expectantly, waiting to see if Udus was listening and would announce her presence. The room remained quiet.
“So, recommendations?” Crosby looked around the room. They all made valid points, but he needed an action plan. How should they respond to Udus?
“I recommend we partner with them. There’s really no other option. We can’t fight them,” Rogers said.
Rain, Mastrano, and Koeq all nodded in agreement.
“Thank you for your advice. I’ll let you know my decision when we return to the bridge.” Crosby announced as he rose from his seat. “Dismissed.”
Everyone walked out of the room, leaving Crosby alone standing behind the head of the table.
“Udus, I’d like to speak with you now,” Crosby said.
“I am here. Have you reached a decision?” came the voice of Layla—now, apparently, firmly back under Udus’s control.
“I have. We accept your offer of support, at least as far as I am allowed leeway to accept it as the ranking officer at this location. Our political leadership back at Proxima and then, ultimately, at Earth will have to make a final decision. I don’t have the authority to negotiate a treaty with another civilization.”
“We understand your delegated authority and are pleased with this decision. We are confident that your leadership will agree. Your civilization is at great peril.”