Authors: Allen Charles
CHAPTER 71
After five solid days of de-spin the fragment was almost at relative zero rotation. The stars stayed in place and the sun was now behind them as they drifted towards the pinpoints of the Alpha Centauri system. They were still well within the solar system and had not come close to the orbital path of Mars, which was across the other side of town on the far side of the sun.
Martin and Janine were working the thrusters like precision surgical instruments at Shaw’s instruction. Their goal was to remove all appreciable wobble and rotation to ensure the most perfect vector for the Dinkshif Drives. Once in post-relativistic drive, there could be no further adjustment so there was no time limit placed upon getting it right.
An error of one thousandth of one percent could see them missing the Alpha cluster by irretrievable distances, adding years to their journey in recovery. Once the Dinkshif’s took over there would be no celestial navigation, no view of the stars. Once again it was do or die.
When all the pilots and Shaw had checked and double checked the instrumentation, there was consensus that the fragment was in perfect configuration for the journey. The water bolus had settled to the correct position even before the acceleration of the drives, due to the tidal pull of the sun. It was miniscule, but enough to be helpful. The pumps would now work, bringing the priceless, life giving fluid to the holding tanks. With no further need for reaction mass, other than personal jet packs for emergencies, every molecule of water would now be recycled at what amounted to one hundred percent efficiency.
The two pilots, Martin and Janine, settled their craft for the last time until half way point turnover, on each side of the complex entrance. The vessels required only light tethering as their own inertia would hold them in place against the pseudo gravity. Everything of possible use was transferred to the complex after the temporary lock was replaced by a sturdy, permanent structure devised by Graham. The final job was to permanently seal the RABI bore hole at both ends.
All four Dinkshif Drives were deployed, the two extras being placed where the ships had anchored to stop the fragment spin. The reasoning was that having an independently controlled drive on each of the principal axes would allow directional correction, and considering that this had never been tried before, Shaw wanted every possible control advantage.
The launch group sat in the complex control room. The dimage module from the transport had been brought in as it was far superior to the ancient Iranian US surplus equipment. The Dinkshif’s were linked and controlled from the module. Shaw sketched an envelope shape around the fragment dimage, leaving sufficient room to move the ships if required. The smaller the envelope, the more power the drives could apply to acceleration. He pushed back and made way for Janine, Martin and Sheila to examine his design. Fuller, Tom and Graham looked on.
“Would it make a huge difference,” asked Sheila, “if we had a kind of tail and a bulb on it trailing back here?” She moved her hands and a tubular extension appeared, like a sting ray tail. Then she added a bulb to the very end.
“What is that for?” asked Janine, already suspecting the answer.
“Disposal. Sort of a burial area if we ever needed it.”
“Makes a lot of sense.” Janine looked around at the others for agreement. They all nodded affirmative. “Can you factor that in Gerald and see how it affects us?”
Shaw took the dimage addition and broke it down to surface equations which he pushed into the dimage above. The computer generated the most efficient envelope shape that finally looked like a fat and skinny ten pin. “There’s our shape. The effect of the added tail reduces our coefficient of thrust by only one quarter of a percent. We can go with this shape.”
The group patted Sheila on the back. “Good call commander.” said Fuller.
“Please Colonel, I’m no commander.”
“You were promoted in the field I believe?”
“Yes sir.”
“Very well. Carry on commander. That is your rank until further notice. Don’t ask for a pay increase. There is no pay.” Fuller smiled at Sheila who shrugged her shoulders and accepted the inevitable.
Fuller looked around at everyone present, including Zardooz who sat at the back, watching. “This is it people.” he said across the comms system to all in the complex. “Any last thoughts or ideas? Any concerns? State them now. We are about to leave our solar system and what was our home. For ever.” He waited for a few seconds. There was silence. He nodded at Janine who was to initiate the Dinkshif first stage of envelopment and then to engage the drives. The trajectory was locked in to the dimage system. “Let’s go.” he said calmly.
Janine touched the activation switch and everyone tensed up.
Nothing happened.
No Change.
Except... yes, the outside monitors were changing from a view of the sharp pinpoints of stars and fuzzy galaxies to a uniform, featureless grey. The large orange digits of the distance panel lit up with its four lines all ticking over, elapsed time, time to go, elapsed distance and distance to go. Two smaller lines showed total time and distance. The time was in hours, minutes and seconds, the distance in kilometers. They were leaving miles and gallons behind as the dimage system was completely metric.
Of course the first thing heard was, “How far is that in miles?” from Felicity.
She cringed when Gerald turned around and shook his head in mock disgust.
“Two and a half years to turnover. Let’s make this place home!” said Fuller. “Full community meeting in one hour. We will use the large room two doors down as our permanent “town hall”. Maintain the groupings of four and the roster at all times. “Sheila, Martin and Corcoran, please join me now.”
The complex went into a relaxed state for the hour, while Fuller and his companions discussed the disappearances in the control room. They didn’t have anything to add in the way of detail and did not come closer to a solution or identification of the cause. However Zardooz was still sitting quietly, listening in. He stood up carefully in the low gravity and sidled over. “Excuse me.” he interrupted. “I have some information in this matter.”
They turned to him expectantly. “Yes?” said Fuller.
He told them about the women who had died during the fuel bomb blast and how the bodies had vanished from this very room. He had searched the complex later but they were nowhere to be found.
“During my search for these women,” he continued, “I also found evidence that certain vermin had entered the complex. There were rat droppings and I found a small, but very deadly snake in a store room. Even its venom alone can be toxic. We must be careful and eradicate these things.”
“Why didn’t you tell us this earlier?”
“I killed the snake. It was not so important that you should be distracted.”
“What else have you chosen not to tell us Mr Zardooz?”
Zardooz looked down and turned his lips into an inverted crescent while shrugging and throwing his palms upwards. He shook his head rapidly indicating that he could think of nothing he had omitted. Sheila watched him closely, noting the body language and analyzing it through her Pirogi Cholent training.
They moved off as a group to some down time before the meeting. Sheila whispered to Fuller, “He’s lying through his teeth Colonel. There’s more he hasn’t told us. Body language analysis is mandatory training in my discipline.”
“Are you sure you can read oriental body language?”
“It is partially nurture, but the underlying signals are all nature. I read this slimy bozo loud and clear sir.”
“Can you nail a specific subject?”
“He lied about the snake and the rat droppings. He was telling the truth about the women. And he blew it at the end with the whole palms up act. He’s good. Just that I’m better.”
“Thank you Sheila. I will be very careful.”
CHAPTER 72
The meeting resulted in the appointment of standing committees to take care of the functions encountered by any small community, from agriculture to zoology and all points in between. Zardooz had been present but had not been given any specific job or position. When the meeting broke up he made his way across to Fuller and waited for him.
Fuller turned to leave and saw Zardooz. “Yes Mr Zardooz, what can I do for you?”
“Colonel Fuller, this is my complex. This is part of Iran. May I play a part in all this?”
“Mr Zardooz, we wish for you to be able to relax and enjoy this new life. Your primary task is to keep Arjmand under control. He could still do a lot of damage because we don’t know his state of mind, even with the amnesia. We are not disrespecting you sir. On the contrary, we are supporting your privileged position.”
“Thank you Colonel Fuller. I do appreciate your consideration, however I do not wish to be viewed as a parasite and a user by everyone else. I believe I should have a public position.”
Fuller could see that Zardooz was going to keep biting his ankles until he gave in. He thought quickly and came up with a solution. All the essential functions had been covered by committee appointments, so he needed a function that appeared to be essential but actually made no difference. The disappearances were the answer.
“Mr Zardooz, we have one position left, possibly the most important function on the whole fragment which I was going to assume myself. I think possibly that you may fill that position, as you have first hand experience of the phenomenon. Would you consider taking on this important task?”
Zardooz couldn’t help a small smile curling on his lips as he pretended to consider accepting the job. “What would my duties be Colonel?”
“You would need to maintain a baseline observation of the whole complex with a personnel distribution overlay. Any sudden differences must be reported immediately to an investigation team. While the team is directed to the anomaly you will be monitoring external monitors and electronic signals, also for anomalies and overt signals. Our conclusion was that we are being monitored and interfered with by an alien civilization with advanced technology. We have yet to find direct evidence, but all the signs point to aliens.”
“Hmm. All things considered Colonel, I will be honored to take that position. Will I have any assistants?”
“Of course. Since we tragically lost two of our cadets we have had two teams of five. The two cadets left will now join you and Arjmand to make a team of four once again. Part of our vigilance strategy is that teams are together all the time without exception... even in the bathroom.”
“I’m sure that I don’t need full time assistants Colonel. I have not been part of a team up to now...” blustered Zardooz, realizing he painted himself into a corner.”
“No, those are the rules Mr Zardooz. There are no exceptions. Not me, not you from now on.”
Zardooz saw he was beaten again and rolled with the blow. He would find a way to steal some private moments. He had plenty of time to work out a scheme to take over the complex that belonged to him, but for now, he would play along.
“Thank you Colonel. I will assemble my team and get on with the job. You will make known my official position to others please?”
“Certainly.”
The ongoing needs of the group were undergoing careful analysis based upon current knowledge. There was an assumption that the youniforms would not last forever so food would become an issue. There was seed stock aboard destined for experimentation on Space City. No more experimentation. This was the food of the future.
Hydroponic farms were built in the caves, using artificial lighting and water from the readily available reservoir One group took the RABI and set it on coarse cut, carving away a chamber into solid rock. The chamber was a side benefit because they wanted the residue as soil. Upon further exploration of the cave system, a whitish strata streak was identified as a phosphate based mineral deposit which they mapped out. They could mine it safely for use as fertilizer to which they added a source of bacteria, the only source of bacteria, human feces, to start breaking down the rock particles and cellulose refuse from around the complex that was trashed. There was not going to be a planting of seed stock until the soil was safe, some generations of bacterial activity down the track.
Even though hydroponics would be sufficient, keeping the idea of soil based agriculture alive was the primary aim. The sanitation team was closely allied with the agricultural and water teams as they struggled to build a balanced eco-system. They just could not afford any mistakes.
Fuller had told the President of Sheila’s observation about Zardooz and what he had done to keep him under surveillance around the clock. That jogged the President’s memory about something Rafi Ben-Gurion had revealed to him during the hostilities. There was a patch of nano-bot varnish on a desk in this secret complex, the problem now being lack of equipment for receiving and controlling the varnish, plus it was not a US design. Rafi had sent the President one thing, a specification document, but it was in Hebrew, which no one on the fragment knew as a native language.
“Hang on! I do recall Zardooz toasting us in Hebrew. As head of Iranian security he surely must know Hebrew, the language of his enemy! But then, there is no joy in that. We need him to translate the very thing we want to use to watch him.”
“How about trying the computer translator?” said the President. “It may not have the power of an on-line facility, but it may give you a sensible text, or something close.”
“Worth a try.” Fuller worked the computer, retrieving the file sent by Ben-Gurion and loading it into the on board translator. After a few seconds the Hebrew resolved itself into a series of number sequences, which is what Fuller had been expecting. These were the communication frequencies and wavelengths for the nano-bot paint control that the dimage would be able to control. It seemed all to simple for such a sensitive system. The dimage flashed up a message, “UNABLE TO CONNECT”. There was an ingredient missing.
The President moved closer and said, “See that symbol up there in the top right corner of Rafi’s document? You just went with the main text. Rafi was secular but had a religious bent. I think if you use that sequence in front of everything it may work. His message is that God always comes first... That’s it! What is the Hebrew for God?”
Fuller typed in “GOD” for a reverse translation. Four Hebrew characters appeared, which he copied to the original document.
The same numeric sequences appeared, but this time a short numeric line with four numbers, separated by commas, appeared first. 10, 5, 6, 5.
This time the dimage accepted the data and produced the nano-bot paint control screen that was embedded in the numbers. An image coalesced on the screen, but it made no sense... until it moved as a piece of paper that covered the nano-varnish on a desk that was bolted to the floor of a secure conference room revealed...
Zardooz, seated at his desk. He was leaning back working his way through the remainder of the vodka and reading through documents, clearly looking for something. He suddenly stopped and looked around, as if he felt he was being watched. He settled back and gave a start once again, then shook his head to clear it and looked at the remaining vodka in the squeeze bottle. He pulled out a drawer and carefully set the bottle down, cap closed.
In the control room, Shaw jumped to shut and lock the door while Fuller directed the nano varnish to gradually make its way off the desk and move to the ceiling, changing color and texture as it encountered new surfaces. Zardooz was just in the picture as the varnish slid over the edge of the desk to move to the leg. He was head back and snoring from the vodka, papers scattered everywhere on the desk, his two cadet assistants and Arjmand in the annex, separated by a glass door.
“What are you looking for Mr Zardooz?” said Fuller more to himself.
“Nothing good for us I wager.” said the President.
“He knows something or is looking for something that will give him an advantage. He’s pretending to cooperate and I don’t believe he is a suicidal fanatic like Arjmand. He knows that damaging what we have here will kill him too and he can’t threaten to blackmail us when he can’t follow through, so what can he do?” Fuller touched some dimage buttons and personnel files came up. He spoke out, “Find psychiatrist, psychologist, profiler.”
Moments later two names appeared in a list. One was a Space City doctor from Sheila’s shuttle who listed psychiatry as a second discipline, and the other was one of the President’s Secret Service detail who was a former FBI agent specializing in criminal profiling.
Fuller noted the locations of the individuals and sent Shaw and Felicity to bring them to the control room. He felt that the rule of four was unnecessary since the self destruct charges had been “vanished” from the complex before Arjmand had hit the button. He also had a gut feeling that something had changed with the alien interference. There had been no sign of them for days since the fragment had been taken into Dinkshif drive mode. He had personally felt a nagging anxiety that had been part of his life, and thus unnoticed, lift from him when the Dinkshif envelope was activated. He hadn’t quizzed any of the others about this feeling yet. He was waiting to see if any unsolicited comments revealed a similar feeling, and he had certainly noticed a lightening of spirits of many of the population.
He did however notice, every so often and not at a regular interval, the feeling of anxiety trying to invade his mind anew, but now that he had identified this artificial emotion he was able to block it as soon as it manifested itself.
He decided he would discuss this with the doctor of psychiatry after looking at Zardooz.
Shaw was entering with a short, stocky, middle aged man, obviously well kept and fit, a twinkle in his eyes and a smile on his face. His youniform revealed well defined muscles and the edge of a receding hairline. “Doctor Peter Lewis, Colonel Fuller and the President.” introduced Shaw.
The doctor shook hands with both and moved aside as Felicity ushered in the Secret Service agent. “Mr President,” she said,”you know David Lucas of course, David, this is Colonel Fuller.”
The introductions done, Shaw and Felicity moved to the back of the room while doc Lewis and agent Lucas were seated in front of the dimage and monitor screen. Fuller did not waste any time and went into a full disclosure of everything that had occurred since first contact with Zardooz. He did not give any impressions or draw any conclusions, just straight fact.
When he finished, he looked to the President and Shaw and asked them if he had missed any detail, or if they had anything to add. There was nothing.
Fuller then brought in the first analysis of Zardooz that had even some remotely justifiable basis. Sheila’s view that Zardooz was lying about the snake venom on the bottle. Fuller connected the event with Zardooz later volunteering that he had killed such a snake and that there were snakes, rats and vermin in the complex.
“Now gentlemen, I will play back all security auto recordings of our interactions with Zardooz.”
Fuller hit the start button and the screen showed the first contact, from the episode with the repair bot, the interaction in the tunnel, right through to the present. Fuller hit fast forward in the static sections and the intelligent system stopped to play when the scene had any significant change.
“Hold it there!” the doctor called.
The scene was Zardooz speaking about the snake venom and rats.
“Can we replay that part but slow it right down please?” the doctor asked, then looked at Lucas.
“I see it.” said Lucas. “Sheila Johnson is good. She picked it up too.”
The clip ran in slow motion showing Zardooz face on, looking up at the person he was speaking to, probably Fuller. While Zardooz spoke about the disappearance of the women he looked directly at his audience. The moment he started to talk about the snake venom, his eyes flicked down to his left momentarily, then he caught his physiological reaction to lying and he forced his eyes back up again, the small muscles of his face clearly tensed as he fought the lie reaction.