Old Earth Stories Part 16

Eve raised her hand. "There is more," she said solemnly. "Human and Ghosts must both join the great confluence of mind in the far future, join with the rest. That is the only way the next transition can be survived by either of us." by either of us."

Donn was shocked by this latest bit of bad news. "And if humans destroy the Ghosts "

"Then neither neither will survive. Remember," she said, her voice scratchy. "Remember " will survive. Remember," she said, her voice scratchy. "Remember "

Five ran toward the Silverman, who stood stock-still, slow to react. She raised her fists and slammed them down on the Seer. Her hands pa.s.sed through its substance, scattering pixels.

Donn pulled her away.

"Just an avatar," she said, breathless. "Worth a try. To strike such a blow... it would have been magnificent."

The Ghost and its companions were surrounded by a cloud of pixels now. The star's light flickered.

And Donn was home.

His mother ran up to him and grabbed him. "Oh, Lethe, Donn! I never thought I'd see you again!" He let her weep on his shoulder. "Benj is back, too," she whispered. "He's back!"

Donn saw Five, still in her bloodstained Ghost-hide suit, looking even more scared and bewildered than in the center of the star. There was Samm, his father, grinning hugely, grabbing onto Benj as hard as his mother was to Donn. The Commissary, Elah, was here, too. She looked as shocked as any of them at Donn's sudden appearance, but she was looking up into the sky with some alarm and muttering into the air, evidently communicating with her Coalition colleagues.

Donn couldn't resist grinning at his brother. Benj was wearing a plain white bathrobe; all his hair had been shaved off. "Benj, what happened to you?"

"I've been a stark naked lab rat for a day. If it was you who got me out "

"It was. You owe me."

"d.a.m.n."

There were twin concussions, soft explosions, and a breeze of displaced air. Hama Belk and Kanda Fors had coalesced, under the lifedome. Grubby, scrawny, they both staggered in the sudden change of gravity, and they clung to each other in shock. Then they realized where they were, and their clinging turned to a hug of joy.

Then Hama spotted Elah in her black Commissary's robe, and he went over to her immediately.

Donn gently disengaged his mother. "Mom you have guests."

Rima turned. "Do I know you?"

Kanda, recovering her composure quickly, came forward. "Kanda Fors. Food tech, from the Michael Poole. Michael Poole. We met a couple of times, I think... I've been lost for a number of years." We met a couple of times, I think... I've been lost for a number of years."

"It's a day of shocks for us all." Rima stepped forward, and the women clasped hands. Rima's face tattoos flared electric blue, and Donn was proud of her.

Amid more concussions, more of the ragged rats from Ghostworld started to appear, many naked, bewildered. One woman cradled a baby.

Donn took Five by the hand and led her to his mother. "Mom, this one's called Five. Long story. I think she'd appreciate some help, her and her people. Some clothes, for a start." But Five flinched back. "She's been living wild," Donn murmured. "It will take some time."

"We've all the time in the world. Come, child. And, Kanda, you'll be wanting to tell your family you're back?"

"I feel nervous about it. Yes, of course."

"And you Five, was it? What about your family?"

"I don't remember them."

"I'm sure we can trace them. Come on, we'll sort it out."

Donn approached his father. "Dad, I need to talk to you. We're in trouble. The Boss "

"I know. Look at this." He showed Donn an image, returned by faster-than-light inseparability links from a Coalition drone observer close to the giant star. It was spitting, flaring, ejecting knots of plasma large enough to swallow Earth's sun whole. "It's becoming unstable."

"It's worse than that." As urgently as he could, he told his father all he had witnessed, the Ghost experiments at the heart of the Boss the coming supernova. Samm listened gravely.

"You do believe me?"

"Of course I believe you."

"As do we," Elah said, walking over.

Hama followed in her wake. Though he was just as grimy and underfed, he didn't seem to Donn to be the same person he had been on the Ghostworld; he had immediately retreated into his role, like a shadow of the Commissary.

"What you say," Elah went on, "ties in with the projections we have been making of the star's instability."

Samm folded his arms. "You say you're here to protect us, you of the Coalition. What are you going to do about this?"

"We have already put out a warning to the other human colonies in the a.s.sociation. Most of them have hyperdrive s.h.i.+ps; they will be able to flee in time. Other Coalition centers are arranging refugee facilities."

"Blankets and hot water. Great. But what about us? You know d.a.m.n well the Reef contains the largest human population in the a.s.sociation. You took away our our hyperdrives!" hyperdrives!"

"In order to serve the greater needs of the Third Expansion."

"That star's going to expand before long, and cook us all. Going to give us back our technology, are you?"

"That isn't practical," Elah said simply. She listened absently. "Come," she said to Hama. "The flitters are lifting Coalition personnel from the Reef in fifteen minutes."

"And us?" Samm tried to grab her arm, but she shook him off. "What of us? You're leaving us to die!"

From nowhere, Elah produced a handgun, a starbreaker. "This conversation is over, regrettably." Backing up, she and Hama made for the door cut into the lifedome.

Samm made to follow, but Donn stopped him. "Dad, let me. Wait, Commissary." Cautiously, he approached Elah and Hama. In a few rushed words, he tried to tell them more of what the Ghost had told him within the star.

"The Ghosts don't want this to be seen as an act of war."

"Then they shouldn't detonate supernovas in human s.p.a.ce," Elah said.

"They're only doing it to escape the cage we put them in."

"They put humans in cages. Your friend Five, Hama here." put humans in cages. Your friend Five, Hama here."

"They fear we will drive them to extinction. That's what the Seer foresees. And if that's so, we may destroy ourselves as well."

Elah thought that over. "Better a Galaxy in ruins," she said, "than a Galaxy that is not ruled by us. us. Good luck, Donn Wyman." She backed to the door, and left. Hama looked back once, but it was as if he barely recognized Donn anymore, and he followed his superior. Good luck, Donn Wyman." She backed to the door, and left. Hama looked back once, but it was as if he barely recognized Donn anymore, and he followed his superior.

Donn went back to his father. "I failed."

"Well, what did you expect? You aren't going to overturn an ideology like the Coalition's with a couple of sentences. But the Commission for Historical Truth records everything that transfixes-everything. transfixes-everything. Maybe they will figure all this out one day, after a couple of thousand years' study in some library on Earth maybe you planted a few seeds for the future. In the meantime, we've a supernova to deal with." Samm eyed his son. "So, did your new Ghost best buddy give you any advice?" Maybe they will figure all this out one day, after a couple of thousand years' study in some library on Earth maybe you planted a few seeds for the future. In the meantime, we've a supernova to deal with." Samm eyed his son. "So, did your new Ghost best buddy give you any advice?"

"It said I should ask you."

Samm sighed. "Smart of it. Okay, son. I guess it's time you learned a little family history." Carrying his data slate, he walked off toward the copse at the center of the dome, chlorophyll green leaves s.h.i.+ning under the light of the burgeoning supernova.

Donn hurried after him. "Where are we going?"

"The engine room."

The kilometer-long elevator descent along the s.h.i.+p's spine was slow, frustrating.

Donn knew his way around the control room at the heart of the Miriam's Miriam's GUTdrive pod. He used to come down here as a kid, to play with his brother, and later, as a young man, to learn about the technological legacy of his mother's family. There wasn't much to see: a couple of seats and couches, a water dispenser, an emergency pressurized locker. The instruments were blank, antique data slates tiling the walls. All around this s.p.a.ce, vast engines brooded, capable of harnessing the energies of cosmic inflation to drive the s.h.i.+p forward. But the engines hadn't been fired up in Donn's lifetime, not once. GUTdrive pod. He used to come down here as a kid, to play with his brother, and later, as a young man, to learn about the technological legacy of his mother's family. There wasn't much to see: a couple of seats and couches, a water dispenser, an emergency pressurized locker. The instruments were blank, antique data slates tiling the walls. All around this s.p.a.ce, vast engines brooded, capable of harnessing the energies of cosmic inflation to drive the s.h.i.+p forward. But the engines hadn't been fired up in Donn's lifetime, not once.

Donn expected his father to boot up these control slates. He didn't. Instead he took the small portable slate he had carried down from the lifedome and pressed it against a wall. It lit up with a crowded panel of displays. "There you go," Samm said. "Two hundred years old, and it fires up like it was brand-new."

"What does?"

"This." He tapped the slate and showed Donn an external view of the Miriam, Miriam, seen from below, its lifedome embedded in the rough plane of the Reef, its spine and engine compartment dangling like a lantern. Samm zoomed in on the hull of the engine compartment, where a black slab clung like a parasite. seen from below, its lifedome embedded in the rough plane of the Reef, its spine and engine compartment dangling like a lantern. Samm zoomed in on the hull of the engine compartment, where a black slab clung like a parasite.

Donn leaned forward and stared. "What is that?" that?"

"The family secret." Samm eyed his son. "Look, Donn-you aren't the first Wyman to have run into the Sink Amba.s.sador. Your grandfather a few times removed his name was Joens Wyman got involved in a kind of intergalactic race with the Ghosts. He was an entrepreneur. And he wanted to get his hands on "

"A cache of quagma," Donn said. "You told me about this."

"The trouble was, the cache was somewhere over twelve billion light-years away the figures are uncertain. Too far even for hyperdrive. But Joens Wyman didn't use hyperdrive. He used an experimental human technology. It was called a Susy drive."

"Susy? That's the fritter's name."

"The flitter, and a secret s.p.a.ce drive. It was kind of risky. It's not like hyperdrive. Look, they taught you at school that the universe has more dimensions than the macroscopic, the three spatial, and one of time. Most of the extra dimensions are extremely small. When you hyperdrive, you sort of twist smoothly through ninety degrees into an extra dimension, and go skimming over the surface of the universe like a pebble over a pond. Simple. Whereas with supersymmetry, you're getting into the real guts of physics."

There were two types of particles: fermions, the building blocks of matter, like quarks and electrons, and force carriers, like photons. The principle of supersymmetry had it that each building block could be translated into a force carrier, and vice versa. "The supersymmetric twins, the s-particles, are inherently fascinating, if you're a physicist, which I'm not," said Samm. "But the magic comes when you do two supersymmetric transformations say, electron to selectron and back again. You end up with an electron, of course but an electron in a different place." different place."

"And that's the Susy drive."

"Yep. A principle the Ghosts have never explored. Joens Wyman pumped his money into this thing, and got as far as a working prototype. But in those days, n.o.body would invest in human research and development; it was always easier and cheaper to buy alien tech off the shelf. Joens hoped to cut his losses by sending his Susy-drive s.h.i.+p in search of treasure n.o.body else could get to."

"The quagma. What happened?"

"Joens finished up with nothing but the Susy drive and the clothes he stood up in. He fled his creditors."

"He came here."

"Yes. Good place to hide, beyond Coalition law anyhow, it was then. His son married into your mother's family, who owned the 'Miriam.'"

"And he lodged the Susy drive on the hull of the s.h.i.+p."

"Yeah. So it's come down the generations. My father told me about it and gave me the data on this slate. I think Joens always thought this old monster might be useful as a last resort. Well, he was right."

Donn stared at his father. This was a side of him Donn hadn't seen before, this decisive adventurer. But maybe no son saw that in his father. "Dad, you're not serious. You're not planning to fire up this Susy drive, this two-hundred-year-old disaster."

"You have a better idea?"

"When was it last tested?"

"When do you think? Look, according to these displays, the field it generates will envelop the whole of the Reef. We'll get out of here, all of us. And then you and I will go down to Minda's Savior and drink free Poole's Blood for the rest of our lives."

"If it works. And if it doesn't work?"

"Then what have we lost?" He tapped the screen. It switched to the external image. Panels blew out from the black casing fixed to the base of the pod; a zoomed-in view showed them the jeweled guts of the Susy drive.

Then the data slate chimed an alarm. The Susy-drive display cleared, to reveal an image broadcast from the Coalition monitor drone an image of an exploding star.

"d.a.m.n," said Samm. "I didn't imagine it would be so quick."

"Dad, look." The explosion was strongly asymmetrical, a flower of ugly light splashed across the slate. And there was a denser knot to one side of the supernova.

Samm tapped the screen, overlaying a.n.a.lyses of ma.s.s density and velocity vectors. "That's a neutron star. The core of the Boss? It's been spat out of there like an apple seed-thousands of kilometers a second." He brought up a Galactic display. "Look at that! It's been fired straight out of the a.s.sociation toward the Sagittarius Arm."

"The Ghost home range." Green asterisks began to appear around the fleeing neutron star. "What's that?"

"Ghost technology... Ghost s.h.i.+ps, popping up out of nowhere. Settling into orbit around that neutron star. And, wow, look at that." that." A major green anomaly. "It has to have the ma.s.s of a planet." A major green anomaly. "It has to have the ma.s.s of a planet."

"The Ghostworld."

"Looks like it. How are they bringing all this to the neutron star?"

Donn said, "Just by making it more likely likely that the planet should be in orbit around the neutron star than wherever it used to be." that the planet should be in orbit around the neutron star than wherever it used to be."

"What?"

"To move an entire planet has to take a mess of energy. The gravity waves from the supernova? The Amba.s.sador talked about tapping into that. They must be s.h.i.+elding the world from the supernova shock, too. They did it, Dad! Just as the Amba.s.sador said they would. Oh, the Coalition s.h.i.+ps can pursue them, but a runaway neutron star will smash through the Coalition lines as if they were made of rice paper."

Samm brought back the Susy display and began to scroll through outputs. "Let's just hope this d.a.m.n Susy drive lands us outside the Coalition's clutches, too."

"Dad don't you know?" know?"

"I told you. It's kind of unreliable. We ought to end up just a little above the Galactic plane, however. Okay, it's ready."

"As quickly as that?"

"Well, that supernova shock wave is going to take a while to get here years, as we're light-years off from the Boss. But we can't expect rescue for years either, even if the Coalition is willing to try; the gravity waves from the detonation are going to churn up hypers.p.a.ce for a long time. Best to get out of here now if we can and if this doesn't work, we might have time to figure out something else. I've sent an alarm out through the Reef."

"Shouldn't we ask Mom first? It's her s.h.i.+p."

"She'd only say no. Hang on to that rail. Good luck, son!" He stabbed a finger at his data slate.