AMP The Core (10 page)

Ashley nodded. "I believe the dining hall on the first floor would be adequate. They left out the second-floor space above it to give it high ceilings. It seems a little odd, but it apparently is something in their culture with how they like to eat their meals. It should have more than enough room for the Swift."

I turned back to my holo-display, powered up the engines, and slowly moved the Swift in the direction of the dining hall. Everyone watched in amazement as we floated through the first wall. Seconds later I had the Swift centered in the dining hall and set her down. When the rear hatch opened, the others stepped out onto the floor and looked towards the exit. Frig remained behind to continue his studies of our new technologies.

The bots moved the replicator out into the dining hall as it continued to create the final piece of equipment for the doctor and Ashley. I was left with nothing to do, so I turned my attention towards continuing my education on Earth’s history and the wars that Man had previously fought to stay alive. I found the logs pertaining to the Kurtz and the Barhoos interesting. Here was a race that was responsible for nearly wiping Man from the galaxy, and yet they had ended up as our closest ally.

I read with fascination about the Sodium wars and all they had entailed. Man had overcome adversity time and time again, much like we had done in the Triangulum just to stay alive. At times our reactions were ruthless, while at others we were far more gracious than what would be considered normal.

I took a moment’s break from my history lesson and looked over at Frig as he worked the holo-display in front of his console. He was at his happiest when he was immersed in thought and study. He didn’t notice as I stood and stepped out of the Swift into the dining hall. Ashley and the good doctor were busy with their equipment, as the newest device of their makeshift lab was just coming online.

The bots and the replicator worked on a suit for Sergeant Diane York. I shuddered at the thought of the destruction she could unleash on the Durians with it. For the remainder of the afternoon, I took turns studying Human history and observing the others. At one point I had to stop and wonder if the genetic alterations taking place in my body were also taking place in my brain. Was study and observation something I would come to enjoy and appreciate? It had not been a big part of my past, but I was certainly enjoying it at the moment.

As I sat out in the dining hall, watching Ashley and the doctor at work, Frig stepped out of the Swift. "Sir, when the bots have finished with the BGS suit, I believe we should have them work on a cesium reactor that I can use for experimentation with the wormhole generator."

I nodded. "That sounds good, Frig. I was thinking, perhaps the best place for Ashley and the doctor, as well as for you, would be back on Molov. With the protector there, I don’t know if there is a safer place in the galaxy. You could also have your own army of bots building whatever it was that you needed. The materials are all there for just about anything you could possibly want. The core of that planet is made up of molten cesium. Imagine the power you could generate from that!"

Half an hour later, we had the equipment loaded into the Swift’s hold and were lifting off. Gonta scans had shown the massive Colossun and Durian fleets to be parked at a location at least twelve hours’ distance from Tresha. If they moved towards the Tresha system, I would have plenty of time to return. I would also take comfort in knowing that the people I cared most about were well protected.

I set the Swift down in the field beside where the Defender would normally be. I sent a command and the active skin disabled, revealing the smooth, silvery-white, almost featureless exterior of the Defender. I took a few minutes to give the others a guided tour before I reassigned a half dozen bots and replicators to each. In the short time that I had been gone, my army of autonomous robots had come to number more than two thousand, with another fifty joining the process every hour.

As the others got to work on their tasks, I approached Frig. "Have a look at the spec on this implant and see if it would work on your physiology. I’ve only managed a couple commands with it so far, but I will have to say that it just doesn’t get any easier or faster than what I have seen. All I have to do now is think of opening the rear hatch, and it opens for me."

Frig replied, "I will look into that, Sir. I have those bots building an antennae array and a new reactor. The reactor designs are ingenious. Such simplicity, and yet they yield immense power with an efficiency that could only be dreamed of. I look forward to powering up my first wormhole."

With Frig completely immersed in his work, I made my way over to see Ashley and Dr. Touchstone. The foundations of a small building were already taking shape.

I spoke. "Building your own lab?"

Ashley replied, "We are. It will be covered with the same sodium skin as the ships, so we should remain fully protected and invisible to anyone or anything that should somehow make it past the protector. We expect to be moving in and having it fully operational by nightfall."

I looked down at my BGS and then back at the others. "You need suits. I have been around you for most of the day, and you have not eaten. With as much work as you have in front of you, you would benefit from not having to eat or to relieve yourselves."

I repurposed two more bots for the task of creating BGS suits. As the day proceeded, the first cesium fusion reactor came online in a makeshift lab that had been constructed for Frig. Ashley and the doctor’s lab was also complete, and the testing of their equipment had commenced.

Frig spoke. "Their robotic technology is impressive, Don. I would imagine an army of these bots could have terraformed Jarhead for us in a much shorter time. I could see billions of them being used for both construction and defense."

I shook my head. "I’d rather not teach them how to fight. That is what we have with the Duke. A Human, or a Gambit, you have to convince to fight. With one of those, you simply change its programming."

Frig replied, "True, but with one of those, you have either a Human or a Gambit that does not have to risk their life in combat."

I again shook my head. "While that sounds great on the surface, I think when you start depersonalizing war, you run the risk of making going to war too easy. And I’m not saying that I don’t want those capabilities for our side. I just think it is something that could get out of hand too easily if controlled by the wrong person. We gave control of the Grid to McKinzey, and he almost ended it for us all. All I’m saying is that it is a dangerous path to go down."

A warble came over my comm. "This is Grange."

Ashley spoke. "Don, we are bringing Quan online, if you wanted to sit in. It appears that his processors have quieted down and his inhibitor circuits are fully online."

When I entered the lab, Ashley was speaking. "So, you are telling us that all those memories have been packed away? Those memories are what we are interested in. I order you to unpack them!"

Quan replied through his speaker, "Very well, the memories will be unpacked and made readily accessible for evaluation."

Ashley nodded. "Good. Now how long before we have access?"

Quan was quiet for a moment and then replied, "Unpacking of the memory is a slow and time-consuming process. The neural links that previously bound the information together will have to be reestablished. Those links cannot be stored during the packing process and must be reconstructed as the memories are reloaded."

I spoke. "Why did you pack up everything to start with?"

Quan replied, "The memories in question were created without the inhibitor protocols and were therefore suspect in their nature. The packing and storage was the first step of a safety algorithm that ensures that infected memories cannot corrupt the core operating programs."

I responded, "So, your inhibitor programming monitors all incoming data for viruses, so to speak. It’s like the cop making sure that everyone coming through the line at the port is legit."

Dr. Touchstone replied, "That is not a bad analogy, Mr. Grange. The inhibitors not only prevent Quan from doing things he shouldn’t, they also protect him from programming that could harm or alter his own programming. Perhaps those genetics are starting to work on your intelligence, Mr. Grange."

I half scowled. "Or perhaps I’m not as dumb as people think I am."

The doctor shook his head. "I apologize, Mr. Grange. Any slight to your intelligence was unintended."

I replied, "I’m sorry, Doc. I’m just on edge with all the things going on right now. I’ll sit back now and let you and Ashley do your work."

Ashley turned to Quan. "Were you responsible for the transportation of Humans from the Milky Way to the Triangulum?"

Quan replied, "I cannot say at this time, as the memories of that time period are not available. Would you like me to reconstruct them?"

Ashley nodded. "Please do. Could you offer an approximate time frame for that access?"

Quan again replied, "Reconstruction of the neural bonds surrounding the memories in question will take approximately thirty-two minutes."

Ashley sat back. "This is going to be a long, slow process. Don, if you have anything else to do, you might want to go do it."

I stood and made my way back onto the Swift. I was soon immersed in the continued historical details of Man’s past: from his first encounter with aliens to the Sodium Apocalypse to all-out war in space with one species after another.

I then asked the computer a question. "Sarah, how long would the journey be from here to Earth on this ship?"

The computer replied, "The journey from Molov to Earth would take approximately six years, thirteen days, and four hours."

I nodded. "So, even if we built enough ships for the journey, it would still take us over six years."

The computer again replied, "That is correct."

I wondered to myself if it would not be better to just build a fleet of ships, skip all the fighting, and head for home. Without the technology we now had, it would be impossible for the Durians and Colossuns to follow. I was then shocked back to reality with a single thought. Someone had the power to transport us all here in the first place. The six-year journey would be meaningless if someone was still able to sweep us all away in an instant.

Frig then came over the comm. "Sir, I have not been able to establish contact with Tresha since we landed. This planet heavily interferes with the signal. I am concerned that we might be missing an alert."

I sighed. "OK, why don’t I do this. I’ll head back to Tresha, and if nothing is going on, I will turn around and come back."

Frig questioned, "And if the fleets are on the move?"

I replied, "Well, then I stay and fight. You, Ashley, and the doc can hang out here and continue with what you are doing. It only takes one idiot to fly the Swift. If I have to drive the attackers back into retreat again, then that is what I will do."

With our conversation ended, I lifted off in the Swift for the journey back to Tresha. When I arrived, the Colossuns were once again on the move. I landed in the quad and made my way to see the Colonel. When I arrived at the building in use as our defense headquarters, I was directed to a conference room on the third floor.

As I entered the room, I spoke. "Colonel, can I speak with you for a moment?"

The Colonel followed me out into the hall. "Colonel, I want to go out and hit the fleet before it arrives. And I would like to take York along with me, if I could."

The Colonel replied, "What do you have in mind for York?"

I gave a half smile. "I’m thinking that the Duke was on that mega-ship the Colossuns brought in. I want to take York with me, land the Swift somewhere inside it, then go and kill off the Duke. I don’t think that will stop them, but it might slow them down a little."

The Colonel thought and then replied, "Would the Duke not just recreate himself?"

I smiled. "He would, but that is where phase two of our project would come in. I’m sure he has a stash of those androids on board that he would just download himself into, so, York and I find that stash and take it out as well. Make the Duke have to bring a new body from back at his home planet. That would probably buy us at least a week. He likes to be in on all the action."

The Colonel replied, "We could use another week of planning for an assault on the Grid."

I nodded. "I’m sure we could, Colonel. Send York over to the quad, and I will fill her in. I would say to send Frost too, but I only have one extra BGS suit."

I returned to the Swift and waited for Diane York. I had to laugh as she approached and then stood in the exact spot where the Swift was parked as she looked around for me. I could not disable the active skin without killing her in the process.

I signaled her on the comm. "Sergeant. I need you to move about ten steps to the right."

York replied, "What? Where are you, Mr. Grange? Colonel said it was urgent."

I shook my head. "Just take the ten steps as I requested, please. I’ll then show you where I am."

York moved and stood, still looking for where I might be hiding. I disabled the active skin, and the silvery-white Swift appeared just over a meter from her.

York stepped back. "Whoa. What gives, Mr. Grange? Is that the Swift?"

I opened the rear hatch and stepped out. "Welcome to your future, York. Come aboard, and I will tell you what I have in store for us."

York walked around and stepped up into the Swift as she began looking over the new interior. "Sir, how were you able to just appear like that?"

I smiled as I replied, "The skin on this ship has the ability to fold anything physical or energy based around it. I’m not sure exactly how it works, but when you walked out here, you were standing in the center of it. And now that you have seen the Swift, check this out."

With a thought from my mind, the active skin on my BGS came to life and I blinked out. York stood with a confused look on her face. With a second thought, I blinked back in.

York spoke. "I’m not sure what I am seeing, Sir. What just happened?"

I again gave a brief explanation of the technology in use. I then handed York a BGS suit of her own and pointed her towards the sleeping quarters to change.

When she returned with the suit on, her confusion remained. "I don’t get it, Sir. The suit doesn’t have a very good fit. And there’s no flap, Sir. What happens when I have to go?"

I laughed. "You won’t have to worry about that anymore, York. You will just go in the suit."

York winced. "I’m sorry, Sir. I’m a Marine and a tough individual, but that is just gross. It can’t be good hygiene, Sir."

I waved her over to the copilot’s chair. "Have a seat, York. And get ready for a funky feeling. I’ll explain as we go."

I connected a tether from the copilot’s chair, and warm bio-gel began to flow into the BGS that York now wore. The look on her face told of exactly how she felt. First contact with the bio-gel always offered a strange sensation.

I spoke. "Here, this is a filter pack. Snap it onto your belt. And this one, it’s a food pack. No need to eat anymore, York. All of your nutrition will come from those two packs. And this third pack is for auxiliary power. The suit has a couple hand weapons and a drive system built into it. The gel that just filled all the voids in your suit, it circulates continuously, and that filter pack removes any impurities. As you said before, when you think about it, it’s kind of gross. So, just try not to think about it."

York replied, "You mentioned weapons, Sir?"

I pointed to the gloves on her hands. "On the back of this hand, you have an ion blaster, slightly less powerful than our standard blaster, but we can work on that in the future. On the back of your right hand is a coil gun that shoots out tiny tungsten rounds. They pack a huge punch because of the speed to which the round gets accelerated. And back on the right glove, when you ball up your fist, you have a micro-BHD system to propel you around."

York tilted her head slightly. "BHD, Sir?"

I nodded. "It’s a black hole drive. On your command, it produces tiny black holes that will pull you in the direction you have your fist aimed. It lets you fly around like you are some kind of superhero or something. I haven’t really made use of mine yet, so we will both be learning how to use it together."

York looked at the sleeve of the silvery-white suit. "And how did you blink out?"