Far From The Sea We Know (34 page)

Malcolm appeared in the hatchway, shifting
back and forth like he had to pee, hovering like an agitated
moth.

“Well, there is something down there,”
Chiffrey said, “and I’d really like to know what. Any ideas,
Malcolm?”

“Everywhen,” was all he said.

“Pardon?” Chiffrey gave Malcolm a look, half
puzzled, half intrigued.

Malcolm, still uneasy, replied in a soft
voice, “Not time as a river, more like one big circular now. Hard
to explain, but I’ve been wondering about it. Lately.”

“Good, keep on wondering, but does this have
anything to do with our new neighbor down below?”

Malcolm looked startled. “Who?”

“The dome, Malcolm, the big bright round
thing we saw on the video, which is now directly below us.”

“I thought you meant…Okay, think of time as
more of a place than a flow, and places are all flow, but without
sequence. I mean, there’s really only one ‘place’ and one ‘time’
and it’s everywhere and everywhen.”

“Is this something you read about?”

“A while back yes, but it’s just been
somehow happening with me more, lately I mean directly, direct
experience. Like it’s the way things are. Really are.” He rubbed
his eyes a few times, then continued. “Sometimes I get just a
glimmer but, now and then, so strong that, it’s like I’m dancing in
between the spaces. Everything’s mostly space after all, you know,
the whole song…”

Malcolm looked up finally and must have
noticed the blank expressions on everyone’s faces, because he
slowly, and with a rare sense of gravity, said, “Okay, if the dome
can access and influence even some of what underpins the basis of
what we take as a universe of matter and energy, then all that’s
happened, from things and people slipping in and out of the matter
stream, to the way people have become—to the way even I am
now—might seem not only possible, but inevitable.” He paused and
shut his eyes tightly as if he were trying to keep all light out,
before finally saying, “Because it doesn’t defy the laws of how
things are, but
is
the ways things are. We’re just blind to
it.”

Chiffrey looked around and said. “Well,
that’s a lot to consider. Agreed, we should be open to new
ideas.”

“I studied this stuff once!” Malcolm said,
suddenly breathing hard.

“A class and a half in theoretical physics.
But when you were only fifteen, so impressive.”

“How did you…what?”

“Relax,” Chiffrey said. He shrugged his
shoulders. “We did background checks on everybody. Routine protocol
for the security clearances that all of you were given, to one
degree or other.” He put his a hand out, but Malcolm shook his head
and backed away.

“Sorry, Malcolm. I wasn’t discounting what
you presented, only I didn’t really understand it. Maybe you can
run it by me again later.”

Malcolm spun around and left without another
word.

“Well, that could have gone better,”
Chiffrey said, looking after Malcolm as if at a missed bus. He
turned back to Penny and her father. “So, we all need to keep our
minds open, and now it’s your turn, because I got a little theory
of my own.”

“Not another dump of gibberish, please,”
Penny said.

Chiffrey’s smile returned. “I’ll keep it
simple. If there’s life inside that thing, the dome, then just
because it’s in the sea, doesn’t mean it’s
from
the sea. Or
at least from our sea. Might have arrived fairly recently, and we
might have even witnessed the event, but didn’t have all the
numbers at the time to do the math.”

“I’m not going to start guessing,” Penny
said, “so what on earth is your point?”

“‘What on earth,’ indeed. With the
capabilities we have all seen demonstrated, plus the initial radar
jamming, and a landing site well chosen to evade detection, if you
add it all up, it is literally unearthly. E.T.”

Penny burst out laughing.
“Extraterrestrials! I don’t believe I’m hearing this! Especially
from you. You’ll lose your commission if you pass that on.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, either,
and certainly not saying I’m convinced yet, but, you know, ‘when
you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however
improbable, must be the truth.’”

“Good quote,” her father said, “but in this
case, your conclusion is far from being elementary. We really have
not eliminated all other possibilities, have we?”

“If not, I’m ready to hear the rest. For
now, the possibility that this is our first visitor from the stars
does not seem any more incredible than some of the other
alternatives I’ve heard bandied about.”

“One of the few things we agree on, then,”
Penny said.

Chiffrey smiled, cocked his head to one
side, and looked at her. “Now it’s time for practicalities. We
don’t have the option of using the ROVs any more without being
resupplied again and that takes time and carries risks. We feel the
next step is your minisub. The
Bluedrop
.”

“Forget it!” Penny yelled, then brought her
voice down. “That doesn’t make any sense, after all the stuff
you’ve been saying about how this might be hostile.”

“The clock is running, is why,” Chiffrey
said. “I made a strong case to my people that we needed more time,
but the decision was to go ahead. There is an urgency about this,
and they don’t see us making any progress.”

“Things take time,” she said. “And bees
sting. Remember?”

“Time, yes, but we may be running out of
it.”

“You keep saying that, but why?” she asked.
“I don’t see the urgency.”

“Let’s watch some of the video from the
Honey Pot
again, and I’ll show you. Think I can get this
running if I can find it. Here it comes.”

They watched the several minutes of video
again. The swirling light was dazzling, the colors all over the
spectrum. Penny was sure the sound had overwhelmed the microphone
in the same way a large waterfall can. It must have been deafening.
When the playback was over, Chiffrey stood pointedly in front of
the monitor.

“Our first assumption was that this was
either some kind of natural phenomenon or an accident. Now we don’t
think so. We’ve had warships disabled without a fight. Wait. Hear
me out, please. Picture that capability, and add to it the kind of
power we just saw in the video. From what my science team tells me,
there was an unimaginable amount of energy being expended. They
can’t say how, but I wasn’t happy when I heard ‘beyond nuclear.’
And yes, the possibility exists that this power could be directed.
‘Vectored’ was the word used by one of the best theoretical
physicists in the world. Do you understand the implications of
that? I’m not saying that I believe that is about to happen, but
the results would be horrendous if that force were directed at a
city. My point is that we have no idea how to protect against it.
I’m sorry, but this is no longer just the pursuit of knowledge.
It’s a matter of national defense. Maybe even our survival as a
species.”

Her father shook his head. “What we saw in
this video is certainly powerful, I’ll grant you, but I saw nothing
hostile.”

“We are playing with fire. Real fire.”
Chiffrey tapped the monitor screen. “You saw it.”

“Then why the hurry to jump down its
throat?” Penny asked.

“Because waiting may be even more risky.
They’ll give us more time and any resources we need, if we go down
in the
Bluedrop
.”

“Blackmail.”

“No, it’s not,” Chiffrey said. “They are
giving us a carrot and a stick. I’ll go with the carrot, because I
believe we have the best shot at getting to the heart of this, and
we’ll lose that chance with the stick, because they’ll be the ones
carrying it. If the heavy guns are called into action, and that’s
not just a metaphor, they might make it hostile, just as you
feared. We have a responsibility here. A window is open for us, but
we have a few days at best.”

“I suggest we let this all sink in a bit,”
her father said, “and resume our discussion later.”

Penny looked at him. “‘Sink’ is exactly what
I’m afraid of, if we rush this.”

At his request, Penny met Andrew in his
cabin to fill him in on the latest developments. They were now
waiting for Chiffrey, who was supposed to have joined them twenty
minutes ago.

“Do you really want to take a bullet for
this guy’s agenda?” she said. “I don’t like the way he’s herding us
into doing his work.”

“We’d do about the same even if no one else
was involved,” Andrew said.

“But there is real risk here.”

“That’s always true.” He looked down as if
waiting for his thoughts to clear, like silt from muddy water.
“Have a feeling. Can’t explain it, don’t understand it yet, but
somehow all my life’s tied up in this.”

“That’s quite a statement. What about
everyone else?”

“Can’t demand anyone stay, won’t demand they
leave. Door’s still open.” He put the full force of his personality
and will behind his next words. “We’ll still have enough crew, but
if it comes to it, I’ll go on alone.”

She had no idea he felt so strongly about it
and was about to say something when Chiffrey finally knocked.
Andrew called him in and he entered, his usual saunter absent. He
smiled, but she could feel the tension behind those gleaming teeth.
Now what, she wondered?

“Sorry. I was on the horn. Bad news. One of
our ships on the perimeter has been disabled.”

Penny raised an eyebrow, ever so slightly.
“Propeller sheared off again?”

“No, all the electrical systems are out,
including the ones needed to keep the engines going. They’ve
increased the perimeter another five kilometers as a result, but
they’re not taking it well.”

“So they got the message this time,” she
said. “And now?”

“I talked them into waiting until we send
the minisub down.” He looked at Andrew. “It’s a go.”

“And how did you manage that?” she
asked.

“Simple. We are virtually dead center over
the object and we’re fine. One of their ships gets a little too
close, but still miles from here, and zing, it’s out of action. I
couldn’t begin to explain just why we have an edge, but we are
absolutely their best shot and they all know it, now.”

“I don’t like this at all,” Penny said. “We
get dangled down there like bait, and they lurk outside and see
what happens.”

Chiffrey threw up his hands and looked
upwards as if beseeching the gods. “What is it with you? First you
want us to wait until you get here and give you a clear field, and
now you’re mad because you get your wish. Feels like I’m damned if
I do and—”

“We get the point, Lieutenant,” Andrew said.
“Another ship disabled, so the situation has changed. And?”

Chiffrey nodded. “We have our chance. We’re
cleared and will have any backup we require. But if we don’t act
now, the only other option is that the Navy and other forces will
take over completely.”

“How we go is still our call,” Andrew
said.

“Of course. But keep the fact close at hand
that if their ships keep getting disabled, eventually they’ll see
no other option except to try to soften up the target.”

“Wait,” Penny said. “You told us before we
had a clear field!”

“I know what I told you, but things changed,
and I don’t make all the decisions. We’re not operating in a
vacuum, and not everyone has your priorities. Truth to tell,
probably no one else has.” He smiled. “Listen, isn’t this the
chance you’ve been waiting for? If we can pry open that clam down
there, even just a little, maybe we can find out what we’re dealing
with, and then maybe no one will get hurt. We all want to see
what’s underneath that last wet rock, now don’t we? Hopefully it’s
just innocence itself.”

“And what if it’s not?” she asked.

“If it is dangerous, and even if it doesn’t
mean to be, just leaving it there to wreak mayhem later is not an
option. The word from higher up is that this is now considered a
threat until proven otherwise. They’re giving us a chance to supply
the ‘otherwise.’ If we can’t, they will have to respond in a way
commensurate with the situation. Not necessarily with force, but
that will probably become their only option, in my opinion. I need
to tell them you will go down there.”

“We already agreed on that,” Andrew
said.

“Good. From what I hear, the
Bluedrop
is one of the best deep-sea minisubs around. And the depths here
are well within its specs.”

“It still seems far too risky,” Penny said,
“especially after what happened to yet another of your invincible
Navy ships.”

“Sugar, they don’t belong to me.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Drop the goddamn
banter.”

He shrugged up his eyebrows as if giving her
the stage, so she took it.

“I want this to succeed as much as you, but
I don’t want anyone to get hurt because we rushed in to appease
some panic-stricken, clueless decision maker at a desk
somewhere.”

“And your alternative?”

“We should use remote devices exclusively.
Go out and get replacement parts for our ROVs, even if it does take
a little longer. The Navy must have excellent ROVs. Why can’t we
use theirs? Sending people down there is insane.”

“There is a risk to going back out of the
circle,” Chiffrey said. “We don’t know if we could get back in, and
we’ve just seen they can’t come to us. We don’t know if Navy ROVs,
which I am sure are excellent, would violate the immunity we seem
to have. They might have the wrong scent, so to speak.”

Penny laughed out loud. “Are you serious?
‘Scent?’ You have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Correct, almost. I don’t know why the
Valentina
has, for lack of a better term, immunity, although
I strongly suspect the transceiver has something to do with it,
though as far as I can tell, no one here has been able to discover
a single thing about it. For our immediate purposes, it doesn’t
matter if we know why, we should not risk compromising it. You
remember what happened when the Navy used their gear? Everything
toast. Maybe even repairing your own gear with new parts would mess
things up. Who knows?”