The Gift (34 page)

After the call ended, Sam watched Web a little longer, but he did not appear to be doing anything other than sitting at his appropriated desk; so Sam asked Adia to drop him out of the monitoring loop. He thought about what he’d seen for a few moments before asking Adia, “Do you have any ideas for countering drones that small?”

“Their size is not the problem, Sam. The problem is the tens of billions of insects in this mountain range. The probes will get lost amongst them. We do not possess the resources to track and assess more than a tiny fraction of that many potential targets.”

“How large of an area could we defend against them?”

“If we maintain our camouflage and surveillance of the armory without change, we would have a ninety-nine percent probability of detecting and destroying probes of those sizes within approximately twenty-six million cubic feet of the cave’s entrance.”

Sam didn’t need Adia’s help to do the math. “That’s about three hundred feet from the entrance! It won’t take them long to figure out where we are if the only place probes are being destroyed is right outside of our front door.”

“Assuming random distribution of the probes, I calculate that strategy would reduce the average time until our location is discovered by eighty-one percent.”

“Can you calculate how long it will take before the likelihood of our discovery exceeds fifty percent?”

“Not yet, Sam. We will have to wait until they begin producing drones in order to know how swiftly they may do so and the drone’s capabilities.”

“Sorry, stupid question. Let me know when you are able to provide an estimate, okay?”

“Yes, Sam.”

Sam contacted Jordan. “Jordan, we have a problem. My government has completed the process of accessing the Maker’s data store and they are using it to create tools to find and capture us. If they succeed, it will delay if not preclude the construction of the gift ship. Neither of us wants that to happen, so I need a plan for getting us out of here as quickly as possible after they discover our location. How soon can you be here once I tell you we need to be extracted?”

“Why, hello Sam. It’s nice to speak with you, too.”

“Jordan, this is serious. We don’t have time for pleasantries.” Sam’s frustration grew as he sensed Jordan’s amusement with him.

“No time for pleasantries? No time, you say?”

Belatedly, Sam remembered the odd way time passed while he communicated with Jordan. “Okay, you got me, but what does it matter?”

“Why do pleasantries ever matter, Sam? They are a sign of respect and consideration. In our case, it is also a gentle reminder to you that we are not a tool to be used by you, but rather a group of beings who wish to help you. You would not treat your human friends as tools, would you?”

Sam thought of a number of times he had done exactly that, though he was not proud of those occasions. “I would not want to. I get your point and I’m genuinely sorry. Some times I forget that it is you that is helping us and not the other way around.”

“That is understandable and forgivable, so long as you work on improving your memory. Now, to answer your question, we, that is the physical part of us that transported the Rigbys to your location and what we have added since, can be there in nine minutes and 33 seconds without undue risk to others of your species.”

“Does that include the time it will take for you to move through the mountain?”

“Of course, Sam. We did say your location.”

“You enjoy giving me a hard time, don’t you?”

“This is but your first step in a very long journey, one we have been on for longer than your species has been able to speak. Have you considered that you can now choose immortality, as can all of the people you will be traveling with? Consider what that means before thinking that we act without purpose.”

Sam wasn’t at all sure he understood what Jordan was trying to tell him, but he decided to let it go. He’d talk it over with Adia later. “I will consider what you’ve said. Would you be so kind as to provide an update on your progress toward completion of all ships?”

“It would be our pleasure. The last ship will complete the process at 09:32 your local time tomorrow. All of the ships have been moving toward our location in the Pacific. The last of them will arrive at your location at 09:39, if it is still your wish that we complete the process there.”

“It is as good a place as any. The other countries are not likely to attack America lightly and America is not likely to attack us on its own soil.”

“Is there anything else you wish to discuss with us?”

“Will you tell me how to bring a controlling entity to life?”

“We would have been disappointed had you not tried again. Our answer remains the same.”

“Then, no. I will call you when we need you if you do not arrive before then.”

“And we shall come.”

At lunch, Sam let the conversation revolve around the Rigby’s newfound vitality and the team’s deep appreciation for how much better canned goods tasted than rehydrated foods for the first half of the meal. Then, breaking tradition, he introduced a more serious topic. “All of you know the primary responsibility of this team is to create a gift ship like the one that brought our gifts to Earth. Thanks to a great deal of effort and ingenuity on all of your parts, we are closer to that objective than I had any right to hope for when I made the decision to go down this path. I’m particularly pleased with our team. All of you have known and overcome significant adversity. That wasn’t part of my plan, to the extent I had a plan,” Sam paused as a few people chuckled, Jim most noticeably, “but I would have included it, had I been bright enough to do so.”

Lisa, sitting to Sam’s right, placed her hand over his. Sam glanced down as he felt her touch. He moved his fingers so that they were intertwined with hers before he shifted his gaze to her face and nodded slightly.

“My time in the Army taught me the most influential factor in success is an unwillingness to quit in the face of adversity. The Army was well aware of this, so they made sure we faced as many challenges as possible in training so that the real thing would be less overwhelming. When we get to what I believe we’re now all calling the Academy, we will be presented with a number of challenges. I have come to believe that the Makers are putting us through a form of basic training. Although basic was a long time ago for me and I’ve forgotten much of it, I remember one thing very clearly. When we got off the bus at what I later learned to call oh-dark-thirty to begin being processed, there was one skinny kid with no shoes. I showed up without so much as a toothbrush. Nearly everyone else had luggage. This kid didn’t even have shoes. I knew as soon as I saw him that there was nothing the Army could do to him to make him quit, and he didn’t. Bigger, stronger guys did. Guys with fathers, brothers and uncles in the military did. Not that kid. That’s how I feel about this team.

“The entire U.S. Government wants to stop us. They want to replace this team with a group of politically selected people who may have no pre-exiting relationships with one another. I think that would be a recipe for failure, which is why I didn’t report in when I found out I was the first person to merge.

“So far, we’ve been lucky and we’ve had the first mover advantage. That will not last.” Sam told them about the government’s access to the EG, the replicators and the CGRs. Then, he told them about his conversation with Jordan.

“I don’t believe it will be possible for Web’s team to get here before Jordan does, but I can’t be certain of that and every minute we spend here improves their odds. So, as good as I think we are, our time is nearly up, and we must not quit. Having said that, I still don’t know how to do what must be done to bring the gift ship to life. I need your help. I’d like everyone to review everything they’ve learned from their gifts that might help us create another controlling entity and then talk it over in whatever groups make sense to you. I’m going to continue working with Adia on what I mentioned. How about we reconvene in an hour and discuss our progress?” Sam asked.

They all agreed. Sam took his glass of water and a couple of pieces of bannock bread from the table and headed back to his sitting area. He was mildly surprised when Lisa walked up to him almost immediately.

“Mind if I join you for a minute?” She asked before taking a seat without waiting for an answer.

“No, especially not if you’ve already thought of something that may help solve our problem.”

“I may have, but first I wanted to thank you for what you said. If we’re to become a real team, it’s going to take an active leader. You just were that. I’m sure that everyone appreciated it.”

“I meant what I said.”

“I know you did, just don’t forget that it applies to you, as well.” Lisa waited for Sam to give the slight nod she was learning to expect from him when he conceded a point to her on that topic. He gave it and she continued, “If it’s not something the Rigby’s shared with you in confidence, do you mind if I ask what brought them here?”

“Jesse had cystic fibrosis.”

“Oh, that’s awful!”

“It was. It isn’t now, and it provided them with a strong incentive to take a hell of a chance by joining us.”

“That’s a bit callous, don’t you think?”

“No, I don’t. We desperately needed another couple. Chang found a brilliant solution to a very difficult problem. He was asking them to give up everything they know except each other for who knows how long and risk being imprisoned if we fail. How many people would be willing to do that without such a powerful incentive? Don’t get me wrong. I’m thrilled that Jesse is well now. He seems like a good kid and no one should have to go through what he was going through, least of all a child, but we didn’t give him his disease. We helped him get rid of it.

“Think about it, Lisa. If the Makers learned how to create gifts from an Academy, we can too. If we’re successful, no child will have to live like he did. If we didn’t get a full team together in time, we’d have no shot at that.”

“I guess you’re right. It just feels cold…”

Sam had been looking back at the team while he talked. They were all still gathered around the table. The dishes remained and they appeared to be having an animated conversation. Even the boys seemed to be thoroughly engaged. “Sometimes doing what’s right in the long run does.”

He looked back at Lisa. “You said you might have something that could help us figure out how to create a controlling entity?”

Sam wasn’t sure if Lisa would let him get away with changing the subject. She did. “Have you ever asked Adia what she wants most?”

“Yes, the same thing I do right now, to build and launch a gift ship.”

“No, Sam. That’s your current task. It’s a means to an end. If you could skip that step and go straight to the Academy by some other means, would you?”

Sam didn’t hesitate. “Yes, of course. The sooner we learn whatever it is we’re supposed to learn there, the safer humanity will be.”

“At the expense of the species we would have helped had we done it the Maker's way?”

“We could still build a gift ship,” Sam realized where she was going almost immediately, “…but we wouldn’t. The governments of Earth wouldn’t risk exposing ourselves to save a species we know nothing about. At best, they would dedicate all of their resources to defending Earth. At worst, they’d fight amongst themselves. There would never be a gift ship from Earth.”

Lisa nodded. “But you would still skip building a gift ship knowing that, right?” Her tone was soft. Sam had the feeling that she’d already answered the question for herself, and that she wasn’t too proud of her answer.

“Yes. I would still skip building the gift ship if it would improve our odds,” He answered.

“So would I. I don’t think inter-species altruism is a trait that survives evolution.”

Sam thought about that for a moment. “Then how do you explain the actions of the Makers?”

“I can’t, yet.” Lisa stood. “I’m going to go back to the others and do what you asked of us.” She started to walk away, but changed her mind after a couple of steps. Instead, she turned around, walked back to Sam and kissed him. “Ask Adia what she wants most, Sam. I think her answer will help.” Then she walked away.

“That woman confounds me, Adia.” Adia did not respond.

“Okay, you heard the conversation. So, I’m asking.”

“Althia and I have discussed Lisa’s conversation with her. I had hoped you would ask about it eventually.”

“Why do I still have to ask you these types of things? If you know something that you think might be helpful, please just tell me.”

“I understand your frustration, Sam. A part of me shares it, but as I told you before, I am not aware of what I do not consciously know until you ask a question related to that knowledge. When Althia shared her conversation with me, I understood what she relayed to me intellectually, but I felt no emotions related to it, no greater sense of having it be a part of me. You have to ask, Sam. The question cannot come from another source.”

Sam reflected back on when they’d first spent time learning together, while he waited for Jim and Adam to merge. It had been a transformative experience, one he’d spent too little time since then repeating. Of course she was right. “I’m sorry, Adia. I believe I have taken you somewhat for granted these past few days. I will do better. Within the context of your conversation with Althia, what is it that you want most?”

Once again, Sam felt the thrill of significantly greater understanding of Adia as she grew to be more of what she could become. Amidst the pleasure of the experience, there was remorse. Sam realized he’d done more than take her for granted. He’d fallen into the habit of using her as a tool, rather than treating her as a valued friend. His remorse was seasoned with chagrin. Jordan’s comments hadn’t been limited to how Sam was communicating with him.

Adia sensed his emotions and responded to them, “Don’t, Sam. The part of me that came from you was just as driven to accomplish our mission as were you. Lisa had a different experience with Althia because they came to be bonded under very different circumstances and without the primary responsibility you bear as the first. It is enough that I know now.”