"I hadn't expected to see you so early, Jake."
"I couldn't sleep so I've been working..."
"Inside, if you please," he said quickly, shooting a look at the guard.
We went into the suite and Christophe showed us to the business area, not the couches. "Have a seat, boys, and I'll let Ralph and Al know where you are. I'm sure they'll be worried." It was a reprimand. Even Marlon had the decency to look embarrassed.
After he made the calls, he turned to me. "Fah'ti project on your mind, hm?"
"Yes." It should have surprised me that he knew, but it didn't. I already knew that Christophe had his finger on the pulse of everything in Utopia.
He sat back in Reginald's big leather chair. He looked as comfortable in it as Reginald did. More formal, though. More impressive. "So what did you learn?"
I told him. He listened. Like Marlon, though, he didn't want to believe what he heard.
"We have to crack it."
"We can't."
"If we can't crack it, we can't use it."
"Yes we can. We just have to use it with it's pair."
"And that means we can only go to one wormhole and end up in one place and time." He looked...annoyed? Frustrated?
"Yes. For now. And then one day..."
"Why." He wasn't really asking a question, he was thinking out loud. I let him tap his fingers on the top of the desk until his look changed.
"We're not ready."
His reply was fast and fierce. "Bullshit."
I hadn't heard him swear before. Nothing in his demeanor or polished perfection would indicate he ever did. But he had, and he did it right and well. "We aren't ready. Mother even admits it in her section of code. Until we can incorporate haak'sshi into our psyche, we can't use the technology for our own purposes. At least, I think it's haak'sshi that is the key."
"The Qitani cracked the code. They cracked the technology of a different race."
"That's what I said!" said Marlon. He hadn't, but I let that pass.
"It's all about this haak'sshi concept," Christophe said after a quick nod to Marlon. "Tell me about it."
I shrugged. "I...can't. It's part of their fiber. It's like..." I shook my head. How can you explain a concept that none of our words could explain?
"Is it physical? Spiritual? Emotional?"
"Yes. I think to all three."
"The doc said something the other day about Jake's brainwaves being different," Marlon told Christophe.
"Mmm. Could it have to do with their brains?"
I shrugged. "Maybe."
Christophe slammed a hand on the desk making us jump. He pushed away and stood quickly, then turned to stare out the window at the sunrise. He didn't say anything for a few minutes and neither Marlon nor I knew what to do. "When will we be ready? Isn't this enough? We sent you to them. Wasn't that enough? How much more do we need?" He turned around and leaned on the desk. "Why were the Qitani ready? Had they made bases on other planets?"
"No."
"No. A simple biological twist. Why are we constantly denied?" He sighed and composed himself with alarming speed. "I'm sorry, boys. It has not been an easy week. The quick jump has me all out of sorts. I simply do not like the idea that another race is dictating our space travel."
I had to defend them. "They're not. They didn't dictate us getting to them in the first place. They didn't dictate this base, or the first moon one, or the first shuttles or airplanes. They're only saying that we don't have the ability to alter the fah'ti."
"We can. If they'd tell us."
"And we wouldn't understand them right now even if they did!"
He looked to Marlon. "Can you crack it?"
"It's words, not really code."
"Biological programming?"
He shrugged. "We've played with it. Guess they're just better."
I was lost. "What's biological programming?"
"It's a concept scientists have long pondered. Can you control a piece of technology through biometric rhythms?"
"You mean...skip all the actual programming..."
"And just think your way through it," Marlon finished. "Or feel your way. Control travel of a ship like your mind controls you...walking."
"I don't get it."
"Your brain doesn't consciously think of a code to walk from here," he pointed to the desk, "to that couch over there. You just stand up and go."
"And you can do that with a ship?"
Marlon put his hands up and shrugged. "We've always thought maybe. I mean, the brain really is just a computer. We just haven't mapped out all the coding."
"We're getting there," Christophe said. "We can map memory. Program that into the..." he trailed off and his eyes went wide.
"Doppel bots," finished Marlon. "Aw man! They did it! That's the code!"
Christophe was smiling. I got the basic idea, but was still mostly confused. "Then why can't we?"
"Why can't we is right!" Christophe actually looked gleeful. "Marlon, you're transfered. I want you working with Bradley."
"Higher status?"
"Don't push your luck." He logged onto his terminal. "Lab 17 sub-D. Go back to your dorm and pack. I want you installed there by 8 am."
Marlon jumped up and headed for the door. "I'm on it!"
I looked around, utterly confused. "What's going on?"
Christophe stood and came to shake my hand. "I think we're about to be ready, that's what!"
"So...I cracked the fah'ti?"
"What?" He gave a little laugh. "No, I'm quite sure you're correct about it being uncrackable. We won't be able to use it in any other way than the Qitani desire."
"I'm so confused."
"We'll set it up. We'll turn it on. You say Eunice believes it'll work with our tech, we'll give it a try."
"You haven't even tried it?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
Christophe sighed. "And how could we before we even knew what we were dealing with? Hm? We picked you up and disabled the fah'ti as soon as we could. Couldn't risk two hundred years of StarTech work and research on potentially harmful technology."
Did they seriously believe that an advanced people would reach across galaxies just to steal useless...gossip? Unbelievable. Humans are absolutely unbelievable. I scoffed and shook my head.
He held up his hands. "I'm not trying to offend you, but please look at it from our point of view. You had to be quarantined for six weeks so we wouldn't get any alien diseases."
That's what they were doing all that long, boring time? "I did?"
"And we had to do the same with the technology. It would be stupid to blindly trust an unknown race."
I crossed my arms, annoyed that his sentiments only ran one way. "Isn't that what you want me to do?"
He gave a little wave. "I don't have time for another philosophical conversation right now. Besides, I stand firmly behind what I said last night. That won't change. If you can't understand why the lives and livelihoods of millions of people can't be put at jeopardy simply because you have a fondness for the Qitani, then there's nothing I can say to change your mind."
I hated it, but I could see his point. Mother did the same herself for two years after we were introduced to the Qitani. I have no doubt the Qitani did the same in regards to us. Protection from the unknown. I conceded. "So you're going to start it up now?"
"No. We're going to place it back where it was, nice and safe and away and disconnected from anything having to do with us and then we'll turn it back on."
I felt excitement growing. "And then I'll be able to talk to Dad?"
Christophe shrugged. "If you're right."
"And if I'm wrong?"
He did smile at me then, a snide, smug grin. "Then perhaps you'll start realizing how human you are after all, Mr. Cosworth."
Chapter 7
Twelve. Thirteen. Fourteen... I counted off the reps.
I didn't mind the weightlifting anymore. "Pumping iron, just like men used to," said Ralph. "Clears your head, boy."