“But… why did they leave?”
“That’s a guess. One of Cleon’s colleagues, and I’d calculate that it was most likely Koch or Chais, although Cleon refused to identify whoever it might be, theorizes that they were faced with the prospect of mental and physiological degradation because their biology was vastly different. They may even have a nervous system that was based on something similar to an AG drive. As the universe expanded, atrousan density decreased. So did everything else. It was a hotter, brighter universe… brighter in more ways than one.” “They wouldn’t be able to think as fast?” “I’d judge that they anticipated that possibility. Cleon won’t commit on that. He asserts that he is a physicist, not a neurologist. Most of the physical scientists have concluded that what we’ve found doesn’t work, or rather, that it functions only to a small percentage of its original design and capabilities. Not only are those functions impaired, but they will always be impaired and will continue to deteriorate as the universe continues to expand.” I couldn’t help laughing. Jiendra tilted her head.
“Doesn’t sound funny to me.”
“Don’t you see? Neither the rationalists nor the true believers will be happy. The scientists want to believe that, if they can just find the proper rational key, they can make anything work. If the preliminary work is correct, no one can ever make the Danannian technological devices operate as they once did. We might be able to create a universe where they did work again, but, personally, I’m not so certain that we’d work there.”
“What are we, then? The dregs of the universe?”
“I’d prefer to suggest that we’re the mature vintage of the universe, the later and better wine…” She did laugh at that.
83
Chang
Finished eating and looked at Liam. Wanted some answers. He’d supplied some, but there were others, ones he didn’t know.
“You have that look, lady…” he said.
“Lady… I’m no lady. I’m a pilot, and I’m frigging pissed. We go off on an archeological expedition. We get attacked. We face assassins and sabotage, and when we come back through the Gate outside Hamilton system, we’re in the middle of the biggest single-system battle in human history. It’s no frigging coincidence.”
“That’s a rather charitably captious abnegation of—”
“Why don’t you just say you’re pissed, too?”
He grinned. “Your expressions are more colorful.”
“We need to see Morgan.”
“Will he see us?”
“If you come, how can he say no? You’re not under his command, and you can bust his butt into little fragments so small even a nanetic biologist couldn’t reassemble him. He also knows you just might.”
Liam stood. “We need to stop by my work space first, for some insurance.”
His insurance took more than half a stan. Finally, he stepped away from the console. “That should do it.”
“That to make sure everyone knows?”
“Some probably do. I just want to make sure everyone does.” Liam closed his door. Didn’t lock it.
We walked up the ramps.
Couple of officers looked round-eyed when we got to the ops level. Didn’t stop us, though. Morgan was in his spaces.
“Ah… I see I’m surrounded.” Morgan looked up from the console. His smile was hard.
Liam gestured for me to step inside, and then he closed the hatch.
“The captain will know you’ve closed the hatch, and she’ll be monitoring everything.”
“That’s fine.” My words were harsh.
“We have been pondering matters, Commander,” Liam began, “and cogitation, while often difficult, also can have unexpected negative impacts.”
“Get to the point, Professor. I don’t need lectures or verbiage.”
Liam moved. In instants, he had Morgan on the deck. “I don’t need condescending crap, Morgan. I’m polite because I was taught to be. You have a lot of explaining to do. Especially for all the blood on your hands. And don’t think that you can get out of it—not unless you want to silence or murder every member of the expedition.”
In a way, I was glad Liam had acted. I might have just busted Morgan’s balls and neck—in that order.
Morgan looked up tiredly as Liam released him. “Some sort of timed release?”
“It’s a bit more sophisticated that that. It’s a burst transmission, like a virus, that will appear in every terminal in the system, shortly. It will also appear if the system is turned off, if power is lost, and if any attempt is made to remove or tamper with it.”
“How did you learn that, Professor?”
“My subspecialty was communications disruptions, Commander. I’ve kept abreast, mainly out of curiosity.”
“Out of thousands of former commandos, we would get you.”
“No. I didn’t have anything to do with it, but it’s transparently obvious that I was placed here as a check on you, as well.”
I wondered how many checks on how many people the Comity really had. Got the feeling that there were plots within plots, stuff that I’d never know. Wasn’t certain I wanted to, either.
“Diplomatic Corps, no doubt.” Morgan cleared his throat. “Might I get up?”
“Why don’t you just sit on the deck?” I said. “Until we get some answers.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Let’s start right here,” I said. “How did you know that the battle here in Hamilton system was going to happen?”
“I didn’t.”
Just looked at him. My eyes were colder than his. Angrier, too.
“Just out of curiosity, Commander” asked Liam, “what were you at D.S.S. Headquarters, Deputy Chief of Intelligence? That has to be a matter of record, and I imagine that, if anyone published such a coincidence as your also returning as operations officer of the Magellan...”
“It would all be hypothetical, Professor, very hypothetical. Besides, I’m well past the time for full retirement, and I certainly haven’t done a single thing against any law or regulation.”
“Deputy Chief of Intelligence?” Liam pressed.
“Assistant Deputy Chief.”
“Now… about how you knew there would be a battle here in Hamilton system?”
“As I said, it could only be hypothetical—”
“Then, perhaps you had best offer your hypothetical answer.” Never heard Liam’s voice that calm or cold. Deadly.
Morgan looked from Liam to me.
“I’ll take hypothetical.” For starters.
Morgan rose to his feet. Liam let him.
Morgan smiled. Uneasy smile. “Let us start with Danann itself. Just assume that a D.S.S. ship fired a flash torp at the surface of Danann. Not anyplace near the megaplex, but just a flat icy patch over one of those frozen oceans. Not out of hostility, but to get some spectral readings because the ship was leery about landing its single flitter. Let us also assume that within moments the ship vanished, and there was a massive surge of energy on the AG level, enough to rock its companion vessel, despite the other ship’s having stood off several thousand emkay… Let us assume that, far later, another ship approached and successfully landed a flitter. What conclusion would you draw?”
“Danann protects itself.” Frig! “You set up everything so that the Covenanters would fire on those fusactors, and the frigging planet wiped out the whole flotilla—and what was left of the CWs, too.”
“We don’t know that. Not for certain.”
“How long did it take to set it all up?” I asked.
“I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about, Lieutenant. Nor will anyone else, if you happened to be so unwise as to discuss it publicly.”