“My point is simply this…” Hofstader couldn’t understand how a group of people this intelligent could be so stupid. “Until the Alliance found this artifact, we were alone in the universe.” He spoke with amazement and reverence at the monumental importance of the discovery, which his colleagues seemed to have forgotten. “The moment this was found we were no longer unique. The race that constructed this facility was thousands of years ahead of us…and that was half a million years ago.” He could see he was losing them, but he continued, hoping to somehow get his point across. “Don’t you see the implications of this in terms of our place in the universe? And, by extension, the imperative need for us to study and apply this technology?”
Norgov frowned and held his hand in the air. “Dr. Hofstader, I think we are all familiar with your issues and concerns.” The Russian scientist wasn’t trying to be condescending and insulting; it just came naturally to him. “Nevertheless, I think it is a massive and unwarranted leap to assume that simply because a sentient race preceded us in the galaxy and built this facility that we face imminent invasion…or whatever else it is you imply.”
“This entire planet is an anti-matter production facility utilizing seismic energy as a power source.” Hofstader’s voice was becoming higher pitched. He was passionate about his research and frustrated that a culture of bureaucracy was slowing down the exploration of the greatest discovery in history. “Imagine the implications!”
“The Committee has issued no such finding.” Crandall again, spouting Academic orthodoxy. “Your assertions as to the facility’s purpose and power generation are premature. They are, at best, a hypothesis at present.”
“I’m not talking about Committee findings.” Hofstader was losing steam – he knew he wasn’t going to get anywhere. Not with this group. “I’m talking about plain sense and an evaluation of the data.”
“Dr. Hofstader, no one is disputing your knowledge or the usefulness of your research, but you are making a significant number of unsubstantiated projections, not the least of which is your assertion that this facility is planet-wide in scope. We have determined it is quite vast, far larger than it initially appeared.” Norgov was trying to be conciliatory, at least to the extent it was possible for him. “But we are far from verifying that the facility is built on a planetwide scale.” His eyes narrowed as he looked at Hofstader. “Not to mention extending all the way to the planetary core as you have theorized.”
“Indeed, Friedrich, Dr. Norgov is correct.” Crandall spoke softly and smiled. In his own way, he too was trying to avoid offending Hofstader. “We must not abandon proper research procedure simply because of the scope and import of the find.”
Hofstader sighed, but he managed to keep it quiet. Crandall simply didn’t have it in him to think outside the box. None of them did. They’d spent their whole lives in academia, and they’d lost all touch with the real world implications of the things they researched. He wanted to continue arguing, but he realized it was a waste of time.
Norgov noted Hofstader’s lack of a response, and he smiled. “We are agreed, then.”
Hofstader just nodded, so grudgingly it was barely perceptible. He wasn’t going to waste any more time debating…it was pointless. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to do anything.
Bradley Travers ducked under a support beam and continued following Hofstader down the dusty corridor. Travers was tall, well over two meters, and these old tunnels had clearly been built for shorter beings. It was pretty anecdotal, but it was a tiny piece of the greatest puzzle of all…who were the builders of this complex, and what were they like?
Beyond rough assumptions based on an analysis of the facility itself, the only clues they had found to date were microscopic bits of fossilized amino acid chains that might or might not be something similar to DNA. It was going to be years in the lab before anything meaningful could be derived…unless they found more substantive data to jumpstart that timetable.
Travers was the head of the Martian research team, and his xenobiology credentials were impeccable. But there was more than one layer to Travers – he was also one of Roderick Vance’s operatives at the Martian Security Department. He was on Carson’s World mostly to do his job as a scientist, but he was also there to keep an eye on things for Vance. He was pretty sure he’d ID’d all of Gavin Stark’s people, unless Alliance Intelligence had managed to get someone into a really deep cover. In fact, he was pretty sure he’d pegged most of the spooks. Every Power had at least one in their team, and most had more. Even though the Superpowers had agreed to share access to the planet and work together to unravel its mysteries, they still jockeyed for position, trying to get an edge on the others one way or another.
Vance had been particularly concerned about anything Stark was doing, since he’d lost his main asset inside Alliance Intelligence. The newsflash had simply noted that Hendrick Thoms, director of megacorp GDL, had died in a work-related accident. His true fate, known only to a very few people, had been considerably more horrifying. Gavin Stark had no pity for double agents.
Vance had gotten the better of Stark during the recent series of rebellions on the Alliance colonies, largely using intel from Thoms. Stark had been holding Fleet Admiral Garret hostage for months, having replaced him with a double. Combined with his secret control over General Samuels, he’d been positioned to achieve total victory…until Vance assisted Erik Cain in rescuing Garret.
Gavin Stark was a psychopath and a human reptile, but he was also extremely intelligent. Vance had always known it would only be a matter of time before Stark figured out what had happened, especially after MSD also outed Samuels, allowing Generals Cain and Holm to take control of the Marine Corps and save it from destruction. Stark couldn’t get to Vance, at least not easily, but Thoms hadn’t been so lucky. Vance knew Thoms would eventually get blown…with unpleasant results. He wasn’t the same kind of creature as Stark – at least he liked to think he wasn’t. But he hadn’t hesitated to expend Thoms either.
Travers agreed with Friederich Hofstader about pushing the pace of the research. It might be thousands of years – if ever – before humanity encountered the enigmatic race that built the great artifact on Carson’s World, but there was simply no way to know. The only thing they could be sure of was, if that contact happened, humanity would be hopelessly outclassed. Better to learn all they could before that day came.
The corridor was eerily quiet, untouched for millennia. The only sound was the soft scratching of their boots on the rough stone surface. There were just the three of them - Hofstader, his assistant Katrina, and Travers. They were here unofficially…very unofficially. In fact, they were violating just about every rule and protocol that applied to the project.
The tunnel had been bored out of the bedrock, and it led down at a constant 5% grade. This branch hadn’t been opened for exploration, and there were no lighting units installed; the preliminary scout teams hadn’t even ventured this far yet. The glow from the party’s portable electric torches danced off the smooth walls as they passed by. There was a thin semi-opaque tube running along the ceiling, the corridor’s original lighting track. It was non-functional, since there was no power generation in the facility, but otherwise it looked almost new, despite its extreme age. The same tubing had been found throughout the complex. They still hadn’t been able to identify the material. It was pliable and could be bent around curves, but it was extremely tough – even a plasma torch had a hard time cutting through it. And they had no idea at all how it functioned.
“According to my projected schematic, this passage should lead to one of the acceleration chambers.” Hofstader’s voice echoed loudly off the tunnel walls. He glanced back at his two companions and spoke more softly. “It may be a long way. Remember, I if am right, this complex is planetary in scale.” He readjusted the pack on his back and turned to face forward, into the gloom of the passageway ahead.