Exodus: Machine War 1 Supernova. (29 page)

The Captain
thought about that for a moment, her eyes almost locked on it, only straying
every once in a while to the shadow form that they thought was the planet
Klassek.  That was the thing that made the object remarkable.  So far as they
had seen, it was the only material object in this dimension.  Not meaning that
there might not be a lot matter in the dimension, somewhere. 

“Could they
possibly be using zero point energy?” asked Cenk Ungra, the chief engineer of
the battle cruiser
Challenger
.

“Pure
conjecture, Engineer,” said Hasslehoff, shaking her head.  Zero point energy
was the dream of almost any intelligent space faring species.  Of course, there
were theoretical dangers to that kind of energy, up to and including the
collapse of the Universe.  Which didn’t mean that some species wouldn’t go for
what seemed to be free energy.  “I guess the next question is whether or not we
are in fact near to Klassek?  And if so, does that benefit us at all, or are we
still trapped in this dimension, with no way out?”

“No way to tell
that, Ma’am,” said the Chief Engineer.  “But if we are to have any hope of
getting back home, being near to our point of departure has to be a good
thing.”

But is it a
good thing if we die here in sight of our point of origin, because we can’t get
through whatever barrier separates us from our space?

“The probe is
sending its data, ma’am,” said the Com Officer, who was monitoring all possible
communications channels.

Hasslehoff
nodded and pulled up the feed on her side holo.  The ship’s computer had
already predigested the data, parsing it, screening out the fuzz and distortion
and feeding her the information in a manner that made sense to a human mind.

Interesting
,
she thought, checking out the readings of the
shadow
planet they were
near.  According to the readings from the probe, corroborated by the sensors of
the ships, the planet did manifest in this dimension as gravity, again proving
that gravitons moved through all dimensions, at least all that humankind had
actually experienced.  Besides that, there was some radiation along the electromagnetic
spectrum, about a thousandth of what could be expected from a planet with the
reflective surfaces Klassek was known to possess.  And from the smaller probes
that had been launched at the planet, it was now known that the shadow object
did not actually physically exist in this dimension, since the sub-probes had
been able to fly through the planet with no problem whatsoever.

“What do you
want to do next, Captain?” asked Ungra, who was also the acting XO.

“We’re here to
explore.  And here’s an object of mystery, right in front of us.  So I guess we
need to go ahead and look into it.” 
Plus, since we don’t have any way to
return home, and here is something that somehow got here from normal space, it
seems to be our best chance of finding a way back.

“Go ahead and
launch a multi-probe,” she ordered the Sensor Officer.  “But keep it under
tight control.  I don’t want us to get sent to some other, possibly less
hospitable, dimension.”

*     *     *

The probe was a
marvel of the best technology the New Terran Empire could come up with. 
Measuring a meter and a half in length by three quarters of a meter in
diameter, it boosted out of the missile tube in which it had been loaded at a
modest ten gravities, well under the thousands of which it could possibly
accelerate.  There was no need for high acceleration this close to the object,
but it was good to know that it could escape most high gravity fields less than
that of a neutron star or white dwarf.

The probe moved
up to the object, which the Imperials had termed a station for lack of a better
term.  Its passive sensors drank in every bit of information that impacted on
it, eschewing the use of actives at the moment, lest it trigger some kind of
response.

“What’s that?”
asked the Captain, her own link, like that of several other officers, allowing
her to look through the sensors of the probe.  A small section of the surface
of the station, which to that point had looked to be solidly integrated, was
now showing gaps around its ten square meter surface.  Not really a surprising
development due to the technology, as the Imperial ship used similar tech.  But
surprising in that the station seemed to be opening a portal for them to
board. 
Unless it’s opening a weapon port
, thought the Captain as the
portal slid inward and a deep tunnel manifested itself.

“Go ahead and
send her in,” the Captain ordered the Sensor Officer.

With a thought
the probe moved over until it confronted the opening.  It disappeared into the
hull of the station, visible for the first twenty meters or so before
disappearing into a well of inky blackness.  The Sensor Officer brought the
light enhancing sensors online, then brought up some lights when that did
nothing other than add about another half meter to what they already saw.  The
lights extended the view another twenty meters, but couldn’t penetrate the
blackness beyond that point.

“I think this
thing is really old,” said Ungra, his voice full of wonder.

“Reasons?” asked
Hasslehoff.  “Or just a feeling?”

“Feeling.  But
I’m pretty sure we’ll find the evidence.”

“Activating
radar and lidar,” said the Sensory Officer.  A moment later the tunnel in was
revealed in complete detail, reaching five hundred meters and ending in a blank
wall.  The probe floated forward, covering that distance in half a minute.  As
it reached a point five meters from the wall another portal appeared, the
bulkhead sliding in a half meter and then moving to the left.

“What do you
make of that door, ma’am?” asked Ungra, his attention fixed on the video feed.

Hasslehoff
looked at the door through the sensors of the probe, which gave her the exact
measurements of the doorway.  Three point one two meters tall by point five
wide.  “If these doors fit the makers, they were very tall and thin.  Possibly
low gravity planet dwellers.”

They moved the
probe through the doorway and into a large room.  An enormous map of the Galaxy
filled the room, obviously a holograph, or else an extradimensional construct
of some type.  The probe sent out active sensor pings, and determined nothing
as the signals were not returned.

“What’s that?”
asked the Sensor Officer as one of the stars in what looked like the subarm
Orion started blinking.

Hasslehoff
stared at the map, dawning comprehension coming.  “That’s Sol.  They’re telling
us that they know where our species comes from.”

Another whole
section of the galaxy lit up with a blue tint, showing the entire Empire, while
different colors showed the New Terran Republic, New Moscow, and filled in with
the alien powers that surrounded them.

“They know who
we are,” said the Captain, her eyes narrowing.  “And where we’re located.  I
wonder what else they know?”

“We know much
about you,” came the unexpected voice over the com.  The main holo viewer
turned to the same scene that the probe was presenting.

“I don’t know
what happened there, ma’am,” said the Com Officer, an alarmed look on her
face.  “That command came from outside our systems.”

“We have taken
control of your computer systems,” said the calming voice.  “We mean you no
harm, but wish for there to be no misunderstandings between ourselves and a
violent species such as yours.”

“We are on a
peaceful mission,” said the Captain, looking around the bridge, wondering what
else these aliens might do with her ship if the mood hit them.

“We know of your
mission.  In fact, we much laud you on your basic motivations, though there is
still an undercurrent of self-indulgence.  But there is enough altruism in your
species for us to allow you to complete your mission, even if it is not really
necessary.”

“These people
are all about to die from the supernova,” said Hasslehoff, not sure why their
mission was not necessary.  “And I assume that the blue giant has gone off by
now.”

“The star you
know as
Big Bastard
has indeed collapsed and rebounded in the phenomenon
you call a supernova.  The radiation wave which would sterilize this world is
on its way.”

“Then why do you
say that our mission is unnecessary?” asked Ungra, the disbelieving anger
apparent in his tone.

“We have seen
this disaster coming for a hundred millennia,” said the voice.  “And we made
the decision that this species and this world would not be allowed to die.”

“And how are you
going to do that?” asked Ungra, his tone challenging.

“You will be
here to see,” said the voice.  “And again, we caution you not to interfere in
the process.  You will accomplish nothing but the destruction of your ship.”

“You threaten
us?” asked the Captain, her eyes narrowing yet again.  She immediately thought
of how preposterous that question was.  Here were beings of immense power,
obviously thousands, if not tens or hundreds of thousands of years more
advanced that the Imperials were.  If they wanted to they could have reached
out and crushed her ship like a toy made of thin plastic.

“We do not
threaten you,” said the voice, its tone one of an adult talking to a child. 
“Only beings of your belligerence would assume such.  If we had wanted to
destroy you, we could have done so when your ship was firing on our devices. 
Instead, we placed you in this dimension, as a warning to your other people
that it was not wise to poke at our systems.  Without actually destroying your
ship.”

“I have a
question for you,” said Captain Hasslehoff, wanting information, but not really
wanting to get into an argument with these beings.  “Why are you doing this? 
Why go out of your way to save one intelligent species among many, when so many
others are wiped out all the time.  By pirates, plagues, asteroid strikes? 
We’ve seen the evidence of so many extinctions, most of which could have been prevented
much more easily that saving a world from the radiation of a nearby supernova.”

“So asks the
makers of the murder machines that are infesting this region of space,” said
the voice, and Hasslehoff felt a chill run up her spine.

“But, we
destroyed those abominations as soon as they rebelled.”

“And so you
believe, but now you are moving into their refuge, and they have grown powerful
enough to strike back at their creators.  We do not blame you for their
creation, since most intelligent species develop such during their
technological evolution.  Some are destroyed by their own creations, which are
later destroyed by other species.  Or the destruction of machine and organic
creator is mutual.  In your case, the machines escaped, without your knowledge. 
And they are still extant, which is your responsibility, and you will be
expected to clean this up once and for all.”

Hasslehoff
stared at the map of the Galaxy before her, not having any representative image
of the aliens to look at, the shock of the revelation that the existence of the
horrible inventions of the past were still around making it hard to think.

“But you ask why
we save this species, while we ignore others?” continued the voice.  “Not all
species will evolve to the next level, the precipice of which our own race
stands upon.  The Klassekians are one such species.  Yours is another.  It will
take hundreds of thousands of years to reach the next level, which will make
you no more Gods than we ourselves are, but will make you much better sentients. 
Your species has spread far enough that no event like this can threaten you,
while this one does not have this advantage.”

“But we are
threatened,” blurted out Hasslehoff.

“And you will
fight your way through.  Or enough of you will escape to keep your species
going.  This one had a clear and present danger hanging in their sky for a
hundred thousand years, with no guarantee that they would develop to the point
where they could save themselves.  We are few in number, even if our technology
is advanced to the point where you, and the Klassekians, would think it magic. 
We have to pick our battles, where we have the best chance of victory.”

“Why are you few
in number?” asked the Chief Engineer.  “If you are about to reach the next
level, shouldn’t you be a vibrant, expanding people.”

The image of the
Galaxy disappeared, both on the main viewer and in the chamber in which  the
probe was located.  Three beings stood there, like nothing that any of those
watching, which included most of the crew, had ever before seen.   Tall and
thin, but in no way humanoid, they seemed to float there, supported by six
tentacles that trailed from about the midpoint of the body to the floor.  Above
was a rounded section of
torso
, which continued into the
head
,
from which looked a trio of large, luminous eyes of a slightly darker color
than the skin.  That skin was a bluish green that seemed to glow with an
internal light.  There were no noticeable orifices of any kind, breathing,
eating or speaking.

“They’re
beautiful,” said Ungra.  The central alien raised one of its tentacles, which
went from a thick basal end to a thin terminal point.

“Such shows the
maturity of your species, that can look on us, and on the Klassekians, and see
an intelligent being, and not a monster.  Such is not always possible, even
among the most advanced of races.  But back to your question, Cenk Ungra.  We
are few because we achieved immortality.  Our natural lifespan is truly
endless, we are immune to disease, and all of our systems are self-healing.”

“But, that’s
wonderful,” said the Engineer.  “That’s been the dream of humankind for
thousands of years.”

“And  it seemed
to us, as well,” said the spokesbeing of the aliens.  “Until we realized that
we had lost the ability to reproduce.  All that we had were all that we would
ever have.  And while we healed quickly, and had an essentially limitless
lifespan, we could still die, of violence, accidents, at our own hands as the
endless depression of our existence set in.”