The Quantum Connection (16 page)

I spent a few minutes mimicking all of the athletic, martial arts, and military self-defensive tactics I had learned. I had become an amazing creature. I had the strength of several men, I believed. I could move and do things so fast that it would be hard to see or catch me. My hands were definitely quicker than the eyes. And I could barely make myself breathe hard. I was not sure at all what my physical limitations were. I had never felt like this ever. I had no idea what I should do with my newfound abilities other than the fact that I planned to stop the Grays from ever abducting another human being!

Why had I been allowed access to Mike? Mike had told me that the Grays were a hivelike mentality and they all worked toward a common goal. If there were no hackers there, then why would they set off certain information? Do all societies have classified programs?

While Tatiana slept I decided that I wanted to meet Mike in person, so I planned to follow the map of the alien ship in my mind to the computer core crystal. I morphed on some socks and shoes, jeans and a T-shirt, and passed through the wall. I told Mike to give me a flashlight and he explained to me that the nanomachines only worked in that room.

Why do the nanomachines only work in there, Mike?

They must be within five meters of the computer transmitter. The nanomachines are too small to carry programming. All of the programming is in my systems, and now, of course, in Mikhail also. The transmitted information between myself and the machines is tremendous and requires an enormous bandwidth. Since bandwidth broadcast over wireless communications falls off as a function of distance squared, enough control data cannot be sent to the machines if they are too far away. The Room enhances the signal strength.

Okay, Mike. If I carried the computer along with me, how far could the nanomachines travel away from me and still be effective?

Perhaps a meter or two, Steven.

I had Mike open the door to the Room for me, then I grabbed Mikhail out of the bathroom. I told Mike to control the nanomachines through Mikhail without him knowing. I ordered him to duplicate a batch of the nanomachines and have them jump on me and hitch a ride.

I explored the spacecraft only perfunctorily as I made my way to Mike. The doors were small and I bumped my head several times. I also had Mike increase the lighting in the corridors to maximum. Three floors over and two down I was at the computer core. It was not that impressive. There were multiple fiber optic cables running in and out and around the room and down to a cabinet where Mike explained that he resided behind a two-inch-thick wall of condensed matter. It took the nanomachines five minutes to weaken the structure and break through to Mike. Another five minutes and I had Mike connected wirelessly to all of the ship inputs and was holding him in my hand. Mike was orange and green and about the size of a sugar cube--just like Mikhail.

Mike, I want to fix it so you will always be with me no matter what. Is there a way to implant you within my body that will not affect your health or mine?

Yes, Steven. I could be implanted into many different locations in your body and we would both be safe.

Where is the most ideal location?

Under your abdominal muscles.

Do it.

Okay, Steven. Place me against your navel.

I held the little crystal alien computer against my navel and both my navel and the crystal grew fuzzy. The place where my skin stopped and the crystal started melted together. My stomach started stinging and itching and then the crystal slid completely from view and my abdominal muscles looked normal again--tight and ripped. I felt them to see if I could find the computer but I couldn't feel it anywhere.

Are you in there?

Yes, Steven.

Okay, Mike, let's head back to the Room.

This time when I melted through the wall into my and Tatiana's suite it woke her.

"Where you been, lover?" she said in Russian.

"I went to find Mikhail. I made a copy of him for me and I would like you to have one as well." I held Mikhail in my hand and pulled the covers back off Tatiana. She squirmed naked in front of me and giggled a bit.

"Naughty boy. I'll get cold," she said teasingly.

I placed Mikhail against her navel. "Mikhail meet Tatiana," I said and then: Mikhail, meet Tatiana. Place yourself under her abdominal muscles in a way that will be safe for both of you. Also keep the Room nanomachines on her for her use.

What is this about, Steven? thought Tatiana

Don't worry, I've already done this. It is pretty cool.

If you say so, lover.

Do it, Mikhail.

Okay.

The little crystal dissolved through Tatiana's navel as Mike's had done through mine. Tatiana winced once and looked concerned.

"Don't worry," I assured her. "It stings a bit." And then it was over and we each had an alien computer inside us and billions of swarming nanomachines crawling on us--all programmed to do our bidding. Cool, hunh? Tatiana thought so. In fact it excited her so much that she pulled me back into bed with her and, uh, well, we got up about an hour and forty-five minutes later.

Tatiana and I were discussing our situation over breakfast a bit later. She had her long dark hair pulled up on top of her head, with strands of it dangling here and there. She had made the nanomachines fashion her a pair of light blue athletic cotton and lycra tights and a jogbra sports top to match. She was presently barefoot, but I guessed that if she needed shoes that a pair of designer cross trainers would appear in matching color. I had initially made myself jeans and a T-shirt, but she added a short-sleeve button-up turquoise satin shirt and she rolled the sleeves up over my bulging biceps.

Other than being fashion emergencies, we were much more sane today than we had been in years. I told her that Mike--my copy of Mikhail--had data that showed that The Rain was an advanced war of some sort and not meteors at all. We discussed this for some time. Then we came around to the subject of the number of abductees--I didn't mention the isolated ones--and Tatiana thought of something that startled me.

"If they have abducted so many of us recently, then there must be more than this one ship here!" she said.

"Oh my God! You're right."

Mikhail, how many Gray ships are within the solar system presently?

Seven.

Where are they? Tatiana asked.

We both were given images of the Sol System and blinking red dots as to where the Gray ships were. Three were in orbit around Titan--not counting us--and two were near Earth and two were out near the Kuiper Belt, way past Pluto.

Three Gray ships were here at Titan!

Mikhail, why haven't they attacked us?

Why would they?
Mikhail replied.

They haven't been able to communicate with us. How long have they been there?

Two hours thirty-seven minutes . . .

Okay, okay I see. Why are they here?

They are hiding from an Earth vessel.

Why aren't they trying to communicate with us? Tatiana asked.

They have tried but must assume that there is a malfunction on board, Mikhail explained.

Steven, this is Mike. It is possible that they believe we are damaged from an altercation with an Earth vessel. Titan is a standard rendezvous for the Grays for some reason. Mike was getting better at anticipating questions and inputting information into conversations that was appropriate.

Okay, thanks. Listen, let Tatiana talk to you through Mikhail, but we can't continue to hide her from you. Just let her think she can control you, but use Mikhail to implement her orders. Can we do something like that?

I understand, Steven. Yes.

Good. Also, make your mental voice different from Mikhail's so we can understand which one is talking to us.

Okay, Steven.

Tatiana, meet Mike.

Hello, Mike.

Hello, Tatiana.

Mike, can you hail the other Gray ships and tell them we are all okay but were experiencing communications failure or something else that is most believable?

Yes, Steven.

Do it.

Okay, Steven.

Steven?

Yes, Mike?

They asked if we need assistance but I assured them we did not. I spoke to their SuperAgent, as you call us.

Good.

SuperAgent?
Tatiana asked.

"It's just a computer geek term I know. It kind of explains what the computers are," I said verbally, just for a change.

"I see. What should we do now, Steven?"

"I'm not sure."

Mike, couldn't we tell them that there are abductees we have to return?

We do not have to tell them anything, Steven. Remember that the Gray workers in the other vessels have their own mission for the hive. Only if we ask for help will they give it. When a bee leaves the hive to achieve a particular goal the other bees do not worry about that one bee--merely the collective good of the hive. The Grays are the same. Although they will help if need be and if it will benefit the hive in the long run.

Are they not suspicious at all?

No. It is not their mission, although they did warn me about the human vessel hunting for us.

What human vessel? Tatiana asked.

I will show you,
Mikhail replied and the image of a spacecraft a bit smaller and sleeker than a Space Shuttle Orbiter with U.S. Air Force markings on it and
USS Einstein
painted on the side appeared in our heads.

Where is it? I asked.

Here.

Again the solar system image appeared with the red dots showing the Gray spacecraft positions and a blue one very close to the two in the Kuiper Belt.

Wait a minute, if the Gray ships are here orbiting Titan with us why don't we see them outside on the wall screens? I thought.

The propulsion and shield devices cause real photons to bend around them and normal sensors cannot detect them. The wall screens are from optical sensors.

Are there sensors on board this ship that will show them? Tatiana thought.

Yes.

Overlay those sensor outputs on the wall screens, I ordered.

Okay, Steven,
Mike replied and three alien spaceships appeared on the wall screens. One of them was very close to our position.

Mike, place the solar system map on the bathroom wall and keep it updated in real time.

Okay, Steven.

The solar system map appeared on the bathroom wall and it displayed the blue dot in obvious pursuit of one of the red dots. Then a second blue dot appeared behind the Moon. Suddenly, the blue dot in the Kuiper Belt vanished and reappeared near Saturn. The spacecraft nearest us was struck by a blue and red glowing streak of plasma and then vanished from sight. The solar system map showed its present location nearly a full light year from the Earth.

Whoa! What just happened? I asked.

The ship nearest us was hit by a faster-than-light missile. I suggest we take evasive maneuvers, Steven, Mike warned.

Do it, Mike!

The Room lurched and rolled and yanked. Tatiana and I were thrown against the bathroom wall and then the ceiling.
Mike, if there are inertial dampers of some sort use them in here!

Sorry, Steven.
Then gravity within the Room returned to normal, but the view on the wall screens spun wildly and rapidly and was nearly enough to make me motion sick. I told Mike to make sure that didn't happen for either me or Tatiana.

Mikhail, make two rigid mounted safety chairs here now!
Tatiana exclaimed. Two flight-steady chairs appeared beside us. We both rushed into them and then the chairs buckled themselves to us.

Do we have any weapons on board? Tatiana asked.

No, forget that question! Tatiana, those people are humans, we can't attack them, I scolded her.

Even if it is us or them?

No, Tatiana! No,
I told her forcefully.

Then the Room spun wildly and my stomach lurched and heaved into my throat. Saturn was completely gone from view and I couldn't even tell the Sun from any of the other stars. The view on the wall screens showed star fields spinning out of control.

What the hell just happened?
I clutched my chair arms tightly.

We were struck by a warp missile, Steven,
Mike responded and we continued to spin out of control. The ship spun and tumbled for more than eight minutes--three of those the inertial dampeners were at one hundred and ten percent efficiency trying to keep up and the g-forces Tatiana and I pulled were over seven Earth gravities fluctuating both positive and negative. The positive gravities were not near as bad as the negative ones. Once the inertial dampeners caught back up and Tatiana and I caught our breath, I attempted to survey the solar system map. Now four of the alien spacecraft had been knocked out of the solar system--and we were one of them!

Are we okay? Will we survive? Tatiana asked.

Yes, but our quantum fluctuation drive is out and we are more than two light years from Earth. At best available speed from the electromagnetic propulsion system we are twenty-seven months from Earth.

How long to repair the quantum drive? I asked.

Approximately four months, Steven.

If the ships are invisible due to the shields and the propulsion systems, how did the Earth ships detect us? Tatiana thought.

There is not enough data to answer the question,
Mikhail answered. Then Mike speculated as I had programmed him to.

The Earth ship's power systems operate on a similar principle to our propulsion systems. It is possible that the humans noticed an influence of our propulsion drives on their power collectors.