Heather stood over Mark’s bed, watching as he stretched his arms, sleep gradually releasing its hold on him. Opening his brown eyes, he smiled up at her. As disturbing as last night’s white-eyed invasion of her thoughts had been, seeing this morning’s smile in those eyes eased her concern.
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” she said. “How you feeling?”
“Had the strangest dreams. But right now, I’m starving.”
Sitting up in bed, Mark threw off the covers, then, realizing that he was entirely naked, quickly pulled the sheet back.
“Sorry. Guess I should throw on some clothes first.”
Heather’s laugh brought a flush to his face.
Reaching the hallway, she called back over her shoulder, “A shower might be a good idea too. I’ll have Yachay warm up some leftovers.”
Heather paused in the hallway to catch her breath. As familiar as she had been with Mark’s body, this was the first time she’d seen him naked. There were probably millions of women who would kill to be with a man like that. Hell, she would. Feeling a thin sheen of sweat dampen her brow, Heather shook her head to clear it. Christ, if she didn’t get hold of her thoughts she was going to need a cold shower.
After stopping in the kitchen to relay instructions to Yachay, Heather stepped out onto the porch, where Jennifer sat relaxing in the afternoon sun.
“Mark’s awake.”
As Jen started to rise, Heather held out a hand. “In the shower.”
A wave of relief softened the worry lines around Jennifer’s eyes. “Does he remember anything?”
Heather shrugged, settling into a wicker chair beside her friend. “Don’t know yet. Thought I’d let him wake up and get dressed first. Yachay’s fixing him something to eat.”
Heather paused. “Where’re Jack and Janet?”
“Janet took Robby for a walk. Jack went into San Javier to get some supplies.”
“Good. That’ll give us a chance to talk with Mark privately.”
“Jack wants to debrief us.”
“I figured.”
Just then a rising dust cloud in the distance caught Heather’s attention, presaging the arrival of Jack’s Ford Explorer. Heather shaded her eyes with one hand, gazing down the dirt road. “Sometimes that man’s just plain spooky.”
Jen followed Heather’s gaze. “So much for our private chat.”
By the time Mark finished eating, Janet had made her way back to the house and put Robby down for a nap, and she sat waiting with Jack in the living room. Heather wasn’t quite sure, but from their faces as she led Mark and Jen into the room, it seemed that Jack and Janet had been arguing.
“Are we interrupting something?” Heather asked.
Jack’s head turned toward her. “Have a seat. Something’s happened.”
As Mark, Jen, and Heather complied, he continued. “President Jackson has granted Dr. Stephenson a full pardon and restored him to his position as deputy director of LANL.”
“What?” The startled question simultaneously erupted from all three of them.
“Not only that,” Jack said, “Stephenson’s also been selected to represent the United States as a special advisor to CERN. The Associated Press reported that he left for Europe almost immediately upon being released from prison.”
Heather felt as though she’d been kicked in the stomach. As a swarm of visions threatened to pull her away from the conversation, she fought to regain her focus.
Mark rose to his feet. “But that doesn’t make any sense. Jackson can’t be that stupid.”
“The president claimed to have proof that I framed Stephenson. He also ordered that nanite serum production and distribution be restarted.”
“Something else is going on,” Heather said.
“And why CERN?” asked Jennifer. “Stephenson would want to get back to Rho Project research.”
“We need to get on the Internet and figure out what’s really happening.”
“And you will,” said Jack. “But first, Janet and I want a complete rundown of everything you encountered during your link to the Bandolier Ship.”
Although Mark, Jen, and Heather argued the point, Jack refused to be swayed. Thus, with Mark taking the lead, they passed the afternoon taking turns describing their experiences.
As Mark’s story unfolded, the pieces clicked into place in Heather’s mind. She’d been analyzing the possibility that the alien artificial intelligence was an integral part of the starship’s computational system. In response to Mark’s counterattack, it had sought to shed computational resources in an attempt to hide itself. That meant the AI existed within the starship’s computers, not tightly coupled to those systems. It no doubt required an advanced parallel processing system to operate, but that was likely the extent of its bond to the ship. Somehow the AI had managed to isolate itself, severing the link to the systems linked to Mark’s mind. One second the thing was there, trying to counter Mark’s attack on its logic systems, and the next it was gone.
The real question was whether or not the thing would be able to restore its access to the starship’s central computing systems. Since it had transited to a subsystem and then cut the link, it could probably reconnect.
Mark’s mental battle had kept the AI occupied, enabling Heather and Jennifer deep access into the computer data banks. The alien race that had constructed those systems had apparently placed the AI there to guide the crew through the data. It was the starship’s Google, a self-aware search engine navigating search trees of such fractal complexity that unguided users got lost.
Ironically, if it hadn’t been for Heather’s special talent, Mark’s victory in dispelling the AI would have made comprehensive data access impossible. Instead, they had penetrated well beyond where they’d previously delved. Still, they had barely scratched the surface. It would take more attempts to find their way through enough of the data banks to develop an index of what lay within. Only in that way would they find the answers they were seeking.
As Mark concluded his narrative, Heather and Jennifer set forth a detailed description of their progress in exploring the starship’s previously inaccessible data banks. When they reached the point at which they had dropped their links, Janet leaned forward.
“Did any of you feel Robby link in?”
“I did,” said Heather. “But just for an instant.”
“No,” Jennifer said.
Janet’s eyes moved to Mark, who only shook his head.
“I don’t understand it. Don’t you always share the link?”
“Not all the time,” said Heather. “Unless we actively communicate with each other, we’re doing our own thing in there.”
“Damn it.” Janet rose and walked to the edge of the porch.
Heather wanted to say that Robby was fine, just as they were. But were they really fine? And what would the link do to a baby? Worse, Robby had worn the fourth headset.
Jack inhaled deeply. “Robby seems fine. Let’s not borrow trouble until we find out different.”
Seeing Janet’s jaw set, Jack turned his attention back to Heather.
“OK. Even though you didn’t get what you went in for, you made an important breakthrough. Any idea how many more sessions it will take?”
“I’ll only know after I build a map of the fractal structure.”
“We’ll go back in tonight,” Jennifer said.
“No,” Jack said. “Mark needs more recovery time. Besides, I’ve got other things for you to do before you try again.”
“Like what Stephenson’s up to?”
“Something big’s about to happen. Time to use those special talents to find out just what it is.”