Faster Than Light: Babel Among the Stars

10.

Inthe hundreds of years leading up to the Fall, power outside of thePeople’s Interstellar Republic largely flowed into the hands of afew dozen interstellar corporations. These corporations, which werenot permitted to operate on Republic-controlled worlds, werenevertheless allowed to use the Republic-administered trade routes tomake a fortune. They moved resources from planet-to-planet, allowingworlds to specialize and flourish. They generated massive amounts ofwealth within the galaxy, though they retained most of it for theirshareholders.

Theseshareholders were heavily monitored by the Republic. The HighCouncil knew that these corporations were the only interstellarorganizations with any leverage other than the PIR. If there was anyforce that could harm the Republic, it would be one of thesebusinesses. The High Council placed spies in their ranks, tracedevery aspect of their finances, and used their exclusive control ofthe trade routes to keep these rival powers in check.

Ofcourse, the shareholders of these corporations never truly had anyinterest in challenging the PIR. The Republic operated the traderoutes very efficiently. Privatized faster-than-light travel wouldbe more expensive, and would cut into their profit margins, so theytacitly permitted the PIR’s espionage.

Therewas one exception. There was one company that remained remarkablyevasive of the Republic’s meddling. Its employees were well-paidenough that they refused to turn traitor. Its headquarters washidden away, beyond even the grasp of Republic operatives. It wasonly incorporated on two colonized planets. Both corporate chartersfeatured entirely separate and distinct shareholder lists. All ofthe names on both lists were fictional. There didn’t appear to bea single real person who owned any part of the company.

Atfirst, this terrified the High Council. Certain that it was a shellgroup for carrying out the illicit activities of other corporations,they focused all their attention on this illusive organization. Butas time passed, senior officials in the Republic began to loseinterest. The company wasn’t doing anything interesting at all. It dabbled in various businesses, but never established a foothold. It spun off any subsidiaries as soon as they became bloated. Everyfew years, it seemed to change focus. One moment it would be tradingin ore, the next it would be manufacturing computer chips. Itsprofits, which were significant, disappeared into the pockets of theshadowy owners. It never attempted to consolidate any power, nevergrew, and never asserted itself within the interstellar community.

TheHigh Council grew bored and tired of spending valuable resourceschasing a phantom corporation that didn’t seem to have a direction,let alone pose a threat. By the time of the Fall, most people in theranks of the Republic had forgotten entirely about the mysteriouscompany. It was just another small business that ran a coupleshipments every day on the trade routes. Only a few elder statesmencould even remember the days that it was relevant. Every so often,one would make a half-hearted inquiry and find that information wasjust as scarce as it was before. There were no legitimate owners, noknown headquarters, and still no apparent purpose.

Thename of that corporation was Lachesis Technologies. And it had apurpose, but it was much larger than anything the narrow-mindedbureaucrats of the Republic could ever imagine.

*

Sethfelt his heart thundering in his chest as he walked down the cold,dark hallway in front of him. This should have been a moment ofrespite. Less than an hour ago, he was staring down death as hetried to escape Europa with the I.S.S. Monitor. Now he wassafe. He succeeded. He had the ship, he managed to leap away, andhe even ended up somewhere inhabited.

Butall those risks represented threats that Seth understood. He knewthe danger of a Republic laser rifle or missile. Now he felt out ofhis depth.

Assoon as he leapt near the space station, Seth received atransmission. A computerized voice instructed him to land the I.S.S.Monitor in the docking bay. He considered refusing, butcuriosity overwhelmed him. Something brought him to the station. Heneeded to find out what that was.

Thedocking bay was old and dilapidated. The walkways were creaky andlooked as if they hadn’t been used in years. Strangely, there wasno dust. It was like the station was uninhabited.

Dimblue lights illuminated the ground in the docking bay and led himinto the hall. They continued to pull him forward into the eeriestation. There was no one around. Everything was dark and shadowy.

Theentire structure seemed abandoned, and that wasn’t really assurprise. The Republic gave priority to anyone aboard a deep spacestation during the relocation. Everyone was pulled off of anyoutpost more than one light-year away from an inhabited planet. Atleast in theory, this way no one was left stranded in deep spaceforever.

AsSeth stepped forward, following the blue lights on the ground, hestarted to consider the best case scenario. In this hopeful fantasy,he had managed to leap to an abandoned space station that wasrecently evacuated but still habitable. He would be able to use itas a base of operations while he tried to decide where to take theI.S.S. Monitor next.

Hecouldn’t rationalize such optimism. With all of the empty space inthe galaxy, it was impossible he just happened to leap to a usefulderelict structure. It was far more likely that something broughthim there, and chances were that something was waiting for him.

Thelights continued to lead Seth through a maze of hallways. Now hestarted considering the worst case scenario, which was that he hadactually leapt outside of the galaxy. No one knew what was beyondthe rim. Perhaps this station belonged to an extragalactic forcethat would destroy him just like anyone else who dared leap from theMilky Way.

Fortunately,this pessimism seemed just as uncalled-for. The recording from thestation was in English. It seemed unlikely that aliens from beyondthe rim would be able to communicate using the primary languagespoken in the People’s Interstellar Republic.

Noneof Seth’s theories made any sense. The only thing he could do waspush on and see what mysteries the station would reveal.

Aftera few minutes, Seth reached a large metal door. It was emblazonedwith a familiar symbol. At first glance, it looked like thedouble-helix structure of DNA. But as Seth approached, he saw thatit was two entwined snakes. There was a single word beneath thesymbol: “LACHESIS”. Before Seth could recognize the name, thedoor slid open.

Insidewas a massive room with high-vaulted ceilings. There wereviewscreens on every wall, displaying videos, camera feeds of thedarkness outside of the station, and spreadsheets of unreadableinformation. Neatly arranged consoles lined the floors, surroundinga large open area in the middle of the room. Seth squinted as helooked towards the empty area and saw what looked like the shadow ofa thin figure.

“Please,come in Mr. Garland.”

Thevoice was soft, noticeably feminine, but cold. Seth didn’t daredisobey his host. He was too overwhelmed with fear and curiosity. How did she know his name? Why was she expecting him?

Sethstepped into the massive room and felt a blast of chilly air. Thetemperature was just a few ticks below comfortable, and Seth wrappedhis arms across his chest to keep warm.

“Wheream I?” he shouted. “Who are you?”

Thelights in the center of the room slowly lifted, revealing the shadowyfigure within. The first thing Seth noticed about her was how thinshe was. He was used to the people on Earth, who could mostgenerously be described as full-figured. Seth was the smallestperson he knew but compared to his host he was solidly built.

Herage was impossible to discern. At a glance, she couldn’t have beenmore than forty years old. Her skin was free of wrinkles, smooth andperfect. But at closer inspection, there was something wrong. Herflesh lacked natural color and her skin was taught against her face,smooth but artificial. She’d had extensive plastic surgery andsurface-level body modification, but all of it was incrediblyskilled.

Thewoman’s blue eyes shined brightly in the dark room. They werecybernetic, cutting-edge implants that almost looked real. But theyhad an tiny internal light source that betrayed their artificialityand they moved jerkily around the room as she focused on Seth.

Shewore an elegant high-collared black pantsuit. It was a few decadesout-of-date on Earth, but fit the spindly woman well. Her fingerswere flawlessly manicured and painted with deep red polish. Theyalmost looked as false as her skin and her eyes. Her ivory hairdraped straight down in perfect symmetry right above her shoulders.

“Ithas been a long time since I have had a visitor,” the woman said. When she opened her mouth, Seth could see that her teeth werestraight and pearly-white. Seth shuddered. He couldn’t decidewhether she was hideous or hauntingly beautiful. She’d had so manysurgeries and minor cybernetic implants that she barely looked humananymore.

“You... You haven’t answered my questions.”

Thewoman crossed her legs and pursed her lips. For just a second, Sethcould see the faint shadow of crow’s feet in the corner of hereyes. “Forgive me. My name is Moira Quick. I am the founder,CEO, and sole owner of Lachesis Technologies. This is my longtimehome and headquarters. And I brought you here.”

“Youwere the one who sent the man with that gnostin, weren’t you?”Seth exclaimed. “You tried to brainwash me.”

Moirasmiled. “I did what I had to do. But it seems that you resistedit. You did resist it, didn’t you?”

Seth’sheart jumped into his throat. He felt his hands start to tremble. And he began to wonder whether he’d ever been acting of his ownfree will. When he used the Lachesis gnostin, he immediatelydiscovered that it was attempting to brainwash him into stealing astarship for the company. He fought off the influence of the device,and mined it for its secrets...or had he? After all, he’d goneahead and done everything the gnostin wanted him to. He even leaptthe ship straight to the Lachesis space station.

“Don’tworry, Seth Garland,” Moira said as soon as she noticed his fear. “You came here of your own volition. I was testing you.. Ifsomething as simple as mass-produced human technology could overcomeyour free will, I could never trust you.”

“Itwas a test?” Seth’s mind was running in circles. Even if hewasn’t brainwashed, it was the gnostin that put the idea in hishead. It was the gnostin that showed him the way to do it. It wasthe gnostin that brought him there.

Moira’seyes narrowed. “I tried to brainwash you to steal a starship andtake it to a dock on Quantron. There, my men would have killed youbecause you couldn’t be trusted. You resisted the brainwashing,and you pushed into the depths of the gnostin and discovered thelocation of my home. You passed the test with flying covers, Mr.Garland.”

Sethtook a deep breath. He still wasn’t entirely sure that he trustedwhat Moira was saying. He hadn’t found the location of the spacestation. It had been implanted in his head without his knowledge.“I’m sorry Mrs. Quick,” he said. “But I’m really confused. What do you want with me?”

“Youare nervous,” Moira replied. “That is understandable.” Sheraised one of her hands to point at him. It was trembling. “Ineed you to keep something in mind. You have spent the last fewmonths of your life preparing for this moment. I have spent thelast...” Her voice trailed off as she decided not to continue. “Ihave spent a much longer time. So I am also quite nervous.”

“Preparingfor this moment?” Seth took a couple more steps towards Moira.“Youknew the Fall was coming?”

Moiranodded. “Among other things.”

“Whatother things?”

Along, cold silence filled the room. Seth could see that Moira wasconsidering how much to tell him. He thought about running up toher, grabbing her, and demanding to hear everything that she knew. She was small and thin, he was sure he could overpower her. Butsomething stopped him. As soon as he looked in her eerie cyberneticeyes, he was terrified. No matter how fragile she appeared, shecommanded an incredible and overwhelming presence. He didn’t wantto hurt her. He wasn’t even sure he really could.

“Letme tell you a bit about myself, Mr. Garland,” Moira said, staringstraight at him. “My first job was packaging cargo on a solarmine. I worked my way up from the lowest of the low to where I amnow. First, I surpassed all my peers. I made myself stand out. Idid everything I could to succeed, and I didn’t stop clawing my wayto the top until this very moment. And I didn’t do it because Iwanted money or power or prestige. Every dime I earned I spent,either to further my cause or simply to keep myself alive for as longas I needed to. I’ve called in every favor I have. And very fewpeople know I still breathe.”

“Why... Why then?”

Moiraleaned forward. Her illuminated eyes seemed to peer straight intoSeth’s soul. “To save the human race.”

Sethfelt overcome by a chill. He broke Moira’s gaze by looking awayand backed a few steps towards the door. Then he tried to re-asserthimself. “I’ve heard such things before,” he said. “Thecommissar I worked with on Earth, the man enforcing the Fall, told mehe was saving the human race.”

“Thenhe has no idea what is going on at all,” Moira replied. She foldedher hands in her lap. “Of course, that is not his fault. No onereally understands like I do.”

“Tellme,” Seth demanded. “Why did you help me? Why did you bring mehere?”

Moirapressed her perfect teeth together. “When I was your age—a long,long time ago—I was given a vision of the future. I saw the Fall,and the terrible things that follow. It was only a sliver of thingsto come, but it was enough. We cannot lose the Heilmann Drive, SethGarland. We need it.”

Sethnodded. “I know. That’s why I stole the I.S.S. Monitor.”

Agrave look passed over Moira’s face. “The Monitor? Youwere supposed to take the Illustrious. That was the plan.”

Sethremembered the difficulty he had in operating the controls aboard theMonitor. The gnostin trained him to operate the largemilitary ship, not the nimble science vessel. “I was a bit late ingetting to the Illustrious.”

“Soyou don’t have any weapons, or shields, and very little space.” Moira sighed. “I suppose there is nothing that can be done now. But Monitor? That’s a terrible name. Change it.”

Anotherfrigid silence passed between them as Seth waited for Moira toelaborate. She’d hinted at some awful future, some reason thesurvival of the faster-than-light starship was necessary. Everythingabout her was strange, from her unsettling appearance to the massive,otherwise empty space station around her. And all she had to tellhim was to change the name of his starship? Seth couldn’t believethere wasn’t more.

“Isthat it?” he finally asked. “Is that your advice? Rename theMonitor? You’re not going to tell me what I’m supposed todo? Or explain this terrible threat you keep talking about?”

Moirasmiled. “Didn’t you have a plan when you left Europa? That iswhat you should do. As for anything else, it is best if I keep quietfor now. We all have our roles to play. You have your role. I havemy role and, to be honest, I have probably interfered with you toomuch as it is.”

Sethcouldn’t handle it anymore. He felt like he was being manipulated. Moira’s obfuscations were infuriating. She was keeping everythingfrom him. On top of that, he couldn’t shake the feeling that therewas some other programming left over from the gnostin that would kickin.

“Thisis not acceptable,” Seth shouted. He started to charge towardsMoira. “You will tell me what is going on right now! I will notbe used!” He reached out, as if to grab her by the arm, but frozein place.

Moiralooked up at him. She wasn’t afraid. “You are many things, SethGarland,” she said. “But stupid is not one of them. As you mayhave guessed, I am not in particularly good health. You could hurtme. You could kill me. In fact, right now if you pulled me fromthis chair I would stop breathing. So you are right to think you canthreaten me. But it goes both ways. If my brain function isinterrupted for even a second, the power generators on this stationwill trigger an instantaneous implosion.”

“You’renot scared to die?”

“Quitethe contrary,” she replied. “Please, Seth Garland, if you thinkyou cannot handle what I am telling you you should end this now. Itwould be a relief. After so long, I could finally rest.” Moira’sartificial eyes made it incredibly difficult to read her. But itlooked like she was genuinely pleading with him. “Take this burdenfrom me. I have done all I can. I am tired. I want to be done. The death you could give me now is far quieter than the death I haveseen for myself.”

Sethbacked away from her. “Don’t be silly. I’m not going to killboth of us.”

“Thenyou will have to trust me. I have given you the starship you wanted. It is in your hands now, in your control completely. This is how itshould be, and how it must be. A time will come when you can knowmore. But that time is not now. Now, you need to build yourstrength for the coming trials.”

Thatwas it. She wasn’t going to give him any guidance. She’d spentuntold decades planning for this meeting and all she could tell himwas that he was on his own. There was nothing he could do. He couldonly appreciate that she was on his side.

“Iguess I will be going then,” Seth said. “Thank you for yourhelp, though I wish you would tell me why you gave it.”

Moiraheld up a hand. “I ask you one more thing, a simple favor.” Shepointed to the screens that surrounded her chair. “For years, Ihave survived on the kindness of a few starship pilots. I paid themwell, but they risked their careers to bring me supplies andentertainment. I am not on any of the authorized trade routes. Every few weeks, someone would leap in and transmit news and videosfrom across the many worlds. Would you mind doing the same?”

Setharched an eyebrow. “You want me to bring you things to watch?”

“Iam alone on this station. Without news feeds, films, sports,anything stimulating... I grow bored. The burden I carry is heavyenough. I do not wish to also be bored.”

“I’llsee what I can do.”

Moiragrinned and, for just a second, Seth could have sworn it was genuine. “Your first stop should be Airlann. I probably shouldn’t tellyou that. But I like you. I want you to succeed, and not justbecause our species depends on it.”

*

Sethsat in the captain’s chair of the I.S.S. Monitor. It wasfloating a few hundred miles away from the Lachesis space station. The leap coordinates for Airlann—which Moira transmitted to himwhen he returned to his ship--were already programmed into thecomputer. But Seth wasn’t ready to leap just yet. He still neededtime to think everything over.

Everythingseemed wrong to him. Stealing the Monitor was supposed to bean act of independence. He broke away from the iron grip of thePeople’s Interstellar Republic. He wanted a life of his own, amongthe stars. And now, before he could even begin this new existence,he found himself working for someone else. Moira Quick was givinghim an incredible amount of autonomy, but Seth knew that she wasstill in control. Even her refusal to order him around was anexercise of this power.

Onceagain, he was serving some greater cause. Only this time, he didn’tunderstand what it was. The Republic was, for all its faults,admirably transparent about their goals. They wanted control over thehuman race, and they wanted to use that control to further thecomfort and equality of their citizens. But what was the goal ofLachesis? What did Moira want? She spoke of a great burden, anoppressive destiny, but refused to elaborate.

Sethwas part of that destiny now. He was sure of it. Even if Moira wasletting him go about his business, she had something in mind for him. It would just be a matter of waiting until the day arrived when shewould finally reveal her intentions.

Therewas no turning back. He would go to Airlann like she suggested. Airlann was a neo-luddite colony. They rejected advanced technology,so it seemed like an odd choice. They wouldn’t have been friendlyto a starship before the Fall. Now, he expected them to be outrighthostile. But Moira wouldn’t have suggested it without a reason,and Seth was curious.

AfterAirlann, Seth would begin building an alliance. There were dozens ofworlds that were crippled by the Fall. They would see Seth and hisstarship as salvation. He would work with them, and hopefully find away to save faster-than-light technology forever. A new, bettersociety would rise like a phoenix from the ashes of the Fall.

Sethsmiled as he thought of the phoenix. It wasn’t a bad idea for astarship name.