Faster Than Light: Babel Among the Stars

5.

Atfirst, The Spatial Preservation Act prompted little resistance withinthe Republic. People were used to trusting their government. If thegovernment said that faster-than-light travel was dangerous, then itcould be believed. Soon, however, the reality of the Fall began toset in. Everyone started to see the effects on the less-populatedworlds. Then they realized that the images they saw from theseplanets might be the last ones they would ever see.

Dozensof worlds would become completely isolated from one another. It wasthe end of an interconnected, galactic human society. And manyworlds were not prepared for that. The people of the Republic sawthe food riots on NewPasTur, the despondent suicides on Yuan, thereligious upheaval on Linaria, and similar disasters across thegalaxy. Their government was doing nothing to quell these crises itcreated with the Spatial Preservation Act. The Republic seemedcontent to let these other worlds destroy themselves.

Tomake matters worse, the Republic was not forthcoming about its plansto eventually re-establish faster-than-light travel. Were theystudying ways to improve the Heilmann Drive? Were they exploring thepossibility of a completely new method? No one knew. Republicscientists working on the problem were sequestered from society.

TheRepublic also refused to provide substantial evidence that theHeilmann Drive posed a threat to the galaxy. They claimed that thereports from the warped space were dangerous and inflammatory. Theyacted as if they possessed some dangerous power on their own. Andthe public had to be protected from this power.

Soonit became clear that the Republic didn’t have the answers orsolutions everyone wanted. People started to question the SpatialPreservation Act. They wondered if there was really any reason forit, or if it could be some kind of power grab by the Republic.

Forthe first time in centuries, the people of the Republic began to riseup en masse against their government. They staged protests outsideof Republic facilities. They distributed incendiary articles aboutthe Act. They interrupted speeches and disrupted rallies. Rumorsbegan to spread that Republic officials were being attacked byorganized resistance groups.

Thesewere not the easily-captured terrorists the Republic demonized afterevery tragic freighter accident. This new rebellion was real, and itwas powerful. It hid in plain sight among the crowd, and it wasfairly popular. After all, no one liked the end of faster-than-lighttravel.

*

“Ithought you were supposed to put an end to these riots,” CommissarAbsalom said, a wry smile on his face. “Sometimes I wonder if wegot the raw end of our deal.”

Afew weeks ago, a comment like this might have worried and annoyedSeth. After all, there was truth in Absalom’s words. Seth toldthe commissar that he would be able to help contain the resistance tothe Spatial Preservation Act. Their deal was premised on the ideathat he could communicate with his fellow disaffected citizens.

Now,it barely seemed to matter. The resistance had grown beyond anythingAbsalom anticipated. It seemed like the entire galaxy was rising up. And Seth was obeying the terms of the deal he made with thecommissar to the letter. Every week, he went before the Republicpress and gave a detailed summary of his observations. He emphasizedthat the Spatial Preservation Act was necessary and proper. He tookquestions from the audience, and handled himself well enough that noone questioned his sincerity. But it wasn’t enough.

“You’reasking the galaxy to swallow a bitter pill,” Seth replied. “I’mdoing what I can, but it’s never going to go down easy.”

Thetwo men sat in the back seat of an ImpulseCar on the highway betweenthe New England Zone and the Mid-Canada Zone. They were on their wayto see the design documents for yet another part of the HeilmannDrive. This time, it was one of the most important elements of theengine: the Compressed Envelope Map. The CEM was the computer systemwhich handled the massive amount of data required to fold andsubsequently restore the space within the Heilmann Leap.

Sethdidn’t know what to think about the continued protests. Heoriginally feared that they would hurt his position. If he could notreassure the masses and keep them calm, then the Republic didn’thave any need for him. Absalom could cut him loose or, even worse,stick him back in jail. But Seth was thrilled to see the people ofEarth standing up to the Republic. When this all played out, hewould need them. They would help him

Afterall, Seth’s plan hadn’t changed. Every time he got the chance,he carefully examined the plans for the various parts of the HeilmannDrive. He continued to reproduce them to the best of his ability. So far, he had approximately two-thirds of the design documentsrequired to build a copy of the Heilmann Drive. When he was done, hewould end this ridiculous farce of cooperation with CommissarAbsalom, defect, and hand the plans over to another world, where theproduction of ships could start up again. In one fell swoop, hewould end the Republic’s monopoly on faster-than-light travel andprevent the Fall.

“Iwish we could show them the reports,” Absalom said. “Then theywould understand.”

Sethshuddered. He tried not to think about the photographs he saw andthe journals he read at the Europa observation outpost. It had beenalmost a month since he first laid eyes on them and he still hadnightmares.

Eversince that day, Seth fought the temptation of doubt. He could stillremember the terror in his heart when he looked upon the photographsand station journals. It was almost enough to make him agree withAbsalom that the Heilmann Drive was a danger to the galaxy.

ButSeth would never agree to that. No matter how terrifying the warpedspace was, it was not worth destroying human society. Outside of thereports from the distorted space station, everything Seth saw onlyconvinced him that he was right.

Traderoutes could be changed, re-routed through undamaged space. Afterall, it took two thousand years to see any effect from repeatedHeilmann Leaps. A smaller number of leaps across new routes was allthat was really necessary, at least until a solution could be found.

Suddenly,Seth felt his stomach lurch as the ImpulseCar made a sharp left turn. His hands gripped the seat, but he was still pushed up against thecar door by the inertia. His head spun. They were going so fastthat such a quick maneuver was dizzying.

“Whatwas that?” Seth asked.

Absalomfurrowed his brow. “I don’t know. This isn’t my usual driver. He knows not to take sharp turns on the exits like that. I’mgoing to have to--”

Seth’sheart skipped a beat. “This isn’t your usual driver?” heexclaimed. “Are you kidding me?” He grabbed the sleeve ofAbsalom’s jacket. “We need to get out of this car. Now.”

“We’regoing two hundred miles an hour,” Absalom replied. “And I don’tunderstand what’s got you so worried.”

Worriedwas an understatement. Seth was terrified, and he couldn’tunderstand how Absalom could be so na?ve. He was one of the highestranking members of the military. He’d grown up on a brutal planet,tormented by his own family. Had so long in the Republic made himcomplacent? Of course it did. He didn’t realize that Seth wasbetraying him, either.

“Thinkabout it, commissar,” Seth said. “Every week, I go on televisionand tell the public that the Spatial Preservation Act is in the bestinterest of the public. You are the head of the military unitcharged with enforcing the Act. A lot of people are afraid of whatthis means, and they are rising up against it. They’re rising upagainst us. Don’t you see?”

Absalomstared at Seth as he realized the seriousness of their situation. “You think we are being kidnapped? Why would you say that?”

“Becauseit’s what I would do.”

Thehum of the ImpulseCar engines began to fade. Seth could feel the carslowing down. “We’re stopping,” Absalom said. “We’re atleast a hundred miles outside of the Mid-Canada zone.”

“We’rein the middle of nowhere,” Seth replied. “Please tell me thatyou’re armed.”

Absalomnodded. “I’ve got a laser pistol and a utility knife.”

Seththought about this for a second. He considered the commissar’sdisability, as well as his own inexperience with energy weapons. “What kind of knife?”

Thecommissar reached into his jacket and pulled out a small blade. Helooked at the handle. “Looks like a Berkshire Industries v-500. What does it matter?”

“That’sa good knife. High frequency vibration, over a thousand oscillationsper second. You can’t get that kind of craftsmanship on Earth.” He narrowed his eyes as he looked at the commissar. “I’ll takethe knife.”

“Howdo you know so much about--”

Sethput his finger to his lips, silencing the commissar. He grabbed theblade from Absalom’s hand and tucked it inside his sleeve.

Thecar crept to a stop. “Act like you don’t know what’s goingon,” Seth said. “You’re surprised. Where are we? Why are westopping?”

Absalom’seyes went wide as he realized that Seth had some sort of plan, andthat he had a role to play. He quickly recomposed himself and triedto sound genuinely angry.

“Whereare we?” The commissar yelled. “Why are we stopping?”

Thedoors unlocked on either side of the back seat. “Keep the outrageup,” Seth whispered. “Make a scene. Make them restrain you.

“Idon’t have time for this!” Absalom growled. “I have a verybusy schedule. I--”

Click! The door on Seth’s side of the vehicle swung open. Thick handsgrabbed him and puled him to his feet outside the ImpulseCar.

Brilliantwhite light blinded Seth as he stumbled out of the vehicle. Thicksheets of snow and ice covered the ground. The sun shone brightly ina cloudless sky, reflecting off the frozen drifts.

Hiseyes struggled to adjust, to see where he was. There were nobuildings in sight. He was correct. They were in the middle ofnowhere, a few miles from the main highway.

Thiswasn’t a kidnapping. They were going to be killed.

Theirony of all of this was not lost on Seth. These men who capturedthem were opponents of the Spatial Preservation Act. They shouldhave been Seth’s allies. They wanted the same thing, they wereafter the same goal. There was only one difference: Seth’s planwas going to work.

KillingCommissar Absalom wouldn’t stop the Fall. It wouldn’t make theRepublic reconsider the Spatial Preservation Act. It would just makethem turn on their citizens. The Republic would increase securityand they would impose harsher punishments on protestors. At the endof the relocation, the Republic would still decommission all of theHeilmann Drive starships.

ButSeth could preserve faster-than-light travel. He’d already copiedthe designs of several critical parts of the Heilmann Drive, and wasprepared to pass them along to a more friendly government forreproduction. If these men killed him, along with the commissar, hecould never complete his plan.

Inorder to save the Heilmann Drive, he was going to have to stop thesemen, no matter what side they were on.

Sethtried to look around and survey the situation. He could see sixattackers. They were all male, and every one of them was larger thanSeth. This wasn’t unusual. It didn’t worry him. It just meantthat he would have to act quickly. He would have to surprise them. Once the real fighting began, they would immediately have the upperhand.

Ashe regained his balance, Seth’s eyes darted around, looking at thefaces of the six men. He wondered if he knew any of them, if he’dever encountered them back when he was searching for like-mindedenemies of the Republic. These were all strangers.

Noneof the attackers were dressed in military uniforms, not even thedriver of the ImpulseCar. How did Absalom fail to notice this? Itdidn’t matter. It was too late to do anything about it. There wasno going back, only forward.

“Iam a commissar of the Republican Military!” Absalom yelled as oneof the men yanked him from the car. “Do you know what they will doto you when they find out about this? They will ship you off to thedankest hell-bound jail on the planet!”

Absalombegan to thrash about, flailing at the men who assaulted him. He wasmuch more agile than Seth imagined. He even swung his shattered legside to side, trying to trip one of the attackers on his left.

Beforelong, all six of their captors were focused on the commissar. Hisspastic movement frustrated them, and even the man restraining Sethwas distracted.

Itwas just like Seth hoped. They weren’t worried about him. He wassmall, a tick under 5’6”, and as thin as a rail. They probablythought he was sickly, or harbored a stimulant addiction. He wasabout to show them that he could not be underestimated.

Sethwatched the man holding onto his shirt. He was the only one whowasn’t moving to restrain Absalom. Still, he was paying moreattention to the fracas with the commissar than he was to Seth. Thatwas about to change.

Witha quick jerk of his forearm, Seth broke free from the hefty man.. Hethrust his arm down, dropping Absalom’s knife from his sleeve andinto his palm. His finger found the button near the back of thehilt. The soft hum of the vibrating blade filled the air, but it wastoo late for his captor to react. Seth swung his hand around andburied the serrated edge in the man’s neck.

AsSeth felt the blade cut into flesh, he realized that this was a firstfor him. A born diplomat, he’d avoided fights as a child and ateenager. He’d never even thrown a punch and meant it. Now he wasabout to kill someone. All it took was a single swipe of a knife. It worried him how easy it was. He didn’t even feel any regrets. This was what had to happen. The man he killed was probably hisally. He was probably another freedom fighter, struggling againstthe tyranny of the Republic. But he was in Seth’s way.

Sethspun away and pulled the knife from the man’s neck. Blood spurtedfrom the wound, flying at least a foot into the air . The mancollapsed on his knees and his eyes rolled up into his head.

Theother attackers looked back, momentarily stunned. They didn’texpect resistance. More than that, they didn’t anticipate thatSeth would be the one fighting back.

Theywere caught off guard by his visceral attack. They were just likeany other Republic citizens in that they were not accustomed toviolence. If anything, they’d seen the action/adventure programson the viewscreens. They were clean and sanitary. The heroes andvillains used laser guns, which barely left a wound even on a deadlyshot.

Theydidn’t know what real combat was. They didn’t understand realdanger. And that was how Seth would defeat them.

“Now!”Seth shouted, rushing towards the men holding Absalom. “Shoot themnow!” He grabbed the first one he saw and sliced his wrist withthe knife. Another geyser of blood erupted through the air.

Absalomdidn’t have to be told twice. The men surrounding him were inshock, watching their companions bleed out onto the snow. He reacheddown to his ankle and grabbed his laser pistol.

Itonly took a few shots. The air lit up with the shimmering light ofthe deadly weapon. Then they were all down.

Theonly ones left standing were Seth and Absalom.

“Holyshit,” the commissar said. “We’re alive.”

Sethnodded. “We’re alive.”

“You’repretty good with a knife.”

“Andyour leg isn’t as bad as you want people to think.”

Absalomglared at Seth, but there was a smile on his face. “It just hurts,that’s all. It’s there when I need it.”

Thetwo men took a second to catch their breath. Seth looked around. All of their attackers were defeated. Most of them were dead. Acouple of them were still breathing, but bleeding so badly that theywould never recover. It looked so much like a massacre that no onewould have ever believed that it was originally a trap.

“We’regoing to have to report this, aren’t we?” Seth asked. He flippedthe knife around in his hand and presented it to Absalom. Thecommissar took it, wiped it on the snow at his feet, and returned itto a pocket inside his jacket. “Is this going to get us introuble?”

“Don’tworry,” Absalom said. “These were sin-blooded terrorists. Theydeserved everything they got.” He tucked away his laser pistol ina holster around his ankle, leaned back, and laughed. “You knowwhat, Mr. Garland? This is probably the best thing that could havehappened. In hindsight, of course.”

Sethwas confused. “We were almost killed,” he replied. “You...You can’t mean--”

“Butwe weren’t killed,” the commissar interrupted. “This was acowardly move by the resistance. They can’t win the hearts andminds of the public, so they tried to murder us. How pathetic. Thisfailed assassination will do more to discredit them than your weeklybulletins ever will.”

Theworld had turned on its side. Seth slumped over and sat in thebloodied snow, cradling his head in his hands as he tried to makesense of it. Five weeks ago, he was the first Republic citizen tochallenge the Spatial Preservation Act on public television. Hebullied his way on stage, interrupted the Chairman, and dared to askthe question on everyone’s mind. He was a brief sensation and thespark that instigated the only significant rebellion in the historyof the Republic.

Nowhe’d killed several men who followed in his footsteps. Theywouldn’t be martyrs. They would be terrorists. Their deaths wouldweaken the efforts of people everywhere to stand up to the SpatialPreservation Act.

“Youmay have saved my life today,” Absalom said, patting Seth on theback. “You’re a true friend to the Republic.”

Sethfelt like he was going to be sick.

*

“Ihave reviewed the plans for the next wave of starship decommissions,”Seth said, leaning forward closer to the microphone. “And I canconfirm that they will only minimally disrupt the next month ofrelocation. Most of the trade routes affected by these decommissionsare redundant or unnecessary at this time, such as the path betweenVirgiad and Yuan.”

Thiswas his fifth televised bulletin to the people of the Republic. Hedidn’t even care what he was saying anymore. This time, he askedAbsalom to write his bulletin for him. Absalom refused. He wantedeverything to be in Seth’s words. And he didn’t want Seth tolie. How ridiculous was that? He still didn’t know that this wasall an act.

Butit was almost over. He’d gone over most of the events of the lastweek in dull, monotonous detail. Seth endorsed every single actionof the Republic in a laundry list that would have bored even the mostfervent patriot. He wondered if his lack of enthusiasm would play toany other potential freedom fighter out in the Republic listening tohim. He doubted it.

“Andfinally, I looked over the surviving design documents for theCompressed Envelope Map. The plans still exist, and Republicscientists are hard at work modifying them to try and build a saferengine.” He took a breath, glad to be finished with yet anotherset of lies. “That is all. Thank you.”

Normally,the group of reporters would file out of the room immediately. Theydidn’t really care much about Seth, only the reports from insideCommissar Absalom’s team. This time, however, was different. Thistime they exploded into a flurry of questions. They were so fast andso loud that Seth could barely understand any of it.

Sethwanted to just walk away, get all of this over with, but he knew thathe should keep up appearances. He held up his hand. “One at atime,” he said, then pointed at one of the reporters near thefront, an older woman in a long yellow coat.

“Tellus a little about the attack outside the Mid-Canada zone. Whathappened?”

“Ican’t talk about that,” Seth replied. Like everything else hetold the reporters, it wasn’t true. He just didn’t want to talkabout it. “Commissar Phaer Absalom filed a report about theincident. The Republic military made that report public two daysago. Everything I can say is listed in that report.”

Anotherwoman stepped to the front of the group and held up a small recordingdevice. “It seems to me like the Republic army could use someonelike you. Any thoughts about enlisting when all of this is over?”

Sethcouldn’t believe that anyone would ever ask him that question. Itwas like the reporter walked up to him and slapped him in the face. And there was nothing he could do to defend himself. “I have noparticular plans about my future at this time,” he replied.

“Howabout politics?”

Thatwas all he could take. “I’m done,” Seth said, turned around,and headed backstage before they could ask any more questions. He knew that Absalom wouldn’t like it. Seth was supposed to befriendly and welcoming in his bulletins. But he couldn’t standthere and listen to their idiotic suggestions. He wasn’t going tolet them make him the face of the Spatial Preservation Act.

Sethcould hear the reporters clamoring behind him as he pushed throughthe door out of the briefing room and into the hall of the militarybase. He leaned up against the wall and took a deep breath. Hishand reached up to his forehead and he realized he was sweatingprofusely.

Whatwas going on? Was this what happened to everyone who served theRepublic? Did they all start out with good intentions? Maybe theydidn’t want to become part of the stifling bureaucracy. Maybe theywanted to bring it down, too. But it was too strong. It was turningan enemy like Seth into a hero, and there was nothing he could do tostop it from happening. Either he had to go along with it or give upon everything he’d worked for.

Agroup of Republic soldiers turned the corner into the hall andapproached Seth. He tried to stand up straight, to look like nothingwas bothering him. He wanted to fit in. That was bad enough, and itmade him feel awful.

“Hey!”One of them exclaimed. “You’re that guy who’s always hangingaround with the commissar! Good work on that rebel scum. Wish Icould have been there.” The soldier made a few stabbing motionswith his hand and smiled.

Sethpointed at him. “We could have used you there,” he said. Eventhough it made him sick, he couldn’t stop himself. He had tomaintain the act.

“Nexttime!” The soldier shouted as he walked away. “Next time.”

Thatwas it. Seth couldn’t take it anymore. He pushed himself awayfrom the wall and stormed down the hall towards his room. It didn’tmatter that he didn’t have all of the Heilmann Drive plans yet. Hehad to do something to get the ball rolling. Enough of the designdocuments were in his possession that he could begin notifyingscientists on other worlds of his intentions.

Withevery round of decommissions, interplanetary communications wouldtake longer to reach their recipients. Even a simple text messagestill needed to be loaded onto a starship, then broadcast to thedestination planet after the leap. With fewer ships, there werefewer ways to communicate. Seth had to start now, even if he wasn’tquite ready yet.

Ashe walked to his room, he started to think of a code he could use. He would need to be able to send a letter that seemed completelyinnocuous to anyone who might read it, but would be sufficient toinform an offworld scientist of his plan. Any code would have to betailored to the particular recipient planet. And it would have to behard to crack, just in case anyone from the Republic tried. That wasfine. Seth didn’t want to work with a scientist who couldn’tcrack an encrypted letter.

Already,Seth started to feel better. This was what he was born to do. Hewas sick of bulletins and ceremonies and inspections. Even worse,since the incident outside of the Mid-Canada Zone, he’d felt lost. Between the soldiers calling him a hero and the doctors asking abouthow he “felt” about the attack, between the debriefings and thepsychological tests, he thought he would never regain his balance.

Nowit was all coming together. With his mind puzzling over codes andcyphers, he was at ease again. As he approached his room, he wassure that everything would work out in the end. The act he wasputting on for the Republic would not consume him. It would savehim.

Sethpressed the small button near the door and it slid open. He stoppedin the doorway. It was dark inside. He was sure he’d left thelight on. Cautiously, he stepped into the room. Before he couldeven react, he felt a sharp pain in the small of his back.

Itwas a knee. Someone was waiting for him. Someone got the drop onhim.

Sethflailed back and hit the light switch near the door. The ceilingpanels blinked to life, illuminating the room. The first thing Sethnoticed, before he could even get his bearings, was that nothing wasout of place. His desk was in one piece. Whoever was attacking himdidn’t search the room and, most importantly, didn’t find thecopied plans.

Thatwould all be moot if Seth couldn’t fight him off. He spun aroundto face the intruder but only saw a glimpse of him as he dodged tothe side. The man appeared to be dressed in a Republic militaryuniform. But if he hadn’t found the plans, why would someone fromthe Republic attack him? More importantly, why was he acting on hisown?

“Whoare you?” Seth asked.

Theman didn’t respond, at least not at first. He grabbed Seth’s armand pulled him towards the wall. Unlike the attackers outside of theMid-Canada Zone, it was too late to try and surprise him. He wasmuch larger than Seth and there was really nothing Seth could do buthope.

“Bevery quiet,” the man growled, then flung Seth against the wall. Hepinned Seth’s body to the bulkhead and stared into his eyes. Upclose, the strange man didn’t look like a Republic soldier. Hisskin was dark and weathered, like he’d lived a rough life on aworld with a particularly hot sun. The uniform was a few years outof date. It wasn’t something most people would notice. Sethwasn’t most people. This man didn’t work for the Republic. He’ddisguised himself to get into the base. “I’m not going to hurtyou.”

Sethcould feel a dull pain up his arm and in his back, so he wanted todisagree with the man. He didn’t have the opportunity. Theattacker placed his hand on Seth’s mouth so he couldn’t speak.

“Weknow what you’re doing and we sympathize,” he said. “Butthere’s something you have to know: those aren’t the real plansfor the Heilmann Drive.”

Suddenly,Seth’s immediate situation was the last thing on his mind. Henever even considered that the Republic might show him fake plans,knowing he wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. He figuredthey would let him see the real ones because there wouldn’t be anyharm. After all, they didn’t know he had a photographic memory.

“Lastweek in your bulletin you said that you saw the design documents forthe combustion module,” the man continued. “Those plans don’texist any more. They were destroyed in a freighter accident fifteenyears ago. Everyone has just been repairing the current combustionmodules since. How do I know? I was on that freighter when ithappened.”

Ofcourse. They were showing him fake plans because the real ones weregone. It made perfect sense. But it was also horrifying. Everyweek, he saw Heilmann Drives pulled apart and destroyed. If theplans were gone and they destroyed every single combustion module... They might never be able to build a starship again.

“Whatdo I do?” Seth tried to say, but it just came out as muffled sound.

Suddenly,the room lit up with a brilliant, flashing red light. A shrillklaxon cut through the air. “They know I’m here,” the manreplied. He let go of Seth’s mouth and backed away. “We needyou right now. Take this. You know what to do.”

Theman in the outdated Republic uniform handed him a small bottle. Thenhe ran from the room before Seth could ask him anything else.

Sethstumbled back and sat on the ground, leaning against the wall. Heignored the alarm that continued to scream in the air. It didn’tmatter. It was just white noise compared to the sudden wave of deadhe felt consume him.

Hecouldn’t believe he’d been duped. All along, he thought he’dbeen playing Absalom. It was really the other way around. Maybethey even knew about the copies and they didn’t care. They weregetting his endorsement every week. And he was getting nothing.

Thealarm stopped ringing a few minutes later. Maybe they caught thestrange man. Maybe he escaped. It didn’t really matter anymore.

Sethlooked at the bottle in his hands and unscrewed the top. Inside,there was a single brown gelatin capsule. He held it up to thelight. Inside, he could see tiny circuits running from one end tothe other. It was a gnostin. A pill full of dreams.

Someonehad a message for him.