Doom Star: Book 06 - Star Fortress (10 page)

“The cyborgs are fond of stealth fleets,” Tan said. “Logic indicates they will use decoy forces, too.”

“Precisely,” Euthyphro said. “Therefore, the probability of this, hmmm, situation being an accurate assessment—”

“Show me your indicators,” Tan said. She had little time for discussions and debates. She was too busy juggling the many political factions of the Jupiter System. There were the Helium-3 Barons, the former philosophers of Callisto, the industrialists of Europa and the patriots of Ganymede, to name a few. It was difficult to maintain power, because by pleasing one group she usually angered several others with competing desires. There were constant political attempts on her position. So far, she had outlived the attempts and remained in control. She credited the success to her hard-won wisdom and because she was better than anyone else was at playing one faction against another.

Euthyphro sighed as he shook the scroll. “This is slim data from which to proceed.”

“My time is limited,” Tan said. “So no more objections, if you please. Show me the indicators.”

Euthyphro bowed again. “You have spoken.” He tapped his computer-scroll. On the screen, a flash appeared beside the ice giant.

“What color was that?” Tan asked.

Euthyphro glanced back at Tan, his eyes wide with surprise. They were the most interesting thing about him, big blue eyes full of intelligence. A hint of fear showed in them as well. He recovered quickly as once more he tapped the scroll.

The flash reappeared, but this time much slower than before. It cycled through a number of colors: red, green, purple, orange, blue and bright white at the end.

“Why the variations?” asked Tan.

“Precisely,” he said.

“That is not an answer,” Tan said, for the first time becoming angry.

“Excuse me, Chief Strategist, I simply marvel at your swiftly intuitive grasp of the—”

“I am not here to dialog with you, Advocate. I have decisions to make and meetings to attend. You said this was critical. Now explain this to me succinctly and quickly.”

“Chief Strategist, my techs believe we are witnessing a Fuhl Event.”

“I am not familiar with the term,” Tan said.

“I’m relieved. It shows you’re not omniscient after all, which I had almost come to believe a moment ago.”

“You are testing my patience with no perceivable reward in sight. Instead of achieving rewards, you are risking demotion.”

“Chief Strategist, the evidence frightens me. It is the reason for my strange behavior.”

“Explain your fear.”

“A Fuhl Event contains the needed parameters or factors toward creating a black hole,” Euthyphro said. “But not a haphazard black hole, rather, one needed to fold space.”

“A worm hole?” asked Tan, with mockery in her voice.

“Our physics has long disproved the possibility of worm holes, warp drives and other such nonsense,” Euthyphro said. “However, at the Callisto Academy—before its destruction—Higher Status Mathematics had conceived of a Fuhl Event.”

“What you’re really saying is that the cyborgs are experimenting with FTL,” Tan said, “a Faster than Light drive.”

“I would quibble with your statement on several counts. Firstly, we do not know who
experiments
with the Fuhl Event.”

“Since this occurs at Neptune,” Tan said, “the cyborgs are the logical persons.”

“True, but that doesn’t conclusively prove it is them.”

Tan waved her hand. “Give me your next ‘quibble,’ if you please.”

“Are we witnessing an experiment?” Euthyphro asked. “Why couldn’t it be an alien race visiting Neptune and now departing?”

Tan glanced at the ceiling. Trust a philosopher to add layers of complication to a thing. “Let us stick to high-end probabilities, shall we?”

Euthyphro bowed his head. “The highest probability indicates that this…flash was of cyborg origin or design. However, we should not discount the idea that holdout capitalists used an experimental device in order to flee from the cyborgs.”

“Do we have records of such experiments?”

“I have not discovered any, no.”

“Hmm,” said Tan. “Such evidence, if it existed, could have been destroyed on Callisto during the Cyborg Assault.”

“That is conceivable, yes.”

Tan studied the screen. “If the cyborgs have developed an FTL drive…”

“Certain possibilities come into play,” Euthyphro said. “One: could this drive be used in our Solar System? Instead of taking months or years crossing the system, could a warship make the trip in days? If that could occur, it would give the cyborgs a decisive military advantage.”

“This Fuhl Event,” Tan said, “have the theorists formulated any limiting factors to it?”

“That is an astute question.”

Tan scowled. “You are not here to pass judgment on my questions. Simply answer them as you are able.”

“Of course, Chief Strategist.” Euthyphro pressed his lips together before he said, “Theory indicates that a heavy gravitational body such as a planet would disrupt a Fuhl Event from occurring. The question becomes, naturally, what was the flash? Maybe the cyborgs foolishly attempted a Fuhl Event too close to Neptune. Maybe a group of human scientists risked their lives using the FTL drive, hoping to escape conversion.”

“We know so little about the cyborgs, other than their ruthlessness,” Tan said. “We need more data on our enemy.”

“There are some who believe it was a mistake allowing Marten Kluge’s cyborg to leave for Inner Planets.”

“That decision is not open to discussion,” Tan said.

“Of course not,” Euthyphro said. “Because we lack precise data on the event near Neptune, we must infer from our scanty evidence. Therefore, probabilities come into play.”

“Please, spare me the prologue. Just get to the point.”

Euthyphro rolled up the computer-scroll as he faced Tan. He took a deep breath and began to speak as he exhaled. “To date, the cyborgs have shown great and crafty intelligence. Clearly, they are winning the Solar War. I doubt the flash occurred because the cyborgs foolishly attempted to create a Fuhl Event too close to the ice giant. That would lend weight therefore to the notion that free-will humans still exist in the Neptune System. However, logic dictates that a cyborg victory occurred there and that it was of a total nature.”

“Where does that leave us then?” asked Tan.

“I believe an accident occurred. How, why or what caused this accident, I have no idea. I do think what we witnessed was the attempted creation of a Fuhl Event. The cyborgs appear to have or seem about to have an FTL drive. That should concern us deeply.”

“Why couldn’t Neptune be part of the Fuhl Event?” Tan asked. “If I understand the concept, four equidistant points of high gravitational force are needed.”

Euthyphro’s bushy eyebrows lofted. “What an interesting idea. I hadn’t thought of the possibility. Does the mathematics even support such a notion? I will have my techs run the computations.”

“It would seem we have even less time than we thought to defeat the cyborgs.”

“To give you some idea of the severity of the situation,” Euthyphro said, “I recalculated the possibility of human victory given the cyborgs have a working Fuhl Event. In that case, our odds for survival drop to seven percent.”

“Spare me your pessimism,” Tan said.

“I assure you this has nothing to do with pessimism but is an objective assessment of reality. Already, the cyborgs are militarily superior to any combination of our allied forces. That means—”

“That means you should hold your tongue for the moment,” Tan said. “I must decide what to do with this new data.”

“My seven percent probability occurs only if the Fuhl Event is an actuality.”

“I’m well aware of that. The percentage isn’t the new data I was referring to, but the possibility that a Fuhl Mechanism exists.”

“Ah,” Euthyphro said. He cleared his throat. “My recommendation is that we warn the others as quickly as possible so they will accelerate their attack against Neptune.”

Tan shook her head. “There are many factors in play. We desire victory, certainly. But we do not desire victory at the expense of Highborn dominance. We cannot play into their hands.”

“The Highborn will not escape this war unscathed. Given their paltry numbers, I would estimate—”

“Please,” Tan said, holding up her hand. “Give me a moment of silence.” She closed her eyes and listened to the chimes. There were many factors to consider. How many Highborn and Social Unity warships would journey to Neptune? What if the cyborgs attacked the Jupiter System while the Alliance Fleet traveled there to the edge of the Solar System?

Tan’s eyes opened. She regarded Euthyphro as he studied the screen.

“Attend me,” she said.

The bearded Advocate turned around.

“We cannot afford to send more meteor-ships out-system,” she said. “We have too few as it is and building more takes too much time and energy. If we send meteor-ships to Neptune and the cyborgs reappear here, it might mean the end of Jovian Civilization.”

“We do nothing then?” Euthyphro asked.

“We do not send warships,” Tan said. “Instead, we send knowledge, information.”

“I will alert the communications—”

“You will listen to me,” Tan said. “We will not use tight-beam communication. Instead, I will send a representative to Marten Kluge. I will strengthen his hand and increase the Jovian presence on Earth by giving him critical data to use as a bargaining chip.”

“Marten Kluge is not noted for his savant-like behavior. He is a soldier.”

“He is a killer,” Tan said. “At the moment, he is
our
killer. He has proven himself on more than one occasion. We aid him with what we can spare—knowledge, data. The question is: who should go?”

Euthyphro stepped back in alarm. “Firstly, I must protest. The data is time-urgent. The Alliance must launch the attack sooner rather than later. A Jovian vessel heading to Earth will take at least two months to arrive, and that would be under stringent conditions. Secondly, I hope you are not thinking of sending me. I am unsuited to space travel. I have—”

“Calm yourself,” Tan said. “I need you here. Besides, perhaps you are right. The knowledge might spur the Highborn and possibly spur Social Unity into sending everything they can to Neptune now. The hope of acquiring the Fuhl Mechanism—”

“We must ensure that neither side gains an FTL drive.”

“And how do we do that?” Tan asked.

“We would have to send Jovian warships with the armada.”

“And leave ourselves defenseless here?” Tan asked. “I already told you my decision in that regard.”

“It is an interesting quandary,” Euthyphro said, as he plucked at his beard. “Do we risk sending our warships to Neptune in the hope of acquiring a fantastic technology? Or do we keep ourselves guarded and hope that neither the Highborn nor Social Unity gains the device?”

“It may be that we should remain silent on the subject,” Tan said, “thus lessening the chance that either of them acquires the FTL drive.

“What if because of that the Alliance Fleet dallies and gives the cyborgs time to refine the Fuhl Mechanism, thereby winning the war with it?”

Tan rubbed her forehead. “I must think more deeply on the subject. It is unwise to make a hasty decision.”

“Time is our enemy,” Euthyphro said.

Tan nodded absently.

“If you desire my recommendation…”

Tan looked up. “No. You will continue to study the data. I want conclusive proof. Until you can give me more evidence, I must weigh the options and make a carefully reasoned choice.”

Euthyphro plucked at his beard, with a troubled look on his thick features.

“I do not want to hear about a Jovian leak,” Tan said.

“I assure you, Chief Strategist—”

“Such a leak would mean your death, and in an extremely unpleasant manner,” Tan added.

Euthyphro paled. “I am a philosopher of Callisto. Threats are meaningless to me. My given word is more certain than sunlight. I shall tell no one about this and allow no outside communications until further notice.”

“See that you do,” said Tan. “Now go. I have much to consider.”

Euthyphro bowed his head and departed. He left the Chief Strategist staring at the screen. It replayed the flash in slow motion, cycling through the colors.

Do the cyborgs possess an FTL drive?
Tan asked herself
. The Dictates help us if they do
.

Far away from Jupiter on Earth, Marten, Nadia and Osadar rode a magnetic-rail train to Athens. The train sped over two hundred and fifty km/h through Lebanon Sector, with the Mediterranean Sea only a few kilometers away. Outside, the wind howled, at times rocking the reinforced cars as snowy particles swirled in the air. Above, dark clouds raced across the sky.

Marten and Nadia sat together, staring out a window. She kept pointing at trees, bleak snowscapes and old houses.

“I used to watch videos of Earth,” Nadia said. “I never thought it would be anything like this. It’s beautiful.”