Paying the Price (Book 5 of The Empire of Bones Saga) (11 page)

If they ever got out of here, someone could tell them. If not, it hardly mattered.

He sat in the chair and it creaked ominously under his weight. The armored vacuum suit wasn’t light. He hoped his seat didn’t collapse. The air in the room was foul and unbreathable, so he’d have to make do.

“I’m going to see who else we have in the pile,” Talbot said. “Give me a hand, Doc.”

Carl tapped the keyboard and the screen came to life. The message it displayed was no surprise.

Hello, me. That is, if you’re Carl Owlet.

You’ll have to forgive my gallows humor, but I’m almost out of air and I’m sure no one is coming for me.

Yet, based on the people I found here when I arrived, others have made it inside looking for me. Well, for other versions of me.

In case you haven’t checked, there are five others just like us in the pile. The one before me had a marine escort. Apparently, they came in with him. Two others had some marines that followed them in later, and one had Doctor Leonard.

So, that makes six of me, three Talbots, one Doctor Leonard, and from one to three of various marines. I wonder how many make up a set.

Anyway, the first Carl died quickly. His implants were still active, so I was able to access all his recorded data. Useful. He started tearing equipment on this station apart to build an airtight area.

It took two additional groups to get it finished. My immediate predecessor was able to get this computer set up and attempt to interface with the station. He wasn’t successful, but I knew all the things that hadn’t worked. That saved me time.

I think I’m close. Based on some of the environmental clues, I think the station is aware of me. I just can’t hear what it wants to say. If it’s really trying to communicate.

It has to be tired of us littering the corridors.

In any case, I’ve compiled everything from the logs our predecessors made into one for you. I hope you succeed in making contact and getting the hell out of this deathtrap.

Wait. What? You’re wondering what the hell is going on with a half-dozen Carls?

Damned if I know. We all have identical implant serial codes. Which makes accessing their implant records a breeze, I have to tell you. Make a note that you might want to close that security loophole before the AIs hear about it.

Based on the complete implant records, I think we have to be from different universes.

Congratulations. This is going to win you the Lucien Prize for sure. And honestly, you deserve it. You really gave everything for this project. Several times over.

Anyway, there are minor differences in a number of things. People who some of us know that I don’t recognize. Other references to events not going as I remember. The first Carl arrived here almost nine months ago. You’d have to compare the date to see how that works out for you.

It has to be the black hole. Somehow, it’s turned the inside of this station into some kind of shared space. Frankly, even if you get out, I’m not sure how you’d know you got out to the right universe.

Not that I suspect you’d care. It beats dying.

Well, my air just gave out and I need to bring this heart-to-heart to a close. I’m rooting for you, buddy. If anyone can do it, it’s you. Do us proud. If you make it out, give Angela a kiss for me. Adios.

Carl

Well, that certainly wasn’t what he’d expected.

And kiss Angela? That would be a good way to die. The other him sure had a twisted sense of humor.

He pinged the dead man’s implants and discovered he had access to everything. That cloned serial number issue was a real thing. Though he supposed it wasn’t cloned in this case. He’d be sure and fix that if he got out.

The combined logs were there and he pulled them in. For good measure, he snagged every file the man had. He could sort them out later.

He was sure the other him had done the same, but he verified he had the files from all of the versions of himself.

The last Carl had died seventeen days ago. That meant they’d arrived over a span of almost seven months. He wondered if someone else was going to show up before he died.

“There are six other versions of you, counting the one in the chair,” Talbot said. “I found a few of myself and another Doctor Leonard. The marines outside are represented, mostly. Oddly, there are a few people here that died before we found this station.”

Talbot leaned against the wall and looked at Carl. “I have to tell you, this is spooky. What the devil is going on?”

“Parallel universes,” Doctor Leonard said. “I found a number of files with theories in my other’s implants. And it’s obviously true. We are in fact incontrovertible proof.”

“My other me thought he was close to a breakthrough,” Carl said. “I’ll try to finish my life’s work, if you know what I mean.”

Talbot shook his head. “That’s dark, man.
Really
dark. I’ll cycle the men in to get files off their implants. Just in case there’s something useful. Then we’ll search the station while you work. We have enough air and food for a few weeks. Let’s hope it doesn’t take that long.”

* * * * *

Jared felt like banging his head onto the console. They had complete records of how Doctor Leonard had triggered the station into absorbing himself and the others, but now it wasn’t working.

They’d placed a unit on the surface of the station to do exactly what Doctor Leonard did, but it just sat there. The station wasn’t interested.

He wondered if it had to be a person. Damned if he was going to risk someone else to test the theory. They didn’t even know if the others were still alive.

The lift doors slid open and Elise walked onto the flag bridge. She stopped beside his seat.

“What’s the word?”

“Not good. We think we know how they got inside, but the method isn’t working without a person. And I’m not asking anyone else to risk their lives. I’m going to fire a missile.”

“Won’t that put them in grave danger?”

“No worse than leaving them inside. Marcus, target the station opposite the entry point. Fire one missile and count on the radiation hashing it.”

“At this range, that shouldn’t be an issue.”

He nodded. “Good plan. Fire when ready.”

The missile wouldn’t reach full speed, but it would be impressive enough. It lanced out of the tubes and slammed into the station.

Jared eyed the debris and quickly decided most of it was from the missile.

“The shot was ineffective, Admiral. Telemetry indicates it struck the station, but did not penetrate. The cutter we had standing by says they can’t see any damage at all. Not even a scratch.”

He rubbed his face. “How is that possible? Even collapsed matter should dent. Right?”

“I’m afraid my grasp of the material is weak. Obviously, it’s even stronger than we’d expected, or there’s another force stabilizing the station. In either case, I don’t believe further missiles would be very effective.”

“No, I think you’re right. Have the crew stand down. We’ll just have to hope they find a way out for themselves.”

* * * * *

Persephone
made it all the way out to the twelve-hour mark without finding anything exciting. Only a single stripped gas giant core. Angela supposed the science types found that exciting, but it really didn’t do anything for her.

They stayed long enough to get some scanner readings. The radiation was lower this far out, so they were able to send in probes that lasted almost an hour. The scientists would have to make do with that.

The technician had to take a study break while working on the hammer. It was so different from what the woman normally worked with, she needed to draw it all out and make a plan. With the grav drive set to negate its weight, it was easy to move it around.

She called Angela and Kelsey back to the work area just after
Persephone
started back in. She looked tired.

“The mechanism isn’t exactly set up for direct communication,” she told them, “but I have a plan. The only thing I don’t know is if Mister Owlet will even notice it. I’m not sure how the system is set up on his end. As he’s the authenticator, he might not have a means of receiving an incoming signal.

“And if he does, he might not recognize the message. I settled on an old communication protocol called the Morse code. It utilizes sets of dots, dashes, and pauses to make letters and words. It’s not commonly known anymore, though. He might not have the means to understand it.”

Kelsey nodded. “He’ll recognize some of it. I know that he’s seen some Old Earth vids where people have used it. And, if this doesn’t work, well, we’re not really suffering. It’s just a test. What are you planning to send?”

The woman gestured toward her tablet. “I wrote out a short message. Basically, an explanation of why we called. We’ll know it worked if he sends a response of any kind. Comprehension isn’t really required.

“I’ll mimic dots and dashes by single validation codes and closely sent trios. I’ve programed my tablet to do the hard work. All I need to do is press the button. I can resend it at intervals to allow him to try and decipher it.”

“Do it,” Kelsey said.

* * * * *

Carl was flagging. He’d been up all day and it was now the middle of the night. The marines had gone into a rotation to allow some of them to sleep. The compartment was too small for them to fit into. They could pressurize the compartment, but that would waste air. Better to stay in the suits. They might need every breath before this was all over.

He’d reviewed everything the other versions of him had discovered and recorded. The station certainly seemed as though it were trying to communicate with them. Small mobile devices occasionally ventured near the trapped men.

A marine from one of the earlier groups had fired at one of the mobile units, but the water spoiled his aim. Thankfully, he hadn’t tried a plasma weapon. In water, that would boil them all. There’d been no hostile response to a real provocation like that, so Carl assumed that the computer wasn’t interested in killing them.

The station had to have a computer. That much was certain. It had used those machines to lure the men to where they could salvage equipment useful in creating an airlock.

Carl was at a loss as to how they would communicate with an alien computer. Not only was there a language barrier, they didn’t even know what it looked like.

Hell, if the computer wanted to help them, why didn’t it open an exit? By now it had to realize the stakes.

He almost jumped out of the chair when his implants told him that he was receiving validation signals. His fogged mind didn’t understand what that meant for a few seconds.

Someone was using the hammer command validation system to send authentication signals to him with the entangled photons. And they were getting through!

There was a pattern to them, too. Single signals, groups of three, and longer pauses. There was a meaning in there. His thoughts immediately went to Morse code.

Unfortunately, he didn’t understand Morse code and had nothing on it in his implant memory.

He smiled. He knew enough though.

* * * * *

Kelsey smiled when the tablet showed signals coming back. “He heard us! It really does have a long range. We’re halfway across the system! And there was no time lag. This is FTL. He’s done it!”

“The response isn’t making sense,” the technician said. “He must not understand the code. He’s just repeating a couple of letters. S then O then S. Then it repeats.”

That was a bucket of cold water to Kelsey’s face. “That’s a distress signal. Only used in dire circumstances. He’s in trouble.”

She opened a channel to the bridge. “Jack, something’s wrong back at
Invincible
. Flank speed.”

“Aye, ma’am. Flank speed to the ring station. That gives us an ETA of about five hours. If I might ask, how the hell do you know that?”

Kelsey looked over at Angela and the technician. “Three really smart people figured out a way to make it happen. I’m on my way up.”

Chapter Ten

Talbot listened to Carl explain the sudden communication with more hope than he’d expected. Everyone else had died, including three other versions him, and that made him think of this place as a death trap. Maybe not.

Doctor Leonard grasped what Carl was saying immediately. “You never mentioned this quantum validation equipment. God, boy. It takes my breath away. How could you fail to grasp the implications?”

The graduate student shrugged. “I saw them, Doctor. I just didn’t want to mention them until I did some testing. Flip points have a top range, so I’m certain this does, too.

“It’s Princess Kelsey and
Persephone
. They’re still five hours away at maximum acceleration. So, at the very least, we know this will work inside a solar system. And it is FTL. Obviously. They’ve sent the alphabet in order, so I can communicate with them now.”

The older man nodded energetically. “And it isn’t deterred by the radiation, so it’s not interacting with the environment between the sender and receiver. Also as theory predicted. Carl, this is the most significant scientific breakthrough since the Fall. Perhaps even before it, if the ability to communicate can cross stellar boundaries.”

Carl didn’t look impressed. “It won’t do us any good if we can’t get out of here.”

“That’s another point,” Leonard said. “It might be reaching across a universal barrier. That’s even more significant. My boy, you’ve wildly exceeded my highest hopes for you. When we get home, I’ll be submitting something to the Lucien committee on your behalf.”

The younger man blinked. “That’s insane. I don’t even have my doctorate yet. I’ve only barely started learning.”

“I know! The next few decades will be brilliant! Hell, the next few centuries.”