The Agathon: Book One (4 page)

He had programmed them to bring his descent perpendicular to the edge of the Monolith, so that he could almost touch it on the way down. Few humans were able to get this close. The bases and power cables that surrounded the perimeter glowed neon blue. The light from the main hangar deck was now tracking him. As the Monolith passed him by, he gazed at the unmarked surface. His reflection gazed back as it watched him fall towards the surface. For a moment, he thought it had smiled at him. He dismissed the illusion and continued downward towards the base of the structure. His jets fired and he came into a soft and controlled landing. He faced the Monolith and reached out the palm of his hand, touching its smooth surface. His mirrored hand met its reflection. His comm chirped.

“Mr. Young, main hangar is prepped for your arrival. I will see you inside,” said a male voice, much older than his.

“Good to see you, Tosh, be two minutes. Young out.” His only true companion out here, Doctor Daniel Tosh, was a physicist in his early seventies. In need of genome treatment and paralysed from birth due to a severed spinal column, Tosh had been a pioneer in both FTL drive technology and interstellar communication systems technology. With a dry wit and love of fine dining, he was often the honoured guest at Young’s table. They would debate morality issues, democracy, and war, but above all else the alien life forms responsible for the signal and the Monolith.

Getting Tosh to Phobos had not been easy. He had failed all medical criteria and Young had to outfit the transport carrier with specialised medical equipment just for the trip. He needed him though. He had been instrumental in the analysis of ‘The Black’, which had proven lethal and elusive on the surface of Mars. He and Tyrell were alike, in that they both liked to work alone. He had always known that great minds always sought isolation. He made his way over the surface of the moon towards the large black structure to the north. He gave his jets a light tap, bringing his feet gently onto the surface of the moon. Behind him his security detail followed suit. As he approached the front of a large hangar, the main doors hissed open. He glanced back at his detail that was following close behind.

“Come on, fellas, last one in is a rotten egg.”

The two Marines quickened their step, which was not easy in this low gravity. They entered the hangar door and waited while it sealed slowly behind them. Atmosphere filled the entrance and they removed their breathers. Young revealed a thick head of greying hair and manicured but stubbled face. The inner door opened, revealing an overweight man in a floating wheelchair. A gift from Young that enabled its user to traverse any terrain with ease. The man in the chair wore a white faded shirt with the sleeves rolled almost up to his shoulder. A pair of glasses hung from a slightly torn breast pocket. His features were soft and he had an air of quiet confidence. He was holding a metal tool in one of his hands.

“Hello, Tosh, how ye been?” asked Young with a light slap on his shoulder. Tosh gave him a warm smile.

“I was doing just fine until this damn rock of yours went berserk a half hour ago.” They moved along a long white walled corridor, with many doors springing off to various labs. Tosh floated easily through the hall and kept pace with Young, who walked with purpose.

“What’s been happening?” he asked.

“Well, three minutes ago the subspace frequency went dead. Like totally dead. Kaput, for the first time in a century. We thought it was a wormhole or some other phenomenon, so we did what any good scientists do. We waited. Sure enough, it came back, but with a power and frequency we have never seen before. The signal is changing from transmission frequency to an energy pulse.” Young stopped in the hall and turned to Tosh.

“A what?” he said.

Tosh replied, “It’s an energy pulse. And it seems to be emitting Gamma radiation.” Young looked him in the eye and began walking quickly now.

“What is its focal point?” Young asked.

“It’s directed at Earth’s Pacific Ocean.”

Young moved quickly now down the hallway towards his destination. They reached another corridor and stepped onto a small gangway, which led to a lift. Young motioned to his security detail to remain behind. They stepped onto the gangway and began to descend. After several minutes the platform came to a stop, revealing an enormous array of machinery scattered throughout a technological sprawl of sensor arrays and holographic interfaced computers. Technicians were scurrying about and the floor area was buzzing with activity. Nobody seemed to notice the new arrivals. Young and Tosh headed over to one of the computer stations. A female technician was sifting through endless amounts of algorithmic code, which was spinning past her display.

“What’s the situation, Dana?” Tosh asked. The attractive girl turned her head and stood.

“Mr. Young, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there.” Young held up his hand.

“Nice to see you, how are things with the signal?” They sat together at the desk and all looked at the code.

“It started about a half hour ago. The Monolith started resonating a photonic pulse, originating from the Aristaeus system. The pulse is being directed at a focal point in the Pacific Ocean. It seems to be causing some sort of quantum fusion effect within the Earth’s core.”

Young looked at the data. then glanced at Tosh.

“What do you make of it, Tosh?”

“Looks like an attack,” Tosh replied.

Earth

Office of the Chancellor

New York City

Gamma event T minus nine minutes

Chancellor Sienna Clark’s day had begun as it usually did. She rose at five a.m. and went for her customary five K run around Central Park. It was a cold morning in New York. She had programmed the
Holo
-display for a brisk morning with the dew still fresh on the grass. She missed being able to run in the real outdoors, but being Chancellor had precluded such luxuries. The facsimile was impressive with the sounds of the morning metropolis emulated in almost perfect detail, from the smell of the freshly baked bread at the patisserie on East 60
th
Street to the sounds of the
Holo
-boards as they displayed Jycorp advertisements. She was a fit woman at
forty
-eight, with a strong frame and angular complexion. At five foot eleven, her presence was felt in a room long before she ever opened her mouth. Her confident and assured stride commanded social occasions with ease. Running was the only time she had to really process her thoughts. Tyrell had told her to wait while he analysed the data from the signal change that morning, which gave her a window to hit the bricks. It wasn’t to last as long as she had hoped, as a square viewer appeared overhead with her Chief of Staff, James Ryder, looking down at her. He never smiled and even though dressed impeccably he always looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks.

“Chancellor, sorry for disturbing you, I have Doctor Tyrell on the line,” he said, floating in
mid
-air.

“Put him through,” the out of breath chancellor replied. The image flickered and Tyrell appeared overhead.

“Hello, Chancellor. Thank you for being so patient. I have been running diagnostics and liaising with Doctor Tosh. There is a definite shift in the polarity and nature of the signal. Mr. Young is currently on an EVA. There is no definitive data as to the cause of the shift as of yet, but we do know that it is emitting Gamma radiation and that it is being directed at the Pacific Ocean.” She looked up at the doctor and tried to catch her breath.

“I will contact you when I have more.”

“Thank you, Doctor Tyrell. Keep me appraised.” The screen went blank. She turned and headed for the exit of the
Holo
-chamber. At one thousand meters tall the Jycorp headquarters was a formidable structure, modelled on the architecture of the Monolith with its mirrored surfaces reflecting the cityscape. The chancellor’s office was located on the top floor suite, with an impressive glass surround offering
breath
-taking views of the cityscape. She had positioned her white glass desk beside the
east
-facing wall to watch the sunrises. The spectacular bursts of light as they sliced through the skyscrapers in the morning were
breath
-taking. It made her feel almost godlike, watching the humbling beauty of the world.

She arrived at her office after a quick phone call to Young, who was out taking the views of Phobos. She sat at her desk and asked an aide to prepare her a cup of Jamaican coffee. Black with one sugar. She was often amused at how far human civilisation had come on the back of beans. It was a wonder that nature had not incorporated caffeine into the human genome through some sort of Darwinian adaptation. She sat at her desk and started looking through the communiqués of the morning. Her chief of staff was always her first call in the morning and he usually joined her when she arrived at the office. She was early today so took advantage of the quiet moment she had to catch up on the latest developments. The signal shift would probably take up a significant amount of time today, so she quickly sifted through the council’s manifest to see if there was anything she could bump until later in the day or tomorrow. She was scheduled to speak to Commander Barrington regarding The Agathon project later in the day. The FTL ship orbiting Mars was nearing its completion and was only twenty months away from its first test flight. A few minutes later, the door chimed. James Ryder entered and nodded to the chancellor a good morning.

“Quite the morning, eh, Jim?” she said with a grin.

“Yes, Chancellor,” he said sombrely. “I don’t like what I see on Phobos.”

The chancellor smiled. “Jim, the damn thing has been on there for a hundred years. I think if it was a hostile move they would have done it by now, no? Let’s just wait for Tosh to get to grips with it and take it from there.” Ryder’s usual furrowed brow and pit
bull
-like appearance told her otherwise.

“In the event of any hostile action, we need to consider the evacuation protocol. I suggest preparing a number of drills over the next twelve hours. As you know, your executive shuttle pod is manned
twenty
-four hours a day, but I would like to go over some scenarios with you so that we can cut our response times.”

The chancellor’s expression began to change to one of frustration. She hated this area of her position and she didn’t like to be handled, but her regard for Ryder won out and she nodded her head in reluctance.

“Okay, Jim, but let me finish my coffee first, all right?” Ryder acknowledged and handed her a briefing labelled ‘Agathon Project Code Black. Security Clearance Only’. The sun was streaming in through the window as one of the chancellor’s assistants laid a tray of steaming coffee on the table.

“Would you mind dimming the windows, Laura?” she asked.

“Of course, Sienna,” she replied. She caught Ryder’s disapproving eye as she did. Her chief of staff was not fond of aides using her first name, but it had been something the chancellor had insisted on when she was sworn in.

“People are less likely to betray a friend,” she had once told him. The windows darkened with a command from the aide.

“Is there anything else I can help you with, Chancellor?” said Laura.

Sienna shook her head and Laura turned quickly on her heels and made a discreet exit.

They read over the progress reports of The Agathon project and Ryder updated her on launch protocols and timeline reviews. When they were finished, they turned their attention back to the signal. The comms system chirped.

“Go ahead, Anna,” the chancellor said

“I have Jerome Young on the line.” The chancellor’s back straightened.

“Mr. Young, what news?” she said with as much officialdom as she could muster.

“Chancellor I think you need to consider relocating to the Orbital platform.” His voice was different. She could tell when a sentence with very little information was intended to communicate more, and his tone of voice was rock solid. She wanted more. Ryder shot a glance at the chancellor.

“Mr. Young, I have a schedule which precludes me from leaving Earth right now. Can you elaborate?” She thought she felt a small vibration in the floor. She dismissed it as Young answered.

“Tosh and I have come to the conclusion that whatever the signal is doing, it seems to be affecting the core of the planet at a subatomic or quantum level. Deliberate or not, the calculations are becoming somewhat alarming, so I think we need to get you and your staff off surface for the time being, while we continue to observe. I don’t want to make this an order, Chancellor, but if needs
be
—”

The chancellor interrupted, “Jerome, you don’t think that sends poor signals to the populus? The chancellor abandoning her people every time Jycorp snaps its fingers? I honestly believe we need to think carefully about this and wait for more data on what the changes in the signal mean, without creating an unnecessary
planet
-wide panic. You appointed me to this position to lead by example, did you not? And you assured me that Jycorp would not overrule me. This was your first step in giving power back to the people of this planet, Jerome.” There was a moment’s pause and then a clear response.

“Okay, Sienna. If it’s okay with you, I would like to speak to James to go over evacuation protocols for a few minutes, in case things start to heat up. Please be available on comms at a moment’s notice.”

“Of course. Be my guest,” she replied. Ryder picked up the portable earpiece and placed it in his ear. He was silent while Young spoke. He gave brief answers.

“Yes, sir. Of course, sir. I understand, Ryder out.”

The chancellor frowned.

“That was quick.”

“Yes, he was just confirming that protocol black is still ready to go at a moment’s notice. He likes to cover all the bases.”

“Of course,” she replied. For the first time in their professional relationship, she knew that he had just lied to her. On the table, her coffee cup began to vibrate.