Out of Time: Alpha Core Saga, #5

By Vikki Romano

Danger is never very far from our team. As Cooper deals with the inconceivable direction of his future, the rest of the team struggles to find their footing on two continents with miles of dangerous obstacles between them. Will they find their way home to safety, or will they be forever doomed to look over their shoulders with the shadow of GenMed always seeming to fall across their paths?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Vikki Romano
• Release date: Apr 26, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201970406

Vikki Romano

My love for sci-fi goes way back to my childhood. I mean, who didn’t love movies like Tron and Terminator when they were a kid? Or great oldies like WarGames? I grew up in the advent of technology and rode the wave of the dot com lifestyle in my 20s. It was a wonderful time to be alive, to see where tech could go. Being involved in the field as a database admin and then later as a hardware tech and web designer, I had my fingers in all of it and I loved what it was all about. In college, I was a true cyberpunk and gloried over works by Gibson and Dick. I reveled in the hackers manifesto like a warrior and actually prayed for a world like BladeRunner. They were very cool, hyper-energized times we were in and it gave me scores of ideas and hands-on experience to dump into my work. Now, years later, I am still amazed at what technology and science have continued to churn out.  Dystopian worlds are not far off, and with my techie past, I have more than enough ammo in my brainpan to fill many more books.  And many more shelves.

Book preview

This is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s broad and genius imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living, dead, augmented, or cybernetic, or any actual event is highly unlikely... and purely coincidental.

Dedication

As Isaac Asimov once said, Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right. 

This book is dedicated to the thinkers and doers, to those who see beyond color, race... anything that makes us different from one another because deep down, we're all made of the same atoms, the same carbon, the same stardust that once floated free in the galaxy.  And one day, hopefully soon, we'll finally see eye to eye long enough to realize we're more alike than we could ever imagine.

01011010 01100101 01110010 01101111 01110100 01101000 00100000 01001100 01100001 01110111 00001010 01000001 00100000 01110010 01101111 01100010 01101111 01110100 00100000 01101101 01100001 01111001 00100000 01101110 01101111 01110100 00100000 01101000 01100001 01110010 01101101 00100000 01101000 01110101 01101101 01100001 01101110 01101001 01110100 01111001 00101100 00100000 01101111 01110010 00101100 00100000 01100010 01111001 00100000 01101001 01101110 01100001 01100011 01110100 01101001 01101111 01101110 00101100 00100000 01100001 01101100 01101100 01101111 01110111 00100000 01101000 01110101 01101101 01100001 01101110 01101001 01110100 01111001 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01100011 01101111 01101101 01100101 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01101000 01100001 01110010 01101101 00101110

Acknowledgments

To Diane - my long-time advocate and brainstorming partner. Distance will never be a deterrent for our muses. And miles will never stop us from commiserating about this writer's life we lead.

To Ian - my military sounding board and font of extremely useful knowledge. There will never come a time when I will ever tire of debating about space explosions, galactic physics, and ice weasels with you. It's just not possible.

To Tracy – my ventilation partner.  I always know I can come to you, with your pragmatic logic, and you will always set me on the right path... or at least down a more interesting one.

To my readers - as always, thank you for sticking with me through the good, the bad, and the pandemic. It has been a long and arduous road through this series, and I can't wait to see it through to the end with you all.

Chapter One

The brilliant blue light and the jarring shudder were nothing compared to the rush of pain Cooper felt spearing through his skull.  He’d strapped in just in time.  The force of their spacecraft, hurling into whatever void he’d witnessed, pressed him into his seat like the weight of an elephant sitting on his chest.  And how could he have known?  He was no pilot, no astronaut.  He hadn’t trained for this, and yet here he was, the reverb of entry forcing tears from his eyes as if he were looking into a jet engine.  

The initial sensation was one of free fall, spiraling weightlessness as their ship careened through space and time.  He clenched his eyes shut as they tried to leap out of their sockets and his teeth chattered with the tremors that passed through the ship and just as suddenly, everything fell quiet and still.

Entry protocol complete, a disembodied voice said over the sound system. Please stand by for diagnostics.

Diagnostics? he heard himself ask aloud.

After every re-entry, the ship runs diagnostics to check if the engines and other mechanicals remain sound, Arabella said as her fingers worked at the keyboard in front of her.

Every time? Cooper asked, trying to unclench his fingers from the armrests of his seat.  How many times have you done this?

Me personally? Three, she said without looking at him.

Cooper stared at the back of her perfectly coiffed head, watched as she calmly scrolled through directives and gave orders.

You’ve been in space.... gone through that black hole three times before? he asked incredulously.

Einstein–Rosen bridge, but yes, she said, not losing focus on the task in front of her.

Cooper was about to vomit.

A wormhole? he asked.  Do they even exist?

Arabella turned to look at him blankly then went back to her work.

Cooper’s brain was mush at this point.  Space travel, wormholes, it was all a bit too much.  Like he was on some reality show looking to embarrass him in front of the universe.  His eyes immediately darted around the room in search of camera crews, but he knew there were none.  He’d seen the Einstein–Rosen bridge with his own eyes.  It was unreal in a way that his normally advanced mind just couldn’t comprehend it.  Not for a second. Even when that part of him desperately wanted to.

I’m going to be sick, he moaned.  

Arabella shook her head and mumbled something into her comm.  Moments later a young woman approached his seat and helped him unbuckle his harness.

I’ll take you to your room, she said, gesturing to the exit.

I don’t want to go back to that closet, he said angrily.  I just need some air.

The woman smiled and jerked her head toward the door as she walked ahead of him.

That was quarantine.  You’re getting access to your quarters now.  They’re more than comfortable.

Cooper followed her out into the main area where he’d watched the wormhole swallow the ship and she steered him down a different hallway that was like a skybridge, enclosed in glass and crossing over what looked like some sort of engine room until they made their way to the far side of the ship.  There was a lobby area that held some seating and had another large window to view the vast void beyond, and there were three other hallways that branched off from there.

You are in B wing, the young woman said as she walked in that direction.  The common area here is for everyone in this sector to use.  Meetings and other events can be held here if they are scheduled in advance.

Meetings? Cooper asked.  He hated meetings on earth, he was certain he wouldn’t like these any better, especially since this new occupation was forced upon him with no approval of his own.

Your team leader will alert you if there are any coming up.  You’ll receive a communications deck as well and it will send you alerts and other messages while you’re here.

Wonderful, Cooper said with a feigned smile.

This is your room.  215B, the woman said. You’ve already been chipped for access.

What?

While you were in quarantine, you were chipped.  It’s mandatory.  It’s a small device that will link you to communications and grant you access to certain areas of the ship.

Then why was Garraty threatening to chip me if I’d already been chipped?

Oh, that’s a different chip.  You want to avoid getting that one while you’re here.

Cooper gritted his teeth and stared at the woman as they stood in front of his door.  After several moments, she rolled her eyes, grabbed his hand, and waved it in front of a panel where the doorknob would be.  There was an audible click and the door slid open.

And she was right, the room was nice.  Like an upscale hotel.  Furnishings were sparse and functional like the quarantine room, everything was simple and seemed sterile. Cupboards and counters were featureless. A small work area was tucked near what looked like a window, but the glass was frosted and just glowed an odd pale light.

Your bed is here, she said, gesturing to a spot on the wall.  When you’re ready to sleep, wave your hand near this panel.

Cooper nodded absently.  His brain was still trying to take in the fact that he was on a spacecraft, and he’d just careened through an Einstein-Rosen Bridge.  Worrying about a bed was the last thing on his mind.

This is your comm deck, she said, handing him a small device that looked like a sheet of plexiglass, thin and light.  Anything you need to know there.  I’m sure you’ll figure it out, you seem like a bright guy.  If not, you can ask your B Wing Advisor.  He’ll introduce himself soon enough.

And with that, she exited, and his door slid closed behind her.

Cooper stood dazed for a moment with the comm deck in his hand and his eyes blindly scanning the room.  Pulling a steel, modern art looking chair from the work area, he sat hard and let out a long breath.  After several minutes of his brain hovering in an empty fog, he set the comm deck on the table and gave it a look.  It was exactly like a tablet, but with a multitude of other functions.  Scrolling, he found a section that dealt with the team he now belonged to and opening it, saw volumes of reading they expected him to catch up on as well as a section that introduced him to his team advisor and team members.

The advisor's name was Evan Wakefield.  It gave a two-page synopsis of his background and accomplishments.  The guy was pretty impressive, and he’d be someone Cooper would be fascinated to chat with, but under the circumstances, he didn’t want to talk to anyone.  All he wanted to do was find a way to get off this boat and go home.  Considering where he was, though, he wasn’t sure that would ever be an option.

An icon at the bottom of the deck began blinking then and when Cooper touched it, an inbox popped up and he saw that he already had several messages.  Most of them were from Evan giving him a run down on what he was in store for and what was expected of him.  Disgusted, Cooper pushed the deck away and sat back.

These people had some nerve, kidnapping him, hijacking his life, and now expecting him to work for them.  He wasn’t about to feign Stockholm Syndrome to appease them.  Fuck that nonsense.

Pushing away from the work area, he went to the spot on the wall where his bed should be, and he waved his arm near the panel.  In a matter of seconds, a full sized bed slid out from the floorboard and locked into place.  At least it looked comfortable.

The last thing he remembered was laying down and after what seemed like a week-long coma, he awoke with a start and as usual, laid there for several minutes trying to figure out where the hell he was until the fog in his brain cleared.  

Oh yeah, that’s right, GenMed servitude.

He rubbed his eyes, sat up and the moment his feet touched the floor, the light in the room slowly came on.  That was when he realized he had to piss like there was no tomorrow.

Please tell me there’s an en suite... he thought to himself as he stumbled across the room.  The first panel he opened was some kind of communication center.  A large screen and small work area popping out from the wall.  The next was a closet.  Damn it.  Apparently, he wasn’t housed in the luxury suite.  Touching the door panel, he poked his head into the hallway, which of course was empty.  Clenching to keep his bladder from draining onto the floor, he quickly went back to his desk and grabbed his comm deck and tried paging through to find some kind of map.

Where the hell is the bathroom? he ground out.

The lavatories are located at the end of hallway B.  Exiting your room, turn left.  The door is at the end of the corridor.

OK, so there was some sort of functioning AI in his bedroom.  That could be amusing, but right now he needed to get to the bathroom before he burst.  

Racing down the hall, he barely touched the door before it slid open into a large room with small sections off to the side.  Going into one, he realized it was a shower, not a toilet, but he didn’t care.  The drain on the floor would have to suffice.  After relieving himself, he let out a breath, touched the panel on the wall to run some water over his small puddle, then stepped back into the room.

Did you just piss in the shower?

The young man looked angry and leaned to look past him and into the stall he just vacated.

Yeah, so? 

So?  The toilets are right there, he pointed and gave him a disgusted look.  What are you, some kind of deviant?

Oh yeah, I get my jollies from pissing in showers, Cooper offered, rolling his eyes.  I’m new here, had to go, couldn’t find the toilet so I did the next best thing.  No one showed me where anything was.  What did you expect me to do, piss on the floor?

The young man gave an angry exhale of expletives and moved past him to key something into the panel in the shower.  When he stepped back out, the door clicked shut and the small stall filled with steam.

A bit extreme, don’t you think? Cooper asked.

The water run-off for the showers and the toilets go to different tanks.  If the stall isn’t sterilized, the holding tank will be contaminated.

Ok, so that made some amount of sense, but again, this was his first trip into space, and he hadn’t been prepped as to the dos and don’ts of living on a spacecraft. 

I’m Evan Wakefield, by the way, the man said.  I’m your team advisor.

Lovely.  So the person he was meant to be able to form some sort of bond with so he could con his way off this ship and back to earth now thought he was a deviant.

Cooper, he said.  And I apologize for that, but if you hadn’t been informed, I was kind of kidnapped into this whole thing and was never trained or briefed on anything, so you can’t hold it against me that I’m a bit confused at the moment.

Evan stared at him.

Do you think any of us signed up for this? he said flatly.  That made Cooper take a step back.

You were kidnapped too? he asked.

Evan held up a hand and looked up where Cooper noted several points in the ceiling that looked like surveillance hubs.  Wonderful.

I was part of the GenMed training program at the headquarters in Rye, Evan started.

What did you do before you came to GenMed? Cooper asked, raising his brows.  Evan nodded, pleased that he caught on so quickly.

I was a program engineer at GlobalSat, in the communications division.

Cooper nodded then looked around the room.  Spotting the sink, he went to wash his hands hoping that maybe running water would be a good cover for their conversation.

This isn’t a movie, Evan said.  That won’t work.

With a grimace, Cooper shook off his hands until Evan pointed to a spot on the wall where the air dryers were housed.    Finishing up, Evan led him back to his room and stepped inside.  In the corner of the room, Evan bent to whisper in his ear.

They can hear you everywhere.  There's no privacy.  The only place we’ve found where you can speak freely is in the engine room.  Too much vibration and noise for them to pick up a sound.

Cooper nodded and was going to take a seat on his bed, but realized it was gone.

If you exit your bed for more than ten minutes, it retracts, Evan offered, then pulled a chair out for him to sit.

Well, that’s convenient.  Is there anything else I need to know about my room?  That girl that brought me here didn’t offer any info.

That girl was Lana.  She’s what we call an envoy.  Like a concierge.

Uh huh, ok.  She wasn’t overly talkative for a concierge, Cooper said.

She’s not programmed for small talk.  It’s something I’ve been complaining about for a couple of months.

Cooper felt his mouth drop open.

Oh, yeah, she’s AI, Evan added.

Seriously?

Yup.  There are several on board.

I knew it.  Garraty, he’s one right?

Evan smirked and nodded his head.

I’m surprised you figured it out.  He’s one of the better ones.  High level programming.  Hardly anyone knows or realizes it.

Cooper blinked away his astonishment.

This is all just so overwhelming.  Like, I can’t deal.

I know.  I kind of figured that out when you threw a fit on the flight deck.  Look, we’re here.  There’s nothing you can do about that fact.  You just have to accept it and use it to your advantage.  Just think of all the new technology you’ll get to use and learn about.  I mean, that was one of the reasons you were targeted.  You have a huge capacity for information, have an extremely rare grip on tech, and you usually work well under pressure... this recent incident aside.

So I just have to accept the fact that my life, everything I worked to attain, all the friendships I’ve built... that’s all gone? How do you expect me to not be pissed off about that?

I don’t expect you not to be pissed off, that would make you inhuman.  We all went through it in the beginning.  Trust me, I gave up everything being here.  I had a family, kids... Evan offered, then looked away.  You learn to accept that you can’t change it.  There is no way out of this, especially now.  It’s a hard pill to swallow but you just have to.  I know it sounds ironic, but there’s counseling available if you want it and as your team leader, I’m always here to talk to.  But for now, just get some rest.  You aren’t expected to start work for a few days, and I have to orientate you before that anyway, so just sleep.  When you can stomach it, read through some of the volumes on your deck.  If you’re hungry, you can get snacks in the common area.  If you want a full meal, go to the mess hall.  You can ask your AI for directions, Evan offered as he gave Cooper’s shoulder a squeeze and with a nod and a smile, left his room.

Learn to accept what I can’t change?  Seriously?  What is this, fucking AA? Cooper asked but he was alone in the room and his AI obviously didn’t respond to such asinine questions.

Chapter Two

To say he didn’t get much sleep was an understatement.  The mere fact that he wasn’t in his own bed was enough to keep him up all night, but knowing he’d never see his own bed again put the cherry on top of it.  Pacing his room several times throughout the night, he finally sat at his desk and began reading the tomes of info that his team leader wanted him to learn.  The first bit was about his job, what each person did on the team and what their goals were for the upcoming projects.  As he got further into the pages, he found himself more overwhelmed.  The sheer mass of what was expected of all of them seemed daunting and ludicrous.  No timelines were mentioned, just targets, and if GenMed thought to pull that kind of work out of him, they were sorely mistaken. 

Sitting back from his desk, he couldn’t help but think of all the projects he had on his plate back at home.  The team was on the verge of finding the underlying purpose of what GenMed was doing.  Now that the initial secret was solved with his kidnapping, he wondered if he could pretend to do whatever work they asked of him and get updates to his team somehow.  Let them know what the endgame truly was so they could prepare themselves.  And it was a longshot, but if he could find a way to get back to where he belonged, he’d do it.  His team was now well equipped with upgraded tech, but there was no way in hell they could get their hands on a ship that could get them to Kepler.  The innovative rigs that Novatex was having them test could barely reach Mars at this point.

Still, he couldn’t lose hope altogether.  He was a smart guy.  There had to be something he could do to connect the dots.  He had all the time in the world now.  He meant to use it to his advantage.

Checking the time on his comm deck, he stretched his back and decided he needed to find a snack.  He hadn’t eaten since they’d taken him and now that the stress and anxiety was starting to subside, the growling in his stomach began increasing.

Where can I get some food? he asked aloud.  After a brief pause, his AI responded.

There are snack machines in the east wing lounge.  The mess hall is on the lower level, but it is currently closed.

OK, can I have directions to the snack machines then? he asked.

Turn right out of your room and follow the hallway to the lounge area.  You will see a room off to your left that houses a number of vending machines.

Do I need money to use these machines?

Of course, the AI answered.

But they took all my money when I came on board, Cooper complained.  How am I supposed to buy anything?

Your money can be accessed on your chip.  Just swipe your wrist on the appropriate area of the vending machine.

My money can be accessed?  How much is in there? As far as he could remember, he had about $40 in his wallet.  That wouldn’t get him far.

I cannot tell you the balance of your account.  You will need to setup permissions for that type of data, the AI said.

My account?

Yes, all of your banking has been transferred to your account here.  All future pay will be digitally deposited there.

Cooper’s mouth dropped open for a moment and he blinked at