The Hunt - For Allies: Fighting the Machines, #3

By David Geoffrey Adams

Twelve years have passed since the destruction of the Earth and two years ago the Starship Einstein discovered an apparently unoccupied planet, now called Eden, on the edge of the Hyades Cluster.

Unoccupied it may have been but alone it was not. Monitored by advanced artificial intelligences called Guardians.

The Einstein's crew soon found that there were other ways to cross the light years and there are beings so advanced that their science appeared more like magic and other civilisations in the cluster.

After defeating one attempt to capture the Einstein the humans are invited to travel through the network of wormholes to meet the intelligence that built it.

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"You tell us that you are over a million years old. That you have existed since before the earliest ancestors of homo sapiens roamed the grasslands of Earth and you want to help us. Why do we warrant such aid?" Ellen sat very still even as she struggled with their situation.

"I would help you because you are a most remarkable species. As far as my people, the Ryx, know you are only the third species to find a way of avoiding the constraint of light speed."

BUT THE MACHINES ARE COMING

• Language: English
• Publisher: David Geoffrey Adams
• Release date: Nov 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215136720

David Geoffrey Adams

David Adams was born in England in 1952 and spent his working life in finance. First as a banker until, as he puts it, he saw the light and switched from poacher to gamekeeper spending most of his career in Corporate Treasury functions as Group Treasurer for a number of multinational companies. Now retired he spends what little free time he has playing golf, walking the family dog and, on occasion, looking after the grandchildren with his wife Marion and, writing science fiction

Book preview

Prologue

Twelve years have passed since the destruction of the Earth and two years the Starship Einstein discovered an apparently unoccupied planet, now called Eden, on the edge of the Hyades Cluster.

Unoccupied it may have been but alone it was not. Monitored by advanced artificial intelligences called Guardians.

The Einstein’s crew soon found that there were other ways to cross the light years and there are beings so advanced that their science appeared more like magic and other civilisations in the cluster.

After defeating one attempt to capture the Einstein the humans are invited to travel through the network of wormholes to meet the intelligence that built it.

1. An Offer of Help

In a system far from their lost home, four humans sat in stunned silence.

You tell us that you are over a million years old. That you have existed since before the earliest ancestors of homo sapiens roamed the grasslands of Earth and you want to help us. Why do we warrant such aid? Ellen sat very still even as she struggled with their situation.

I would help you because you are a most remarkable species. As far as my people, the Ryx, know you are only the third species to find a way of avoiding the constraint of light speed.

Only three species, since intelligent life existed in this galaxy, have achieved faster than light travel? I assume that your species is one. Who is the other? What happened to those who came before? Or is intelligent life really that rare? John sounded and was surprised and curious. I mean, we understand that there are seven intelligent species in this star cluster alone.

You demonstrate the key approach of the intelligent scientist. Doubt, scepticism and a need to understand. Not simply accepting without testable evidence. Some of this I can supply but not all – the latter will require you to suspend doubt and accept everything I tell you as fact. You should and, I believe do, understand that even now, after millions of years, we still have mysteries and puzzles to solve. Building the gateway network, for instance, was one of the challenges that I chose to follow. With thousands of your years of hindsight, I now question if that was a wise decision. Perhaps one or more of those species might have achieved FTL capability if they had not had access to the network.

Tryx’s admission that it was it that had designed the network of wormholes, but only in the star cluster that the Eden system was a part of, reinforced their understanding that the Ryx race must have developed abilities humans could only dream of.

How long ago did your people make the discovery of warp drive? Ellen decided not to point out that Tryx had not actually answered John’s question.

"My species has a history going back almost a thousand million of your years. We achieved space-warp capability perhaps six hundred million years ago. We were not as swift as humans to achieve that momentous point in our development.

For millions of years, we had searched the galaxy using sub-light ships finding intelligent life on many occasions. None had achieved true star drives although a few reached other stars using sub-light ships. Many civilisations failed before they even achieved spaceflight. My ancestors decided that first contact must be avoided unless the civilisation had, at least, achieved interplanetary flight. We could not risk how such a contact might damage a species and affect its development."

John would have admitted to being bemused by the apparent contradictions in Tryx’s story. How does that approach reflect on your development of the network?

While I do wonder now if that was wise, I developed it in a way that meant that contact could only occur after a species had developed the capability to travel around its own system. My error was in restricting freedom to use the gateways to the first civilisation to find it. I believe that the Zeder have been quite benevolent in their application but I did not foresee a situation whereby they would use that restriction to control the cluster’s other space faring species ability to use it freely.

And the other race with FTL capability? John would admit later that he had become rather impatient with the Ryxian’s reluctance to talk about that other species. Tryx may have sensed that impatience in some way because its response was to finally explain.

We searched the galaxy without success until about five million years ago. The species called itself Vanestra. It had only recently, in galactic terms, achieved warp drive and their first ships were, at that time, basic and equipped for short interstellar distances, maybe as much as thirty light years but certainly no more than that.

Is their home planet close to here? Will we be able to contact them? Ellen was excited about the prospect of meeting another species that was as advanced as humans, at least in terms of being able to travel faster than light.

Unfortunately, not. Their home planet was on the other side of the galaxy about sixty-three thousand light years from Eden.

Ellen nodded. Too far for our current ship. Wait. You said was?

I did. Tryx continued. They are no longer in this galaxy. Several tens of thousands of years after discovering FTL flight, the entire species departed, seeking to escape what, we believe, they saw as a catastrophic risk. We were unable to help them. They were xenophobic to an extreme, terrified for reasons we could not understand. They were tracked out of the galaxy seemingly headed for another, some twelve million light years away. There was a pause as if Tryx had needed to think for a moment before continuing. Your records identify that galaxy as being NGC4449. Even at their top warp speed it is a journey that they have yet to complete.

John was struggling for a moment to complete a calculation. Their top speed is, what, less than six per cent of warp one? Surely their ships could manage better than that.

You underestimate them. They have not left in a fleet of ships. They built a warp drive large enough to envelope their planet and its star.

They moved their entire solar system! That’s unbelievable! With that much power what could have frightened them to that extent?

I do not know. My ancestors spoke of an attempt to offer assistance but the Ryx craft was attacked and badly damaged. The decision was made to withdraw and not interact with them until they were ready. We monitored their progress using cloaked remote probes with passive sensors. A long time passed before emergency messages were received from the probes which were hidden in orbits close to the system’s four gas giants.

They had been found despite being cloaked?

No, but their locations would have ceased to provide shelter. The gas giants were being mined for fuel and in the end the planets were completely destroyed. Long range sensors confirmed that every planet in the system had been utilised in one way or another to provide materials to complete elements of a spherical structure. We watched as that was completed, a task that took another ten thousand of your years. That that was the largest warp driven object was demonstrated as their home planet, its moon and the star all, slowly at first, began to move against the galaxy’s rotation.

I can understand that but how could they have avoided the gravitational impact on the warp drive or drives?

A valid question and a problem answered with a simple solution. The size of the sphere was such that the warp drives were far enough from the star to be outside the warp barrier. It was or is, some fifty light minutes in diameter, sufficient for their system, which had a relatively small sun. My people found it an amazing feat of engineering and certainly we would never have attempted it, but then we were never driven by fear and have found other ways to leave the galaxy.

John was about to reply when his communicator pinged in his ear. Conscious that Pawl would only have interrupted with something he saw as urgent.

A moment, Tryx.

Captain, we are being scanned but we can’t work out what the scan has been seeking.

Thanks, Pawl. As we are talking, please send the Doctor and Alan outside to join us. They will be guided to the right location. With Pawl’s acknowledgement closing the link, John thought for a moment.

Tryx, the two of my people who are going to join us may help us understand you more. I have to ask though. Why are you scanning our ship, again?

Captain, you should understand that I have had little out of my study routines to pique my interest, for hundreds of years and the very existence of your ship and its capabilities are something out of the ordinary. Unless my initial study of your warp drives is wrong, they are quite different to any others we developed in the past or that the Vanestra built. I always seek to expand my knowledge. My scans will not damage the ship or its contents.

While Tryx was still talking, Alan and Will had joined the group and Alan dived straight in with a question.

What are you studying at the moment? I mean you say you have been studying the universe and the galaxy. That is a large range of possible topics at any one time.

I have been studying the black hole at the centre of the galaxy and its effects on the region immediately around it. This has been my primary research for the last few thousand years or so.

Really? Would it not have proved better to move closer than here to do that? Ellen’s startled intervention brought what in a human would have been a laugh.

I do not think that you realise how far you have travelled to reach my home. This system is orbiting the black hole at a distance of, roughly, a thousand light years.

Stefan spoke for the first time. The first wormholes, we traversed, linked systems only, he caught his breath for a moment, a few tens of light years apart and took us, typically, less than half a day to travel through. The last one, which led here, took us a matter of days to reach this place from the last system and yet it covered over twenty-five thousand light years? How? I mean I don’t understand.

That is entirely reasonable. The transit times are designed to limit the psychological impact of covering such distances and are largely arbitrary. At the simplest set-up the journey time would be a matter of minutes irrespective of the distance covered across galactic space.

Is the closeness of your orbit the reason for setting up a Dyson sphere?  I mean your orbit around the black hole? Stefan looked at his colleagues who were clearly not following his thoughts with any great understanding. Observations made back on Earth suggested that the black hole’s effects, this close to it, would impact systems drenching them in heavy radiation caused by the side effects of the destruction of those stars unfortunate enough to fall into the hole or orbit too close. Tryx, were our fellow astronomers, correct?

They were and your own idea about the reason for the Dyson sphere, as you call it, is broadly correct. The sphere is designed not simply to collect energy from the system star, which is dying, but to absorb any energies arising from the local region being disrupted by the gravitational effects.

Your probes in the Vanestran system were close to gas giants? How would they respond to being discovered? Ellen’s thoughts had switched to that time of pain when she had lost two good friends.

They were designed to respond with universal messages to positive approaches but to self-destruct if attacked. Why do you ask?

We lost two of our top astronauts and their crew a short time before the Einstein launched. They found an object, in close orbit around the largest of the gas giants, that seemed to be broadcasting to somewhere outside the system. They changed course towards the object. At around five hundred kilometres they began to send a first contact message, seconds later the object exploded, with what we believe was a matter anti-matter fusion blast, which not only destroyed it but also their craft with no warning. Could that have been a Ryx monitoring probe?

I have no record of your home system being the subject of any Ryx ship visiting it in the last ten million years. Earlier research ships would, presumably, not have found intelligent life. You must understand that the size of the galaxy has often precluded our returning to systems visited in the earlier searches. I am sorry that I cannot say the probe was not ours but it is unlikely. My concern is, if it was not ours then whose was it?

Will Carden raised his hand. You said that we are inside you? How can that be?

We were always a long-lived biological race of beings with a life span of more than ten thousand of your years but it was not enough and, eventually, we found the way to transfer our intellects into cybernetic forms. That provided us with enhanced lives of several million years and more. By increasing the size of the technological support, we can extend that period even further.

From what you say though, you are alone in this system? Are there so few of the Ryx left? I mean if most are no longer biological creatures, how were you born?

After many thousands of years my people discovered the means by which they were able to merge intellects forming group minds, housed in structures, constructed by combining their artificial bodies most of which had grown as has my own. As for my birth. We retain one planet many thousands of light years away and those that are born use cells stored over past generations and are brought to maturity in what you call incubators.

You are not, in fact, a single individual then? Will was increasingly both excited at the idea being reflected in Tryx’s words and also highly bemused.

No, I remain an individual. Although many of the Ryx have made the step to utilizing, what you would call, a hive mentality state, it is not a requirement and many of us remain as individuals for the time being at least.

How many hives are there?

There are fewer now in this galaxy. Many have departed seeking new galaxies to explore. You should understand that, barring accidents, they have achieved a form of immortality and their star drives can achieve ten thousand times your warp one and more. So, the journey times are not that excessive for them. I know of some hives relatively close to Eden, perhaps two hundred light years away and there may be others. In time, I do not doubt that the remaining individuals will also combine. How that will impact our presence in this galaxy I cannot say.

Ellen came to a decision. You said that you wished to help us. How would you look to do that?

I understand that there were two more starships that left your star system?

That is correct, Tryx, the Anticipation and the Europa. They fled in different directions, Ellen responded, but surely you know that if you have scanned all our records already.

I realise that my ability to scan databases and records at such speed is, for the moment, beyond entities such as humans. However, it does not mean that I can claim to understand everything recorded without your assistance.

Then, how can I and my colleagues help?

With as complete answers as possible to such questions as I may raise from time to time. Firstly, do you wish to contact the other ships? If we can find them.

Ellen started. How can you find them?

As I said, I am not the last of my race. Although there are but a few of us individuals left in that part of the galaxy near to the star cluster that contains Eden, I can communicate with those who do remain and the hives, if they accept my messages. If you wish we will try to locate your fellow humans.

That is a generous offer and we must consider it and then speak with you again. For the moment, we must retire to our ship.

I understand. With that the android seemed to freeze as Ellen led her team back aboard the Einstein.

2. A Coming Together

The day had dawned bright, as it often did, in the early summer over Yablon but it was a sombre group that walked through the nearby woods.

Anton Tyler and Helga Nielson led the way, alongside the Zeder ambassador, Deputy Commander Sugnay Adzly and his team. Other Zeder officers followed carrying the five coffins of their colleagues who had not survived the destruction of their ship. They were followed by a large number of humans and a number of the Bedev crew.

As they reached an open area, on the other side of the trees, two groups were waiting in dress uniforms. Captain Fagoc Cless led a dozen of the Bedev contingent while Captain Rob Jordan led the human astronauts who had settled on Eden. As the funeral party entered the glade, the waiting groups came to attention.

It was clear that the Zeder party were initially shocked. They had not been warned of the existence of the honour guards by their human counterparts and such support left them with no doubt about the sympathy of both of the other races.

Sugnay and his colleagues had rapidly gained acceptance across the board and there were even a few close friendships growing between humans and Zeder. Relationships between the Bedev and Zeder were not quite as warm but were civil at worst and, given their history, that was being seen as good progress.

As had been agreed beforehand, Rob stepped forward to greet the Ambassador with a salute.

Sir, if you would follow me.

Captain, it will be my privilege.

At the other side of the clearing five graves had been dug in preparation. At each stood, also at attention, single officers from each race.

Sugnay quietly turned to his daughter. Calri, were you involved in this? I had not realised that we were missing five officers from the group attending on the funeral party.

Calri smiled, a little uncertainly. Helga asked for my help. I hope I was not wrong to hide this from you.

You were not. I admit I would have preferred to know beforehand but it is an honour that our hosts should act in this way. I could not be more pleased. When we are finished here, I must meet with the Mayors.

The funeral service was short. Then as the coffins were lowered into their graves, the haunting sound of a single bugle rang out. The human officers came to attention to the sound of the Last Post and the Zeder followed almost as quickly as, despite their surprise, they recognised another honour being bestowed on their lost comrades.

On the way back to the town Sugnay moved to walk next to Rob. Was that your idea, Captain?

It seemed appropriate, Ambassador. Rob responded formally. I trust it was acceptable.

How could I possibly be upset by such honour being enacted for my people? My thanks to you and your colleagues and it is Sugnay please.

Sugnay, you should be aware that Captain Cless asked to be involved. We did not need to invite them. I understand that there are certain tensions between your people and them?

There is a history of sorts. I hope that we can resolve that. You must understand that we believed the Bedev to be extinct. My ancestors attempted to save their home planet from attack by an alien fleet but I wonder now if we maybe did not do enough. Captain Cless and I must talk. I do need to understand what really happened as far as he knows. Somehow, we must seek to heal the wounds if such as they really do exist. For the present, my thanks to you and your colleagues.

With that the two parted. Rob to re-join his fellow astronauts, Sugnay to head back to the embassy building to prepare for meetings with both the Mayors and, separately, his opposite number, Captain Cless.

IN THE MEANTIME, ON her way back from the burial ground, Calri was approached by two women. Conscious of her uniform, one addressed her politely enough, though there was a deal of emotion in the tone of her voice that Calri sensed was not entirely pleasant.

Officer Adzly, we wish to speak with you about certain private matters.

Now?

We realise that it may not be the best of timing, the second woman interrupted, but we have found it difficult to raise this subject before.

Calri’s interest was raised and she indicated that they should move off the path into a quieter area.

Please continue but, before you do, perhaps I could know your names? I find it difficult to remember everyone’s but I do not think that we have met before. I am called Calri.

The first woman looked at the second before replying. I am Jay, this is Aliyah. They are not important as we need to talk about how our friend is being treated by one of your men.

Go on. Calri responded slowly, starting to realise what the problem might be.

Officer, sorry Calri, we need to understand what your men find so unattractive with human girls. I mean, they are friendly and courteous but show no emotion when alone with a woman they have befriended. They do not seem to respond at all to a kiss, she paused before jumping in, or any other physical action.

We mean, if we are so repugnant, why do they seek friendship at all? Aliyah burst in.

Calri smiled and then, despite a sense of the seriousness of the situation, started to laugh.

Repignant? Oh dear. Aliyah, our men find all the human females highly attractive, even those of our men who have partners. Her laughter died as that point seemed to sink in. Even my Binhal has expressed this. When, I think, he did not know that I was in earshot. Their actions are not driven in the way you may think. Jay, would you give me a little time? This is as sensitive an issue on my side as it is for you. I will need to speak with my father as to how this should be handled. Please, though, do tell your friend or friends that nothing is happening that is their fault.

Jay’s voice had warmed a little from the opening salvo as she answered. We will do that. Please do something about things as quickly as you can, though.

By tomorrow, at the latest. Shall we walk back to the village together?

And the three women took their time covering the short distance as they found themselves chatting about more pleasant if mundane matters.

THE MEDICAL UNIT AT Yablon was as quiet as ever.  The two Zeder crewmen who had suffered lesser injuries when the Defender Spaceship Eeeedle had been cut in half had been discharged the previous week.

With most of the settlers usually fit and well and few contagious illnesses to deal with the medical team was back working on scheduling the latest round of medical check-ups. The unexpected appearance of the Zeder ambassador and his daughter provided a pleasant break from the semi-boredom.

Ambassador, a pleasure to see you. Doc. Amélie Au Clair smiled. How can we help you?

I must be honest, Doctor Au Clair, I am merely accompanying my daughter who needs to speak with you about certain sensitive matters.

Calri, perhaps, you should come into my consulting room. We can speak in private.

That would be good, Doctor. Calri’s voice betrayed her nervousness even as the translation software kicked in. Father, you need not wait.

Sugnay nodded with a gentle arm on her shoulder before leaving the unit.

Back at her own desk, Amélie raised a questioning eyebrow. Calri, come on tell me what the problem is. Or to put it another way - spit it out!

Amélie, may I call you Amélie? Calri spoke quietly, her nervousness continuing to be apparent.

Of course. I take it then, that this is not specifically a medical issue.

Calri thought for a moment before speaking slowly, to Amélie’s surprise, in careful English. It is medical in a way. Just not in a way that needs you to operate. I am sorry. I need to go back to my language and use the translator.

Amélie smiled. That was amazing. I wish I could even try to speak in Zeder but my vocal cords can’t cope with the sounds.

It was Calri’s turn to grin. Humans are not the only species that cannot speak Zeder because of physical constraints. But I must talk to you about other physical matters.

Amélie said nothing but waited for Calri to continue.

Amélie, you know that of the fourteen crew that were rescued from the Eeeedle there were actually nine males and only five females. You probably don’t know that this provides for a problem which could affect those human women that have become friends with some of the men.

The doctor perked up. This sounded interesting. Go on.

Did you see Moolly after she returned from Zent?

Amélie smiled at the mispronunciation. Yes, but only to give her a routine check-up.

She did not speak of Zeder men?

No, given that she is head over heels with Hal, I do not think that she had much time to think about any other men! Amélie grinned again. What about your men?

I think that I should explain first that as a race we do not have any problem with having relationships with members of other races. So, friendships are often found between Zeder and Hokaj or Ush and it is not uncommon for these to develop into bodily relationships. Of course, this does not happen with the Aash or Voin, or the Yyonsy.

Seeing that Amélie was both intrigued and a little confused. Calri continued. I should explain. Aash and Voin are cold blooded races, I believe you would call them reptiles. The other races are all warm blooded including the Bedev. I do not believe it would have been possible for such a relationship to form with the Bedev as they are so small but it has been hundreds of years since their home was destroyed and I know little about them. The Yyonsy are, well, different.

Choosing her words carefully, the doctor responded. Are you concerned that we might find such relationships unacceptable?

No, is that possible? Calri seemed startled and Amélie was quick to calm her fears.

I do not believe that the people on Eden will have a problem, but if we were back on Earth there would have been some who would have objected. Why do you think that this might be a problem, Calri? And why might the men not be able to talk about it?

Moolly told me that humans can have sex most, if not all of the time. Zeder females are also not restricted but the men can only perform physical sex for a few days four times a year and must seek an available female at that time.

That is amazing. And the rest of the time they cannot respond at all? Amélie was thinking rapidly. How might this affect the human women who had become friendly with those Zeder men? And the men cannot speak of this?

No. Except at their time they are, I think you would call it, sexless. They have no desire for physicality with their partner and do not respond to any approaches that are sexual. I don’t mean that they have no emotions. They are caring, protective and supportive but at their time it is essential that their partner makes herself available. They must release the pent-up emotions they only feel then. At any other time – there is no physical response.

Amélie was silent for a long time while Calri sat looking at her nervously.

Perhaps you should tell me why you felt it necessary to raise this with me and also at this time.

Yesterday, after the funerals, I was approached by two of your people - Jay and Aliyah. They were concerned about how their friend was being treated by one of the Zeder men. Somehow, we need to explain to all your people the restrictions that nature has placed on our men. As it is, in a way, a medical thing you seemed the best person to talk to.

Thank you for that. Calri looked at Amélie before deciding that the doctor’s response was a little concerned, but Amélie continued. I guess I was the obvious choice. Now I need to decide how we can disseminate this in an appropriate way. I should say that the ladies’ friend was probably Aliyah herself! she grinned. Leave it with me, Calri, and thank you for making the effort.

As Calri took her leave, Amélie suddenly called her back. Calri, what happens if a Zeder male cannot find a willing female?

Celri’s shocked response was welcome. That would never happen. In the worst case a Zeder female will make herself available, even if she does have a permanent partner. It would be a purely physical event without any commitment beyond the moment. I have heard of the female deciding to change partners but it is what you would call newsworthy as it is extremely rare.

That is good. There is little likelihood of a human being forced to satisfy the Zeder male, then.

Calri was utterly shocked at the thought. I do not believe that such an action would be possible. The male would take his own life before acting in such a way - even with a Zeder woman.

It was Amélie’s turn to look amazed. The drive is that strong that release is totally essential for the male’s well-being then.

"Yes. It is. Once is usually enough, though they