Read Online Resurgence by Charles Sheffield - Free Book Online
Authors: Charles Sheffield
Tags: Science-Fiction
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they had been apart for two years.
Even the delivery of what Councilor Graves clearly thought of as a warning seemed to lack reality.
That had come in answer to Hans's protest, at the end of the first meeting. "You're crazy if you think a handful of us can run off and in a few weeks sort out the problems of a region as big as all our territories put together."
Graves's forehead added a few more worry lines. "Captain Rebka, I have never suggested any such thing. Our goal is the exploration of what is happening on Marglot, and possibly an attempt to help the Marglotta. We do not expect to understand the mystery of dying worlds, or to determine the fate and future of the whole Sag Arm. However, I would be remiss if I failed to inform you of another important point concerning our journey. As you remark, we are small in numbers, even if large in experience of the Builders and their artifacts. But our expedition is as small as it is because this is viewed by the Council as a high-risk endeavor."
In other words they don't want to send too many of us, just in case we don't come back . But even that thought hadn't had as much effect on Darya as it should. Artifacts! What wouldn't she give to see new Builder artifacts? She realized now how boring it had been for the past couple of years, sitting in her office at the Institute on Sentinel Gate and methodically recording every element of the disappearance of Builder presence. It had been like making notes on your own death.
With that thought, Darya felt within her the near-imperceptible quiver that told of impending passage into and through a Bose node. She peered at the screen, seeking that other dot of light.
And there it was, a signal beacon blinking its message. The Have-It-All was safely through, with the Pride of Orion following close behind. But the thing that made Darya catch her breath lay beyond the two ships. They had attained the far side of the Gulf. A final and short Bose transition should take them to the Marglot system. However, even before that there might be evidence of Builder artifacts.
Darya eagerly scanned the glittering starscape that filled the sky ahead. Many years of experience told her that she was probably wasting her time. Builder artifacts were infinitely varied in appearance. They ranged from apparently normal structures, like the Umbilical that ran between Opal and Quake, to the near-unfathomable space-time convolutions of the Torvil Anfract. An artifact could look like anything or nothing.
She looked anyway, swinging a high-resolution scanner across the sky. Stars and to spare—they seemed more thickly clustered than in the home Orion Arm—but nothing to hint at Builder presence.
She jumped as a voice behind her said, "Too soon, I fear."
She turned to see E.C. Tally standing there.
"How did you know what I was looking for? And how did you know where I was?"
"The latter question is easily answered. The Pride of Orion 's central data bank contains a complete occupation directory for every chamber at all times."
"So you know where the survival team is housed?" For whatever reason, Julian Graves had kept his team of survival specialists in seclusion.
"Of course."
"Do you know how many of them there are?"
"There are five, all of human form. None, alas, appears to be an embodied computer. As to what you were seeking as you scanned the sky, I assume that it is what all others seem to be seeking: a first look at the Marglot system."
"Are we close enough for that?"
"No. Nor will we be, until the final Bose transition is accomplished. However, logic is not at work here. Every being on board, in spite of known facts, stares impatiently at the screens. It is curious, but even I, who according to my designers lack circuits for the emotion known as excitement, feel a sense of impending fulfillment."
"But you're not staring at screens."
"No. Logic still plays a significant part in my actions. Our final Bose transition to the vicinity of what we hope
Even the delivery of what Councilor Graves clearly thought of as a warning seemed to lack reality.
That had come in answer to Hans's protest, at the end of the first meeting. "You're crazy if you think a handful of us can run off and in a few weeks sort out the problems of a region as big as all our territories put together."
Graves's forehead added a few more worry lines. "Captain Rebka, I have never suggested any such thing. Our goal is the exploration of what is happening on Marglot, and possibly an attempt to help the Marglotta. We do not expect to understand the mystery of dying worlds, or to determine the fate and future of the whole Sag Arm. However, I would be remiss if I failed to inform you of another important point concerning our journey. As you remark, we are small in numbers, even if large in experience of the Builders and their artifacts. But our expedition is as small as it is because this is viewed by the Council as a high-risk endeavor."
In other words they don't want to send too many of us, just in case we don't come back . But even that thought hadn't had as much effect on Darya as it should. Artifacts! What wouldn't she give to see new Builder artifacts? She realized now how boring it had been for the past couple of years, sitting in her office at the Institute on Sentinel Gate and methodically recording every element of the disappearance of Builder presence. It had been like making notes on your own death.
With that thought, Darya felt within her the near-imperceptible quiver that told of impending passage into and through a Bose node. She peered at the screen, seeking that other dot of light.
And there it was, a signal beacon blinking its message. The Have-It-All was safely through, with the Pride of Orion following close behind. But the thing that made Darya catch her breath lay beyond the two ships. They had attained the far side of the Gulf. A final and short Bose transition should take them to the Marglot system. However, even before that there might be evidence of Builder artifacts.
Darya eagerly scanned the glittering starscape that filled the sky ahead. Many years of experience told her that she was probably wasting her time. Builder artifacts were infinitely varied in appearance. They ranged from apparently normal structures, like the Umbilical that ran between Opal and Quake, to the near-unfathomable space-time convolutions of the Torvil Anfract. An artifact could look like anything or nothing.
She looked anyway, swinging a high-resolution scanner across the sky. Stars and to spare—they seemed more thickly clustered than in the home Orion Arm—but nothing to hint at Builder presence.
She jumped as a voice behind her said, "Too soon, I fear."
She turned to see E.C. Tally standing there.
"How did you know what I was looking for? And how did you know where I was?"
"The latter question is easily answered. The Pride of Orion 's central data bank contains a complete occupation directory for every chamber at all times."
"So you know where the survival team is housed?" For whatever reason, Julian Graves had kept his team of survival specialists in seclusion.
"Of course."
"Do you know how many of them there are?"
"There are five, all of human form. None, alas, appears to be an embodied computer. As to what you were seeking as you scanned the sky, I assume that it is what all others seem to be seeking: a first look at the Marglot system."
"Are we close enough for that?"
"No. Nor will we be, until the final Bose transition is accomplished. However, logic is not at work here. Every being on board, in spite of known facts, stares impatiently at the screens. It is curious, but even I, who according to my designers lack circuits for the emotion known as excitement, feel a sense of impending fulfillment."
"But you're not staring at screens."
"No. Logic still plays a significant part in my actions. Our final Bose transition to the vicinity of what we hope
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