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Authors: Scott Rhine
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changed sides.” He recited a depressing list of betrayals they had uncovered,
plus UN resolutions pending for the next morning in New York City. “But that’s
in the past. There’s a slower wave at T plus 19 hours. After a lull, at T plus 61
hours, moon base gets the fast missiles from high-Earth orbit. At T plus 120
hours, the slow hell rain arrives—every piece of nuclear ordnance they haven’t
used since WWII. There’s no way we can stop it all. If you fellows on the Ascension don’t pull a rabbit out of the hat by then, we’re all dead.”
Aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln,
how was the play? What are they demanding?
“All the pages. Everything from the
artifact, including the Ascension .”
I’ll be back with an answer as
soon as I can, but I can tell you what it’s going to be.
Johann nodded.
****
Oleander explained to the crew of Ascension ,
“Z is suffering from exactly the same effects as the whale attack—on a much
larger scale. A large number of Actives were murdered in retaliation for our
landing.”
Red paled. “You’re saying they did
this because of my plan? Because of me?”
Her friend Risa hugged her. “We all
agreed, girl. Don’t make this your fault. The world needs what we’re learning.
The breast cancer cure alone will help two million women a year. My grandma
died of that. Because of us, no one else will lose a mother, grandmother, or
wife that way. That was the first hour of our visit, and we’re not even in the
front door yet.”
Meanwhile, the doctors went to work
easing Zeiss’ symptoms. Their first step was to insulate his mind with the hood
of a neoprene-like wet suit. The rubbery material blocked mental or Out-of-body
attacks. The second step was to administer blockers.
“This cocktail will prevent neurons
forming PTSD loops. He really needs sleep,” Auckland announced.
“Not a luxury we have right now,”
Lou snapped. “He’ll get all the rest he needs once he’s in the decontamination
pod. Right now, we need to decide our response. Which Actives died, and who
killed them?”
The space worker put an arm on Lou’s
shoulder. “Algeria nuked the entire Brazil spaceport.”
“Vanessa,” Lou gasped.
“Your fiancée is gone,” Oleander
whispered back. Turning to the others, she added, “Everyone who cheered us on
in the VIP seating—friends, family, coworkers, support techs, and all but three
members of the Fortune board.”
There was a long silence. Several
team members cried, mouthing the names of those they lost.
Zeiss said, “My sister Claire was
staying at the Smith mansion for security. They treated her like one of their
own daughters.”
“Grandma Claudette,” mumbled Red. “I
thought she could survive anything.”
Risa shouted, “At least you didn’t
fight with your family members before you left. I called my dad a heartless
prick.”
“Your dad was a heartless
prick, caro ,” Herk said, patting her awkwardly. “He didn’t let your mom come
on this trip because he wanted to sleep with his secretary.”
“I know,” Risa replied, tears
streaming down her face. “But he died showing support for me.”
Herk said, “At least your mom’s
safe at home, and Mary Smith’s alive, right?”
“Yes,” Oleander confirmed. “She was
the only member of Mercy’s family who escaped.”
Lou changed gears. “Hold on. Algeria? France closed that spaceport years ago. What happened?”
“The Chinese lent the Algerians
money to reopen the site—cheaper than building a new space city,” Oleander
replied. Then she explained the layers of betrayal: allies who failed to act,
and others who actively joined in the attacks from lunar orbit. “They’ll
eventually wipe out the UN moon base unless we give them the pages and the tech
from this ship.”
Lou had a wild look in his eyes as
he shrugged off Oleander’s comforting arm. “We can still control the telescope’s
lens. The first time it dipped into Earth orbit to deliver the pages,
plus UN resolutions pending for the next morning in New York City. “But that’s
in the past. There’s a slower wave at T plus 19 hours. After a lull, at T plus 61
hours, moon base gets the fast missiles from high-Earth orbit. At T plus 120
hours, the slow hell rain arrives—every piece of nuclear ordnance they haven’t
used since WWII. There’s no way we can stop it all. If you fellows on the Ascension don’t pull a rabbit out of the hat by then, we’re all dead.”
Aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln,
how was the play? What are they demanding?
“All the pages. Everything from the
artifact, including the Ascension .”
I’ll be back with an answer as
soon as I can, but I can tell you what it’s going to be.
Johann nodded.
****
Oleander explained to the crew of Ascension ,
“Z is suffering from exactly the same effects as the whale attack—on a much
larger scale. A large number of Actives were murdered in retaliation for our
landing.”
Red paled. “You’re saying they did
this because of my plan? Because of me?”
Her friend Risa hugged her. “We all
agreed, girl. Don’t make this your fault. The world needs what we’re learning.
The breast cancer cure alone will help two million women a year. My grandma
died of that. Because of us, no one else will lose a mother, grandmother, or
wife that way. That was the first hour of our visit, and we’re not even in the
front door yet.”
Meanwhile, the doctors went to work
easing Zeiss’ symptoms. Their first step was to insulate his mind with the hood
of a neoprene-like wet suit. The rubbery material blocked mental or Out-of-body
attacks. The second step was to administer blockers.
“This cocktail will prevent neurons
forming PTSD loops. He really needs sleep,” Auckland announced.
“Not a luxury we have right now,”
Lou snapped. “He’ll get all the rest he needs once he’s in the decontamination
pod. Right now, we need to decide our response. Which Actives died, and who
killed them?”
The space worker put an arm on Lou’s
shoulder. “Algeria nuked the entire Brazil spaceport.”
“Vanessa,” Lou gasped.
“Your fiancée is gone,” Oleander
whispered back. Turning to the others, she added, “Everyone who cheered us on
in the VIP seating—friends, family, coworkers, support techs, and all but three
members of the Fortune board.”
There was a long silence. Several
team members cried, mouthing the names of those they lost.
Zeiss said, “My sister Claire was
staying at the Smith mansion for security. They treated her like one of their
own daughters.”
“Grandma Claudette,” mumbled Red. “I
thought she could survive anything.”
Risa shouted, “At least you didn’t
fight with your family members before you left. I called my dad a heartless
prick.”
“Your dad was a heartless
prick, caro ,” Herk said, patting her awkwardly. “He didn’t let your mom come
on this trip because he wanted to sleep with his secretary.”
“I know,” Risa replied, tears
streaming down her face. “But he died showing support for me.”
Herk said, “At least your mom’s
safe at home, and Mary Smith’s alive, right?”
“Yes,” Oleander confirmed. “She was
the only member of Mercy’s family who escaped.”
Lou changed gears. “Hold on. Algeria? France closed that spaceport years ago. What happened?”
“The Chinese lent the Algerians
money to reopen the site—cheaper than building a new space city,” Oleander
replied. Then she explained the layers of betrayal: allies who failed to act,
and others who actively joined in the attacks from lunar orbit. “They’ll
eventually wipe out the UN moon base unless we give them the pages and the tech
from this ship.”
Lou had a wild look in his eyes as
he shrugged off Oleander’s comforting arm. “We can still control the telescope’s
lens. The first time it dipped into Earth orbit to deliver the pages,
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