Confluence Point (49 page)

* * *

The Searching Saucer, Interstellar Space

Nelson looked at the image floating in the centre of the control area and shook his head in amazement.

"How on earth could you build
that
image from the miniscule information we've been able to gather?"

Mario looked particularly pleased with himself. "I think it's rather good, very helpful."

"Mario we can't base
anything
on that. You realize you've done the equivalent of drawing a new dinosaur based on the discovery of something that
might
be a toenail."

"Nelson," the racing driver appealed to him, "we're getting closer and that's the main thing." He crossed his arms in smug satisfaction.

Nelson shook his head and turned back to the holographic image. An almost complete ADF looked back at him, based on only the twelve pieces of debris they had recovered. Stretching out from the central figure, lines extended in three dimensions showing the trajectory each piece had taken following impact. While it frustrated him to admit it, the representation did give some hope. Several of the pieces hinted at a likely range of paths for the black box. Still, the volume of space to search given the time since the impact was still far too big.

He turned back to Mario with a genuine look of sadness, not really wanting to disappoint him.

"Mario, I'm so sorry, but we need to keep looking for more pieces. It's like this. I understand the box is still moving away from us as we speak and not chasing it seems counterintuitive, however the volume of space to search is so large at the moment we could be looking forever.

Even if it takes us more weeks to narrow that path down, at least it means we can chase straight after it, go right there. Time we invest now saves time later. Do you understand?"

"I might understand, but I don't like it."

"I know my friend, I don't like it either . . . back into it?"

Mario nodded reluctantly.

Day forty nine . . .

* * *

Dahlia

All was finally ready for the journey home, the three huge ships now stocked and peopled to the maximum. An air of excitement filled the vessels and in the restricted ship space no one wanted to delay departure longer than necessary. Regan however had one thing she wanted to be sure of before she left. She closed her eyes and snapped to the hub for her meeting with Dahlia.

The gracious woman, with long white dress and hair in a bun watched eagerly for Regan's reaction, hoping to please.

[So, what do you think?]

[It looks magnificent Dahlia, perfect. Thank you, I can't wait to take it for a spin.]

[It's the latest you know Regan, far more powerful than is really needed in our environment. You'll need to dial that power down in most circumstances.]

[I'm sure I'll adjust, we can test run it when I return. I don't want anyone else wearing it, understood?]

[Of course, and I'll be building more anyway, provided you're happy.]

[Dahlia, can we leave that until I return? By all means build one for Ham to his preferred spec but I'd like to talk to the Minds about protocol before this is unleashed on the system. It will be an enormous shock you know, and not just for the people. The Minds are going to struggle with this too.]

[Of course, they don't even know about the possibility at this point. I'll keep it under wraps and make sure Ham does the same.]

Regan took another look at her android image nestled in the storage chamber, the potential of it again sending a thrill through her.

[Thank you my dear friend, you have done well, and I promise I won't be long.]

[Travel well. We'll look after everything, don't worry.]

She reopened her eyes to the STEIN Traveler control room, a quick scan revealing all her nearest and dearest were already with her. With a gesture she called Jared over, wrapping one arm around him to pull him close. She was ready.

"Take us home Ham."

And without any fanfare the ships began to move, cheers quickly breaking out throughout the vessels.

* * *

The Saucer, Interstellar

The holographic ADF image had changed little; however debris lines around it now expanded from it in all directions, like a geometric pattern with the spread looking more and more regular as more gaps were filled; important gaps.

Nelson stood staring at the display, his eyes unfocused as if a billion kilometers away.  Mario watched, waiting impatiently for feedback, one leg crossed over the other, jiggling it up and down in frustration.

"Well, can we move?" He finally asked. Five minutes was far too long.

Nelson turned to him, still frustrated and knowing persuading his partner to wait would get harder and harder.

"Come over here Mario, I want to show you something."

"Shit . . . you don't need to say any more, I know what you're going to say, I'm not stupid you know, but this would be a lot more interesting if we just went a little further out, don't you think?"

"Please, I understand how you feel, I feel the same way believe me, but I'm fighting it and I want to show you why."

"You know I know why, I know everything you do."

"That's true, but there are some things your version of us doesn't like to think about, just as I fully acknowledge this version of us, me, can be a bit pedantic. Come on, bear with me a moment."

Mario didn't bother to walk the few steps, instead disappearing and materializing again, a hovering ghost, just to Nelson’s left. Nelson ignored the irritation, gesturing instead to the hologram.

"First, this
has
been a good exercise; your hologram was a good idea. If you look at the debris lines we've established I guess we could say with ninety percent certainty that provided the box survived it has a path somewhere within this cone area."

A transparent pinkish cone appeared, beginning at the impact point and expanding out to the edge of the room. It had the appearance of continuing on through the wall and it wasn't a stretch to imagine it disappearing off into space.

"Now, for the sake of scale, I'll reduce this."

The ADF shape dwindled to a tiny dot and with it the cone became smaller. Now visible with a defined length it stuck out from the dot like a megaphone end.

"So what I've done here is demonstrate the area the box might be in, supposing it's survived."

"Stop saying it like that." Mario's head was already in his hands.

"What?"

"Don't say . . . supposing it's survived, this is hard enough to bear anyway."

Nelson shrugged. "Anyway, I've stretched the cone out in this diagram ten thousand kilometers from the impact point . . . we know the likely range of speeds of the debris so we can estimate the area of the base of that cone for a starting point. Mario, look at it, just ten thousand kilometers out gives an area of space to search of three hundred and fourteen thousand square kilometers, and we're looking for a box smaller than some bread bins. Add to that the volume aspect; depending on the speed of the box we could be looking at a volume of space around thirty million cubic kilometers."

Mario shrugged with resignation, "I know you're not finished and you're going to tell me anyway, so what's your point?"

"You know the point, in the time since the impact the box hasn't traveled ten thousand kilometers; it's traveled millions. Imagine how large the area is at the end of that cone. If we charge off now we'll never find it. We've got to narrow things down even more."

Mario changed form to appear standing, racing leathers glistening. He grasped Nelson by the arms.

"Nelson, it's possibly already too late. We've done well to find even these bits. Just finding another piece could be as hard as finding the box itself. It's time to move. Maybe ninety nine percent certain is too much. Maybe seventy percent certain is as good as it's going to get. I say take the centre line of the cone we know and head out. We can make adjustments as we find other pieces along the way."

Nelson looked like the weight of the sun was on his shoulders and his shoulders slumped in despair. "You're probably right; we've done all we can realistically, but I still feel we're taking such a chance."

Mario rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Not everything in life can be certain."

And they accelerated, instantly and continually. They would keep on going until they reached the beginning of a likely search area; from there they would commence an ever widening grid search as they chased the hoped for box, a box that may not even be there, and if necessary, they would do it for eternity,
if that's what it takes.

Day ninety three . . .

* * *

Hillary Station, the Solar System, Home

Regan nestled back into her seat, enjoying contact with Jared as Hillary Station grew on the large screen. As she sat she updated in the most significant merge with an alter ego she had experienced. It had only been months and yet so much had happened, overwhelming things. She hugged Jared for comfort as she absorbed the news, shedding tears over Rod and the three other crew members. Thankfully Jared seemed to intuitively know her needs and didn't try to escape, melding to her as the minutes ticked by.

She listened to the enthusiastic chatter around her; the group's excitement so different to her own emotions, and that sense of difference prompted her to drift in her thinking, musing on the future.

How did it all happen? Titular head of the entire Gliese system . . . STEIN Corp, the leaders in space in the Solar system, and now I'm called to be the savior of . . .
She hesitated in her thoughts; still not sure of the answer to that question, . . .
ooh, wherever.

"Ham . . . am
I
a moth to a flame?" She asked, not really expecting a reply. She had another thought.

"Ham, are you there?"

"You know I'm always here."

"Does it bother you, what Bob said?"

"Everything about Bob bothers me, but I sense you're talking about the two streams."

"Yeah, he talked about it like the two streams merge with me, and yet he seemed to give no regard to you. You're as much a part of me as the other way around, in fact it's almost like I'm becoming more Mind every day and you're becoming more human."

"And we merge in the middle, babe."

"What was it Bob called it?" And she shook her head in wonder.

. . . The confluence point.

* * *

Epilogue

Day two thousand one hundred and thirteen . . .

The two bearded men bickered. On screen they were staring at an asteroid, traveling outward like them but on a different path and out of their current search area. It was a magnet to Mario.

"Nelson," he pleaded, "it would only be a tiny diversion and we're both bored to snores, come on -  let's just go and have a quick look."

"I've told you, it's outside the search area and you know it, it'll put us way back." Nelson refused even to look at him.

Mario fumed. "Stuff it you pedant, we can get back to this same point later. It might be interesting, lighten up will you." Without seeking agreement he wrested control of the Saucer, hauling it about in a power turn and accelerating toward the object.

Nelson thumped the console. "You shit! This is outrageous; you could be playing with her life."

"Don't use that one on me! We can be back in no time, and to roughly the same point. Then we can just continue on as if nothing happened. Go with me on this."

The accountant raged but it was too late anyway and he joined Mario in focusing on the asteroid as the racing driver narrowed the one hundred and seventy thousand kilometer gap at an alarming rate.

It was the size of a small moon,
a fortune in minerals if headed in the right direction.

"Don't even think about it! We are not playing with this thing." Nelson could tell Mario was considering it, already maneuvering the craft to give the rock a significant nudge.

They were now so close they could have reached out to touch it if they had a window, and Mario guided the Saucer across the face, ridiculously close as if stroking it; an asteroid comber, searching . . .

. . . And there it was, nuzzling the rock as if for comfort; a chance connection, the faint gravity of the asteroid's mass proving just enough to attract and hold it. The box looked surprisingly intact; a few rough edges but otherwise whole.

The two figures stood galvanized, eyes glued to the screen, neither able to speak and both wearing looks of stunned disbelief. They became gripped by intense nervousness, unable to even move for some time. Drifting a little way off the rock Mario positioned them to just hang there and stare in uncertainty. It was Nelson who finally broke the impasse.

"We've avoided talking about this moment you know."

"I know . . ."

"So let's go through the possibilities, and then decide how we handle them."

Mario appeared to suck in a big breath, and then exhaled his tension. "It could be dead."

"It . . . you mean
she
could be dead." Nelson went pale in the soft light.

"Same thing, it's been so long, it would have been merciful if it were true."

"It would still have been worth hunting."

"Of course . . . we couldn't take the chance." Mario had both hands to his head, massaging the scalp.