Qin
Station :
Sol
System :
There was no
sense of time or space. It was a complete metaphysical metamorphosis. Alex was
unaware that he’d ever been a corporeal being. His consciousness was filled
with the entire scope of the universe’s existence. At the same time, he was
suspended in a moment of a pure energy.
He could have existed in that state for all time, and not
known the difference—or cared, for that matter. It was the end and the
beginning of all things for him.
In an instant, he became aware of his unawareness, and he
willed himself to become conscious.
There was another sentience near him, and the edges of his
perception told him it was a presence similar to him.
The overwhelming bliss called him back, and he was very near
to dismissing the anomalous sense that there was someone or something near him.
All he wanted was to exist in that glorious fragment of time and space for all
eternity, the suspension of all reality.
Still, there was something in his psyche that would not let
him remain in his current form. What was it? If he had the perception of
consciousness, did he not have an obligation to embrace it? Otherwise, the
infinite inexistence was a lie.
He concentrated, and became cognizant that there was a material
universe surrounding him.
Galaxies, solar systems and planets. Elements, particles,
molecules, and quanta.
Time slowed down and returned to him, and his memories were
restored.
From one moment to the next, he realized a great many
things.
He was different from before. For nearly twenty years, he’d been
affected by the radiation of Kinemet. Now, the Kinemet was a part of him. Every
cell in his body, his very DNA, was altered. Kinemet was part of his
fundamental physiology now. He was no longer a failed conversion, no longer a
half-human, half-Kinemat—he was different enough that he’d become another species,
even though he knew his physical appearance would not show the changes.
The Grace! Was this what the Grace were? Alex sent his
consciousness out. Though he could always sense every planetary body in Sol
System, he could not send his awareness more than a hundred-and-fifty
kilometers away from his photonic self. Beyond that limitation, the details
were completely obscured. Now, if he concentrated, he could push his awareness
out to every point in Sol System.
Like a lighthouse beaming directly into his soul, the star
beacon on Pluto shone brightly. No longer was it a distant pin of luminescence
in the farthest reaches of his
sight.
And … Alex could see beyond it. Not in the physical sense.
It wasn’t as if he could see past it on a spacial basis. Though he could still
detect other star beacons throughout the galaxy, his new perception of Sol
System’s beacon was beyond anything he’d imagined before.
An ethereal symphony emanated from it, something much more
majestic than the Music of the Spheres, or the Song of the Stars. It was
all-encompassing perfection, and it called to him. The message had been there
since Macklin’s Rock, but now it was much more powerful than ever before.
Alex, come home.
How had he changed? The doctor! How had Doctor Naysmith
known that injecting Alex with Kinemet before the conversion process would have
this effect? Or had it been an accident?
That was the final key, Alex knew. Priming the Kinemet to
match the Song of the Stars was only half the equation. Exposure to its
radiation would convert a physical being to a Kinemat, but a Kinemat was merely
the halfway point. Infusing the converted Kinemet during the conversion process
changed Alex into a full quantum being.
Was this the secret the Kulsat had been searching for over the
past thousand years? In theory, it sounded right, but there was a seed of doubt
in Alex’s mind. He would need to think about it more.
Another realization came to him, this one more immediate.
There was something important about the secondary presence he’d sensed.
There was a physical distance between him and the other
photonic being. Several thousand kilometers. Before he could think about the
question, he had the answer. Alex, in his quantum state, had drifted outward
from the Sun. A quick calculation of his position among the planets told him he’d
been in the alternate awareness for several days.
Using his
sight,
he focused on the presence, and
realized it was very near Qin Station.
It was another Kinemat, and Alex focused his perception to
identify it.
When he realized it was Chow Yin, Alex pushed his photonic
self forward.
At one point, he’d thought the only option for saving Sol
System was to help the self-styled Emperor of Sol System. Now that he’d
discovered how to create Kinemats, Chow Yin would not stop in his mad quest.
The last thing they needed was a maniac running around with that power.
Chow Yin had to be stopped.
Though his perception traveled at near-light speeds, Alex
still had limitations, and could only push his photonic self at a fraction of
that speed.
As he neared Qin Station, Alex felt the presence of a
significant quantity of raw Kinemet, the entirety of which was loaded on a
large warship. He could sense Emperor Yin’s Kinemetic presence on that warship,
and he detected there was a quantum drive installed in the vessel.
By the time Alex’s essence had reached Qin Station, the
warship had moved a few kilometers away and was coming about.
Chow Yin’s ship launched a Kinemetic torpedo at the station.
As Justine had caused the torpedoes to explode years before
when they were being chased from Canada Station Three, Alex pushed his senses
out at the weapon and detonated the Kinemetic torpedo before it hit the
station.
Immediately, the Emperor’s ship launched a conventional missile,
and Alex could do nothing but watch in horror as Qin Station was obliterated.
How many innocent people had been on that station?
No!
Alex raged. He had a crazy thought: as he’d detonated
the weaponized Kinemet on the torpedoes, perhaps there was a way he could detonate
the Kinemet on the Emperor’s warship.
Before he could push his senses out, Chow Yin activated his
quantum drive, and the warship disappeared in a streak of light.
It was then that Alex sensed another quantity of Kinemet. A fleet
of ships were coming his way. His first thought was they were the Emperor’s
reinforcements, since many of the ships carried markings of the People’s
Republic of China.
When he looked closer, he realized the ships did not carry
weaponized Kinemet warheads. One of the ships bore a USA, Inc. signature and had
a quantum drive installed, and several hundred kilograms of Kinemet on
board—more than enough to power the ship for years.
At the same time, another group of ships converged on the newcomers
from another direction; they must have been the remainder of Chow Yin’s forces.
As the two fleets met, they began to fire on one another. Alex
was helpless in the fight.
If this had been a vid, or a rendition of Nova Pirates—the
game Alex had loved to play as a youth—he would have enjoyed the epic space
battle that ensued. He would have reveled in the conflict, cheering his side
on.
Now, Alex could only watch in horror as dozens of ships, and
hundreds of soldiers on either side, were destroyed in the fight.
After what seemed like hours, but was in truth less than five
minutes, the battle was over.
Chow Yin’s forces, without the Emperor at their head,
quickly broke ranks, the ships turning away from the fight and fleeing from
certain death.
The Earth forces had won the battle.
But what of the war?
Certainly, Alex knew, there were pockets of imperialists
throughout Sol System, but without their Emperor, the odds favored Earth.
Alex had been distracted by the fighting, but now that the
conflict was over, he scoured the main Earth ship. Were they truly from his
side?
When he focused his perception on the bridge, he felt a
surge of relief.
Michael!
Pushing himself forward, Alex passed through the hull of the
ship and onto the bridge.
Michael, as if expecting him to arrive all along, said, “It’s
so good to see you, Alex.”
His warm smile was in complete contrast to the look of shock
on the officers’ faces when Alex materialized into physical form.
∞
In the captain’s cabin, Alex sipped a cup of hot chicken
broth while Michael and the commander of the fleet, General Alan Gates, brought
him up to date.
“And so,” Michael said, “Chow Yin must have initially
prepared to repel us—”
“But then he sensed me,” Alex said, and shook his head.
Michael said, “With you on one side, and us on the other, he
would have realized he was outgunned without the bulk of his fleet. Like any
coward, he fled.”
General Gates growled. “Not until he was sure to destroy Qin
Station behind him, whether to distract us, or to hide his research.”
Giving Alex a level look, Michael asked, “Where do you think
he went?”
“He went to look for more allies.”
“Where?” the general asked. “The Jupiter moons?”
“No,” Alex said, and took a deep breath. “Centauri. He knows
about the Kulsat. He thinks they will join forces with him, if he gives them
what they’re looking for.”
General Gates frowned, and looked at Michael. “None of this
was in your report. The Kulsat?”
“It’s time you heard the truth,” Michael said. “I briefed my
government, but my report was discounted as a fabrication.”
Together, Michael and Alex told the general everything they
knew about the Kulsat threat.
When they were finished, the general didn’t question the
truth of their story. He asked, “What about these Gliesans you mentioned, the
ones that saved Alex on his first trip, and the rest of you this last time?”
Michael said, “I’m not sure if they have the resources to
stand against the Kulsat. I got the impression they’re severely outgunned.
Their Kinemats have helped us, but I believe they have done so of their own
accord. Their actions might be unofficial, and they might have been breaking
their own laws to assist us.” He shook his head. “There’s no way to guess what
stance their government has adopted concerning us.”
Alex said, “Up until now, the Kulsat haven’t had any idea
where in the galaxy Sol System is. The star beacons have a kind of interstellar
cloaking mechanism, hiding our location from anyone who doesn’t know our
coordinates.”
“And hiding them from us,” Michael added. “This is why none
of our long-range sensors have recorded anything outside our system.”
General Gates stood up and paced in the small room. “And you
say this was set up by these ancient aliens, the Grace?”
“As far as we know,” Michael said. “We weren’t able to
debrief the Gliesans in full before Chow Yin’s mines struck. And the only other
information we have is the stories from Yaxche and his friend, Patli. It’s
possible some parts of the story could have been altered or lost over the past
thousand years.”
Drawing himself up to his full height, the general nodded to
himself. “I will send a report to HQ.”
“We don’t have time to wait for them to debate this,” Alex
said. “If we don’t follow Chow Yin and stop him, he’ll lead the Kulsat right to
us.”
“I don’t have the authority to do that,” the general said,
and then glanced at Michael. “Besides, if your government has discounted your
story, my government might do the same. I can’t just run off to another solar
system based on conjecture.”
“What if I could prove it?” Alex stood up.
Raising one eyebrow, the general asked, “Prove the Kulsat
threat?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“You have a quantum drive on board.”
Slowly, the general nodded. “Yes, but I understand neither
of you are fully capable of piloting the drive.”
“Things have changed,” Alex assured him. “Don’t worry; it
will be a short trip.”
“A short trip?” The general frowned. “To where?”
Alex smiled. “Back to Pluto.”
∞
When the general went to send in his report, insisting he
needed someone higher up the food chain to sign off on the proposal, he left
Alex and Michael alone in the cabin.
“You’ve been irradiated by Kinemet,” Alex said.
“I have, but I don’t seem to have any of the powers of a
Kinemat. I just feel the bad side effects. If they hadn’t got me off Earth, I’m
sure I would’ve died. Now, I can handle it—at least for the time being. Judging
from past cases, I might not have more than a few days or weeks before the
radiation starts to kill me.”
“Tell me what happened?”
Michael quickly outlined everything that had happened since they’d
parted ways after Kenny’s death. “I realized that the alien had Kinemet infused
in his DNA. Of course, that revelation came seconds before the lab blew up.”
“It wasn’t natural Kinemet,” Alex said. “It was already
altered, as if it had undergone the priming sequence.”
“Yes.” Michael frowned. “I got Humberto to send the message
to you letting you know that was the final key. I assumed…”
Shaking his head, Alex said, “Doctor Naysmith must have
snuck Kinemet into my bloodstream just before the first trial. The sample they
used on Sian was incomplete—everyone else in the lab died. I was insulated
against that; I assume because I’ve been previously irradiated. I quantized
myself moments before the explosion. Somehow, while being quantized, I managed
to process the Kinemet in my system. The conversion must have altered it. If
you were to take a genetic sample of me now, you’d most likely find that I
share the same Kinemetic DNA markers as the Xtôti you examined.”
“So you…”
Alex nodded. “Technically, I’m no longer a human. I’m one of
the Grace.” He laughed. “Unfortunately, I have no idea what that entails. Other
than being aware in the photonic state, the only other ability I seem to have
is to be able to extend my awareness throughout the solar system.”