Here Comes Earth: Emergence (9 page)

“I know that all of you
will find a way to put personal fears and professional differences behind you.
I believe that each and every one of you will perform at your very best and
place the mission’s success as your first priority. I believe that when our
grandkids one day learn about us in grade school, they’ll be proud of us.”

Summary

Noridian
Interview Blogcast #647

Security Classification:
Ultra Secret
Black Diamond

Access Authorization:
Broken Star
Personnel Only

Operational Priority:
Level 1

In Attendance:

For the Noridian’s: Hemyet

For Earth Team: Dr. Steve Smith - PhD,
Information Technology, programming specialist

Subject Tags:

Implant

Database

Data retrieval

Internet

Network

LAN

Summary:

Dr.
Smith accurately guessed that the Noridians are constantly linked to their own
Local Area Network (LAN). The physical range of the LAN is not known.

This
network functions on a frequency or type of carrier that is unknown and
currently undetectable by us.

They
each access this network via bioware – nanotechnologically grown augmentation in
the brain and surrounding the optical nerve. It is unclear if the bioware is
organic, inorganic, or a combination of both.

Apparently
the same or similar augmentation is prevalent in all advanced galactic
cultures.

The
software interface is via thought process and can convey coherent language as
well as high resolution images. In effect, the Noridians can silently
communicate with each other and record or share real-time images.

This
technology allows the Noridians to literally control their machinery via
thought control.

According
to Hemyet their ship contains one (several?) processing nodes for the LAN.

The
most startling revelation however has to do with data storage. According to
Hemyet their processing nodes have real-time access to quantum data stores that
could be physically located anywhere in the galaxy.

Dr. Mark Spencer

I
pulled out some chicken wings that I’d commandeered before we’d left the mess
hall and passed some of them to Anzio.

“Anzio,
I just realized what’s been bugging me,” I proclaimed as I sat at my desk and
absentmindedly chewed a wing.

We
had left Julie to finish her conversation with Dr. Sullivan and had walked back
to my room. I wasn’t sure if General Nesbit’s speech lightened the mood or made
it heavier – people seemed a little less frantic but more self-absorbed and
churlish.

“Does
it have anything to do with an alien species that I cannot bring myself to
trust?” quipped Anzio.

“It’s
the music. When Dr. Bell and I went to Jaki’s apartment, or VIP quarters, or
whatever they’re calling it there was music playing in the background until we
sat down.”

“Yes?
Well, we all have the ability to make playlists and pipe music into our rooms
so does it really surprise you that the VIP quarters can also?”

“No
Anzio. That’s just it,” I said. “Neither Jaki or Zeke turned anything off – at
least not mechanically. They had to be controlling it through their bioware. It
was their equipment.”

“Mark,
I know it has been a long day and we are tired but my friend you are not making
any sense,” Anzio said as he plopped down at his usual spot at the foot of my
bed.

“So
what if they had their own equipment? For all we know she could have a 10,000
watt amplifier and speaker system in her left earring – if she wore earrings –
and we’d never know it.

 “Does
it really make any difference?”

“I
don’t know if it makes any difference or not Anzio but what bugs me is not how
she was playing it, it’s what she was playing; it was The Beatles.”

“The
Beatles?”

“Yeah,
the Beatles.”

∆∆∆

“Well,
I suppose if they’ve been monitoring our culture it’s not unusual that they’d
find some music they liked,” said Julie.

We
were at breakfast the next morning with Julie and Dr. Mom when Anzio described
my preoccupation with what must surely be an unimportant detail.

Anzio
responded, “More like monitoring our elevators.”

“No,
that’s the thing,” I interjected. “It wasn’t an elevator remake without lyrics;
this was the original stuff – I recognized Paul McCartney’s voice.”

“Earth
to Mark, earth to Mark,” called Julie. “I think even an addlebrained history
professor like you could realize that we have more important things to think
about than their taste in music.”

Dr.
Mom laughed and gently chided Julie by singing, “Oh Julie, let him be. Let him
be. Let him beeeee. Whisper words of wisdom (by now the whole table had joined
in), let him be, let him be.”

Dr.
Decker had been about to sit down but without a break in his step had veered
away from the table – which of course only led to more laughter. Maybe it was
all of the tension we were under but the laughter was a needed relief.

“Well,
it’s good to see that some of us are having fun,” Major Reagan said.

“Major
Reagan! Please sit down,” at least two of us said at the same time.

He
didn’t have a tray and since I was getting ready to grab a second carton of
orange juice from the buffet line I asked him if he needed anything?

“No
thanks Dr. Spencer, and actually I just came over to speak to you. It’s going
to be all over the base soon so I don’t see any reason to keep it private from
your tablemates…”

I
paused halfway in the act of getting up and sat back down. The military mindset
was hard for me to relate to but Major Reagan was a really decent sort and this
sounded important enough to delay the seconds on OJ – besides, Hiromi had just
sat down with her tray and I absentmindedly reached over and grabbed hers.
Probably not a smart thing to do to someone that could rip out your heart with
their little finger but I was fortunate that she had developed a tolerance for
me which kept her lethality at bay.

“I
know that you and Dr. Bell were told to stay away from Jaki and that further
interviews with her would be conducted by the diplomatic group and Ambassador
Rutledge, but as it turns out Jaki has requested you by name. This might be a
great opportunity for the mission and Jaki appears to trust you but I’ve gotta let
you know that it’s not scoring you any points with the command staff.”

“Way
to go Mark!” and “Good job Mark!” came from Anzio and Dr. Mom.

“Anyway,
this evening after we’re boarded and squared away you’re to meet with Ambassador
Rutledge and his people to let them brief you on what questions to ask. Then
tomorrow you’ll interview Jaki again.

“Oh
and Mark, for whatever it’s worth I trust your instincts on handling Jaki but
with the Dips… play nice.”

Major Mathew Reagan, US Army

I
never saw the outside of the Noridian ship, at least not so well that I could
describe it. We were given embarkation orders that had us boarding by Platoon
so my four squads along with my staff gathered in the warehouse structure at
the top of the elevators, boarded a bus and took a short ride into the belly
of… something.

My
four squads and staff were each escorted to one of five elevators that were
spaced equidistant around the circular bay. I thought there was a problem at
first because there was no sense of motion, but when the doors opened my staff
and I walked into a different room.

It
was roughly circular with 12 ft. walls and a slightly domed ceiling. The floors
and walls were seamless and I have no idea what they were made of. All of the
doors would slide open and closed in the blink of an eye and without the
slightest sound. The center of the room was a sunken living area given over to
tables, chairs and couches while the outside walls were taken up with a circular
walkway and doors, hallways or view screens (that were currently showing empty
desert).

One
door was for the elevator we had just exited from and another two revealed
office and briefing accommodations. The other five were each marked with the
names of myself and my staff and revealed spacious personal living quarters complete
with small dining and sunken living areas, video screen, shower and a larger
than expected lavatory as well as a small walk-in closet that held the
equipment we had labeled ‘Immediate Access’ (we later learned that the rest of
our equipment was stored on the floor below us).

This
was much different than any of us had anticipated. I was used to thinking of
shipboard accommodations as cramped with priority given over to saving space
and weight; this was more luxurious by far than our base and was at least on
the level with a very expensive apartment or penthouse.

There
were five hallways also placed equidistant around the perimeter of the central
area. Four of them led to each one of my squads that each had a smaller but
identical design, spacious living quarters surrounding a smaller central area
or ‘hub’, and the fifth which led to the (much larger) hub of the Earth Team
HQ. It too followed the same design with living quarters and workrooms
surrounding a common area, and had hallways that led to each of the three other
platoons.

The
Noridian that was escorting us (I don’t remember her name) pulled the other
four members of my staff together in my living quarters and started
demonstrating the amenities. Food preparation was as simple as verbally
commanding the video screen to bring up a menu and speaking your selection.
After a few minutes a tray would be ready inside the console adjoining the
dining table. She actually apologized for the crudeness of the systems;
explaining that Noridians used their bioware to control equipment and that they
had ‘dumbed down’ our environment to respond to hand gestures and verbal
commands.

It
got interesting when the group moved to the lavatory. Although water was
available in the sink basin the shower was waterless. When I declined what I
thought to be her joking invitation to be the model for the shower
demonstration, our hostess immediately and without modesty removed what turned
out to be her only piece of clothing and stepped into the open-air alcove. With
legs and arms held slightly apart she gave a verbal command and, while bathed
in bright light, her breasts were slightly lifted and every hair on her head momentarily
stood straight out. In a few seconds the light went out and she stepped out of the
shower and started explaining that this device would not only clean the body,
but could apply oils, moisturizer, various types of skin protection including
ultra-violet, and varying degrees of melanin stimulation (tanning). If we were
fitted with bioware, she explained, it would also monitor our health.

All
four of my HQ staff are male and Noridian women all seem to have long legs,
incredible bodies, and pretty faces. If she noticed any ‘discomfort’ on our
part she didn’t show it as she stepped over to what had to be a massage table. Lying
face down we witnessed her skin being pressed and massaged by seemingly
invisible fingers. I think she was explaining something about force field manipulation
but I don’t think any of us were really very focused by that point.

When
we returned to the common area, all the view screens showed stars; we’d left
the planet without even knowing it. I don’t think I’d fully realized until right
then just how advanced the Noridian culture truly was. We were Neanderthals
compared to them. Here we were leaving our homes and families behind on a world
where modern cities were melting in nuclear fire. Would we ever see our homes
again? Would we even have a choice? We were being carried farther away than any
of us had ever gone before and without the good graces of our
friends/enemies/gods we had no hope of finding our way back. We couldn’t take
control of the situation; we hadn’t even been allowed to bring our sticks and
slingshots with us. It was overwhelming; it was almost too much.

Once
our Noridian hostess had left us to settle in I realized that there was a
terrible feeling bubbling just below the surface of my consciousness. It took me
a few moments to place it but I finally realized it was a bone-deep fear. I
wasn’t in any way, shape, or form even remotely in control of my destiny and
that thought scared the shit out of me. I was suddenly very cold and only in my
innermost thoughts would I ever admit that panic was a tempting mistress.

I
later learned it was called
culture shock
and I had never in my life
experienced feelings like that. I really think the thing that pulled me through
was the realization that if I was having this much trouble, with all the
training I’d had, my team might need me now more than ever.

I
made the rounds until late in the evening. I talked to everyone in my platoon
that would talk. Some, including a surprising number of my hardened military
specialists, were taking it hard. They’d get over it but I‘m glad I’d made it a
point to check in with them. Others were less affected; the Ito twins were
inscrutable, and Dr. Mom was her normal cheery self and seemed an unvoiced ally
in my attempts to make everyone feel secure. Most of the scientists fell
somewhere in the middle of the two extremes and I finally got a glimpse perhaps
of why General Nesbit thought so highly of my second in command, Captain
Antonio Silva. With a slight build and a skinny frame he’d never be mistaken for
one of my Special Forces but that night he put his team first and was making
the rounds without any instruction from me.

The
person that surprised me the most though, was Dr. Julie Schein.