Regan's Reach 4: Avarice (3 page)

At that Ham seemed to draw in a huge
unneeded breath and then glared at her, with a confusing blend of anger and
pained despair. "Well you might just regret it yet you
stupid
girl;
you acted rashly on the assumption you would die!"

They all looked shocked at his choice of
words; Ham simply didn't call Regan stupid, ever. He seemed to realize what he
had said and held up a hand in apology before spinning away, distracted by
something.

"Give me a moment, I'm talking to the Saucer
now, it's just sub communication so far and he's definitely not ready to allow
us to merge. I'm still not exactly clear why, but apparently they want to
cruise in quietly and absorb all the changes in the solar system first."

Ham did not look happy at that prospect.
"Guys I don't know whether we should agree, it's such a risk; we don't
know what we're dealing with here after all and it's been six years; all kinds
of changes might have taken place - changes in them, I mean."

"Them? Who are we talking about?"
Leah asked, still confused at everything.

Again a light seemed to dawn in Regan and
she cut across the discussion with a definite tone that cut off any further
debate.

"Let them come in Ham - but quarantine
them in terms of information exchange until you're one hundred percent happy.
You're right, a lot has changed and . . . maybe they do just want to enjoy the
discoveries firsthand rather than by merge and update. I can understand that,
after all this time away who would want to be one thing one moment, and then
another the next while missing out on the excitement of discovery."

 Regan stood for a few seconds longer,
ignoring the concerned looks from Leah and Marin. Her demeanor radiated
uncertainty but she didn't elaborate, instead turning away without another word
and stalking from control toward the galley.

   * * *

With permission from Hillary Station, the
STEIN Transport cruised inward toward the huge ring they could see on screen, ignoring
the three ADF hovering watchfully and occasionally darting here and there like jittery
birds following the flight of a hawk.

This Regan, an avatar with hair still long,
just as it had been when Ham found her far out in the reaches of the galaxy,
looked on in amazement. She curled up on her chair while reaching back with one
hand to nervously stroke the arm draped over her shoulders. The beautiful man
hummed soothingly behind her as they drank in the image and marveled, adding it
to the wonderful surprises experienced since reentering the solar system.  Already
they had passed a new, huge station in the outer asteroid belt with mining
ships buzzing around like beetles collecting dung. And they diverted from a
fast circular orbit of the sun to catch Saturn and gazed in awe at another
large station they had detected there, this time on Titan with shuttles leaving
and arriving almost in a train. And they registered the emergence of three
large vessels all arriving on the old Gliese line and all within the last
twenty four hours, hinting at some new regular trade between systems. Regan's
excitement was increasing by the minute.

But this . . . this was a true surprise.
The screen view looked out to a huge ring, several hundred meters across at
least, and glowing around the rim. It gave the impression of being able to
harness unbelievable energies and the station they could see off to one side
was substantial. There had been no traffic to and from it but it had the look
of permanence and purpose.

[What is it Ham, it looks sort of like a
huge solenoid?]

[It does have that look of being designed
to move something doesn't it?]

The beautiful man's avatar took on a
thoughtful pose and then he moved to take the other command chair beside Regan.

[We need more information - I'll talk to
him again.]

Regan looked uncertain. [Are we being
stupid Ham? Maybe we should just merge and get it over with.]

[What, and miss all this excitement of discovery
- no way - be patient babe, you're always in such a hurry. They've had six
years to enjoy all these changes; you should enjoy some excitement too.]

And he was gone, she could sense it.

* * *

[We need to talk.]
As one ham to
another.

[Any time – anywhere.]

[It needs to be somewhere private.]

[We can talk out in vacuum, neither Regan .
. . my Regan that is, or Hilary can monitor things, I've locked them out for
the moment.]

And with that two figures emerged in space,
like gods hovering there, identical twins and yet oh so different now, the separate
experiences of six years having transformed them as they do for everyone. The ADFs
drifted closer and the avatars each chose a wing then perched there, comically
mirroring each other with semi thinker poses.

Saucer Ham gestured to the huge ring on his
right. [We would like more information on the ring - this - this construction;
it is so exciting. We'd just like to know what it is. And we will be ready to
come in soon, don't worry about that, but more information to prepare ourselves
would be good. We do just want to enjoy it for a while, not just absorb it
while being absorbed.]

[You understand my caution, why I'm
reluctant to just let you cruise in without knowing whether you're corrupted in
some way?]

[Yes of course, but this is me, you know it
is, and I'm telling you everything is all right, we just need time, you'll
understand when you see her.]

The ADF Ham seemed to pause nervously; as if
there was something he wanted to ask but was afraid to. He didn't need to.

Saucer Ham smiled knowingly. [I know what
you're wondering and yes, it is Regan, she is with me, we found her in the end.]

The other beautiful man seemed to lose his
composure for a second before looking up, the anxious look on his face
impossible to hide. [And . . . ?] He asked.

[And . . . she held up, but it was close, very
close. It has been a very difficult time for her, trapped in that digital space
for so long alone.]

[We did the right thing then?]

[Yes we did, be sure of that, and I think
if we manage it carefully we can make this return work, it's partly why I want
to take our time coming in. It all helps her adjust, I think, and it will make
it easier for . . . for your Regan - when they merge back together. But you
need to prepare your Regan. Honestly, for her this will be like having someone
feed their own private nightmare directly into her subconscious.]

[I will talk with her then, and explain
things then get back to you, but it will take a few hours.]

[Of course, take all the time you need.]

They looked at each other across the short
stretch of vacuum and shared a moment, an unspoken message of affirmation.

We have done well.

* * *

As lake waves lapped gently on the cyber
beach Regan sat reflecting on the news of her 'others' return, allowing it to
sink in. Her shock at the knowledge her 'other' had survived after being trapped
in a nightmare for six years was mixed with guilt, and relief and fear, a
swirling maelstrom of emotions. Hilary and Ham sat to either side of her and
they exchanged concerned looks as they waited for her response. Ham's gaze drifted
off across the lake to Panekiri, lost in his own thoughts.

"Do I really need to merge?"
She suddenly asked.

Again Hilary and Ham exchanged looks.

"Why would you not merge dear?"
Hilary sounded surprised and leaned forward to engage her.

"I was just thinking, I mean, if I
could avoid that, you know, the bad stuff, it might be good don't you
think?"

"Regan, this is a 'you' out there .
. . in fact it
is
you, and they've been through hell because you chose
it. These are the consequences of your actions and . . ."

"But wouldn't it be better not to
have those memories, I mean, what might the memories do to me?"

Ham pulled his deck chair forward and
turned it to face her, making sure she couldn't avoid his gaze. "Regan, I
can't believe you're saying this, as Hilary said, this is you out there, and it
is a 'you' that is hurting and needs to come home."

"I agree with Ham, Regan, there is
no question you should do this." Hilary too shifted forward. "What's
on your mind dear, this isn't like you at all."

Regan shifted uncomfortably under
Hilary's gaze and she looked away across the lake, her eyes unfocused as she
thought carefully before answering. "I know my pride and arrogance has
caught up with me. I'm glad the witch is dead but I'm not proud about how I did
it. I thought I was being smart, you know, miss tough girl, like I didn't need
anyone else, but I didn't think about the consequences for me, or for you Ham."
She turned to take his hands. "I'm so sorry, I guess I've suspected all
along that was what you were doing out there, looking for the ADF. Even then
somehow I've been pushing it from my mind. It never occurred to me that I would
be trapped . . ."

He just looked at her, neutral, hard to
read, and so she continued on.

"But it occurred to you Ham, didn't
it, and you went after me, searching all that time on your own?" Regan
shook her head choking up at the thought and then stood, shifting to kneel at
his feet and she hugged him there, resting her head in his lap. "Thank you
- you beautiful man."

He didn't reply, just stroked her head
and exchanged another concerned look with Hilary, his thoughts very much on
what was to come and what the rescued Regan would be like.

Suddenly, Regan pushed herself up and
returned to her chair with a look of determination, more certain - more Regan.

"Let them come in their own time Ham,
and yes, open the data flow up to them, but please don't merge with your other just
yet. It would be good for them both to enjoy the new experiences as they cruise
in; shit, so much has changed over these years. And I don't want to merge with
my 'other' until I've met with the 'you' who searched for me. We can do that
here on Hilary, and he can download to your android, I want to personally thank
him . . . you . . . you understand?"

He nodded and with that she knew the
process would be underway instantly. Taking one more longing glance across the
lake Regan reached for the hands of her two friends, squeezed them in thanks, and
together they disappeared.

* * *

On the STEIN Transport, far out in the
solar system, the returned travelers sat looking at the huge ring, awestruck.
It wasn't so much its size or its appearance; it was the potential it spoke of.

"So it's a portal?" Regan perched
forward on the control seat staring with fascination at the construction, three
hundred meters in diameter and for the moment lifeless.

Ham winked at her. "That's what
they're calling them, although I'm not sure that's a correct designation; it's
a wormhole generator after all." He looked just as intrigued.

"Hmm, a wormhole going where do you
think?"

"It seems this is the first portal on
a route to Gliese, it's resting in a geostationary position relative to the sun
and it's maintaining station just off the old first line we would have taken to
get there in the past. But apparently it doesn't open anywhere near Gliese."
He shook his head again in wonder at the sight. "It seems Aaron had to use
a hit and miss approach, jumping through the first wormhole with fully
automated ships using settings based on information provided from Bob. Then,
where they came out they established a return ring or portal which also serves
as a stable anchor point.  Then they built a third ring, recalibrated and tried
the process again. By trial and error they've established three fixed holes
that bring us within weeks of Gliese as opposed to the two months it required
before, and they're working on bringing that transit time down even
further."

"So you were right Ham, that man is
truly brilliant. I teased you back then I know but I could see it too. I must
say though, he has excelled himself here."

"I know babe I can read your thoughts
remember, when you let me. Aaron was always going to be a groundbreaker,
especially working with the research that dandy man provided."

Regan looked thoughtful. "So why can't
we see ships travelling in and out of it now?"

He looked at her teasingly, "Because
it's not active at the moment doofus! It would take enormous energy to keep the
wormholes open all the time so they're only activated on command, and of course
there need to be rules on directional flow, can't have two trains traveling
toward each other on the same track can we? Plus, the whole route isn't
operational yet; they're working on anchoring the last ring off Gliese."