Space Chronicles: The Last Human War (14 page)

Dr. Boroski took a seat on the edge of Simon’s bed.

“As I said earlier, ethics of Tanarac prevented them from participating in human genocide, but they held no love for humans. Quite the contrary, captives were prisoners of war. Chemicals controlled their beha
vior and prevented reproduction. Prisoners spent their days mining ore with crude hand tools. Times were clearly wrong for us to approach the Tanarac government.

“A daily routine developed as we monitored Tanarac communications and waited for the
right time when we could take our people away from here. While we waited, Tanaracs would occasionally report a human running away from a quarry into the jungle. It happened regularly, and they gave it a name, ‘Runner Madness.’ In the early years, Tanarac guards would pursue them, but all they ever found were remains. Even a few Taskers were killed by hicays while looking for runners. It did not take long before Tanaracs stopped entering the jungle.”

“But, how did you meet the free humans?”

Dr. Boroski leaned toward Simon.

“
We set a deadline of ten-years, so young POW women would still be in prime childbearing years when we secured their freedom. As we waited for an opportunity to open negotiations with the Tanaracs, a steady stream of runners entered the jungle.”

The hologram scientist stood and walked across the room.

“Before our deadline arrived, Tanarac scientists gave us an unintended gift. They lobbied their government for a more ethical way to deal with humans. They offered to re-engineer human DNA to remove our ‘innate tendencies toward aggression.’ Fortunately, idealism prevailed and they formed the Genetic Engineering Institute. Scientists took control of human reproduction. Our fast approaching deadline could then be extended indefinitely because young people were being produced in their laboratories.”

“What about the runners that were killed every year by hicays?
” Simon asked. “Wasn’t there anything you could do to save them? I can’t believe our people actually live with hicays now. How did we turn them into pets?”

“Make no mistake about it,
young man, hicays are not pets. They are equals, working with us for the mutual benefit of both species. It is a symbiotic union. But, let’s get back to our history. You are right about the death of runners. We despaired at the loss of each human. Deaths of these runners taught us an important lesson about our own race. Humans crave freedom. It is fundamental for our species to thrive. We came to believe it was only a matter of time until some runners survived, so we prepared for contact we expected would eventually happen.”

The hologram waited while
his student wiggled into a more comfortable position.

“Seventy
-three years passed,” Dr. Boroski continued, “while secret human mining camps grew in numbers. Tanarac scientists increased reproduction rates. Even though living and working conditions for our people improved, many older Tanaracs in government remained hostile to humans long after the Human War ended. Tanaracs live nearly three times longer than humans, so we accepted a hard reality. It might be the next generation of alien leaders who would be willing to consider releasing humans from captivity. We planned accordingly.”

Simon asked, “If the Tanaracs live longer than humans, then how would any of you be around to negotiate our release?”

The holo-scientist smiled and held his arms out as if to feature himself.

“Isn’t science great? While we waited, my colleagues and I grew old and began to die. I was the last survivor. I spent my final ten years programming this hologram for human contact. I am your interface
with all the knowledge contained in this ship.” Dr. Boroski broke into a wide grin as he gestured to a spaceship the former boom operator couldn’t imagine.

“I must admit,
” the holo-scientist continued, “I took the liberty of mapping my own personality matrix and installing it in this photonic program. Before I died, I found myself arguing with ME. Trust me, Simon, arguing with one’s self can be a bit unnerving. After my corporeal death, I simply continued the vigilance and waited for our first human contact.”

The intuitive young man
began to piece together subsequent events. “Was Johan Frumm was the first human to make contact with you?”

“Correct. We detected Johan Frumm in the cave outside this ship.”

Simon interrupted, “You said ‘we.’ I thought you were alone?”

“I was
, and I still am alone, as a hologram, but I am not alone as an active intellect on this ship. Our computer contains all the knowledge and distinct personalities of my friends. Even after all these years, we retain a rudimentary society, sometimes playing pranks on each other.”

In that instant, the head on
the hologram blurred and formed into that of an ancient Earth mule. The doctor continued his discussion, unaware of the change.

“I could not have retained my sanity had I been truly alone all these years
, so I use the term ‘we’ when referring to our collective intellect.”

Dr. Boroski noticed the wide grin on
his guest’s face.

“What?”

“Your head.” Simon described the appearance. “It’s some kind of animal.”

The mule head looked up into the surrounding air and spoke.

“Knock it off, you guys. I’m trying to educate our new friend.” Dr. Boroski’s head resumed its normal appearance. “There. Is that better?”

“Well
. . . close. You have an extra eye on your forehead.”

“I’ll be right back.”

The holo-image dissolved. Simon sat quietly looking around the barren room. A few moments later, the hologram reconstituted with no further distortions.

“Sorry
. They thought you might enjoy a sample of their humor at my expense. Now, where were we? Oh yes, you asked about Johan Frumm.”

The hologram
directed Simon to look at the wall across the room. Uniform light of the wall shifted into a lifelike scene showing an old man in a dark cave in the flickering light of a single wall torch. It was obvious the chamber was the one outside the spaceship.

“
Meet Johan Frumm,” the doctor said. “Over two hundred years ago, he came upon us.”

The image of the man looked remarkably like the volcanic statue in front of the Central Committee Meeting Hall.

“We took Johan aboard, just as we did you. At the time, there was no safe place in the galaxy for humans to live. Tanaracs were taking good care of our people, and an idealistic, young Tanarac geneticist named Rosh Hadje became Director of Human Affairs. He seemed quite sensible. We hoped a time would come when he might be the advocate humans would need.

“Johan agreed with our reasoning
, and together, we decided it would be best to wait for a better time to approach the Tanaracs. The existence of this ship had to remain secret, so Johan promised to be the only free human to know the true nature about us. Until today, that has been true.”

“Why now? Why me?
Couldn’t you tell Benjamin or one of the other free human leaders?”

“
You have something we need, and no other human in the free colony possesses what you have.”

“I’m just a boom operator on a stripper plow. How can I possibly help with a spaceship?”

“Come with me.”

A door materialized on the far side of the room
, and Simon’s bed retracted abruptly from under him, dumping him on the floor. The old hologram grinned at the result of his mischief. Then, he headed through the doorway while the young man scrambled to follow.

They stepped onto a balcony spiraling completely around the inside wall of a huge sphere. A
giant metal ball, suspended high above in the center of the open area. It gave off tiny bolts of electricity from countless short antennae. Static discharges produced a steady crackling noise, almost as loud as the whirling blades of his stripper boom. There was no safety rail on the balcony, so Simon kept his left hand touching the wall as he followed up the ramp.

Every few seconds, static electricity on the globe organized into a brilliant ring of plasma, surrounding the metal ball like a glowing
, silver belt. The energy field thickened until it dropped free and suspended in the air just below the ball. Concentrating into a churning ring of electricity, it floated downward to disappear far below. Moments later, three massive bolts of light blasted upward, impacting on collector dishes mounted on the ceiling near the sphere. Passage of such raw power made Simon’s hair stand on end.

Dr. Boroski led up several levels before turning left
, passing through a solid wall, and leaving the unnerved young man alone on the platform. A doorway materialized where the hologram had disappeared, and Simon scrambled through the opening.

“This is our engineering center
,” Dr. Boroski said in a room full of gauges and consoles. “It handles energy distribution and maintains human compatible atmosphere any place where it detects life in the ship.”

The old scientist guided Simon through several more control rooms, describing the functions of each as they passed. Finally, they stopped
at the entrance to a small room with no instruments or chairs. Pulsing lights formed a brilliant curtain of color energy in front of the opposing wall. Dr. Boroski instructed Simon to step into the shower of energy, but the young man did not move.

“It’s okay,
” he said. “That is just a light tunnel. It will transport you to our Master Control Room where I’ll join you. Holograms like me can’t use light lifts.”

Simon stepped cautiously into the bath of light
. His fingertips tingled as they did when he originally passed through the ship’s skin. Frequency of the flashing lights increased quickly, and an instant later, he stood at one end of some kind of domed, electronics room. Light bars around him vanished, as did the tingling in his fingertips. The doctor was waiting for him next to a lone reclining chair in the center of the room.

Dozens of lighted gauges spanned a lower console in front of the
chair and many more wrapped the base of the seat. Small monitors and gauges hung in strategic positions where a reclined person would have unobstructed views. Access to the seat was through a narrow space between the instruments, where a man could easily slide through.

“Welcome to Command Center,
” the doctor said. “Come over here. I want to show you something. Have a seat.”

Simon obediently slid
between monitors into the recliner. It was surprisingly comfortable.

“Good,
” the hologram said with obvious excitement. “Lay back and relax while the ship tests you for compatibility.”

“Compatibility with what?”

Clamp-like devices rotated from underneath the chair, encircling Simon’s arms and legs. Another device, similar to his boomer helmet, swung up over the headrest and locked down on his head. Veins in his neck bulged as he pulled against the restraints.

“D
octor, what’s happening? Let me go!”

“
Relax, Simon. We won’t harm you. You must trust us.”

Seven small round disks on thin stalks pivoted down from the headpiece, five attaching in a row on
young man’s forehead. The remaining two swung out to each side and affixed themselves to his temples. Slight pinches marked each disk’s contact with his skin.

Panic set in. Simon
thrashed violently, contorting his torso, trying to escape from the chair.

The hologram shouted,
“Emergency release code, Dega 3. Cancel test!”

The Council of Governors convened early that morning due to recent hostilities. First on schedule to speak was General Tragge. Everyone waited anxiously for his update on military actions, so he received immediate approval to address the assembly.

“My fellow Governors, it is with
a heavy heart that I speak to you this morning. Let me begin with my personal apology for underestimating our risk from the Heptari Empire. As you know, our planet endured a violent attack by a small Heptari battle group. We successfully defended our home world, but had a few brave pilots injured in the effort. Quite a few local space fighters were lost, but they are easily replaced. I stand before you to answer questions.”

A light illuminated on the query board behind the podium. The Assembly General rose and spoke into his microphone.

“The podium yields to the Governor from the Province of Rivodd.”

“General Tragge, what have you done to improve our defenses since yesterday?”

As usual, the general was prepared.

“Our first order of business was to consolidate and reposition our deep space battle fleet. Most of our Battle Groups are redeploying to Wallow Minor. A couple are already on station. The 9th Battle Group was nearest to Tanarac
, and they are now patrolling the periphery of our home system, providing security while planetary shields undergo repair.

“At this time, one fully operational shield defends Tanarac
, and the other two shields should regain full function within a day. We’ve also reorganized the planetary power distribution grid to better support our shields in future emergencies.”

Several more lights illuminated.

“General, I am Governor-elect for the Outer Syntic System. Are you telling us there is no protection at this time for outlying systems? This is an outrage!”

“For the time being,”
the general responded in a respectful tone, “we must consolidate our Battle Groups at Wallow Minor. Heptari technology created a new particle beam weapon that is much more powerful than anything intelligence reported. The only way our fleets can defend a planetary system is through strength in numbers. We plan to merge several Battle Groups, into new Super Groups. These Super Groups will patrol systems on a random basis so that the Heptaris never know which systems are vulnerable and which are strongly defended. We expect the new formations to be fully deployed in a few days. Obviously, the Outer Syntic System will receive equal protection.”

“And, just what are we supposed to do in the meantime?” The Syntic Governor became irate. “If Heptari
ships show up, local fighters will be useless against deep-space battle cruisers. I demand this council override the general’s orders, and restore at least a permanent Battle Group to the Syntic System.”

The general became angry
and struggled to maintain a civil tone.

“My esteemed colleague,”
he said, voice dripping with contempt, “if every system demands the same thing, then Heptari heavies can take our fleet apart, one battle group at a time. All systems will lose. Can you understand that?”

The Assembly General
muted continuing protests from the Syntic delegation and activated another query-light.

“
Why don’t we just give them the humans? Our citizens would forgive us for such an action under present circumstances.”

On a hand gesture from the general, Dr. Hadje joined him at the podium.
The general stepped aside, offering the podium to the head scientist.

“My fellow Governors, I do not claim to speak for anyone else in this deliberative body. I speak now only as a Tanarac citizen. Our civilization has thrived since ancient times without compromising our national conscience. Our value system, our Tanarac ethics, are not negotiable. If we ignore our founding principles, then we lose that which defines us uniquely as Tanarac. Compromise, to avoid risk, is a disgrace to our forefathers and cowardice. The only acceptable course of action is to defend our core values.”

The governor who posed the question responded with skepticism.

“Come on, Dr. Hadje. Your bias for humans is legendary. You speak eloquently about Tanarac values, but you’d let your own people die to save a few of those—”

General Tragge bulled past Dr. Hadje to the podium, momentarily knocking the scientist off balance.

“That’s uncalled for!
No member of this Council loves Tanarac more than Dr. Hadje. You all know my history. The doctor and I have knocked heads for over a hundred years about these damned humans. At no time,” the general repeated, “at NO time, have I ever questioned his loyalty to Tanarac. I stand behind Rosh Hadje one hundred percent right now. Next question.”

After the general dressed down the questioner, remaining lights on the query board began flickering out, until only a single light remained. It was from Dr. Hadje’s own Council seat as Minister of Human Affairs. When acknowledged by the Assembly General, Jix rose and began speaking in an uncertain voice.

“Umm, I am Doctor Jix Lillip. I have been sworn to, umm, represent the Department of Human Affairs today.”

The young scientist
enjoyed working long nights on computers with nobody else around, but here, in a public forum, he was completely out of his element. Speaking in front of a hundred governors and their staff was the most daunting experience of his life. Despite initially stumbling through his words, he managed to deliver the required information.

“We . . . uh . . . I am transmitting a report to your desks as I speak. There has been a new development in the management of humans. Please direct your attention to channel three.”

Initially, a hush passed over the Council chambers as politicians digested the report. Faster readers reacted first, often motioning for subordinates to join them in reviewing the astonishing report. A few lights lit up on the Assembly question board, and in a short while, the entire panel lit up as virtually all the politicians demanded to ask questions. The Assembly General announced the first speaker and activated the Council wide public address system.

“General Tragge, I see you co-signed this report along with Dr. Hadje. Is it true that you support this proposal?”

The general looked over his shoulder at all the lights on the query board.

“I see
there are many questions.” He laughed and shook his head before responding. “Not surprising. I was stunned, too, when I found out about the free humans. I will cover many of your questions, at one time.”

Dr. Hadje could only trust the general now. The future of the free humans would ride on the influence General Tragge could exert. A hush fell over the entire chamber as the general spoke.

“Members of the Council, all of you know my long disdain for our human experiment. I made no secret of my desire to end this episode of our history. Even now, I remain steadfast in my commitment to a Tanarac free from humans, but, when we choose a path to achieve this end, it must be consistent with promises of our forefathers.”

He
glanced at the nearby scientist.

“Three days ago, Dr. Hadje went into the Central Jungle seeking the remains of two recent runners.”

A gasp rose across the chamber. Several members looked directly at Dr. Hadje and shook their heads in disapproval.

“He did not find them. Instead, he found something of far greater importance. My fellow councilors,
an entire colony of free humans lives inside our Central Jungle. Details are in the report you received. For over two hundred years, these humans lived in complete peace. Our own scientists failed to cure humans of violent tendencies, yet these free humans accomplished that goal without help, and they have done so for many generations. I have actually met one of their leaders. I now believe humans can live peacefully in the galaxy. The noble experiment begun by our forefathers is complete. So, what should we do now?”

General Tragge panned across the assembly as if he was waiting for someone to answer his question. When there was no response, he offered his own.

“Three hundred years ago, our leaders established three goals for human behavior in the original Human Act. If achieved, the humans would receive citizenship protection under Tanarac law, and they would be set free. My friends, the goals of our fathers have been met. By law, these humans have earned the full protection of Tanarac citizenship.”

A low din filled the hall.
The general sipped from his water glass. The speaker request board remained lit by those demanding to ask questions, but the general ignored them.

“My colleagues, our forefathers made a promise, a pledge to return humans to the galaxy, if we succeeded in their rehabilitation. They went so far as to pass their plan into law. Do we honor our parents?
Or, should we break their law, and follow my recent plan to let them die off? Perhaps, we should surrender them to the Heptaris. Would we share guilt for their murder? What, my friends, what shall we do?”

The general
had made their choices simple. One by one, lights on the speaking request board clicked off, until a single politician persisted. He was granted the open assembly microphone.

“General Tragge, this is intolerable
. Humans must be removed immediately from our sacred land. This is not negotiable.”

A roar of agreement met the demand.

“I share your view, Councilor Mon-agee. To that end, I met with the free human leader to discuss such a plan. Humans agreed to return to our existing quarries, for the time being. But, they will be in charge of their own quarry management, with assistance from Taskers. That agreement will remove them from our Central Jungle immediately. After the present Heptari crisis is resolved, we can relocate them to one of our unpopulated planets in the outer rim. But, I completely agree that the first step is to remove them from our sacred Central Jungle.”

“How do we know the humans will honor their word? Consider their past.”

The general secretly shared that suspicion but tempered the discussion with a dose of the present reality.

“Councilor, we have a great dea
l more to fear from the Heptari Empire than we do from a small band of unarmed humans. We agree that they cannot stay in our Central Jungle and they agreed to do so, voluntarily. After that has been accomplished, we are honor bound to keep the promises of our fathers. Dr. Hadje, how long will it take to get the humans out of our sacred land?”

General Tragge looked to the scientist who stepped up to the microphone.

“We have already begun consolidating captive humans in several compounds to create two empty quarries for the free humans. Humans in the Central Jungle are preparing, as we speak, to rendezvous at agreed locations. I am confident we can completely clear our sacred ground of humans within a week.”

Some members nodded their approval.
The general knew instinctively that this might be the best time to call for the first vote to approve this voluntary plan. His proposal was seconded immediately and heated debate followed. Hard liners fought against voluntary return of free humans, arguing for a military sweep to force humans back into captivity. They asserted that the Council of Governors needed time to study the situation, and formally approve any bestowing of citizenship. Until then, no humans had any rights.

Moderate council members appeared willing to accept the general’s approach, but in the end, the final vote was close. Despite General Tragge’s eloquent defense of his proposal, the measure fell two votes short of the sixty-five required to pass.

Immediately after the final vote, the hardline Governor called for a simple measure. He demanded the immediate removal of free humans from the sacred lands, by force. They would be rounded up and returned to captivity until the legislative body could determine their fate. The measure passed.

General Tragge walked out of the great hall with Dr. Hadje.

“I’m sorry, Rosh. You know I have no choice but to enforce the law. I’ll give you three days to bring the humans into the camps, unconditionally. It would be best for future negotiations, if they show respect for our government’s decision and cooperate, but, if I don’t have a thousand humans in those camps in three days, I will authorize my troops to begin the sweep.”