Space Chronicles: The Last Human War (15 page)

The instant Dr. Boroski gave his command, all restraints and attachments on Simon retracted in a single, swift motion. He lurched out of the chair and ran right through the hologram scientist until stopped by the farthest wall in the room.

“Simon, I’m so sorry. We didn’t mean to frighten you. This is the pilot’s chair. It’s the central interface of our ship. It was only attempting to integrate with you. It will not harm you, I promise. Please
, will you try again? It’s very important.”

“What were those things on my head?” Simon wanted to trust the old man, but his heartbeat had not
even slowed yet.

“
We’re running out of time, son. This ship is our legacy to humanity, but it will not operate without a human interface, a special human interface. You are the only human we have scanned in two hundred years who has the special genetic markers needed to run this ship.”

“I don’t know anything about spaceships
. Can’t you find somebody else?” Simon became agitated and refused to cooperate.

“Please calm down. We will not harm you in any way, but we do need your help
. . . and we need it now. We cannot wait any longer.” Dr. Boroski thought for a moment. “Maybe this will change your mind.”

A large monitor dropped down next to
him and pivoted to face Simon. It showed a spaceship firing an energy beam at a planet. The hologram narrated with great emphasis.

“That is a Heptari battle cruiser attacking th
is planet of Tanarac, as we speak. Tanaracs denied the Heptari government permission to scan for humans. Tanarac soldiers are risking their lives, right now, to defend our humans.”

“Why
is Heptari doing this?”

Simon’s fear vanished, replaced by concern. He stepped closer to the monitor and watched the live battle scene.

“They are here to finish wiping out humans.” The hologram told the blunt truth.

“Why don’t they just leave us alone? What’s going to happen?”

The immensity of the situation was difficult for the newest free human to comprehend.

“I don’t know th
ose answers,” Dr. Boroski said. “Tanarac is strong. They may successfully repel the Heptaris, or, they might not. In recent years, the Heptari Empire aggressively expanded their empire. We must consider the possibility they have grown strong enough to defeat Tanarac. If so, the Heptari government may use this small skirmish to justify broader military action. Only one fact is certain. If Heptari wins, it will surely mean the end of our people. This ship is the best hope for the survival of our race.”

The scientist
moved closer to stand beside Simon. They watched together in silence as the big Heptari battle cruiser stopped firing on the planet and began accelerating into space. Suddenly, another large, deep-space warship entered the view from the side. It was completely engulfed in flames and carried tremendous speed. In seconds, the two ships collided.

Simon stepped back, stunned by the devastation.

“Did that really happen?” he asked the hologram.

He had
enjoyed space video games as a child and knew programmers could create realistic electronic simulations, but this didn’t seem real.

“Yes.
Thousands of soldiers just died on those ships.”

In a quiet voice, Simon softened his stan
ce on the issue of the command chair.

“Are you sure there’s nobody else who can do this?”

“You have a genetic anomaly, one we’ve never encountered before. Something in your DNA provides you telepathic abilities necessary to operate this ship. You are obviously unaware of your special gift. If you doubt me, then explain how you turned that holographic image of Mount Vaal into a solid mass. This power of yours made it possible. Without your gift, this ship will not fly and our race will have little hope for survival.”

Dr. Boroski walked over to the command chair and held a hand out as an invitation for Simon to take a seat.

“I know you are feeling pressured,” he said, “but I will be at your side. I’ll guide you every step of the way. Won’t you please give us another chance?”

Simon returned to the pilot chair without uttering another word. He braced as the clamps locked onto his arms and legs. His head pulled back involuntarily, repulsed by the electrodes when they attached to his forehead.

“What’s gonna happen now, Doc?”

“The ship is going to test you for connectivity. Did you ever suspect how different you are from other humans?”

“No. I don’t feel different.”

“Have you ever noticed that you can read other people’s thoughts?”

“You’ve got the wrong person. I can’t read minds. You’re confusing me with Kelly. She’s always been able to read my thoughts. She’s the one who’s different.”

“Actually, you both are. Kelly is called a receptor telepath, and by the way, she is a very strong RT, but it is you who are actually projecting your thoughts into
her mind.”

“How do you know that?”

Simon wondered how they knew so much about him and Kelly in such a short time.

“When anyone new approaches our ship
, we test for telepathic ability. We noticed Kelly’s receptor strength immediately, but your psychic root strength is off the charts. That’s why you are here now.”

“If I have this ability, why haven’t ever I ever noticed it before?”

The old scientist smiled. “If a gifted musician had never been allowed to hold a violin, how would he know of his gift? Ah, there you go. The connection is complete. Now, close your eyes and let the ship see for you.”

He
was not sure what Dr. Boroski meant but he tried anyway. At first, there was an odd sensation of spinning, but it passed quickly. A field of grass appeared in his mind with a small human girl running playfully across it. She wore some kind of long, flower-print garb that danced lightly on the breeze as she ran. A small, four-legged creature bounded after her, nipping at her heels. The girl tripped, landing in a bed of wild flowers, and her black companion pounced on her face, licking incessantly.

“Tell me what you are seeing,”
the doctor asked.

Simon described the scene. The hologram did not respond when
the description was obviously done. An awkward moment of silence followed before Dr. Boroski spoke, but this time, his voice wasn’t heard—it echoed inside Simon’s mind.

“This is my daughter, Erin. You are seeing images of her from my memory files. She was my youngest child. I lost her when Heptari
warships incinerated her settlement in the Olafu system. I miss her terribly.”

“I’m sorry. She’s very pretty.”

“Thank you. She was a very sweet child . . .” Dr. Boroski’s voice trailed off. Simon could hear the anguish in the scientist’s voice and feel his suffering.

“Se
e if you can access engineering,” the hologram said.

“How do I do that?”

“I’m not sure. Roger was our pilot and engineering genius. He designed the controls of this ship to respond to his telepathic instructions. Only a human with suitable telepathic ability can interface with this system. Roger said it was a security precaution in case our technology fell into enemy hands. Without telepathy, and human DNA, it would be useless. Unfortunately, Roger died unexpectedly, and we have been looking for a suitable telepath ever since. Start by seeing if you can locate the engineering controls.”

Simon felt an odd connection with this ship. He thought about the large electrically charged globe he had seen on his way
up here. It appeared in his mind instantly, but it was not a memory. It was a real-time image of the globe itself, and it seemed to be waiting for him. Cutter blades on his stripper boom ran by hand control. He would ease forward on the left lever, listening to the blade-whine as it got higher in pitch.

Keeping
the globe in his mind, he did not have a lever to push, so he simply willed it to increase in pitch. It responded.

F
ormation of energy rings doubled instantly, and thickness of each new ring grew tenfold. He sensed immense power at his command. With the simplest thought, he dramatically increased energy output from that globe.

“Hold on
, Simon. Back down. Back it down, before you tear us apart!”

Dr. Boroski’s voice broke through
the young man’s focus. When he opened his eyes, the control cabin was shaking violently. Gauges on terminals above his head fluctuated wildly, and, across the room, a loud alarm buzzed. He closed his eyes and willed the large ball of energy to return to its resting state. The vibration stopped immediately and gauges returned to normal.

“What happened?” Simon hoped he did not damage anything.

“Amazing. Very good!” Dr. Boroski could barely contain his enthusiasm. “Young man, you just interfaced with the main power generator in engineering. Let’s try some other systems. We’ll start with basic tasks. See if you can change the temperature in this cabin.”

Simon lost
track of time as he explored functions at his disposal. He turned monitors on, opened doors between cabins. He even accessed the ship’s massive library. While there, he found himself panning across at an image of the most beautiful planet he had ever seen. It was Earth. Large blue seas, snow-covered mountain ranges, brown deserts and deep green jungles passed under his view as he directed the image to rotate.

“It’s time to take a break,” Dr. Boroski interr
upted the fascination with Earth. “See if you can disengage from the command console by yourself.”

The command chair that previously
was a frightening restraint yielded to his simple thought command. As he sat up on the edge of the chair, the room spun, causing Simon to lean to one side. He grabbed a nearby monitor for support.

“Roger used to complain about vertigo, too. After lying in one position for a long time, it takes a few minutes to regain your balance. Roger said it helped to adjust the seat a couple times every hour.
You did outstanding for your first time.”

“That was unbelievable
!” Simon shook his hands to improve circulation. “I form thoughts in my mind, and the ship responds. It’s reading my mind. Did I pass your test?”

“Oh yes, young man. I think you came along at just the right time.” There was a more serious tone in
the holo-scientist’s voice than Simon expected.

“In time for what, Doc?”

“Your destiny, son. No . . . humanity’s destiny.”

Simon picked up on the implications.

“I can’t fly this ship. I just learned a few tricks. I’m no pilot. Why can’t you do it?”

“You are the only human we’ve found with sufficient telepathic
strength to complete the system. I am only a photonic image. I can set the autopilot for you and plot a course, but I cannot complete the circuitry. Only you can make this ship spaceworthy again.”

“But, I don’t know where to go. I don’t know what to do. I’m not a leader. How can I take that responsibility?”

Simon had more doubts than he could put into words.

“My colleagues and I will be your guides every step of the way. You will learn as we go. We will teach you navigation charts and how to fold space to make the jump between galactic continuums. All we ask from you is willingness to learn.”

“Look, I want to help, but what if I make a mistake?”

“We believe in you, and we will be here to assist, but you must learn to trust us. All of humanity needs you.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing.” Simon felt trapped.

“Everything will be okay.
Now, we have a great deal more work to do before others return for you. Please take your seat at the console. By the way, are you hungry?”

“Yeah, now that you mention it, I’m real hungry. Where do you keep food around here?”

“Use your command link. Select anything in the culinary library. Our compilers will fabricate it.”

Simon re-integrated with the command chair long enough to select his dinner. He ordered far more than he could eat. Everything looked so good. A tray extended out from the side of the control chair
, and his food materialized. He eagerly tasted his first food aboard a spaceship.

“I’m not a bad cook,” he joked.

Dr. Boroski did not waste this time, continuing the young man’s education, even as he ate.

“The first gift we gave to Johan Frumm
was the Twelve Books for Human Development. We also gave him a ring. Are you paying attention? This is very important.”

Simon looked up from his much-needed food and nodded.

“The first book described the history of humanity. Humans evolved through nearly ten thousand years of planetary conflict before they entered the galactic community. Unfortunately, our leaders came to view non-human races with distrust and contempt.”

As Dr. Boroski continued t
o lecture, Simon thought back to his classroom days in the Tanarac Youth Center. The monotonous lecture of this hologram, coupled with a full stomach, made him sleepy. He remembered having the same problem when his Tanarac teachers spoke through their translators. He lost track of time as his mentor tutored him relentlessly. Session after session ran until he fell asleep.