Starfall: A Starstruck Novel (38 page)

“Elementary astrophysics was a long time ago,” he mumbled.
 

“It occurred late in Sovereign Aerleas’ reign, Earth year 1859,” Kyna explained. “The Carrington Event was a series of solar flares of such magnitude that the rudimentary distance communications of the time were disabled. Some telegraph operators received severe shocks. Nuath, fortunately, was far enough beneath the surface of Mars to escape the worst effects. And, luckily for Earth, they were not yet reliant on electronics, satellites or electrical power grids. Now, however…”

“It would be devastating,” Mr. Stuart finished for her. Then, to me, “And you say this will be even worse?”

I nodded. “The Grentl plan to wipe out all our technology—everything we’ve developed since they transplanted that Irish village to Mars for their experiments nearly three thousand years ago.”

“But…why?” Mrs. O’Gara, her face still pale, clung to her husband’s hand for support.

Though I wasn’t sure I understood it all myself yet, I did my best to explain. “Apparently, ever since Faxon used the device last year, the Grentl have been concerned that their, ah, experiment—that’s how they think of the colony, Nuath—had become unstable and potentially dangerous. They really were planning to destroy Nuath, but when I sent my report and they saw how soon the power there was going to run out, they decided that wasn’t necessary. Not only was Faxon gone, but Nuath wouldn’t last much longer anyway. To them, fifty years is like nothing.”

Rapt faces nodded and Kyna motioned me to go on.

“Anyway, between what they got from Faxon and then me, the Grentl found out there’ve been regular comings and goings between Earth and Mars for the past few centuries and that worried them enough to take a good look at Earth for the first time since kidnapping the original colonists. And they, um, didn’t like what they saw. They’ve decided humans are a violent, greedy and power-hungry species that will eventually become a threat to the whole Galaxy if we’re not stopped. Since they feel partly responsible—I guess because Nuathans helped to spark the Renaissance and all—they seem to think it’s their duty to stop us. This is how they plan to do it.”

Mr. Stuart nodded slowly. “Ingenious. And probably effective. An evenly dispersed EMP of sufficient magnitude would render virtually all modern technology useless, destroying electrical transformers, communication satellites and most electronics. It would take months or even years to get the electrical grids up and running again. We’d have nothing to use as a jump-start, so to speak. By then, chaos and anarchy would likely spread across the globe, finishing what the Grentl began. Economic systems would collapse and communication would be all but impossible. We might indeed revert to the savages of the Stone Age.”

“But…the people!” Nara gasped. “Think. Such a catastrophe would kill millions, perhaps billions. If not immediately, then within a month or two.”

“I’ve read predictions that another solar storm similar to the Carrington Event could result in the eventual deaths of up to a fifth of the Earth’s population.” Dr. Stuart sounded as though she were holding back tears. “This sounds even worse.”
 

“There must be a way to stop them!” Malcolm sounded panicky. “Excellency, can’t you…talk them out of it? Like you did on Nuath?”

I bit my lip to keep it from trembling. “I can try, but I doubt it. Even on Nuath, I didn’t really talk them out of anything. First I just…answered their call, which got them to stop the power outages. Then sending them that report on the colony’s status showed them Nuath would eventually fall apart on its own, without their help.”
 

Looking around at all the frightened faces, I shrugged helplessly. “Maybe if I could persuade them we—humans—aren’t really a threat they’d back off. But honestly? All the stuff they’ve learned about us is pretty much true. Given enough time, we really might become a scourge on the Galaxy.”

“That may be true of the
Duchas
,” Connor exclaimed indignantly. “But certainly not of
Echtrans.
If they no longer mean any harm to Nuath, maybe they’ll let us all go back there before they…” He trailed off at the scandalized expressions of some of the others.

“Connor, I’m surprised at you,” Kyna said severely. “Even if it were possible, do you really believe our best course would be to leave billions of
Duchas
at the mercy of the Grentl while we save ourselves? Is this an example of how comparatively ‘enlightened’
Echtrans
are? No, we need another solution. We must either convince the Grentl that humans are not a threat—which I agree is likely to be impossible, given Earth’s history—or develop a defense against what they intend. Quickly. Thanks to the Sovereign, we at least have the advantage of four days’ warning. We must use those days to good effect.”

“But won’t the Grentl realize that?” Breann asked fearfully. “Suppose they change their plans because the Sovereign has learned of them?”

“I really don’t think they will,” I said. “They don’t consider humans—even
Echtrans
—to be any kind of threat, not yet. It’s what we might become in a century or two that they’re worried about. Their technology is way, way beyond ours, and they seem to have planned everything down to the smallest detail.”

“And you know
all
of those details?” Malcolm sounded skeptical but also hopeful.
 

My fear, which had spiked again at hearing the potential death toll, receded a tiny bit. “Things are still sort of unraveling in my brain, but yes, I think I do—or I will. I’m pretty sure I got all their specs, everything, even if I don’t understand most of them. I can give it all to our Scientists. Maybe it will help.”

“Which Scientists?” Mr. O was paler than normal, too. “For nearly three centuries, the secret of the Grentl has been kept from all but a select few. Now, however—”

Kyna nodded. “A good point. Once those satellites disperse, every
Echtran
with an enhanced telescope as well as some
Duchas
astronomers will likely notice them. Some sort of explanation will have to be given, one that will not induce global panic. That would be devastating in itself, even if we can somehow prevent what the Grentl plan.”

“I’ve thought all along that keeping the Grentl secret—from Martians, at least—was a bad idea,” I reminded them. “It’s led to an awful lot of trouble for me, anyway. If you want to prepare some kind of statement to send out to
Echtrans
and Nuathans, I’m willing to deliver it.”

Dr. Stuart suddenly stood. “It’s nearly eight-thirty. While we continue to discuss our options, I recommend we all eat something. Molly, will you help me warm up those pizzas?”

A few minutes later Molly and Dr. Stuart returned with half a dozen pizzas, a pitcher of lemonade and a pot of coffee for those physically present, while the others winked out briefly to grab something to eat for themselves before we continued our discussion. The pizza was good, but no one except Rigel and Sean seemed to have much appetite. I sure didn’t. Not when the world might end before the weekend.

“What I want to know—” Malcolm waved an uneaten slice of pizza in the air— “is what we’re going to tell the
Duchas
world leaders. Once their scientists notice those satellites, they’ll assume they were launched by some other nation. That could begin yet another war, if we don’t tell them
something.
”
 

Breann set down her coffee cup. “Do you think we’ll be able to stop them from doing something foolish even if we do explain everything? If they actually
know
the Grentl’s intentions are hostile, what’s to stop military leaders from firing missiles or even nuclear weapons at the satellites?”

“But isn’t that exactly what they
should
do?” Connor looked anxiously around at the rest of us. “If the
Duchas
military powers all join forces, maybe they can shoot down the satellites before they release the EMP.”

“We simply don’t know enough yet,” Kyna told him. “Nor am I hopeful that even news such as this will convince nations worldwide to join forces. Certainly not in time to do any good. I agree, however, that most of the top world leaders should be apprised of the situation. It’s as well we’ve already established relations with them. Again, with your help, Excellency.”

One of the things I’d done during my first month back on Earth was speak with a handful of heads of state or foreign ministers from the more developed countries, including the U.S. Secretary of State. It had been beyond weird, all those important men and women treating me like a dignitary from some foreign kingdom.
 

At least they weren’t learning about Martians for the very first time. Several decades ago, Shim had persuaded the
Echtran
Council to approach certain
Duchas
leaders to cautiously educate them about the existence of Nuath and
Echtrans,
since even then he’d foreseen the need for large-scale emigration. Since then, the knowledge had been kept on a strict need-to-know basis, with incoming leaders only briefed after they took office. Shim’s foresight would save us time now. I hoped.

“Meanwhile, we should get as many
Echtran
and Nuathan Scientists as possible working on the problem,” Mr. Stuart said. “Surely it would be useful to have a few options on hand before we spring the situation on any
Duchas
leaders?”
 

“Assuming any can be found.” Kyna didn’t sound hopeful. “But yes, I’d like the Council’s agreement to lay the matter before as many qualified Martian Scientists as possible, in hopes that collectively they might be able to produce those options.”
 

I could tell none of the Royals liked the idea, but they were too frightened by the alternative to argue against it. Finally, Breann said, “I suppose we must trust Kyna, Shim and Van to identify the most appropriate Scientists for the task.”

Mr. Stuart nodded. “I’ll message my father tonight.”

“I’ll start immediately, as well,” Kyna said. “Excellency, expect to hear from me within the next day or so to arrange for you to share everything you’ve learned with the Scientists we select.”

“Um, sure. Like I said, I’ll help any way I can.” Rigel squeezed my hand, giving me a much-needed boost of confidence.
 

Mrs. O’Gara cleared her throat. I thought it was because Rigel and I were still holding hands until she said, “It’s past nine o’clock. Unless we intend to inform the Sovereign’s
Duchas
guardians of the situation tonight, we should get her home. Surely anything else she must do can wait until tomorrow?”

“Certainly.” Kyna again looked around at those assembled. “We’ll adjourn for now, but everyone should feel free to contact me with any ideas or suggestions you might have on how we should proceed. Excellency, your very good health.” Fist over heart, her image bowed to me, then disappeared.
 

Nara and Connor did likewise, and then Mrs. O’Gara was ushering me toward the front door. “We haven’t much time if we want to avoid questions from your aunt, dear.”
 

“Okay. Just a sec.” Still clinging to Rigel’s hand, I stood up and gave him a kiss—a quick one, since everyone was watching.
I’ll let you know anything else I figure out or hear,
I promised him.

Deal. And ditto. We’ll beat this, M. Together we can handle anything, remember?

I could tell he was every bit as scared as I was, despite his bracing words, but I smiled.
You’re right. We proved it again tonight and we’ll keep proving it.

Reluctantly, we loosed hands and I accompanied the O’Garas out to their van. Meanwhile, details I’d obtained from the Grentl continued to surface into conscious knowledge I’d be able to share with the Scientists. I just hoped it would be enough.

*
   
*
   
*

No further word came before I left for school the next morning, so I did something I’d been cautioned not to—I stuck my omni in my jeans pocket so I could check it occasionally during the day. Surely, the stakes justified the minuscule risk of having it discovered? It’s not like any
Duchas
would know what it was, anyway.

On the bus I noticed a few curious looks aimed my way, but it wasn’t until Bri and Deb got on at their stop that I found out why.
 

“Is it true?” Bri asked in an excited whisper, plunking into the seat behind me and Molly. “Did you really ride home with Sean yesterday? Did you and Rigel have a fight?”

Deb’s eyes were also wide and worried. Really?
 

I laughed. “No, of course not! I missed my bus, that’s all. I saw Pete Griffin and Sean getting ready to leave, so I asked if they could give me a ride.”
 

Deb looked relieved, but Bri said, “Okay, but I
also
heard Rigel got a ride with Amber after practice…”

“To my house,” Molly said matter-of-factly. “He and M hung out with Sean and me for a while, then they both went home. Why is this a big deal?” Though Molly was every bit as keyed up as I was over the whole Grentl thing, she was doing an awesome job of hiding it.

Bri shrugged, seeming almost disappointed. “Guess it’s not.”

I almost made a crack about her needing to look somewhere else for the juicy gossip she craved but I didn’t need Bri mad at me on top of everything else.

The kiss Rigel gave me out in front of the school a few minutes later went a long way to silence any remaining rumors about us fighting. High school, I realized, was a lot like Nuath, with everyone eagerly pouncing on scandal after scandal, manufacturing them if there were no real ones. And while they were all busy following this or that bit of so-called “news,” nobody ever had a clue about the real dangers out there.

All of which made school that day surreal. While the Grentl inexorably deployed their deadly satellites around our planet, everybody went to class like any other day, worrying about trivial things like tests and who was going out with whose ex. When Bri asked me at lunch if she could nominate me for Homecoming Court, I looked at her like she was crazy.