The Synchronicity War Part 4 (7 page)

"Having three more carriers would only
be useful if Space Force is anticipating major military operations against an
established race like the Sogas. They're not needed for operations against a
mobile enemy like the Insectoids. If those shipyards are not going to build
raiders, then why not use the existing infrastructure to modify Dreadnought to
accept the time machine, Admiral? By leveraging that construction capacity,
Space Force will get a large fleet of raiders when it needs them the
most."

Howard's initial reaction was to say no,
but this wasn't the same argument that Valkyrie had put forward. Wolfman wasn't
proposing a risky raid on the Sogas to buy time. The stockpiles of Mark 5
attack drones and fighters of both types would be the same, regardless of what
those shipyards were or weren't building. Building the time machine ship as
Plan A, with a raid on the enemy home system as a diversion, was too risky.
Building a time machine ship as a backup plan, Plan B as it were, without the
raid, now that was a horse of a different color.

"If we used the shipyards to
manufacture the parts for the time machine and for the conversion of
Dreadnought, how long would it take to complete the project?" asked
Howard.

"A minimum of ten months but more
likely eleven, Admiral."

Howard did a quick mental calculation.
"That'll be after the bug mothership arrives here."

"Correct, Admiral."

"That shouldn't be a problem then.
We'll have the high-yield, high-spin warhead ready long before then."

"Agreed. We know that the design
brought back by Kronos works. We merely have to perfect the production of the
components and the process of energizing the platinum. It will be easy to test
the prototype."

"Yes. That should be quite a
show." He took a deep breath and said, "You can let Valkyrie know
that I'll approve construction on the time machine and Dreadnought's
modification based on the backup plan that you and I have just discussed, but
there will NOT be a diversionary raid."

After the slightest of pauses, Wolfman
said, "Acknowledged. I wonder what kind of reception Kronos will get from
the Friendlies."

Howard nodded. "Me too."

                                           
* * *

The Friendlies' home system looked very
much as Kronos remembered it from the alternate timeline. He tried using his
Friendly-designed mini-fighter's optical instruments to see if he could detect
the proto-type time tunnel, but it was too far in the outer system to be seen.
It wasn't long before he got a reply to his initial lasercom message. It
contained permission to micro-jump closer with target coordinates. Within
minutes Kronos brought his mini-fighter to the designated coordinates where he
found the ship at a half light-second distance.

Communication was quickly established with
a Friendly AI Kronos explained how humans knew of the aliens' existence, their
location and the location of the small, furry aliens. He went on to describe
the entire alternative timeline that Casanova experienced or knew about, ending
with the expansion of the time tunnel complex, Kronos' creation and journey
into the past, as well as events in the new timeline up to the present time.
That transmission took less than two seconds but was followed by a much longer
pause as his opposite number relayed the data to a Friendly at the much slower
speed that biological entities required. After almost 600 seconds, Kronos
received a signal carrying the direct communication with one of the Friendlies
themselves.

"Why have you been sent to contact
us?"

"My humans desire to establish contact
to recognize the fact that the old timeline has been altered. Now that we know
of the approach of the Insectoids, the war with the Sogas has served its
purpose, and my humans have sent me to ask you to persuade the Sogas that we
are no threat to them and desire a peaceful resolution to the war."

"That will be difficult. Humans and
Sogas share a similar biology and covet the same types of planetary
environments. Conflict is inevitable given their psychological propensity for
paranoia. We have already advised them that their species is much more in
danger from the Insectoids. However, this knowledge, combined with their
peculiar logic, has had the opposite effect of what we intended. Rather than
lower the intensity of their aggression against humans, their desire to end the
war quickly in order to prepare for the insectoid encounter has increased. That
is why they have resorted to biological weapons. Their attempts to infect your
population will continue. Further attempts are likely to include acts of
diversion or deception. A human attempt to intercept the Insectoids before they
reach the Sogas may convince them to cease their bio-weapon attacks. How will
humans deal with the insectoid advance?"

"I have been instructed not to reveal
that information," said Kronos.

There was a pause before the alien
responded. "There is only one reason why your humans would not want us to
have the information and that is that they do not wish the Sogas to learn it
from us. The only logical conclusion therefore is that humans do not want the Sogas
to be able to defeat the Insectoids. This attitude does not surprise us. It is
typical of how humans think. In their own way, they are just as psychologically...unbalanced
as are the Sogas. Do your humans not understand that all races have the right
to exist? We do not wish to see any intelligent species disappear. Even the
Insectoids do not deserve to be completely exterminated."

"But they will do their best to
exterminate countless other species if they're not stopped. Where is the logic
in allowing them to do that?" asked Kronos.

"Only the complete extermination of
all Insectoids in this galaxy would ensure the survival of other species. We
believe that all life forms were designed for a reason. It is not for us to
decide that the Insectoids must disappear from the Universe," said the
alien.

"Their appearance may not be a natural
event," said Kronos.

"Explain."

"In the alternate timeline, multiple
insectoid motherships arrived at the Sogas and human home systems from multiple
directions. My analysis of the timing and trajectory of these motherships
suggests that they did not originate from a single star system. It does not
seem possible that they could evolve independently on more than one planet.
That implies they are an engineered species that has been deliberately
transplanted to other planets by an unknown agency."

"Are you able to transmit that
data?" asked the alien.

Kronos transmitted all of the astrogational
data related to all observed insectoid mothership arrivals. The alien AI warned
Kronos that analysis of the data might take a while.

When the response came, the alien said,
"The data is consistent with your hypothesis, however there may be other
explanations. Without conclusive proof of artificial evolution, we would not
approve or assist in any attempt to rid this galaxy of that life form."

"What kind of data would you need to
see in order to have conclusive proof of our theory?" asked Kronos.

"If we had one of them to scan with
our temporal equipment, we could track that individual back in time, including
its ancestors, to the point where the species no longer existed in that
form."

"Then we would have to capture one of
them alive and bring it to you?" asked Kronos.

"It does not have to be alive. Our
device is concerned only with the temporal history of the atoms making up the
specimen. When we have that proof, we would then be willing to assist with any
attempt to eliminate the Insectoids and, if possible, realign the timeline in
such a way that humans are not threatened with biological weapons."

"I will convey that message to the
Humans. Is there anything else you wish the Humans to know?"

"Yes. The planet containing the small,
furry creatures that we are trying to protect has two large land masses. The
furry creatures evolved on and inhabit the larger land mass. The smaller land
mass has an environment that would be suitable for humans. We would be willing
to allow Humans to colonize the smaller land mass as a sanctuary for their
species on condition that they do not encroach on the larger land mass and do
not interfere with the furry aliens in any way. This offer will be withdrawn if
your humans allow the Sogas home world to be consumed by the Insectoids."

"Understood. I will now return to my
humans." Kronos decided that he had to get this information back as
quickly as possible. Valkyrie would be VERY interested in the Insectoid capture
concept.

Jason Alvarez stepped outside his small
house and let the cool night breeze wash over him. Life on Haven was not great,
but it was getting better. Thank God the enemy attack had been stopped cold by
the Space Force people two weeks ago. He shuddered to think what would have
happened if the shells containing the biological agent had landed. Sure the
colonists had all evacuated the settlement by then, but if the settlement had
become contaminated, he along with everyone else would still be living in the
woods under makeshift shelters with minimal food.

He was pondering what that might have been
like when he noticed a faint noise that was getting louder. It was a whooshing
sound that quickly peaked in intensity and then just as quickly faded, and it
seemed to be coming from above. He looked up but saw nothing.  As he continued
to look at the night sky, he felt tiny drops of something hit his face.
That's
strange. There aren't any clouds in the sky so it can't be rain.
The smell
of the air started to become quite pleasant, almost like some kind of perfume
or cologne. He inhaled deeply, savoring the aroma. He looked around at the
nearby houses to see if anyone else was still awake. There was one other house
with lights on. He decided to walk over to them and let them know about the
sweet smell. This kind of thing hadn't happened before, and unless he got
someone to corroborate his story, it was likely that nobody would believe him.

                                              
* * *

Howard entered the conference room, stepped
over to the chair at the head of the large oval table and slapped his tablet
down in obvious anger. As he sat down, Shiloh could see the pulsing blood
vessel in his boss's forehead.
I don't think I've ever seen him this angry
before. What the hell is going on?

Howard looked around the table. The room
was dead quiet. When he spoke, his voice was outwardly calm, but those who knew
him well could tell that he was on the verge of exploding.

"I've just received a verbal report
from Kronos. He's returned from a mission to contact the Friendlies. Kronos,
are you on line?"

"Yes, Admiral," said Kronos from
the speaker unit in the center of the table. "All of the SPG  AIs are
connected as well. I've already briefed them on the mission results."

"Good. I'll summarize what you told me
for the benefit of Vice-Admiral Shiloh, Senior Commander Kelly and the other
human members of the SPG who are present. The Friendlies object to our plans to
let the Bugs bring the damned Sogas to heel for us. It's okay for them to
exterminate us, but we're not allowed to let them suffer the same fate! We're
supposed to save their hides even though they're still trying to use
biologicals against us! The Friendlies have made us an offer to avoid becoming
trapped in their own hypocrisy. If we prevent the Bugs from decimating the
Sogas home world, the Friendlies will allow us Humans to establish a colony on
some small land mass on the planet containing the goddamned furry aliens as a
sanctuary for insurance against the outbreak of the bio-weapon!" Howard
was shouting by the time he finished that sentence.

When it was clear that Howard was going to
pause, Shiloh said, "That may not be a bad idea, Admiral. We could shift
the Haven colonists—"

Howard cut him off. "Wolfman! Tell
Vice-Admiral Shiloh about your latest vision."

"My vision contained information that
Haven and at least seven other colonies have been infected with the bio-weapon.
All incoming ships from any colony should be held in quarantine orbit until
their crews and passengers survive for 28 days from the time they leave a
colony. At the point when the vision was sent, seven colonies were confirmed as
infected, with the status of the other fourteen unknown. They could all be
infected."