Uplift (21 page)

I did, and I could see the blade as clear as day though the room was a bit washed out. I thought I could get used to it. We had to be missing something. Was there no way we could have a weapon with more distance? There had to be. Corey? You heard me.

I’ve been thinking about that very topic for a long time.

How long? I asked silently.

About eighty thousand years to be exact. You’ve come up with ideas that I had not considered, but I think I may have something you can use. It’s just a supposition. I really couldn’t test it out in dusty, dry, dark cave in Oman, and haven’t had the facilities to build anything until now. Your third field speeds up time within it. The Horde interstellar drive slows down time within it. They will not have 80,000 years of advancements. They may have little improvements in weapons if they continued to work against their opposition – even though it has been 1,000 of their years since they attacked my species.

“Boss…boss…come back to me boss,” Hershel said. “You’re daydreaming again. What do you have up your sleeve this time?”

We may then have the edge. Corey. Another thought first. Could we make small copies of the Echo field generators with those plane pr
ojections all over its surface? 
Place them like your land mines, and turn them on. 3,000 meters worth of porcupine quills that cut through any matter that comes in contact with them. We couldn’t cover a very large area unless we could separate them exactly like quadcopter nets. We could make them so they could move with ion drives, and retrieve them if they weren’t used. Sure wouldn’t want them turning on in any of our ships. We could make them with receivers that would recognize our ships as friendly. Their receivers could be fairly simple. We’d have them self-destruct if inspected.

Good idea. You are truly devious, but I was a scientist – not a soldier.

…Your ancient idea for a weapon?

I was thinking we could project a wormhole…you call them. It is a dimensional hole through space. I know I could make a large one, but we could generate a small one that we generate anywhere around us.

I suggest we make this thing – these things – and put any that work on the ship we are manufacturing. Make sure you share all diagrams with Carole’s group.

“Sorry Hershel. I thought we could make small spheres with many of the projections like a porcupine – make them maneuverable using ion propulsion with quadcopter networking to keep them separated, and move them around. We’d have a moveable minefield.” (pause) “Make sure they wouldn’t turn on ‘til deployed – it’d be messy in shipment. Oh. I need one of those personal saber weapons.”

“You can have one of the prototypes, but don’t cut any body parts off with it. I’ll start work on the porcupines – that’s just devious.”

PUSH BACK

It’d been several months since the attacks on the AcuMint facility, but Leiman Kattemann was working at Rapid Field, and producing the time acceleration fields for crops. He had seen videos of grocery stores around the world pulling produce off the shelves as the cancer threats were recognized. Leiman had also seen angry mobs attacking corporate headquarters of agrochemical companies. His supervisor just called him to the office, and he was petrified that he had been discovered. His missives to the ‘CIA’ had not gone unnoticed.

“Hi Leiman. Come on in. No. You’re not in trouble. We just saw that you had worked at General Dynamics, and then at Raytheon. Were those weapons projects?”

Leiman gave a ‘I can’t talk about that’ look to his supervisor, Lee Davidson.

“You don’t have to say anything about them…just that you were in weapons development or not. We wondered if you’d like to transfer to AcuMint in Cary, North Carolina to work with Richard Patterson. They’ve asked all the subsidiaries if we had someone with an aptitude. You’ve been doing fine here, and we’d hate to lose you, but it would mean a considerable pay raise.”

“They were weapons projects. How much is considerable?” Leiman asked.

“Double your pay here, and you’d be a team leader after more training the first week there. What do you say? They said you’d have a week to accept, or reject the offer.”

“How soon can I start?”

Lee Davidson reached across the desk. “It’s been an honor working with you Leiman. All your vacation, and sick time will transfer. Your increased pay starts the minute you get there.”

“Thanks Lee. I’ll drive today. I have all rented furniture, and accessories. One phone call, and that is all picked up. Pack a couple of bags, and I’ll head out.”

“Thanks Leiman. Sounded like they got big doings going on, and they really need you.”

****

Leiman contacted his ‘CIA’ handlers – the ones who were really Chinese agents. They gave him specific instructions how to contact them after his move to North Carolina.

       
AcuMint Facility – Cary, North Carolina

“Hi Richard. Want you to meet Leiman Kattemann. He comes to us from Rapid Field. Supervisor there gave him glowing reviews,” Hamilton said.

Richard, and Leiman shook hands. “Before that?” I asked.

Hamilton started extoling Leiman’s virtues. “He worked at General Dynamics, and Raytheon on weapons projects.”

“Glad to have you on board. Hamilton will run you through our stack of non-disclosures, and non-competes from hell to get you started. You’ll need some training modules after that to get up to speed. You’ll have several to get through, and they’re tiring. Hamilton – brief him after the paperwork if you would. Leiman. Did you have training modules at Rapid Field?”

“I had a couple of short ones that were supposed to stimulate ideas, but never got much out of them,” Leiman looked a little worried because he had never gotten around to taking any training at Rapid Field.

“These will actually overlay information for you on the physics, and techniques involved. Come to me after you’ve had them, and we’ll really talk,” I said, but Mel was motioning to me to come over, and I had to leave. “Nice meeting you.”

“What’s so important? We’ve started getting reports of riots at major corporations about the genetically modified foods,” Mel said. “You said you wanted to know.”

“Okay. Give me details,” I said, and he did. There was rioting everywhere. Some of the genetically modified foods had nothing to do with being susceptible to insects, weeds, or fungus. Some modifications allowed crops shorter growing seasons, or made them more resistant to wind, drought, water, or sun. Those were not the ones that were causing cancer – or so Corey told me. We’d have to try to save those features, and ScriptFarming. We’d have to make it all transparent so everyone could benefit. Small farms shouldn’t have to buy their own data – that is crazy. We got cheap food all right – only a few billion will die because of it.”

I decided then, and there that I needed to go see Carole, and surprise her. I told Corey not to say anything to Corvette.

****

Carole was inspecting the completed hull, and initial fittings of Wallups Island’s first interstellar spaceship. All the work had been done in 14 days normal time, or a little over a year in accelerated time. Carole had spent a LOT of time in, and out of the Echo field. They were just fitting some of the weapons modifications that AcuMint had designed. The little ‘porcupine’ mine network was a deviously dangerous item. They had tested one suspended in the remote (very) remote building on the property, and it had shredded everything around it. The ion propulsion units weren’t powerful enough to overcome a gravity field, but it looked like it would work fine in space. They had almost twenty thousand assembled, and ready.

Carole was helping Hershel install a tenth ‘projector’ weapon. The magnetic bearings allowing it to track were sticking, and it took a while to figure out the problem. They had been working side-by-side now for almost a year in accelerated time, and Carole had grown more, and more attached to the lanky, and quiet scientist/engineer.

“Looks like everyone is off shift, and we have the whole ship to ourselves,” Carole said.

Hershel swallowed big because Carole was very close, and smelled wonderful. He knew he was out–of–line, but reached behind her head, and drew her to him. They kissed deeply, and his heart raced. His ‘treatments’ had made him stronger, and increased every other aspect of his stamina. He pulled her to him, and heard her moan as she pressed her body to him. She grabbed him by his rear pockets, and it was a struggle to get out of the compartment they were in. They headed to crew quarters, and made for the nearest bunk. They were both burning with desire, and spent the evening on board ‘til awakened by the construction crew coming on board.

AcuMint headquarters in Cary, North Carolina

Leiman Kattemann was astonished. He had signed the papers, and then Hamilton’s briefing had opened up his world. These people had technology beyond anything he’d ever seen. He wrote his contacts a long memo about the different types of dimensional fields. He told them about the new weapons that were being developed, and the space vehicles that were about to be completed at the Wallups Island facility. He told them in his message that he was to get more training the next day on actual designs. He left the message in the magnetic pigeon drop on the back of a support post near the old, outside mailbox array.

M.A.R.S. Airfield at Wallups Island, Virgina

Richard Patterson arrived at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Space Facility without fanfare. He had told no one at the facility that he was coming, and had admonished Corey not to even let Corvette know. It had been three months of his time since he had seen Carole, and he missed her in the worst way. Pre-Corey he had gone a year without being with a woman, but things had changed since he had de-aged, and had a rejuvenated body. He looked thirty, and felt twenty. He needed Carole. She had progressed faster than he had even hoped. She had depended a lot on Hershel Graham, and had always praised him in her reports. He was looking forward to meeting him.

AcuMint headquarters in Cary, North Carolina

Leiman Kattemann had gotten a reply back from his ‘CIA’ handlers. He always thought he should be an operative, and he was a little concerned at the power of these new weapons being developed with no government oversight. He had progress meetings every couple of weeks at General Dynamics, and Raytheon. Progress wasn’t made in days – it took years to get to test with many of the weapons projects there. His latest training module had given him designs of half the tech here. He was amazed they just let him take it. The operatives had been emphatic that he absorb, as much training as he could – some of it was painful. The nanite treatment had been painful as hell, but he certainly felt stronger, and in better shape because of it. A persistent sniffle of allergies was completely gone. Wow. He considered writing another message to the operatives, but for some reason just couldn’t bring himself to do it. He’d do it later, he rationalized.

A Low Rent Apartment in Raleigh, North Carolina

The Chinese agents posing as CIA had been shocked by the progress the Americans had made in weaponry. The report from Kattemann had whetted their appetite, and they were anxious for his follow-up messages – weapons that could go through shields! It had been over a week, and this Leiman character had been supposed to send them messages every other day. Something was not right. They sent encrypted messages to their superiors asking for recommendations, and had been told to pick up Kattemann at his apartment this weekend, so he could be questioned away from his work site. He’d been there a week, and he left for a nearby apartment every night, as regular as clockwork.

            US Cyber Command Fort Meade

The analyst at the US Cyber Command in Fort Meade sent the intercept to her supervisor, who sent it to his supervisor, ‘til it actually filtered up to the base commander, Admiral Walt Simpkins.

“Doug!” shouted Admiral Simpkins to his aide. “You saw this didn’t you. Get a team over to that location, and arrest that man. Kattemann had signed the Defense Secrets Act, and the Espionage Act properly when he worked for Raytheon, and could still be held accountable. Tell them not to be gentle, and send enough support to capture those foreign agents too.”

  
Mid-Atlantic Regional Space Facility, Hanger 3

Richard Patterson wondered why everyone was looking slightly embarrassed as he approached the work field around the
Wallup
– the prototype spaceship being built within an Echo Field. The field was switched off regularly to allow work crews on, and off, and to restock food, air, and water plus bring in all the work materials. The field produced a thirty to one acceleration of time, so one day within the field was like a month outside. They were cutting it off more frequently now that the crews were nearing completion. Richard had the pull to alter the schedule – had it cut off, and boarded unannounced.