Usurper of the Sun (21 page)
“That is certainly true.”
DURING THE PLANE
ride home, Aki considered her own positions. Aki promoted the amicable approach because she desired direct contact—in a way, all of her arguments were post hoc justifications for the pure need to see the Builders, to meet beings from another world. She could not deny some defeatism underlying her philosophy. She had always tried to stay on an even keel by tempering her enthusiasms and passions with an awareness of worst-case scenarios. If Earth technology was roughly equal to the Builders’ and she were in charge, Aki would probably place a number of interceptor ships on the front line just to be safe. She wondered if it was naïve to believe that an advanced species would never cross the expansive divide between the stars merely to invade and conquer. On the other hand, whenever technologically advanced humans encountered less “advanced” societies, invasion and conquest was precisely what happened. But humans also communicated; the Builders remained unnervingly silent.
Mark would have placed the survival of humanity before anything else. If humanity tries to intercept the Builders, how could we even go about it? Anyone who says we should fight has not planned the logistics or considered the outcomes. If we knew they were going to attack, then maybe an all-out defensive assault would be just enough to send the message that the costs of conquest might outweigh the benefits.
This is different. I do not expect an attack or even an attempt to communicate. The Builders have ignored every message we’ve sent. Military solutions are often aimed at eliminating threats, but then military solutions end up eliminating people. A colossal ship, or most likely a fleet, hurtling through space is a threat. I just cannot see any defensive plan that would thwart an aggressive attack by such advanced intelligence. If that intelligence were serious about attacking, I think I would know…
In the seven years since the Ring had been destroyed, food production had partially recovered. Rationing was less common now and prices had fallen; the usual staples were more readily available on store shelves. Yet humanity had cause for concern instead of cause for rejoicing. Doomsday prophecies were gaining currency. Extremist cults and survivalists were recruiting members and building underground shelters to protect from invasion. Aki was unsure whether she should laugh at such measures or pity those comforted by bunkers, prayers, and canned goods. She tried to ignore the lunatic fringes of this most recent panic, but unfounded theories informed many of the resources she used for her research. Since so little could be proven with facts, speculation was used to spackle over the gaps.
Seven years earlier, starvation had been thwarted thanks to mutual aid and international cooperation. Destroying the Ring had shown
Homo sapiens
how questions of survival were ultimately only answerable on the species-wide level. Now, as 2030 approached, humanity was succumbing to the fear of extinction again. Motives were becoming murky. Dozing while watching a broadcast on the Worldunity Network, Aki was jolted awake when she heard the anchor announce that an anomaly had been discovered on the Vert-Ring. An amateur astronomer had captured the surprising appearance of a small, dark spot. The new Vert-Ring had only reached 30,000 kilometers and the shadowy feature was a mere 50 kilometers across, but it was unmistakably the beginning of a graser cannon.
The UNSDF made an official statement within an hour and released more detailed photographs to the public. Aki recognized the graser’s base and its accents of complex curved lines. The stump of the lens barrel protruded from the base like a searchlight. Strands extended up, growing in all directions, reaching like capillaries. Aki rubbed her temples, a headache starting as she remembered her experience on the Island.
A young man from the Mercury Base eventually appeared on the network screen. His innocent demeanor struck Aki as genuine, but his relentless enthusiasm seemed both forced and an artifact of inexperience.
“We confess that the culmination of this investigation moved too slowly. We were about to release the photograph ourselves. This is not Builder-coded construction; it is our own work. We have spearheaded the formation of a new Island. The graser cannons that surround the Island are more complicated to create than the Island itself. We have been trying to separate these cannons to be able to incite the formation of deceleration lasers. Breakthroughs in the decoding of the mechagenetic Ring particle makeup allow us to grow isolated components. As a test, we attempted to initiate the creation of this single graser cannon.
“To be frank, we didn’t expect such success. We’re investigating how to harness the graser for defensive purposes. The firing range of the graser cannon is 2.8 million kilometers. As a defensive weapon, we would need to mount the cannon to a massive transport ship and move that weapon to a more strategic location. We have not developed the technology necessary to remove it intact and operational as the graser is powered by the Ring itself. We have learned that the tanker, one of the fundamental Ring particles, contains the energy we would need to operate the graser. We have developed the technology to handle small amounts of ring material. We feel that we will be able to develop the technology needed for this endeavor within the next six years. Harnessing the power of the graser will allow us to target high-speed objects and destroy them. Our plan has certain issues of complexity, but given the current state of our defense capabilities and few other alternatives, we are going to do everything in our power to see it through to fruition in the name of human and Earth survival.”
The next segment discussed an instant survey that showed 87 percent of three hundred thousand respondents in favor of developing grasers to defend humanity. Aki yawned and fell asleep on her couch, exhausted from worry and stress.
RAUL ASKED TO
meet at the same café. The menu had a broader selection now than it did when Aki had been there five years earlier.
“I still live on the combo platter.” His tray overflowed with french fries, chicken strips, and some deformed dumplings.
“Someday you will understand how ‘garbage in equals garbage out’ applies to both coding and the human body.” Despite such a horrendous diet and a bit of acne, Aki could not help but notice that Raul was more muscular than when she had first met him. His green eyes looked clearer, and Aki had a sense that he still knew her better than most people did, partially because he was one of the few people she could be honest around.
“Aren’t you going to take off your shades?” he asked.
“No. I’m incognito. I use a bodyguard now.”
“Your life’s like an old spy movie,” he said, craning his neck in an attempt to spot her bodyguard.
As vain as it sounded, Aki also knew that on some level she preferred to keep her sunglasses on because they hid a wrinkle or two. “How are things at the ETICC?”
“Paradisiacal. Hundreds of times more computing power.”
A year and a half ago, Raul had been offered a research position at the ETICC. Connecting with Aki had been a turning point in his life. Accepting Natalia as a failed effort and moving forward instead of hanging on when Natalia never quite worked seemed to allow him to move on to other pursuits. With Aki’s encouragement, he had earned his multidisciplinary doctorate in linguistics and cognitive psychology. Since working at the ETICC, his name had appeared in prestigious papers, and Dr. Raul Sanchez had presented his research on extraterrestrial civilizations at several conferences.
“Are you still doing research on AI?”
“Not officially, but it’s on my mind all the time,” he said. Aki wondered if she heard regret in his voice. “I haven’t made much progress. I’m too busy trying to create a universally comprehended artificial language.”
As the conversation became more complex, Aki asked Raul to slow down and stop mumbling. She hoped that Raul did not feel like he was talking to his mother. After dinner, they walked along the tree-lined streets of the campus. He seemed anxious, anticipating that Aki had some favor to ask. Maybe that was all in her head, but she did indeed have a request. As they passed Bancroft Library, Aki decided to broach the subject.
“I watched a recording of one of your speeches.”
“Not my favorite thing,” Raul said. “Especially the speaking in front of people part.”
“I need you to write one for me to deliver.”
“What kind of speech?”
“One in your universal language.”
“Damn, lady. Someday I hope you’ll give me an
easy
request!” Raul tilted his head back and laughed. “I was afraid something like this would come up. What kind of speech do you have in mind? I assume we’ve gotten over the whole ‘Hi, we know some prime numbers and pi’ monologue?”
“Funny. Something more along the lines of ‘There are intelligent beings living in this solar system.’”
“That’s a no-brainer. Is that all, my noble savior of the aforementioned solar system?”
“We live only on the planet Earth, the third from the sun.” Aki appreciated his humor, but her need for his help was more pressing than her need for flattery from an old friend.
“You’ll save the fine print for later?”
“We will take the necessary steps to avoid situations that could be perceived as a threat.”
“Now you’re giving me the chance to show off. Care to end with a zinger?”
“We cannot take the risk of allowing a Trojan horse into our solar system,” Aki said.
“Ouch, now you’re putting me to the test. You’re already speaking in culturally specific metaphors.”
“You have to be able to handle this, Raul.”
“If you can tell me what it means first.”
“Humanity places doubt before hope,” she said, rephrasing her last message.
“Come again?”
“We fear an intelligence greater than our own,” Aki blurted, clearly upset.
“So you’re trying to say—”
“Damn it. Tell them to stay the hell away from people if they know what’s good for them!” she shouted, much more loudly than she had meant to. Several college kids playing Frisbee turned and looked at her, then went back to their game.
Raul placed his hand on Aki’s shoulder. “Take it easy. We’ll make this work.” He swiveled her shoulders, turning her toward him, then placed both palms on her cheeks. “Just promise me you won’t give up. A lot of people are counting on you to communicate with the Builders. Me for one, and several others at the ETICC at least.” He smiled and said, “We get criticism but plenty of letters of support. We’re missing some key piece of this puzzle. Have you considered that the Builders might be anosognosic?”
Aki’s facial expression made it clear that she did not know the word. Raul launched into a detailed explanation. “It’s where somebody suffers trauma to the brain. As a result, they lose left brain functionality. In some cases, they suffer from paralysis of the left arm, for example, and aren’t even aware of the paralysis. If a doctor asks if their left arm is okay, they answer that it’s fine. It’s a completely normal left arm. If they’re asked to raise their left arm, they think they’re raising it but nothing happens. If the doctor moves the patient’s left hand into view and asks whose hand it is, they respond that it’s the doctor’s hand.
“When the doctor shows both their two hands and the paralyzed patient’s arm and asks again, the patient claims that the doctor has three hands, and they’ll often launch into some cockamamy reasoning for the ‘extra’ hand that shows cognitive dissonance. They’re not crazy—in the sense that it’s a short circuit in their brain and they don’t think they’re lying or confused. They don’t find their reasoning strange because their perception is skewed. All that’s wrong is that their left and right hemispheres are no longer wired together. They are alienated from logical thought to the point where the illogical makes total sense. We have no idea how Builders think. Something that might be completely obvious to us could be a total mystery to them.”
Raul took his hands off Aki’s face.
“The world’s taking sides. There are doubters who think we should blow the Builders out of the sky before they get close enough to do us harm, and welcomers who see their arrival as a significant step toward a new era for humanity. But who’s right and who’s wrong? Maybe neither. Maybe the Builders are a mirror, reflecting back our hopes and fears of what they might be, of what we
are
—invaders, purveyors of peace, even gods from the heavens. This keeps us from seeing who the Builders really are because we force personas onto them. Maybe we’ll see what they really are and be unable to comprehend. Your job’s easy. All you need to find is the truth. We don’t need to love them or hate them. We need to find truth. Of all the people on Earth, Aki, my bets are on you to make that happen. I’m not the only one who feels that way.”
