Infinity's Gateway, page 9
A voice behind Colton said, “Excuse me, sir. I’ve had this waiting for you.”
Colton looked up to see the smiling face of Hezekiah “Cookie” Abebe. Hezekiah was at least six foot six and Colton knew easily tipped the scale at 320 pounds plus. When he first met Hezekiah, he’d guessed that he was meeting either Captain Garrett or Jarek Tanner, one of the ship’s two marine officers. But he couldn’t have been more mistaken. Rather than being a highly trained, tough-as-nails, elite marine officer, Hezekiah was the head cook on board. And he was very, very good at what he did.
“Exactly what is that concoction, Cookie?” asked Captain MacKay. “I’ve been meaning to ask you that for weeks.”
“It’s what you should have every morning,” answered Hezekiah. “It is a protein shake with fresh fruit and vegetables.”
“No thanks,” said MacKay. “I like food I can chew.”
“You should try it for a few days,” said Colton. “It’ll make a new man out of you. Come on, Captain. I’ve converted Garrett and half her men to having this for breakfast. It’s much better for your heart than that plate of sausage and eggs you’re wolfing down, and it’ll also help you burn off some fat. Hezekiah has drunk these for years. Isn’t that right?”
“It’s how I keep my girlish figure,” answered Hezekiah as he walked off laughing, his distinct baritone chortle filling the room.
Once Hezekiah had stepped back into the kitchen, Colton leaned forward, and in a quiet voice said, “The man is a magician. A couple of years ago I started drinking these breakfast shakes. Good for me or not, frankly it was a bland way to start the day. So, when I came on board the Eclipse, I asked Hezekiah if he would make this for me every morning. I told him the ingredients and he gave me that bone-rattling laugh of his and said, “Sure.” The next morning, when I showed up in the mess hall, he handed me my shake. Tasted better than anything I’d ever put together. That’s when he told me he too had been drinking these for years, but, over time, had improved upon the recipe. I’m telling you, the breakfast shakes he makes are addictive.”
“Yeah, well, I’ll give it some thought,” said MacKay. “So, we have what, three days left? Doesn’t look like the dream team is going to be able to find our mystery blob.”
“Mystery blob?”
“What do you call it? I saw the pictures, even watched the film our birds took. It doesn’t look like anything I’ve ever seen and doesn’t seem to hold its shape all that well. It may have mass, but it doesn’t have form. Hence, I call it a blob.”
“Sadly, that’s as good as anything they’ve come up with and that’s with Argos backing them up. I’m going to get cleaned up, then spend a few minutes with Lieutenant Sahir. Our time out here is going to come under close scrutiny from the finance weenies back at the Pentagon, and for Admiral Fairfax’s sake, I want to make sure we’ve tried everything there is to try.”
“I’d ask you to say hi to Argos for me, but it probably already knows I’m going to say that,” said MacKay. “I don’t care for that machine. It gets under my skin.”
To say that the security around Argos was tight would have been an understatement at best. Two heavily armed marines stood guard beside the solid steel door leading into the area where Argos was housed. Anyone wishing to enter had to identify themselves to the guards, who would then relay the request to enter to Lieutenant Sahir whose office was next to Argos.
Once the approval was given, the door was unlocked from the inside and the visitor would enter a small, six-by-six area. It was a mantrap. Here the visitor was met by a second steel door that had a bulletproof glass porthole at eye level. At this point, the person seeking to enter went through two more security checks. Similar to human scanning devices found in most US airports, the individual was scanned for weapons. Additionally, visual identification was made via the porthole before the visitor could enter.
Argos was situated in the center of one of the high-ceilinged holds with workstations positioned all around it. Lieutenant Sahir had the only office, but its walls were made of glass, giving him visibility to Argos at all times. In addition to the marine unit detailed to protect Argos, Sahir had four very talented senior computer technicians who supported him with Argos’ maintenance and care.
It was one of these technicians that led Colton to Sahir’s office. “You’ve got to let me in on how you got the budget for this level of security,” said Colton, teasing the young lieutenant.
“Pretty amazing, isn’t it?” said Sahir. “The interesting point to all of this is that if push came to shove, Argos would probably be more effective at protecting us.”
Colton stared at the massive computer. “Are you saying it has defensive capabilities?”
Sahir got up from his desk and stood next to Colton. “You can’t think of Argo as just being a larger, more advanced computer. It’s hard to put into words, but comparing Argos to other computers of its kind that contain artificial intelligence is like comparing the heat generated from a single match to the heat produced by a volcanic eruption. They’re just not in the same league.”
“It’s that advanced,” said Colton, almost to himself. “How is that even possible?”
“That’s a long story, but I will share with you one little fun fact that I am certain you’ll never forget. After we got to a certain point in the process, Argos actively participated in its own development.” Colton just stared at him, a disbelieving look on his face. “I know, it’s hard to wrap your mind around such a concept,” continued Sahir. “Let’s just say we should be glad that Argos works for us.”
“The work is why I’m here,” said Colton. “Lieutenant, you were given more of a complete briefing as to why we’re out here than most of the people on this ship. You’ve had the lead in working with Meinhard and his team. Not to put too fine a point on it, but so far we’ve failed to produce anything that will help to determine what it was that our birds picked up.”
“Other than the data from the satellites, you’re correct, we haven’t found anything that could account for it,” said Sahir. His stance was not defensive in the slightest, his tone a mere statement of fact. “Everyone did get rather anxious at the energy readings that Argos picked up initially, but in truth, we really don’t even know if the two are connected.”
“Were you able to get anything else out of Argos on those readings?” asked Colton.
“No. We couldn’t find anything that would help us to pinpoint what the source behind those energy readings could have been. That, in and of itself, is nearly impossible. Energy levels that high don’t just appear out of thin air.”
“Could Argos have made a mistake? I mean, computer errors do happen all the time.”
Sahir’s smile at Colton’s question was not the kind of smile anyone wanted. It was the smile an adult gives to a small child when they say something that’s stupid, but the child has no idea just how absolutely stupid it is. “No sir, it was not a mistake. For every piece of data that Argos produces, there are more than a thousand failsafe procedures run against them before they’re released. If Argos tells you the sun won’t shine tomorrow, it’s a safe bet you won’t need your Ray-Bans.”
“Argos doesn’t theorize like humans do. It runs millions of simulations that are quantum-entangled with real-world energy fluctuations. It can’t make a guess. It’s saying the energy it detected wasn’t part of this world, then it was, then it wasn’t again. It says that the laws of thermodynamics were broken for several minutes. It has no idea why. It’s like saying magic pixie dust came and left.”
Colton stared at Sahir, then said, “Lieutenant, we have very little time left. I want you to get with Meinhard and his associates and see what we can pull together. I have no interest in returning to port empty-handed.”
“I understand, Commander, and will do my best,” answered Sahir. “I too have a great deal of respect for Admiral Fairfax, but we cannot be expected to deliver on things that are simply not here,” said Sahir, then he gave a big sigh. “That said, I’ll see what we have and hope that it will make do.”
Before Colton left Sahir’s area, he stopped and took a long look at Argos. He knew that like everything else the military had, this massive pile of circuitry could be used for good in several ways. But experience had taught him that the blade always cuts both ways. While he didn’t share MacKay’s nearly superstitious dread of Argos, Sahir’s intimation that this machine could defend itself did create another element of concern that Colton had never considered.
The day passed by slowly and about thirty minutes before dinner Colton returned to his cabin. He’d been up on the main deck, watching the sun as it started to go down. The imagery it created was spectacular, spreading its final colors of the day across the dark water. As he turned to leave, he spotted Father Ryan and the ship’s doctor, Lieutenant Commander Piers Severin, on the deck above him. They too had been admiring Mother Nature’s evening light show. Father Ryan smiled and waved to him with his cigar in hand.
Colton took advantage of the few minutes he had to stretch out on his bunk. After dinner he’d have his usual long and drawn-out meeting with Meinhard, where it would be explained to him in mind-numbing detail why they’d once again come up empty. For reasons that Colton did not understand, Meinhard had kept a strict code of formality between them. Perhaps that’s why he didn’t trust him.
After his briefing with Meinhard, and he was looking forward to this, he’d be having another go at Father Ryan at the poker table. Earlier in the day Father Ryan had informed him that, surprisingly, Captain Garrett would be joining them. Colton knew in his heart that she was doing it just to goad him while cheering for the priest. Tanner and Dr. Severin, the game’s other two regulars, would also be playing.
But tonight, would be different. Colton decided to mix it up, breaking his own rules. He planned to purposely sit with his back to the hatch (a special ops no-no), cut the deck light, and raise on everything no matter what he was holding. Reckless, yes, but nothing else had worked, so why not. In fact, he —
The ship’s alarm shattered the silence of his cabin, repeatedly blaring out its nerve-shredding wail. Over the ship’s intercom he heard, “General quarters. General quarters. This is the bridge, all personnel to their stations. This is not a drill.”
Colton hit the floor running, making his way to the bridge. He was always amazed at how quickly crews were able to respond, getting to their individual stations in seconds, all without running over each other. He entered the bridge to find MacKay and Lt. Commander Mercer leaning over the radar, closely examining the display. Their stunned expressions were deadly serious.
“What’s going on?” asked Colton.
“We’re not sure,” answered MacKay. “It appears that we have a giant wave rising up just to the south of us.” Turning to Mercer he asked, “Does the forward lookout have a visual on this?”
“I’ll check and see,” answered Mercer, moving over to the communications console.
“A rogue wave? From the south?” asked Colton. “Has there been any seismic activity in the area?”
MacKay picked up a phone and tapped in five numbers. “Sahir, this is MacKay. Is Argos picking this up?” MacKay waited, and Colton watched as the captain’s face turned pale. “Keep me informed if it starts to get closer.”
“What did he say?” asked Colton.
“Argos lit up like a Christmas tree. Remember the energy readings it took when we first arrived here? Well, they’re back, and the energy levels Argos is picking up now dwarf the previous readings. Sahir’s first guess was that someone had set off a nuclear bomb, but Argos dismissed that idea as being too small.”
“Captain, it appears to be spreading,” said the crewman manning the radar station, his voice tight and strained.
“Spreading?” said MacKay, returning to the radar screen. Both he and Colton watched as a bright yellow line seemed to be starting to encircle the Eclipse.
“Yes sir,” answered the crewman. “It appears to be forming around us.
“Mr. Mercer, any word from the forward lookout?” shouted MacKay.
“No visual on the wave, sir, but he reports that something is starting to black out the sky.”
“That’s nuts,” said MacKay. “I don’t even know what that means.”
“He says that whatever this is, as it gets bigger, the stars start to blur and then completely vanish. It’s as if there’s a wall forming around us,” said Mercer.
Colton grabbed some binoculars and bolted out the door. The forward lookout had been right. Whatever was going on was blacking out the evening sky. Colton rushed back inside and shouted, “Get Fairfax on the phone immediately.”
“What’s going on, Colton?” challenged MacKay. “Do you know what this is?”
“I know as much as you do, but if the energy levels are truly as high as Argos is reporting, then we are probably in serious trouble. We need to warn Admiral Fairfax that this thing is back in all its glory.”
Another crewman shouted out, “Captain, all of our weapons systems just came on line.”
“How did that happen?” shouted MacKay.
Mercer held out a phone to Mackay. “I’ve got Sahir on the line. He’s telling me that Argos just activated our weapons systems. His team is actively working to override that action.”
“Crazy machine is trying to take over the ship,” muttered MacKay, taking the phone from Mercer. “Sahir, we’ll address this later. Does Argos have any idea as to what we’re facing?”
“Commander Colton,” said a crewman, “I’ve got Admiral Fairfax on the phone for you, sir.”
Colton grabbed the phone from the crewman. “Admiral, I may not have much time, but the energy levels that Argos picked up weeks ago is back and even higher than before. There’s also some kind of wall, or force, which we can’t identify, surrounding the Eclipse.”
Admiral Fairfax pointed at Lt. Commander Flanagan, who had joined him in his office, and said, “Alert Captain Ramirez and his team that the Eclipse is in trouble. Get all ships in the area out to their location immediately. Then advise all our defense aircraft that are in the area to proceed to the Eclipse at full speed. I want all NSA and satellite intel from the last hour sent to Captain Ramirez immediately. Once you have all that working, get word to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the Secretary of Defense advising them that I’ll be briefing them in the next ten minutes.” Turning back to the phone he said, “Colton, your signal is breaking up, but I got the gist of it. What’s happening?”
All Fairfax could hear were several bursts of static, intermingled with words. “. . . completely surrounded, we can’t . . . everything is blurring, even our . . . ocean has gone . . .
The line had gone dead and Admiral Fairfax slammed down the receiver. Springing up from his desk he took off to join Captain Ramirez, his mind racing, trying to grasp all the implications around what was happening to the Eclipse. As he ran down the hall he prayed that this was not the start of another war.
Colton was having trouble hearing the admiral. The bridge was in chaos as none of the ship’s systems were responding. “Admiral, this wall, or force, has us completely surrounded, we can’t see beyond a hundred yards,” Colton shouted into the phone. “Everything is blurring, even our systems have stopped functioning. The ocean has gone completely still.”
The bridge of the Eclipse was the only thing that Colton could see clearly. Something was happening to him. He could hear the crew around him, but their words sounded chopped up, he was only hearing every other syllable, making it impossible to understand what was being said. It wasn’t the unnatural silence that blanketed the Eclipse that was keeping him from hearing. Meaning was melting in his mind. The sky, the ocean, all blended into one swirling mass that was rapidly closing in on them. Time wasn’t going in the normal course, and his soul was dizzy.
Colton dropped the phone and waited for the inevitable. Suddenly he became extremely light-headed and grabbed onto the wall for support. Then, without warning, the deck seemed to drop beneath his feet as the Eclipse and all those aboard slipped into darkness.
CHAPTER 7
“What’s the status on those Hornets?” snapped Ramirez.
“They should be approaching the last reported position of the Eclipse in seven-and-a-half minutes sir,” answered Miller. She’d been monitoring the Eclipse for the last twenty minutes. Once again it had been the satellites that had first picked up on the problem, probably even before the Eclipse knew there was anything going on.
She now had the Hornets on her radar, watching as they rapidly closed in. The Boeing F/A 18 E/F Super Hornets were the premier attack fighters flown by the navy and Miller marveled at their capabilities. Armed to the teeth, the Hornets could hit an enemy with devastating impact with airspeed of Mach 1.8. Miller couldn’t even imagine being in something going that fast. But this time, unfortunately, it wasn’t going to be fast enough. A little over two minutes ago the Eclipse had vanished from her screen.
The potential loss of the Eclipse made her sick to her stomach. The only thing she could think of that could have taken out a ship like the Eclipse that quickly would be a catastrophic explosion. The implications of that alone terrified and saddened her.
The door to the situation room burst open and Ramirez watched as Admiral Fairfax rushed in. Ramirez turned his attention back to the multiple screens in front of him. “It’s not good, Admiral.”
“I was just talking to Colton when his signal broke up,” said Fairfax. “Have we lost all communication links?”
“Sir,” said Ramirez, briefly hesitating, “it appears that we have lost the Eclipse.”
The short statement hit Fairfax hard, confirming his worst fears. “I need more than that, Captain. What happened?”
“Once again, we’re not sure. The anomaly that started this whole mission suddenly reappeared. One of our birds picked it up and alerted us to the situation. Right on the heels of that, we received communications from Argos. It had begun to pick up the same energy readings that it had recorded weeks ago when they first arrived. This time, however, the readings were multiples higher than the readings it had previously recorded.”
