Day 00013 Mission Nilex
"Ahmid!"
Ayla heard Ahmid respond from the depths of the Fishery as she raced for the exit. She slowed to step out of the airlock door and found Gareth still some distance away, striding toward her.
He wore his full captain's uniform, and his walk caught her attention. His half jacket tails swayed with each step, the bulge of his sidearm revealing itself every time his right foot landed and his hip moved. Dark blue jacket and gray pants contrasted with the gold insignia on his collar. Ayla understood now what that insignia stood for, and her heart swelled with pride for him, for he'd earned it.
But as she looked at his face, her stomach knotted at the thought of facing him. No emotion came from him. No softening of his eyes at the sight of her, but no hard rejection, either.
She felt Ahmid behind her as he left the Fishery and stepped past her. Grateful that he would be the first to meet the Captain, Ayla kneeled onto the cold hangar floor and lowered her head, giving the Captain her respect as she waited.
It was Ahmid who spoke first when the Captain was close enough. "Greetings, Captain." He bowed. "I am grateful to you for our lives. We are in your debt."
"It is I who am in your debt, Ahmid, and it is Ayla you should be thanking."
Ayla tightened her clasped hands on her lap, keeping her gaze fixed on the floor behind Ahmid's feet. The Captain's polished black ship boots stepped around Ahmid and halted before her.
"Why do you kneel, Ayla? I thought we had an understanding."
Ayla lifted her head to see Gareth holding his hand out to her. She saw only sadness in his hazel eyes as she took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. In that brief contact, she felt his walls back in place, in full force—it was as it had been the first day they'd met.
"There, that is much better." He looked at her a moment longer, then turned to Ahmid. "I promised Ayla that we could go to look in on the Sleep chamber."
Ahmid nodded. "Of course, Captain. I would like that very much."
With a curt nod, the Captain turned and started walking down the lane between the Fishery and the equipment. Ahmid hurried to catch up with the Captain, falling in step beside him, one step behind.
Ayla followed, torn and confused as she tried to understand what she'd perceived within Gareth. The acceptance and sadness she'd seen was only a surface emotion, what he allowed himself to feel. But underneath, there was nothing but the distance he wrapped around himself. The space of Nothing between him and the world was back in place again, not to be penetrated or touched. Ayla felt keenly the depth of time that separated him from his home, his awareness of it. It was like a razor's edge: you didn't feel the cut itself, only the damage done after the cut.
Is it me and all that's happened? Or the prospect of another jump through the Long Years?
Ayla was in such deep thought that she paid no attention to the small talk going on between the two men.
When they came to the hangar's outer wall and entered what she remembered as the engineers' dormitory, she was surprised. This large, sectioned room with low ceiling ran parallel to the locker room where the rest of her Nilex family had lined up to enter cold sleep twelve days ago. But it was much larger than it had been at Canaisis' launch, with passages on the left leading to the locker room, bathrooms, and kitchens, and stairwells on both sides leading to more dormitory levels.
Deep within the dormitory, they arrived at a round door where the Captain checked the monitor on the side before entering a code. They had to step out of the way as the massive door swung open on its broad hinges. Ayla had never seen this door before—it was much thicker than the Bridge door. The room on the other side was the most protected area of the ship, located at its core, the furthest distance possible from the hull. As they stepped into the silent chamber, Ayla found her gaze travel upward in amazement.
How much the Sleep chamber had changed! Level upon level of continuous railing encircled an atrium-like room with no floor or ceiling, seemingly spiraling into infinity. Four columns of elevator tubes paired with stairwells created sections. Each section was lined with sleep pods, and she could not see the end of them as she looked up.
A piece of data popped unbidden into Ayla's mind: this room could now hold ten thousand pods. It drove home just how much Canaisis had grown and changed. The memories of her Journey conflicted with the reality before her, for she remembered a room that held less than a hundred. She'd been knowing but had not Known. She now understood the age and size of Canaisis, the light-years traveled, the breadth of time from her launch...
Ayla watched the Captain's back as she followed him and Ahmid up the nearest flight of stairs to the next level. She could understand the walls of distance around Gareth now. It was Time. All he'd ever known was gone, all places, all people. Every single person he would ever meet would also one day be gone. It made Ayla think of her own situation with the nanos that had saved her life. Would she one day have such walls around herself?
On the second level, they passed each occupied pod as it stood at a slight backward inclination, their tops rimmed by a strip of blue light. Ayla looked in at each face of her family who'd gone to sleep the first week they'd arrived, silently naming each one in greeting, but she felt nothing from them. Opening her senses wide, she perceived their vague presences, but that was all. She and Ahmid paused at each pod to give its occupant a moment. Then came Nafisa and Tahsin side by side, followed by two empty pods with green strip lights indicating their availability, then Abdi, Nura, Lina, Katya, Rayan, Fahid, and Adnad's pods. Of course, Tahsin would have been the last to enter. Ayla glanced at the empty pod next to his. Ahmid should have been in it, but he hadn't been. And she herself in the next one, had she not returned to the Bridge.
Why were men always so willing to do something stupid? Ahmid was lucky he hadn't hurt himself or ended up floating helplessly in the middle of the huge space.
Ayla stepped up to Lina's pod and placed her hand on the glass-like surface. Lina appeared to be floating in the center of the pod as she rested against a gray padding with her eyes closed. Her brows were slightly pinched, evidence of the stress she'd been under at the moment of entering cold sleep.
Rest easy, Lina. Everything's alright.
Ayla turned to Nura's stoic features, frozen in time. You were never one to let a crisis bother you, Sister. I've always admired that about you.
She turned to see Ahmid standing before Tahsin with his head bowed in prayer. The Captain had stayed back, respecting their time. She joined him next to the railing and waited for Ahmid, but the Captain stared straight ahead, not acknowledging her presence. When Ahmid was finished and walked toward them, the Captain turned to leave without waiting. Ayla mirrored his actions and walked side by side with him down the stairs and out through the main door. He swiped his hand over the keypad, and the door began to close. That seemed to break the solemn silence that had enveloped them.
"Thank you for taking this time with us, Captain," said Ahmid. "Is there anything we can do to help with repairs?"
The Captain faced him and nodded in acknowledgment. "I'm sure you have work of your own that is unfinished, Ahmid. I'll let you know if I need a hand with something. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have duties to attend to." He started walking away.
"Of course, Captain."
That was when Ayla remembered. "Captain?"
Halting, Gareth turned around to look at her. Now that she had his attention, she wasn't sure of the best way to bring up the subject as she approached him. Deciding to just be blunt, she kept her words short and to the point.
"Canaisis suggested there's a way to set up sensors to test for quantum entanglement. She said to ask you about them?"
His expression didn't change, and his voice remained neutral, "Quantum entanglement?"
"Yes. I want to see if there's an entanglement with the Oak tree."
Gareth's eyes remained locked with hers, but that millisecond of unfocus occurred. He and Canaisis were talking. After a moment, he spun on his heel and continued walking, and Ayla and Ahmid followed. She strode up to walk beside Gareth and glanced over to discover an intense state of focus on his face.
«He's having quite a conversation with you, isn't he, Canaisis?» she thought.
«Yes, Ayla. Can you blame him? You did come out of the blue with your request.»
«Out of the blue?»
«To approach without forewarning or detection—unexpectedly. The expression originated during the time of airplane development. The Earth sky is blue and a plane could sometimes descend unseen.»
«Oh. We say "out of the black". A shuttle suffering a loss of power can be hard to detect without radar.»
«Makes sense for a spacefaring people»
Gareth took a deep breath and turned his attention to Ayla as they walked.
"I hear your request. We can provide something that can help you verify your theory. It will require a series of instruments to be set up around the Tree. I'll bring them to the Garden and show you how to set them up. Ahmid can help you. Meet me in the Garden in an hour."
With that, Gareth strode away at a brisk pace. As Ayla watched him leaving them behind, Ahmid came up beside her. She could tell Ahmid was pleased with the Captain's formal response, but she herself wasn't so sure. There had been something disquieting about Gareth's being so formal.
"I think you'd better start explaining this theory of yours, Ayla. It had better be a good one if I'm going to let you anywhere near that tree."
Ayla met his gaze. "The Tree holds no power over me anymore, Ahmid." She focused within herself to make sure and found nothing agitating the calm ocean.
"I hear you, Ayla. But I will decide on that."
They continued walking, and Ahmid said nothing more, letting her think. As they passed the last of the bunk beds, they came to the hangar. It was only when they were out in the open that Ayla began explaining her theory. Ahmid listened without interruption. Then she waited for the questions to come.
"I've never heard of an entanglement that crossed time, but it seems possible," he commented. "You think the Captain of the past is the anchor? Created, somehow, by a weapon used in this war?"
"Ever heard of an imprint lasting this long and remaining this strong?" she rebutted.
Ahmid shook his head. "No. But I could equally argue that it's not entanglement or an imprint but rather some element that affected your Gift, making it stronger. The nanos perhaps."
Ayla had to concede his point. "There's no way to know for sure. But can the Gift make a tree sterile? Remember, this is not the first acorn to be grown. And consider the symptoms: short life and infertility. Isn't it odd that they're that specific? You weren't there. You didn't see what I saw."
"Perhaps it's not that complicated. It could be as simple as survivor's guilt," stated Ahmid, as if closing an argument.
"But it is that complicated. Think of all he's seen. I'm not saying survivor's guilt isn't a factor, but can anything be simple for a man who has seen the passage of history like he has? We're not the first civilization he's seen rise to spacefaring level."
"You have a point, Ayla, as hard as it is to believe. But the legends are clear, so I support your endeavor. We shall do all we can for him—he deserves that much from us. What do we need from the Facility?"
"I'm changing into work clothes. You've seen the Garden—do you think it was spared from harm?"
Ahmid's lips curved into a smile. "You're right—I hadn't thought that far ahead. And that's something we can do for him. We have some time. Any thoughts on what we should bring?"
Ayla considered the thought as they made their way to the Fishery and they began bouncing ideas off of each other. Unfortunately, not much could be planned without seeing what damage the Garden had suffered first.
∞
Ayla and Ahmid didn't have to wait long before the Garden door.
"Permission granted," stated Canaisis as the door began to open. Sunlight spilled out into the corridor as the smells of Nature hit them.
Ahmid inhaled the air, then took Ayla by the elbow as they walked up the ramp, through the thick doorway, and down on the other side onto the soil. At first, following the trail between the shrubbery and smaller trees seemed more or less normal. But the further in they traveled, the damage became apparent. Trees had been torn from the ground, and lay crippled with large patches of their leaves turning yellow or brown. Plants around the trunks were shriveling, their stalks broken. Fruits and nuts littered the ground, snatched from their branches by the force of the explosion that had rocked the whole ship.
They had to step over, around, or under tree trunks and branches that had snapped downward with the upward force, then settled at various angles on the ground when the gravity returned. Some hung perilously from the trunks of trees that used to tower above them. Clods of roots and brown dirt were strewn everywhere on everything.
From a low-lying branch hung a long, wispy plant with blue flowers, wilting. It hung upside down with its root ball of dirt trapped in the fork of the branch. Ahmid pulled it loose, looked around, and found its brethren plants several paces away. He went to scoop a hole between them, tenderly set the plant in it, and tapped the soil around the roots.
"I'll bring you water, my friend. Be patient."
«Ayla.»
Canaisis' silent voice startled Ayla out of being absorbed with reading Ahmid's emotions.
«Please inform Ahmid that it will rain tonight. But I thank him for the gesture.»
«No, Canaisis. Do not lessen his gesture—let him do what he can to help.»
«I trust your judgment, then. You'll find a canteen in the drawer of the picnic table.»
Canaisis' consideration brought a little smile to Ayla's lips. When she returned her attention to Ahmid, she found him regarding her, unamused.
"What? You find me silly?"
"No, Ahmid. I find you endearingly cute."
"As a leader, that's hardly a quality to inspire authority." He walked over to her. "Let's get going."
With that, he once again gripped her elbow as they tried to follow the trail. The gesture made Ayla realize Ahmid was keeping her close. She sensed only concern from him, but could tell he was staying hyper alert.
He fears for me. Or is it the Tree he fears? I cannot blame him for lacking trust.
Ayla focused within herself as she stepped over another branch, but found only the calm ocean of mathematical symbols surrounding the island and its cage. She had nothing to fear, but convincing Ahmid would take some effort. For now, she'd let him read her all he wished. She'd give him nothing to be alarmed about.
Relaxing into Ahmid's touch, she ducked with him under a branch of wilting leaves before they stepped out into the picnic area and halted in mid-step.
"Oh my..." was all Ahmid could say.
Ayla nodded in agreement. All the destruction filled her with sadness. What used to be a grassland clearing was now strewn with twigs, branches, fruits, and leaves. At the center, the roots of the massive Oak tree sprawled into a great fan shape above the picnic table, as it leaned away to rest on its lower branches. She unclenched her fists, but she couldn't unclench the knots in her stomach at the devastating sight. It would take years for the Garden to recover to its former glory. They walked to the picnic table in silence. Ahmid's focus was on the Tree, but they had to watch their steps as the ground grew into a lumpy terrain of torn-up chunks of grass where the roots had been yanked out of the ground.
The picnic table with its solid base stood exactly where she remembered it from before the impact, angled away from the Tree, and looked to be intact under the litter of twigs and leaves. Ahmid directed Ayla to step back and stay put until he'd removed a branch and swept the table and seating clean. Only then did he let her approach and sit down.
"And now, we wait." He sat down beside her at the end bench, between her and the Tree, casting it watchful glances.
Ayla scooted down the side bench to the other end of the table and opened the drawer. True to Canaisis' word, it contained a carry-strap canteen with a screw top seal. She pulled it out and held it up for him to see. "You wait. I'll fill this up."
Ahmid just stared as she got up and walked to the water faucet that pushed out from the ground. After filling the canteen, she set it on the table and looked around until she spotted some trees she recognized.
"I'll be right back," she said as she turned to go.
Ahmid lunged to his feet and opened his mouth to protest, but she cut him off by pointing in opposite the direction from the Oak tree.
"Relax, Ahmid. I'm just going over there."
He looked at where she pointed, then nodded and sank back down, watching her walk to the trees she'd indicated. She found plenty of yellow fruit on the ground among the trees that had settled crookedly back into their holes. Little roots stuck up in the air around the edge of the holes.
Surveying the scattered fruit, she picked up a few to examine their ripeness. She chose four and brought them back with her to place on the picnic table. Without thinking, she reached for the drawer again and opened it before realizing she'd left it empty. But she found two plates and a paring knife where there had been none.
«Nice trick, Canaisis,» she thought, «but don't let Ahmid see that or he'll freak out.»
An amused giggle rang in her mind as she handed Ahmid a plate. Setting the other one before her, she sat down and began peeling the fruit. Ahmid watched as she gripped the fruit and pulled it apart to reveal its inner sections. She dropped one half onto Ahmid's plate, plucked a section from her own half, and tossed it into her mouth. As she chewed, she began peeling another fruit.
Ahmid sniffed at the half he picked up from his plate.
"Don't be so suspicious, Ahmid. You've had this before."
He set his half down on the plate again. "Are we being disrespectful to the Captain, Ayla? Will he approve of this behavior?"
Ayla popped another section into her mouth and focused on peeling of the fruit. After swallowing, she said, "No, we're not being disrespectful. The Captain wanted us to enjoy this Garden. Besides, I'm peeling these for him, too, so he can join us when he gets here."
"If you're sure he won't mind."
"Of course I'm sure. Now quit bothering me so I can get this done before he arrives."
Ahmid nodded in acceptance, popped a section into his mouth, and threw one leg over the bench, turning his body so he could look at the Oak tree. From where they sat, all they could see was the fan of roots lifting up into the air. Most of the tap root still hung on, buried in the ground, Ayla noted.
Thank Gaia for the small things.
She glanced at Ahmid as she peeled the last fruit. He'd taken on a look of concentration, working out calculations to some problem within his mind. She decided to wait and see what he was thinking, rather than interrupt his thoughts. They ate the fruit until the silence was broken by the rustle and crunching of movement through the vegetation before Gareth appeared from between the trees. As he strode across the grass, Ayla saw a floating transport plate push branches out of the way to follow him.
Sadiki, she remembered, a corner of her mouth rising, though this one could just as easily be another transport plate. It was neatly stacked with a dozen black metal boxes.
She and Ahmid rose from the bench and bowed in unison to the Captain as he approached the end of the table. Ayla suppressed the knot in her stomach and gave him a gentle smile.
"I have prepared a small meal for us, Captain," she said, breaking the tradition of letting Ahmid speak first. She motioned at the table with the plates of fruit. "Your day will be busy, and I doubt you will take the proper time to eat. Please, accept this gesture of gratitude for the time you have made for us."
Gareth glanced at the table, his face giving nothing away as he bowed his head in acceptance. The transport plate slid up beside him and stopped, and he motioned at it. "My apologies for being late. It took more work to recover these instruments than I anticipated."
Ahmid bowed again. "What exactly are they, and how do they work?"
Gareth stepped up to the table, and Ayla pushed her plate of sectioned fruit within his reach.
"Do not stop eating on my account—I will not stay long."
He gestured for Ahmid to sit back down, then picked up a piece of fruit and sampled it. When Ayla and Ahmid were seated, Gareth lifted a black box with both hands from the sled and set it down on the table.
"This sensor contains a radioactive isotope of hydrogen called Tritium, or Hydrogen-3. The nucleus of Tritium contains one proton and two neutrons, and its half-life of radioactive decay is twelve years. The element is contained within an absolute vacuum and maintained at near-absolute zero temperature.
"Magnetic bottle fields keep the atom centered within the vacuum chamber. Of course, it's a very small bottle to hold only a single atom. The rest of this," he tapped the box with his finger, "is the support system for the magnetic bottle: temperature control and passive sensors to read the state of the atom. Specifically, to read the spin of the proton and any electrical charge difference that may occur, plus its radioactive decay. The sensors need to be equally spaced around the Tree very precisely so they can synchronize with each other. Canaisis can help you with that. We'll be able to see if anything causes distortion over the lifespan of the decay."
"Such as?" prompted Ahmid.
"Well, I can't claim to be an expert on the subject. But from my understanding, quantum entanglement operates on the principle of wave function. The best way to describe it, in this situation, is that wave function is the range of freedom of choices a particle has. Since a particle can have multiple choices—positive and negative spin, or positive and negative charge, for example—all at the same time, this freedom is best described mathematically as a wave. Waves propagate other waves, so we can observe the entanglement in its effects on the Tritium's decay, which has its own wave/particle choices."
"Passive observation, then, using Hydrogen-3," said Ahmid. "Genius."
Gareth arched an eyebrow at him.
"I do have a background in fusion drives, Captain, though mainly using Deuterium. So I do understand the odd characteristics of Hydrogen isotopes. But, from what you're describing, this will take twenty-four years of observation before the experiment is finished."
Gareth shrugged. "Longer, due to being maintained at near-absolute zero. But such is how some things are in the Universe, Ahmid. For us, time is not an issue."
"Cold sleep does give an odd perspective."
"It's only odd for those unfamiliar with it."
Ahmid gave a hearty laugh. "And the same is true of insanity. I'm beginning to understand, Captain."
Gareth simply nodded, and Ayla mentally nodded with him. She could better understand his perspective than anyone, and she stood with him on this point of view. Knowing that he was ready to leave, she pulled a cleaned handkerchief from her ship clothes pocket—the handkerchief he'd given her a week and a half ago—and loaded it with several slices of fruit from her plate.
"Please, take these with you, Captain." She folded the corners over them, wrapping them into a bundle, and proffered it to him with both hands.
Gareth's brief pause betrayed him as he recognized the handkerchief. Then bowed his head to her before taking the bundle and putting it in one of his jacket pockets.
"Thank you for taking this time, Captain," said Ahmid. "Would you object if we spend time here afterwards, to help the Garden heal?"
Ayla didn't see Gareth shift, or his eyes flick toward the Oak tree, but she sensed his entire focus was on it without looking. That split second of distance came to his eyes as he regarded Ahmid. "No. You may spend time here. My duties lie elsewhere."
He met Ayla's gaze for a second. In that moment, within his eyes she read volumes. It struck her hard, and she lowered her gaze as she tried to come to terms with what she'd seen.
His pain was her hope. His words, as he continued speaking to Ahmid, didn't even register or sting as they should have, because that moment of looking into his eyes filled her Universe.
"The conduct of your Nilex members is your responsibility, Ahmid. I don't have the time right now." With that, he turned to leave.
Ayla looked up as Ahmid spoke after him, "I take full responsibility, Captain. You have nothing to fear."
Ahmid locked eyes with her, but she could not read what he was silently telling her. Her mind was frozen on the moment she'd looked into Gareth's eyes.
They'd told her he did not want to hurt her, but he'd known he would have to speak words he thought would bring her pain. She'd felt the anguish, sensed his desire to protect her, but also his resolution to follow his duty, despite how he felt.
She was looking at Ahmid, but within her mind, she saw only Gareth's hazel eyes.
He'll always be a captain first. I must accept that fact.
But still... she'd seen his pain, and that meant something to her. It was something she could cling to.
"Well, shall we finish eating or get to work?" asked Ahmid.
The spell broken, Ayla could only nod, feeling better, her world a little brighter. Within her heart, an acorn of hope sprouted.
≈ ∞ ≈
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