“Do you agree with that assessment?” Elaine Doi asked the SI.
“It is logical. We do not believe it was coincidence that the barrier was switched off at the same time as the Second Chance arrived. That it was done by the Dyson aliens seems unlikely. By simple elimination it had to be the creators of the barrier, or yet another alien.”
“Neither of which has any valid motive,” Brewster Kumar said.
“No apparent motive,” the SI said. “But as we do not yet know the actual reason behind the establishment of the barrier, guessing at the basis for its removal is an irrelevant exercise.”
“Don’t you think it was put up because the Dyson aliens are aggressive?” Wilson asked.
“It is a plausible theory, yes,” the SI said. “But why was it deemed necessary to enclose Dyson Beta in a similar barrier?”
“Good point,” Rafael Columbia acknowledged.
“I don’t know,” Wilson said wearily. “But what we have established is how dangerous the aliens at Dyson Alpha are.”
“Apparently dangerous,” Thompson Burnelli said. “Let’s face it, if an alien species had observed Earth in the twentieth century, especially during the Second World War, they would conclude we were irredeemably violent. I’m surprised they didn’t put a barrier around us while they had the chance, if that is the reason these things are built.”
“We’ve grown out of that phase,” Elaine Doi said. “Rejuvenation and interstellar expansion have completely altered our psychology and culture.”
“Don’t start that argument again,” Brewster Kumar said. “We got lucky, that was all.”
“We make our own luck,” Elaine said. “As a race we have great potential within us. Have some faith.”
“We’re not discussing us,” Nigel said. “We’re here to decide what to do about a bunch of aliens with an awful lot of nuclear weapons and a propensity to use them.”
“They have nukes and no doubt a great many other sophisticated weapons,” Rafael Columbia said. “But they do not have any form of FTL, which gives us a safety margin of seven hundred and fifty light-years. That’s a very big safety margin.”
“They didn’t have FTL, because there was no need for it inside the barrier, and FTL was blocked by the barrier,” Wilson said. “But given their demonstrated technological capability, I wouldn’t count on any kind of distance keeping them away from us.”
“How long would it take them to build FTL starships?”
Everyone looked at Nigel. He shrugged. “Like Wilson said, they have a high technology industrial base. Once you’ve worked out the basic theory, you could have a prototype hyperdrive up and running in a matter of months if you devote enough resources to the project. The key question is, if you can put that math together in the first place.”
“We have to assume they can.” Elaine Doi said. “They saw the Second Chance in operation.” She grimaced. “And they might well have Bose and Verbeke.”
“They’ll suicide before that happens, surely,” Rafael Columbia said. “They know what’s at stake.”
Wilson cleared his throat uncomfortably. Everybody around the table turned to look at him. They’d all been in the game long enough to recognize bad news from any distance.
“All crew members, myself included, were equipped with an insert which will perform that function,” Wilson said. “However, we can reasonably assume Bose and Verbeke will assess the situation first. If they were to make an initial nonviolent contact with the Dyson aliens, I would expect them to make some attempt to communicate and build up a rapport. Only if it looked hopeless would they resort to a complete datawipe of their memory inserts and suicide.”
“So they’ll do it then?” Elaine Doi said; she seemed to be urging him to say yes. “I mean, they know they’ll be re-lifed within the Commonwealth. They’ll only lose a day at the most, surely? And it could be a very unpleasant day, at that.”
“I am reasonably convinced Emmanuelle Verbeke will do the right thing,” Wilson said. “But—and I hope to Christ I’m wrong—we may have a problem with Bose.”
“What do you mean, a problem?” Thompson Burnelli demanded.
Wilson stared at the Senator. “His training and assessment weren’t as thorough as everyone else on board. After selection, he spent some time in a rejuve tank reducing his body age. The remaining time was limited before we launched.”
“Then why the fuck did you let him on board?”
“Political expediency,” Nigel interjected smoothly. “Same reason your man Tunde Sutton was on board.”
Thompson leveled a rigid forefinger at Nigel. “Tunde passed every test you threw at him.”
“He certainly did. And if he’d been rejected at the final selection process, along with everyone else who had connections to Earth’s Grand Families, you would have been the first to cause a stink.”
“Maybe. But at least Tunde was properly trained, not like this Bose character. What kind of half-assed operation are you running here?”
“The only one in town.”
“Jesus H. Christ.” Thompson sat back, and gave both Nigel and Wilson a disgusted look.
“Very well,” Elaine Doi said. “In the worst-possible case, the Dyson aliens know a lot about us, they can build an FTL starship, and they know where we are. What do we do about that?”
“Same as the last time,” Wilson said. “Send a mission to find out what’s going on.”
“One that has a greater success than last time, one sincerely hopes,” Crispin Goldreich said.
“It will be,” Nigel said. “The Second Chance was a shot completely into the unknown. We had to build something that could tackle just about any contingency, a true exploratory vessel. This time the mission will be very tightly defined. These ships will be smaller, and possibly even a little cheaper.”
“Why do you need more than one?” Elaine Doi asked.
“So the others can monitor what happens to the one that attempts to make contact, and report back if it’s lost,” Wilson said. “By now the Dyson aliens know who we are, and possibly that we didn’t put up the barrier. They certainly know we are no threat to them. How they react to us this time around will be crucial.”
“I wouldn’t like that job,” Rafael Columbia muttered.
“I’m not looking forward to it myself,” Wilson said. “But it has to be done, and done properly.”
“You got something to prove?” Thompson Burnelli asked quietly.
Wilson didn’t rise to it.
“I take it these ships are on the drawing board?” Elaine Doi asked.
“Oh, yes,” Nigel said. “As soon as we completed the Second Chance design, I authorized preliminary assessment on a possible smaller exploration starship. Adapting that to a fast scout vehicle is relatively simple. From what we learned about building the hyperdrive for Second Chance we can modify future versions for a much greater speed. That whole life-support wheel structure has been dumped, the crew can slum it in freefall. We’ve also minimized the reaction drive along with its ancillary garbage; there was no need for it apart from short-range maneuvering. But we have bumped up the armament quotient. They’ll be able to fight as well as run.”
“And what will their mission be, exactly?” Brewster Kumar asked.
“They must discover more about the nature of the Dyson aliens. If they are truly warlike. If they are developing FTL starships or opening wormholes to nearby star systems. FTL in particular would be hard to hide, given a wormhole signature is so readily detectable. Of course, if they have any knowledge in that field, that will mean they can probably spot us coming as well.”