Колонизация

“Oh, and Kay?”

“Yes?”

“Please hurry. My head feels like it’s going to damn well explode.”

***

Ronan now lay on the hard floor of the station concourse. He couldn’t make sense of anything. The same fragments of thought kept circling around in his brain. Somehow he had lost an hour of his life. And one billion rupees. And now, it seemed, he was losing his mind too. He was finding it harder and harder to recall names, details, places. The pain in his head was a vast weight, crushing his memories beneath it.

Figures milled around him, their faces occasionally looming over him to ask him questions he couldn’t hear. His wife was there, the anxiety clear on her face. For some reason he couldn’t recall her name. That was bad. Paramedics buzzed around, shining lights in his eyes, giving him oxygen, checking his blood pressure. There were also soldiers. Lots of soldiers. Some stood in a ring around him, their black boots filling his vision when he opened his eyes. A group of them had just charged off for the jump gates on some suddenly-urgent mission. He didn’t know why.

None of it made sense. Ronan groaned and closed his eyes.

***

“Can you see them? Have you got the trace?”

The IndPol officer stood over Kay. It was hard to concentrate with him standing there. These things required focus, concentration, not some armed grunt breathing down her neck.

Her hands moved through the display, sifting through the almost limitless threads, each representing a single person’s journey through the jump network. She would only get one shot at this. They had to be careful. If the hackers saw they were being traced they would be gone and that would be the end of Ronan.

“There. That’s them. This gate here.”

“You’re sure?”

“Of course I’m sure. That’s why I said it.”

“OK,” said the soldier. “We’re jumping there now.”

“And I’m coming with you,” said Kay.

“Sorry. No. This is a dangerous military operation. We can’t be worrying about civilians.”

“And I’m sorry, but I am coming,” said Kay. “It’s vital we recover the technology these people have. You do your job and we’ll do ours, understood?”

The IndPol officer looked like he was about to argue, then backed down. Turning away, he began to bellow out orders to his troops.

***

Someone was touching his cheek, trying to rouse him. Ronan flicked open his eyes. He expected to see Sageeta but another woman’s face was there. A woman he recognized.

“Kay? What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be at work in London. I’m not paying you to just galavant around the world.”

“Long story. I’ll explain later. Right now I’m going to scan your brain for anomalies.”

“You’re going to do what?”

“Just be quiet. This is the first time I’ve done this in a public jump station. Turn your head to the side then don’t move.”

Ronan did as he was told. He’d found that was best with Kay. Through a forest of soldiers” boots he could see the jump node he’d emerged from en routefrom Capetown. More of the soldiers were surrounding it. He watched as a squad of them emerged, escorting some prisoners. Two women and a man. One of the women-young, a bright red bindi on her forehead-turned to look directly at him. She scowled. Ronan couldn’t understand why. He’d never seen her before in his life.

He could hear Kay and Sageeta murmuring to each other, something about the readings on the brain sca

“Well,” he said. “Would you two like to tell me what is happening?”

“There’s good news and bad news,” said Kay.

“What’s the bad?”

“You’re the same stubborn old man you were this morning,” said his wife.

“OK. And the good?”

“Your brain is clear of anomalies,” said Kay. “The decryption as you jumped worked. You’re in the clear. And with IndPol’s help we’re recovering the technology they were using. It looks pretty incredible.”

“And the money,” said Sageeta. “We got that back, too.”

“Technology?” said Ronan. “What technology? As usual I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Ronan levered himself up onto his elbows. The room wasn’t spi

He looked back over at the gates. Damned jump network. They always made him sick. This was definitelythe last time he used them.

Colonization

IT IS A PHYSICAL LAW THAT NO object can travel through space faster than the speed of light. However, space itself can and often does. This presents the celestial traveler with a conundrum. For if the space he inhabits is expanding faster than the speed of light, then the proportion of space he occupies-compared to the entire cosmos-lessens. In other words, he will shrink.

Now I am not certain, but I believe that may explain what has happened to me and my beloved. Let me elucidate.

I met Alice five years ago at a sidewalk cafe in New York City. It was a tranquil Sunday in early October, around noon. The air was crisp and cool; cumulus clouds dotted the sky. Alice was eating alone. She held a steaming beverage in her left hand and on a small white plate I spied a chocolate-covered donut.

I noticed she was not wearing a wedding band and I asked if I could join her. She smiled.

We made our introductions. Alice looked to be in her mid-twenties. She had long, straight black hair, lovely pale-green eyes. She was wearing a yellow blouse, cashmere cardigan with bold red buttons, a bright-red wraparound skirt, black sandals. She told me she taught astrophysics at Columbia University. I was impressed.

“That’s some accomplishment for one so young,” I said. It was probably obvious that I was awe-struck. “How old are you, anyway?”

She blushed.

“Twenty-six.”

I told her I was twenty-four, a former graduate student at Columbia who’d been majoring in linguistics, but dropped out when it became apparent I was making little progress.

“Don’t give up,” she said. “You never know what’s around the corner.”

“It wasn’t the field for me.”

“When I was younger I wanted to be a ballerina, but my feet couldn’t stand the strain.

Astrophysics is the same thing only on a larger scale. Why, now I can pirouette amongst the stars!”