Outcasts of Gideon

Returning Home : Part 3

Quinton arrived nearly two hours later. He shuffled his way toward them across the open space. The tremor of many years shook his bent frame. His feet offered a faint whisper of his slow movement in the otherwise empty space. Kishan remembered him as an imposing figure, tall and broad. His clothes now hung loosely from his shoulders. Their billowy folds hid his slight frame. Kishan rose to meet him.

"Each time I see you," said Quinton, "You seem more like your father."

"And you more like father time."

"The whiteness of my hair should not fool you, young Saanvi. I am still a match for your wit."

"I would have it no other way." Kishan turned toward Grant. "This is Grant Lackey, a wayward traveler."

Quinton took Grant's hand. "Wayward is the only sort of traveler I like."

Grant's face flushed. "It's not the way I like to live."

"For most of us, time erodes the will to keep moving. This has not yet happened to our young Saanvi." Quinton embraced Kishan.

Kishan endured the show of affection. "It's good to see you, but we have limited time." Quinton backed away. Kishan reached for the satchel.

"And so we come to it. The reason for your visit. You have brought at least one challenge for me."

"Yes, at least one." Kishan led Quinton to a seat. He and Grant took seats opposite the old man. Kishan placed the satchel before them on the table. "Tell me. How familiar are you with power sources? Have you encountered something like this?" He lifted the flap on the satchel, careful to reveal as little of the brightness as he could. He lifted the leikela, using his hand to shield the old man from the blinding light.

Quinton stroked the length of his beard. "This bright light. It fits in the palm of your hand?"

"It's in a small casing."

"I have heard of it, but never seen it. I assumed it was just theory. Something about gravity."

"But how could that be? Gravity is such a weak force."

"Only if we think in terms of three dimensions."

"How else would we think?" asked Grant.

"If we think within three dimensions, we largely know how things like gravity work. If we think beyond that, then there are greater potentials, at least in theory."

"Greater potentials?"

"Imagine, if you will, a two dimensional space. Were we to occupy it, objects filling more than two dimensions would be inconceivable. Our understanding of space would not include a third or fourth dimension."

The memory of his father explaining this flooded Kishan's mind. He interrupted Quinton. "In a two dimensional world, we would only know width and depth. A three dimensional object would first appear as a single point. It would grow and shrink as the object passed through our space. We would only be able to perceive our two dimensions. We would never know about any of the other dimensions."

"Exactly. We don't see gravity. We experience its effect. But this light might be an example of it passing through our three dimensional space. At least in theory."

Grant's face contorted. "So you don't agree with this?"

"There might be an infinite number of ways that a force like gravity could appear. That doesn't mean I disagree. Perhaps it's not likely, but we have no idea what gravity would look like in a fourth physical dimension. What we do know is that gravity bends space-time. With the added spacial dimension, it might indeed present some other potential."

Grant turned toward Kishan. "Do you ever get a straight answer out of him?"

"No, he's right. We can't rule out gravity." Kishan rose. "Unfortunately, knowing how it works isn't as important right now as finding a way out of this system. We are being pursued. Our pursuers include the Damasos, though they may not be our greatest danger."

"I may still have some useful contacts. Not as many as I did, of course. What did you have in mind?"

"I left a massive crater on a planet in the Odyssey Omega system. We stole the ship we arrived in from my former employer. He is invested in what we are carrying. Mister Lackey here has a stake in that as well. I'm thinking it would be best to sell both this power source and the ship. We'll need a market."

"Fraught with challenges." The old man rose slowly from his seat. Kishan stepped around to assist him. "We should make our way to Ascanius. As you've seen, there are few people left in this part of the settlement."

"That may work to our advantage."

"Not if you hope to sell your prize."

Grant rose as well. "There's also the matter of the others."

"There are three others with us, but their story might take them in a different direction."

"Don't forget the device they're carrying," added Grant.

Quinton's eyebrow rose. "Device?"

"A distraction." Kishan wished Grant hadn't mentioned it.

"An alien distraction."

"Alien? Mister Lackey, I have seen and heard of dozens of alien artifacts, never to find them genuine. In fact, I may have fabricated a few in my day." Quinton placed his thin, weathered hand on Grant's shoulder. "You will have to tell me more of this distraction."