The Destroyer

Chapter Four

The MERV started to decelerate as it approached the LEO 7 station, where the travelers would receive initial checkups and processing before making their final drop to earth. By the time Bill Jantzen finally responded to Command and their emphatic instructions not to launch, the MERVs were already accelerating for earth, now an unfamiliar and unwelcoming home. The chastising was quickly curtailed. What was done, was done, and there was sensitivity to the martian plight. That would be the first and last voyage home from Mars. There was no point in creating further contention.

*****

"Why do you make this crusade with these misfits from Mars?" General Bud Haley pointed his question sharply at Lola. Despite her age and stature, Haley was not one to mince words, or waste any on pleasantries or diplomacy, even when addressing Lola. "Why, their situation is no worse than a lot of folks right here at home and you know it. So what's the angle here?"

The General was responsible for the security and movement of all people and resources traveling to and from earth to orbit. Lola was disinterested in these types of concerns or questions, and did not pretend to feel otherwise. "My goal is to save everyone, General. Even you." The power dynamic was now reversed and the General was suddenly struggling for words to counter Lola in this imaginary debate. In his position, he knew as much as anyone on the inside. Lola's words, while seemingly timid and deferential to most, were taken differently by General Haley. He knew what she meant and it was neither timid nor deferential. "The Martians are of particular interest to me, not because I feel extra compassion for them, but because they represent a small society, completely segregated and self reliant. This has implications for the research we are doing. Anything further, general?"

"No Ma'am."

"I need them to be released to the care of the research center as soon as you have cleared them."

"May I ask why these subjects are so important?"

"Bud, we have known each other a long time. The explanation is quite involved. Can you just trust me on this?"

"Lola, I do trust you. I am just asking. I have an interest to understand it. I was a science guy too ya know, a long time ago."

Lola gave Haley a look, eyelids heavy, as if to say, "really? I don't have time for this." But after a long steady exhale, she started. "The Martians help us understand how to operate under the effects of time dilation. There are two main causes of time dilation. One is caused by very high gravity. The other is caused by very high velocity." Lola could see from Haley's attentiveness and laser focus, that he was serious in his desire to know more. She continued. We are interested in both, but we don't have ready access to high gravity or high velocity. But the Martians, given their distance from us, allows us to use the time delay as a way to simulate how the programming needs to work."

"What programming?"

"Well. When the Earth is no longer habitable, humanity will need to be preserved in a non biological form. Surely, you are aware of this pending crisis."

"Between you and me, I believe that. But the official storyline they tell us to follow, is that the cycle is about change - swing back to normal - back to the good ol' days."

"Yes. Well? That's a fantasy. It's just a distraction perpetrated by necessary players. I might normally despise the politicians. But out of their ignorance and self interest comes a kind of drumbeat for most of humanity. It keeps the order. If the masses knew that they were doomed no matter what, there would not be a lot of listening to me or anyone else."

"But what about the Martians? What is the programming difficulty?"

"Even now, we have the capability of operating in two instances, one is in our brain, the other is in a computer. They are operating in parallel and they can interact and more important, they constantly recalibrate in order to be the same. Otherwise, we have merely created new entities, not multiple instances of the same entity. Currently, the brain is the limitation. It can't recalibrate as quickly as the machine.  But once the brain is out of the picture, there are new possibilities."