The Beacon: Hard Science Fiction by Brandon Morris (red white and royal blue hardcover TXT) 📕

The other Explorers must have turned off into their assigned stations. Norok identified himself with a voiceprint.

“Explorer Norok,” he said.

“Entry granted,” came the automated reply.

A double door opened and they entered the cockpit. Kimikizu counted six seats, each located in front of computers that were within wing’s reach. There were shiny surfaces angled above the seats, and Kimikizu wasn’t sure if these were windows or screens—probably displays. Windows that did not face forward but rather diagonally and upward didn’t seem very practical to her, but the very suggestion of windows made the whole room appear larger and airier.

In the middle of the room was a pillar, about as wide as two Iks, and covered all over with flashing lights.

“Is that an...”

She didn’t dare say the word.

“Yes, it’s an Uncertainty Oracle,” said Norok, smiling.

There were very few of these computers, which operated according to very specific principles of physics. The Iks researchers had developed them just prior to the launch, and there hadn’t been enough time to make more. Their abilities were described as practically limitless, but it was evident to Kimikizu that this view was due to some romanticizing, as was everything related to the home world.

She couldn’t quite believe that there was no longer anyone around who would be able to recreate such an oracle. The Iks couldn’t have just acquired this ability in a few hundred cycles only to immediately lose it. Who knew what political games determined the fate of the oracles? Perhaps the Supreme Leaders were simply afraid that they would surpass them in intelligence and therefore replace them.

“Is this your first time seeing an oracle?” Norok asked.

“Yes,” Kimikizu confessed. “Only the Supreme Navigator can ask our oracle questions. Nobody else has access.”

“That’s too bad. It’s different with us, as you can see. The Oracle is also happy to answer your questions. It doesn’t do any harm if you ask it. On the contrary, it improves itself.”

“Thank you, Norok. I will certainly take advantage of this opportunity.”

“But don’t get your hopes up too high. The Oracle can do the most extensive calculations in a short amount of time, but it is neither omniscient nor omnipotent, and many tasks exceed its capabilities.”

“Like calculating the flight to the rocky planet?”

“That’s not a problem for the Uncertainty Oracle.”

“But the Supreme Navigator said—”

“You shouldn’t believe everything you’re told.”

“Then why am I here?”

“I imagine the Supreme Leaders are interested in what it’s like here. Instead of getting an impression for themselves, they asked your Supreme Navigator to send us someone.”

“So I’m a spy?”

“That’s not what I’d call you.” Norok laughed. “You are our guest and we’re happy that you’re here.”

“But you didn’t request me?”

“I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but we didn’t request you. I hope that we can nonetheless learn from each other.”

This Norok was rightly the Supreme Explorer. He was a perfect example of their species—friendly, polite, courteous, confident, and kind. But Kimikizu was still irritated. She had been sent as a spy without being told about it. So it had never been about her skills. She felt used by the Supreme Leaders. There was only one way to get revenge. She would show everyone how vital her skills were to the success of their mission.

“Spread the wings.”

“Run forward.”

“Leap.”

The automatic system’s statements sounded bizarre when experiencing the launch while strapped to a seat in a flying machine. They harkened back to the old days before there were machines, although they had long since lost their literal meaning. Kimikizu was surprised. Even these oh-so-modern Explorers still kept them. Who had introduced the procedure back then, and when was it?

She considered running a query, but then she felt a rumbling throughout her entire body. It was coming from the depths of the flying machine. The main engine was gathering power, like a silver tiger preparing to take its murderous leap. On the angled surface above her, which turned out to be a screen, after all, she saw sunlight flooding the hangar of the flying machines. Apparently the departure gate had opened. The machine she was in was maneuvered up to the gate on rails. The main engine had gathered enough power. A gigantic catapult would hurl it out of the hatch, and then the engines would be deployed.

The hatch now appeared from the right, indicating that they would launch soon. Kimikizu thought about her flight exercises. Even if the engine didn’t work, she knew where the flight suits were and could make her way back in an emergency. No, she was not afraid. None of the five other Iks in the cockpit seemed to be worried, either.

Kimikizu relaxed until she was, without warning, pressed into her seat. She couldn’t breathe, but the tremendous acceleration only weighed on her briefly. Then the spaceship was free. More displays were activated on the left and right. It almost looked as if someone had opened windows there. The flying machine moved forward weightlessly, driven by the momentum of the catapult, through a deep, narrow valley that had been artificially carved into the asteroid before they’d left the home world.

At its very bottom was the hatch that sealed off the hangar from the outside. Kimikizu realized how naive she had been. She had thought she’d been close to the surface when they were in the hangar, yet there had remained several kilometers of rock between herself and the unforgiving universe. It had been a good idea for the Supreme Leaders to protect their civilization from all dangers with an impenetrable shield.

“Warning, the engine is about to fire,” warned Norok.

Then she felt it. The rumbling turned into a powerful vibration. Her inertia pressed her forcefully into the cushions. The acceleration wasn’t as strong as it had been with the catapult, but she’d have to endure it for a longer time. The rock faces on the left and right moved faster and faster across the screens. Suddenly everything went black as they reached free space. The flying machine banked along its trajectory. First the