James Hogan - Mission to Minerva

"Could be. At least, all that's more likely to happen now." Hunt had the feeling that Danchekker was perhaps unconsciously expressing similar assurances himself. Hunt went on, "And you and I and the Ganymeans are hardly going to be short of work to do in the middle of it all. Just imagine, Chris, the whole Earth as it was. All those early animal forms that you've speculated about and tried to reconstruct for years, walking around, alive and breathing."

Danchekker's expression lightened a fraction as he continued staring out through the widow. It seemed that aspect hadn't occurred to him. Several seconds went by before he answered. "A fascinating thought. Fascinating indeed… It would certainly help with some of the notions of evolution that I've been reconsidering. The same genetic programs expressing different adaptations to varying environmental cues. The Thuriens have a completely different picture from our traditional view. Changes occur suddenly, all at once, in the form of repopulation by new forms and body plans following catastrophic mass-extinctions." Danchekker was about to go on, but Hunt drew his attention to a bus with a small escort of cars front and rear that had entered from the street and was crossing the outer space toward the stone fence.

"It looks as if Shilohin and the party from the lander might have arrived," Hunt said.

"I do believe you're right."

They realized that Laisha had come back over and was looking at Hunt. He raised his eyebrows inquiringly.

She spoke in an amalgam of pidgin Jevlenese-Lambian. "Can speak more? Sorry."

"It's okay."

"Cerians cannot believe ship is from future. Too many… what makes no sense with itself?"

"Contradiction?"

"Yes. We have more questions."

Hunt sighed. There was going to be a lot of this ahead, he could see, and without ZORAC it wasn't going to get any better. He might as well start getting used to it now. Just then, a uniformed Lambian hurried in and muttered something to the three sitting by the door. One of them called something to Laisha. She went over and talked with them for a minute or two with much head shaking and gestures, and occasional glances back toward Hunt and Danchekker. They waited. Then Laisha called them over. Hunt shrugged at Danchekker, and they joined her.

"From…" She waved a hand. "What is place where I was? First see you."

"Communications room."

"Okay. Is connection there to…" Laisha made an expansive gesture in the air. "Communications for all Minerva. Phones. Computers. You know?"

"Okay."

"Message comes in. Nobody knows where from. They think maybe is for Giants."

"A message has been received by the planetary net," Danchekker interpreted, trying to follow along with Hunt.

"What does it say?" Hunt asked.

"Not sure. Nobody understands. But is from person you know? Someone who says is VISAR."

By this time, Harzin and Perasmon had landed, boarded a waiting helicopter, and were due back in Melthis shortly to receive the visitors from the Shapieron. So Hunt and his companions had to wait before learning what had happened. But at least they enjoyed the benefit of having VISAR available online as a translator at their meeting with the two leaders.

Many forms of physical system are analogous in that they involve quantities playing similar roles, related by the same kinds of mathematical equations. Electrical voltage, current, and resistance, for example, correspond to the pressure, flow, and friction in hydraulics. Inductance and capacitance find their counterparts in mechanical inertia and elasticity. The Thurien scientists were beginning to piece together a theoretical construct that enabled many peculiarities of Multiverse to be viewed in terms recognizable in more familiar physics. The analogies were not exact, of course, but they could often serve as an aid to clearer understanding. One area that was proving fruitful in this respect was electrodynamics. In fact, the bizarre zones of time line convergence were found to influence each other remotely across MV space in a manner evocative of the way electrical charges do across ordinary space. The "umbilical" conduit connecting the Gate projectors to the bubble zone of an on-board generator could be thought of as carrying a current between them.

When a magnetic field collapses rapidly, it induces an electromotive force, or voltage, in the circuit carrying the current responsible for the field. The induced voltage acts in such a direction as to try to keep the current flowing. The system exhibits "electrical inertia." An apparently similar situation held when Garuth collapsed the expanded convergence zone built up around the Shapieron. A huge "voltage" was created, which in seeking an outlet found a path to a complementary "pole" in the form of the MV charge concentration at the Thurien Gate, which was operating following a directive from Calazar to launch search probes, forlorn though the scientists said the hopes of success would be.

In effect, a connecting path was created between the Gate and the Shapieron-somewhat like the filament of ionized particles that an electric field creates between a thundercloud and the ground, opening the path which a lighting flash will follow. The result was that the wave defining the probe that VISAR was in the process of launching, instead of going where it was meant to, followed the trail back. The probe's instruments quickly established the presence of the Shapieron and went into beacon mode to mark the location. VISAR was unable to raise ZORAC, however, and so resorted to establishing contact via the Minervan planetary net in the way that by now was routine.

So, they would be going home after all. But there was more. Mainly because of Eesyan's misgivings when the first full Gate test involving the Shapieron was due, VISAR had stored a backup copy of ZORAC-just in case. Now that contact to VISAR had been reestablished, restoration of ZORAC became first priority.

The part of the team who were down in Melthis were taken to the Agracon's communications room to follow the event via the link to the Shapieron. Reloading and linking took awhile because VISAR was restricted to operating via the beacon connection. It could have been carried out more quickly back at Thurien, but Garuth wanted to bring his ship back under the control of the entity he had known for years, and nobody was going to spoil it.

"Integration complete and checking indicators good," VISAR pronounced. "It's all yours." Everyone on the Command Deck looked toward Garuth.

He took a moment to prepare. "ZORAC."

"Commander?"

A wave of relief and elation surged around the company watching from the surface. Some Lambians and Cerians were present also. "Just checking on current status and the schedule for today," Garuth said. "What do you have?"

"Eesyan has approved the last series of raft tests to assess collapse of the local bubble after stabilization. All results affirmative. No anomalies detected. We're cleared for full-scale tests on the Shapieron. On Eesyan's insistence, VISAR has stored a backup of yours truly." Smiles went back and forth among those watching both in the ship and down on the surface. ZORAC was exhibiting the computer equivalent of amnesia, reporting what had been the situation months before. It hadn't realized yet that it was the backup.

"Would you care to analyze the surroundings of the ship, evaluate, and report?" Garuth invited.

A short silence ensued. Nobody expected that it would take a system of ZORAC's logical capability very long to arrive at the correct conclusion.

"I gather that I have some catching up to do," ZORAC responded finally. "And am hugely indebted to Eesyan, to put it mildly. Okay, you've got it. No more wisecracks about the pedantry of biominds." An outbreak of applause greeted the statement.