Charles Sheffield - The Spheres of Heaven

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Banned from interstellar travel for their aggressiveness, humans have one last chance to regain the stars, provided they can solve the mystery of the disappearance of a pair of alien ships lost somewhere in the unknown part of space known as the Geyser Swirl. This sequel to
continues Sheffield’s far future history of humanity’s attempts to explore the universe. His skill at blending hard science with fast-paced plotting and colorful characters makes this a first-rate SF adventure that belongs in most libraries.

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Chan wished that Dag Korin were on board, to say Or get sense from an overgrown artichoke . Suddenly, he felt immensely weary. He leaned back in the control chair. “We didn’t desert Chrissie and the Tarb, or Eager Seeker and Vow-of-Silence. We didn’t even desert Friday Indigo. I mean, it looked like we did, but we really didn’t. As for Dag Korin …”

“The General was on the Malacostracan ship,” Deb said. “The one that entered the Link ahead of us. I know you wanted to be on it instead of him, Chan. But we did desert Tarbush and Chrissie. We left them behind on Limbo. You can’t deny that.”

“I don’t. But I spoke to them before we left, and it’s not the way it seems. As for Dag Korin, we didn’t have much choice. The Mallies wanted to be taken through to our universe, and that was the last place we wanted them.” Chan turned to Elke Siry. “You know the multiverse a lot better than I do. Would you explain that part of it, and I’ll do the rest?”

“Well.” Elke bit her lower lip and looked at Tully for support. He nodded encouragingly. “Well, I guess so. It starts because the multiverse exists on many different levels. We’re back in our own original level now, and Limbo is in a different one. The levels differ in the total mass-energy associated with them. The way that I like to think of it, a higher total mass-energy corresponds to a higher frequency of that universe’s spacetime, exactly the way that a higher frequency implies a higher energy in electromagnetic radiation. Higher frequency means a higher clock rate. So if you know the mass-energy of a level of the multiverse, you can use it to calculate rates for the passage of time.”

“Elke,” Tully said gently. “Time is passing right here, and you’re not at all clear. I can’t speak for the others but I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I do,” said Bony. “Or I think I do. Elke, are you saying that a clock can run at a different rate in every multiverse?”

“Exactly.” Elke nodded toward Chan. “He knew all this, which is why he asked me to do what I did.”

“Which was to seek out the most extreme case she could find,” Chan added. “I had given Elke a task: look for a level of the multiverse where the clock rate is slowest . She found one that she called the Omega level, a place where time runs two thousand times as slow as it does on Limbo. While one day passes in the Omega level of the multiverse, two thousand days — more than six years — go by on Limbo. And time on Limbo runs sixty times as slow again as it does in our own universe. Two months pass here, one day passes there. So when you put those two factors together, if you spend one day on the Omega level three hundred and twenty-eight years go by in our universe. It was my plan to take the Mallies to the Omega level” — he glanced at Deb — “but Dag Korin had other ideas. He went in my place.”

Chan pulled a printed sheet from his pocket and illuminated it with his helmet lamp. “The General seems pretty upbeat about the whole thing. Here’s what he wrote to us: Benjamin Franklin is one of my heroes. He said he wished that he could be pickled in a barrel for a couple of hundred years so that he could see what the world was like when he came out. I feel the same way. And who knows? Maybe that’s what I’ll do. As soon as the Mallie ship emerges on the Omega level, I’ll tell them that I made a minor miscalculation, and we have to go back to Limbo and try again. I don’t think The One will kill me at that point — she will be relying on me. If they make the turnaround at once, say four hours Omega-time, and then they find a way to make an immediate jump through to our own universe — which they’re not about to learn from me, you can be sure of that — you’ll have fifty-plus years to get yourselves ready for their arrival, because time on Limbo runs sixty times as slow as it does on Earth, and the Omega level runs two thousand times slower than Limbo. I reckon that when they get there you should be able to organize a pretty strong welcoming party. But don’t damage the Mallie ship too much, because I plan to be on it. Actually, I suspect that long before I get there, you will have — well, you know my philosophy. I’m going to leave the rest of the thought to you. ” Chan folded the letter. “The first time I met Dag Korin, he said that no matter what people tell you about old soldiers fading away, he didn’t want to be like that. He’d rather go down in flames. He also explained to us, several times, his philosophy. Generals and admirals who are lightyears — or universes — away from the battle should not try to control the action. So he won’t tell us what we have to do next. But he hints at it, with his comment that time on Limbo runs sixty times as slow as it does on Earth.”

Deb said suddenly, “You didn’t desert them. You knew we’d be going back. You always intended to go back.”

“Of course.” Chan could sense the tension lessening around the cabin. “Look at it this way. Chrissie and Tarbush have loads of supplies, enough for weeks. Eager Seeker is already living off the land, and Vow-of-Silence can survive for a long time without any food at all. Even if it takes three months to organize a rescue party, that’s only a day and a half on Limbo.”

“It will take less than three months,” the Angel said. “How long, engineer, before this ship has the power to send a signal?”

It took a second for Bony to realize that the Angel must be talking to him. A real engineer at last! “Just a few more minutes. We’re reaching a critical recharge point.”

“Very good. When that happens, we will send our signal. And we will exert our authority, as an Angel of Sellora, to requisition at once another ship; a ship, this time, equipped for a submarine environment and with defenses against Malacostracan attack.”

“Do you want to get back so quickly because you’re worried about Eager Seeker and Vow-of-Silence?” Elke asked. More than anyone else in the cabin she seemed at ease with the Angel.

“Not at all. They are more than able to look after themselves. What interests us — and them — is the further exploration of the multiverse and the potential of anti-gravity; plus, of course, the vast excitement of adding another species to the roster of known intelligences.”

“The bubble people?” Bony said.

“We were thinking more of the Malacostracans.”

“But they’re monsters ,” Bony protested. “Look what they did to Friday Indigo. And they blew our orbiters out of the sky without even waiting to find out what they were. And if we hadn’t escaped into the Link, they’d have destroyed us, too.”

“We see your point, of course, and we find it difficult to dispute.” The Angel’s synthesized voice managed a hint of sly satisfaction. “No such aggressive race should be allowed to mingle with civilized peoples. No one with a history of violence should be part of the community of intelligent beings. No race which has attacked another is worthy of consideration. Such a race should be kept in indefinite quarantine.”

Chan cleared his throat. “Well, actually, speaking on behalf of all of us …”

“The issue of quarantine will be the subject of discussion on a different occasion. We will say, however, that your actions on Limbo prove to us that humans are acceptable and even necessary participants in many Stellar Group affairs. The question to be resolved now is the composition of the group returning to Limbo.”

“Why, it will be us ,” Deb said. She glanced around at the others. “Won’t it? We started as a team, we’ll return as a team.”

“There are those present who may question that assumption.” The Angel turned, clumsily, so that its speech center pointed toward Chan Dalton. “We sense that you wish to offer thoughts on the subject.”

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