original cover art by Allen Anderson |
Within Alastor Cluster, some planets like Yrinna have never recognized the authority of the Connatic. For about 50 years, the Gensifer Clan on Yrinna has had a telepathy breeding project. Other pirate clans are also studying telepathy, but most of these reside on worlds outside the Cluster where many starmenters have taken refuge far away from the fleets of the Whelm.
The Connatic has his own telepathy research project, but it is heavily dependent on technology obtained from Triskelion. That project is code named 'Josef' and is centered on the Whelm cruiser Netal, giving the Josef artificial intelligence mobility and the ability to travel through the Cluster.
You got your Embroid in my Quantum Computer...
Original cover art shown here and thanks to Henry1850 for Energy Device (CC BY-NC 3.0) |
A group of positronic robots (commanded by R. Nyrtia) and their nemesis, Grean the Kac'hin, are mired in a seemingly endless Time Travel War. As part of the Trysta Truce, both sides are participating in the complex telepathy genetics project centered on the Alastor star cluster that involves the alien Phari. Now, two artificially constructed telepathic system, QB5 and Josef are about to meet...
Yrinna |
Acyreff reflected on the fact that Yrinna was one of the few planets in Alastor Cluster that did not recognize the authority of the Connatic. The planned rescue mission to liberate Twycky would be the first time in more than four hundred years that the Whelm tried to carry out a police action on Yrinna. Yrinna was only one of many such independent pirate worlds, but most of them were located beyond the borders of the Cluster and outside of the control of any stellar empire. Acyreff knew that those distant pirate worlds were where most victims of pirate raids were taken, not Yrinna. However, apparently Twycky's telepathic mind had been so highly prized by the Gensifer Clan that she had been taken to Gensifer City on Yrinna.
Suddenly, the Isirjin Ziaspraide and the Netal appeared on the Appenine's radar screen, having just dropped out of intersplit at the fleet assembly point. The voice of Oman Ursht, the Connatic (and Acyreff's husband) came through the fleet communications system from the Isirjin Ziaspraide to the control room of Appenine, "Hope I'm not too late for the party."Acyreff was eager to speak to her husband, but she remained silent and let the commanding officer of Appenine respond. Captain Titarsion said, "Not at all, Inspector. Commander Shermatz will follow the last Shadow Drone over to Nykark in about half an hour. When Netal is ready, the Commander wants you to try linking the mini-Jo to Josef."
Oman Ursht was using his second identity as Inspector Ryl Shermatz of the Whelm. His son, Heshlo, was stationed on board the Netal. In his role as a summer intern, Heshlo could coordinate the linkage between the Josef artificial intelligence system and the mini-Jo device, limiting the number of personnel who needed to be told about the experimental mini-Jo. Josef and the Netal were too valuable to risk on the planned rescue mission, but the mini-Jo had already been positioned on board Nykark by Lieutenant Collynn. Ryl signaled to Heshlo and told Titarsion, "We are ready. Netal is starting the linkup process." Ryl ended his call to Appenine.
The uses of micro-hierion fields. |
"Great." Acyreff checked the time. "I'll join you on board Nykark in about half an hour. At that time, I'll expect a report from you and we'll need to compare the capabilities of mini-Jo to those of the QB unit."
"Roger that." Collynn broke the communications link.
Acyreff told Captain Titarsion, "I'm going to the hangar. I expect to return to Numenes on board the Isirjin Ziaspraide, so I probably won't see you again until we are all back at Numenes."
"Understood." Captain Titarsion did not know how Commander Shermatz hoped to take the Nykark down to the surface of Yrinna, pick up Twycky and then escape from Yrinna undetected. There were secret plans going into effect, many of which Titarsion did not know about. Hoping that Ryl and Galzara knew what they were doing, she said, "Good luck on Yrinna."
Inside the hangar, Acyreff found that Kasya and QB5 were already waiting in the shuttle, ready to be transported over to Nykark. The last of the drones was moving into position to be sent out from Appenine and over to Nykark. Holes had been opened into the sides of Nykark in order to dock the drones and carry them within Nykark's intersplit field. As soon as the drone moved out of the hangar, Kasya asked, "Now can we go?"Acyreff shook her head and settled into the pilot's seat of the shuttle. "It will take about 15 minutes to get that drone locked into place." That would be 15 minutes during which the entrance to Nykark's shuttle hangar would be busy with swarms of welding robots and other traffic. She looked at QB5 who for the moment had no nutrient supply and only a power cord and a thin waste tube attached that was dripping into a bottle. "Our little qubie seems unusually quiet."
Hearing Acyreff's snide comment, QB5 spoke up, "I'm helping link mini-Jo to Josef. This is rather like plugging a power cord into an incompatible outlet."
Kasya added, "This would be easier if mini-Jo and QB5 were in the same room."
"They soon will be." Acyreff asked, "But why does it matter? I guess I don't really understand how QB5 senses its environment. Is it all by telepathy?"
QB5 explained, "Look carefully and you can see that I have a tiny camera on each of my six sides and there is a microphone next to my speaker. I see what is in my immediate vicinity and hear sounds much like you do."Acyreff asked, "Exactly how good a telepath are you?"
QB5 replied, "My technology-assisted telepathy is tuned to the particular data channels that are used by the Core on Brevik... all my high-rate data capabilities are limited to my links with the Core, and now that we are working across interstellar distances, my links to the Core are severely limited. However, I can telepathically sense nearby people, particular those who can efficiently transmit telepathic signals. Josef is a powerful telepathic transmitter and he about blew my receiver when Netal arrived here, dropping out of intersplit. I'm now figuratively working with my hands over my ears."
Kasya suggested, "We could have Captain Titarsion put some distance between the Appenine and the Netal."
image source |
Acyreff said, "QB5, you still have not been cleared by Whelm security. Some of Josef's secrets will remain secret until the Connatic has a chance to decide if you should be given full access to the Josef technology."
QB5 disliked bureaucratic stalling as much as Kasya did. "Well, tell Ryl to get his cute ass in gear. My telepathic abilities could be greatly amplified if I had access to the sort of narrow-band telepathy Josef is using."
Acyreff warned the machine, "QB5, I might be picturing Ryl's fine physical features in my mind, but you don't need to share that with the world, or even Kas. I haven't been with Ryl for over a week now, so I'm horny and eager to get my hands on him. If that is upsetting your circuits then stay out of my mind."
"It is not upsetting. It pleases me to see how devoted you are to him, although, as for your horniness, it seems like you have had plenty of sex during the past week." QB5 had been investigating Acyreff's background. "I must say, Acy, I'm starting to suspect that you have an unusually high interest in sex that does not conform to expectations for a Rhune."
original cover art by Ed Emshwiller |
QB5 was intrigued by the link between human sexual behavior and telepathy and would not be deflected. The artificial intelligence told Kasya, "When she met you, Acy seemed to know instinctively that you were experienced with oral sex."
Acyreff explained, "It isn't instinct. I get many useful hints from my ghark."
"Ah, the mysterious Grean." QB5 had already forgotten the efficiency with which Grean's memory editing nanites had taken hold and altered QB5's memories of Grean. "Tell me, Acy, do you believe this nonsense about Grean having access to time travel technology?"
Kasya told Acyreff, "While we were loading the Drones into Appenine, apparently, QB5 and Mando had a brief encounter with Grean, although they don't remember too much... both of them had been drinking at the time."
Acyreff thought about the sight of Grean in the hot tub, her array of breasts and nipples looking pink and exotic in the hot water. QB5 could telepathically follow Acyreff's sexual fantasy about Grean and asked, "Grean has six nipples?"
Asterothrope |
QB5 caught Acyreff's stray thought about space travel beyond the confines of Alastor Cluster and said, "I wonder if only Twycky is being held captive on Yrinna. I understand Kasya's desire that an extraordinary effort be made to rescue her sister from Yrinna, but with there being so many other victims of the starmenters, why not try to rescue other victims at the same time? Or are they being held captive on planets beyond Alastor Cluster?"
Acyreff was reluctant to share the Connatic's secrets with QB5. "The Connatic and the Whelm fleets have their hands full policing Alastor Cluster. In the case of Twycky, we are undertaking a police action to rescue an abducted woman and her unborn baby." Acyreff took hold of Kasya's hand. "When we reach Yrinna, the Whelm will warn the population of the planet that any interference with our rescue mission will be treated as a criminal offense. Mini-Jo will be scanning for telepathic signals emanating from Yrinna, but for now, the best information we have concerning Twycky's location arises from the unusually powerful telepathic link between Kas and Twycky. There could be thousands of other captives being held on Yrinna, but how would we know?"
Kasya said, "Almost certainly most captives taken by starmenters in raids of planets here in the Cluster get hauled away to distant planets, worlds not patrolled by the Whelm and other police forces of the galaxy. It is a great stroke of luck that Twycky is close at hand, on Yrinna. However, if during this mission we learn of other captives being held on Yrinna, I'm in favor of trying to rescue them, also."
In the Ekcolir Reality. Original cover art by Partridge and Albert Drake |
In the Ekcolir Reality. Original cover art by Malcolm Smith |
Kasya explained, "It is almost the same solution that Lieutenant Collynn and Dr. Indeckuri recognized for how to protect ships of the Whelm from having their Jarnell engines inactivated. Just as you can "reverse the polarity" of a Jarnell, so can you use a hierion field generator that is tuned correctly so as to selectively disrupt various artificial minds and not others."
Acyreff had been monitoring the work on Nykark. Now she said, "All the drones are now safely stowed on board Nykark." She activated the shuttle engines and they slid out of Appenine's hangar. She shuttle's autopilot locked onto the Nykark's hangar signal. She told Ryl, "Nykark will be able to set course for Yrinna in just a few minutes."
In the Ekcolir Reality. Original cover art by John Gaughan and Ed Emshwiller |
Next: part 11 of "The Alastor Network"
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