posted 06-01-99 05:20 PM ET     

Harried specialists were moving down the line of cryocells opening each and muttering a few words as the occupants came groggily to their senses, just as they had said to me:

"Come on, we haven't much time - the Unity is disintegrating. We have to get to an escape pod."

I hurriedly sponged off the ammonic gel that had encapsulated me in my sleep, willing my muscles to life and trying to accomplish in a few short minutes what would normally have been an hour or so of acclimatization to normality.

"Everybody out to pod 6" came the yell. I frantically looked around for my parents - there they were, with my two younger brothers, Chandra and Javed.

We hastened to the escape pod with the rest of the UN medical and specialist contingent. I saw Dr Lal there - I had met him and his lovely wife Pria several times on Earth as they were friendly with my parents. He was clearly upset and seemed on the verge of losing control of himself, alternately sobbing over some private grief and then straightening himself up and ushering us into the pod.

No sooner were we strapped in to our acceleration couches than the explosive bolts blew and we were rocketing down to a planet.

On the descent, Dr. Lal briefly told us what had happened, and that we represented one of eight factions that had decided to separate and head independently for Chiron, an earth-like planet orbiting Alpha Centauri's twin suns. He was distraught over something, more than just the breaking up of the mission's lofty co-operative ideals and the UN's role in the colonization of the new planet.

On the descent those with an external view saw one of the escape pods explode as we reached Chiron's upper atmosphere.

We extended our glide wings, and the braking baffles deployed, landing us on the side of a large hill next to a sea. There we built our base, appropriately called UN Headquarters.

Ok, I should tell you a little bit about myself. I'm Tazeem Gavaskar, 16 years old (actually I guess I'm 56 now, after 40 years in cryosleep) and my mother is the Scientific Officer attached to the UN medical team. Dad is an equipment engineer, and both are friends of Dr. Lal's. My brothers I've already mentioned.

While our base was being built, Dr Lal dispatched scouts to survey the terrain around our landing site, and they returned quickly with a rover vehicle that had been jettisoned in an automatic landing pod from the Unity. One told a horrid story about a native life form he'd encountered in a fungus patch - luckily his reflexes had been good and he was able to kill it outright. He'd brought the husks back to base for us to see, but told us that the pain in his head had been excruciating as the mindworm (that's the name my mother gave it) had attacked him.

There was sufficient materials from the landing craft to enable a second base to be contemplated, so Dr. Lal cut his small force of loyal followers in half, and sent them to a nearby river fork that the scouts had identified as being a likely site for a future base.

I had been assigned to Dr. Lal's personal staff as a general housegirl, responsible for cleaning duties and general tidying up around his office and living quarters. I soon found out what had made him so distraught. Pria, his dear wife was dead, assassinated, he believed, and he was becoming more bitter by the day. His behaviour was increasingly erratic, but he was our acknowledged leader and it was up to us in his household staff to support him in every way.

A department meeting was caled, to be presided over by my mother, with all the senior staff attending. research was the subject.

Mother spoke: "I have broken possible research into four categories, and we have to concentrate our efforts into one or more of these research streams. To try to research all four simultaneously would dissipate our meagre resources to the point where nothing might be achieved."

After a vote, we elected to simultaneously research pure science and building infrastructure, so the scientific staff were again divided into two streams, and set on their tasks. Mother opted to lead the pure science research team.

Next day I was tidying around Dr Lal's desk when his vidcom crackled to life:

"Pravin, Rahul here, come in please". I looked around - I had last seen Dr. Lal some hours ago. I flicked the transponder toggle:

"Tazeem Gavaskar here, Dr. Lal's assistant. How can I help?"

"We've made contact. Nwabudike Morgan wishes to talk to Dr. Lal"

posted 06-01-99 05:24 PM ET         

Pravin Lal was comatose again. This was the third time this week that I had found him sprawled on the couch in his office, with an empty glass held in his fingers. �Fungal Gin� he called it � a potent brew distilled from the fungal growth that abounded on Planet. When I challenged him after the last bout he said that he was drinking to forget � forget the bitter memories of his wife�s death; forget the �voices �in his mind that he claimed were Planet�s way of speaking to him; forget the utter failure of the UN mission ideals for the journey to the stars.

What drove him over the edge was last night�s Planet Council vote that removed him from office as Governor, installing Lady Deirdre in his place. He saw this as an act of treachery � wasn�t she a Pact Sister to him? Hadn�t we been exchanging research findings over the past twenty or thirty years? Weren�t some of the Gaian troops currently quartered in some of our bases, and our needlejet pilots on training programs in Gaian territory? He had wanted to break pact immediately after the vote, but we dissuaded him from acting too hastily. The lady had obviously done her politicking well, as she had secured the votes of both CEO Morgan and Provost Zakharov, both erstwhile allies under a treaty arrangement. Only the Spartans voted for Dr Lal � hardly surprising as they were a relatively insignificant faction now having lost two bases to our Psi-mindworm brigades during a border skirmish.

In his more lucid moments, Dr� Lal is like a man possessed. He is driving Mother crazy with a push to complete a Special Project that he has dubbed �The Cloning Vats�, and at every executive meeting wants funds diverted to complete that project. I�ve overheard him murmuring in his drunken stupor that he will be re-united with Pria � it seems he has carried a hair with him these 150 years and believes that we will be able to clone a new Pria once the vats are operational. If successful, I hope he gives up drinking that awful fungal gin.

Oh, some news. I am now Minister of the Interior, having progressed from a humble serving girl position in Dr� Lal�s household through to managing his household, to City Governor and now responsible for Drone control and civic building maintenance throughout our region of influence. Mother is still Chief Science Officer � now we pass as sisters after her visits to the regeneration tanks, and Dad is in charge of a fleet of 30 or so mineral crawlers that are freeing up various base citizens for more worthwhile work. Chandra is a needlejet pilot, and Javed commands our Psi-mindworm brigades. He took over that responsibility after the unfortunate death of Sarita in a Spartan attack. Javed had covered himself with glory, capturing two Spartan bases before the Iron Lady Santiago sued for peace. (With typical bluster and nerve she demanded a level 7 tech gift to sign a truce � I voted to continue the onslaught to wipe her off Planet, but Dr. Lal was more magnanimous and bought peace with the gift).

The sea we landed beside isn�t a sea at all, but a large lake, which we have named �Freshwater Lake�. Our territory surrounds the lake, with overlapping bases, and we share this small continent with the Morganites to the north and the Spartans to the east. It was touch and go for a while whether we could encircle the lake, as the Morganites had a base established on the Eastern Shore. Conveniently the Spartans destroyed that base, and our pod moved in establishing our zone of control.

We now have 27 bases, five of them offshore (two in the lake itself). Dr. Lal has talked fondly of moving our headquarters to one of these moated cities, reckoning them to be invulnerable, but hasn�t brought it up at executive meetings as we are a relatively peaceful faction. We were dragged into a vendetta with the Believers by pacting with the Gaians, but our peacekeeping skills were much in evidence as Dr. Lal was successful in getting the two ladies to sign a truce.

It is now MY 2320, and we have both our research teams engaged on building Special Projects � the Cloning Vats, as mentioned earlier, and a project that Mother is spearheading that she calls �The Universal Translator�. She reckons that if we are successful with the latter it will generate a huge burst of scientific research for us peacekeepers.

posted 06-01-99 05:25 PM ET         

I sat in my office watching the hologram and reviewing the sequence of events. How had the skirmish with Santiago started? What was the sequence of events that led to this stupid battle and the loss of Sarita, my best friend? I leaned forward, engrossed in the re-enaction. With the auditory and sensory functions engaged, and the stimplugs active I was there. I was the mindworm�..��

I lay quiescent in the fungus patch, observing. My mind was linked telepathically with Javed, our new trainer and leader, back in UN Equity base, and with the other members of the peacekeeper mindworm corps. I sensed them before I saw them �one, two, three�no less than seven fully equipped Spartan probe teams stealthily making their way to the base. Was this to be a repeat of the prior action?

I still remembered, and inwardly shuddered at the thoughts. Telepathically bonded as we were to Sarita, the Trainer who had nurtured us and developed our collective sentience, the entire Mindworm corps dispersed throughout our territory felt her pain, the scorched flesh as the Spartan laser gun tore life out of her. SARITA we wailed as we cowered in our brood cells � it was as if part of ourselves was being cut from us. I had lain inert for weeks, resisting all attempts to bring me back to reality and normality. Then a new voice had intruded into my senses. �I am Javed, and I too share your pain and grief. Sarita was my wife. Her dying thought-wish to me was �Continue the work � they will accept your leadership�. So honour her wish, and let�s pick up the pieces�. We had regrouped and redeployed, and here I was, at the site of her death, pulsing with revenge. It would be so sweet.

�Wait�, I sensed Javed�s command. Lal wants to give them a chance to withdraw. I waited. �She is ignoring Lal�s comlink. Move in for the kill�

I struck like a hundred cobras, rearing out of the fungus and engaging all seven of the probes simultaneously. Their screams were hideous as I penetrated their facial orifices, taking possession of their minds and shattering their neural synapses. Revenge was as sweet as I imagined it would be. In the background of my mind I could sense the approbation of my fellow mindworms. �You have done well� they whispered into my mind.

Javed�s thoughts intruded. �I have called up an airstrike on Assassin�s redoubt � proceed to subdue the base�

I was joined by a mindworm brother as we slithered down the road to the enemy base. Overhead we saw the contrails of the needlejet squadron as it roared towards its target. Their leader, Javed�s brother, Chandra, peeled out of formation, with wing over and commenced his assault on the base. His gatling laser roared, focussing on the garrison barracks where the Spartan troops were quartered.

Javed�s mind opened to me. �All clear�, he telepathed, � Go get �em�

We entered the base, and observed the panic of the citizens. Drones were rioting, all industrial activity had ceased and the better-off populace had fled down the roads to Sparta Command. We used our Psi powers to engage in mind control of the base populace, and brought Javed into our thoughts. �You�d better get a human here fast for a titular head, the populace are not taking too well to our presence and we need to disengage mind control at some point.� �Good point�, Javed retorted, �I�ll have Chandra divert to Assassin�s redoubt for refueling � he�s quite impressive�.

The next closest base was nearby � I telepathed to Javed that I could make it in one journey leg. �Go for it� he ordered. �I�ll have Chandra soften them up too� Unfortunately, they were not finished refuelling his needlejet yet, so I went in alone.

This was my first combat experience against armed troops. It would be important to strike first, engaging in mind warfare before the garrison could deploy their missile weapons on me. �We�re with you, brother� came the whispered chorus into my mind from my mindworm brigade partners. I came up to the base and sent out a tentative mind probe. I could sense confusion and fear among the populace, and picked out the harsher tone of the garrison troops, with their militaristic thoughts, trying to encourage each other with jingoistic talk. I crept closer to the barracks, feeling so confident in my powers. I was a mature boil, well trained, and experienced. I sensed that the odds were strongly in my favour, as my psi probes had detected a small garrison force. I struck, Psi-energy flaring, engaging the garrison as one. As my mental cyclone hit, the troops gave keening wails discharging their weapons in all directions. Some stray missiles severed tentacles, somewhat reducing my effectiveness, but I had done it. Their garrison troops had been eliminated.

I rested exhilerated for a turn, recharging my inner strength, then moved into the base to take possession. I summoned Javed. �Reporting. Minimal resistance overcome. Militia Station is ours. Send human governor�.

I sank back on the couch, disengaging the stimplugs, utterly drained. I hadn�t known that both brothers were part of the action. Maybe I wouldn�t have been so aggressively pushing for total conquest of the Spartans had I known that.

I shuddered again as I recalled the pain of Sarita�s death. I now had to write the eulogy for Dr. Lal to deliver at the service. How could I get the audience to feel what I�d just felt? How could one put it into words?

posted 06-01-99 07:49 PM ET         

The tension in the Command Center was palpable. I sat clenching and unclenching my fists, sweating slightly during the unbearable waiting period. I looked around the room.

Mother was standing to one side engaged in earnest conversation with Dr. Lal, who was nervously sipping on another fungal gin, much diluted I hoped. As Chief Science Officer, Mother�s presence was essential, but she would not have missed it anyway. Father was also present. He now is Chief Engineering Officer running a fleet of land and undersea mineral and energy recovery crawlers, and the events of this day had the potential to double his workload if we were unsuccessful. He was chatting to General Rahul Gupta, who commanded our armed forces (General Gupta � then a lowly scout � had made the peacekeepers� first contact with another faction back in MY 2107). He was concerned, particularly with the recent notice of vendetta by Chairman Yang and his horde.

Father had been busy these last few days. When the reports first came back from the science labs we were skeptical. Mother had intervened, partly to protect her staff, but partly to lend her weight to the discussions, which would now be taken more seriously with her defending the projections. So Father had rallied his engineering corps, and had been busy at every base readying for the event and converting mineral crawlers to energy crawlers, and reassigning drones to the energy farms and solar collectors. His fleet of sea formers were even now deploying the baffles to collect the expected tidal energy flow.

Dr. Lal turned to my Mother. �Zaitun, you�re 100% sure that the solar flare will occur in the next few hours?�

�It has already occurred�, she said softly. �We will be experiencing the effects in the next few hours�.

�Will it be bad?� he asked. �Only time will tell.� Dr. Lal pulled out his comm.-unit and moved into a corner where he could be seen talking in hushed tones to someone.

I too had been busy these past few days. Since the scientists had alerted us to the flare, we had been taking stock. We have 17 satellites in orbit (and are the only faction in space) of which 5 are sky hydroponics labs and 10 are orbital power transmitters. Two were orbital defense satellites, which explained general Gupta�s presence in the command room.

Our scientists were predicting that this solar flare would be gigantic, and while the benefits to us on the ground would be immense, it might do irreparable harm to our orbiting facilities. This is what had kept Father so busy � the scientists estimated that the effects would be felt on Chiron for 20 years, giving an energy boost for that period of time. We were prepared for that, as, we presumed, were all the other factions on Planet. It was the potential for damage to our orbitals that concerned us. That concerned me. I am Minister of Production, responsible for all Nutrient, Mineral and Energy production for our faction.

We had taken every precaution. Commands had been sent out to all 17 satellites, which had resulted in minute firing of the attitude thrusters, tilting each subtly so as to present their solar panels side on to the expected blast wave. Delicate instruments had been powered down and some of the more exposed hydroponics pods had been shielded and retracted.

Rahul was more tight lipped. We knew that Photon shields had been deployed over the sensitive military sensors, and the phaser cannon retracted into their nacelles. Rahul had shared his paranoia with us earlier, and for that reason we were sweating it out somewhat. His fear was:

- Yang had declared vendetta against us;
- Yang had developed planet buster weapon;
- Our only defense was our orbital defense satellites as Dr. Lal had vetoed the build and deployment of our own Planetbusters. (Said it was not congruent with the initial UN charter and ideals which we espoused)
- If our orbitals became inoperative, we were sitting ducks.

We had commenced a rush building program to replace the two Defense satellites in the event that the worst happened, and had converted production in several bases to sky hydroponics labs and orbital power transmitters, but there would be a window of vulnerability that someone as astute as Yang was reputed to be would surely exploit.

We sat with eyes glued to the screens, faithfully recording what was happening thousands of kilometers above planet�s surface.

Pravin Lal snapped shut his communicator, and as we looked round at him he had a gleam of satisfaction in his eyes.

�We�re saved the worst�, he said. �Lady Deirdre has agreed to assist us if Chairman Yang tries anything. The Gaians too have Planetbusters�.

A ragged cheer arose. We were delighted of course that Yang would think twice about unleashing his Planetbusters on our bases, but we hated to be beholden to any other faction for our own survival.

We stared at the screens, then Mother softly said, �It�s hitting us now�.

One by one the screens went dark. The last to blink out were the two Orbital Defense screens.

posted 06-02-99 02:14 PM ET         

MY 2371

I sat expectantly in the front row of the VIP section. To my left was Commissioner Lal, talking earnestly with General Gupta. Father and Mother were also in the front row, special guests for the occasion, which was the unveiling of the S.S. SARITA, our newest addition to our fleet, and shortly to be deployed at the Morganite front.

We felt a slight tremor shiver through the dais on which we sat, then an almost imperceptible pulse reverberated deeply in our bones. All eyes were on the hanger doors as they slowly peeled apart. Our ears picked up a slight humming sound and the pulsing sensation intensified.

The metallic gray snout slowly emerged, followed by the awesome mass of the prototype Deathsphere. The SARITA�s bulk was immense, dwarfing the four Neutronium armored Gravitron Behemoths lined up on the parade ground. They would form part of her command. This was a proud moment for all of us. Chandra, my younger brother, was in command of the SARITA, and we were all present for her christening except for Javed, who was our commanding officer on the Spartan front, with the Psi-mindworm corps.

As she came into full view, hovering gently a few feet above the ground for all her immense size, we could make out the details - the armor and weaponry, simple but effective; the huge mass of the stasis generators and the immense antigrav struts. At a command from Commissioner Lal, my brother activated the controls to let the assembled VIPs see the unmatched power of the Deathsphere.

The weapons pod opened and revealed the Singualarity Laser, which to my untrained eye appeared impressive, but to the military was obviously awesome. They lost their reserve, slapping each other with high fives, and I could hear snippets of conversation of �Just wait till Morgan Industries gets a load of this�. A target had been set up about a kilometer away, - an obsolete shard copter that had been fitted with probability sheath armoring (which our snoops at the Planetary Governor�s office had advised us was the current level of Morgan�s defense capability). At a command from Chandra, the Laser was deployed, pulsed twice and before our disbelieving eyes the copter disappeared. A great cheer went up.

Chandra�s voice came to us. �We will now demonstrate the SARITA�s defense capabilities�. He engaged the Stasis Generator, and the whole Deathsphere began to shimmer before our eyes. One of the Neutronium Behemoths peeled out from formation and trained its Gravitron Phaser at the SARITA. The commander fired, and we were treated to a psychedelic array as the energy was harmlessly dissipated by the stasis armor of the SARITA. At a signal from General Gupta, we all put on our Comm-Viz helmets, programmed to parallel the observation capability of the Morgan defenders. Chandra engaged the SARITA�s Blink Displacer program, and the SARITA disappeared. I took off the helmet, and there she was, barely visible, shimmering like a mirage in a heat haze.

The reception afterwards was a celebration. Rahul Gupta passed me with a fungal gin in his hand and whispered �I think we�ve gotten away with it�. I smiled nervously back. My career as minister of Production was on the line. Unbeknownst to Commissioner Lal, I had already commissioned six bases to produce the Deathsphere, and two would be rolling off the production line this very evening. But he had not yet given his blessing on the venture.

I need not have worried. Where Chandra had done his bit for the venture, with the awesome display of the SARITA�s powers, Javed now came to the rescue.

Lal�s com-link alerted him to an incoming message. �It�s Javed�, he said, activating the large control monitor. Javed�s face filled the vidscreen. He looked hardly human now, as the psi mind-interface lymphnodes had severely disfigured his skin. His eyes were black, as to him now vision was an abstract thought only. His awareness came from collective sentience of Planet itself, via the sensory experiences of the mind worms he commanded and now was part of. He had �observed� the SARITA�s demonstration through the sensory images telepathed by two young mindworms at the base who were in brood training. He was immensely proud of the honor bestowed on the memory of Sarita, his dear, dead, wife.

Javed�s raspy voice was heard. �Commissioner, we�re at a stand-off on the Spartan front. Santiago has developed a strong Psi-defense capability and I can�t commit my forces to suicide attacks. She won�t attack us directly with her needlejets, but is playing havoc with our formers and crawlers, severely degrading our production capabilities in the region. A Deathsphere or two would tilt the balance immeasurably in our direction.�

Commissioner Lal�s response was immediate. �You�ll have them, Jared.� He said, and turning to me said, �Get on with it, Tazeem�.

I heaved a sigh of relief, and glanced over at the grinning Rahul, who gave me a thumbs up.

Chandra engaged the Blink Displacer, and left the captured city of Morgan Construction, moving cautiously down the fungal patch towards Morgan Industries. The mag tube link to Morgan Construction had been cut earlier, but now Peacekeeper formers were replacing it, and his Behemoth brigade were poised to pounce after he had softened the defenses. The two singularity copters were on high readiness alert in case they were needed for interdiction purposes.

Two Peacekeeper Quantum Tactical needlejets, now used for close ground support, roared overhead to take out the sensors that our probeteam had reported. His vidcom crackled �mission successful, Chandra, she�s all yours�.

He moved in for the kill. Intelligence had reported only two garrison units, lightly armed but heavily armored (our earlier intelligence was faulty � the probability sheath had been replaced with the much more powerful Neutronium armor, but fortunately they had been given Psi-defence capability rather than the more problematic AAA or ECM jammer capabilities.

The Deathsphere hovered a few centimeters above the fungus just outside the base, invisible to the defenders inside. Sunil, the targeting officer came on line: �Chandra, we�ve got the Barracks painted, all systems go�. �On my mark, Go�, said Chandra. The singularity laser pulsed repeatedly, until its power ran low and the audible and visual warnings became more pronounced.

Chandra toggled his vidcom. �Status?� he barked. His intelligence officer replied: �Sources in Morgan Industries report that one garrison unit has been utterly destroyed, and the second has been degraded to the extent that it can offer only token resistance.�

�Deploy the Copters� Chandra growled.

The ungainly beasts rose from its lair and trundled over the hillside towards Morgan Industries. From a distance the crews could see the devastation wrought by the Deathsphere. Barracks completely destroyed � only the land remained on which it had stood. As they got closer, they could see the stunned survivors of the garrison milling around, unsure of what was happening. No mercy shown, one copter engaged its Graviton cannon and removed the last remnants of the defense. �All clear� the pilot radioed to Chandra.

�Move up�, he said.

I was in the first behemoth that entered the city, determined to claim that prize. Commissioner Lal had wanted to, but we dissuaded him. �CEO Morgan has escaped�; we told him �you won�t be able to confront him in person.�

As we entered the Base, I looked around with pride. We had captured intact their base, its facilities, taken some 600 energy credits from their depositories, and, from my perspective more importantly, captured four of Planet�s Special projects intact. These were the Merchant Exchange, the Supercollider, the Hunter-seeker Algorithm and the Network Backbone.

posted 06-03-99 12:43 PM ET         

MY2374

I sat on the couch in Pravin�s office, fungal gin in my hand, listening to the Commissioner�s rationale. For two Planet years now we had been pouring resources into a Special Project that we had codenamed Threshold to Transcendence, which was an attempt to lay the groundwork for a push to the ultimate goal - Ascent to Transcendence. I had diverted energy, and converted most of our mineral collecting crawlers to energy collectors, and we anticipated in these next few days completing the project. The Commissioner, however, was troubled.

�Tazeem�, he began, �I am concerned about Lady Deirdre and her followers �. My heart skipped a beat � this was not what I was expecting. �Go on�, I encouraged.

�Well, they have been so supportive of us over the past 100 years or so, particularly when Yang was threatening us, and were close allies in the Spartan war. We have become close to them, and they to us, with many intermarriages and personal relationships�.

I almost dropped my fungal gin glass � did he know, I wondered?

�You yourself have a deep relationship with the Gaians� - he knew, how? � �which is why I have turned to you for advice.�

How did he know � my mind raced even as he continued. Jamie Fraser, or more correctly Lord Fraser, and I were lovers, clandestinely I thought. (Jamie is the Gaian ambassador to UN Headquarters Base). Only my brother, Javed, knew, I thought. (It is hard to keep things from Javed, telepathically linked as he is to Planet itself through the mindworm net). Then I remembered: Jamie�s sister, Sheila, is the mindworm commander for the Gaian Mindworm Corps, so she too would know, and Sheila was one of Lady Deirdre�s closest friends. Aha..

�If you have understood Transcendence , Tazeem,� he said, �you will know that we intend to become one with Planet, and leave our bodies, joining together for an eternity among the stars. No physical being, but pure thought. I would like to invite the Gaians to share the journey with us, as they share our values and beliefs, but I need proof of their sincerity and commitment � the depth of their friendship for and trust in us.
I want you to devise a test before I take the final step of inviting the Lady and her followers on this journey with us.�

I left his office and went to Jamie�s quarters. Together we devised the test, and made our preparations.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

I called the Planetary Council to order. For an issue as important as this, we met in virtual session, in our Executive Boardroom at UN Headquarters. Physically present were the Commissioner, General Gupta, both my Mother and Father, and both my brothers, and the ambassadors of the other factions including Jamie. Present via hologram were the other planetary leaders. I looked across the room at Jamie, nodded to him, and depressed the green button on my commlink.

Motion: �To elect Commissioner Pravin Lal as Supreme Leader. How do you vote?�

As was customary, the motion presenter voted first. I cast the 818 votes of the Peacekeepers in favor.
As was to be expected, Chairman Yang and Colonel Santiago voted against � 439 combined votes. Sister Miriam and Provost Zakharov , both minor factions, voted in favor, adding 103 votes. CEO Morgan surprised us all, voting in favor even although he was in vendetta against us. This added another 67 votes.

The tally was now 988 for and 439 against. The magic number (3/4 of the total votes available) was 1678 (out of 2238 available). All eyes were now on Lady Deirdre.

She gently smiled at us, from the hologram. It seemed to everyone present that she was looking directly at each one individually, and talking directly to each.

�Pravin,� she began, �let me say that of all of us it has been you who have so steadfastly upheld the ideals of our original mission, through adversity and victory. You have remained Noble throughout these years, Magnanimous in your dealings with us all, and now Unsurpassed militarily. It would be a privilege and an honor to unite behind you as Supreme Leader.�

I heaved a sigh of relief, and glanced over at Jamie. I nodded slightly and he acknowledged. She had passed the test. We each surreptitiously depressed the red button on our synchronized commlinks.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

High above Planet, the 28 Peacekeeping and 11 Gaian orbital satellites acknowledged the command, and powered down the stasis generators and adapted blink displacers that had created the temporal timewarp. Planet resumed its revolution around its axis. I deactivated my personal stasis field, as did Jamie.

I spoke. �Motion: To launch a solar shade. How do you vote?�

Only Jamie and I were aware of the timelapse � to the others, the temporal continuum had not been breached. Jamie had been skeptical at first. "Isn't there some universe Ironman rule or something that is meant to prevent that kind of tampering with time?" he queried. I replied "Our temporal mechanics have found a way of stopping Planet, saving its station in the cosmos through controlled singularity keys, and restarting at that position after we have explored the alternate timeline."
.

That evening, I was debriefing the Commissioner, replaying the vidcom of the blinked council session. His eyes teared over, as he watched Lady Deirdre�s gracious acceptance of his leadership.

�We will invite her to join us in our journey�

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

MY2376

The Commlink crackled. �Come in Delta 4, what is the status?�

Perez swore softly to himself. How could he explain this?

�Colonel, I am standing on a small hill overlooking the central plaza of UN Headquarters. There was no resistance to my entering the base. The base itself is deserted. There is a new edifice in the plaza since our probes last visited, emitting an overpowering energy beam into space that dwarfs even the Space Elevator we saw in the UN Equality Village�.

�Move in�, the Colonel ordered. Perez again swore, and moved into the plaza. Strangely he was not harmed by the energy, instead he felt a sense of wonder, of calm, of togetherness, as though he was a part of something much bigger, the cosmos itself. He jerked to attention. There were bodies everywhere, holding hands, lying at peace all around the plaza square. He could see monolith shapes, reminiscent of old vidshows of Stonehenge, back on old Earth. The energy was flowing from them, all around, and towering into space itself.

�Colonel�, he rasped, �It looks like mass suicide�.

Santiago came on-line. �Exactly the report that Chairman Yang datavised over when his troops entered Gaia�s Landing. What is going on?�

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&