Testing the Edge

"Wings," I muttered, banging on my side. "If this wasn't a Submind suit, I wouldn't be anywhere near it."

"Let's ride," Paula said with excitement. I could see the wing cases on her bug suit straining not to open inside the airlock.

"How did that crazy professor talk us into this?" I asked. "I've told the Three Brains--four times that I can think of--that I didn't want to test drive any of their da... designs until someone trained for it...."

"None of that over the comm," Paula said, sealing her helmet. She looked like a giant red beetle. The armored body of her suit was covered with a pattern of large spots, any one of which seemed capable of extruding a sensor of some kind. Paula likes to know things about her environment.

The airlock hissed open just as I sealed up. "Yes, My Queen."

"None of that either," Paula said, leaping into space with a giggle. "We have serious riding to do. We have been challenged, and you know how much I hate to lose."

"Oh, come on," I said, close behind. "It won't be much of a challenge. Wendy hasn't had a suit for two weeks yet, and you know Eddie is better at mind games then..."

"You haven't even bothered to test it. Ions or not, DeeDee, wings don't work like thrusters. I'm not sure riding the edge of an orbital ice plane is the best place to learn."

"How about I don't bother with the wings? Rick says I need 'to practice my center.' Whatever that means, part of it is riding gravity..."

"Don't you dare," Paula said.

"But..."

"That would be cheating."

"Using thrusters would be cheating," I said. "I just don't want to use the wings."

"Whatever," Paula said. Her carapace folded apart, and wings stretched outwards for at least five meters in six directions.

"Whoa. Are those alien-bug wings?"

"You like them?"

"Sexy. If we weren't in naked space, I would be in fear for your virtue."

Paula giggled. "Come on, Diz. Let's see what you got."

I sent the command to open my wings.

"This was your request?" Paula asked.

"Yeah," I said. "You don't like dragon flies?"

"They aren't beetles," Paula said.

"Neither are you, Love" I said. "I did research before I told the Brains what I wanted. You can tell me how great they are after I leave you sucking my ion trail."

"Not a chance," Paula said, and flew. "But I like them anyway."

She was right. They aren't thrusters. With suit thrusters, I can't change direction more than a few degrees without rotating the entire suit--and me with it. The twenty minute ride to where Eddie and Wendy waited was enough to get a feel for just how much more control ion wings could give me. It was perfect for riding the edge.

Data Singularity

"Taste this," Paula said, handing me a drink.

I took a sip, smacked my lips a couple of times, and nodded. "Beer. Perfect day for it."

"It's made by Submind beer trees," Paula said, watching me.

I wasn't surprised. "Of course it is. Plant one in my ship please. It tastes wonderfully intoxicating."

Simon came into the Dizzy Pig Bar and Grill, looked around until he saw me, and started through the crowd towards us.

"Uh oh," I said.

"What?" Paula asked.

"Simon seems intent on interrupting our dinner," I said.

Paula looked around. "He's a good kid."

"Yeah," I said darkly. "Just don't say anything he might take seriously."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Piloting a combat ship maybe."

"Oh, that," Paula said mildly. She stood up and kissed my forehead. "I'm going to go freshen up."

"Great," I muttered.

"Hey, Mr. Jackson. Where's Miss Mattson off to?"

"Closet," I said.

"Ah," Simon said. "I came by to say you should stop by the office tomorrow and authorize your super-node. Joe said you can have two if you want, but I think he was joking. He was really happy when he sent me to find you."

"Two?" I asked. "I'm surprised he's giving me one."

"Joe found and repaired that broken q-link," Simon said. "Like we talked about the other night."

I nodded.

"The data paths went up by a factor of ten. The drive generators are beyond hyper and we are reinforcing the system with Submind organics. We've got some long days ahead, but this is beyond bonus oxygen, Mr. Jackson."

"Submind is definitely taking over," I muttered.

"What?" Simon asked.

"My understanding of quanta technology is limited to calling someone else," I said. "All I know is my sys-op instructor was fond of saying 'data singularity' whenever I asked why we went to all the trouble for a quanta drive we didn't really need. They all connect to the same quanta, so ten of them doesn't make any more sense to me than one."

"It's a matter of access," Simon said. "About how many pathways you got. More paths, more super-nodes, and more chance of connecting to an existing network."

"That explains everything," I said in sarcastic joy.

"Quanta is like this not-a-place made completely of data potential, and it can only be accessed through a data core."

I nodded.

"The data core is created by the drive generators," Simon said. "And the strength of the data core determines how many paths the core can process at any one time. Pathways usually process much faster after the first time, and there are a number of established pathways which are instantly accessible from almost every drive."

"Just like my sys-op instructor," I said, grinning at him.

Simon shrugged, but he didn't give up. "It's like an endless forest of data, and paths are how many trees we can touch on the way through. The more data you plant in the core, the more quanta paths you can access, and the easier it is to find the data you want. I've never been clear on whether we add the data or the pathways, but the end result is the same; an endless dark forest with places where light occasionally comes in."

"Ah," I said, taking another sip of beer. "An endless dark forest. That's a bit easier to imagine."

"Tomorrow, then?" Simon asked.

I nodded. "I'll bring Paula. You can authorize that second super-node for her."

"But..."

"Joe said two. There's no reason to confirm that," I said. "Is there?"

"No reason at all, Mr. Jackson. I'll see you tomorrow."

Water Rights

"The Martian Republic has turned Mars Metro into a prison station," Simon said.

"Yeah," I said, looking over the top of my data terminal. "I heard."

"Why would they do that?" Simon asked, sitting down.

"I guess a space station is the best place to put people you want to control," I said. "But you could ask Counter-Spin Rick."

"He's got a plan to take the station, but I don't think Miss Paine would approve."

"Miss Paine?" I asked.

"Laura... Oh. Right. She's not here."

"Laura Kimberly Paine? The dangerous Martian exile."

Simon nodded hesitantly. "I thought you knew."

"And she's living with Joe?"

Simon nodded again. "But she's not that dangerous."

"Eddie knows," I muttered darkly, tapping my fingers on the desk. "Even if no one told him. She's been here for months."

"They moved my Dad to the station," Simon said, worried. "He's in the heavy side detention block--1.2 gees. He's not used to it."

"I didn't even think to ask her last name," I said.

"I don't know what to do."

"No one does," I said. "We make it up as we go along, or we accept there's nothing we can do."

Simon looked miserable.

"Listen, Kid." I said. "You'll be legal age in a couple of years, right?"

"Fourteen months."

"Good. Rick doesn't usually mess around when it comes to battle plans. His plans take weeks, if not months, to execute, and include three or four chances to get it right," I explained.

Simon nodded. "He's been talking about humanitarian aide. Belt stations will start running out of water in a couple of years--three if they start rationing air to keep the hydro decks alive. And Mars will need water in five or six years."

"Yeah," I said.

"He's got at least a dozen of those slush bombs built, and six of them are already growing Submind vines--and other things--inside. He wants to leave a trail of Submind bombs all the way to Mars, and the Three Brains are designing several types of light combat ships based on that scout ship they grew."

"There you are," I said. "Light combat ships. I bet they'll need pilots. You'll be old enough by the time it happens, and safe enough in one of those ships, I think."

"But," Simon said, objecting. "He plans to attack Mars. He's planning to take Mars Metro and quarantine the planet."

I thought about my reply for a moment. "If Rick has already started, the governor and Doc both know about it and approve. Trust me. Probably Kim as well. A lot of people we care about are locked in that prison along with your dad, Simon, and all you can do is help or stay out of the way. You won't stop it."

"It seems so... Sneaky. Not right," Simon said. "To hide an attack inside a gesture of generosity."

I shrugged. "Beware of Greeks."

"I guess."

"No one here can accept and do nothing. That's why we still have this station," I said. "Besides, a lot of people will get bonus oxygen--literally."

Simon still looked miserable.

"Don't worry about it, Kid. Rick stopped six troopships with no casualties. One lousy space station isn't even a challenge."

"But my dad will be stuck there--on heavy side--for over a year. Who knows what they'll do to him?"

"If they think there's a chance you'll turn yourself in, they won't touch him," I said. "Heck--offer to be part of the bait. They certainly won't expect you to have someone like Rick right behind you."

Simon stared at me for a moment. "Yeah. I need one of those ships. I could lead the distraction."

"That isn't exactly..."

Simon stood up and held out his hand. "Thanks, Mr. Jackson. I appreciate your time."

"Don't mention it," I muttered, shaking his hand.

Fractal Relations

"Why are you darkening my entry port at this hour?" Joe asked, glaring at me.

Kim was behind him, wearing a mildly curious face.

"If I remember correctly," I said. "Paula told me to explain it as soon as possible. To you. Explain it to you."

"You've been drinking," Joe and Kim said at the same time.

"That didn't just happen," I said.

"What?" They both asked.

"I... Yes, I've been drinking. I've seen you do it too. Both... both of you."

"It's late, Jackson," Joe said. "Focus, explain, and then relocate."

"Right," I said. "I'm not sure Paula meant right now..."

"You're already here," Joe snapped.

"But I thought I might forget," I finished. "We were talking about weird images, and Simon went on about fractals, and how the third dimension is all a matter of perspective, and how if you do only a fraction of the third dimension..."

"I know about fractals, Dizzy."

"Good. The conversation got boring," I said. "I mean, who cares about math and messed up perspectives?"

"DeeDee!"

"The math doesn't work right. You know? So, I got to thinking about that old data q-link you've been trying to find in null land or somewhere, and the way you talk about the math. If there's two ends like a string, and one end is dangling around out there, maybe all you have to do is solve for the fractal equation and fix the perspective. If that makes any sense?"

Joe stood and stared at me.

"I mean," I said nervously. "It's the same quanta. Right? So you just have to find the end of the string and reattach it to the old drive. It would be like having two drives in one, with the second drive existing in some fractal space right next to quanta. If you can pull that off with your little Submind math tricks... Well, you'll have done it, I guess."

Joe grabbed my head with both hands and kissed me on the mouth. Then he shoved me backwards and slammed the door.

"Don't mention it," I said to the door.

It opened and Kim peered out. "Thank you, DeeDee. That was sweet."

"Sure thing," I said to the closing door. "I'll go home now."

Scouting Party

Buddy Jenkins is the least connected person I've ever met. He only recognizes the real world when he's tripping over it, and even then, it's an annoyance he will avoid in the future. This isn't all bad; it makes it hard for him to understand impossible.

"I'm not getting in one of those things," I told him. It was a tiny Submind scout ship--nice looking ride--probably good for impressing girls.

"It's really fast," Buddy said. "It'd make the Jupiter run in five weeks; maybe less if you push it. You're a sturdy young man..."

"Thanks, Buddy. Really. But I'm not riding that thing anywhere. Suit jets are fine with me, and if I ever go to Jupiter, I'm taking Paula in Ion Jack."

"We need to do more testing first," Rudy said. "The Jupiter run test is at least an Earth's year away. We are growing the prototype neural set. It's much like growing... um... teaching a small child."

"And you think I'm going to ride it based on it thinking like a small child?" I asked. Buddy and Rudy looked slightly embarrassed, but Fife nodded with excitement.

"I'm not getting near that thing," I said. "Why are you asking me, anyway? Test pilot is not one of my skills."

"You're good with chimps," Fife said. "For co-pilots."

"Doc said you could help," Rudy said.

"You won't need to do much piloting," Buddy said. "This whole thing; and all of these tubes; and the silicon net here; all of that is a like a Submind nervous system. Wonderful stuff. The ship will avoid danger and seek coordinates. It's quite intelligent."

"It's Submind," I said. "Of course it's intelligent. Despite what you seem to think, the only connection I have to Submind is a solid suspicion of everything surrounding it."

"Yes," Fife said with excitement. "Yes. A trainer who will pay attention."

I shook my head, and looked at the little scout ship. I was interested, but the one I wanted wasn't ready yet.

"Call Tera," I said. "Ask her if she wants to invest. Tell her you want Rick to test pilot for you."

"The... the Minister of Finance?" Fife asked with a squeak.

"Yeah," I said. "But she's got money of her own. Ask her as a private citizen. You'll be swimming in luxury before you know it."

"I'm not sure that would be...."

"None of your pious crap about wealth, Rudy," Buddy said. "If God doesn't want me to have money, he'll continue to keep it away from me."

Imaginary Impact

Paula finished her set and came over to poke me in the ribs. I was sitting with the usual mix of apes and looking for the bottom of my third Hot Slush Bomb.

"Hey," I said. "Careful with that thing. I've been drinking explosive beverages."

Paula grinned and used both hands to attack both sides of my ribcage. Singing makes her very happy; like a narcotic. She was glowing like a pheromone vine, and she wanted to play.

"Hey," I said, fighting the giggles. "Not fair. I've been drinking."

She stepped forward and kissed me briefly. "So you said. I'm going to get some water."

"It's good. I'll be right here. Unless I'm not. Like maybe I got to see..."

Paula kissed me again and turned away.

After a few moments, a friendly, if irritated voice asked, "How's a freak like you keep a woman like that?"

I turned to look. "Kenny!" I said with drunken enthusiasm.

"Don't call me that," he said.

"Why not?" I asked. "You just called me a freak."

"She's too good for you."

"Ah," I said, as the sun rose over my slush bombs. "You dated her."

"More than that. We shook the station together..."

"And for some reason, she moved in with me instead of you," I said. "Poor Kennith. Poor poor Kennith."

"That isn't what I meant," Kenny said. "I mean... I'm sorry. You're a good guy for a mutant thug. I just thought... When I came back to the station, I was thinking about Paula."

"You should have thought before you left," I said.

"I did," he said mournfully. "She refused to come with me."

I couldn't help laughing. "She stopped dating months before you left. 'Cause of the whole orbital decay thing--you know? She claims it took five weeks to get over the cravings."

"What are you saying?"

"Three years ago she told me to stay the hell away from her unless it was business," I said. "Didn't even bother to find out if I was serious. What made you think she would leave with you? Over Doc?"

"You had absolutely zero chance, Kennith." Paula said from behind me. "Sorry. And it was three weeks, not five."

I smiled and reached around to hug her. "I had an imaginary girlfriend when I was young. Do you suppose she grew up to be you?"

"I don't think so," Paula said. "I had six imaginary boyfriends, and none of them were like you."

"Ricky had imaginary enemies," Tera said.

We turned to look at her.

"When he was a boy," Tera said. "He told me all about it. Didn't you, Ricky?"

"Armies," Rick said. "Planets. Solar systems. My only friend was Captain Killemall."

"What about you, Kenny?" Rhonda asked sweetly. "I bet you had an imaginary friend."

Kennith blinked at her uncertainly. I don't think he realized until that moment that everyone at the table had been listening.

"I... a spaceship," Ken said. "Her name was Photon Shift, and she was the smartest ship in the galaxy."

"Smartest," Rhonda said in apparent amazement. "That must have been exciting. I had an imaginary puppy. I genetically modified him to turn into a flying pony whenever I wanted."

"I told you that would never work," Rita said. "I had a perfectly normal imaginary biology teacher. She taught me all about unicorns and dragons, among other things."

"Giant space turtles?" I asked.

"So Kenny?" Rhonda asked. "What's say we go for a little walk while Paula is on break, and then come back for a bit of dancing?"

Kennith blinked at her again. Have I mentioned the Selmon sisters are supernaturally beautiful?

"I would be most pleased," Kennith said softly, like he was trying not to scare her away. The Selmon sisters don't scare easy, so maybe he was trying not to frighten himself.

"Yeah," I said. "Go away so I can be alone with my imaginary goddess."

Paula laughed with delight and proceeded to reward me thoroughly.

Family Outing

"I can't believe you put those things in my parents' ship--in the sleep chamber no less," I said. "It's embarrassing."

Paula looked around the room in puzzlement.

I pointed at the glow vine in the closest corner.

Paula giggled. "My perfumed glow vines are only installed by special order. Would you like to know..."

"Forget I mentioned it," I said, glaring at it suspiciously. If I let Paula get started, she wouldn't let up for hours.

"What are we waiting for?" My dad said from the corridor.

"I don't know. Are you done messing around with the old gear?"

"A true technician knows..."

"That unstowed gear is death waiting to happen," I finished. "Thanks, Dad. It's usually policy to wait until new gear checks out first, but now that you've cheated death, we are done waiting. Let's go."

"Where's Vicky?"

"Mom is suiting up with governor Smith," I said. "She said goodbye, which you acknowledged, and she left. That was almost half an hour ago."

"Oh. I guess we better go."

"You seem nervous or something," I said. "You already have a symbiont. Is there something you don't like about the vac-suit, Dad?"

"No."

"You know Mom isn't going to wait. She's been calling Paula five or six times a day to find out when her suit would be ready. It's first flight. It'll be fun."

"I haven't... I never liked first flight," my dad said. "The way new suits smell inside. The way you have to relearn the touch; learn to fly right. I takes me weeks to get the hang of these new heads-up displays..."

I started laughing.

"What?"

"Dad. It's your suit. Submind designed it for you. They took your measure in the med vat, and I don't just mean size, Dad. It's the suit Trenton Jackson always wanted. Trust me. That's why Mom is so excited."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll get it. Just put on the vac-suit, and you'll get it."

Divine Math

Professor McClain entered the station at 15:17 hours. I was almost caught up with the data. I had maybe one and a half reports to check over and authorize, and maybe a few meetings to schedule, and then I could take a day off. Professor McClain met Fife Tiberman in customs at 15:23 hours, about 50 meters from my office door. As soon as I heard the argument, I knew my free day was a shrinking hope.

"You must stop this madness," Professor McClain said. "We need to leave. Now."

"What are you talking about, Rudy? I like working here. I have my own place--with three whole rooms, including a hygiene closet."

"You need to get away from these people before it's too late. They'll take away your robots and stick an alien in your head. We have to go now--before they find me."

"You're in customs," I said, walking up behind him. "Not a very good hiding place."

Rudy spun around and looked at me in terror. I don't usually inspire that look, so I pulled back my shirt collar to show him my symbiont. Some people think my sense of humor is broken.

Rudy started jumping around and shouting nonsense.

I looked at Fife. He gave me a small smile and shrugged.

I raised my voice above Rudy's sing-song and asked, "Pointing, rude gestures, and stomping dances are a common event around here, but what's with the gibberish?"

"It's latin," Fife said. "Something about Legion, or the Belly of the Beast. I think old Rudy is trying to preform an exorcism."

I started laughing. I had to lean on the wall. When I saw Rudy's face, I laughed even harder. Just as I was catching my breath, Fife tapped Rudy on the shoulder.

"It's fine Rudy. I got one too," he said. "See? It's harmless."

Rudy took one look, screamed, and tried to run for it. I say 'tried' because he ran into the wall at full speed and knocked himself senseless. It was too much. I collapsed prone on the ground and didn't stop laughing until my vision went dark from improper breathing.

Fife was wringing his hands when I came up for air. "He gets these ideas... let's just say his obsessions can be useful, but I don't think this is one of those times. I need his help on a new project."

I stood up, watching four of Fife's spider bots attend to Rudy. "What are you doing with the bots?"

"They did a basic medical scan and adjusted his position for easier care and comfort."

"You don't have a control unit... that wand you had..."

"The medical scan was automatic. Wouldn't be much use otherwise. I need Rudy here to help with the lower level decision functions. He did his Master's thesis on the mathematics of the Divine. Other than that, he's brilliant."

"You know I hate that joke, Tee Man," Rudy said. "Is that really you, or did the alien eat your memories?"

"Yes, Rudy. This is me, and the alien DID eat my memories."

"Why did I come here?" Rudy moaned, pressing his hand to a rapidly growing lump on his forehead. "Why didn't I listen to mom? No one bothers monks. Especially not in some empty stretch of low grade nickel rocks on the back side of the Belt. Why am I always chasing after some school chum and praying the latest project won't be an offense to God?"

"We give you interesting problems," Fife said. "Buddy is here."

Rudy moaned louder.

"I'm serious. He's been out at Frost River, growing silicon in an organic matrix."

Rudy sat up.

Fife held out a hand and one of his mechanical spiders leapt into it.

"Whoa," I said, taking half a step back.

Fife held it out, and Rudy stood up to look at it. The back of the spider opened, and Fife pointed at a glob of dirt. "That silicon node contains a self-programming processor. It has simple learning and memory functions, as well as puzzle solving abilities. We need your help turning my survival routines, damage avoidance and such, into something closer to instinct. We want to grow it into the matrix."

"I'm going to hell," Rudy said, reaching for the bot.

I shrugged and went back to my office. Maybe Rudy couldn't save himself, but I could save my free day.

Northern Lights

Joe walked into my office and said, "We need you at the northern hub lock. It shouldn't take more than a few minutes."

"What?"

"As soon as possible," Joe added.

"I have a meeting in half an hour," I said. "But I would tell you to spin off even if it weren't true, so spin off."

Joe handed me a folded paper napkin.

I unfolded it to see a glowing purple kiss. It had be from Governor Kelly, but I wasn't sure if she intended it as a threat or a serious proxy for her grandmotherly affection. Probably both, now that I think about it.

"Great," I muttered. "What does she want?"

"She wants you to come with me to the northern hub lock."

"Fine," I said, slapping the open napkin against his forehead so the lip stain made it stick. "I'll go suit up and meet you there."

Joe made a satisfying gasp of terror and plucked it off to examine the smeared stain with widened eyes. "You freak. This stuff takes days to wear off."

"Yeah," I said. I called Sandra and asked her to take my appointments, then I headed for Custom's main airlock and my vac-suit.

I rode my ion thrusters toward station-north, flying under the rails and tangent tracks. I tuned in the northern access beacon and found a small group of people holding position a few degrees down from hub center. The pink vac-suit with the strange devices all over it was Paula, so naturally I took position next to her.

"Hey," I said. "Where's Kelly?"

"Observation deck. Where's Joe?"

"Washing his forehead."

Paula giggled. "You're not a very nice person, Ape Man."

"I love that I don't have to explain things for you," I said. "Do you know what she wants?"

"Your opinion, most likely. I'm sure it can wait until after the show."

"What show?"

Paula swept her arms in a gesture indicating the entire station.

I looked closer. There was something growing on the station hull--kilometers of it. "I didn't see that. I flew right past that stuff. How long has...."

I shut up because it was glowing, and growing brighter at a rate which would have been alarming in anything mechanical. Would you believe a sign? Bio-luminescent? Kilometers large?

"I don't believe it," I said, barely breathing. "It says 'Fort Falling.' How did you...

"You did this," I said, pointing at Paula. "This is so... so.... We need to go inside where I can hug you. Really hard."

Paula laughed and burned her suit thrusters all the way to the airlock.