Journey to Year 1,000,000,000 Ch. 11

"Then... why did you make us jump through all these hoops, going from planetoid to planetoid to collect elements? Why not just bring us here immediately?"

"We were observing you. We wanted to know which of your crew had the greatest potential. We gave Ensign Clay Raleigh the isotope because he demonstrated a passion for greed. We gave Doctor Bruce Anderson the isotope because he had a passion for science. Lieutenant Babangida demonstrated warlike aggression, so he got the isotope as well. And we gave Lieutenant Jennifer Hale the isotope because she showed a passion for sensual love. Not sensual love for you, Captain, but love for others, nonetheless."

"And me? Why did you give me the isotope?"

"Your passion is perhaps strongest of all: the determination to carry out your mission, regardless of the personal cost to yourself or your crew, in the finest tradition of your Survey Service."

Taylor felt a surge of pride. He didn't know if Tammad was being sarcastic, but Taylor suspected that the United wasn't capable of it.

"And now we have you, and your crew," said Tammad.

Taylor gave him a mocking smile. "Well, I got some bad news for you, Tammad old boy. You don't have my crew, and you don't exactly have me," said Taylor. He pointed up to the Devonshire, which was hovering above the base. "Do you see that? There's no crew in it. They're all safely on the Judicator, in high orbit."

He looked at Tammad for a reaction, but what kind of reaction could a squid with no face actually show? The giant eye blinked. Once.

"But the Devonshire isn't exactly empty. It has six nova bombs on it. And do you see this device in my hand? It's the activator. If I release my grip on it, the bombs go off."

Taylor waited for a long moment. There was no response. He wondered if the United were conferring telepathically. He wondered if they were trying to stop the bombs.

"What do you want?" Tammad said finally.

"Get your people off of Corta. Evacuate this base. Then we're going to blow it, and this monolith, to pieces."

"I have already told you that the Black Box has been deactivated in your time."

"Yes, I'm sorry, but I don't believe you," said Taylor. "You see, after the first set of lies, it's a little hard for me to believe the second set."

"We have no reason to lie to you."

"You have every reason to lie to me."

"Then go ahead," said Tammad, in Taylor's head.

"What?" Taylor asked.

"Go ahead. Detonate your bombs."

Taylor paused. Did they think he was bluffing?

"You are referring to these, correct?"

Suddenly, in a flash, he saw six nova bombs, materializing besides him.

"Y-yes," said Taylor, staring at the big, ominous dark, round bombs.

"Then do it."

"What?"

"Detonate them," said Tammad, in Taylor's head.

"Really?"

"Yes."

Taylor paused, licking his lips. "You think I'm not serious? You think I won't actually do it?"

"Well, you've talked a lot about doing it... but you haven't actually done it."

They were calling his bluff.

"All... All right," said Taylor. "I will." He licked his lips. He had been preparing himself for this moment.

And yet, not like this. He had always envisioned releasing the trigger while the United were attacking him, rushing him, leaving him no choice but to let the trigger go.

But to do it this way... to do it this way was harder. Much harder. Taylor's heart beat rapidly. He felt the giant squid eyes all on him. He bit his lip. He had to do this, to save Earth. To save humanity.

To save Pam.

Closing his eyes, and gritting his teeth, he released the trigger, and-

Nothing happened.

Taylor opened his eyes. He looked at the nova bombs.

They were now black dust scattered on the ground.

"He really was going to do it," came Tammad's voice, inside his head. "Did you feel it? Did you feel his emotion?"

"Yes!" said another voice excitedly. "At that moment he had purpose. A purpose so strong that he would willingly extinguish himself to accomplish it!"

There was a babble of voices inside his head.

"Stop!" Taylor cried.

Blissful silence.

"All right. You've neutralized the bombs. Why don't we call this a draw? Let me return to my ship. We will go back to our Earth, in our time. What do you say?"

"We say no, Captain Taylor," said Tammad.

There was a sudden flash, and the crew of the Judicator suddenly appeared, all around him.

"How... how did you do that?" Taylor asked.

"You had a fairly good grasp of the situation, Captain Taylor. For a primitive, of course. But you have absolutely no grasp of what we are capable of doing," said Tammad. And then there was another flash, and Taylor found himself somewhere completely different.

********

"And so here we are again," said Victor.

"Not funny, Victor," said Taylor. They were in a large, circular chamber reminiscent of the room where they had been experimented on by the Ascended. And now the same thing was going to happen to them, only 492,000,000 years later.

"It was a good try, Michael," said Victor, putting a hand on his shoulder. "But we were simply outclassed by superior technology. We never stood a chance."

"Victor, there's always a chance," said Taylor, practically reciting the Survey Service mantra.

There was a flash of light, and Colonel Alex Stone appeared in front of them, flanked by two of the United.

"Captain Taylor, we meet again," said Stone. "It wasn't nice of you to leave me locked in crew quarters on the Judicator."

"I hope I didn't hurt your feelings," said Taylor.

"That's why you're here, Captain Taylor," said Stone. He walked up to Taylor, and looked at him with blank eyes. "I have no feelings. No feelings of any kind."

"How sad for you," said Taylor. He glared at him. This was the man who had killed Jennifer. The man who had seduced her away from him-

"Sadness. An interesting choice of words," said Stone. "But sadness is not the motivator I have been sent to study."

"And what would that be?"

"Pain, Captain Taylor." He smiled as he saw Taylor flinch. "I have chosen to study the infliction of pain on others."

"Why would you do that?" Taylor asked.

"We have found that is a powerful motivator in your society," said Stone. "My initial studies will require two volunteers."

"No one's volunteering," said Taylor coldly.

Stone looked at the crew with inhuman eyes. Each crewman shuddered as they felt his gaze fall among them. But then his head stopped twice.

"We have selected Ensign Gary Torrence, and Crewman Rudy Garrett."

"No!" said Taylor.

There was a flash of light, and Stone and the United disappeared. So did Torrence and Garrett.

"No!" Taylor cried. "Bring them back! Bring them back now!" He spun around the room.

"You seem upset," said a familiar voice.

Taylor turned around and saw Jennifer Hale. She gave him an inhuman smile. "It's good to see you again, Michael."

********

Gary Torrence and Rudy Garrett were in a room full of United. Alex Stone stood in front of them. "Thank you for coming. We are here to study the concept of giving pain."

"It's called sadism," said Ensign Torrence.

"Yes... sadism," said Stone. "We have observed that sadism is a very powerful motivator in your society."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your society glorifies the hurting and killing of others." Suddenly images from a hundred holodramas appeared all around them, scenes of shooting and killing and fighting and beating.

"That's different," said Torrence. "That's fiction. It's not real."

"And yet it does have appeal to you," said Stone.

"No, it doesn't," said Torrence

"Doesn't it?"

Suddenly they saw a scene from the cube planetoid, where Torrence was fighting the United. "Die, squids!" he shouted as he blasted one to pieces. Another scene showed Garrett blasting a squid of his own, and then laughing hysterically.

"Is that what this is about? Revenge for the death of your comrades?" said Torrence.

"No," said Alex Stone. "We do not feel anger at their deaths. We do not feel anything. We want to know what it feels like. What it feels like to inflict pain."

"And now we will begin."

No words had ever instilled greater fear in Gary Torrence's heart.