Fate of Worlds: Return From the Ringworld

“Hello, Alice,” the woman said. She frowned in concentration, as though struggling with Alice’s archaic speech. “I’m Tanya Wu. You messaged me?”

Interworld sounded as awkward to Alice. “I did, Tanya. Thank you for responding.”

A burst of typing came from Alice’s left, and text appeared on her contact lenses. It was Julia asking: Is she an ARM?

Tanya said, “Your message speaks of a lost human colony, New Terra. Where is it?”

In Alice’s peripheral vision, Nessus tore at his mane. She said, “It’s a dangerous galaxy, Tanya. I would rather not broadcast that information.”

Tanya frowned. “We’re talking by hyperwave, and I presume you reached this system by hyperdrive. You’ve obviously had dealings with the Outsiders, so why not ask them how to get home?”

Because, in a long-ago, three-way barter, the Outsiders had committed to the Puppeteers never to help the New Terrans get home. New Terra’s history was too tanjed convoluted for anyone to swallow in one serving. And that left telling lies.

For years Alice had spurned Sigmund’s efforts to contact her. Here and now she needed the devious insights of his twisted, brilliant mind — and she couldn’t reach him. The Ministry of Defense said he was unavailable.

The best lies are the simplest, she decided. “We can’t afford the answer.”

“And Outsiders don’t haggle,” Tanya acknowledged as her eyes darted about. Reading cues off her own lenses? “You messaged an ARM ship. Why be coy now?”

“I’m being cautious, not coy. We would like to reconnect without drawing the attention of uninvited parties.”

“That’s understandable.” More darting of Tanya’s eyes. “How does it happen that Endurance shows up in this region of space at this time?”

“A big hyperspace ripple,” Alice said. “We came to check that out and found more than we expected.”

“I’ll bet.” Tanya pursed her lips. “How is it you knew ARM encryption?”

“We didn’t. We cracked the encryption. That only worked because the plaintext recognizably derived from English.”

“Still, it’s military-grade crypto. I guess you mastered a few tricks in your isolated little colony.”

“A few.”

“Such as impersonating humans?” Tanya gibed.

“I’m as human as you,” Alice snapped back. “I grant I can’t prove it over a comm link.”

“And seven hundred years old? Really?”

“Bringing us back to tricks we’ve learned.” The lie was again simpler and more credible than the truth.

Tanya’s eyes darted about once more. “How do you see this encounter playing out?”

“We propose to jump Endurance into an ARM formation.”

“I don’t recommend that. We’ll blow up any unfamiliar ship that tries.”

We’re not Kzinti, Alice thought. But she and Long Pass alike had left Sol system before Kzinti first burst onto the scene. How would she explain knowing about Kzinti? Was she caught already in a web of her own lies?

Text, this time from Nessus, flowed across Alice’s lenses: Time to move. Safety first. His forehoof ceased tapping a rhythm to begin clawing at the deck.

Alice shook her head marginally: no. She considered swinging the camera to reveal Nessus — only that would beg the question why New Terra didn’t ask their Puppeteer friend for the way home. Finagle! She would not have believed the story she was spinning.

Alice said, “Then give me coordinates for Earth, or to any human-settled world.”

“It’s a dangerous galaxy, as you said.” Tanya laughed mirthlessly. “If a ship of strangers doesn’t know the way, I’m not about to tell them.”

Julia typed: Plan B.

Alice nodded. “Tanya, I understand. How about a one-on-one meeting? Endurance and your ship. You set the coordinates.”

“And a swarm of ships swoops down on us the moment we appear.”

For all Tanya knew, this could be an elaborate trap. Alice wanted to cry, to scream, to break things. Had they traveled so far, had they come so close, only to fail? It was tragic.

“I have a question,” Tanya said. “Why me? Why in particular did you contact me?”

Tanya Wu was a name recovered from the message stream, because she texted a lot. Alice might as well have contacted the friend, Elena.

“Simple coincidence, most likely,” Alice said. “Wu was a common name the last time I visited Earth. Still, long after, I met a man named Louis Gridley Wu. You wouldn’t happen to know him?”

Tanya blinked. “My great-grandfather. In a way he’s why I’m here. He discovered the Ringworld.” More eye darting. “I’ll be right back, Alice.”

The video froze.

“We’re overdue to jump,” Nessus said.

“Not yet,” Julia ordered.

As Alice was beginning to doubt they would ever hear back, the image flashed. An older man with a pencil- thin mustache had taken Tanya’s place. “I am Captain Wesley Wu. My grandfather was a wanderer and an incorrigible storyteller. Agent Jordan, see if you can convince me that you knew him.

“And if you manage that, you can explain why Grandpa didn’t tell you the way home.”

20

“They missed a jump!” Hindmost said in alarm.

Louis yawned. He hadn’t slept since emerging from the ’doc more than a day earlier. “Who? The ship you believe has Nessus aboard? That its maneuvers remind you of a ballet could be a coincidence.” Or, more likely, wishful thinking.

“I do not believe that,” Hindmost’s Voice offered. “Too many jumps have matched the cadence Hindmost remembers.”

“But you still see the ship?” Louis asked.

“Yes,” Hindmost said.

Louis yawned again. “If Nessus is aboard, he can’t pilot nonstop. Maybe he’s getting some sleep.”

“Perhaps.” Hindmost plucked at his mane. “That his shipmates do not follow the rhythm suggests they are not a party to his signaling.”

“Or maybe Nessus is alone on that ship,” Louis countered.

“The ship just took a short jump,” Hindmost’s Voice announced. “It emerged as near as I have seen it to the star.”

Scanning the tactical display, Louis saw nothing close to what might be Nessus’ ship. Louis said, “Hindmost’s Voice, how long will it take to gather data for a spectral analysis?”

“No more than five seconds.”

“What are you…?” The question trailed off into an anxious, two-throated bleat as the view port flashed to static.

Seconds later, Louis dropped Long Shot back to normal space. “Start recording. Tell me when you’re — ”

“I have the data,” Hindmost’s Voice said.

Louis jumped Long Shot to hyperspace, emerging four light-hours from where they had been. He turned to Hindmost. “Weren’t you tired of waiting?”

“Very well.” With a shudder, Hindmost straightened. “Voice, did you identify the hull material?”

“It is twing.”

“What’s twing?” Louis asked.