The Quantum Connection

'What the hell!' Jim screamed and fell forward face-first into the floor. The inertial dampeners were overtaxed apparently.

'They've caught us in that damn beam thing they got us with on the way in,' 'Becca said.

'Can we overcome it?' Tabitha asked.

Mike? 

Sorry, Steven, but no, we cannot. 

'It looks like they caught us. But they can't get through the warp bubble,' I told her.

'Damn! Okay, we keep the warp bubble on forever if we have to. It looks like we have a stalemate here,' Tabitha said.

'YOU CANNOT GO ANYWHERE, MONKEYS. YOU MIGHT AS WELL COME OUT,' Opolawn's voice boomed over the YIT intercom. Opolawn was floating above his city. He appeared as a brilliant ball of light, almost like a miniature yellow sun. The bright yellow beam of light passed from the temple below him up beside him and to the Phoenix. He pulled us down to his altitude and laughed in his booming voice over the YIT intercom. He looked like a small sun floating before us. Somehow that sun was going to have to set. I was wide open for suggestions.

We were trapped between a rock and a really, really hard place. If we gave up, we were dead and the Grays would destroy humanity. If we stayed here until we died of starvation or Opolawn figured out how to get in to us, we would be dead and the Grays would destroy humanity. If we destroyed the controller before we died, the humans back on Earth infected with the Himbroozya picophage would go nuts—the picomachines would be a control system with random gain and no controller—and the result would destroy humanity. We brainstormed and threw ideas around for the better part of an hour, but we had no clue as what to do. Opolawn grew impatient and it was our guess that he would eventually figure out how to crack our shell and get us out.

'Okay, anybody have any sci-fi scenarios that fit?' Anson asked us.

'I'm kinda drawing a blank, Anson,' 'Becca replied.

Jim shrugged.

'Hey, I think I've got one,' I said.

'Let's hear it, Steven,' Tabitha ordered.

'There was an episode of the old Star Trek series where they bumped into the ancient Greek Gods and—' I started.

'Of course!' Anson slapped his forehead.

'Apollo caught them in much the same way, didn't he?' Jim rubbed his head in thought. 'Spock found his power source, if I recall, and Kirk had 'em blast it with the Enterprise's phasers, right?'

'The scenario fits, but I think bright guy out there is too quick for us to just shoot out his tractor beam,' Anson responded.

'Yes, Anson, but it is a place to start formulating a plan. Let's see what we can come up with.' Tabitha nodded encouragingly to each of us.

'Well, Tabitha, the problem I see is getting out of our protective warp bubble without getting smashed,' 'Becca replied.

'There must be a way!' Tabitha wasn't about to give up.

Stevie? 

What, honey, I'm kinda busy right now. 

I know, Mike told me. 

Oh. 

Use the YIT and get out. 

What do you mean, Tatiana? 

Quantum connect and teleport away. 

We've never tried that and we aren't sure it will work. 

It will work. You just need to know where you're going to teleport to. You need to go to another SuperAgent. 

The only ones we are friendly with are Mike and Michelle that are both here and Mikhail that is with you. No good. 

There must be a way, Steven. 

Maybe. You are wasting energy, baby. Go back to sleep. 

CHAPTER 26

It is really funny the things that pop in your head when you are trying to think of something else. I was thinking about Tatiana's suggestion and was trying to figure out what all would be required to do the quantum teleportation of a nanowarp bubble over the YIT from one SuperAgent to another. We would need three cooperative SuperAgents: one on each end to act as the transmit and receive locations and one in the warp bubble to guide the bubble into the quantum connection interference beam. We weren't exactly sure how the SuperAgent could guide us into the quantum connected region of the cube since it was such a small place. If we figured all that stuff out we still needed three SuperAgents. The only real SuperAgents that I knew of were Mike, Mikhail, and Michelle. The dummy we made back on the Moon wasn't smart enough to surf the YIT; it was only designed to drive the construction nanomachines. And then it hit me.