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I didn’t say anything straight away because my head was spinning and I felt nauseous.
‘My apologies,’ said Noah. ‘Your neurological match for direct communication would normally be considered less than ideal. I have misjudged your capacity. The ill effects should pass shortly.’
I still couldn’t say anything sensible. I did notice Pitr was looking at me, and that he looked even more confused than I felt. He didn’t have the benefit of the link, so I figured most of what he saw didn’t mean anything to him. I gave him what I hoped was a reassuring smile.
‘Noah, can we talk so Pitr can hear us now?’
‘If you wish.’
I saw Pitr jump as I heard Noah though my ears again. My head was starting to clear.
‘What did you mean ‘now you are here’?’
‘You must carry the message to the Propulsion Control Centre to initiate the de-orbit burn that will bring us into a capture path for the target world.’
I saw Pitr frown. This thing where I seemed to instinctively understand most of what Noah was saying but Pitr was left guessing was neat in a bad sort of way. It was nice to be one step ahead of him for a change.
‘Again, so my friend can understand.’
There was a fraction of a beat hesitation. ‘A machine needs to be told to do something at a certain time. I cannot speak to the machine. I need you to carry my message.’
‘Where?’
‘To the other end of this body.’
‘The big rock thing?’
‘Correct. In a direct path, the distance is approximately 187 kilometres.’
‘And how far is a kilometre?’
‘The Reprocessing Facility... the area in which you lived is slightly less than two kilometres across its widest point.’
My mind wobbled again. My entire world just got a hundred times bigger. Oh, I knew I had seen all that stuff about outside, and the huge distances and so on, but that was just information. This was something I could feel down deep, and Pitr looked like it got to him too.
‘Why me?’ I asked.
‘Because the Reprocessing facility is the only population concentration with which I can still communicate using the direct neural link. As we come close to the time and place at which the engines must be switched on, I start to search for a compatible mind. On this orbit, three such minds were available. I chose you as the candidate most likely to succeed.’
‘Who were the ... never mind. Again, why me?’
‘You exhibited a certain adventurousness and were dissatisfied with your surroundings. You also exhibited resourcefulness. These, and other factors, made it most likely you would accept the summons, and further accept the mission.’
‘How come you know so much about me?’
‘I have been watching you, and the other potential candidates, for some time.’
‘But I thought you said you didn’t have the power.’
‘As in most forms of communication, it takes more effort to be heard than to listen.’
‘But what about all this?’ I asked, waving my hand at all the bright lights. ‘Doesn’t all this need power?’
‘It does, but utility power is of a different type to the energy required to run core processing services.’
‘So this ‘mission’ is important?’ Pitr interrupted.
‘Supremely so,’ Noah replied. ‘Unless the mission can be carried out, this body will not be able to ... ’ Noah broke off, then started. ‘We had to leave our home because something happened. We have been trying to get to our new home for a meaningless number of years, but we are stuck because I cannot start a machine. Unless you can start the machine, we cannot reach our new home.’
I knew he had said it that way to help Pitr out, and I liked that he was so considerate. I had already got it, of course. Pitr’s frown disappeared, then a slight smile crept on to his face. I stifled a groan. I had seen that look before.
‘Then it’s a Duty,’ he said, almost whispering. I didn’t reply, and Noah said nothing either.
‘Do I have a choice?’ I asked.
‘Of course. I have no mechanism to compel you to undertake this mission.’
‘So I could just go home?’
Noah didn’t say anything. I was just about to ask again, when I thought the question through for myself. If I went back, everything would change. Even if I kept my peace, and Pitr did the same, we would know stuff nobody else did. If either of us shot our mouths off we would either be Tanked as hopelessly insane, or we would spark a revolution. For a moment I felt sad, but just for a moment. I hated the place. Why would I want to go back anyway? Pitr would be happy, too, so long as he thought he was doing a Duty. I looked at him, caught his eye and raised my eyebrows. He knew exactly what I was asking and, after a few seconds, made a jerky nod back to me.
‘So when do we leave?’ I asked.