Packets of information were regularly pulsed through the tunnels and gates. It didn’t mean that all news was instantaneously available, but major events were broadcast regularly enough that only planets a long run from a hypergate would be behind.
Except to the Chonchu system. The Cartel had stopped all information flowing in and out of there like a dam across a river.
However, with Belaitha in charge of their hypergate, the system was finally connected to everyone else.
Not only could they send out their own news, they could receive it as well.
For the first time in over a month, Basil and the others received all the messages and other news that had been accumulating.
While Basil could read everyone’s letters as they came in, zie honestly didn’t have the time. Sure, zie could have set up a program to scan everything and summarize, but then zie would have to absorb the summaries.
Plus, most of the letters that came in were personal, from family or friends. No one on the crew was sending coded messages. Not even Kim, though sometimes Basil did have to wonder about the funny, furry bird videos that she preferred.
Really, zie didn’t see the point in watching a bird dip its head in water again and again, then splash it all out everywhere, falling over in the process.
Basil had a few colleagues zie communicated with. Reviews of new hardware or encryption services. All under assumed identities, of course.
Plus, zir regular communication with Fredrick.
It didn’t surprise Basil when zir computer gave a particular Ding, the tone he’d assigned to all messages coming in from Fredrick.
Zie was going to have to let Fredrick know that the family emergency was over and that zie was back. So it took zim a while before zie got around to opening Fredrick’s latest letter.
Zie was taking a break in the secondary engine room, waiting for the 3-D printer to generate more wire, when zie remembered Fredrick’s letter. Zie rested on the flat of zir tail, opening the letter in one window while still running code and other experiments in the others.
The first line reassured Basil that Fredrick understood about taking time off. However, Fredrick had to warn Basil that this was the last time zie would be able to reach Fredrick at this address.
Fredrick’s next words chilled Basil to the core.
I suspect my boss suspects some level of disloyalty from me.
Was that a warning? Was it already too late? Had all of Fredrick’s acquaintances drawn the scrutiny of his boss? Of the Cartel?
How much danger was Basil and the crew in? Basil double-checked that zie had bounced the message around a few times before accepting it so that no one could track where it had eventually ended up.
Still. No program was without flaws. A dedicated hacker might have been able to track the Yu’udir’s message given enough time and computing power.
Basil wasn’t certain what to do next. Zie signed and wiggled a bit, trying to get the segments of zir body to align more comfortably as zie read through the rest of Fredrick’s message.
There wasn’t much, just the Yu’udir’s usual complaint about how tame the food was on the station, how much he’d enjoyed the latest batch of music that Basil had sent him, how Basil shouldn’t worry if there were gaps in his communication, that he’d try to find a way to reach out to him again.
Wait. What music?
Basil had never sent the Yu’udir any music. As an Oligochuno, Basil’s idea of music was radically different than any of the other races. Zie did not understand art that was singularly experienced. Art was meant to be tasted, touched, smelled, listened to as well as seen, all at the same time. Basil never just saw anything. Chemical signatures were a part of zir visual spectrum. The Oligochuno experienced multiple layers of data with everything that they “saw” using the orange sensing ring that encircled the tops of their heads.
Toward the bottom of the message was a link to some more “music” that Fredrick thought Basil might enjoy.
Was it a trap? Or an opening?
Basil debated clicking on the link. It could lead to anywhere. Contain anything.
Despite how zir hand floated above the button, zie knew zieself.
The temptation was too great.
Perhaps the Yu’udir understood that as well.
Basil created a safe environment, apart from the rest of the computer systems, before zie clicked on the link.
The data that flowed into zir system was compact. A cube, locked against easy access.
Zie brought it up on zir screen. It really was elegant, with lines flowing into one another. There was obviously a keyhole on one side, something that Basil supposedly already had.
Now, all Basil had to do was to figure out how to open it.
Hopefully, before they all got blown up.
* * *
It turned out that the keyhole didn’t just expect a passcode. The data had been formed to take the appearance of a physical cube, so the keyhole expected exact measurements of the “key” as well as an encrypted code.
Basil spent more than a day combing through all of Fredrick’s previous correspondence, looking for a clue, some mention of a device or object, hell, even a key would be nice.
Nothing.
It shamed Basil that Kim was the one who finally made the connection.
Zie tended to take zir meals on zir own in the ship, as nothing zie ate could be shared with the others. Zie knew that some of the Oligochuno added chemicals to their food so that it glowed across all the spectrums of light, claiming that made it more “alive.”
The Oligochuno had never been a hunting species, though. Their nutrients came from the land and what they grew, not from flesh. Not to say that zie couldn’t defend zieself. Zie had good enough control of zir skin that zie could easily exude poisons, as well as noxious fumes.
Zie was standing at the food 3-D printer (zie still refused to call it a replicator) waiting for dinner when Kim came bouncing into the shared kitchen.
“Hiya!” she called cheerfully as she made her way to the counter, pulling out containers of various dried leaves, obviously intending to make herself some tea. “Any luck?” she asked.
The crew knew about the cube. Basil had reported it promptly, along with preliminary estimates of its size. Zie had no idea what it contained, however.
“None,” Basil said. Zie hadn’t meant to sound as disgruntled as zie did.
Zie was just massively frustrated.
“I’m sorry,” Kim said. She actually sounded sincere. “Are you sure the key isn’t something you already have?”
“I’m certain,” Basil said, snapping. “I’ve run every decryption program I could think of. I even had Eleanor run it past the queens, accessing all of their personal memories. No one has any clue.”
“Hmmm,” Kim said as she assembled her concoction. Of course, it wasn’t just the herbs she added to her drink, but at least half of it was a sweetener that made Basil’s sides itch. “Have you tried his i-stick?”
“His what?” Basil asked.
“We copied Fredrick’s i-stick. Remember? And those are often used as a key fob,” Kim pointed out reasonably, despite how sharp Basil sounded at the time.
“How would that—oh,” Basil said after a few moments.
Zie had the exact dimensions of the Yu’udir’s i-stick. As i-sticks came in all sizes, there wasn’t a standard one. Fredrick’s i-stick didn’t have precise measurements in centimeters, as Basil recalled. Both its length and diameter contained fractions, adding to the complexity of the key.
Each i-stick had an identity code that could supposedly be used to track its owner, if the person had bothered to set the tracking up. There hadn’t been anything special about the code that Basil had seen.
Except that it was, in fact, a code.
“Thank you!” Basil said, hurrying out of the kitchen.
“What about your dinner?” zie heard as zie rushed along the hall.
“You can have it!” zie called back.
“Ewww. Gross.”
Basil grinned but kept moving.
Zie finally had a clue.
Now, zie just had to see if it led anywhere.