Clark fidgeted slightly as the virtual bridge hosted a crucial conference. While he had grown accustomed to the presence of the captains of Kepler and Shoemaker, the three other VIPs were another matter entirely.
President Oaks, a seasoned woman from New Virginia and the leader of the USA, was among them. Like Curry, she was an older woman with graying hair and a steely gaze. Proudly displaying the many ribbons on her military dress uniform, earned during her military career, she carried out her duties without fanfare, kept politicking to a minimum, and generally left the systems to govern themselves—a model President of the Americas.
On the left of her holographic window was High Chancellor Augustine, the executive leader of the Federation. Hailing from the Eiffel System of Nova Francia, he was the youngest of the VIPs and the most impeccably dressed. He wore a full suit, including a vest, with the Federation Golden Eagle pinned on his lapel. His blonde hair was combed back, and his thin gold-framed glasses added a touch of sophistication.
Not that it mattered much to Clark as he held no real opinion about the High Chancellor. While he was the executive leader of the Federation, the Constitution made him almost a nonfactor to any of the American People.
The last VIP, whose holographic window floated on the right of Augustine's, was President Chen of the Republic of Taiwan. He was silent, displaying only a small frown to show his dissatisfaction with the whole situation. Clark couldn't help but feel sorry for him; one of his provincial systems was under attack by the squints, and the new system they were planning to colonize had numerous problems.
If it were just the exotic matter, it wouldn't have been so bad. True, it would slow down population growth, as children without nanites would find the dark energy radiation dangerous, but the potential losses could be recouped. Shanxi would have something unique to sell to the rest of the Federation countries—the exotic matter itself.
However, the artifact made colonizing the system a risk too high to ignore for one reason alone.
"It's a Bridge?" High Chancellor Augustine frowned, adjusting his thin, gold-framed glasses, making them glint.
"Yes," replied another representative of Kepler, Doctor Walden, with a slightly thick German accent. His window joined beside Captain Johnson's, across from the VIPs. "Though it's more accurate to say it's closer to a Urenbeck launcher than a Bridge.”
"The newly discovered system is almost two thousand lightyears away from Shanxi, is it not?" Augustine asked.
"Yes, High Chancellor."
"I may not be a scientist, but even I know it's impossible to jump ships that far away."
"True, but we're dealing with fundamentally different technology here," Walden explained.
Another window popped up in the center of the conference, displaying the alien artifact, the mass-affecting crystal, and the video of what happened to RDP01 when it first activated the artifact. Augustine adjusted his glasses as he looked downwards, reading the file.
"The most prevailing theory we have as of now is that the alien artifacts are paired with each other. When a signal is sent, the two artifacts create some sort of tunnel or corridor of negative mass between them, propelling ships through it."
Augustine frowned. "I can see why you said it was closer to a launcher than a Bridge. Still, these GRADR readings…"
The doctor nodded. "Like I said, fundamentally different technology. Our sensors rely on gravitational readings based on spacetime being affected by mass. This exotic matter removes mass, giving us some very strange, almost invisible readings."
YOU ARE READING
Drift Effect
FanfictionIn the early 21st Century, Humanity made First Contact. By the end of it, they lost Earth. However, they survived, carving their place in the sea of stars, hoping one day to finally retake back their home world. The void, though, is a dangerous plac...
