The Lost Tech Read online

  He had no way of telling. He did know this, though. He would perish in this realm—if nothing changed. That meant he had to take a risk and do…do something crazy, if there was any reason at all to believe it could work.

  Maddox forced his eyes open, struggled to rise and began shuffling for the exit. He found it and forced the hatch open.

  So began a long slow journey through the darkened corridors. It was tedious and tiring, and many times, Maddox lost consciousness. When he came to again, he was still shuffling along like a sleepwalker. He had no idea how long the ordeal lasted. Eventually, however, he reached a hangar bay.

  There, he found a thruster pack, dragging it with him. He found more air tanks, more batteries to recharge the photon suit. Finally, he pressed a switch on a control board.

  Nothing happened.

  I need those hangar-bay doors to open, he thought intensely.

  TRY AGAIN.

  Maddox didn’t debate it this time. He tried the hangar-bay switch again. He felt a slight vibration on the soles of his boots. That might or might not be the great bay doors opening. There was no rush of air from inside to outside, and he’d forgotten to drain the air first. What in the hell could that mean?

  Maddox did not know. Instead, he followed his subconscious and the idea that something had spoken to him somehow. He dragged the thruster pack to the open hangar-bay door.

  Strapping it on, he forced himself step by step to the edge of the bay door. He felt outside, and it seemed different from inside.

  Here goes, Maddox thought. He bent forward and let himself drop, and he did drop as if he’d fallen into a weightless vacuum. I’m outside the ship.

  YES. YOU’RE OUTSIDE, ALIEN.

  Maddox’s head jerked back. He felt that in his mind: direct communication.

  Hello?

  There was nothing.

  Maddox concentrated with the helmet lamp on. He could barely see anything. Yet, he felt that if he went to his left, he would reach an important place. He brought up a thruster-pack arm, switched on the device and began to expel a stream of hydrogen, which pushed him in the direction he wanted to travel.

  I don’t know if I’m insane, but here we go.

  There was evil chuckling in his mind, and it gave him pause. In the end, Maddox didn’t see what else he could do, so he continued the bizarre journey to a place he could only feel with his thoughts.

  -42-

  For a long time, Maddox did not feel as if he traveled anywhere. The pressure against his back was the only indication he actually did move.

  Then, minutes or hours later—he did not know how long—Maddox sensed an easing of the thickness of the darkness. He realized it as he understood that his helmet lamp shined farther into the darkness. That was encouraging. The darkness would not entomb him forever.

  Finally, he reached what seemed to him like normal outer-space darkness. Twisting in the thruster-pack, he looked behind him. A shudder of fear washed over him. He saw a blob of darkness, swirling evil darkness. It had an outline and might have encompassed Starship Victory. Was the darkness a thing, an entity or a substance—or was it something different from what it would be in the normal universe? The laws of physics might work differently here.

  Maddox forced himself to face forward. The objective ahead not what lay behind was important. He switched off the helmet lamp and dimly perceived the slightest illumination. He headed for it, steering that way as the dim illumination grew into an—

  “Asteroid,” Maddox whispered.

  He perceived the light shining from behind an oblong asteroid. How far was the object from him? Distance was murky here. He twisted to look back. The evil darkness around Victory had grown smaller, meaning he’d moved some distance from it.

  The captain nodded within the helmet. He was on a quest. That light seemed to point in the correct heading.

  Time passed, and the asteroid grew measurably larger. With a start, Maddox realized it wasn’t an asteroid, as it breathed slowly—at least its sides expanded and contracted as a breathing thing would. He did not like that one bit.

  Rotating, Maddox applied thrust, slowing his velocity. When he faced the slowed direction of travel, he spied a monstrous creature. He decided to call it a “space-whale,” with skin like a rocky asteroid. He did not yet perceive any mouth or flukes. The image of a whale was conjured by its size. As he strained to figure it out, tentacles, long, long black things, began to unwind from its rocky body. As the tentacles moved, the thing began to turn.

  Panic rose in Maddox. The desire to flee in terror grew nearly overpowering. What was this place? Where—?

  Maddox bit back a groan of despair. The space-whale had turned, and suddenly he no longer thought that was what it was. He must be going mad or hallucinating. He saw a giant bearded face in the center of the space-whale. It opened human eyes, bright eyes, and the tentacles reached for Maddox.

  One of them found him, the supple end wrapping around Maddox and his thruster-pack. The tentacle drew Maddox with amazing speed until he hovered before the giant face in the thing regarding him.

  WHAT ARE YOU?

  He mastered the panic enough to think, Captain Maddox, at your service.

  WHAT IS A MADDOX?

  He took a moment to think. Everyone died if he screwed up. This was surreal, but he knew the procedure. He must act.

  WHAT IS A MADDOX?

  I am. I am an individual. May I ask what or who you are?

  The bearded face in the middle of the space whale blurred for a moment. In its place was a horridly alien face with long white teeth ready to rend and devour Maddox and his pack. The thing had slanted eyes and narrow pupils that went up and down instead of side-to-side. The blurring receded, and soon the calm bearded face regarded him again.

  I AM THE HORMAGAUNT.

  Which meant what? No. That didn’t matter. That was the wrong question. Did you send the darkness against my ship?

  SHIP? DARKNESS? OH…YES. I BEGIN TO REMEMBER, AND I DO NOT WANT TO REMEMBER. THAT IS TOO PAINFUL.

  The Hormagaunt controlled the darkness around Victory. This was a surprise, a—Maddox realized he had to use what he could. It was time to use his di-far tactics.

  For your information, my enemy tricked me into this realm. Maybe he did the same thing to you.

  I DO NOT UNDERSTAND.

  I’m attempting to reach a mobile null region, a Builder-made—

  YOU KNOW THE BUILDERS?

  Uh, from hearsay only, Maddox thought.

  THE BUILDERS DID THIS TO ME. YES…YES…I REMEMBER THEM. I HATE THE BUILDERS. THEY TRAPPED ME HERE FOR AN INFRACTION I DID NOT COMMIT.

  Surely, they feared to anger the great Hormagaunt.

  BUILDER FEAR IS WHY I AM HERE. I AM SUPPOSED TO DEVOUR YOUR SOUL. DO YOU WISH ME TO DEVOUR IT?

  If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather you not.

  WHY SHOULDN’T I?

  That’s easy to answer, Maddox thought. You should forgo doing that in order to thwart the Builders who betrayed you.

  YOU ARE RIGHT. I SHOULD THWART THEM, BUT I’M HUNGRY. YOU APPEAR TO BE A TASTY MORSEL, AS EXCITING ERILL ENERGY PULSATES WITHIN YOU.

  You can sense that, can you? That means you’ve been lying to me.

  YOU ARE SOUL FOOD, MY SUSTENANCE. HOW CAN ONE LIE TO FOOD?

  Sorry. I didn’t understand your true feelings. It’s clear that you would rather fill your belly than repay the Builders for what they did to you.

  YOU ARE GIVING ME A DIFFICULT CHOICE, MADDOX-FOOD, AS IT HAS BEEN EONS SINCE I LAST FED. IN TRUTH, I HAD GONE INTO STASIS, AWAITING NONEXISTENCE. NOW, YOU ARE HERE TO REVIVE ME. I WAVER, AS I WISH TO HURT THE BUILDERS BUT I WISH TO DEVOUR FOOD AS WELL.

  I can help you hurt the Builders if that’s what you really want.

  HOW CAN YOU DO SUCH A THING?

  First, how did they seal you in his place?

  IT WAS DIABOLICAL. THEY SET ME IN A NULL REGION, HOPING I WOULD WILT THERE. INSTEAD, I USED A POWER TO FORCE AN ENVELOPE,
CREATING A PLACE WHERE I COULD EXIST. THERE WAS NO WAY OUT OF THE NULL REGION, BUT THE ENVELOPE PROTECTED ME FROM THE NULLITY.

  I think I see what actually happened. It is diabolical, as you’ve said. Because of who and what you are, you have inadvertently aided the Builders in their design.

  THAT IS A LIE!

  I don’t think so. The Builders were clever and knew about your power. You see, creating an envelope was exactly what the Builders wished you to do. The null region was not just any null region, but a mobile one, the only one they built.

  WHY WOULD THEY WANT ME TO CREATE AN OUTER ENVELOPE?

  You’re a protection, a shield for the inner part of the nullity. We forced our way into the null region but reached your envelope instead and thus failed in our task.

  THAT WAS GOOD FOR ME, AS I AM HUNGRY FOR FOOD.

  Of course, it’s good for you. That is your Builder purpose: to devour any who attempt to reach the core. You are a good slave and doing your Builder-ordered duty.

  WHO ARE YOU CALLING A SLAVE?

  You, as you’re doing what the Builders brought you here to do.

  YOU MAY BE RIGHT…BUT I DON’T WANT TO STARVE.

  Who does?

  YOU ARE AN ANNOYING SOUL MORSEL, MADDOX-FOOD.

  That’s because I’m a Builder hater. If only I could reach the center of the null region, then I could destroy the Builders—

  THAT IS A LIE, AS NO BUILDERS LIVE THERE.

  Of course, I know that. Their servant does, though. He has a way to leave the null region and—

  THAT IS A FOUL LIE. IF HE KNOWS…WHY, I COULD USE HIS KNOWLEDGE TO LEAVE THE NULL REGION AND RETURN TO THE UNIVERSE.

  Like I said, Mr. Hormagaunt, the Builders used you just like planned. Okay, go ahead and eat me. I’ve had enough of this already.

  The tentacle tightened around Maddox’s photon suit.

  ARE YOU TELLING ME WHAT TO DO?

  Hey, look. I’m not going to help you escape your prison. There are far too many people just like me waiting outside the null region. All those people are my friends. Go ahead and eat me, and my knowledge of leaving here dies with me.

  AH…I KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING. YOU ARE TRYING TO TRICK ME.

  I must taste good. Eat me already.

  I WILL EAT YOU WHEN I AM GOOD AND READY TO EAT YOU. YOUR SPIRIT IS SPOILED, POSSIBLY SOUR AND ROTTEN. I CAN FEEL YOUR THOUGHTS CHURNING. YOU ARE A CRAFTY MORSEL. BUT I WOULD RATHER EAT YOUR MANY FRIENDS THAN EAT A SINGLE YOU. WHAT DO YOU SAY? IF I SPARE YOU, WILL YOU HELP ME?

  I don’t understand.

  I HAVE YOUR SHIP. IT HAS POOR MORSELS IN IT, NOT LIKE YOU.

  The darkness around my ship is yours?

  YOU ARE A STUPID CREATURE AND DO NOT UNDERSTAND MUCH. THE DARKNESS AS YOU CALL IT—NEVER MIND, YOU DON’T NEED TO KNOW. I CAN LESSEN THE POWER STUNNING YOUR CREW. NO, WAIT, I WILL USE SELECTIVE POWER. I WILL LET TWO OTHERS JOIN YOU. I SENSE SHUTTLES ON YOUR SHIP. PICK THE SMALLEST, OR YOU WILL DIE IN THE MAIN NULL REGION. TAKE YOUR TWO OTHERS AND ENTER THE NULL REGION. IF YOU CAN OVERCOME THE BUILDER SERVANTS THERE, YOU CAN OPEN THE WAY FOR ME. I WILL LEAVE YOUR SHIP IN THE ENVELOPE AND CRUISE THROUGH THE UNIVERSE. I SENSE THAT YOU ARE NOT A CREATION OF THE DAWN TIME, BUT SOME LITTLE THING OF THIS POOR ERA.

  Do you know the Yon-Soth?

  I HATE ALL YON-SOTHS. ARE THEY YOUR FRIENDS?

  I hate them, too, having slain one.

  YOU ARE A BOASTFUL PIECE OF FOOD, BUT I SUPPOSE THAT DOES NOT MATTER. DO YOU AGREE TO MY TERMS OR NOT?

  Reluctantly, I do.

  DO YOU LOVE THE OTHER MORSELS ON THE SHIP?

  With all my heart.

  GO THEN, FOOD. RETURN TO YOUR VESSEL. INDICATE THE TWO YOU DESIRE. I WILL CREATE A CORRIDOR FOR YOUR SHUTTLE TO THE NULL REGION.

  You don’t want to come with me?

  The great Hormagaunt shuddered as with fear and revulsion. The tentacle drew Maddox and the thruster-pack far back, and it hurled him with vigor.

  Maddox felt a sense of speed, and in seconds, he saw the inky cloud. It grew steadily, and the captain realized his velocity was too high.

  Even though it felt surreal like a dream, Maddox rotated and began to apply thrust as he entered the inky cloud of thick darkness. This time, it did not make him sleepy. And it did seem as if a corridor appeared, allowing his helmet lamp to shine farther than before.

  Had his analysis about the Hormagaunt been right? Had the Builders trapped the strange space monster in the null region, hoping it would create a protective envelope to trap those trying to do as they in Victory had? Would Strand have known that? It would seem the Methuselah Man might have acted in good faith this time, but who could tell?

  “We’ll see,” Maddox muttered to himself.

  ARE YOU RENEGING ON THE DEAL?

  No, Mr. Hormagaunt, I was thinking about something else.

  YOU CANNOT CHEAT ME, FOOD. I AM THE GREAT HORMAGAUNT.

  Yes, sir. You’re right. I want to get started as fast as I can.

  GOOD. CONTINUE, FOOD.

  Maddox nodded to himself. If this had all been Strand’s doing, if the Methuselah Man had known about the Hormagaunt…someday he would find the cunning Strand and choke the life out of the little son of a bitch.

  -43-

  As Maddox trudged once more though the starship’s corridors, he thought long and hard about whom he should take with him into the null region. One choice seemed obvious. He would take Meta, as he would not leave his wife behind as possible food for an alien monster from the dawn of the universe.

  Ludendorff might be a good second choice, but the Methuselah Man was old and maybe too weak to run around a high-gravity planet—if it came to that. Should he take Riker instead? The sergeant had proven invaluable on Tortuga.

  No. He wouldn’t take Riker. Likely, the coming problems in the null region would take intense stamina or great brains. Meta was a good choice, as she could likely handle herself in the 1.8 Gs of the heavy world. Ludendorff was the obvious choice for great brains. That meant battlesuits and power packs for use on the null-region planet.

  Maddox scowled. Leaving any of his crew behind for the monster—if he failed in this—was a bitter thing. Would the Hormagaunt devour his people as soon as he left?

  NO! I AM HONORABLE.

  Maddox reacted at once, projecting the thought: So am I.

  There was no response. Instead of fretting further, Maddox shrugged philosophically. He could see no way around the dilemma. Thus, he would play the hand dealt him, as what else could he do?

  “Nothing,” he muttered. Or nothing that he could see. Maybe once he was aboard the shuttle, leaving the outer envelope, he would see what he could have done. But there was no use beating himself up. He must continue to look ahead, not behind.

  Maddox breathed deeply. It was time to carry Meta and Ludendorff to a shuttle, a small one, and fill the shuttle with what he figured he’d need for the mission. Then—

  “Let’s get to it,” Maddox whispered. The sooner he started, the sooner he might save the crew of Victory.

  ***

  A little under two hours later, Maddox sat at the controls of a small scout shuttle. Meta and Ludendorff were each strapped in a seat, each of them wearing their photon suit. The storage area in back was stocked with weapons and supplies, and the shuttle was fueled.

  “I’m ready,” Maddox said. “If you’re really letting us go, now’s the time.”

  The thick darkness before the viewing port began to dissipate. Maddox activated the shuttle’s engine and turned on the outer lights.

  He could see the hangar bay.

  In this photon suit, the captain nodded. “I only took two of my crew, but I guess you know that. I’m leaving, Mr. Hormagaunt. I’m going to see if I can change the status of things. Wish me luck.”

  NO LUCK, FOOD. JUST KEEP YOUR BARGAIN, AND I WILL KEEP MINE.

  Maddox winced as the alien thought thundered in his mind. He gritted his teeth and switched on the piloting board.

  A thrum shivered thro
ugh the shuttle.

  Maddox initiated liftoff, the shuttle floating through the hangar bay. This was probably the strangest leaving of his career. The shuttle sped through the open bay door—

  “Which way do I go?” Maddox asked.

  There was no interior reply in his mind.

  Maddox scowled. Then, a sense that he go that way instead of the other filled him. He followed his instincts, wondering how he would ever find his way back to the envelope.

  LEAVE THAT PART TO ME.

  Once again, Maddox winced. Why hadn’t the voice in his mind hurt before? “Don’t answer that,” he said quickly.

  The Hormagaunt did not. That was a relief. Maybe Ludendorff could figure that out once they were at the mobile null region’s control unit, wherever that was.

  Maddox exhaled within the helmet, piloting the shuttle through the dark realm. It seemed as if the shuttle didn’t move but was suspended in space.

  Meta groaned, stirring in her seat.

  “Darling, can you hear me?” Maddox asked over the helmet comm. He waited excitedly, only realizing then how lonely he felt in this bizarre realm.

  Lips smacked over the helmet comm.

  “Darling, it’s me, Maddox.”

  “What?” Ludendorff grumbled.

  Maddox turned the other way. The professor in his photon suit sat up. “Professor?”

  “No more professions of love,” Ludendorff muttered. “I—”

  “I was talking to Meta.”

  “Do I look like Meta?” Ludendorff complained.

  “Never mind, Professor. I’m glad you’re awake.”

  “Why are we in a shuttle?”

  “I’ll explain later.”

  “Are we leaving Victory?”

  “Maddox,” Meta said sharply. “What’s going on? Why aren’t we on the bridge? How did I get here?”

  “Listen, both of you,” Maddox said. “I’ll explain in a few minutes. Right now, we’re trying to leave the protective envelope of the Hormagaunt and enter the null region proper.”

  “Did you say Hormagaunt?” Ludendorff asked, with horror tinging his voice.

  “I did.”