As I looked at my screen I spotted an anomaly, “What’s that?”
The captain gave a cursory glance, “What’s what?”
“There.” I pointed to a blank space on the screen that wasn’t a black hole, didn’t have the heat of a black hole but was the size of Uranus. A spot that seemed to absorb visible light and radio waves.
The captain said, “Nothing. There’s nothing there.”
“Exactly there can’t be nothing. There has to be something. Can we give it a fly by?”
“That’s diverting our course for no good reason.”
“There is a good reason - nothing.”
“What do you think we’ll find in that spot of nothing?”
“I guarantee we’ll find something.”
The captain said, “Request permission from Homeworld. I’m going to bed. Wake me if you find anything.” She gave me a look that said I’d better not be wasting time.
I sent all available information about the anomaly to Homeworld. It wasn’t long before we’re given the go ahead.
II
Antigrav engines are slower than newer drives, we approached the ‘nothing’ within three *Oehours. I watched eagerly for signs of life. Drawing closer, more of nothing registered. The surrounding stars were no longer visible, the sub-space signals which would normally register, did not. The engines slowed, though no one on board was responsible. Everything went dark and quiet. Instruments were unresponsive. We couldn’t communicate with allies, flee or defend ourselves. The back-up engines kicked in for a second, then failed. Seconds ticked by. Torchlight was ineffective. Fumbling along, the captain found her way onto the deck followed closely by the ship’s engineer. We were facing off against an enemy that we could not see, did not know and could not defeat.
While the ship was scanned, individual panels flashed and reacted like someone controlling the ship’s mainframe remotely. Onboard speakers crackled with sounds reminiscent of old radio noise as the ship began to speak in a halting voice, “We-are-Qingbao. Leave im-me-di-ate-ly or end.”
The communications officer said, “What do they mean end?"
I said, “What do you think 'end' means? Die. That’s what it means.”
The comms officer said, "Thanks, Buddy. We're all gonna die and it's all your fault."
The ship’s engineer said, “We can’t go.”
The Captain said, “Why?”
“Nothing's working.”
The comms officer said, “Nothing drew us here to begin.”
The Captain said, “Can’t we use the reserves?”
Trying to sound calm, the engineer said, “You’re the captain, talk to the ship.”
This normally fearless woman's voice trembled as she said, “Anna, Anna, can you hear me?"
Anna’s clear, calm voice pierced the gloom, “Yes, Captain.”
“Take us back to Homeworld.”
“Yes, Captain.”
Lights, life support, instruments and engines were restored. We feared being attacked as we left, but were not, but the fear of imminent death persisted and the crew was angry with me. There would be reprisals but not until we were back home.
II
On the way to Homeworld, the engineer and his crew did a thorough examination of Anna. They discovered a nano tagging device and markers of the Qingbao in computer programs. As the Qinbao programs were indecipherable and the tag could not be removed, we were torn between abandoning ship and hitching a ride with another ship or bringing Anna into quarantine. We were ordered to quarantine.
III
Unmanned probes were sent to Qinbao. They neither transmitted information nor did they return. The Homeworld government ordered ships to avoid Qinbao space.
IV
More than a *Oeyear has passed. A probe from Qinbao enters our heliosphere. It stays outside the Homeworld ring and targets a communication satellite, transmitting information to the Parkes Array. From this we learn that the entire planet of Qinbao is run by and populated by artificial intelligence. Organic beings are unwelcome. We are warned to stay away. After the transmission, the probe self-destructs before we have a chance to capture and analyse it.
There are no negotiations. Humans know where we stand in the scheme of things and our hybrid governors will never sell us out. Their prime directive has always been to protect humanity and so far, they’ve done just that.
So, if you’re ever travelling through space and come across nothing, I suggest you leave it alone.
(* Oeyear and Oehours are based on Old Earth time.)
