When All Seems Lost by William C. Dietz

Author:William C. Dietz [Dietz, William C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
ISBN: 9780441015245
Publisher: Ace Hardcover
Published: 2007-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

10.

Pity us, for we live beyond the realm of horror, at the very edge of hell.--Graffiti scratched into a Ramanthian cargo module by a human POW

Standard year 2846

PLANET JERICHO, THE RAMANTHIAN EMPIRE

There were thousands of pieces of debris in orbit around Jericho, plus a number of spaceships, the most impressive of which was the Ramanthian dreadnaught Imperator. The warship was 262 standard years old, more than six standard miles long, and completely outmoded. All of which made her perfect for use as an orbital counterweight, which, once the space elevator was completed, would function to keep the long, thin cable aloft.

But that was in the future. When construction was complete. In the meantime the Imperator was slated to function as both the platform on which the crystalline graphite cable would be manufactured--and the habitat in which the slaves would live during the first phase of construction. That was why a team comprised of Vanderveen and five other prisoners were deep inside the onceproud dreadnaught making use of vacuum hoses to remove tons of graphite from a hold. And, because large sections of the ship's interior weren't pressurized, the POWs had to wear space armor as they worked.

The Imperator's argrav generators were up and running, however, which made the process easier and contributed to productivity--the very thing Tragg and his Ramanthian employers were primarily interested in. Unfortunately, the graphite was so light that the artificial gravity wasn't sufficient to hold it down. The powdery material rose to swirl around Vanderveen and the others like a black blizzard. The space suits were equipped with beacons, so the diplomat caught occasional glimpses of her coworkers through the gloom, but such sightings were rare. Most of the two-hour shift was spent in virtual darkness, feeding graphite to hungry machines that would mix the mineral with other substances to create long, thin fibers that were twenty times stronger than steel and four times less dense. Once a sufficient number of fiber strands had been produced, they would be braided into a cable long enough to reach the planet's surface and strong enough to carry heavy loads. Then the work would become even more dangerous as the POWs were sent out to connect the sections of cable.

In the meantime, all Vanderveen wanted to do was to make it through her shift and arrive at the blissful moment when the vacuum hoses were shut off and the graphite mist began to clear. That was when the replacement crew would arrive to begin their shift. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, that moment came. From the hold it was a long two-mile slog through dark, gloomy passageways to a lock that was soon pressurized, and powerful jets of water blasted the space suits clean. Once that process was complete, the prisoners were permitted to enter a large compartment where specially trained navy techs waited to help the POWs exit their armor. A moment Vanderveen looked forward to and dreaded. Because while it meant she could rest for a few hours, there were dues to be paid, which made the process unpleasant.

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