Escape Velocity: The Anthology Read Free Page A

us.”
           Banger felt the blood rush from his face. He, too, knew of the galeapers’ existence and their plan: Farber had never told him that knowing would be a bad thing. Had the galeaper he saw in the drudge been dressed like Percy on purpose, thinking he would be gullible enough to get close? Then, WHAMMO — before he realized it he would be wiped out by melding-blast. But Banger was on to them; he knew what they looked like and that they disguised themselves to attract their victims. And thanks to Farber, Banger knew their vulnerabilities.
           Percy wagged the gun at him. “So tell me, Doctor, are they friends of yours?”
           “ Of course not. I’m an astrophysicist. I search for black holes, and when I found one, I also found Farber, the galeaper you saw on the tram. He killed Jekkie Lane.”
           “ That freak? I saw the newscast. Real bloody scene. Why?”
           Banger started lowering his arms, but changed his mind when Percy shook his head and aimed the barrel of his gun at his chest.
           “ Because Lane’s descendent will harness energy from a black hole.”
           “ What?”
           “ I invented the technology to find black holes. They emit Hawking radiation, and if that radiation could be harnessed into energy, well, the possibilities are...” Banger hesitated, realizing Percy wouldn’t understand.
           “ Look,” Percy said, “I don’t have much education, but I’m not stupid. So what you’re saying is that Lane’s kid—”
           “ Great grandson.”
           “ Yeah, whatever. This power-hungry dude will use the energy from the black hole for his own pleasure.”
           “ Simply put, but the entire human race will be annihilated because of it.”
           “ You’re joking, right?”
           “ No, I’m not.”
           Percy bounced the handle of the gun between his palms, as if contemplating the truth to Banger’s story. “But if Farber wanted to prevent that, why didn’t he get rid of Lane’s descendent? Galeapers can move through time, can’t they?”
           “ Farber thought it best to stop the event at its infancy, so he journeyed through time, to the black hole, and waited for the first life form to find him, which was me.”
           Percy squished his face. “Wouldn’t he have gotten pulverized entering the black hole?”
           “ Yes, but galeapers can restore their molecular network under certain conditions. But he never fully recovered. Not all his matter entered my particle reaper.” A knot formed in Banger’s stomach as he remembered what Farber had looked like when he appeared in his laboratory. Bringing him home without raising suspicions was another story.
           “ Farber came here to kill me ,” Banger continued, “to prevent humans obtaining knowledge that might be used to harvest that energy. We became friends, and he convinced me to destroy my data about finding the hole. But some of it had already been reported so he decided to eliminate Jekkie Lane, the perpetrator’s ancestor who lived in our era, before Lane had a chance to have kids. It was Lane, or another galeaper would have come for me. Farber couldn’t have done it himself because of his health. He needed me to carry the melding gun and to help him walk. Things got out of hand and Farber killed Jekkie Lane in a rage. We ran, and that’s when you saw us on the tram. Farber injected melding-blast into his leg, and you know the rest.”
           Percy gave a slight chuckle. “So, you helped Farber commit murder to save your own ass.”
           Banger felt a stabbing pain in his heart. Although he had been denying his reason, Percy had judged him rightly. But the thought of doing nothing, knowing that humans could be annihilated, sickened him more than the murder itself.
           Percy lowered the gun, a crooked smile forming on