Free DUALITY: The World of Lies by Paul Barufaldi Page A

whizzing around the star, with the high altitude satellite
ring turning more slowly, and the dwarf planets at the edge of the
display inching along slower still.
    “I see it.... yes!” she exclaimed. “The
Stones, The Stones would have the power to broadcast a signal
through the Corona.”
    System also saw where this was headed and put
the final touches on the picture they were hashing out. Dotted
heavy beams shot straight from each Stone into the satellite ring,
which amplified and relayed them along itself. As each satellite
moved out of range, the next picked it up. From there another
signal was cast from the satellite ring toward the target
object.
    Aru looked at Mei. “I believe you now. There
is something down there, something significant.”
    “Yeah, this configuration matches a continuous
transmission relay for that orbit, not the solar surface. But I
have to wonder. We only observed a one-way lateral signal, one that
had been reconstituted and relayed from a weaker one, presumably,
incoming from one of the Stones. So... so which Stone or both are
transmitting? And is there a return signal? I mean there'd have to
be… and what could be powering that back out of the
corona?”
    Aru drank down the last of his glass mulling
her questions. “There may not be a return signal at
all.”
    “Why? What would be the point of transmitting
data into a star without receiving feedback?”
    “Why hide anything inside a star at all?
Whatever this is, it's something the Emperor needs hidden and
preserved, but doesn't want reaching back at him by any channel of
communication.”
    Mei digested this notion. “That's rather
frightening in itself! I suppose what we need to do is get a look
at one of these relay satellite stations, and try to find an
incoming signal from the corona, which means rendezvousing with the
satellites coming into range with one of Stones. We could start
arching the Kinetic back...”
    “No. Absolutely not. It would burn too much of
the fuel we'll need to achieve escape velocity when we exit this
star. No. We stay on course for the inner orbit, and our prize.
What you need to do is reallocate the bulk of the probes set for
the second launch and dedicate them to forming a relay network
spanning from the satellite ring to the inner orbit.”
    “There aren't nearly enough probes to cover
all that area, and it would take months to search the orbit of this
supposed satellite ring without them. No, Aru, please let me direct
all our resources to searching the smaller target orbit. I still
think that's our best shot.”
    “In light of what we've just discovered, I'm
inclined to disagree. I realize this is a drastic departure from
the original sweep strategy. We don't need to cover the entire
satellite ring, just the two stations that will be coming into
range of the Stones' transcornonal broadcasts. Diverting the probes
to relay that data will be worthwhile, and give us our best odds of
pinpointing our target, assuming our theory is correct -and I have
to believe that it is.”
    Mei processed this with all her mental might.
He could see her wheels turning to refute it somehow, as it would
have her replotting the probe sequences for hours. Her face relaxed
in resignation as she reasoned herself beyond that hump. She glared
at him playfully, then hit him on the chest in feigned
agitation.
    “You said “transcornonal” you drunken twit.”
And she started to laugh.
    “I did, I did. I was going for “transcornonal”
-no, damn it, I just did it again.”
    He'd done that on-purpose that time, more
humor to ease her into accepting his superior reasoning, which he
could tell from her demeanor she already had.
    “Transcoronal?” she mused. “I guess I never
even realized that was a word.”
    “Neither did I til I found myself in need of
it,” he agreed with a yawn.
    She leaned in and kissed him, but
only briefly. “You know, I have to a say I'm impressed at how
quickly and thoroughly you managed to pull your