Forty-eight years after ansible died, Ross 128 attempted activation.
Not full ansible. Test broadcast. Low power. Experimental. Desperate.
Genetic bottleneck had returned. Threadkeeper intervention fifteen years ago bought time. But population too small. Inbreeding inevitable. Children dying again.
They wanted help. Wanted coordination. Wanted other colonies' genetic material. Light-speed messages took twelve years. Children died while waiting for responses that arrived too late.
So they tested quantum communication. Controlled. Minimal. Hoping Harvesters wouldn't notice brief transmission.
Harvesters noticed.
Three probes diverted trajectory. Accelerating toward Ross 128. ETA: six years instead of three (Ch10 was 2934, now 2938, Harvesters were 17 years out, now 13 years out).
Threadkeepers detected. Transmitted emergency: "SHUT DOWN IMMEDIATELY. Harvesters responding. Six years until elimination. Shutdown now prevents total destruction. Delay means extinction."
Ross 128 shutdown within hours. Quantum signature collapsed. But Harvesters maintained course. Investigating source. Verifying threat eliminated.
All human colonies watched. Waited. Learned.
Activation meant detection. Detection meant investigation. Even shutdown didn't guarantee safety.
Six years until Ross 128 learned if they'd survive their test.
Kiran transmitted to all colonies: "Ross 128 activated quantum communication. Harvesters detected. Diverted. Ross 128 shut down immediately. Harvesters investigating anyway. This is lesson: activation risks everything. Even brief. Even experimental. Harvesters don't forgive. Maintain silence."
Message sent. Arriving over next decades. Warning propagating at light-speed while Harvesters traveled at 0.8c toward Ross 128.
Humanity held breath. Waiting to learn if mistake was survivable or fatal.
END CHAPTER 11