“I see.” smiled Victoria. “So it is a quarantine of kinds.”
“Of information only.” smiled Prentice, and Victoria nodded, beginning to walk around the sphere, Prentice in tow. “Tell me what happened.” she said and they came to a stop as Victoria stooped to observe one of the long flat benches inside the sphere before standing and continuing her circuit.
“Very well.” said Prentice, but remember that I am just a very highly placed civil servant; not a scientist.
“Well I am neither.” smiled Victoria. “Proceed.”
“Three days ago Randolph's was alone in the sphere commencing an experiment that he had informed his superiors was the final stage in testing a new discovery that he was, according to them, rather excited about. When these experiments take place we ensure total security inside the sphere and outside by placing six armed guards around the office, equi-distantly placed. Just a precaution really. Three of these men face outwards and three face inwards, observing the laboratory inside the sphere.”
“A good precaution.” said Victoria.
“Quite. The experiment proceeded as per usual, and Randolph was working on a piece of equipment more or less in the centre of the room.”
“Besides the large glass tank on the bench there?” pointed Victoria.
“Just so. The six guards say that they saw nothing at all, and nothing is out of place within the sphere, but one moment Randolph's was standing there, the next he was not.”
“Any traces of ash or dust, remnants of a burst of energy.” Prentice looked confused. “Smoke?” she said, raising an eyebrow.
“Nothing whatsoever. The experiment continued even though Randolph was by now… absent, but as the controls were not being manipulated a security system closed them down automatically after thirty seconds.”
“In case of death.”
“Yes.” said Prentice. “A dead man’s handle if you will.”
“A wise precaution.” Victoria looked inside the sphere as if thinking, standing there for a good minute or so before continuing. “Well the security systems seem to agree that Randolph is dead for a start.”
“Yes.”
“Is there anything missing? Any part of his research or lab equipment?”
“We have had one of Randolph’s close colleagues give the place a once over and he says nothing is missing.”
“Very well.” said Victoria having completed her circle of the sphere and now standing by the small handle that looked as if it was in need of a door. “Well we need to have a look inside then.”
“I will send for a detail of guards.” said Prentice, stepping away and speaking into a small device that he wore at his wrist. Victoria saw small cogs turning on it as he did so and it made a low humming sound, but she did not hear what the civil servant actually said. Shortly after though six heavily armed guards arrived and paced themselves out around the sphere, rifles drawn. Prentice moved forward and placed his palm just above the handle and the glass gave a dull red glow and the door swung open. He gestured for her to enter and as she did so he followed her in. Victoria noticed however that he stayed near to the door and it did not close.
“Low level energy remnants.” said Romney in her head. Prentice stood nervously looking about the room but he did not seem to notice anything.
“What kind of energy?”
“Very low level.”
“Harmless?”
“For a short period only. Fifteen minutes should be okay. After that all bets are off.”
“Very well.”
“So Randolph was standing here?” said Victoria and Prentice nodded uneasily.
“Here one minute and gone the next.” said Victoria out loud, crouching down and running her fingers over the floor. “Nothing.” she sighed. “Nothing at all.”
Victoria stood and walked over to the laboratory table. There were many devices there she had no idea what they did, though one or two were obvious; pipettes and flasks and the like. These however did seem to be completely new; unused.
“I take it this vault is sealed against apperations?” said Victoria and Prentice winced.
“Of course.” he sneered. “Bearing in mind as I am sure you can recall that apperating is punishable by death, the whole building is still sufficiently shielded as a precaution.”
“Test it Romney.” she said in her head and Romney laughed in her mind.
“Don’t have to boss.” he said. “Felt it the minute we came in. It would take a first circler to get through these defences. They seem if anything over the top. All kinds of nasty stuff waiting for anyone trying to mist themselves inside here.”
“Very well.” said Victoria. “I have seen enough.”
“Good.” said Prentice, leaving the sphere instantly and waiting for her on the outside. As she left the room the door instantly closed, disappearing at once, leaving just the handle visible to show that had been a door there in the first place.
“Tell me about Randolph.” said Victoria, watching Prentice carefully.
“Nothing much to tell, really.” said the civil servant, “Fellow of Cambridge. Married with a son and daughter, worked for us here for the last six years. Very steady and stable. Not a great leader or indeed innovator, but he got on with it. more of a plodder than anything really.”
“Never going to change the world then?” smiled Victoria and she saw a slight nervous tic appear at the corner of the civil servant’s mouth which he very quickly made to conceal.
“Hardly.” he smiled. “Have you any thoughts?”
“A few.” lied Victoria and Prentice smiled.
“Would you care to share them?” smiled Prentice, now seemingly much more at ease now that he was out of the sphere.
“Well.” began Victoria, wondering exactly what she was going to say when she suddenly stopped, remembering one of the pieces of equipment that she had seen in the laboratory inside the sphere. “Open the door again.” she said suddenly and Prentice paled on the spot.
“I don’t think that will be necessary.” he smiled.
“Open the door!” shouted Victoria and Prentice held up his hand in a conciliatory manner and placing his hand on the glass, the door appeared again and Victoria pushed past him, running almost to the bench in the centre of the room. She looked at the bench itself, and there carved in the wood was a small design. It was four concentric circles all arranged equidistantly from each other, a dense circle carved in the wood on the top.
“Here!” shouted Victoria to Prentice, who was once again hovering nervously by the door.
“Really!” said the civil servant testily, deciding finally to enter the sphere and cross to where she stood. “What is it?”
“This design.” she said. “It is the same shape as a piece of automata in the box we took from the Steam worker’s society last night. A helix shape it was. Made of brass by the look of it.”
“Ah.” said Prentice, a quick smile playing across his face and then disappearing almost as quickly as it had appeared. “We wondered why the seal on the box was broken. Now we know. How unfortunate. Well that certainly wraps that mystery up.”
“Unfortunate?” smiled Victoria, moving away from the bench. “How so?”
“Well we would have rather you had not looked. Come. Let’s get out of here. I have a fear of confined spaces and I find this room disturbing.”
Victoria smiled and they left the laboratory, Prentice once again sealing the door behind him, his back to Victoria as he closed it.
“Miss Neaves. If I may be frank with you?”
“Of course Mister Prentice.” she said, “You will find that I am a woman who appreciates candor.”
“Excellent.” he smiled, “You may wonder what your involvement here is. After all you are hardly a great detectorist now, are you?” Victoria smiled but remained silent. “You are without doubt however highly skilled in the area of shall we say problem solving? The return of certain items that may or may not belong to those who hire you, and no doubt p
ay you handsomely to ah… “retrieve” them?”
“Indeed.” said Victoria.
“Also the shall we say, “disposal” of those who would perhaps be in some other person's way for a fee could also be described as a particular forte of yours I would imagine.”
“You are very good with flowery words I see, mister Prentice.” said Victoria.
“Very well.” said the civil servant. “I shall be plain.”
“I would prefer it, sir.” she said.
“So then. You are a thief and an assassin. So the question really is why have I asked for your assistance in a matter that has no need for either of these two talents.
“Indeed.” said Victoria, tension rising in the air between them.
“Is he armed, Romney?” said Victoria in her mind.
“Nothing.”
“Good.”
Prentice moved a little to one side of her, putting just a little more distance between him and her.
“Quite simply all we wanted to know was whether you had seen the contents of the chest you retrieved for us. We knew the seals had been broken of course, but that may have not been by your hand. Our scientist has not disappeared at all. In fact, you passed him in the corridor before. I am afraid I have asked you here under false pretences.”
“The chest was dropped and spilled open.” said Victoria, Prentice’s smile making her wary in the extreme. He seemed to be enjoying himself and that suddenly worried her a great deal.
“Unfortunate.” said Prentice, “Very unfortunate.” He raised his hand and from the corner of her eye she saw all six of the soldiers at the edge of the sphere raise their rifles.
“Romney!” said Victoria out loud but she did not hear the demon reply. Everything moved too fast.
“Shoot her!” said Prentice and Victoria thought she heard several loud noises. One after each over, seeming to grow less noisy with each shot, for it definitely sounded like gunshot but she quickly lost count and then her legs buckled and the ground rushed up to meet her.
***
“Automata”
“With the enslavement of the working class to provide the horsepower for the technological and industrial revolutions there came about a new sphere of endeavour in which ethics played little part. It began, as it often did, with medical experiments, tests of endurance and mutilation. Yet these people were not considered human by the powers that be, and all experiments were endorsed, if not actively encouraged by the Empire itself. With the rise of demonology there came the perfect opportunity to attempt to combine human and demon properties through fearless experimentation and dissection. The resulting experiments that lived were no longer human of course; nor were they demon, and so the term “Automatons” was coined to collect together the few experiments that survived. The first real advances were neurological; creating creatures that were loyal and under control to a degree that was beyond even their own desire for self-preservation. The first real display of the advances of the Automata was given to her most royal highness Queen Victoria in 1851 when an automaton was made to burn its own hand until it blackened and withered to the bone, the flesh incinerated and charred. This the Automaton did without reserve, though it was unfortunate for her royal highness that the creature did scream very loudly throughout the experiment as its body burnt. Nevertheless, the Queen was said to be best pleased by the results of this demonstration and so the experiments continued even more fearlessly. How could they not? They had a ready source of bodies with the enslaved workers and their advances were many and scientifically astounding. This was by and large kept from the public of course, but they hardly flinched as new, more obedient and scientifically augmented police officers and workers began to appear on the streets of the capital and eventually the country. That they made people nervous and repulsed was without doubt. That they also appreciated that this advance in science enhanced and increased the might of the Empire was equally taken as a given fact. in such a situation the general public did what they always did. They closed their curtains, locked their doors, and they said nothing.”
(Taken from “Great Britain - A History”
by William Rothschild)
She felt cold. She shivered and opened her eyes, instantly panicking as she did so, for above her head was nothing but a cold steel coloured piece of metal, a piece of what looked like glass above her head, light shining in weakly from the other side of it. She could not see anything through the glass plate however, for it seemed to be covered in what looked like ice. She breathed out and cold air misted about her face, colouring the glass slightly and then quickly fading. She tried to sit up but she could not move at all, and she tried to raise her arms and then a leg but nothing happened. She felt completely paralysed. She could not even move her head.
“Romney.” she tried to say out loud, but it was just a thought, for her mouth was frozen too.
“Romney.” she repeated in her mind and there was a silence, a panic beginning to rise in her that she could do nothing about at all.
“Yes.” said the demon, but the voice of the demon in her head was muffled somehow, as if it was distant. She could not move at all and was not sure if she was still wearing the necklace in which the demon resided.
“Where am I?”
There was a pause, as if the demon was considering how much to tell her.
‘You are in a freezer coffin. Where exactly the coffin is I have no idea.”
“Automata.” gasped Victoria, though even this did not allow her to make even the slightest movement.”
“Yes.” said Romney. When they shot you it made quite a mess. They had to freeze you or you wouldn't have lived. I think they are looking to place an automata bound assassin and thief like you on their books.”
“No.” she gasped. “Not that.”
“Prentice seemed quite pleased with the idea. In fact, he said it was the perfect solution for him, especially as we seem to know a few things that perhaps we shouldn’t.”
“Like what?”
“The helix shape. The thing in the chest. It’s got them all spooked and excited at the same time. Like hot chestnuts on a brazier they are, I can tell you.”
“Where are you?” asked Victoria. “You seem distant somehow.”
“I had to return to the third circle.” said the demon sadly, “They destroyed the necklace.” Victoria gasped in her mind.
“But that’s impossible! You are blood-bound!”
“I know that!” said the demon testily, “Which is why I can still communicate with you. How they destroyed it I have no idea, and as the freezing process has become colder my communication with you has grown weaker. It is why I woke you.”
“You must free me.” she pleaded. “Not Automata. Not that. Please help me.”
“I have no power there.” said the demon, and Victoria heard the sadness in its voice. “I woke you to say goodbye.”
‘No.” said Victoria. “I am not giving up that easily. You must unfreeze me.”
“I am not sure if I have any idea how I can do that from here. Even if I do get you out I could not save you. Your body is too badly damaged. It wasn’t just one of those soldiers that shot you. It was all of them. Their gunfire tore you apart.”
“No.” she said, not even a tear being able to find its way into her eyes.
“If I did manage to get you out through some sort of miracle you would die. there is no doubt about that.”
“I would rather be dead than a puppet of theirs to control as they see fit. Help me!”
“Victoria.” said Romney, and she was amazed to hear not just sadness but anger in her head as the demon spoke. “Even if you are changed, you will still be alive. That’s something I think.”
“No.” she screamed in her thoughts, “That is not living. You don’t understand!”
“Victoria.” said Romney, his voice now almost gone; a whisper. “Goodbye.”
She screamed in her mind but she did so alone, and as the temperature in the freezer coffi
n fell even more, she felt herself drifting and was lost, a dream taking her far away.
***
Several days later, though to Victoria this was irrelevant as she was frozen and had no concept of time, the augmentations began. First they replaced her eyes. She was still alive; though barely. Her right eye was replaced with a new synthetic device which was connected to a core Babbage computation engine that was fitted at the base of her spine. The left eye was replaced as it had been damaged when they shot her, and a clockwork oculus device wa drilled into her skull and fitted over her retina, providing various pieces of computational power and advanced vision that included visibility of infra-red wave patterns and different spectrums.
Her spine was strengthened with a new brass and metal carbide alloy, as were her leg and arm bones, making her faster; stronger. Her torso they left as it was, though they did remove her womb to make space for the computational engine. Next they removed the fingers on her left hand and replaced them with various items of weaponry and cutting tools. Her right hand they ran several experiments with magnets on but eventually had to give this up as it was interfering with the operation of the computational engine, and as it was the only thing keeping her alive it was considered wise to forget about the magnetic manipulation devices altogether.
Finally, her lungs were strengthened by a new polymer device they had been testing on coal miners in the north which made her breathing controllable and so slow that it was rare for her to have to actually breathe at all. When done the programming of the Babbage device commenced. The obedience commands were embedded, though great care was taken to ensure that her core memories remained, the new computational engine being able to run concurrent with her existing skills and memories.
The time period during which the automata procedure was undertaken was measured in months rather than days or weeks. Tissue repairs itself, but in the absence of tissue a replacement must be found, and that was mechanical.
“She will be faster, stronger.” said Prentice on his usual weekly inspection, looking down on Victoria’s body frozen in the freezer coffin.
The Complete Adventures of Victoria Neaves & Romney Page 3
