by Dean M. Cole
The rain subsided further. Then it ceased completely. The only thing left in its wake was their heavy breathing and intermittent drips of water dribbling from broken masonry.
All other sound had ceased.
Vaughn flipped his night-vision goggles back into place. Around him, the others did the same. Craning their necks, they stepped out from underneath their overhead cover and peered around.
The five of them, four humans and one battle operations bot, edged into the middle of the road.
Turning slowly, Vaughn searched the surrounding rubble. It appeared the Necks had removed all metal from this section of the city. A brick chimney lay across a portion of the road. Although he could see where part of it had been plowed out of the way to permit vehicle traffic, probably the trucks the Necks had used to transport metal through the area.
Vaughn scrunched up his face. “You guys seeing any movement?”
Bill shook his head. “Nothing.”
“Nada, El Capitan,” Teddy whispered.
Angela looked at him and gave a single shake of her head.
BOb’s dark gray head shifted side-to-side. “Negative, Captain Singleton. I detect no movement within the range of my passive sensors.”
Vaughn scanned the dark sky. “I thought they’d be sending a whole other wave of Taters after us.”
The tubes of Bill’s goggles bobbed. “Me, too. What do you make of it?”
Continuing to scan the ruined cityscape, Vaughn raised his eyebrows. “I … I don’t know.”
“Maybe that was …” Teddy paused and then continued. “Maybe that was their last Tater.”
Vaughn blinked. “Holy shit! You might be right. That last one had a couple of bullet holes in it.” He gestured at Bill and Teddy. “I think it’s the one that sent us to Hell. I managed to hit it with two rounds before it got me.”
Angela placed a hand on his arm. “I’ll bet it’s the same one that beamed Rourke out, too. It probably sped over there to take him out right after it finished off you guys.”
“You may be right.” Vaughn paused and then nodded. “We still need to get into CERN, and we sure as hell aren’t going to accomplish that standing here.”
He scanned their surroundings for a moment and then shook his head. “I can’t see the thoroughfare we’ve been following.”
“Me neither, El Capitan.”
“BOb, still no movement?”
“Negative, Captain Asshole.”
Gnashing his teeth, Vaughn pointed south. “Okay, COC-RING, how about you lead us to the main drag? We still need to find an ingress point.”
The robot did a double-take, but for once, the machine started in the indicated direction without further comment.
They’d traversed less than a block when BOb suddenly stopped in front of a narrow alleyway. Spinning toward it, the bot raised its weapon, aiming the light wave emitter into the dark crevice.
Vaughn looked into the brick-lined fissure. His night-vision goggles revealed the outline of a scavenger bot staring back at him. He almost ordered BOb to fire on the thing, but the enemy machine sat outside the emitter’s range.
The two robots stared at each other for a moment. Then BOb raised an arm as if waving to the thing. His hand cut a slow, wide arc as he spoke with a British accent. “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.”
As if startled into motion by BOb’s voice, the scavenger bot began to back away. Then it spun around and disappeared into the night.
Teddy looked at BOb and chuckled. “Nice work, Obi-BOb! I can’t believe that worked.”
Vaughn shook his head. “It didn’t. Something has changed. The robots always attack or at least sound an alarm.” He searched the sky again. “I don’t like this. The Necks obviously know exactly where we are, but they’re not sending anything after us.”
Bill’s eyebrows rose. “I’d say that’s a win.”
“I’m not so sure about that.” Vaughn paused and then pointed south again. “Keep going, BOb. We need to see what the hell’s going on.”
The others exchanged concerned glances, but they fell in behind Vaughn and the battlebot as they continued toward the main road.
Another block later, they stopped under a partially collapsed awning. It sat at the corner where the narrow lane they’d been following intersected the main thoroughfare.
Leaning out, the robot peered up and down the street, gazing east and west.
“Any movement, BOb?”
“Negative, Captain.”
Angela tapped Vaughn’s arm and pointed at the roadbed. “Look at those grooves. They’ve already scavenged all the streetcar rails.” She shifted the gesture to indicate overhead. “All the power lines are gone as well.”
Bill nodded. “Maybe that’s why we don’t see anyone working the area. They’ve already scavenged all of the steel.”
“I don’t know.” Vaughn shook his head. “I still don’t hear any construction. Should be pretty close to it by now.”
“You are correct, Captain Asshole.” BOb leaned out and pointed west. “I can see it now.”
“What?” Vaughn blinked. “I thought you don’t see any movement.”
“I do not.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Angela said. “That place is crawling with those caterpillar bots.”
“Not anymore, Commander Brown.”
After exchanging confused glances, the team slowly stepped out from behind their cover and walked out into the middle of the street. Then they all stopped as they stood staring at the monstrous assembly.
It was like standing at the base of an enormous football stadium. Vaughn had to crane his neck to see its top.
Viewed through his NVGs, the thinning clouds gliding across the upper reaches of the cauldron looked like wispy cotton balls caressing a wide, green balloon.
The clouds broke, and the moon emerged.
Vaughn flipped up his night-vision goggles, wanting to see the thing with his own eyes. Nothing moved on or beneath the massive machinery. At its base, huge tracks, like those on a tank or bulldozer, protruded from the machine like the crooked teeth of a steel giant.
Earlier, the entire assembly had been teeming with moving caterpillar bots. Now it looked like an abandoned project.
Bill Peterson moved to stand next to him. “Where the hell did everything go?”
“I don’t know.”
Angela patted his arm insistently.
Vaughn dragged his gaze from the insane assembly and looked at her.
She pointed down the road, indicating an area to the bottom right of the partially constructed city builder. “Look at the exhibition center!”
Vaughn lowered his night-vision goggles back into place and then zoomed into the area. “Holy shit … It’s clear. I don’t see a single robot around any of it, even using max magnification.”
Angela nodded excitedly. “There’s something else. Look at its base.”
Complying, Vaughn aimed his NVGs at the bottom of the structure and then blinked in surprise. “I … I can’t believe it.”
“What are you seeing?” Bill asked.
“The entrance … It’s glowing. Only a little, but there’s some light coming from somewhere inside the building.”
“What does it mean, El Capitan?”
“It means, Teddy, that we don’t need to find a way into the collider. There’s not a goddamn thing between us and a HiLumi-networked computer terminal.” Flipping up his goggles, he turned to look at the cosmonaut. “And it has power.”
Chapter 46
Vaughn grabbed the right handle and pulled.
The door eased open.
Turning, he whispered urgently. “Hurry! Get in here before something sees us.”
Angela emerged from cover and darted through the entrance followed closely by Bill and Teddy.
Waving over the robot, Vaughn nodded toward the open field they’d crossed. “See any movement?”
“Negative, Captain. All sectors still clea
r.”
Vaughn regarded the field and city beyond warily. He didn’t like this one damned bit. Something was wrong.
He scoffed and shook his head. Since when wasn’t something wrong?
Finally, he nodded and waved the robot in.
After following BOb through the opening, Vaughn pointed to a spot on the ground a few feet inside the door. “Stand guard here. Come get us immediately if you hear or see anything. Understood?”
“Understood.”
Vaughn started to step away but then did a double-take.
The robot held up a hand. “Sorry. Understood, Captain Asshole.”
Shaking his head, Vaughn swore under his breath. If they survived this and managed to reset the timeline, he was going to have a serious man-to-geek discussion with BOb’s programmers.
Turning, he ran after the rest of the team members.
He saw the source of the light they’d seen from the street. Pale illumination haloed a pair of doors set into the back wall of the entry foyer.
As Vaughn approached Bill and Teddy, he looked at Angela and nodded toward the source of the light. “Is that the Research Area exhibit?”
“No.” She gestured at the doors. “It’s through there, down a corridor.”
After glancing toward BOb, Vaughn pointed to either side of the double doors. “Cover me.”
Bill moved to the left side while Angela and Teddy stepped over to the right.
Vaughn crouched in front of the left panel. As he’d done with the main entrance, he eased open the right door. The crack widened, and light began to flow through the opening. Leaning in just far enough to see with one eye, he scanned the hallway beyond.
“I don’t see any movement,” he whispered. “The light is coming from the far end.”
Pulling back from the opening, he looked at Angela. “I’ll take point. Where are we going?”
“I’m not sure how far down the hallway it is. There should be a large set of double glass doors on the right.”
He pointed at Bill and Teddy. “You guys stay right behind us, watch our six. I’ve got BOb keeping an eye on the entrance.”
“Got it, El Capitan,” Teddy said. Some of his reddish-blond mane had come loose. The long, wiry hair protruded from the back of his helmet. It bobbed comically when the man nodded.
Bill Peterson simply held up a thumb.
Vaughn looked at Angela. “Stay right behind me.”
She pressed her lips into a thin line and gave a short nod.
He pulled the right door fully open and then eased into the hallway beyond.
Vaughn made sure the others had entered behind him and then started down the long passageway. After proceeding a good distance down its length, he spotted a pair of glass doors on the right side. The light was coming through them. Looking over his shoulder, he pointed ahead. “Are those the doors?”
Angela nodded.
Vaughn gave her a hold gesture and then eased up to the glass. Hugging the right wall, he leaned left and peered in with just one eye.
A room similar to NASA’s Mission Control sat on the other side of the glass panels. This had to be the Research Area exhibit. Two rows of workstations occupied its center. It all looked very modern. Large TV screens adorned the back wall, covering its entire surface. Only one of them was working at the moment. A static image of arcane plumbing and electrical machinery filled its display.
After trying the doors and finding them unlocked, Vaughn looked back at the other three team members. “This is it.” He waved them forward. “Looks clear, but keep your head on a swivel.”
After passing through the opening, Angela made a beeline straight for a specific workspace. Vaughn saw a sign above it that read ‘ATLAS Experiment’.
After posting Bill and Teddy on either side of the glass doors, Vaughn jogged over and joined her.
His pulse began to pound in his ears.
Swallowing, Vaughn shook his head. He had to temper his excitement. They still didn’t know if the Necks had isolated the collider from this section of CERN.
Angela had already pulled out a chair and taken a seat.
He glanced back toward the glass doors as doubt crept into his thoughts. He couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong. The place was a ghost town. That would be fine if they were anywhere else, but here, in the middle of alien Grand Fucking Central, it felt damned wrong.
He looked back to see Angela pressing buttons on the keyboard with apparent frustration.
Nothing happened on the monitor.
It was still black, dead.
Her shoulders slumped, and a short laugh escaped her.
She reached up and pressed the monitor’s power button.
The screen sprang to life.
Angela gave him an embarrassed grin. “Guess it works better when the pesky O-N - O-F-F button is in the right position.”
A generic sign-in box hovered in the center of the display.
Angela entered her credentials, and a new screen popped up, full of application icons.
Vaughn released his held breath. “Oh, thank you.”
Angela shook her head. “We’re not all the way in yet. I’ve only logged into this building’s server. It gives me access to everything in this control room.”
“What about the HiLumi Intranet?”
Angela continued clicking through items. “Working on it.”
She descended a layer deeper into the menu and was rewarded with a new sign-on page that featured the HiLumi icon.
Vaughn clenched his fists nervously as he watched.
Angela entered her credentials and then looked back at him, her finger hovering over the return key. “This should get me in.”
“Hit it already.”
Lowering her finger, Angela pressed the key.
The screen turned black, leaving only the spinning collider logo at its center.
As Vaughn watched in breathless anticipation, he realized the room wasn’t as quiet as he’d initially thought. There was an underlying rumble, so deep it was almost imperceptible, the vibration more felt than heard. The building seemed to be thrumming. He wondered idly if it might be a failing pump. Without the constant maintenance usually provided by its human crew, much of the machinery might be on the verge of failure. He pictured an air-conditioning compressor or a water pump somewhere in the structure vibrating itself to pieces.
The computer monitor flickered, and a new window popped up. A HiLumi logo adorned the page’s top-left corner.
Smiling victoriously, Angela pumped both fists into the air. “Yes! Yes! Yes! I’m in!”
Vaughn’s pulse began to hammer in his ear as hope threatened to breach his barricades.
A smile crept across his face.
Could this finally be it?
Did they finally have a leg up on the life-stealing bastards?
The smile faltered.
He looked around the room.
Something had his teeth on edge.
Between the quiet outside and the thrumming of this building, Vaughn felt like he was missing something.
He glanced back toward Bill and Teddy. The two men were high-fiving.
“Stay sharp, guys. Keep an eye out for the robots.”
Turning to look back at Vaughn, they both nodded soberly.
Teddy screwed up his face. “Where did robots go?”
Vaughn shook his head. “I don’t know. That’s what’s got my short hairs standing on end.” He paused and glanced at the image on the single functioning display. Looking back at the cosmonaut, he added, “There’s another thing, too. I keep wondering why the Necks were all standing around the wormhole like that.”
Teddy’s eyes lost their focus, and his ginger complexion turned a shade whiter. He slowly shook his head. “That was some seriously sketchy shit, El Capitan. ATLAS was rotten with Necks. We nearly got worked by that place.”
“Seriously sketchy,” Vaughn agreed, nodding absently. “I don’t understand why they were standing ar
ound it. At first, I thought they were a welcoming party, but the bastards looked surprised to see us.”
Typing furiously into her keyboard, Angela shook her head. “None of that matters now. I’m almost ready to start the overload.”
Vaughn looked at the floor. The tremors were intensifying. Whatever that component was, it was going to fail soon. He could feel the vibrations through the soles of his boots now.
Dragging his gaze from the floor, he frowned. “I still don’t like this. Something is wrong. Where did all the caterpillar bots go?”
Teddy’s brow furrowed. “Maybe … they’re all … sleeping?”
Angela shook her head. “Robots don’t need sleep.”
“Sorry, I meant recharging, Command-Oh.”
Bill Peterson nodded. “Maybe that’s why they’ve all disappeared. Good riddance, if you ask me.”
“Uh.” Vaughn scrunched up his face. “I don’t know. The whole time Angela and I were stuck in that loop, I never saw a resting or recharging robot.”
Angela looked up from her terminal. “Are you guys feeling that?”
“Yeah,” Vaughn said with a shrug. “Sounds like a pump going bad in the basement. Probably has an imbalanced shaft that’s getting ready to fail.” Looking past her, he pointed at the large screens that adorned the back wall. “Can you bring up the inside of ATLAS on one of these? I want to take a look inside.”
Nodding quickly, Angela bent back over her workstation. She cycled through menu items.
A moment later, the monitors began to spring to life. A large cylinder sat at the center of one of the images. Vaughn recognized it as the CMS experiment. Then he saw the hardware for ALICE, the experiment they’d passed through en route to ATLAS.
He searched through each of the images but saw no movement. “None of these look like ATLAS.”
“Hold your horses. I’m working on it.”
Vaughn looked at the floor again. That shaft was going to let go soon. The vibration was starting to get pretty intense.
“Got it!” Angela said. “What? … What on earth are they doing?”
Before Vaughn could look up, Teddy moaned. “This is bogus, El Capitan. The bastards are still in there.”
Dragging his eyes from the skittering dust on the floor, Vaughn looked up at the screen. It was ATLAS alright. He imagined the live feed had initially been set up to feature the large, cylindrical body of the experiment. However, the mercurial sphere of the wormhole now served as the video’s focal point.
