Lair of the Sentinels

by Geoff Palmer

  ‘Experiments? Doing what?’

  ‘Searching for the essence of the Old Ones. The beings that occupied our galaxy when it was in its infancy, then vanished. Now they appear to have found it. Or at least something that’s excited a great deal of interest.’

  ‘Sentient creatures?’

  ‘Well obviously. Solar systems coalesce into suns and planets. Planets with liquid water form life, and eventually that life becomes intelligent. It’s almost inevitable. But there’s something different about this lot. Something special. What do you make of this?’

  The projection transformed into a spiky wave.

  ‘A first primitive radio transmission.’

  ‘And this?’

  The waveform shrank to one side and a scatter static appeared beside it.

  ‘The signature of a thermonuclear explosion.’

  ‘Precisely. And what space of time would you say separates these two events?’

  ‘In our own case — and we are exceptional — it was half a millennia. Five hundred years.’

  ‘Would you believe that in this case it’s less than fifty?’

  ‘What?’

  Krilen nodded. ‘Perhaps now you see why they’ve excited the Thanatos’s interest — and ours. If they can go from radio to atomic bombs in just fifty years, in a hundred they could have interstellar travel. What then becomes of us?’ He waved a hand and the galactic atlas reappeared, focussed on the red and yellow cubes.

  ‘From our perspective, this has occurred in the worst possible location. That system is a mere fifty light-years away. What happens if they do develop interstellar travel? What happens if the Thanatos decide to give them more room to play in? More uninterrupted space uncontaminated by outside influences?’ He widened two fingers and the red box engulfed the yellow. ‘What will become of us?’

  ‘They wouldn’t. Surely?’

  ‘Have you heard of the Erynitis artefact?’ Albert shook his head. ‘No, of course you haven’t. It’s still highly classified. And the reason it’s classified is that if the Thanatos know that we know ... well, it could make things difficult.

  ‘The Erynitis were a thirty million year old civilisation. They occupied more than four hundred systems. The Thanatos ... tolerated them. At least until a consul made an inappropriate remark to His Darkness. Then the Thanatos wiped them out. Condemned and methodically exterminated them from every system they occupied. More than seven hundred planets. Half a trillion beings. We wouldn’t have known they’d ever existed if it hadn’t been for the artefact. A piece of space junk buried in an asteroid that turned out to be an archive and encyclopedia of their species.’

  ‘Wiped them out?’ Albert looked shocked.

  After a moment’s thought, he leaned forward and brushed the image of the galaxy aside, returning to the earlier projection. ‘What’s happened since this?’ He pointed to the nuclear scatter. ‘We must have been inundated by signals after that.’

  Krilen shook his head. ‘That was one of the last things we received. The Thanatos have thrown a Dyson sphere around the entire system. An electromagnetic shield that lets signals in but blocks anything coming out.’

  ‘A shield the diameter of a solar system? Impressive.’ Calculations flew across the bottom of the screen as Albert worked out the energy that would require.

  ‘You see what we’re up against?’ Krilen said. ‘At the moment that sphere only blocks signals. We can still get a ship in and out. But once whatever occupies this system starts shuttling between planets, you can guarantee it’ll be upgraded. That’s why we must act quickly. We need reliable intelligence. We need to know what’s going on in there.’

  ‘I understand that, and I’m happy to take on the job, but how do the children fit in? You say they’re to know nothing of the mission?’

  ‘Certainly not. They’re your cover, Albert. Innocence is their shield — and yours. We can harden your systems, add probe traps and self-deletion circuits, but wetware brains don’t work like that. The Thanatos would discover all they know in a matter of hours, but if all they know is that their eccentric syntho misprogrammed the flight computer ... well ... we’d have more chance of recovering you if anything went wrong. And we must recover you. Once you’re inside that sphere, all communication with us will be blocked.’

  ‘I understand. And I now understand why you hinted my implant was a failure. Why you asked me to act more and more eccentrically in public.’

  ‘I’ve kept you a secret because your surgery was remarkably effective,’ Krilen said. ‘You’re our biggest success to date, Albert. Our biggest success by far. In fact, you’re the most powerful thinking machine we’ve ever produced. The depth of your perception and insights have been evident from the outset. And they continue to grow. Do you know what your official classification is? Weapon of War. Or at least it would be if the Military Council got hold of you. They’d want to dissect you and see exactly what went so right this time. Or plug you into one of their command centres and have you run battle simulations.

  ‘I also kept you secret to see how you develop. Now the possibility of this mission has come up, I think you’re the syntho for the job. It could be dangerous, and will almost certainly require a great deal of resourcefulness. Should I risk one of our greatest assets on such a mission?

  ‘In truth, I have little choice. The future of our civilisation may depend on what you find out there.’

  47 : Man on a Mission

  ‘Presentation concluded,’ the robotic voice said. ‘No further access permitted.’ The memory bulb popped from the receiver back into Alkemy’s hand.

  ‘Presentation?’ she said. ‘Does that mean Albert make this special for us?’

  ‘Like edited highlights.’ Tim said. ‘Notice how it was translated too?’

  They sat staring at the static till Norman took the receiver back and switched it off.

  ‘It’s starting to make sense,’ Tim added. ‘Like Norman said yesterday, the Sentinels set the whole thing up. They caught Albert, tried to get his memory bulb, and realised there was something special about it. So they used him to lure us there, used Alkemy to get it, then tried to dissolve her around it so the bulb wouldn’t self-destruct.’

  She said, ‘Remember in the fungus room, when we first go in and hide? We go to sleep, but something shake and make us wake.’

  Tim recalled the slimy goo on his shoulder and in her hair. ‘The Sentinels didn’t want to leave us there for the fungus to digest. They wanted us to find that trough so they could use it to digest you.’

  Coral said, ‘Who was the guy with the blue hair? You called him uncle.’

  ‘Not real uncle. Old family friend. But important man. Head of the Science Council.’

  ‘And the other people he mentioned? Marileon and Dudilo?’

  ‘Our parent.’

  ‘Your parents? You mean your parents helped set this whole thing up?’

  Ludokrus shrugged. ‘To mix the coordinates seems like a good plan.’

  ‘Yeah, when you left. Twenty-five years ago. You’ve probably got a whole new family now.’

  Tim saw the look on Alkemy’s face and put in quickly, ‘I had no idea Albert was so special.’

  ‘He is always special,’ she said.

  ‘Special all right,’ Coral said. ‘What did that Krilen guy say? The most powerful thinking machine you’ve ever produced. Wow!’

  ‘So, a secret plan,’ Norman said, ‘but why reveal it now? You heard blue-hair. If the Thanatos catch you, they’ll find out everything in a few hours. We already know the reason you came here: to find out what’s going on. Albert told us that himself the other day, before your ship was blown up.’

  ‘I think he was being more subtle than that,’ Tim said. ‘If they get caught now, the Thanatos won’t believe they’re just a couple of lost travellers, not after all that’s happened with the Sentinels. But by showing them that presentation, he’s given them a memory of how they were duped. That they’re innocent. It really was
nothing to do with them. So the Thanatos will be more likely to let them go.’

  ‘But what about the memory bulb?’

  ‘Obviously the Eltherians want to get that back. But if the Thanatos catch them before they get home, they can just drop it and it’ll self-destruct.’

  ‘He really was a man on a mission, eh?’

  ‘More. He was the mission,’ Ludokrus said. ‘Now is our job to complete and take his thought and memory home with us. You all have help. Our peoples and our planet will be much grateful.’

  Tim and Norman grinned. Coral bit her lip.

  ‘Coo-ee!’ a voice called across the clearing.

  ‘Oh no,’ Coral groaned.

  ‘What ...?’

  ‘Alice!’

  ‘Maybe she bring more piglets.’

  ‘Pikelets. And it doesn’t look like it.’

  All she was carrying was a brown leather shoulder bag.

  ‘Is Albert about?’ she called, eyeing the Cadillac.

  ‘He ... go for walk.’

  ‘Oh. When will he be back?’

  ‘Long walk. Not back for some time.’

  ‘I see.’

  She stood, uncertain. Then they heard the sound of a car approaching on Rata Road. They turned and looked. It turned their way. Flashes of yellow paintwork showed through the gaps in the intervening trees.

  ‘I know that car,’ Tim said. ‘It’s Cakeface.’

  48 : Straight from the Monkey’s Mouth

  Millicent Millais stood before them in a tweed suit and extremely sensible shoes. She regarded them with her pursed mouth and powdered face. ‘Good morning children.’ It was all they could do to stop themselves from leaping to their feet and chanting Good morning, Mrs Millais in response.

  She took a clipboard from her car and surveyed the reserve, raised one disapproving eyebrow and said, ‘I should like to speak with a Mr Albertus Kattflapp, please. Perhaps you can direct me.’

  ‘He’s out,’ Tim said, repeating Ludokrus’s lie.

  ‘Then perhaps Mrs Kattflapp.’

  She turned to Alice. Alice backed away.

  ‘There isn’t one,’ Tim said.

  Cakeface regarded him stonily. He felt like a bug under a magnifying glass.

  ‘It is rather important, Timothy.’ Then her mood lightened and she added in voice that was somehow both reasonable and threatening at the same time, ‘I wouldn’t have driven all this way on my jolly holiday if it wasn’t, you know.’

  ‘He might not be back for a while,’ Coral said. ‘Once he gets out in the bush, he loses all track of time.’

  Cakeface regarded her with a look that would have wilted flowers. ‘Coral Townsend,’ she pronounced. ‘I believe that we are due to have a discussion about your absence from school on Friday afternoon.’

  Coral said nothing, but held her gaze.

  ‘But that can wait until tomorrow. First thing tomorrow. My office.’

  Her mood changed again and she brightened. ‘Well, if Mr Kattflapp is out, I shall await his return.’

  With that, she took a folding chair from the boot of her car, a book from the back seat, and settled in a patch of shade under a nearby tree.

  Coral nudged the others towards the awning, leaving Alkemy stuck on the recliner with her injured legs. ‘What the hell’s all that about?’ she hissed. ‘The Sentinels know Albert’s dead. They killed him. What’s she playing at?’

  ‘They’ve fed her some excuse to get her over here,’ Tim said. ‘They’re up to something.’

  ‘Well we don’t want her sitting there all day. What happens when your ship arrives?’

  ‘It will be some hours yet.’

  ‘Look out, she’s watching us,’ Norman said.

  ‘Like she can hear anything at that distance!’ Coral snorted.

  ‘You think they make her wait all day?’

  ‘It’s possible. They might even make her follow us around.’

  ‘Then we have to get rid of her!’ Coral said.

  ‘How do we do that?’

  ‘I dunno. But it might help to find out what she wants Albert for in the first place.’

  ‘How do we do that?’

  ‘You’re her pal, why don’t you go and ask?’

  ‘Since when was I her pal?’ Tim said.

  ‘Didn’t you have a good old chat with her on Friday about my absence from school? If you hadn’t, she’d never have known. And I wouldn’t have to face her in the morning.’

  ‘Hey, you three had disappeared. I didn’t know what was going on. I had to turn to someone.’

  ‘She’s a Sentinel agent.’

  ‘I didn’t know that then. None of us did.’

  It was that interview — with her odd answers and sudden shifts in conversation — that convinced him she was really under Sentinel control.

  Coral crossed her arms and stared at him, unmoved.

  He looked around at the others, but found no support.

  ‘Oh all right,’ he said.

  Cakeface looked up from her book as Tim approached.

  ‘I was ... going to put the kettle on. I wondered if you’d like a cup of coffee.’

  ‘That’s very thoughtful of you Timothy. But not at the moment, thank you.’

  His eyes dropped to the clipboard propped against the chair and he saw it contained a single sheet of paper headed Rata Area School — Pupil Registration. The form Coral had filled out for Alkemy and Ludokrus after their first day at school.

  ‘Is there a problem with that?’ he said. ‘Only, I might be able to help because Mr Kattflapp’s English isn’t very good.’

  That was the lie he’d told her on Friday, a trap to determine whether she really had met Albert. And she’d fallen for it. Perhaps she’d remember.

  Millicent Millais considered the offer. ‘Perhaps you can, Timothy,’ she said slowly. ‘You see, Mr Kattflapp took the children out of school, but he never completed the paperwork. Technically, they are still on our roll. It will cause all sorts of confusion with the Education Department.’

  So that’s how they got you to come over here!

  He said aloud, ‘I could get him to sign it when he comes back and bring it in tomorrow if you like.’

  Cakeface blinked. There was a fractional hesitation before she said, ‘I’m afraid it has to be witnessed and countersigned by another adult.’

  Tim glanced at the bottom of the form. If it did, there were no boxes for it. But it would be pointless, and possibly dangerous, to challenge her. He recognised the flicker that had passed across her face. He’d seen it before on Friday afternoon when he’d enquired about his sister and his missing friends. It meant the Sentinels were actively tampering with her memories.

  ‘Oh, right,’ he said. ‘How come he didn’t sign it the other day?’

  That flicker again. ‘I’m afraid he was rather argumentative. It didn’t seem an opportune time.’

  ‘What was he upset about, if you don’t mind me asking?’

  ‘Family troubles, I believe. He was somewhat emotional. He is foreign, as you said.’

  It was creepy the way the Sentinels filled in gaps and built up whole new recollections, but he should stick to the present, he thought.

  ‘Hey, I’ve got an idea. My aunt is waiting for Albert too. But she’s only staying at the farm, which is just over the way. Why don’t I get her to countersign the form with him when he comes back?’

  Cakeface stared at him blankly. A longer hesitation this time. Tim thought he’d overdone it.

  * * *

  ‘Stop wittering to that monkey boy and look at this.’

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘I applied magnification, image enhancement and lip-reading analysis to that little group in the awning to find out what they were saying. It seems their ship is due.’

  ‘What?!’

  ‘See for yourself. One says, “What happens when your ship arrives?” The other replies, “It will be some hours yet.” ’

  ‘I don’t believe it!’<
br />
  ‘There’s your evidence. Straight from the monkey’s mouth.’

  ‘But how can they have summoned a ship? What about all that transmitter nonsense?’

  ‘A ruse. An attempt to divert us. These monkeys are smarter than they look.’

  ‘What can we do?’

  ‘We need to act quickly. The first thing to do is to get your little spy out of there. The situation’s changed. I have another job for her ...’

  * * *

  Cakeface suddenly smiled. The effect was chilling.

  ‘What a splendid boy you are, Timothy Townsend. The ideal solution! Do you think your aunt would mind?’

  ‘No, not at all.’

  Cakeface was already on her feet, folding up her chair.

  ‘Dear boy.’ She patted his head and handed him the clipboard. ‘You’ve saved my morning. I have so much else to do.’

  49 : Telling Stories

  ‘That was easy.’

  ‘Too easy.’ Tim watched Cakeface depart. ‘The Sentinels are up to something, I’m sure of it.’

  ‘Well, I can sign that for Albert.’ Coral took the form off him. ‘Since I signed for him originally.’

  ‘Get it countersigned while you’re at it.’ Tim nodded towards Alice. ‘It’s your turn.’

  ‘Why me?’

  ‘Aren’t you and Alice special pals?’

  ‘Just because I was reading one of her old books.’

  Tim said nothing, just raised an eyebrow.

  ‘Oh, all right. Since you did your bit.’

  ‘It’s hard to tell them apart sometimes,’ Norman said as she set off. ‘They’re almost like twins.’

  Coral made a rude gesture behind her back.

  ‘I’ve been thinking about Albert,’ Norman added. ‘Everyone wants to see him. Your aunt, Cakeface, Mr and Mrs Townsend for lunch. So how complicated was he really? I mean, apart from his brain and that memory bulb thing?’

  ‘Depend on the level you are talking,’ Ludokrus said. ‘How complicated are you? Deep down you are just the skelington.’

  ‘Exactly.’ Norman looked around the awning. ‘You’ve still got plenty of raw materials here.’

  Ludokrus gave a half-laugh. ‘You do not mean ...?’