Indra Station

by Joseph R. Lallo

  “Ah. Yeah. I see it here.” She activated the feature. “That’s better than nothing. But we should find a room with a full console. It might be a good idea to split up. One of us can find a transmitter, the other can keep an eye on things with the system.”

  “A reasonable plan. I have a greater familiarity with the system and full access. I should be the one on the console.”

  “Which leaves me to find and access the transmitter. Do you know how to do that?”

  “Not specifically. But they’ll have to have left at least one transmitter reasonably intact and quick to activate, as the full system can’t be powered up without a handshake with the surface facility.”

  “Which means they’ll have at least one person standing by at that transmitter.” Michella flicked through the security feeds. “That narrows it down to these two.”

  “So our plan will be to find, access, and secure a maintenance room with a full console, then send you to one or both of the transmitters to incapacitate the technician present and get a message to the surface,” Preethy said.

  “And failing that, somewhere along the way try to get a message to the ship to either pick us up or use it to go get help,” Michella added.

  “Indeed.”

  “So we’ve got our plan. I hate to say it, but we work pretty well together.”

  “I’d come to a similar conclusion.”

  Michella looked to her device and checked a few cameras. “There are thugs searching the corridors we’d need to access either a transmitter or a console. We can’t move forward until the path is clear. Can we fight now?”

  “By all means.”

  Michella stuck her finger in Preethy’s face. “Don’t you act like you don’t have anything to hide. Your entire enterprise is fully bankrolled by a man known to be one of the most powerful organized criminals in this sector.”

  “While Nick Patel is under investigation, he is not presently charged with any specific crimes.”

  “We all know who he is and what he’s done.”

  “Regardless of his presumed guilt, this enterprise is mine, not his. Distinct from his own dealings despite his role as an investor.”

  “And yet you relied entirely upon his labor until six weeks ago.”

  “My uncle’s construction firm is the only one on the planet with the resources to complete the project. All work was done at market rates and scrupulously accounted for, as you saw when you requested access to our records. Your request for records, I’ll note, was after you made the dubious claim of money laundering. Strange considering your history of journalistic diligence.”

  “I was relying upon public pressure to encourage you to release the records. And it worked, didn’t it.”

  “We would have released the records upon request, which you would have known if you’d asked. But then, that would have run the risk of you losing an opportunity to inflict a black eye upon our organization.”

  “What are you suggesting?”

  “I’m suggesting that your interest in the league and its conduct might be personally motivated. My legal team has repeatedly suggested I have a strong defamation case against you and your network, but I have chosen not to proceed.”

  “I’d like to see you try. Don’t act like you’ve got the moral high ground. This is an enterprise born out of criminality, and I refuse to let it take Lex down when it inevitably crumbles.”

  “Invoking the name of your boyfriend in your reasoning doesn’t do much to dispel my suspicions of personal motivation. But tell me this. In all of your investigation thus far, have you found any actual, provable violations attributable to the league?”

  “…Not yet, but that doesn’t prove innocence.”

  “True. But you are trespassing on my property. You have used stolen credentials to access my system. And that’s to say nothing of the attempted entrapment and bribery upon any number of my employees since your arrival, and at least six occasions that you trespassed on private property, it was to record audio and video of our operations without our permission.”

  Michella narrowed her eyes at Preethy.

  “Yes, Ms. Modane. We have been keeping an eye on you. And your conduct has repeatedly reinforced the wisdom of that decision.”

  Michella glanced at the slidepad. “The corridor to the left should be clear soon. There’s a pair of thugs near an intersection not far from here. We might have to move in a hurry.”

  “Understood.”

  Michella didn’t take her eyes from the slidepad as she continued her assault. “You know, I have found loads of criminal activity surrounding the league. Unfair preferential treatment of racer sponsorships are provable in half of your racer’s teams. I’ve got the names of no less than three racers who have been having secret meetings with odds-makers for different gambling networks. This is hardly a squeaky-clean enterprise.”

  “Neither of those things are our doing or ours to enforce. And I also notice you didn’t deem any of them newsworthy. You clearly aren’t concerned about crime overall. Simply things you imagine we must have done. Hardly unbiased. But again, I have refrained from attacking you directly out of respect for your association with Lex. It is unfortunate that you haven’t given us the same courtesy.”

  “I’m giving you extra scrutiny because of Lex. I’ll admit that. He’s my skin in this game. I care about him.”

  “Do you?”

  Michella finally took her eyes from the screen. “Watch it.”

  “How long have you been here on the station?”

  “What’s that got to do with anything?”

  “Lex specifically asked me to move a dinner reservation for the two of you to tonight.”

  Michella paused, eyes darting aside for a moment.

  “Something tells me this is the first you’ve thought of it since you arrived.”

  Michella glanced back at the screen. “They’re not moving. I think they’re talking on the radio. Which means they’ve probably cut the radio we stole out of the access group, or we’d be hearing it too. If they start moving this way, we’re going to have to make a break for it. Left.”

  “Of course. When you give the word.”

  “This was important. This was more important than some dinner.”

  “Perhaps we should postpone the debate until we are in a less precarious situation.”

  Michella continued to watch the screen, but ignored the suggestion. “This is my job. This is more important than dinner at some fancy restaurant. Lex will understand.”

  “I’m sure he will. But how often has he had to? How many times should he be expected to?”

  “I gave him my blessing to join your league, didn’t I?”

  “And you’ve spent every waking moment since then attempting to sabotage or dismantle it.”

  “It’s an important job,” she reaffirmed. “The truth is important. Someone has to find it. What am I supposed to do, just stop doing what I’m good at because it gets between him and me?”

  “No. You are entitled to the success you earn and the fruits of your labors. So is he. But the successes and labors that you’re each striving for don’t line up very well. That means making compromises if you want to be together. No one says you have to make those compromises. But no one says you have to be together, either.”

  The slidepad bleeped. Michella looked down.

  “They’re coming this way. Let’s move. To the utility room and its console.” Michella snapped her attention completely to the task at hand with remarkable ease. “Here, you take the gun.”

  She handed Preethy the pistol she’d stolen from the thug. Preethy held it with thumb and index finger at arm’s length as though she’d been handed a dirty sock.

  “That may not be wise.”

  “You don’t know how to fire a gun? What kind of mobster are you?”

  “I am not a mobster. I am an administrator.”

  Michella shook her head and handed her the
stunner instead. “You press that button and jab that part into someone. Ideally on some exposed skin. Now let’s move.”

  Chapter 8

  At standard speeds, it took only a few minutes to get from Patel’s estate to Lex’s apartment. At the speeds Lex drove, it was even quicker. But a half hour later, Lex was still driving. He had one hand on the controls and the other resting on a sleeping Squee around his neck. His mind was buzzing with concern, and he knew better than to believe he’d be able to sleep without clearing his head. Driving was usually good for that. Since he’d left Patel’s place, he’d been blasting across the jagged terrain, cutting it as close to rock formations and cliff faces as he dared. It took a lot of mental bandwidth, tracing out safe routes, balancing speed with turning radius, finessing that extra bit of power out of the machine. But it wasn’t enough. There was still just enough of his brain left over to fret about things he had no control over.

  Finally, he gave in and tapped his slidepad. It hopped through the SOB and, after a bit more connection negotiation, Ma answered.

  “Hello, Lex. I trust this evening finds you well,” Ma said.

  “Not so much, Ma. Not so much. Mitch hasn’t shown up, and neither has Preethy.”

  “That is unfortunate. In situations such as this, it is important not to blame yourself. It is entirely possible their absence is not motivated by your behavior.”

  “I wasn’t really blaming myself, Ma. I’d be very surprised if either of them stood me up because of something I did.”

  “In that case, please self-assess to ensure this fact.”

  “… So now I should blame myself.”

  “Moderation is always advisable. If one extreme is not at fault, it is often advisable to investigate the opposing extreme and all points between in search of logic and balance.”

  “Is something up, Ma? This isn’t matching your usual level of insight.”

  “Acutely observed, Lex. I am presently engaged in several resource-intensive processes that are limiting my capacity to engage emotional and psychological heuristics to a high degree of computational certainty.”

  “Should I call back?”

  “No. Please state the purpose of the call. While our discussions are often distractions, they are pleasant distractions.”

  “Great. I was talking to Nick Patel about what might have been keeping the girls.”

  “I surmise his information was insufficient to ease your concerns.”

  “He had an explanation for what Preethy was up to, but no, I wasn’t satisfied. I don’t suppose you’ve got any word on Michella’s situation.”

  “Her status, or at least my knowledge of her status, has not changed.”

  “Still in orbit?”

  “That is the current position of the SOB. Unless she has secured alternate transportation, her location should be the same.” Ma’s voice cut off for a split second, then she said, “Additional useful information. She has not secured alternate transportation, as no additional ships have departed from her probable location.”

  “And you don’t know what she’s up to.”

  “No.”

  “Let me ask you this. Is she in a space station?”

  “Based upon Michella’s requests, I will not confirm or deny this.”

  Lex squeezed the controls and took a sharp turn, sending a spray of gravel and stone up with his hovercar’s repulsors. Some of them clattered off a rock face and clacked against his windows.

  “What is your current activity, Lex?”

  “I’m doing some night driving.”

  “At inadvisable velocities?”

  “My favorite kind.”

  “This suggests that you are greatly troubled. Do you feel that you have a credible concern for Michella or Preethy’s physical well-being?”

  “I’m sure they’re fine but—”

  “As an Altruistic AI, I am permitted to take action in opposition to the requests or desires of humans if those actions will preserve or restore the safety of an affected human life that might otherwise be endangered. I again inquire, do you feel you have a credible concern for Michella or Preethy’s physical well-being?”

  “They’re at death’s door, Ma. I’m sure of it,” he said flatly.

  “Michella entered a large space station and, utilizing a control subroutine I provided for her, remotely piloted the SOB to a position beyond the sensor range of the station. She remained aboard. I shall review the sensor logs of the SOB to attempt to extract additional information. Processing… Processing… What are your feelings on the recent performance of local sports teams?”

  “… Uh.”

  “Processing… The plot developments of recently released serialized dramatic content are particularly notable, and worthy of analysis and discussion, do you not agree? Processing…”

  “You really are strapped for resources, aren’t you, Ma?”

  “Small talk requires more computational power to do well than I have available. Processing… Analysis complete. I apologize, but very little additional information is available. The SOB remained in the docking bay of the station while Michella lingered nearby conversing with an employee of the station. While briefly absent from the bay, she directed the ship to undock and take up an unobserved position. It has remained there. There has been no connection to her slidepad in that time. Signal strength prior to disconnections suggests interference or attenuation has made the ship unreachable.”

  “So she might be trapped.”

  “This is possible. Additional information. Three ships have docked with the station since the SOB departed. All three are still docked.”

  “Can you do a deeper analysis of the ships?”

  “I have already done so. One ship has a transponder registered to Operlo Entertainment Enterprises. Additional searching into accessible records suggests this ship is one of three personal conveyances utilized by Preethy Misra for business-related travel. The other ships do not have transponders.”

  “That’s shady.”

  “I agree. This assessment is supported by the fact that each of the remaining ships seems to have been assembled out of spare parts. Pains would appear to have been taken to impede or prevent tracking and identification. This is highly indicative of a criminal enterprise. As observed by your own usage of these tactics while engaged in your own enterprise of dubious legality.”

  “Hey. Freelance delivery isn’t dubiously illegal. It’s an act of corporate rebellion.”

  “I shall log this distinction.”

  Lex eased the hovercar to a stop. “Considering Nick Patel’s proclivities, is there any chance these are his people?”

  “Possibly. However, they approached from outside the system. This would mildly decrease the certainty of that assessment, as Nick Patel’s operation is run primarily from Operlo’s surface.”

  “Any ideas who they might be?”

  “There is not sufficient data to be certain of that. The lack of difficulty in docking supports the hypothesis that they are employees, or allied with employees.”

  “Is there any way you can hack into the systems of the space station and find out more?”

  “You are aware that doing so, particularly at my presently diminished computational capacity, will very likely alert those aboard?”

  “At this point I’m sort of grasping for straws. What exactly are you up to that’s got your processing power so bogged down?”

  “That information shall be withheld to prevent undue concern on your part.”

  He cupped his forehead. “Ma, we’ve been through this. Telling someone that you’re not telling them something because the thing you’re not telling them would scare the pants off them doesn’t do anything but scare the pants off us more.”

  “Processing… Due to the tendency for the human imagination to construct the largest possible threat in order to occupy the unspecified space in the description?”

  “Exactly.”

>   “I am confident in my assessment that your imagination will be insufficient to construct a threat that will match the scope of the actual issue. I advise you to disregard the issue.”

  “You do recall that I’m the guy who went back in time to prevent a galaxy-ending threat.”

  “Yes.”

  “And you don’t think I can conceptualize the scope of the threat you’re dealing with now?”

  “Yes.”

  “… Yes you do, or yes you don’t?”

  “We seem to be straying from the stated concern of the call.”

  Lex took a deep breath. “Fine, whatever. One problem at a time.”

  “Processing… I regret to inform you that the station is presently at a very low level of electromagnetic emission or reception. All dedicated transceivers seem to have been disabled. I cannot penetrate a system that I cannot communicate with.”

  “Is there any way you can get a message to Preethy or Michella’s slidepad?”

  “Not at the present range. And I shall remind you that the present range was selected precisely to avoid notice. Decreasing the range in order to attempt communication will drastically increase the possibility of detection.”

  “So the question is, do I trust that the reason Michella hid the SOB was crucial enough that trying to find her will be more dangerous?”

  “I have insufficient information to make a reliable determination.”

  “It was a rhetorical question, Ma.”

  “What dramatic effect are you trying to produce or debate point are you trying to underscore with that question?”

  “Uh… I was just sort of asking myself.”

  “Then that was not a rhetorical question. Please speak more precisely. My usual conversational heuristics are not being employed at this time.”

  Lex sighed. “Can you use the SOB to sweep around and see if you can get a signal to them without being discovered?”

  Ma didn’t answer.

  “You there, Ma?”

  “I was withholding my reply due to the potential rhetorical status of the question.”

  “This was a real one.”

  “There is a low possibility of success, but a subtle sweep outside of visual and sensor range is within my capability.”