The Dark Ship

by Phillip P. Peterson

  32.

  “How far to the sphere again?” Jeff asked.

  He looked up at the dark-gray orb—the ship’s epicenter.

  “Six miles,” the engineer answered. “Who’ll take Joanne?”

  Jeff sighed. “I’ll do it.” He leaned over his still unconscious companion and activated the levitation belt. He adjusted the inertia negation. Joanne no longer weighed anything and Jeff lifted her up effortlessly until she was hovering level with his waist. He attached her belt to his own with a hook and placed his left arm under her hip.

  “Let’s go!” Jeff said. “You fly ahead.”

  Green didn’t answer but drifted upward like a helium balloon whose string had broken.

  With his right hand, Jeff activated his own levitator and followed the engineer up into the alien sky.

  The inner wall of the outer part of the ship was so smooth and featureless, it was very difficult to judge how high above the ground they were—and how far it was to the surface of the sphere. Only the radar on his suit provided numbers, which the computer projected onto the HUD of his helmet.

  The view was truly breathtaking. Surreal. As if he had taken off from the bottom of an enormous bowl and was now steering toward the huge orb that hovered over it. It was the stuff of a feverish dream.

  Jeff was almost level with Green when his legs suddenly jerked upward. Frantically, he manipulated his flight belt, trying to stabilize himself. It took a while until he stopped spinning around his own axis.

  Green was having an easier time of it. But he wasn’t carrying Joanne, who did add extra bulk although she weighed nothing.

  “The vector of gravity has changed again,” Green stated. As if Jeff hadn’t noticed. The ground was now no longer the inner shell of the outer ship area, but the surface of the central sphere.

  He felt like he was about to vomit.

  These damn gravity changes!

  Finally they reached the new ground. Green pointed at a light-gray square a few miles away. “That could be the door to the lock,” he said.

  Jeff shrugged. “Let’s give it a try. Lead the way.”

  Green flew ahead, and a few minutes later they landed next to a square door that really did seem to be an airlock hatch. Several feet in diameter, it was more than big enough for them to get through. Jeff carefully laid Joanne down on the ground, but made sure her belt was still activated. Somehow they had to get into the airlock. He looked around. There were no control mechanisms. If the interior really was hermetically sealed, they would never be able to get in, and this whole journey would have been in vain.

  “Hey,” Green nodded at the hatch. “It’s opening on its own.”

  He was right. The hatch retracted slightly and then slid sideways into the wall. The chamber behind it came into view.

  Green stood on the threshold, jumped up, and floated inside with the help of his belt.

  Jeff hesitated. It made no sense to hermetically seal off the interior, if the hatch simply opened every time someone came along. He was pretty sure it was an invitation. Did the demon really want them to enter the epicenter of his kingdom? And if so, why? What made them so damned valuable? Or was this all just some kind of perfidious game?

  “Are you coming?” Green asked. “I don’t want the hatch to close again and end up in here by myself.”

  Jeff nodded. Their aim had always been to get to the center. But they had to stay on their guard more than ever. Gently, he picked up Joanne, stepped onto the threshold, and sank to the ground on the other side. He had barely reached the bottom when the hatch closed behind them. This was followed almost immediately by the whistle of incoming air.

  Finally, a hatch opened on the opposite wall. Jeff checked the air pressure and opened the helmet of his suit. Cool, fresh air stroked his face.

  “Ahhh,” Green closed his eyes in appreciation after also taking off his helmet.

  “Wow, for the first time since we’ve been on board this ship, the air is good.” Jeff stepped through the hatch and found himself in a sterile white room about the size of a small auditorium. It was a typical airlock antechamber; it could have been on board a terrestrial ship. Cabinets, shelves, and equipment were dotted around the room. Double doors led to the other side. Green was already heading for the doors. Jeff followed with Joanne.

  Green punched a button on the wall and the hatch slid open easily. Behind it was a room only a few square feet in size. Controls were mounted in the wall, and when Jeff entered, he realized he was standing in an elevator.

  He laid Joanne down on the ground and stood next to Green to inspect the panel. There were two rows of vertically arranged buttons, with golden lettering next to each one.

  Jeff took a deep breath. “Hmm, now what?”

  “I’d say we want to go right down to the bottom,” Green said, and pressed the lowest button on the panel without waiting for a reply. Immediately, the door closed behind them, and the whole cabin shuddered slightly. Was it supposed to be this easy?

  There was no indicator panel to show their current position. Only the constant vibration suggested they were actually heading toward the core of the ship. They were still twenty-five miles from the center, so the ride might take a while. On the other hand, they had no idea how fast the elevator was traveling.

  After less than a minute, the elevator came to an abrupt stop. The doors opened with a hiss. Jeff lifted Joanne out of the elevator, and as he looked around, his eyes widened. By now, nothing ought to surprise him, but this …?

  They were in a huge hall. It was dark, and Jeff could only make out vague outlines. The elevator they had just stepped out of was embedded in a huge, gray pillar, hundreds of feet high, which is what they must have traveled down. And there were more pillars all over this chamber, but at odd angles that led upward and sideways to a hemispherical ceiling that was so high above them, you could have fit several cathedrals on top of one another. The entire room was in fact a vast hemisphere with a diameter of at least a third of a mile. There were hatches at irregular intervals along the walls, some of which were open and emitting a shimmering reddish light. In the center of the room was another hemisphere, the shell of which was so black, it was like an enormous blind spot in Jeff’s field of vision.

  “Well, I guess that’s the center of the ship,” Green said, marching resolutely toward a dark-gray hatch around eighty feet away from them.

  Could it be? Was this hemisphere the control center of the ship? Had they really found it? And would the demon—or rather its hermetically sealed cryopod—be waiting for them inside?

  Green seemed pretty convinced that they had reached their goal. Having almost reached the hatch, he beckoned to Jeff. “Come on. We’re there.” He grinned.

  Jeff stood rooted to the spot. Something about Green bothered him. It had been bothering him the whole time. Subconsciously. The engineer had changed since coming on board this ship. True, they had all changed, but Green more than the others. Jeff remembered how sick the engineer had felt after they had moved into their accommodation. What had been the matter with him? A headache … dizziness. He’d had the same symptoms before. But where? That was it! On the Charon—during the attack on Acheron-4. When they had been hit by psychorays and Green had discovered his deflective shield was defective.

  His deflective shield was defective.

  Jeff felt a shiver go down his spine and stars dance in front of his eyes. How could they have been so blind? How could he have been so blind?

  Jeff let Joanne slide to the floor and straightened himself. Green stared at him, his face still frozen in a grin. He must have guessed what was going on in Jeff’s mind, because he began to walk toward him. “Everything OK?”

  Jeff took a step back and shook his head. “It’s you!” he husked. “You’re the demon.”

  Green came closer. His grin widened. “Now, now,” he said, as if admonishing a child. “Who would want to be so rude as to insult his host?”

  There was something in Green’s
face—something strange that Jeff hadn’t noticed before. An evil grimace just below the surface that was now revealing itself. Jeff felt his pulse quicken and his hands turn clammy. He was standing right in front of the demon that had caused so much suffering, simply for his own perverse pleasure. All he had to do was reach out his hand to touch him. Instinctively, he knew he was no match for this sinister creature. He had to get away.

  As if Green had read his mind, he began to laugh. It was a tinny, cackling laugh.

  Jeff turned around and made a dash for the open hatch. He couldn’t face his opponent here. Green’s laughter echoed after him.

  33.

  Jeff stumbled through the dark corridor, gasping. Every few feet he passed blood-red lights embedded in the wall. Finally, his panic subsided. He turned around. The demon hadn’t followed him. He gasped for breath and grabbed onto a yellow and black wall strut.

  What should he do? He didn’t stand a chance against this creature.

  How could he have been so wrong? He’d been convinced Joanne was the one who was possessed, like Owl before her. Was it possible that the demon was able to possess several people at once? Was Green also responsible for the deaths of Fields and Irons? What if Jeff simply went back and shot Green? Would the demon allow it to happen? And if he succeeded, what then? Maybe he’d already replaced Green with an avatar. Would he be able to stop this devil from turning him into an avatar in this pseudo-hell, too?

  It was all too much. Jeff lowered his gaze and glanced furtively at the pistol in his holster. Wouldn’t it be simpler just to shoot himself? Then at least he could rest in peace and not end up the plaything of an insane, godlike creature.

  No, he knew he couldn’t do it. He had to find a way out of here. But how?

  He trembled as he tried to breathe normally. Slowly, he continued to make his way down the corridor. A few feet further on, he came across a dark-gray metal door in the wall. The edges were marked with black and yellow paint. Maybe Jeff could find something that would help him or at least give him an idea.

  He touched the square on the wall next to the door. On the other side was what looked like a big hall. Jeff stepped through the hatch and his heart skipped a beat.

  The hall was gigantic, with a diameter of at least several miles. It was filled with shelves and Jeff’s first thought was that he’d stumbled into a warehouse. But then his eyes fell on the neat rows of rectangular boxes that filled the shelves. He touched one of them gingerly. It was made of black metal and on the right-hand side were a series of depressions and switches.

  Jeff ran a finger over the strange material. It was cold as ice. These must be the cryogenic pods of the passengers and crew. He walked back to a railing a few feet away. The shelves with the sarcophagus-like containers continued not only upward but also downward. He couldn’t begin to guess how many levels this gigantic hall had, because the rows of shelves disappeared into a reddish mist far below. There must be thousands, no, millions, of cryogenic pods in this hall alone. And God alone knew how many of these halls were on the ship.

  Was his father lying in one of these containers somewhere in this hall? It would be impossible to find him.

  “Jeff!” Green’s voice echoed through the hall.

  He looked around but couldn’t see anybody. He must be hearing the voice over a loudspeaker.

  “Jeff,” the voice repeated. “I know where you are.”

  Jeff closed his eyes and sighed in resignation. Of course, the demon had him under constant surveillance. He was trapped. It would never let him out again.

  “What do you want from me?” Jeff cried out in despair.

  Laughter echoed around the room. “What do you think?” That laugh again. “I want you!”

  “What do you want from me?” Jeff repeated. His hands were balling into fists.

  “I want you by my side. Come back to me.”

  “And if I don’t want to?” Jeff asked angrily.

  Another chuckle—this time quieter.

  “There’s someone here who wants to see you again,” the voice said. “Describe the situation, my dear.”

  Jeff’s stomach contracted. He knew whom the demon was referring to. He had forgotten about Joanne. He’d run off in such a panic, he’d left her behind in the clutches of the demon.

  “Jeff!” She sounded desperate. “I’m lying on the ground, I’m tied up. Green is leaning over me and holding a knife to my stomach.”

  “Come back to us, Jeff,” Green said in a sickly sweet voice. “Or I’ll cut open your little friend’s stomach and describe what I’m taking out of it.” He cackled. “That is, if you can hear me through all the screaming.”

  Jeff felt the blood draining from his face. He couldn’t bear that. He looked down at his pistol again and considered turning it on himself. But what would become of Joanne? She, along with his father, would still be at the mercy of the demon.

  “Shit! Damn it!” Jeff punched the wall.

  “Now, now,” Green’s too soothing voice came through the loudspeaker.

  Jeff clenched his teeth. There must be something he could do!

  The pistol …

  He breathed deeply in and out. He wasn’t sure whether it would work. Above all, it would probably mean killing the real Green—if his spirit was still somewhere inside his body. But it was probably too late to save him, in any case. “OK. I’m coming.”

  He retreated from the warehouse and stepped back into the corridor. It took him only a few minutes to get back to the antechamber.”

  He could see Green some distance away, standing next to the entrance to the central hemisphere.

  “Where’s Joanne?” Jeff asked.

  Green tilted his head to one side and smiled. “She’s already gone ahead.” He pointed at the door next to him. “After you.”

  “You’re really letting me into the innermost … sanctum?”

  Green nodded. “Why not? There’s nothing you can do to me there. You can’t harm me. And anyhow, it’s necessary.”

  Jeff didn’t even bother asking why. He didn’t want to go in, but he had to convince himself that Joanne was really there.

  “After you,” Jeff said.

  Green shrugged and turned around. “If you insist.” The door opened with a hiss and Green stepped through. Jeff followed him, although every cell in his body was urging him to go the other way.

  Once inside, Jeff was reminded of holograms he’d seen of the Pantheon in Rome on Earth. A huge dome with a small hole at the very top. Along the walls were console-like instruments, but they were all unlit and did not seem to be in operation. There were no other doors. The only way in or out was through the door they had come. In the middle of the room was a round pillar. It had a diameter of several feet and was almost twice as tall as Jeff. A reddish ray of light slanted from the hole in the ceiling, illuminating the pillar like a surreal altar.

  Joanne was lying on the floor a few feet away from him. Jeff hurried over and knelt beside her. He could see her chest rising and falling. She was alive, but unconscious.

  “There’s your girlfriend. She’s doing well,” Green said with a sneer. He was standing right behind Jeff.

  Now or never!

  With a fluid motion, Jeff rose to his feet and at the same time pulled the pistol out of his holster, spun round, and squeezed the trigger.

  The bullet entered Green’s forehead and exited out of the back of his head. In an explosion of red, it tore out bits of skull, brain, and blood with it.

  Green’s expression froze in disbelief and surprise. He staggered, but somehow remained on his feet. Then his face twisted into a nasty grin again. A thick trail of blood ran down his cheek from the wound on his forehead. He began to laugh again—and fell forward. He landed on the floor with a thud and fell silent.

  “Bastard!”

  Loud, inhuman laughter sounded from hidden loudspeakers that echoed around the room. Jeff knew he hadn’t killed the demon, but maybe it would buy him some time. He ran along th
e edge of the room. That button the alien had told him about—it must be here somewhere.

  But Jeff hadn’t gone far when he heard the door hissing behind him. He spun round, clenching his hands. Who would enter the room now?

  Or what?

  It was Green. He stood in front of the door until it closed behind him, then made a histrionic gesture with his arms like an over-enthusiastic entertainer. “I told you—you can’t do me any harm here.”

  “Green was just an avatar,” Jeff said dryly. “Since when?”

  The demon grinned. “Oh, not long. If you hadn’t run off in a panic, your plan might have worked.” He cocked his head. “Or perhaps not. But then there would have been other ways and means. In any case, you won’t be leaving here.”

  That was no surprise. “Why?”

  “Why what?”

  “Why are you doing this?”

  Green grimaced and rolled his eyes. “Because it’s fun. Especially with you humans. You make such funny noises when you’re in pain.”

  “You’re sick!” Jeff shouted.

  Green shook his head slowly. “No I’m not. I’m God.” He paused a moment. “Or rather the other one. You know who.” He chuckled. “A very interesting concept, by the way, your hell. A place of eternal torment and punishment—I was delighted to hear of it when you humans came on board. I redecorated the cavitys especially!”

  “You destroyed inhabited planets!”

  Green nodded. “I found some bombs aboard a damaged ship and wanted to give them a try. You certainly like playing at war. In fact, there isn’t such a big difference between you homo sapiens and me. And I certainly had a lot of fun destroying your worlds after I’d taken several thousands of their inhabitants on board.”

  “How did you even get them onto your ship?” Jeff asked, his throat completely dry.

  “Teleportation, of course.”

  Jeff swallowed. Humanity had been trying to master that technology for centuries—but in vain. “Teleportation?”