by John Lane
He opened his casket and floated next to Agnes’. They had left the gravity field of the planetoid. Tommy set her lid to transparent. He owed Agnes a face to face as he outlined what he had planned.
“Aunt Agnes,” Tommy began formally. “I’ve got a plan, and if it works, I’ll find mother.” She stared at him confused. “You can’t go with me.” Agnes’ eyes opened wide as she saw where Tommy was going with this. “It’s a long trip and there are no provisions for us to stay awake. I’ve checked, and you can’t go back into hibernation.” Now Agnes shook her head. There had to be a way. “Alfred will be with you and Dr. Ann. He’s calculated that you can summon the Swift when it completes its next orbit. It’s risky, but it’s a chance.”
Always the good engineer, Agnes found a way to transmit through the casket, “Tommy are you crazy? This is certain death.”
“You said yourself the ship’s systems are closed. We can’t hack in.” Tommy had opened the access panel in the back of Agnes’ casket and plugged in Alfred’s media unit. “I’ve made a copy of me and of Alfred to take with me. I need you to recover the Swift and follow. I need you to get me out.”
She saw Tommy was giving them all a chance. Agnes had to be Tommy’s chance. For Agnes this made the difference. How could she argue with a crazy plan when she had a part to play in it as well? With tears in her eyes she nodded agreement. “Set a timer. From here, if they go to the Central Systems you’ll be traveling a month. If you go to the Fringe it could be longer. Either way you can’t re-hibernate right away, your body will need time to recover. At least a week.”
“Alfred will have that covered.” At this, Tommy glanced at the avatar still attached to his casket. “Now I haven’t much time to get you out of the lock and safely away from this ship.” Tommy felt the inertia of maneuvering thrust as he held onto her casket.
“Okay But nephew, you listen to your old auntie. You be careful. What will your mother say if I lose you?” Agnes quipped trying to lighten the mood. “Remember our family has a habit of running off to save each other and getting lost.” She tried to smile.
Tommy smiled back. “I’ll be good as I can be. And I’ll have an Alfred copy to watch over me,” he said. “I’ll see you soon.” He put the lid back to opaque to shield Agnes from radiation, then Tommy hotwired the cargo bay hatch to open.
As the hatch opened, Tommy saw the extent of the destruction. The ship they were in was part of a fleet of thousands of other ships. All moved as one toward the debris of the planetoid. That looked like a fragmented sphere expanding even as it emerged from the gas giant’s atmosphere. Cassius Brutus had timed it exactly. The ships had jumped out into an orbit that allowed them to overtake the debris field with little waste of thruster fuel and consume the remains to power the A/W drives.
Without its partner to balance it, the outer planetoid spiraled away. It pulled some of its sister with it as a trail of rock and the settlement’s remains followed. It was a slow dance. But Tommy, long practiced in piloting, understood the mechanics of solar navigation. He didn’t have time to wonder what would happen to the gas giant or the sister planetoid. He had to get Agnes and Dr. Ann Ai out of the hatch.
Releasing the restraining clasp on both caskets, he lashed them together with cargo straps available on every vessel to secure shipments. Once he got them into position at the hatch, he secured his feet to the cargo rack with more straps. Then he placed his helmet against Agnes’ casket lid and gave it two thumps with his gloved hand. A reassuring two thumps responded. It was low tech but it would do the job. He shoved hard, pushing the two caskets out the hatch door.
They sailed slowly away from the ship. Tommy watched for a moment and then closed the hatch. He made his way to his casket and started the hibernation sequence. Tommy’s last thoughts were not of his mother he hoped to find or his sister he hoped to save. He said a prayer for his Aunt Agnes, who he hoped he had saved already, even though she was now in the most dangerous part of his scheme. And then Tommy thought no more.
*****
“Alfred, are you there?” Agnes waited twenty minutes. Her suit contained several days of battery life. But it’s quiet in space. She had waited this long, afraid that any signal would be picked up by the fleet of ships hanging in the surrounding space.
“Yes, Agnes. I am here. You needn’t worry about talking. Our low level signal will not be picked up.” Alfred spoke reassuringly to her.
Agnes got a grip on her emotions. Trapped in a coffin of her own making, she floated helpless in space. She was safe from the unknown horror that Tommy had chosen to face without her. Damn him. He pursued his mother and she felt helpless.
“Thank you, Alfred. Could I see what we face?” The lid in front of her went translucent. Her casket slowly rotated on all three axes. She should have felt disoriented and nauseous. But somewhere in her unknown past, she must have done some space walking. Perhaps as an engineer, she had done repairs in space. She added one more thing to the list of things she learned about herself. She handled the disorientation of no up and down like a natural.
What she saw disturbed her. She could make out several bright dots moving against the surface of the gas giant. The fleet of ships converged on a spherical cloud of dust that had been her home. As she rotated around, she noted the twin planetoid wasn’t where it should be. It moved toward a higher orbit, no longer tethered to its partner’s mass in the strange dance of two heavenly bodies.
“Okay don’t go space crazy on me,” she said to herself.
“Pardon?” Alfred responded.
“Nothing, Alfred,” she replied quickly. “Talking to myself. You’ve made observations. Are we in any danger from the debris field or the changing orbit of the twin planetoid?”
“No, we are safe.” Alfred continued his report. “The Swift should be holding its place on the other side of the sister planetoid. We were to rendezvous in two hours. The debris field has expanded to the sister and will eventually form rings around it.”
“We should be able to make contact in less time than that.” Agnes observed. So, she waited. She sucked down nutrient from her feeding tube and waited. She asked Alfred to clear her lid every twenty minutes and waited. It didn’t make her sick, and she felt better if she saw with her own eyes the disaster ahead of her. She kept track of her time on her HUD. After patiently waiting an hour, Alfred checked for signs of the Swift. It would be looking for them to come from the shattered planetoid. If it kept communication on a tight laser beam, then they would miss each other. If the Swift was out of position, then they could not contact it. The laser transmitter on Alfred’s avatar was not as accurate as those on a ship.
“Alfred, I just had a thought. I know you’ve got your beam wide, but try refining it to a pinpoint and transmit on this target pattern across the sister planetoid.” Agnes entered the pattern through her HUD and shared it with Alfred. They would either find the Swift or the pirates would pick them up. She wasn’t desperate for rescue as much as she needed to start rescuing Tommy.
Another hour passed and still no word from the Swift. Alfred’s navigation subroutine Ai ran the ship. “I will widen the pattern,” Alfred said. Agnes hunkered down now for a longer wait. She monitored Alfred’s efforts, but there was nothing further she could do. So, she just hung in space spinning.
*****
The rendezvous was three hours overdue and no word yet. She was a small target in a lot of space. “How is our orbit?” she asked Alfred again.
“We are in no danger,” Alfred replied with patience. “I do have an update on the ships. They are leaving the system. The debris field has been swept as fuel and has been reduced. The remaining debris will offer little navigational hazards and give the sister planetoid no balance to its orbit,” he informed her.
Dr. Ann offered some distraction to Agnes as she posed word games and stories about their family. They were in the middle of a holiday story when Alfred’s voice broke in distorted. “Mayday, mayday!”
“Alf
red what is that?”
In a clear voice Alfred explained, “That is the Swift. I will respond.”
“Let me, it will be less confusing,” Agnes suggested. “Swift, this is Agnes. Can you clean up your signal? Over.”
A moment later the Swift navigation Ai responded in Alfred’s voice, much clearer. “This is the Swift. I’ve had a problem. The ship has almost exhausted the maneuvering thruster fuel avoiding the debris field. Some of it has fallen into orbit around the planetoid. There is enough to hold orbit, but I cannot break out and meet you at your present position. An FTL jump at this short distance is ill advised. Over.”
“Crap.” Agnes let that slip out, but then added a question to Albert, “Can we assist the Swift in any way?”
“I don’t know. I don’t believe we have the resources. But I need to share with you that there has been a bogie changing orbit in our direction since our contact with the Swift, and is now sending a beacon signal in our direction,” Alfred informed her.
“Is it the pirates?” she asked.
“No, we are receiving a transponder code on a tight laser beam, and the pilot would like to speak with you.”
“Pilot, but none of those ships had a pilot.” Agnes thought quickly. This could be a trap, but it felt more like a rescue. “Okay let’s hear it,” she said.
“This is Swift shuttle to Agnes Zephyr. Please respond mistress,” came the signal. “Mistress Agnes are you there?”
If Agnes could have jumped inside the casket she would have. “Marcus, but how?” Agnes knew full well that there would be a delay of several minutes, but she welcomed the voice of her family protector.
“You sound in good health. I will explain upon approach to your position. ETA two hours, over.” The strong voice on the other end of the transmission responded several minutes later.
Over the delayed com link, Marcus explained that he used subroutines Caesar developed with Agnes as a young girl. It allowed Marcus to assess a situation and make a reasonable choice beyond any other parameters his programming allowed. It entailed several random generators in a matrix she enjoyed working on as a puzzle. Marcus reminded Agnes both she and her father expressed disappointment it had apparently failed at the time.
The parameters he faced in securing the apartment never reached a threshold where the subroutine would properly activate. The eminent destruction of the apartment building and the primary instruction from the family to protect each member finally pushed the variables high enough Marcus moved his programing out of the home console and through the network. He traced Alfred’s small avatar spiders to the shuttle and overrode the hanger systems as the settlement fell apart.
They launched the shuttle and attempted to track her ever since. The avatars interfaced and updated Marcus on the escape attempt. Marcus used them in an attempt to link with Alfred. Since he was with Agnes, Alfred’s avatars located the media unit. But they had only a vague direction to scan. The com link with the Swift allowed Marcus to find the location for a tight beam and find Agnes in her casket.
The delay became negligible as the shuttle approached. “Mistress, I will pick you up shortly. I have only a passing control of this shuttle’s systems. It may take me some time to rendezvous with you.”
“No need. You are close enough for me to take control.” Alfred offered. He then guided the shuttle next to Agnes and used his avatar to pull them all into the ship. Once inside, they faced a different problem, how to rescue the Swift.
“Marcus, my memory is shaky. Is there a refueling depot close?” Agnes asked.
“Yes, mistress. I have recorded all current orbital data and adjusted it for losing our home planetoid. The closest depot is in low orbit near the gas giant. We have sufficient fuel to get there,” Marcus shared.
“Alfred, we’re going to get some gas.” And they did.
*****
The Controller opened his eyes. They felt gummy. It had been a very long time since anything surprised him. The signal was strong and coming closer. He knew this signal.
His agents were already in play. There was much at stake. He lost hope when he lost this signal, but now. If Tommy was there, they might have a chance to stop the culling of the human race. He closed his eyes and focused on the control. He could not afford to lose control now. He played his part as he always did.
*****
Danielle Sutton pulled her pack strap tighter and wiped the snow from her visor. There were few places left this remote and a lot better ways to get there. But hiking through a polar ice cap was the only way to get in unnoticed. Yes, she was trained and yes she could do it, but that didn’t mean she liked the cold any better.
She sent Tania in so Sutton needed to get Tania out. So far Tania provided the best intelligence they had, and Tania wasn’t even conscious. Her imbedded tech allowed the Controller to trace back to this location. The shock was that it was so obvious.
So, visor cleared and straps cinched tight, Admiral Danielle Sutton marched on. One step at a time, neither snow nor rain nor dark of night would keep her from her mission. Now where had she heard that, she wondered.
*****
Tania Smith knew nothing. She was in hibernation. To look at her face, she slept so peacefully. Her hair shaved off, but she still had warrior’s beauty. Her skin was smooth and her mouth relaxed. She looked much like she always did, except for her hair, of course. And the tattoo of the reaper and scythe newly inked just beneath her left collarbone. Its one unique difference, under the scythe was an accurate portrait of her as an avenging spirit stepping on the bones of children. Tania slept on knowing none of this.
Chapter 16: Breadcrumbs and Sleeping Beauties
The face in the mirror lied. He tried to claim this face for years. It resisted. Now it snarled back at him. It was only in his quarters, in this mirror, that he could even trust to let the face show itself. David Judson’s face could have been pleasant. Looking at it now, the eyes were glassy, but functional. The mouth was drawn up in a snarl, and the jaw was tightly clinched. It was hard on this body, and he wanted this body to last, at least a little longer than the last one. It took a lot of energy to hate that much.
The door buzzer sounded. This was new. He had a lady caller. Of course that was a pretense, too. She came to his quarters because he summoned her. Cassie was all his, body and soul. She was his angel of death. He didn’t have to control her or subdue her. She volunteered. And he knew she arrived before she did. He knew it all, and it wasn’t enough. Or was it too much? There were new gaps in his interface. They would fill in, in time.
Brutus composed the face he wore. He rubbed the jaw to get the muscles to relax. The legs walked the body to the door. The arm raised the hand to access the handle and Brutus opened the door.
Cassie stood, resplendently nude. Oh, she really didn’t stand there like any other woman might have in just her skin. Cassie had none left. She wore a titanium coated structure that gleamed in the light. The form of her body copied that of the human woman she had been, but this body was nothing like what she had once.
“It is not becoming to show off like this, Cassiopeia,” Brutus stated as he ushered her into the bedchamber. Despite being almost completely mechanical, she still affected a slink, so Cassie slinked into the room. She really wanted to impress Brutus. He gave her a place and a purpose. When she sat down, she lounged back into the plush chair, commanding any mere male’s attention with her femininity, if there had been any mere males in the room.
Brutus was not anyone. David noted all of her behavior and Brutus noted David’s reaction, pity. This was not the reaction that Brutus hoped for. In the past, bringing women to the room this way had activated different parts of the human body. This pity had nothing he could use for his purpose.
“Cassiopeia, our fleet has launched and will arrive at Oberon soon,” Brutus began. “Your function is simple. Make sure that the cargo is delivered to the destinations. They are slaved to a master control. You will have access to it and now can
interface. Do you understand?” Cassie’s face mimicked the grin that Brutus could not coax from David’s face. She nodded but remained silent.
“Good. Review the destinations and check our supply. Once we have inoculated the cargo, they must proceed to their function,” Brutus finished. But he added as she left, “Your upgrades seem to work well. Remember, we affect to be human. Wear clothes.” Mortified, she left.
Exhausted from controlling David’s body, Brutus retired to his chamber, plugged in and rested the body. His mind floated free to attend to the function.
*****
“A five day hop and stop number seventeen,” Agnes pronounced as the Swift entered another system from the outskirts of the Frontier. “It’s a good thing the Swift is such a sturdy ship. Alfred, any signal from your Beta copy?”
“Nothing. I’ll start our search pattern,” Alfred informed her. “And the ship holds together because you are constantly keeping the systems up. Tommy never spent as much time with the engines as you do. I think you have increased efficiency by twenty percent over the factory specifications.” Agnes was sure that she heard his tone of voice edging into irritation. If Alfred were fully human, not a virtual human artificial intelligence, Agnes would be anxious.
Even at that she snapped back, “I’m not Tommy. I have to run a tight, efficient ship for him.” She paused. “Anything yet?”
