The Formation Code

by T. R. Harris

  “You have a means of stopping them from teleporting?” Stimmel asked Adam.

  “I do. Unless they can blast open the door, we should be safe in here.”

  “The door should hold, although it was designed more as a way to hide my collection rather than keep it secure.”

  The Director led the team down a long stairway and to a much larger room in the sub-basement. Adam stopped for a moment and gazed at the incredible collection of Aris artifacts lining shelves and placed in lighted display boxes on pedestals. Stimmel noticed his expression.

  “I’ve been collecting for a long time, almost from when the Aris kidnapped your daughter, Lila. That was big news and alerted me to the existence of the Aris. I tracked them to the outer Kidis, where I began searching for any trace of their lost civilization. I admit, I sponsored some of the first non-Cadonic expeditions to the Zaniff Asteroid Field.”

  “This is all interesting,” Sherri said. “But what do we do about Kanan and his army of service modules outside? He’s not going to pack up and leave now that we’re down here.”

  “We need to destroy the Code,” Riyad said. “Get rid of his reason for being here. So, where is it?”

  “You will not destroy the Code,” Panur said with authority.

  “Why the hell not?” Riyad snapped back.

  “As the Director said, it is a valuable artifact. It must be studied, its secrets learned.”

  It was Adam’s turn to protest. “You never said anything about that. If it comes down to either destroying the Code or letting Kanan have it, we’re going to destroy it.”

  “That would be the last resort.”

  “Excuse me,” Stimmel said. “But that’s a decision for later.”

  “He’s right,” Sherri said. “So, where is it?” She looked around the room, not having a clue what the Code would look like.

  “That is a new wrinkle,” Stimmel grimaced.

  Adam snapped his head around to the Director. “What the hell does that mean, wrinkle?”

  “It means that the Code is not here … here.”

  Panur leaned over the shorter Human. “Explain yourself. Where is it?”

  “It’s on the premises, but not in the vault.”

  “It’s out in the open where Kanan can find it?” Riyad yelled.

  “Not exactly. I have a workshop down by the lake where I study my finds. I enjoy working with a view—”

  “It’s there?” all three of the Humans asked in unison.

  “It is. Once I learned what it was, I took the unit to the workshop to figure out how it works. That’s where is it now.”

  The low-pitched rumble of bombs going off throughout the building rattled the vault as Kanan and his service modules blasted Stimmel’s home apart. They were also outside the vault, saturating the metal security door with high-intensity electric bolts. Even if they couldn’t get through the door, they were determined to crush the building to dust and gain access that way.

  Adam looked at Panur. “Do you think Kanan can detect the unit?”

  He shook his head. “I have no idea.” He turned to Stimmel. “Does the Code send out any electronic signals?”

  “Not that I detected. But honestly, I only began working on it yesterday, when I arrived back on Oberqwin.”

  “Kanan will concentrate his efforts getting in here,” Panur said. “It’s the most logical location for the Code.”

  “There is a way out of here,” Stimmel offered to everyone’s surprise.

  “Out of here?” Sherri asked. “You mean out of the vault or away from the estate?”

  “The vault,” Stimmel clarified. “As I said, this is more of a hiding place for my treasures than a fortified bunker. Eventually, Kanan will be able to break through. But there’s another exit at the far end of this room.”

  “Where does it lead?”

  “To the garden at the back of the building. From there, it’s still five hundred meters to the workshop. But most of the way is shielded by the forest, all except the first hundred meters, which is open ground. My workshop can’t be seen from the main building.”

  “That’s only a temporary fix,” Panur said. “Once Kanan gains entry to the vault and finds the Code isn’t here, he’ll expand his search. I will go out and make it to the workshop.”

  “You can’t do that,” Adam said.

  Panur stared at him. He had already calculated the odds of success and all the possible outcomes. His body was susceptible to energy bolts. Not only that, but it was a given that Adam’s Lerpiniere field didn’t extend five hundred meters. Panur would be exposed and vulnerable to teleporting service modules, including Kanan.

  “I have to go, and you know it,” Adam stated. “I can go under the protection of the L-Field.”

  “What about the rest of us?” Riyad asked.

  Adam grimaced. “You’re right, at some point the vault will become unprotected and the modules will be able to teleport inside.” He turned to Stimmel. “You said you have more of your cathode weapons. Where?”

  “There are three more in the vault,” Stimmel announced. “That will help.”

  Adam nodded then turned his attention back to Panur. “I have to tell you if I make it to the workshop before Kanan does, I’m going to destroy the damn Code. I don’t care how important or rare it is.” His gaze locked on the mutant.

  Panur nodded.

  “I concur. It is not what I would prefer, but our options are limited.”

  Adam turned to a confused Wolfgang Stimmel. Once again, he didn’t understand the dynamic between the famous Adam Cain and the insignificant capo for the Gradis Cartel.

  “Where’s this other way out?”

  “Are you sure this is the right thing to do?” the Director asked, his voice trembling. “I’m not sure how many of the modules my weapons can hold off.”

  “You won’t be uncovered all the time, not until I get far enough away.”

  “And if you don’t get spotted and killed along the way,” Sherri stated.

  “I need to go with you,” Riyad said. “As your wingman.”

  Adam shook his head. “No, stay here. When the fighting starts, they’ll need your gun hand. Besides, the fewer people sprinting across the grass, the better chance of not being spotted. I’ll be fine. Think of the big picture.”

  Sherri wrapped Adam in a quick, yet passionate hug. She knew there was a chance Adam could succeed in destroying the Code. But after that, there would be nothing stopping a vengeful Kanan from killing them all. In fact, that was the likely outcome no matter what they did. Even if the service module got the Code, he might still decide to slaughter them all.

  Sherri released him, and Adam ran off with Stimmel deeper into the recesses of his vault.

  The vault was much larger than the one on Gracilia, and better organized. Adam would have loved to live long enough to study the artifacts at a more leisurely pace, as he was sure so would Panur and Lila. Unfortunately, he couldn’t see any outcome where that would be possible. He was going out to destroy the Code, not escape with it. In fact, escape wasn’t part of the equation. How could it be? This was a one-way trip, not only for him but for everyone else—except for the damn immortal mutant. As always, he would live through everything.

  Stimmel came to a door with another of the ubiquitous control panels. He quickly plugged in the code, and this time, a conventional door cracked open.

  “Follow this tunnel for about twenty meters before you come to a set of stairs. The exit is disguised as a tool shed in my garden. Directly away from the house and toward the lake, you’ll see a grove of native pines. The workshop is through the forest and directly on the lake. You can’t miss it. But first, you have to cover about a hundred meters of open ground. There are a few hills, but nowhere you can hide. Once in the forest, you should be safe. In the workshop, look for a metal box about eight inches long by three inches thick. It’s not large for a device with such devastating consequences. Viel Gluck.”

  Adam grabb
ed the Director’s collar and pulled him close. “Listen, Stimmel, this doesn’t make us buddies, not even for the few moments we have left to live. I just want to make that clear.”

  “Ich verstehe. But contrary to popular belief, I don’t want to destroy the galaxy with my dark matter bombs or any of the other things I have at my disposal. By helping you destroy the Code, I may actually be saving it. That is all I want.”

  Adam snarled at the Director, then turned abruptly and ran down the dimly lit hallway.

  Chapter 12

  Adam carefully opened the door to the shed and looked out through the crack. What he saw was frightening.

  The sky was filled with black smoke, cast out from the various fires engulfing the estate. The shed sat about forty feet from the structure, in the middle of a large garden of flowers and hedges. So far, it had been spared, but that wouldn’t last. Kanan’s service modules, even as they attempted to gain entry into the vault, were ravaging the building, in the process of razing it. Eventually, a stray spark would land on the shed, and it, too, would go up.

  The good news was the black smoke was hanging low in the cold, high altitude air. Wisps of it drifted down to ground level across the open field, with a picturesque stand of tall pines on the other side. The spacing of the trees and the geometric contours of how they fit together made Adam think the forest was as much a garden as the hedgerows and flower trays surrounding the shed. The lingering smoke would help.

  He stepped outside of the shed, pressing his back against the side, glancing around at the remains of the estate. A tall outer shell still survived, which was the reason he couldn’t see any service modules flitting about. They were mostly inside, ripping down the structure using their robot bodies, looking to gain access to the vault by burrowing through floors and walls to reach the concrete block frame of the buried chamber.

  Adam didn’t hesitate. He took a deep breath and then shot out from behind the shed, running as fast as he could in the Earth-normal gravity. It seemed strange. It had been so long since he didn’t possess unnatural swiftness when he ran, reveling in the speed and fluidity of his movements. Although he was still in excellent shape, it was as if he were moving in slow motion. Even so, sprinting across a hundred meters of open grass should only take fifteen seconds or so, a lot less during his prime. But fifteen seconds seemed like an eternity, and although the service orbs couldn’t teleport, they could move damn fast in hover mode.

  He thought about using a cloud of condensed air to ride upon, but that would have taken even longer to conjure up, and the sparkling static electricity would have been like a beacon. Adam held his breath for the last few seconds of the run, expecting at any moment to get an electric blast to his back.

  It didn’t happen. He entered the cover of the forest and didn’t pause. Instead, he dodged around trunks and under branches, steering slightly to the right, closer to the lake. The workshop was on the water. By hugging the shore, he would find it.

  Stimmel passed the three other cathode weapons to the team, having just enough to arm them and himself. It happened none too soon. After only the briefest explanation as to how they worked, Gracilian service modules began to materialize in the room as Adam and his Lerpiniere field moved out of range. Lightning bolts filled the air, seeking out the hiding places of the occupants. They huddled behind the display podiums, soon to be showered in shape glass as the containers shattered.

  But then they were on the offensive, sweeping the seemingly magic wands around the room. The weapons did not affect the Humans or mutant, only the service modules. Panur was exceedingly quick, able to target and dispatch orbs with blazing efficiency.

  Sherri was doing her part, as well, albeit at about tenth the speed. One of her hands held the orb weapon, the other her MK. Not surprisingly, the former MK regional director had an ungodly amount of conventional flash weapons in the vault, along with enough battery packs to supply a small army. As soon as they knocked the orbs out of the air, the team was able to pour prodigious amounts of energy into the units, overloading their circuits and causing them to explode.

  Sherri didn’t bother to count the number of service modules they destroyed, but it had to be three dozen or more. Most of the orbs arrived at the estate encased in their robot bodies. Once the field was gone, they were able to teleport out. Sherri still couldn’t help but wonder how many damn modules Kanan brought with him. And speaking of Kanan, where was he? They knew he was on site, but so far, no one had seen him. She tried to access her ATD to search for his signal, but was too preoccupied to concentrate fully. She let the thought go and returned to picking Gracilian service modules out of the air.

  The workshop was a small, single-story log cabin with a full deck extending a few feet above the tranquil shore of the alpine lake. The air was still, and the water a perfect mirror for the ridge of mountain peaks on the other side. Adam was surprised he noticed. He had other things on his mind.

  He crashed through the door and began scanning the interior for anything that resembled the object Stimmel had described. The room was basic, with a long and wide table set against a wall below a picture window that ran the length of the room facing the lake. A single chair was at the table. Various pieces of equipment at atop the table, along with a variety of artifacts, some shiny and new, others covered in ancient patina and even crusted rock. Adam was expecting to spot the Code device immediately. It wasn’t that easy.

  Then he saw it, or what he assumed was the device. A cloth partially covered it, but the shiny metal box caught the light coming in from the open door. He pulled his MK; the level setting was already at one, the most intense. He wasn’t about to waste a moment. Blast the damn thing until it was a burned-out shell of melted circuits.

  Adam pulled the trigger

  The flash bolt was brilliant, more brilliant than it should have been, and for a moment, Adam was blinded. The Code device was only six feet away, so the blast and the strike happened simultaneously. But when his vision cleared, Adam staggered back before triggering the weapon again and again.

  A four-and-a-half-inch-in-diameter metal ball hovered between the barrel of his weapon and the Code device, taking bolt after bolt and drawing in the energy. Unlike the Gracilian orbs, this one was tinged green, its surface appearing much older than the others. And it was older, something like three billion years older.

  And Kanan wasn’t alone. More orbs streaked into the building, some blasting through the half-log walls like armor-piercing rounds, leaving splintered holes. A second later, Adam was surrounded, with the service module known as Kanan hovering only three feet away.

  Adam’s MK was drained after five quick shots at Level-1. He had nothing left to send against the module. He let the weapon drop to the wooden floor with a dull thud. Any moment now, and it would all be over…

  Adam Cain, a valiant effort, Kanan said through Adam’s ATD. But not as close as you assume. I arrived here one-point-three seconds before you fired, after pinpointing the center of the Lerpiniere field as it moved. It was not hard to find you or deduce why you were moving. You are not the type to desert your fellow biologics without cause.

  “You have the Code device,” Adam said aloud. “There’s no reason for you to kill the others—if they’re not dead already. Just take the damn device and go.”

  I will take the device, and your companions shall live, but not because I choose to let them. They have a weapon I was not aware of, and I am losing too many of my modules. I came with only a finite number. But the death of your friends is not a priority. Acquiring the device is. I will take it and leave.

  A movement at the cabin’s door caught Adam’s attention. A tall, very Human-like robot padded in, its movements stiff and mechanical. It stopped a few feet from Kanan. Adam laughed when the skull separated along a centerline, revealing a tight spherical compartment, ideally suited for an Aris service module.

  I learned from previous encounters, to never again get locked within a carrier.

 
The orb moved through the air and entered the skull. A moment later it closed. The demeanor of the automaton changed, the eyes blinking and the skin of the face cringing and flexing as Kanan took over. The robot then smiled.

  “Is this better?” Kanan said aloud. He turned and took the Code device in his hands, spending no time to gawk at the significance of what he held.

  “Okay, get it over with,” Adam demanded, taking a step forward. The android stood his ground.

  “You mean kill you?” the robot said with even a more amused look on his face. “I am not going to kill you. Not yet. I require a biologic, many in fact. But for now, you will be my first prime test subject. With the Code device, I will be able to find what I seek. And when I do, I will test it on you. Be honored, Adam Cain. If all goes well, you will soon become an Aris, a living, breathing Aris. That is something even I could never achieve.”

  Adam’s eyes expanded with anger. He could force the module’s hand by attacking. End it now and never allow himself to be—

  The electric discharge was strong enough to send the Human to the floor, quivering with frenetic energy.

  Kanan leaned over and scanned the vitals of the biologic. He was alive, just unconscious. The Lerpiniere field the Human’s brain interface device was creating vanished, allowing Kanan’s remaining modules to teleport back into their robot bodies. His carrier was the only one that had direct access.

  He would have the robots move the Human’s body to the dark-energy ship. The mechanical emotions Kanan was feeling at the moment were real—to him. He savored the moment, thinking about how soon he would observe the transition of one biologic entity into another. But that other that would be only the first of trillions. Kanan was about to single-handedly resurrect an extinct species, and not on a single world, but thousands.