“Yes Foreman,” Eric said, his eyes burning with a passion the Foreman had not seen there before. “The commander freed his companion and some of our people. He says he is here to free us from the dominion of the Suits. I… I believe him Foreman. His prowess is beyond question. He killed two Suits with his bare hands and disabled another.”
“He did not kill the third Suit,” the old man asked intently.
“No, he said he didn’t kill if it wasn’t necessary. We left him tied up in the vents.”
“What then is your impression of the commander, Eric?”
The young man hesitated, cocked his head and replayed his time with the Earth man. “I believe he is a compassionate man, but there is violence and a rage within him that frightens me Foreman. It was all I could do to touch him in the tunnels. The violence is vast and palpable, almost a living thing, but he controls it. He is the master of the rage that dwells within him, but it is like a caged animal that continually tests the bars of its prison.” Eric hesitated briefly before continuing. “His mind is keen and perceptive. He deduced many things about our people and asked many questions about our abilities and our numbers. I gave him the numbers he sought, but only of the Awakened. I mentioned nothing of our task or of our secret places.”
“I see,” the old man replied and then leaned close to Eric. “His eyes are blue, my son. Do you remember the histories and the Promise?”
Eric stared at the old man, unable to speak. Finally, almost tentatively, he extended his hand toward the Foreman. When it touched the Foreman’s cheek Eric’s body went rigid and his eyes became unfocused. Finally he removed his hand and his body relaxed.
“I believe the arrival of the commander heralds the fruition of the Promise and that the Sword is among us, my son.”
“But if the commander’s arrival is truly the fulfillment of the Promise, then that would mean…” the young man’s voice trailed off and the look on his face was one of profound and utter loss.
“Yes, Eric. I know it is a hard thing to hear, but we are all the children of necessity,” the old man said gently. “Go among your people now, my son, for I believe the commander will soon have need of you and the communion of our people will cleanse you of the commander’s rage.”
Stoically Eric arose from the floor of the central hall of the Workers and went among the People, his bearing that of one doomed to loss yet resigned to his fate.
—————
Consciousness returned swiftly to Farr, his eyes snapping open and flitting about his surroundings quickly, alert for any threat. He sat up slowly allowing his body to work out the kinks as he rose. Lot longer than five hours, he muttered to himself. Ming must’ve slipped him something. He was probably right to do it too, he chastised himself. He’d been awake for over two days and knew he needed to get more than five hours, but he was chaffing to get into the “garden” of Five and end this nightmarish existence for the people of this place.
“Look whose conscious,” Ming said joining him. “Of course you know I slipped you a mickey?”
“I don’t know what a mickey is, but yes I know you drugged me,” Farr said gruffly chewing on his bar and downing the supplements with water. “What’s the status?”
“The EMP’s ready to go when we are and…”
“We?” Farr said, his eyebrows rising.
“Yes, my captain. You can’t do this alone and Tegev’s banged up and Takashi and Skorsson, no matter how brave their little hearts may be, have no experience with something like this. And there may be additional warbots in the garden area, s-o-o-o, I’m your man.”
“Okay,” he replied sourly, “you make good points about the others, but what experience exactly have you got fighting warbots?”
“Same as you,” Ming replied loftily.
“Touché.” Farr grunted.
“Thank you,” Ming acknowledged the point bowing slightly. Then he switched subjects. “I checked around pretty thoroughly regarding the observations you made about Eric and his people. I questioned a twelve year old and she quoted me the exact numbers Eric gave you. Then I asked her to take me around and I asked her how far away things were as we passed them. I had my opticals set to ranging. She was within five to ten centimeters on everything. I’ve never seen anything like it, in fact, I believe her more than I do the opticals.”
“It’s unnerving isn’t it?”
“Yes, but I’m just getting started. I remembered the “Primary Math” line that Eric gave you, so just for laughs, I gave her a calculus problem writing it on a slate tablet she carried by her side. By the way, they all have these slate tablets and some chalklike substance that they use to write. Anyhow, she solved it in less than two minutes, on a child’s chalkboard. I gave her another one and, guess what, same results.”
“I guess that’s what he meant.”
“No, it’s not, although I think I’d have preferred it if it had been. Just for fun I gave her the first sixteen calculations of a quantum theory Quincy gave me to work on in my spare time. At first, she just stared at it, for maybe a full minute. Then her eyes lit up and she said “Ah!” and proceeded to carry the equation out another thirty two calculations before she stalled, looked around, flagged down a fifteen year old and showed him the equation. He went “Ah!” and together they strung together another thirty two calculations and then they both went “Ah!” and announced to me that they had solved the equation. They then thanked me for such an interesting challenge and left.” Farr blinked three times before speaking.
“You’re saying a twelve year old and a fifteen year old, living in a cave, solved an eighty equation quantum math theorem on a child’s slate board correctly?”
“I’ve got no idea whether they were right or wrong,” Ming said casually. “By the way, have you solved the equations Quincy gave you?”
Farr coughed and looked sheepish. “I’ve been meaning to, I just haven’t found the time yet. I’m a commanding officer for Lansing’s sake!”
“Right, that’s what I thought. I still have no idea what Quincy and Dr. Thangruph are talking about half of the time. But Quincy’s very sincere and wants desperately to be part of the crew, so I encourage him to interact with us. And he does that by giving us quantum theorems to solve so that we’ll better understand his quantum computers. But Callum, they seemed to think that they’d solved it, and that was enough for me. The utter confidence in their faces was the most humbling experience of my life. I’ve never had that much confidence answering a question about what I had for breakfast as those two had about a quantum equation. And it was absolutely creepy how fast they did it too.”
“Here we sit, in a dark, gloomy cavern surrounded by more geniuses than we’ve ever met in our entire lives up until now. And over the last three years, you and I’ve met a lot of geniuses.” Farr nodded his quiet appreciation at that. It seemed that every intellectual genius on Earth had paid them a visit at one time or another while they were preparing for the expedition.
“And yet they cling to a creationist mythos to explain what happened to them,” Farr mused.
“Yes,” Ming said, exasperated, “and I questioned them about that as well. At first I thought it was just an extension of the Judeo-Christian or Islamic belief system, but it’s not. Then I likened it to Buddhism wherein the individual becomes enlightened and achieves Nirvana. But that’s far too complicated to describe their beliefs. They’re much simpler than that. The only commandment this Creator of theirs seems to have is ‘evolve’. Oh, and they use the words Creator and Creators interchangeably, as if it’s at once a single being and multiple beings all at the same time. I’ve never encountered a belief system like this one, but I suppose that’s what you get when you bury a group of people for a century in a dark hole. I know I’d probably go crazy here myself. It feels like the walls are closing in on me and the constant darkness has me disoriented.”
“I think we can both agree on that. Didn’t the old Hebrew god send his prophets into the desert to
purify them?” Farr said, following a train of thought that had just occurred to him.
“Yes, now that you mention it. Moses, et al, was sent to wander the desert for years until they were ready to receive the word of god. I guess to talk to god you’ve got to be a little crazy and the dehydration and scorching sun aid the process.”
“Perhaps that’s what the Workers think happened to them. In their mythos they’ve been banished to the desert to wander until they were ready to receive the word of god. I think that’s the simplest explanation for this, an Occam’s razor solution if you will.”
Ming nodded. “Good point. In every mythos the ones doomed to wander are the chosen of that god and he prepares them for the tasks he has set for them by sending them into the wilderness, blah, blah, blah. So, the Workers have sat quietly in the dark, honing their minds to receive the word of god for a century. At least they made good use of their down time.”
“Amen to that,” Farr concurred.
Finally he stretched his massive frame and arose from the cavern floor. “It was an interesting theological discussion, but now it’s time to put this world in order. Did you and Takashi come up with a plan as well as the device?”
“The plan’s all mine,” Ming said proudly. “The time of the daily offering is coming up in about two hours. I propose you and I take the first wagons of the offering with the EMP secured just under the lip of the first wagon. That’s probably the only way we can get close enough to use it. You specifically requested a very limited range and Takashi worked out the calculations.”
“It would be suicide to toss one down the passageway,” Farr acknowledged. “The 1123’s have a very fast reaction time and any sudden movement will draw their attention and a rapid burst from those lower guns, so the wagons would seem to be the only way to deliver the device. Good idea. But if we put the device on the first wagon, we’d get caught in any defensive reaction by the warbots. The Workers always take the wagons past the two warbots to the other machines waiting. Why don’t we put the device on the trailing end of the last wagon and activate it when it passes the warbots?”
Ming looked thoughtful and the two proceeded to bounce different scenarios off of each other for several more minutes. But at last it was decided that the rear wagon would be the delivery vehicle and if anything went wrong they’d at least have the cover of the wagons while they tried to evade the 1123’s. At least those were the words they spoke aloud to allay their fears. In reality, they both knew there’d be no evasion in that confined space if anything went wrong.
“The warbots are almost ready to fall apart anyhow so if the EMP fails maybe we can use the wagons for cover and get a lucky Taser shot into some of the exposed wires,” Farr commented.
“Uh, we’re not going to have any Tasers,” Ming said. “Takashi needs them all for the device.”
“Oh,” Farr said.
“I guess we’re stuck with the weapons of the Suits.”
“They’re too large. The 1123’s will categorize them as weapons just from the way we’d have to hold them and those are twitchy bots. They’ve been known to fire at butterflies.”
“You just made that up,” Ming said, his eyes accusing.
“Maybe a little,” Farr conceded with a smile and then became serious. “So, it looks like we’re going in weaponless. If we get by the ones at the door there may be another one or two more inside. Or there may be none. I doubt the Workers can help us when it comes to that. They haven’t been inside those doors in a hundred years.”
“I don’t care if we’ve got to go in hand to hand, I just want to see the sun again. I feel like I’ve been down here a hundred years ,” Ming said miserably. “This is one of the most depressing places I’ve ever been, and I’ve been to a few in my time.”
“When we get back to the ship I’ll see about setting you up with one of Ilsa’s therapy sessions.”
“Not a chance,” Ming said with conviction. “I stumbled into an ad hoc session with her when we were drinking once. I wouldn’t even consider it sober.” Farr grinned.
“Now, all we’ve got to do is convince these good people to lend us their wagons and we’ll be ready to go.”
That proved to be considerably more difficult than piecing together an EMP device and as the negotiations continued a crowd of altered Workers gathered around the two men. The reaction was the closest thing to anger he’d observed among these people and Farr understood their hesitance, but he needed the wagons as a decoy, otherwise his gambit was finished before it started and they’d be doomed to wait and the Suits might not comply with that course of action.
“You’ll anger the machines and we’ll have no food for the people,” one man said.
“It’s against the traditions,” said another.
“But, if we’re successful we can ensure you a continuous food supply,” Ming told them.
“And if you’re not?”
“It’ll just be a delay that we can work around. You’ll still get your food.”
“We don’t have enough to eat now and we have a duty to the unaltered ones,” the first man retorted. Farr noticed that the Foreman had quietly come among them, but he was silent, letting the argument ebb and flow around him and through the crowd. Farr thought of it as an argument but in truth no voice was raised and the entire thing was as calmly discussed as the weather on Earth. Ming was trying to convince them of the soundness of the action, but a hundred years on the same path doesn’t allow for sudden deviations no matter how well intentioned they may be.
Farr looked at the frail Foreman and their eyes met. There was something about the man’s eyes that was expectant, as if he was waiting for something to occur before he spoke. Then Farr turned his eyes back to the crowd and he knew that they were losing them. They wouldn’t agree to any proposal that jeopardized their food source. Farr had to take action quickly or risk making the situation here worse. When in Rome, he thought, reluctant to do what he knew he must.
“There is a time for all things under the sun,” he called out, his voice overriding all others and projecting across the quiet cavern. He continued on deliberately skewing religious texts to suit his purpose. “Yes, there is a time for all things under the sun. There is a time to live and a time to die, a time for peace and a time for war. There is a time to heal and a time to kill. To all things there is a season given under the sun.” He gazed around at the strange faces of these people and knew what his only argument was. “Since we’ve come among you we’ve learned of your long years of suffering in this wilderness. The time has come for it to end. We’ve learned of the slavery and the oppression inflicted on you by the Suits. It is time for it to end. Your world is dying. It is time for it to die and be reborn under the hands of the Workers. You’ve had a troubled peace with the Suits which they’ve broken again and again. It is time for this to end.” Farr’s voice reverberated across the cavern reflecting off of its’ walls as he spoke next. Their faces were riveted upon him, their eyes intense and questioning.
“For a century you’ve stayed your hand against the Suits for the sake of your world. It is time for this too to end. For a century you’ve been denied the Sun which nurtured our species and allowed us to evolve! It is time for this to end, because a society such as yours cannot evolve beyond where you are now. It is time for the Workers to evolve and it is time for you to take your place in the sun with the rest of the children of humanity!”
Farr didn’t know what he expected as he finished but it certainly wasn’t the overwhelming silence that followed. The heads of those in the crowd were cocked slightly as if in thought and slowly the Foreman moved among them, not speaking, just looking into their eyes and as he did so each would nod in assent to some unspoken question. Presently the Foreman turned and faced Ming and Farr where they stood. His eyes were fervent and impassioned.
“You are right commander, we agree, it is time. You may have whatever you need to execute your plan. My people will aid you willingly.”
; “Thank you Foreman,” Farr said feeling slightly foolish for the reception his words had received. The Foreman and the people simply evaporated after that, leaving him and Ming to themselves.
“Awkward,” Ming said with a chuckle. “I actually thought your little speech was pretty good. I would’ve clapped but the crickets chirping after you finished pretty much took me out of the equation.”
“Me too,” Farr admitted. “I wanted to slink away for probably the first time in my life, unobserved, but they were still looking at me, so all I could do was stand tall and dare anyone to say anything. But for all we know, that’s their version of thunderous applause.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t exactly Braveheart, but it was okay. By the way, I could’ve convinced them too if I knew we were allowed to use the god card,” Ming said smugly. “You butchered that verse by the way.”
“What’s Brave… wait a minute, that was intentional,” Farr replied slightly offended.
“Sure it was,” Ming said moving off.
“No, it really was intentional,” Farr said following him.
“Of course,” Ming said, dryly, still moving.
“You don’t believe me?” Farr asked still following, his voice wounded.
“I’m sure it was intentional,” Ming said flatly.
“It was I can assure you. I know the verse. I studied it in history.”
“Right.” And the argument continued as they moved off to prepare for their meeting with the warbots.
Later Ming found himself with Skorsson and the Foreman. Ming was curious to see the Foreman’s reaction to his long lost relation. It was surprisingly sedate on both their parts although he could feel a bond forming between the men, obviously a bond that needed no words to express its nature. Maybe Callum was right. Maybe they did give him a standing ovation. He stood up to leave just as a young girl joined them.
“Mr. Ming,” the Foreman began.
“It’s just Ming, Foreman. I’m not much on formalities.”
“As you wish, Ming,” he acceded, “I have a question to ask of you. You referred to commander Farr as that “blue eyed devil” once before and young Sara here has told me his eyes are different from yours and the others. I must confess, though, I don’t see any difference. Can you explain this to me?”
Children of the Dark World Page 18
