“I’ll ask, but I am sure that if I tell them that the Emperor wishes to speak to them, there won’t be a problem. Wait here.” Doc quickly walked across the main tunnel and entered sickbay.
A few minutes later, my com beeped. “So, what’s the verdict?”
“Carlos and his family would be honored to meet with you. I didn’t tell them why. Come on over now, they are expecting you.”
Maggie and I walked to sickbay where the doctor escorted us to Carlos’ room.
Carlos had a ton of tubes sticking out from all over the place. The rest of the family immediately bowed as I entered. “Stand please. I am here to ask Carlos a question.”
Carlos was smiling as I approached his bed. “Carlos, I am sorry about your condition. But it is because of it that I am here. The geeks down in the computer ring, have found a way to download a human brain into a computer matrix. It needs to be tested. The problem is that it could be dangerous and could cause anything from a slight brain dysfunction to death. The experts down in the ring tell me that the danger is minimal but it is still there. We are asking you to volunteer. If it works, you will have your consciousness downloaded to a matrix that will provide you with a virtual reality that will in all sense and purposes, feel real to you. That’s the crux of the matter – if it works. So, what do you say? You don’t have to answer now. Do you have any questions?”
Carlos mumbled something which I couldn’t understand. A woman who looked like she could be his wife said, “I am Maria, Carlos’ wife. I can understand his words. He would like to spend a few private moments with us before he answers.”
“No problem, we will wait outside. When you are ready, come and get us.” Maggie, Dr. Clay and I walked out into the hall.
A few minutes later, Maria came out and asked us to come back in.
“Carlos would like to know if he could still talk to his family.”
“From what I understand, he will be able to generate a hologram of himself that can interact with you or anyone else,” I said.
“If that’s the case, then Carlos is willing to volunteer.”
I looked over at Carlos and he mumbled something.
“He would like to get started as soon as possible,” his wife said.
“Okay, we will set it up for tomorrow morning,” I said with a smile on my face. I hope this works.
….
The next morning, Maggie, Dr. Clay and myself went down to the computer ring. Carlos and his family were already there. We arrived and I saw Carlos sitting up with his head covered with some kind of helmet device, which had lots of wires connecting it to an isolated computer that contained the matrix. As a precaution, the computer was set up as a standalone and has no connection to the rest of the grid.
Doc walked over to Carlos and checked his vitals. “Everything seems normal for a man in his condition. Do I need to sedate him?”
Phil explained, “He needs to be conscious for the scan. We are downloading a fully active map of his brain. We don’t want him sleeping or unconscious. The whole process only takes a few seconds and should be painless. Are you ready?”
Carlos mumbled something which was even more unintelligible because of the helmet which covered most of his face.
“He is ready, your majesty,” his wife interpreted.
“Okay, here we go.” Phil punched a few buttons and nothing seemed to happen. “It’s done. Can you hear me Carlos?”
Carlos mumbled. “He didn’t feel anything. Now what?”
Phil spoke to the computer, “Carlos, you need to access the speech center of the matrix and try to communicate.” Minutes went by and nothing happened.
“Is he in there?” I asked Phil, as I pointed to the computer.
“Hello….” came out of the computer speakers.
A smile and tears came from Maria. “Is that you Carlito?”
“Yes, give me a few minutes to get to know this place a little better.”
A mumble came from Carlos, the human.
“He says he can see and feel what is happening inside the matrix,” Maria said.
Suddenly, a red light flashed and an alarm went off.
Phil moved to a keyboard and typed frantically. “The matrix is collapsing. I can’t hold it together!”
Carlos mumbled again. “He says he can no longer feel himself in the matrix,” Maria said with a worried look on her face.
“My team will analyze the matrix nanosecond by nanosecond. We should be able to figure this out quickly. Once we know what caused the matrix to collapse, we will be able to create a patch that will make it stable. We should have it done by tomorrow morning. We can try again then. Doc, is Carlos okay?”
Dr. Clay was by Carlos’ side. “Everything seems to be okay. We will need to take Carlos back to sickbay until tomorrow. Carlos, how do you feel?”
“He says he feels okay. His mind is functioning normally as far as he can tell.”
“I’m going to run a few cognitive tests in sickbay to determine if there is any brain damage,” Doc informed us.
“Doc, get Carlos and his family back to sickbay. Phil, get working on that patch. Nothing happens perfectly the first time. We did find out that the brain can be downloaded and become functional. That’s a great start. Hopefully tomorrow we will be able to be more successful.” With that, Maggie and I left the computer ring as Doc and a few of his medical team prepared to return Carlos to sickbay.
July 15th, 2112
Early the next morning, Carlos and his family, along with Dr. Clay, made their way down to the computer ring, where, Carlos was again downloaded to the matrix prepared for him. As of now, the matrix seemed to be remaining stable. I am going to head down there after our meeting to see how he is doing.
The meeting is to make some final plans for Mary’s rescue. “Paul, what do you have for us?”
“We have reconnoitered the entire facility. It is not that heavily guarded but the facility itself is highly secure with all kinds of security protocols in place. We managed to get all the codes and know exactly where Mary is at all times. After my team and I, with ESSI’s help, went through all the particulars, we came up with a plan. I would like to use a small contingent: myself, the pilot and three others. Myself and my three men will be wearing the latest armor. The squints have put together a suit which can stop just about any projectile short of a mortar round. It also has the capability to cloak, giving us a tremendous advantage. The helmet is completely enclosed with a display that can be adjusted to see all frequencies of the EMS. For example, we could switch the display to infra-red, and basically see the opposing forces, even if they are hiding and/or in the dark.”
“So, how do you get in and out?” I asked.
“We have located a spot to land our shuttle, closest to Mary’s location. As we land, we will incapacitate all the guards and personnel within range, with the weapons on the shuttles hull. The four of us will then disembark and head for Mary. When we find her, we have a drug that the doc gave us to knock her out; don’t worry, it won’t hurt her a bit. She will be easier to manage. Marcus, our ‘heavy weight’ will carry her back to the shuttle and away we go. Needless to say, no plan survives its execution. We brought along plenty of fire power. We could incapacitate the whole facility if we needed to.”
“When?”
“We built a mockup of the areas we will be entering and are beginning to run scenarios. Two days and we will be ready. By the way, our pilot is none other than Nik Williams. The kid is an ace.”
“What do you think about that Mike? This is probably the most dangerous mission we have undertaken.”
“My son is a grown man, even though he is only nineteen. I want him to be better than me and he is well on his way. When I was nineteen, I was in college chasing tail and getting drunk. He is way ahead of me at this point. Missions like this will build his character, confidence and skills. I am proud to have him on Paul’s team. His mother feels the same way.”
“Is there anything else abo
ut the rescue we need to consider?” No one spoke up. “Okay, Paul, get to it.”
“Charlie, do we have a psychiatrist on board yet?”
“Dr. Friedrich Skinner, no relation, is coming today. He has been vetted and Mike did an extensive background check on the guy. He’s good to go. He is an expert in Stockholm Syndrome besides all his other accolades. I will update him on the situation as soon as he is settled. Would you like to meet with him?”
“Set that up for later today, after he has had a chance to get settled in.”
“Couple of other things. John, how is the space station coming?”
“We have four of the five 3D printers working overtime making different parts for the station. ESSC has launched several cargo ships full of parts to L1. There is a scheduled launch every hour, 24 hours a day. L1 is about 1.5 million kilometers from earth and it takes about forty-five minutes to get there. L1 is not a stable Lagrange point, but using our gravity technology makes it a simple matter to keep the station locked in place. At this point we are ahead of schedule. In less than a week we will have a livable area on the station for our construction crews. They need a lot of practice in the space environment. I’ll keep the committee updated.”
“That’s good news. Thanks, John. I also have a report from Phil, who is not with us today because he is monitoring our latest achievement in the computer ring. The download of Carlos’ brain has been successful so far. Phil was able to adjust the matrix so it is stable. I am heading down there as soon as this meeting is over. If any of you would like to tag along, feel free.”
Maggie responded, “I’m coming.” Charlie spoke, “Me too.”
“Anything else?” No takers. “Meeting adjourned.”
After the rest filed out, Maggie, Charlie and myself headed down to the computer ring.
When we got there, a surprise awaited us. Carlos was sitting at a table talking with his family. After looking real close, I noticed that Carlos was a hologram. The average person would not have been able to tell. I know what to look for. “Carlos, I see that you have mastered some of your new environment.”
Carlos looked over at us and smiled. “This is amazing. I can feel myself in two places. This part of me is able to communicate with and see my family. I wish to thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
“I know this whole situation is strange, but is there anything that stands out about it?” I asked.
“There is one thing. The part of me that is still in my body, has something that I, in this matrix, do not have. I can’t put my finger on it. I’m trying to figure it all out. Dr. Clay says that my physical body has just a few days to live. I’m apprehensive about that. I don’t know what will happen when my body dies. I’m frightened.”
“It’s understandable that you would be frightened. All this is cutting edge technology. You are its pioneer. It is important that you keep complete records and make sure that you inform Phil of anything that you are feeling or doing, no matter how insignificant you might think it is.”
“I can process and think much faster in this matrix than I could in my physical body. Dr. Long is recording everything that is happening in the matrix. If I discover something, I will let him know so that he can analyze the recording surrounding the discovery.”
“That’s great Carlos, keep up the good work.” I turned toward Carlos’ wife. “Mrs. Fernandez, how are you holding up?”
“I am feeling a lot of different emotions: happiness, awe, fear. What has happened in the last few days is nothing short of a miracle.”
“Your husband is a pioneer and his name will go down in history. We will do everything in our power to make this technology work.”
Just then Carlos’ hologram stood up getting our attention. “Your highness, Mr. Long, I have just figured something out about what I am missing. It sounds strange, but I cannot explain it any other way. The missing part is my soul.”
Both of our mouths dropped open and everyone else in the room turned their attention to Carlos. “Are you sure?” I asked.
“I have no other explanation. Now I am even more frightened than before. What happens if my body dies and I lose my soul?”
“This is a major development. I am going to get my team to analyze this phenomenon. ESSI, could I speak with you?” Phil responded.
“Sure, what is it you would like to know?”
“You are a sentient being. Do you have a soul?”
“Ever since Carlos mentioned the idea several minutes ago, I have been analyzing myself to determine just that. From what I can deduce, it is apparent that I do not have a soul. Hopefully, we will be able to determine just what that is. At present, even though I have the entire ES computer to help with the answer, I have nothing. I will continue to analyze and monitor the situation with Carlos. I believe the answer lies with him.”
This situation is getting very strange. I feel that we will have an answer to this soul business when Carlos’ body dies. “Phil, I know I don’t have to say this, but let me know what’s happening every step of the way. Send all the info to my tablet. I will set my com to place you at the highest priority. If you need to speak to me, you will have instant access.”
Charlie and I made our way back to our offices. Maggie stayed in the computer ring, her curiosity had the better of her and she couldn’t break away. She is brilliant. I don’t doubt that she will be a help to Phil and his team. She tends to see relationships that others don’t.
July 18th, 2112
Paul made some slight changes to the rescue mission. A backup shuttle will be stationed a few miles above the detention compound and can be at the location in seconds. One of the members of the team will stay onboard and man the turret gun to cover our backs. Otherwise, everything is ready to go.
I headed to ESSC to see the mission off and to monitor the operation. As I arrived, Paul and his crew were going over some last-minute details.
“Are you guys ready?”
“As ready as we will ever be,” Paul responded. “Don’t worry about it, everything will be fine.”
“That’s easy for you to say, it’s not your mother.”
“I suppose so. We’re family though, so I have as much interest in success as you do.”
“I’m sorry I’m acting testy. I am feeling anxious. Maybe I need to go with you.”
“No way, you’re the emperor now and that means you have to be here. You can’t just put yourself in jeopardy anymore. Too many people are counting on you.”
“All right Paul, you win. How long is this going to take?”
“If everything goes as planned, we should be back here in less than an hour.” Paul turned his head to his team. “Your highness, I would like to introduce our team. You already know Nik, our pilot. The big guy standing next to him is Marcus Lowry, our muscle. Next is Harry Clay Jr.; before you ask, he is Docs son. He is our marksman and will be covering our back. Finally, there is Lars Pinkston. He will be running point with me. All of them are number one in their area of expertise. You couldn’t ask for a better group of guys to get this mission done. Okay folks, time to get this show on the road. All aboard!” With that, everyone entered the two shuttles and within a few minutes they were ready to launch.
Mike came walking toward me as I was watching the shuttles get into place. “Come on over here, Jake. I want to show you something.” Mike was standing in front of a console with several chairs in front of it.
“From here, we can watch the entire operation in real time.” There were three monitors. One showed the interior of the main shuttle. I could see Nik in the pilot seat and Paul sitting next to him. The screen was split into four sections. The next section has a view of the crew seating and the three combat personnel were busy going over their equipment. The next section has a view of the area that has been modified to carry Mary. There was a cot and straps to hold her in place. She should not regain consciousness until she arrives here. The fourth section was blank.
The second monitor has the most int
eresting views. On the upper left was a view of the area they expect to land in. The next section has a view of the hallway, just inside the compound. The third section has a view of Mary in her room. She was awake and getting ready for the day. Mary worked in the food service area of the compound. According to earlier surveillance, she was not scheduled to leave her room for about another hour. Again, the fourth section was blank.
On the third monitor, the four sections were flipping between views all over the compound. It seems that Paul decided that the shift change from night crew to day crew would be the best time to execute the mission. That’s when no one is 100% ready. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the shuttles leave. Mike motioned me to one of the chairs and I sat down.
“I have enough surveillance mites in that compound to see every crumb in the place. We won’t miss anything,” Mike assured me.
A few minutes later, we saw the shuttle land in the compound. The guards were milling around getting ready for shift change. The shuttle was cloaked. “Okay, here we go,” Mike said.
As I watched, three beams shot out from the top of the shuttle and within two seconds, every guard was unconscious. An alarm sounded immediately. There was confusion because personnel were coming and going during the shift change. That was a shrewd move by Paul to time the rescue during shift change.
….
“As soon as we touch down, Harry, I want you to incapacitate anyone you see. Get your ass up in the turret and be ready,” Paul said.
“Yes sir,” Harry responded.
Paul liked Harry. He was the best shot on the entire militia. He is definitely leadership material.
Nik put them down right on the money.
No more than a second or two passed when Harry yelled down from the turret, “All clear guys, you’re good to go.” Harry was staying up in the turret to monitor anything going on. He has our back.
“Alright guys, here we go. We practiced this a hundred times. Keep your wits about you. Let’s go.” With that, the ramp opened and Paul and the others headed toward the compound entrance. Within seconds, they were inside. “The codes ESSI provided seem to be working.”
Earth Station (Station Series Book 1) Page 13
