by Dan Davis
R1 sighed. “I apologize on his behalf. One thing he is not wrong about is the need to depart very shortly.” She inclined her head and followed the doctor out of the hall.
Ram looked at Cooper and Flores who stared back. Ram had a knot in his guts at the thought that he was not the real Rama Seti. But he had faced such thoughts before and although they filled him with a profound existential dread, there was nothing he could do to change things and thinking about it only made the dread worse. So, he would not think about it.
“Yeah, I am really very sorry indeed about Dr Monash and the words he used just then when he spoke to you about yourself,” Henry spoke with a small smile on his face. “Don’t worry about him, please, it’s just his way and he doesn’t mean anything by it and even if he does then it doesn’t matter. That’s what Marit always says.”
“Marit?”
“Professor or rather Doctor Olsen who was called Marit Olsen and she was my friend for all my life.”
“What happened to her?”
“She climbed into the incinerator.”
“Oh. Why did she do that?”
“She was sad.”
Ram nodded. “I suppose she must have been. I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Oh, it’s fine because R1 is my friend now and she speaks to me every day and she’s just as smart as Merit and knows everything Merit knew and even more so it’s fine, really, even though I was very sad for quite a while.”
“That’s good, Henry,” Ram said, starting to wonder if there might be something wrong with Henry’s mind. “So, you live here?” He pointed to the bed in the corner and then gestured to the vast hall behind them.
Henry turned and walked away from his bed in the corner and opened his arms to the great black hall. “This is my home.”
The way he moved was strange beyond Ram’s clear understanding. He was like some gigantic, monstrous bird, moving so fast that his movements appeared jerky and yet at the same time he had perfect balance and flow, like a tiger.
“And you were raised here?”
Henry turned as Ram came up beside him. “I know it’s strange and I know it’s not how people live. I’ve seen how people live on screen, I’ve been all over this base and been in the living quarters, and I’ve spent time in Avar looking at the world how it used to be before the Hex. But this is how we were brought up here so it’s normal to me.”
“We? There were more subjects?”
Henry’s face lit up. “Of course! There were, I don’t know, I don’t remember when we were real young too well but like twenty maybe? Or fifty? But even just three years ago there was four of us left.”
“What happened to the others?”
He shrugged. “Died.”
“Right. How did they die?”
Henry shrugged again, his bony shoulder joints jerking up and down. “All different. Cancer, heart disease, muscle wasting diseases. Lot of psychosis. A lot.”
“Is that so?”
Henry nodded. “Oh yeah, lot of defects.” He grinned. “Not me, though.”
“Not you, huh? Well, that’s great.”
Cooper walked out past them into the hall. “Why raise you in here? They made it look a little like the inside of an orb arena so you’d get used to it?”
“That’s right. That’s exactly right.”
Cooper turned. “The floor’s all uneven out there. Depressions in the ground, looks like some of them are deep.”
“It’s important for us to train in the same environment as the orb arena.”
“Oh yeah,” Flores said. “That’s right. I remember.”
Ram frowned. “The arena floor is flat as a pool table.”
Henry grinned. “Yours was. Not mine. Not Orb Station Alpha. The Hex are a semi-aquatic species, you know, and the arena combats take place in a semi-aquatic environment with approximately seventy-eight percent of the floor area under water.”
“God, are you serious? How are you supposed to fight in that?”
“Oh,” Henry smiled. “Some areas are up to nine meters deep but most of it is under a meter, so you’re not fighting under water.”
“Just up to your ass in it,” Cooper said.
“Right,” Henry replied. “But the doctrine is to fight on dry land, obviously.”
Flores sighed. “Sir, this is fascinating and all but we really need to get moving.”
“We do. Henry, do you have clothing to wear on the surface? The doctor said you should shower and get your gear on?”
“Oh yeah! My exterior suit, it’s all ready to go. I just got to get it on after my shower.”
“Well, you should get on with it,” Ram said. “Right now.”
Henry flowed across the hall to his storage lockers, threw them open and pulled out extra clothing—boots, hat, hood—before striding off out of the hall.
Cooper sidled up next to Ram and muttered under his breath. “God almighty but that freak can move. How do you think they did that?”
“I’m going to check on the doctor. One of you keep an eye on the weapon at all times. Whatever happens from now on, he’s the most important thing of all, alright?”
“Got it,” Cooper said.
“He is,” Flores confirmed.
“Well get after him then,” Ram said. “I’ll get the others ready.”
Ram had a final look at the replica arena and made his way out. It was a relief to get out of the warm, humid atmosphere and breath cooler, dry air again.
“Doctor Monash?” Ram said, coming back into the doctor’s laboratory where he and his assistant were throwing a few more small items on their pile of bags and boxes.
“Yes, yes, we’re almost ready. You’re ready, aren’t you, R1?”
“I am, Doctor.”
“You’ve got your cold weather gear? It’s pretty chilly upstairs.”
“Of course it is, don’t you think I know that? Now, you can start by carrying our equipment to the elevator and sending it to the surface. You’ll have to carry these, now, they’re far too heavy for me to move. Far too heavy.”
“That’s no problem. Flores, Cooper, can you begin moving the equipment to the exit as soon as Henry’s ready?”
“Yes, sir. Almost there.”
“Doctor,” Ram said, “what’s wrong with Henry?”
Doctor Monash scowled. “What in the world do you mean? Nothing is wrong with him. He’s the perfect specimen.”
“It’s just that he seems a little… unusual.”
The doctor whirled around and glared at Ram. “How dare you!”
“No offense, Doctor, I’m just trying to understand what I have to protect, that’s all. I want to make sure I can predict his behavior and he seems… I don’t know, is he… slow?”
“Slow? Slow? No, he is not slow, for god’s sake. He’s perfectly within the normal range. He’s just high in agreeableness and conscientiousness, that’s all. And of course, he’s just young. There’s only so much experience you can get into an eight-year-old.”
Ram stared. “He’s eight? He’s eight years old? But then really he’s a child?”
“Oh, for goodness’ sake, Mr. Seti. I didn’t think you were of a hysterical nature. He’s not a child. He’s undergone accelerated growth and he experiences things faster than the norm and so he is physically and mentally adult. But as I say there is only so much life one can experience in twenty-four hours of every day and so, yes, he has retained a somewhat childlike emotional maturity. But it could not be helped! And it does not matter. He is perfect. Ideal, even! And please, say no more about it and especially not in his presence or else you may very well upset him. And we do not want that, do we?”
“No, we do not. Alright, let’s get this gear to the surface and then we all need to get to the launch site before it’s too late.”
10.
The elevator made its final journey up the shaft with Ram and Henry riding it all the way to the top. Ram felt tired. His head ached and his back and legs were sore. But there wou
ld be time enough for rest once the mission was over. One way or another.
Far above, a faint sliver of light shone down, rapidly growing. Henry’s strange face was screwed up, his long bony fingers twitching inside their gloves.
“It’ll be okay,” Ram said.
“I know. I’m fine.”
“I used to spend most of my time in Avar, then I found myself living on ships in space and even when I fought on a planet in the Cancri System, I was mostly indoors and inside my suit. So, coming down here and taking off my helmet and breathing the air… it was strange. Being out in the open with the sky overhead. Like Avar, sure, but different. The smells and the feel of the wind on your face. But after a while, it’s okay.”
“Okay, I understand and you’re trying to make me feel better by sharing an experience of your own so that I can empathize with you and everything? I get that, sure, thanks very much, I appreciate the effort. So you’re saying I should relax for the walk to the launch site and that when I climb into a rocket ship that’s been dormant for twenty years I’ll be safe and I shouldn’t worry about anything, is that what you’re getting at?”
Ram pursed his lips. “Yeah, Henry, that’s about it. Even so…”
“I’ll be alright. Don’t worry about me.”
“Okay then.”
When the elevator slowed near to the top, Ram got his helmet ready and checked his weapons.
Henry eyed him. “Expecting trouble?”
“No, just… force of habit. Avar habit, I mean. Whenever you’re playing a round in Avar, you get a quiet moment, check your ammo, your health, you know?”
“Okay, sure.” Henry nodded and then placed his oxygen mask over his nose and mouth and took a deep breath.
“You’re supposed to keep that mask that over your face all the time,” Ram said, hearing as he did so the scolding tone of voice his own father had once used. “I heard R1 say so.”
“Alright, yes, you’re right,” he said and pulled the strap over the back of his head and fixed the oxygen mask over his face. Henry could breathe in Earth’s atmosphere but it would be like an ordinary human breathing at high altitude and so they wanted to keep Henry as fit and healthy as possible for the short trek to the hidden launch site.
“And put your hat on,” Ram said. “Pull up your scarf. It’s real cold.”
“Yeah,” Henry said, looking nervous as he wrapped his final items of winter clothing around his head. “Yeah, I can feel it already.”
The elevator came to a stop and Ram stepped out into the ground floor of the tower. Stirling stood in the doorway, filling it with his wide shoulders and blocking almost all of the light.
“Good to see you, sir. Everything is ready for the… holy shit.”
Henry stepped up out of the open hatch doors and straightened up as far as he could, stooping beneath the ceiling.
“Sergeant Stirling, meet Henry. The weapon.”
“I heard, I just…” Stirling held out his hand. “So, you’re the new Rama Seti.”
Henry reached down to shake it. “My name is Henry.” His voice was muffled by the mask.
“Well, nice to meet you, Henry. We’re going to take good care of you, alright?”
“Alright.”
“Wait here a moment, Henry, and we’ll just get everything squared away and ready for the journey.”
“What’s the situation, Sergeant?”
“We’ve secured transport using the—”
Doctor Monash and R1, both bundled up in their bulky winter clothing, strode forward and Monash raised a hand before pushing his way between Ram and Stirling who towered over them.
The doctor began firing questions at Henry, checking he was well, while Henry sighed and muttered answers in a reassuring tone.
Stirling jerked a thumb at them. “He’s clucking around that freak like a mother hen.”
“He is his mother. And his father, too. And Henry’s not a freak, he’s a genetically engineered weapon who’s going to win us back the Earth or die trying.”
Stirling’s grin dropped. “I understand, sir.”
“You all hear me?” Ram said on the team channel. “We’re all expendable from now until we get the weapon, the doctor, and his assistant on the launch vehicle. Alright?”
They all said yes, other than Cooper.
“The doctor said he needed you as well, sir.”
“Did he, sir?” Stirling asked. “Is that right?”
“He did but the most important passenger is the weapon, then the doctor, then his assistant who is an AP. And I expect all of us to get on, too, but if for any reason—”
“Sir!”
Alerts pinged and flashed on Ram’s AugHud. “Cooper? What is it?”
“Movement in the forest to the south. And east.”
“I’m seeing it, too,” Fury said.
“You wait here,” Ram said to Henry, Monash and R1. “Stay inside this tower until you hear from me, understand?”
“But what is the—” Doctor Monash started.
“Wait here!” Ram said as he and Stirling ran for the steps up to the top of the east wall and took them three at a time until they reached the top and looked out at the tree line.
It was almost morning but the sky was low and gray and the wind bent the tops of the trees over. Tiny flecks of snow whipped past. It seemed to Ram that heavy weather was coming in but then again he was no expert with that kind of thing.
“The Hex?” Stirling said, unslinging his rifle.
“Don’t know.”
Mayor Fraser was there ahead of them on the wall with some of his people beside him. “It’s a raid.”
“How can you tell?”
Fraser used his rifle to point east. “Time of year, direction. They’ve probably come up the Yukon, timed to hit us right before winter. Snow’s coming, no doubt about that. And they’re coming at us on the ground, can see it on the motion detectors we set out there. Dozens of hits. The Hex mostly use aircraft this far north and we never see more than a handful of the bastards. No, this is humans. I’m sorry, you missed your window.” He turned and called out a series of orders, directing groups to certain areas.
“Missed our window?” Stirling said. “No, we can get out of here before the bastards attack. If we move now. What do you think, sir?”
“We can’t risk getting caught out in the open with the weapon. A stray shot and it’s all over. We’ll continue to assess.”
One of Fraser’s men ran over, breathless. “Ewan, do you want to move… the northern rocket launchers… to the southern towers?”
“No. Keep watch for another assault from the north and the west, alright? Keep everyone in position until ordered otherwise, you understand, Jim?”
“I understand.” He ran off, waving others with him.
“Your people are well drilled,” Ram said to him. “Disciplined.”
“All the undisciplined died years ago. Listen, I hate to ask but are you and your men able to lend a hand?” The mayor pointed to Ram’s rifle. “You have weapons and armor significantly better than anything that we have and more to the point above what they have out there. And that’s saying nothing about your tactics and experience. Your team could mean the difference between surviving this raid or losing everything.”
Ram and Stirling looked at each other while Ram’s mind whirred. He knew he shouldn’t care about the people of the town but he did and he wanted to save them. On the other hand, all that mattered was getting the weapon away to the launch site unharmed.
The best thing he could do was to pull his men back and let the mayor and his people deal with it.
But what if they lost?
Mayor Fraser took a step closer and lowered his voice. “Look, I know it’s bad manners to ask it. If you wanted to help, you would offer. But I have my people to think about. My family. And I’m not proud. Any help you can provide will be appreciated by all of us. Anything.”
“How long do these raids last?”
Fraser
shrugged. “Last one was about six hours. Came right at us a few times and we tore them up good.”
“Alright,” Ram said, thinking he might be able to spare that much with the amount of time he had left.
“But, uh… in the interests of full disclosure... there was the year before,” Fraser continued, “when they were here… eleven days. Tried chipping away at our walls. Even launched incendiaries over, knowing full well a fire might destroy everything they came to take but they did it anyway.”
“Eleven days?” Ram said, shaking his head. “In that case, I’m afraid we have to go now before they surround you, I’m sorry.”
“You’ll end up running into the raiders, though, you know that? You’ll have to fight your way through.”
Stirling pointed in the direction of the approaching enemy. “They’re in the south and the east. We’re heading north-northwest, away from them.”
“It’s likely they’ll have groups all around us.”
Stirling was unconvinced. “Speculation, sir. And even if it’s true, we’ll have to fight our way through.”
“Sir?” Flores said. “You’re right and all but pushing through forces out there is a risk, no? The weapon is vulnerable. Stray rounds hitting him. Might be best to fight these bastards, drive them off and run.”
“The longer we wait, the worse it might get,” Cooper suggested. “Usually, acting decisively is better than dithering, sir.”
“Fury?” Ram said. “Do you have an opinion?”
“Whatever you decide is fine by me, sir,” she said.
“Red?” Ram asked.
“I am unable to fire on the humans attacking us, sir. You must order me to do so. But I should say that I would find that very disagreeable indeed and I would much rather kill the true enemy than your species, which have been so welcoming to me and to my kind ever since—”
“Alright, Red, that’s fine. And I don’t want to shoot anybody either. We’ve lost so many people, it seems crazy to be thinking of killing even more.”
Stirling lowered his voice and switched to their command channel. “I’ll follow whatever you decide, sir, without questioning you, so please don’t take this the wrong way but your lifetime of battle experience comes from Avar, not real life. We’ll not get a reset and a new round if we mess it up.”
