The Colony Ship Vanguard: The entire eight book series in one bundle

by John Thornton

  Jodie walked off the stage and came over to Brinley, Paul and Gretchen. “I think we need to find a place to speak in private. For there is something quite different about you two. It is hard to believe that real Earthlings made it out to this colony ship.” She looked intensely at Paul and Gretchen.

  Clanging sounds happened. It was very loud and echoed all across the top of the plateau. Everyone stopped what they were doing and listened. Then they quietly began to act. Parents grabbed their children. People started packing things up. Malloy and Reed nimbly placed their puppets into their carry crates.

  Jodie reached into her robes and pulled out a mini-computer. “This is Jodie, report!”

  “Jodie, this is Hector on watch. There are three airboats approaching at high speed. None of them are showing the Free Ranger colors. All three have security automacubes on them. Estimated time of arrival fifteen minutes.”

  “Shut everything down immediately. Disconnect the bridge under the waterfall. Evacuate the island,” Jodie calmly commanded. “We must be gone from here in short order.”

  With near machine-like efficiency the Free Rangers all across the plateau disassembled their camp.

  Turning to Paul and Gretchen Jodie stated, “We will take this up at another instance.” Then she looked at Brinley, “I know you are a genuine member of the Free Rangers. So you will see that these two Earthlings get off Inaccessible Island safely?”

  Brinley nodded.

  9 the sojourn to oasis

  Sigmond had sweat running down his face, but he fired the carbine again. “Down goes another Roe!” It was struck squarely in the chest by the projectile. It fell backwards to the deck. In the dim light of the passage it was hard to tell how many more, if any, were waiting ahead.

  “There have been far more Roe than I anticipated,” Tennard said as he limped along the permalloy corridor. His legs, back, and neck were aching. He was breathing heavily. He had used up the analgesics in the first-aid kit.

  “That one makes seven which we have taken out. I am not sure how many we have avoided,” Sigmond replied. “I told you I could shoot the Roe.”

  “Indeed. You are doing well keeping us safe. That passage over there leads to a transport station,” Tennard informed him. “We need to get inside there and seal the doors before the tagalongs swarm on us.”

  “Right!” Sigmond rushed forward. Even though the downed Roe was about ten meters away, he kept the carbine trained on its still squirming body. The life was quickly oozing out of it. The hate-filled orange eyes were fading.

  Sigmond pulled the lever on the door, and it opened inward away from him. The passage beyond was dark. He stuck the barrel of the carbine in first, which is what saved his life. Two strong hands gripped the barrel of the carbine and pulled it forward. Sigmond was dragged along, and fell into the room, still holding the carbine’s stock with his left hand.

  The new Roe screamed, “My shoes are in the cupboard!” Its orange eyes were glowing vilely as it yanked and twisted at the carbine in its grip.

  “Help!” Sigmond cried, as he tried to grab the trigger of the carbine. He swung his right arm, but missed again. “There is a Roe in here too! Beware!”

  “My shoes are in the cupboard!” the Roe screamed again. The light coming in from the doorway did not reveal much about the Roe. Sigmond’s left arm remained holding the carbine. He could not seem to get a grip again with his right and he was afraid to let go.

  “I do not have a clear shot!” Tennard yelled from just outside the doorway.

  The shaking by the Roe was increasing. Finally, Sigmond got one foot under him, and then kicked with his other foot. The kick smacked the Roe’s leg but did not break it. The Roe stumbled a bit and loosened its grip on the carbine. Sigmond lunged up and grabbed the trigger and fired. The carbine barked three times in quick succession as Sigmond yanked at the trigger.

  The bullets struck the Roe under the chin and its face was blown upward and backward. Chunks of flesh, bone, and a spray of bloody mush splattered a wide area. Much of it landed on Tennard.

  The body of the dead Roe slumped to the deck.

  Sigmond pulled the carbine away from the Roe, then whirled around but there were no other attackers. He pulled out a lamp and turned it on and then again scanned the room. He looked back to his companion.

  “Tennard? Tennard? Are you hurt?” Sigmond wailed.

  Tennard’s face was streaked with blood. He was wiping it off with some antiseptic cloths from the first-aid kit.

  “I am not hurt. This is not my blood,” Tennard replied. Although there was a weariness in his voice.

  “Are you infected?” Sigmond asked in a shaking voice.

  “No. I am not bitten or injured,” Tennard replied. “Come let us get this transport system working.” He threw the soaked antiseptic cloth away.

  “No more Roe in here,” Sigmond stated. “This looks more like a small airlock than what I thought the old transport system places would look like.”

  Tennard found the controls on the inside wall and activated them. The room became better illuminated than the hallway. It had suspended lights from the ceiling, all working. There were some benches against one wall, with a row of five hatches on the other wall. Those hatches did have a similar appearance to the hatches on the back of some shuttle models.

  Tennard stepped further inside, and pulled the door closed behind him. He surveyed the room, and he saw no place for the tagalong animals to gain easy entry. Nonetheless, he doubted the place was totally safe. The Roe had gotten in here somehow. He tried locking the door, but the mechanism would not function. So he latched it closed. That was the best he could secure it.

  “Do we just enter a code or sequence?” Sigmond asked. He had put his lamp away and was looking at the edge of one hatch where there was a vertical column of control buttons. “The controls look similar to the shuttles,” He glanced back repeatedly at the dead Roe. He was eager to leave. “So if I enter a basic override code, will that work?”

  “I think if we did that we would end up in the custody of the Central Planning Office. I imagine they have all the primary and secondary systems monitored. They may even use them as traps, for all we know. We will first need to assess the status of the artificial intelligence entity of this transport system.” Tennard tiredly walked over and looked carefully at the wall where the hatches were located.

  “An AI? Really?” Sigmond asked. “Why?”

  “I will show you, if one is operational here. “After a few minutes, he said, “Here it is.” He pressed a nondescript part of the wall and a panel flipped down. “Topological engineering… access just right of entry… simple cross spurs to interface….” he mumbled as he removed the panel, withdrew a length of apparatus from the wall and partially disassembled it. “This should allow me to make a link to the AI here, while still bypassing the lattice.” He unpacked some tools from his backpack and disassembled more of the mechanisms inside the access panel.

  “Why use an AI at all?” Sigmond asked. “Just manually take the transport where we want to go.” He again, nervously, looked at the dead Roe.

  “I had some friends long ago who once tried that. They all died. The transport vehicles need to be pressurized and filled with appropriate air. They also need a tube system that is intact and not damaged. This transport system is very different from a shuttle in space. The transport cars are not self sufficient, self powered, or have internal inertia inhibitors. It all comes from the system, most through the transport tubes and overseen by the AI. Remember, this whole system was shut down over sixty years ago. I do not know how much, if any, of the system the CPO has re-activated,” Tennard replied as he made some more adjustments. “We need to find the correct balance between using the AI without alerting the CPO and still getting us to Oasis. It looks like the AI can operate consciously or unconsciously, but it must be operational in some manner. It looks like the unconscious destonations are all reading ‘negative function’ so we must awaken the AI.
”

  Sigmond looked confused.

  “Oh, here it is,” Tennard stated as he used some additional tools on the circuitry. “Dynametrics intact, and couplings… now properly distorted. That should allow us access to the artificial intelligence system here.”

  A display lit up near the portal hatches. It was a light blue color. From it came a mechanical voice, “This is TSI-981.”

  “TSI-981, are you connected to the lattice?” Tennard asked.

  “Negative. Unable to link or couple to the lattice. Repairs requested.”

  “TSI-981, can you safely take a vehicle to A Habitat, Oasis?” Tennard asked.

  “Processing. Processing. Processing,” the mechanical voice of TSI-981 replied.

  “This will not work,” Sigmond said to his older companion. “AIs can only do what they are told to do. Have we wasted all our time getting here? How will we get back?” He was trembling a bit. His mind was racing with all the violence he had seen here and back in the ruined safe zone.

  “TSI-981, please find a method of safely taking us to A Habitat, Oasis,” Tennard adjusted some of the mechanical controls he was manipulating. His old hands still moved with grace as he used the tools in precise ways.

  “Primary system: inoperative. Secondary system: inoperative. Tertiary system: marginal,” TSI-981 reported. “Repairs requested.”

  “Please take us to A Habitat, Oasis. Use the tertiary system,” Tennard commanded.

  “Tertiary system only available for emergent uses,” the AI replied. “Tertiary system not compliant with current status. Select alternative destination. Repairs requested.”

  “TSI-981, this is an emergent situation. Please take us to A Habitat, Oasis. Utilize the tertiary system,” Tennard stated. He also took a tool out another tool and ever so gently cut, then re-welded in a small piece of permalloy into a section which altered the mechanical operations in the access panel.

  “Tertiary system activated. Non-standard associations in place. Destination: A Habitat. Route set and locked,” TSI-981 replied. “Repairs requested.”

  One of the portal hatches opened with a hissing sound. Sigmond jumped over and looked beyond the hatch. The vehicle was there. It had two rows of seats which faced each other along the sides of the vehicle. There was a weakly illuminated display screen at the front of the vehicle. The air smelled oily and stale.

  “There is a car here,” Sigmond stated. “It has power, and it looks functional.” The tone of his voice was dubious.

  Tennard packed up his tools and then stood up. He left the apparatus hanging from the access panel. He was stiff and sore, but pleased. He walked over to the open hatch where Sigmond was standing.

  “TSI-981, will this vehicle safely get us to A Habitat?” Tennard asked.

  “Affirmative. Efficiency at 37% of standard operations. Repairs requested.”

  Tennard climbed into the vehicle. Sigmond was a bit more reluctant, but looking again at the dead Roe and the large mess of bodily materials which were surrounding the body, he climbed inside. The door lowered as he sat down.

  “Vehicle is departing for A Habitat. Repairs requested,” TSI-981 stated. The mechanical voice of the AI now came from the display screen at the front of the transport car. There was a lurch, and a grind, then a low hum as the car moved away from the portal room.

  “I feel trapped in here,” Sigmond said. He was restless in his seat and still gripping the carbine. “What if this thing stops midway? Or what if the system is broken? What if that AI is just programmed to shoot the cars through the tubes no matter what the system’s condtion? We could be jettisoned out of the Vanguard. What would we do then?”

  “Sigmond, I doubt any of those things will happen. I would not have gotten in this vehicle if I thought it was too much of a risk,” Tennard replied. He effectively hid the fact his own mind was asking those same questions. He took a seat near the forward display. That display showed just a blue illumination, and no changes.

  “In a shuttle, I can at least see outside and guide the shuttle where we need to go. What if we end up in the wrong place? How do we know we are going to Oasis? You trust an AI, is that safe? Really?”

  “Sigmond, it is too late to change now. The vehicle is taking us there,” He rested his head back against the side of the vehicle, while still keeping his eyes to the right focused on the dull screen. He wondered why the transport vehicles had seats facing each other, and none actually facing the display screen.

  “So will this take us to the hanger bay in Oasis? How do we know that hanger bay was not destroyed like the ones back in our safe zone. Maybe everyone else is already dead, and we are all that is left. If those automacubes all turned against the people everywhere, we might be the only survivors. What will we do then?” Sigmond was getting more anxious the more he spoke.

  “TSI-981, confirm destination. Are we going to A Habitat?” Tennard asked. “How long until we reach that destination?”

  “Affirmative. Vehicle en route to A Habitat. Estimated time of arrival dependent upon terminal objective,” the AI replied. “Repairs requested.”

  “Terminal objective!” Sigmond screamed. “It just said we are going to Oasis, but then it says we are not. What is happening?”

  “TSI-981, clarify terminal objective,” Tennard ordered. He now was also concerned about what the AI was doing.

  “Transport vehicle on target for A Habitat. Three possible terminal objectives: Murom, Kimry, or Hydrobioloical Research. Terminal objective irresolute. Repairs requested.”

  “See it does not know where to take us!” Sigmond wailed. “We are trapped in here.”

  “Just wait, Sigmond. The AI will do as I tell it,” Tennard placed his hand against the display and stated, “TSI-981, set terminal objective for Hydrobiological Research in A Habitat. What is our time of arrival there?”

  “Processing. Processing. Processing,” the AI replied. “Terminal objected now resolute. Estimated time of arrival: A Habitat, Hydrobiological Research, twenty three minutes. Negative function on links to lattice. Negative function on couplings outside of transport system. Feedback within transport system marginal. Request repairs.”

  “What is Hydrobiological Research?” Sigmond asked. He was only a bit calmer now.

  “I am not sure, to be honest with you. I have never heard that name before. But I did recognize the other two places mentioned. They are both towns were the CPO is in control. You have been to Oasis. Have you ever been at either town?”

  “No, Tennard. I have only been to the hangers and to Inaccessible Island. So you do not know where we are going either?” Sigmond was gripping the carbine very tightly. His knuckles were whitening.

  “The AI will know,” Tennard said in a measured manner. “TSI-981, what is Hydrobiological Research?”

  “Hydrobiological Research is one of three terminal objectives in A Habitat,” the AI machine replied. “Repairs requested.”

  “TSI-981, elaborate on what Hydrobiological Research is,” Tennard ordered.

  “Hydrobiological Research is one of three terminal objectives in A Habitat. No further elaboration available due to negative function of links and couplings to the lattice,” the AI replied. “Repairs requested.”

  “So we do not even know what that place is?” Sigmond cried. “The CPO will own it, right? The only place Free Rangers are safe is safe zones, and those are hanger bays and places around hanger bays.”

  “We will find out soon enough,” Tennard replied. He closed his eyes and hoped for the best. His eyes were sore with a burning sensation in each of them. He tried massaging them, but it did not help.

  Sigmond whined for a while more, but when Tennard refused to answer, he too quieted down and waited.

  “Approaching A Habitat: Hydrobiological Research,” TSI-981 stated.

  Sigmond had the carbine up and aimed at the door. Tennard also drew his handgun and had it ready. The vehicle came to a halt, which was only gently felt, it then reversed direction, and t
here was a clanking and clanging series of noises.

  “Terminal objective achieved. Request repairs,” the AI stated.

  The door on the rear of the transport opened with a slight hissing sound. There was a moderate amount of light beyond the door.

  Tennard stepped cautiously up and looked out the door. His back was stiff from the exertion, but he pulled on the backpack anyway. His legs were tired, but he forced himself to walk. Beyond the car was a portal room very much like the one they had left behind. It had permalloy walls, ceiling, deck, an exit door, and not much else. This portal room did not have a dead Roe in it. “The way looks clear for now.”