The elevator doors shut, and Tiffany stated, “The ascension will be slow and tedious at several points. I have detected damage at three locations, and had to reroute this elevator to follow alternative routes. I apologize for the rough ride which will be experienced at various points.”
A display on the side of the elevator lit up.
“Hello Paul and Gretchen,” the simulation of Doctor Chambers said. “I have been informed that you have suffered another traumatic experience. I also understand you are in a position where you have a few minutes. How are you two doing?”
Paul looked over at the display. “We are a step closer to our escape from here. Tiffany is finally helping us again.”
“My understanding is that Tiffany is…..” the simulation of Doctor Chambers winked out and was gone for a moment. It then flashed twice and was back.
The display lit up again with Doctor Chambers. He was now wearing a red and blue striped shirt, which was different from the brown shirt he had on only a moment before. He did still have the same hat on. “I see you have returned. So tell me about your recent experience with Victor and Tarpay.”
“Victor died,” Paul said. “Nothing unusual. Nothing else to say.”
“Gretchen, do you want to relate what happened?” the simulation of Doctor Chambers asked.
“Certainly. Victor was a trooper we had encountered before….” She went on and explained in a concise and explicit manner what had happened all the way to when she had tried to use the medical kit, first on Victor and then on Tarpay.
“So basically a monster killed them both,” Doctor Chambers stated. “How does that feel to you?”
The elevator shook a bit. It then moved sideways in a jerky manner. With a grinding noise it then proceeded to go upward again.
“What do we look like to you?” Paul asked. “What do you see when you speak to us?”
“I assume that is not a rhetorical question. You are changing the subject. Why do you want to change the subject, Paul?” Doctor Chambers asked.
“I just wondered how you see us. You look slightly different each time we see you, and your room behind you is rearranged a bit differently every time. So how do we appear to you?”
“You appear as Gretchen and Paul, just as you did when I visited with you in Dome 17. Now, Paul, how are you dealing with Victor’s and Tarpay’s deaths?”
“Victor was trying to help us, but like the others, he died. The Vanguard is just a ship of death,” Paul said.
“And the animal, Tarpay?” Doctor Chambers asked.
“It was a work animal doing a job,” Paul replied.
“It was more than just an animal. It was Victor’s comrade and assistant. I have never seen a person and animal so bonded together,” Gretchen interjected. “They were a skilled team.”
“So you basically lost two more people who were important to you. Both killed by what sounds like a horrific monster. Is that correct?”
“Yes, both are dead. Victor was a person, Tarpay was just some kind of work animal,” Paul said. “We are lucky that predator, Tarpay, did not kill us the first time we encountered it.”
“I am sure the predator was fear inspiring. I have never seen a living animal, and you have been threatened by them. So could Victor have ordered it to kill you?”
“He could have, yes. He once said something about nothing could escape Tarpay,” Gretchen replied when Paul failed to answer.
“So he did not order Tarpay to kill you when you and he were obvious enemies. And correct me if I am wrong, I want to understand. Victor was badly burned, and he did not order Tarpay to kill you. Then this time, it sounds like some of his last words were commands for Tarpay to kill the beast monster. Why do you think Victor had, as you put it Paul, his ‘work animal’ try to kill that monster?”
“Because he did not want to die?” Paul said. “Why else?”
“A very good question, Paul. Why else indeed? Why would Victor yell, ‘Protect Paul and Gretchen’ as some of his last commands?” Doctor Chambers asked.
“He was hurt. He just did not want to die, and needed us to protect him. He knew he was hurt and we could heal him, like we did before. So he was acting out of self preservation,” Paul said.
“That is possible, but is that why he did it?” Doctor Chambers asked. “Is it really?”
“He did not want to die.” Paul was looking away.
“But Paul, is it possible he genuinely cared about you? Perhaps he knew he was too far gone, and wanted Tarpay to kill the monster in order to save you two?” Doctor Chambers asked. “Could that have been his motive?”
“The motives he had do not matter. He is dead. His animal is dead as well. I was not able to find him soon enough. I was lost in that maze of vegetation and could not get to him in time,” Paul solemnly said.
“We tried the medical kit, but it was too late. Victor was already dead,” Gretchen added. “I doubt we could have healed him, even if we had been there during the attack. The trauma was just too massive.”
“If we had been there during the attack, he might not have been injured at all. We could have shot that beast,” Paul said. “Before it hurt anyone.”
“A true tragedy, but no fault of either of you. Victor was scouting ahead for you. He was leading and encountered that beast which killed him. Then the beast killed Tarpay?” Doctor Chambers asked.
“Yes Victor was the guide, but he had never been out of his biological habitat. He said so, yes. The beast killed him,” Paul said. “I should have been there.”
“Paul, you feel remorse that you could not get to Victor in time. Do you feel that same way about Tarpay?”
“No. It was just an animal,” Paul said, but looked at the floor.
“Paul, to Victor, Tarpay was more than a mere working animal. Sapience is sometimes defined as the ability of an organism to act with appropriate judgment, making rational decisions. Did Tarpay do that?”
“It was an animal that obeyed its training,” Paul said, but did not look up.
“Here in Dome 17, we have not had animals to study or live with for a long while. The line ‘obeying its training’ and ‘making a judgment call’ is not a clear cut division. Was Victor making a judgment as he scouted ahead, or was he just obeying his training?”
“Doctor Chambers, Victor was a person. Of course he made a judgment call. But so did I. I should have been there,” Paul said.
“Paul, sapience and sentience are at the core of this issue. Are the abilities to reason and the abilities to feel also found in animals? Sentience can be thought of as the ability to experience sensation, and be mentally aware of that. Sentience is also a metaphysical quality. When sentience is present in something, that requires us to give it due respect and care. It matters not if it is a human, a machine, or an animal. Sentience is necessary for the ability to suffer, and thus is held to confer certain rights.”
“What? Are you saying I was wrong to shoot that beast? That Roe animal? It was trying to kill us. I had to shoot it. I had to! I aimed at the beast. I really did aim at the beast. I did not mean to hit Tarpay,” Paul began to cry.
“And there it is,” Doctor Chambers said. “I could tell there was more than just a tragic witness of a gruesome event. Guilt was obvious; I just needed to lead you to it. Tell me what really happened.”
Gretchen looked at Paul. “I did not see what happened when Paul fired.”
Paul wiped his eyes. “Gretchen was trying to save Victor. The beast came into the clearing and Tarpay was attacking it. They were fighting fiercely. It was so much bigger than any Roe I have ever seen. I fired at the beast. I hit Tarpay instead. I killed that animal when it was trying to save me. I failed Victor in not getting to him in time. I failed that volkosoby Tarpay when I shot him. I am just a huge failure.”
“Paul, you are not a failure,” Gretchen said and she stepped over and held him tightly.
“If you had shot, you would not have hit Tarpay,” Paul sniffled. “Tarpay was trying t
o save us, and when I tried to save him, I killed him instead. I am just a failure.”
“I strongly disagree. Paul you were not….” Doctor Chambers began to say, but then the simulation was ended, and the display faded out.
The elevator shook and the doors sprang open surprisingly fast. A gray and black blur rushed out.
“We have arrived at the level where the Solar Mimicry, and Reproduction and Fabrication facilities are located,” Tiffany’s voice stated.
15 building a sending pad
“What?” Paul screamed as he looked down and backed into the elevator as fast as he could.
“It cannot be!” Gretchen said, also taking a step back.
The blue automacube rolled past them and appeared to float or hover or roll on nothing at all. It continued until it was rolling onto taupe colored permalloy about twenty meters away.
Gretchen squatted down and knocked on the floor of the elevator and continued tapping out past the elevator door’s threshold and onto what appeared to be nothing. Her fingers met clear permalloy, and she felt it with gratitude. After knowing it was there, her eyes could pick up reflections and slight distortions in the clear permalloy which proved that the floor and side walls were in fact there.
Nonetheless, Gretchen and Paul were hesitant to step out of the elevator, for it appeared as if they were standing at the edge of a gigantic cliff. They looked down and could see the biological habitat far below them.
“This is too odd,” Paul said. “I thought I was going to fall off. That is really far down there.”
“It is like when we were over Safari,” Gretchen said.
“No it is not. I thought I was going to fall, because there was not any floor. That other place had a solid floor and side windows. This place has no floor at all,” Paul said.
“Paul, the floor is there.” Gretchen tapped it again. “It is clear permalloy. It must be daytime in the habitat. We are up by the sky tube, and the floor here is transparent. It was quite a shock for me as well, being so high over the habitat but the floor is here and we will not fall,” Gretchen said.
“Tiffany, you should have warned me about this,” Paul yelled out.
“I was not aware of it until we arrived,” Tiffany responded. “I thought that by rolling across the floor you would be relieved and easily follow. I apologize if that was not the case.” The AIs voice sounded almost patronizing.
“So that is Pampas down below. I can see what looks like rivers coming along either side of the habitat,” Gretchen said. “That green on the edges must be the boundary forest.”
“Pampas or Steppes? I am not sure. They have called that biosphere place different names. Is that some lake or sea below us? The rivers run into, or out of that?” Paul said. He took a couple steps out on the transparent permalloy and continued to look down.
“The brown color makes me think it is that polluted lake, where they said the Jellies attacked, but I am not really sure. Those tiny white lines might be the skimmers we saw, and those things could be buildings. The grasslands or prairie…” Gretchen began.
“The steppes, or whatever they call it?” Paul asked. “It is too confusing.”
“Yes, that open country area between the rivers at the sides, it looks so free and so vast,” Gretchen said. “It looks so empty.”
“No. It is filled with all kinds of threats, dangers, and things trying to kill us,” Paul replied. “But it is appealing from up here, in a long range kind of way, but you know it up close it is deadly.” Paul rubbed the hairs on his chin and looked away. “I would feel better with something opaque under me.”
Paul walked hurriedly over to where the blue automacube was waiting.
“I am not used to Tiffany being in the blue one,” he said. He visibly relaxed after getting off the clear permalloy.
The area of solid looking permalloy was in front of a wall. There was a set of double doors in the wall with labeling. ‘Solar Mimicry Station- Zeta Reactor- Reproduction and Fabrication’ in white letters on the doors. Next to the doors was a color control pad and an access port. The color pad was glowing brightly.
Gretchen looked back at where the elevator was and realized that another elevator door was next to the one they had left. That second set of doors was broken off with only half of the lower part of the door still in place. There were ropes and cables of some kind dangling behind the broken door.
“Paul, that may mean someone else is up here,” Gretchen said and pointed to the damaged elevator.
“Jellies?” Paul asked. “Or Roe, or some animal wanting to kill us?”
“I doubt an animal would use ropes or cables, but I am not sure what all things animals can do,” Gretchen replied. “Jellies might use equipment to climb, I just do not know.”
“Tiffany, can you access this section and let us know if it is safe?” Paul asked.
Without comment, the blue automacube extended its manipulation arm and plugged a cable into the access port. The color pad flashed in a quick sequence of colors and the labeled door opened.
Beyond the doors was a control room area. There was a bank of monitors and displays. All of them were lit up and graphs, charts, readings, and video images were seen. The chairs in front of the controls were in neat and orderly fashion. Behind the controls there were large mechanical devices with huge pipes, and large apparatus all shielded by thick coverings.
“This is Zeta Reaction section, Solar Mimicry,” said a mechanical voice. “All systems optimal and maintained.”
“Who is that?” Paul asked.
“That is TSI-FS1,” Tiffany replied. “It is the artificial intelligence system overseeing what you call the sky tube for this biological habitat. There is no need to interrupt its duties.”
Paul walked over toward the control board and monitors.
“Paul, stop.” Tiffany’s voice held an edge to it. “We are here to proceed to Reproduction and Fabrication to build the teleportation system.”
Paul stopped and waited and looked around.
“Tiffany, you are not telling us something,” Gretchen said. “Is it safe here?”
“We have no need to disturb TSI-FS1. Doing so will not advance our cause nor help the obtain escape you desire. I have secured access to the Reproduction and Fabrication facility,” Tiffany said. “We will proceed there immediately.” The blue automacube rolled away from the control area and down along the railing which separated the large machinery of the sky tube from the promenade they were on.
At the end of that walkway there was another door. It was labeled ‘Reproduction and Fabrication’ but its locks and hinges were melted away and the door was askew.
Paul and Gretchen both drew out their pistols.
“Tiffany, you never answered if this place was safe,” Paul said.
“I have gained access to this facility. I have not been in this facility, so I cannot guarantee absolute safety,” Tiffany responded. “I am doing my best to make this mission work.”
The blue automacube rolled ahead and using its manipulation arm, it pushed the door out of the way. The door fell with a loud clang and the automacube rolled inside the Reproduction and Fabrication facility.
Paul and Gretchen followed. It was comparable to other places like it they had seen on the Vanguard, but they kept watching for why the door had been wrecked. On the left side of the room was a system of flat belts to move items. That multitude of conveyor belts and rollers in a complex system with multiple levels reached all the way to the ceiling. It was quiet now; it appeared to have only been stopped briefly. The oils and grease smells were strong indicating the rollers had been turning recently.
The conveyor system would move items toward the center. There were chutes coming from the walls and ceiling with openings over and near various places on the conveyor belts. Several of those shunts were extended down and had oval shaped openings on their sides. Whatever was to be moved would be gently brought to the center of the room, and then rolled out to the front near where
Paul and Gretchen were standing.
They continued to look for threats or reasons the doors had been broken open.
In the center of the room was a very complex machine. There were a series of arches and domes and spans over the conveyors. These things had lights and dish shaped objects, and other equipment which pointed at the conveyor. Then there was a large flat area, very polished and silvery, where things would have slid off the end of the conveyors. A large cylinder shaped machine was situated over the flat area. It had nozzles at the end of flexible and ribbed tubing. There were also mechanical arms with which to pick up items and move them, but they were all resting quietly at the moment. It was an eerie quiet as if Paul and Gretchen had interrupted something.
The Colony Ship Vanguard: The entire eight book series in one bundle Page 137
