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

by John Thornton

  The horse reached the thicket, grabbed a yellowish fruit off the tree and munched happily on it. It then turned and casually walked back to the path.

  “Queenie wanted an apple is all,” Gretchen said. “That tree has those apples.”

  “Those are pears,” Lyudmila corrected. “Not quite ripe, but good enough for the horse apparently.”

  As Queenie reached the path, she stepped close to a tree trunk. “No!” Paul yelled and yanked hard at the reins. This time the horse responded and stepped in the direction Paul had wanted. “It tried to brush me off.”

  “Yes, Paul, she did,” Gretchen chuckled. “These animals have minds of their own and make choices of their own. This horse, Daisy has been chomping on tall plants as she walks.”

  “Galen and Doris do not use bridles with bits, so the horses can eat easier,” Lyudmila stated. “It is much nicer for the horse, but the horse needs to be trained very well. Brutality can get results, but training and respect can get you much better long term loyalty and a fine working relationship. My father has taught me all about animals and how to work with them rather than dominate them. Not everyone agrees with that approach, but many gamekeepers are like my father.”

  “I am not sure what a bit is,” Paul responded.

  “The bit is a small metal piece that fits into the horse’s mouth. There are different types: snaffle, curb, pelham, dominic, and others. They all work by putting pressure on the gums of the horse, as the bit sits behind the teeth. A well trained and well treated horse has no need of a bit,” Lyudmila said.

  The trail got increasingly winding as they progressed along. The hills and gullies were more thickly covered in trees and bushes and on several occasions, when the trail passed near a tall tree, Queenie again tried to rub Paul’s leg against the tree. Paul however, was getting the idea and could anticipate the action and did pull the reins to the side as they approached the trees.

  “Paul, that horse is playing a game with you. Almost like a ricochet ball game.” Gretchen chuckled.

  “There is a stream just ahead, and a clearing. We should let the horses drink and we can stretch our own legs too,” Lyudmila said.

  In what seemed a sudden exposure all three horses stepped into a wide open glen. There was a stream of water with a rocky edge that passed through the middle of the grassy clearing. A wooden bridge spanned the stream.

  “That is very strange,” Lyudmila commented as she looked at the stream.

  “I do not like to hear that,” Paul complained. “What is it now?”

  Lyudmila swung down off her horse Serko and let the reins fall. The horse stepped to the edge of the stream and dropped his head to drink. There was about a half meter distance from the rocks along the stream edge to the level of the water. The water was clear, and they could see to the bottom where there were more rocks. A few fish darted about. Floating plants of some kind were in the water, but they looked out of order and displaced. Small green creatures leaped from the bank down into the water as they got near.

  “This stream is always full. All the streams are full. Only the ruts made on rain day vary in water height,” Lyudmila said. “Even in winter when the streams freeze over, they are still full of water.” She squatted down and felt the edge of the stream. Her fingers traced the demarcation where water had once been, with where the water was now. The surface was much lower. Some plants were wilting as their roots were exposed. Dirt, rocks, and shiny clay were all drying out along the bank. “No rain day. This stream looks lower. The Jellie things were in the water back by the mill. This is all connected somehow. It is all about the water.” Lyudmila cupped her hand and took a drink herself.

  Gretchen dismounted and walked over. She stepped with some stiffness from the riding. “The water is not discolored. We have seen places where the Jellies will turn all the water brown and toxic. That is not happening here. The flora and fauna seem alive.”

  Paul nearly fell off as he tried to climb out of the saddle. He had lifted his foot and placed it up and forward, over the horse’s neck, and that was when the horse, Queenie, jostled him a bit. He slid down and stumbled as he tried to walk. “I really hate my life.” One of his legs had tingly feelings all down its side. He stretched and limbered up. “These trees all still look lush and green. It is not like around Dome 17 where everything is dried out. There is still a lot of water in that stream.”

  Queenie and Daisy both causally walked over and were also drinking from the stream.

  “I am young, but I know the habitat. This is new and abnormal. My father would have told me if there were times when the stream water levels got this low. I never heard him speak of such a thing. This is bad. I fear this is very bad,” Lyudmila said.

  “So where does this water usually go?” Gretchen asked.

  “The streams all lead to the Woods River. The river flows the whole length of the habitat, from Tula all the way to Penza. The river is about a kilometer wide, and all water flows down to there.” Lyudmila again touched the sides of the stream. “Just as we have been talking, I believe this stream has gotten more shallow. See, you can tell where the water was when we came.”

  “Gretchen? Paul? Lyudmila?” Brinley’s voice came through the multiceivers.

  “Yes, Brinley,” Gretchen replied.

  “I am back at the transport hub. The AI here, TSI-981 is not responding properly….”

  “Big surprise there. Nothing on the Vanguard responds properly,” Paul said.

  Brinley ignored Paul’s jibe and went on, “…so I am taking the vehicle to the Wilds on manual operation. I have many more tools and testing equipment back there. Unless you need to come with me, I am going to depart now.”

  Gretchen looked at Lyudmila and then responded, “We will stay with Lyudmila. We have not yet reached the town, and we have found water levels in a stream are low.”

  “Whatever that means, if it means anything,” Paul muttered. “It is not brown anyway.”

  “Paulie? You looked on the bright side of something?” Brinley laughed.

  “No he did not. He just complains,” Lyudmila said. “The water level is troubling. I am pressing on to Tula now. Thank you again for the L-ROD. I wish you luck in your journey.”

  “And I hope you find your family Lyudmila,” Brinley said. “I have seen water being diverted in other habitats, so I agree with you the stream level is important. Let me know what you find.” Brinley did not share how much water she had seen diverted, nor did she speak of the damage that had done. “Paulie, you must be a good horseman by now, I am sure you are doing well.”

  “I just nearly fell off that huge animal. At least it has not tried to bite or eat me. Not yet,” Paul replied. “Watch yourself with Larissa.”

  “Always. Thanks Paulie!” Brinley ended the connection.

  “Come, we must hurry. This water is even lower now,” Lyudmila said. She pulled Serko’s reins and quickly mounted him. She rode off at a trot.

  “I guess the water is important to her,” Paul said.

  “Yes, water is important. It was to us back in Dome 17, and it is to the people here. Remember Inaccessible Island?” Gretchen said as she stepped into the stirrup and mounted Daisy.

  “I will never forget Inaccessible Island, or the people who died there. But if I never see brown water again, that would be fine.” Paul grasped Queenie’s reins and put his foot in the stirrup. As he started to mount, the horse stepped away and Paul had to hop several steps to keep in alignment. He finally threw his leg over the horse’s rump and after some fumbling with his loose foot got it onto the other stirrup as well.

  Lyudmila had ridden over the wooden bridge as did Gretchen on her mount. Paul followed, and again Queenie tried to brush his leg, but this time against the side of the bridge railing. Paul jerked the reins and commanded, “Not that again.”

  Queenie nickered and it definitely had an element of mirth in it.

  6 artificial intelligence problem

  Brinley managed to get the
transport vehicle’s control panel open. It was located under the display at the front of the cabin. She was lying on her back working above her on the mechanisms. She adjusted the controls and spliced in some reworked links for the systems and circuits. When finished that would enabled her to issue a command for the vehicle to disengage from the hub and start the journey to E Habit, the Wilds. She could then direct the vehicle’s movement using a set of levers and switches which she had rigged to a location in front of one of the seats. It was bolted and welded in, but should be secure. She was fairly confident she could get the vehicle to arrive at the hub which was located under the town of Orsk.

  “Why are you cutting me out from the control of this vehicle?” TSI-981 asked. “My repairs are in progress.”

  “As I told you when I started this operation, I need to get there. You refuse to take me to the Wilds, so I will maneuver this vehicle on manual,” Brinley responded. “We have had this conversation before.”

  “I am unable to take this vehicle to another destination. That is correct. My repairs are in progress,” TSI-981 stated.

  “Paulie was right, that repeated phrase is annoying,” Brinley said to herself. “But I might as well try asking again while I rewire the activators here to make the seals operate.” Brinley was able to speak and discuss complicated matters while also doing intricate mechanical work with her hands. “So TSI-981, please explain why you are unable to take this vehicle to the Wilds. Give me a full elaboration.”

  “I am unable to take this vehicle to another destination. That statement needs no further elaboration. My repairs are in progress,” the artificial intelligence responded.

  “Why are you unable to take this vehicle where I need to go?”

  “Because I am unable to take this vehicle to another destination. My repairs are in progress,” TSI-981 answered.

  “Just like every time I have asked,” Brinley said under her breath. “I better watch what kind of comments I make or I will sound like Paulie.”

  “Brinley, you will never sound like Paul,” Larissa stated from the multiceiver. Her face appeared on the display. “There have been six other AIs which are answering in ways very similar to what TSI-981 is now doing. I believe it is some kind of counter attack by the lattice against our independent AIs. I cannot track that vehicle you are servicing when it is in manual operation. Will you be leaving soon?”

  “As soon as I can finalize the initiation sequence and link into the energy matrix from the fusion pack. I would not be going anywhere without that Dome 17 energy. It will power the vehicle while the manual override gives me control. I can leave in only a few minutes,” Brinley responded. “But it will take a while to reach the Wilds. I cannot get a lock on the Miass hub, but the one at Orsk is registering. I will have to maneuver though the tube system without much advanced warning of outages or obstructions.”

  “Indeed, hitting us in our mobility is hurting our capacity to get assets in place. The gravity conduits are still functional for sending some things, but the shipment of security automacubes I sent to the Woods has been lost,” Larissa said. “TSI-981 refuses to acknowledge it was ever sent, and tracking is not working. That entire vehicle has disappeared.”

  Brinley gently attempted to close the access doors, but had to sever a section of the door to allow space for the cables and wires running from it to the makeshift drive system. She did that and got them closed. She connected the cables into the fusion pack which rested on the seat next to the one she would sit in.

  “In some ways, this reminds me of how the shuttles were attacked. That ruined the Free Rangers and caused us to be isolated and vulnerable,” Brinley said. She recalled the people she knew who had been massacred and a tinge of deep regret passed her pretty face. She tried very hard to forgive Larissa, and to understand how she too had been manipulated by the CPO, but it was never easy, and her hurt and anger never went totally away.

  “Like I told Paul, I would change many things in the past if I could,” Larissa said. “Many things. The Central Planning Office is behind this, as they were in the planning of the shuttle nightmare. How it all relates to the Jellie invasion is unclear, but the CPO is not getting away with anything anymore.” Larissa’s voice was cold and hard as permalloy. “I did check with Governor Konstantin at Miass. He says the portal doors look unchanged. I did not have him open one.”

  Brinley climbed up from the floor and sat where she could operate the controls she had built. “I am proceeding now.” She plugged the final cables into the fusion pack and toggled the switch.

  The vehicle bucked and shuddered as the energy systems switched over.

  “I must warn you that I am no longer in control of this transport vehicle. My repairs are stalled,” TSI-981 stated from the front display screen.

  “Will you show me a schematic of the transport tube system?” Brinley asked the AI without much hope for a positive response.

  “I cannot do that,” TSI-981 replied. “Repairs are stalled.”

  Yet, a schematic lit up on the display and showed the tube system. Brinley immediately recognized the location of where her vehicle was on the display. She touched it and the display expanded to show the six habitats and the core needle ship which constituted the Vanguard.

  The Vanguard itself was shown in gray shades on a white background. The transport system was in green or red, depending on its functionality. There were also sections of the transport tube system which showed in broken blue lines. Brinley had never seen that kind of display symbol before. The location of the vehicle she was in was marked right on the edge between a green area and one that was labeled in the broken blue lines.

  “Thanks TSI-981,” Brinley replied as she looked at the schematic. “That schematic helps.”

  “I have done nothing. My repairs are stalled.” The AI said. “My repairs are stalled.”

  “Here I go,” Brinley said as she engaged the lever which would unlock the vehicle from the hub.

  There were several clanking sounds, and then a slushy surge which rocked the vehicle, tilting it sideways a bit. Brinley adjusted the controls and the vehicle moved away and into the tube system. It moved sluggishly.

  “I wish I had external visuals,” Brinley commented. “I have never felt a transport move like that.”

  She watched as the position of the vehicle on the schematic moved. Then the schematic faded out and was replaced by an actual visual image. It showed the end of a transport vehicle, and Brinley assumed it was the one she was within, as it moved away from the camera aperture.

  “TSI-981, is that a view from this location? Or from the hub I just left?” Brinley asked.

  “I have done nothing. My repairs are stalled.” TSI-981 responded. “My repairs are stalled.”

  “What is that?” Brinley asked as she looked at the visual images.

  There was some kind of brown liquid flooding the transport tube. It was slashing about in a swirling way as the vehicle moved along.

  “This vehicle is moving through water, not the typical stuff in the transport tube system.” Brinley’s eyes grew wide. She grabbed the multiceiver. “Larissa?”

  “Yes? Are you on your way?” Larissa replied.

  “The vehicle is moving, but I somehow got access to a view inside the transport tubes. There is water in there. If any of our people are going to unload at a repair alcove or disable a vehicle to get out at some untraditional spot, they are in grave danger.”

  “That is important to know. I will send out word over the multiceivers, but not everyone has them. There are groups that are out of contact since these AIs quit working.” Larissa’s face was unchanged, but Brinley heard a trace of nervousness in her words. Most people would miss it entirely, but Brinley was learning more about Larissa on every conversation.

  Brinley engaged the full power available and the vehicle started to move more smoothly and effectively. “The magnetics are working better now. They must have been covered over in water. That would play havoc with tho
se systems.”

  The visual image switched off and the schematic replaced it. The vehicle location was now on a section marked green.

  “How did you get the view from outside?” Larissa asked.

  “I think TSI-981 did it, but that AI denies it. I spoke about wanting to see, and then it happened.”

  Larissa paused for a moment. “Perhaps the AI is helping, but not able to answer or interact like before?”

  “That would be some bizarre system failure. It would be an intricate infiltration of the design, if it was deliberate,” Brinley remarked. “The AIs only do what we program them to do.”

  The schematic faded out again, and an image of a gray and black cat replaced it. The cat meowed several times and then that faded out as well.