by Ian Alexio
Frantically, I relayed what had happened. That the Wroughts had sealed us in.
What do we do? How do we get out of here? I asked.
Eeone struggled to look around. His eyes were nearly swollen shut.
My Canary..., He uttered.
We need my Canary.
His shaky hand tried to point in the general direction of his Mech.
But its, I don't think it can...
It's fine, it can handle a hell of a lot worst. Eeone Interrupted.
I jog over to the Canary heap and clear away some debris. Upon closer inspection, I see that despite being riddled with gnarly dents and scrapes, everything appears to be intact. Up close I could see that the Canary is comprised of a combination of various metals. One had to have been Fortifidium, a recently discovered metal that seems pretty typical by itself, but when coupled with other types of metal it can yield impressive results such as nearly invulnerable toughness. Now I see why Eeone puts his trust in this mech. It sure is resilient for an old model. The Canary Mech was on its side. Luckily the cockpit door was exposed. After working my way into the Canary's interior, I take note of a first aid kit, then I immediately head for the controls. Though my time apprenticing with the Wroughtwilers was short, I did learn the basics of operating a RocknRoll. Enough at least to get The Canary back on its feet. I walked this bipedal digging machine over to Eeone, who was already trying to get to his feet. I parked the Canary and got out to assist Eeone into the Mech's cabin, where I hooked him up to the first aid kit. The Cabin was not very spacious but could at most cram three people in it, but with just me and Eeone, it was a comfortable fit. The First Aid kit was automated so I let it decide on the best course of treatment for Eeone's injuries. I took the controls again and powered up the Canary once more. I started to gain an appreciation for this beat up ole RocknRoll. Sure it wasn't as impressive as the Wroughtwiler's Mechs, but what it lacked in pizazz, it made up for in reliability. I've seen my share of mech maintenance that Roda and the other Wroughts vigilantly tended to. Plus there was a simple charm to Eeone's Mech, it had character.
What do I do now, Eeone? How do I activate the drill? I asked.
Hit the switches on the ceiling to enable the voice command. Then just tell her what you need her to do. Eeone grumbled from the back.
Voice command, huh? All this time I took you for someone who talks to themselves. I thought as I laughed a little inside. Operating the Canary was simple enough, I still couldn't believe it still worked after the beating it took. I guess I really shouldn't judge a book by its cover. I said out loud as I looked at Eeone. The drill activated, and it was pretty damn sturdy. It took some trial and error as well as some help from the mounted laser, but it did the trick. Eventually, the Canary punched a hole through the rock wall that was sealing us in.
OK Eeone, we're through, now let's go report what the Wroughts did to you.
No! We can't! Not now. My Diamonds, the immovables, did they take them?
No, but they did take...
I don't care what else they took, just get the immovable diamonds. Grab the ones with the blue glow.
Diamonds are you sure.
Yes! Get the damn diamonds, otherwise, you might as well leave me here.
I stop questioning him and do as he asked.
I use the Canary to load up three of the large immovables; The RocknRoll rattled under the strain of lifting each pumpkin sized Jewel. I even pack in a few more pebble-sized immovables. I felt we were risking overloading the Canary if it did suffer any underlining damage. I only got these diamonds because Eeone wouldn't let us leave without them. With the Canary loaded and Eeone's vitals stable, we begin making our way back to the living quarters.
Holo-pad Journal Entry 10
Think-Type initiated.
The trip back was tense. I was in that cave longer than I expected, close to 72 hours. I was in a heap of trouble for deserting my duties at QSM. I would have incurred serious demerits for a triple no call, no show. I was looking at deductions of earnings if not being fired and losing everything. What should I do next? I couldn't go back to my living quarters. The Wroughtwilers would have been looking for the only other person who knew about Eeone's secret cave. I suggested that we go to the authorities, but Eeone kept saying it was urgent that we get the immovables to his home world. He was right, we couldn't trust anybody. The Wrought's had friends in high places. Besides, who would believe a drug pusher over the highly acclaimed Wroughtwilers? Fleeing the dig site with an independent contractor seemed like my best option. Eeone wanted to leave Copia immediately, he didn't want to risk losing all he's worked for. I, of course, had already forfeited my share of earnings to QSM when I deserted my post. QSM wouldn't tolerate me missing work to go exploring another dig site. I escaped the cave only to be trapped by indecision. I couldn't see a way out. Not until I turned to look at Eeone lying in the back cab, his face badly swollen. He truly was a pathetic sight. But seeing him made everything clear. Seeing what the Wroughtwilers were capable of. Who the Wroughts really are. They would kill me once they find out I helped Eeone make it out of the cave. They would kill me if I stood in the way of their fortune. I think they would even kill me over petty change if they could. That's the thing about greed no amount is ever enough. That was it, I knew what I had to do. I saved Eeone; I pulled him out of that cave, I might as well see this through to the end. I'm going to get him to his home world with all of his finds. On the way to the surface of Copia, we even discussed an arrangement for me helping him. If I see him to his homeworld, then he will give me a cut of his earnings which is mostly slag, but if I play my cards right at the right computer part shops, I may be able to at least break even for my losses at Quartermaine. Maybe I can try this Space mining thing again someday on another dig world. Preferably one light years away from where the Wroughtwilers would ever think to look.
When we got to Copia's surface, a surge of paranoia came over me. We were about to leave this rock, but if the Wroughtwilers were keeping an eye out, it could mean trouble. I was suspicious of everyone as we went through customs. Because Eeone was an independent miner, we were able to leave when we wanted. I, on the other hand, was burning my bridges with QSM, but who needs them. They provided me with transport out here to Copia, but now after the recent events, it was best that I hitched a ride with Eeone. It's funny how things end up. I actually planned to leave QSM someday, when I was employed by the Wroughtwilers. But instead, I'm unemployed and stowing away with the local outcast.
I thought fleeing Copia was going to be difficult, but the only close call we had was when the custom's agent asked if Eeone was alright. I told him he had a minor accident, and the agent laughed at the pun and didn't give us any trouble. It was eating me up inside that the Wroughtwilers were going to get away with theft and attempted murder, but at least Eeone and I were alive to tell the tale. After passing customs, we were set. We ran some quick diagnostic checks on Eeone's Rocknroll, then we were off. The Canary took flight, its rockets had enough boost to get us up into space. The Canary's low orbit capabilities got us outside of the asteroid's gravity. Once in orbit, we ascended to the nearest RocknRoll shuttle ship, a ship that independent contractors used to ferry in their heavy equipment if they don't have an inter-dimensional ship of their own. We docked and prepared for the ship to take us away from this world of dashed dreams. Iit was bittersweet in what I was losing. I left my job, both jobs actually. My stash of narcotics was back at the pad unless the Wroughtwilers got a hold of it by now. I left the promise of fame and fortune, and I even left behind what I thought to be a budding friendship and promising future with would be associates. But C'est la vie. I made it out of that avarice pit with my Holo-pad and my life, be it a new look on life but my life none the less. Another conciliation is that what I lost in powerful allies, I gained in one true friend who, despite his unpleasantries, seems pretty damn genuine to me. Goodbye, Copia. And good riddance.
Holo-pad Journal Entry 11
&nb
sp; Think-Type initiated.
The trip to Eeone's home world was a long one. It was a good chance for me to get to know the guy. I thought that once I got to know him better, he wouldn't seem so strange, but I couldn't be more wrong. Journeying several light years across the cosmos with him just revealed a whole new side to his weirdness, even though it took him most of the trip before he warmed up to me enough to open up and say more than a few words at a time to.
He told me about his home world, a small planet named Gyooga. It was a desert world. He told me how he was an outcast there as well. The people on Gyooga ignored Eeone; they saw him as some derelict weirdo living under a rock like a troll shunned by society. The people of Gyooga had technology in abundance, but it might as well have been junk. The desert dwellers were skilled at trading for more techno-junk, but hardly anyone wanted to learn to create new technology. No one was an innovator that could advance their society. The people became enslaved to their machines in such a way that it made them seem primitive compared to the rest of the neighboring worlds. Their dependence on outdated tech and the fuel needed to run them was sapping the planet dry of its natural resources. Drought, famine, and depletion of fossil fuels had Gyooga in a death grip.
Techno junk hoarding became more important to the people of that world than taking care of others or of the planet itself. When Gyooga began to die, choked by poverty, overpopulation, and greenhouse gasses, nobody wanted to believe it was caused by the over dependency and lack of moderation in the use of such technologies, or nobody cared. Those who found living on Gyooga intolerable left the planet if they could. Those who couldn't leave over indulged in techno distractions to make the unbearable bearable. Eeone's suggestions for saving the doomed planet were unfavored by the vast majority and his lack of techno junk adornments branded Eeone as antisocial and reprobate to the populous, His scientific theories are seen as witchcraft or pointless nonsense. It was Eeone, who banished himself from the planet Gyooga. He couldn't tolerate living in a world where others cannot see past immediate gratification to a better future.
Now I think the very oddness that makes people detest Eeone is what makes him so intriguing. When I first saw Eeone I would have described him as homely and disheveled, I thought he was hideous. But now I see him in a whole new light. No body-mods or prosthetic enhancements give him a wholesome quality. Maybe he would have been considered normal looking by ancient standards. I gained a further understanding of why he is the way he is once I got to where he lives.
When we arrived in orbit around his home world, things really got bizarre. We never set foot on Gyooga. From the transport, we used the Canary to find a small asteroid that orbited around Gyooga. It was perplexing to think anyone could live on a slab of space rock such as this, cut off from contact with its parent planet. The canary rattled as it descended onto the rocky satellite. An airlock opened up and received the Canary. We connected to the docking bay. Eeone led me off the mech and into his home. It had the appearance of an underground mad scientist's lair. Eeone's abode was as much an enigma as he was. Eeone didn't even offer to show me around, he just went right to work, carefully offloading the immovable diamonds to a transport cart which he proceeded to take to one of the many workstations. He was moving remarkably well for someone who suffered such an ass whooping as he did. He didn't even seem to mind or even care that I was in his home invading his personal space. Eeone was a hoarder of lab equipment. I always thought scientific environments were clean, sterile, but Eeone's lab was grungy, dusty. The whole vibe had an earthy sense to it. The experiments being conducted in this place were indeed bizarre. Grotesque odors and unsightly grime permeated every inch of Eeone's working and living spaces. At first glance, one would think Eeone is nothing more than a pack rat, a slob but often accompanying his pig sty of lab equipment was detailed notes, equations and elaborate descriptions of his studies. For instance, the dirt and grime everywhere were actually acting to bulk up Eeone's immune system. Eeone had found a way to fortify his gut microbes to thrive in any environment. This must be why he was healing so fast or why he doesn't get sick regardless of what he ate. Even his disgusting choice of food was actually an efficient source of sustenance. He farmed GMO insects along with fungi and algae that he was able to mix into an all-encompassing shake that fulfills all of Eeone's nutritional needs. The science he's doing here could have a profound impact on habitation everywhere. Unfortunately, some of his science may be hard to swallow by the general public.
There was a reservoir that smelled of sweet mountain spring water at one end and reeked of sweat and shit at the other. This was Eeone's drinking water/bathroom and a waste recycling plant all rolled into one. A homemade water filtration plant that came complete with portable canteens that also utilized this sophisticated water purification tech. If one could look past the nauseating idea of drinking and bathing in what was once excrement, one would appreciate the genius of such a habitat. I was thoroughly amazed. This whole rock heap was a self-sustaining ecosystem.
When I was finished perusing Eeone's other experiments, I turned my attention back to what he was doing with the diamonds. I ventured into the work area Eeone was currently occupying. What was with his obsession with diamonds? I still couldn't figure that part out, especially impossibly heavy diamonds with a faint blue glow. He was using some kind of hyper microscope to gaze deep within one of the diamonds. He had another smaller shining azure diamond running through a gravity chamber which was essentially a centrifuge on steroids. For hours, a high-powered laser was concentrating on a single point on one of these pebble sized gemstones. I was baffled by this experiment and Eeone was far too busy to fill me in. So I patiently sat there watching the jewel floating and sparkling in the gravity vortex.
Eventually, I heard a subtle cracking noise, the sound ice makes when it is plunged into warm water, then the diamond sprung a leak. The point of the focused laser had a stream of water spouting out continuously, until suddenly, the carbon structure exploded. Instead of an eruption of fire, the lab was filled with a burst of water in both liquid and vapor form. Eeone and I suffered minor injuries from ice and carbon shards, but the more surprising thing was how much liquid water gushed out of the pebble-sized gem. The water filled the room up to our knees. Eeone was grinning from ear to ear. This was a first. I'd never seen a happy Eeone before. He was sloshing around the lab with such excitement that it became infectious.
This is incredible! What just happened? I shouted with the exuberance of a child getting soaked in the summertime.
For once Eeone seemed glad to speak to me about his work.
I was right, my hypothesis was right! Water-bearing diamonds exist.
What diamonds? What are you talking about? Aren't diamonds just compacted carbon?
Right, but wrong! Eeone frantically explained. In this case, the white hole didn't just compact carbon. The compacted carbon was just a containment shell. It also compacted H2O. A lot of H2O. H2O in an extraordinarily dense form of Ice ten.
Ice ten?
Usually, people think of water in its solid state as ice in its frozen form, but gravity can also create ice. The gravity of a white hole is strong enough to pack more H2O into one space than one would normally think possible. By using the gravity extractor and a diamond cutting laser, I was able to release all the compacted water.
Wow, this is so amazing. How much do you think we'll be able to get for such a discovery? I selfishly asked.
Eeone gave me a sour look but then quickly reverted back to his mirthful state as he looked to the larger immovable diamonds.
Holo-pad Journal Entry 12
Think-Type initiated.
It was a noble plan. Eeone sought to jettison the immovables to the waterless surface of Gyooga. He targeted dried lake beds and deserts near major cities. After he confirmed the Ice ten composition of the other immovables. The larger gemstones were predicted to hold an even more outstanding amount of h2o. Once this was confirmed, it was time for us to part ways. It
was astonishing how motivated this guy was. It was as if rest wasn't an option once he set out to do a specific task. And his task now was to bring the life nourishing gift of water to his home planet.
To my surprise, Eeone left me with a large sum of cash. He has already apparently made what could be considered by some a space miner's fortune. He found a large quarry of Absorbsian crystals a while back. He claimed this find was more than enough to keep his scientific inquiries going indefinitely for some time. Material gains were not of utmost importance to Eeone. It was merely a means to an end in fulfilling his scientific interests. He gave me more than enough to go wherever I wanted in the galaxy. He was giving me a fresh start. I was hesitant to take it, but we both knew that after that whole ugly business with the Wroughtwilers, I didn't have any other choice but to take up his token of gratitude. It was his way of thanking me, which he couldn't seem to do verbally. I was much obliged to accept it.
We rode the Canary back to the rim of Gyooga's orbit, where I got on board a galactic transporter. Eeone, without so much as a goodbye, turned to board his Canary. He stopped for a split second as if he was going to say something but decided against it. He boarded his RocknRoll and flew off towards Gyooga. I like to think that the slight hesitation was Eeone realizing he was leaving what I doubt he's ever had before. A true friend. But then again, that thought could just be me projecting my emotions onto him. On board the transport, I attentively watched as the Canary sailed off around the dying planet. It became a golden glimmer in the dark of space. I wondered if our paths will ever cross again someday? I all but lost sight of his ship when I noticed tiny meteors falling through Gyooga's atmosphere. These had to be the immovable diamonds hurling downwards, to strike the planet like a gift from the heavens. The visible clouds expanded swiftly. White mist obscured the falling stars, but I can imagine that the impacts were glorious. An explosion of torrential waves and steam covering a large portion of dry land with liquid water.
