The Free Trader of Planet Vii

by Craig Martelle

  They let the horses drink and graze briefly, then they raced back into the rolling grasslands. The Development Unit effortlessly kept up with them as the horses ran. On its top and trailing behind it was a mass of freshly picked vegetables and sweet grass. It reminded Braden of how hungry he was.

  When they reached Brandt, he apologized for not having gone farther. He was almost at a standstill. The others worried, until they saw the Bot loaded down with choice foods.

  Brandt ate slowly at first, but as he built strength, he dug great swaths out of the vegetable pile, until nothing remained. He laid down and was soon fast asleep.

  “It’s not important if we get there today. What matters is that we get there together,” Braden said, more for himself than the others. At least they were dry.

  Brandt was not out long. When he shook himself awake, he stood and bugled into the waning sunshine. He took a few steps, then jogged, then broke into a run, taunting everyone left behind. Braden and Micah vaulted onto the horses’ backs and were off. Aadi barely got the rope in his beak, while G-War ran to catch up. He tried to catch the King, but he had too big of a head start. The ‘cat finally settled for riding with Micah.

  They ran into the welcome green of the oasis before the sun set. Brandt looked around. Many paths weren’t wide enough for him, so he chose his path carefully. He enjoyed the grasses and even some of the bushes that grew throughout. He looked at the fields greedily, but Micah stopped him. She had yet to clear that with the Security Bots.

  The others drank from the lake, G-War even managed to get himself a fish, which Skirill flew by and took from him, thanking him profusely as he carried it away. G-War continued fishing, but wasn’t lucky a second time as the fish shied away from his furry orange body.

  “We’ll be down below. Call if you need anything,” Micah told the companions.

  54 – Preparing to Fight a War

  The evening was for recovering. Once in the room, Braden and Micah put the thought of everything else out of their minds. They enjoyed the fabricator, their time together, and the divine comfort of that bed.

  In the morning, they explored more of the menu options from the fabricator. Most they liked, some they didn’t. The sun was well up when they made their way back outside.

  Micah gave her blaster to the Security Bot to recharge/repair. Then they went to the New Command Center to talk with the hologram.

  “Holly, are you there?” Micah asked. She led as the hologram recognized her as the President.

  “Master President, I’m so glad you returned. How may I be of assistance?” Holly said in his pleasant voice.

  “Do you know about the mutant birds? All black, like a cross between a bat and a bird,” Micah asked him.

  “Yes. It sounds like one of Professor Warren’s failed experiments. He had many, unfortunately, which is why the war started. The ideas between the north and south were far too different.”

  “But I didn’t see destruction like this in the north, not like what happened to Sanctuary.”

  “That’s because the destruction in the north was far more complete,” Holly answered. “The destruction here was due to last acts of desperation. According to our calculations, the south won the war by a considerable margin.”

  Micah stepped in. “And that’s what we’re here to tell you. No one won. Everyone lost in that war. Now, these mutant birds threaten us. We need to defeat them, keep the peace in the south. Then we need to make sure that war never happens again. Can you help us with all that?” Micah sounded sincere, but sarcastic as well. Holly took it all in stride.

  “Defeating the mutant birds will not be difficult. I can prepare a nerve agent that you can deliver to their nesting grounds.”

  “What’s a nerve agent?” they asked together.

  “A toxin that attacks the living being's nerve center, where they lose the ability to control their muscles and organs. Eventually they beat themselves to death.”

  “What happens to the person who delivers it?” Braden asked, already thinking he would be that person.

  “Unfortunately, they won’t make it, unless they wear full chemical protective equipment, including a supplied air mask. I do not have any missile delivery systems available, so it will have to be delivered in person.”

  “That won’t work for us, Holly. What other options are there?” Micah asked, refusing to accept a suicide attack.

  “We have a number of hand blasters available as well as the capture nets, but I recommend expanding the Tortoid ranks. Tortoids are effective in knocking the birds from the sky, where they can be dealt with by any ground-based creature.” The hologram stood, waiting patiently.

  ‘What do you all think?’ Micah asked over the mindlink.

  ‘Although I’m honored to be considered an answer to the mutant birds, I don’t think creating more of one thing effectively solves problems. Whenever we upset the balance of nature, something else will have to change, too,’ Aadi suggested.

  ‘Blasters for humans we trust to clean out the nest. Then we destroy those blasters. They have too much power. Even the Aurochs would be helpless against them,’ Brandt said.

  “Holly, if we take the blasters, how can we destroy them when we are done?” Micah, looking hopeful, asked the hologram.

  “We can store them here, securely. We have a fully functioning armory guarded by an integrated sensor-response system as well as access to multiple Security Bots. Or we can recycle the blasters, whatever the President wishes.”

  “An armory?” Braden was intrigued. Micah put a hand on his arm and shook her head.

  “Holly, please ensure the following security measures are in place. The armory is to open only when Braden and I are together. No one is to enter the armory alone.”

  “Does that include you, Master President? You can change the protocols at your convenience. If you don’t want Braden to enter alone, that will be logged and enforced. If you want to make sure that you also don’t enter alone, that will require a second executive endorsement.”

  “How do I do that, Holly?”

  “Braden, as the only other human available, is assumed to fill all other roles the President requires. As such, Braden’s concurrence will lock in the desired two-person security protocol.”

  “I agree,” Braden said simply.

  ‘If anything happens to one of us, what do we want to do? Say I die when we go after the mutie birds and then we discover we need more blasters…’ It was a sobering question that Micah posed.

  “Holly, what if something happens to one of us. How would you know?”

  “We can access your neural implant at any time, then this system would know instantly. Authority would revert to the surviving member. You don’t have the neural implants. Would you like them installed?”

  “What is that and what do you mean by installation?” Micah asked, not feeling comfortable with the hologram’s suggestion.

  “It is a device that resides in your brain. It is smaller than a grain of rice, powered by your biological energy. We can access the implants from anywhere due to our satellite monitoring system. Installation is a process completed in the New Command Center’s medical laboratory. A fiber probe is inserted past the eyeball, along the optic nerve, and into the visual cortex. This gives the human the impression that they see the information directly.”

  “You want to shove something into my eyeball?” Braden asked sarcastically.

  “Past the eyeball. There is no incision and no damage to a person’s body. This process is well refined. There will be no complications.”

  “I’ll do it,” Micah said quickly.

  “What the crap are you doing?” Braden grabbed her by both arms to face her.

  “Let go of me,” she said coldly. He released his grip, his fingers white and shaking, his head hung low. “It’ll be okay, Braden. If they can create all of this, they can do a simple procedure. We need to be able to fight these things. And we have to win. We have to win for the world you’re t
rying to create.” She hesitated. “I want you to get it, too. If the hologram can share information with us over a mindlink, then there’s nothing we won’t be able to accomplish,” she finished, confident and strong.

  “Listen to yourself. The power draws you in. I don’t want it. I don’t want a blaster. I don’t want to see you like this.” Braden started to get frustrated and angry.

  ‘Braden,’ the King of the Aurochs said in his booming thought voice. ‘That is why you are the right person to get it. You get this. You get the information. You carry the blaster, because you don’t want it. Be afraid of a person who wants this, for they will want it for the wrong reasons.’

  ‘A trade then, my friend. If I start to embrace the power, you will spear me with one of your great horns. You will save me from myself?’ Braden had no choice but to get the implant. The balance had to be maintained. As long as no one had the power alone, then there was hope for an uncorrupted future.

  ‘Agreed. We all agree,’ Brandt spoke for the companions. Balance had returned.

  “I’ll get the implant as well. Then we’ll need blasters, Holly. So where is this laboratory and the armory?”

  55 – Building a Better Human

  “I don’t feel any different,” Braden said to Micah as they looked at each other, trying to see any sign of their implants.

  “What is it supposed to do? Holly, are you there?” Braden and Micah sat in an Old Tech laboratory. Bright white Bots of all shapes and sizes stood about. Many had arms or snake-like tendrils, and all had screens on them to show processes. There were two tables in the middle of the area where Braden and Micah had been directed to lay.

  The next thing they knew, they were awake and looking at each other.

  “The procedure is complete. Please wait while I bring your systems online. Lie down, please, as there may be an initial disorientation.”

  They both felt the sensation. Their right eyes fogged, then the laboratory came back into focus. In one part of their vision, a window opened. Braden reached in front of him, trying to feel if something was physically there. He saw his hand behind the window.

  It was only in their minds. Information started scrolling past. Numbers and letters. Braden could read it. Micah could not. She started scratching at her closed eye. “Please don’t touch your eye, Master President,” Holly said calmly, but firmly.

  A medical Bot moved close and grasped her hand. She kicked it violently. Straps slipped out of the table, wrapped themselves around her flailing limbs, and pulled her down. She heaved against them, arching her back, her muscles straining with the effort.

  “Micah!” Braden shouted. “Micah, what is it? What’s happening?”

  “I can’t understand what it’s showing me. I can’t! It’s frying my brain!” she screamed hysterically.

  “It’s not. It’s not. You see that little window, right? Those are numbers and letters. I will teach you to read. Then you’ll know what it’s trying to tell you.” He switched his attention to the hologram. Micah strained against her bonds, but more weakly.

  “Holly, what’s it showing me?”

  “Those are your medical vitals, Braden. Let me highlight each of them for you.” The numbers stopped scrolling. The first pair of numbers loomed large, taking up the entire window. “This is your blood pressure, systolic and diastolic.”

  “That doesn’t mean anything to me. Just tell me what blood pressure is and what the numbers should be,” Braden directed.

  “Your current blood pressure is 128 over 70. Normal range is 120 over 80, but in your currently excited state, it is well below a norm. Master President’s numbers are 152 over 103.”

  “Micah. Can you see them? I taught you the numbers. Do you see them?” She stopped straining and relaxed back onto the table.

  “Yes. The number now shows one four zero over nine two. It continues to get lower.” She watched, carefully reading off the numbers as they changed.

  “Good, Master President, Braden. Next is your pulse, that is, how many times a minute your heart beats. Normal is fifty to seventy for you, Braden, and sixty to eighty for the President.”

  “Why is hers higher?” Braden asked suspiciously.

  “Women have higher blood pressure and pulse rates by a small margin. Please understand that these are averages. It appears that you both are well better than the average.” Holly finished and waited.

  “Yes, I see mine is fifty-nine,” Braden said.

  “Mine is also fifty-nine,” Micah added.

  “Please release Micah’s restraints, Holly.” The straps quickly receded into the table. Micah tentatively sat up.

  “Will the window always be there?” she asked.

  “The neural implant will respond to your commands. It will disappear on the command ‘Sleep,’ or shrink to a dot on the command “Minimize.’ It will reappear on the command ‘Wake.’ It will fill your entire field of view on the command, ‘Expand’.” Holly continued through the ways to control their implants. He told them about requesting information, but they had no reference to work with, not knowing what a database was.

  “Holly, at Oasis Zero One, the hologram there told me she could download maps of Vii directly to my implant. Can you do that for me, please?” The maps that Braden had diligently copied from the computer screens appeared before his eye. He scrolled through them as Holly directed. Micah followed along, not knowing exactly what she was looking at but realizing the full potential of having so much information.

  “Can I add things that I know to these maps?” Braden asked the hologram.

  “Yes, Braden…”

  When they finally tried to stand, they couldn’t. Their heads were swimming, nothing seemed steady. “Sleep!” Braden commanded. His normal vision returned and he started to orient himself. Micah followed his lead.

  Braden shook his head. Where once he sought out the Old Tech, he was now uncomfortable. The ancients were permanently in his head. And Micah’s, too. He knew she regretted her decision, but wouldn’t admit it. They’d use this tech to rid themselves of the mutie birds, then they’d return the blasters.

  Then maybe the ancients in their minds would sleep. It’s about the trade, to help people live better lives, be something more, Braden thought to himself. He looked at Micah as she rubbed her temples. I already have my reward. Once the trade routes are established, we’ll move away from all this, live by ourselves. Raise our children.

  ‘That is the best thing I’ve heard all day,’ Micah thought.

  “To the armory, Master Holly!” Braden commanded loudly. Micah punched his arm and they both gasped with the sudden pain in their heads. If it was going to be like this, they would let the ancient beast sleep.

  “Once in the elevators, tell it to go to the Armory Level.”

  “Besides the New Command Center, how many levels are there?” Braden thought the elevator only went to one place, but learned that it went there when it was not told one of the other destinations. There was the medical level, the armory, storage and distribution, the factory level, and finally raw materials processing. The bottom two levels were the most extensive with the factory level appearing to be endless, massive machines and systems to move materials. The factory level built everything that was used throughout New Sanctuary, including the Bots that did the building.

  The armory was big. When Braden and Micah walked in, they were instantly afraid. Weapons of all types were in racks and on shelves. There were even wagons, which Holly called armored vehicles. When everyone has power like this, everyone loses. No wonder the destruction from the ancients’ war was so complete.

  “Just the blasters, Holly. Two for each of us. When one runs out, we’ll have a backup. If we had four of these, we would have been able to kill all the mutie birds at one time.” Braden was certain of it. Micah had done a great deal of damage with only one blaster.

  “May I recommend you take a field charging unit as well.” Holly pointed them to the wall where the hand blasters were neatly a
rranged. Next to them was a small unit with an attached pack. It had a place where a blaster could be plugged in.

  “How does this work?” he asked.

  “Open the pack and spread the solar collector to face the sun. Plug in your blaster and it will be recharged. The solar collector will also recharge its own battery so you can charge your blasters when the sun is not available.” The hologram waited while they took two blasters each and belts that were nearby. They were specifically made for carrying two blasters, with additional pouches for other equipment.

  Holly talked them through their new equipment until they were comfortable with how everything worked. The blasters had a wide setting that would be most effective at close range against the birds. Each blaster could also be programmed to only work in the hand of the owner. Once they learned of this feature, Braden and Micah insisted on activating it. Braden tested it by trying to fire one of Micah’s blasters. Nothing.

  Perfect. Power to the good guys only.

  Holly recommended a form fitting body armor, along with special boots that could increase a person’s jumping height. They took the boots, but declined on the armor as they wanted to fit in when they visited the villages.

  If they took the armored vehicle, then they’d be completely protected, but everyone would run away. They needed people to accept them, to trust them. The people wouldn’t do that if they were armored in Old Tech. They could hide the belts under their tunics, covering the blasters as well. The boots would soon be dirty and muddy. No one would notice them.

  As they were preparing to leave, Braden had a thought. “Can you do anything for our friends? You know, give them a little extra kick or something.”

  “No. Engineered creatures take generations to change. If we took a sample of each of their DNA, we’d be able to build clones within a couple cycles. This facility has not been set up for cloning, but could be configured if the President requested it.”

  “I don’t know what any of that means, but I don’t think I like it.” Micah crossed her arms, waiting for the expected unacceptable answer.