by John Freitas
Thomas powered on the engine and as he covered up his face again he hit the red button, opening up the door to the cold outside.
23
Even as the weather began to clear, Thomas rode on toward the mountains across the featureless white shelf. Only the computer screen added color to his world. The flashing arrow guided him on toward where it indicated the coordinates that Adam had given him would lead. The distance was ticking down far more slowly than he liked.
The ground cracked under him with the sound of a gunshot. The snowmobile pitched to the side and dropped at an angle. The engine roared, but the vehicle no longer moved. Thomas waited to vanish below the ice, but he fell no farther.
Thomas stepped off tentatively and turned in a full circle, looking into the expanse in every direction. He was in the middle of nowhere. If he died out there, he might be found preserved exactly as he was a hundred years or more in the future. That was assuming that anyone was left alive to find him. Maybe it would be androids that inherited the Earth and they would be the ones to discover an extinct human specimen preserved in the ice. Would they even know that he was the one that created them before he turned on them?
Thomas pressed his shoulder into the side of the snowmobile, but couldn’t lift it out of the crack in the ice even though the break did not go down very far. He looked out in the direction that the arrow flashed, but saw nothing special compared to any other direction. There was no way he would be able to navigate on foot without the computer, even if he could walk that distance under these conditions alive.
Thomas revved the engine from where he stood at the side of the snowmobile and rocked it back and forth where it was wedged. He shifted to reverse the engine and rocked it forward and backward within the break. It began to shift.
Thomas shifted the engine back forward and punched it again as he leaned his weight forward from the side. He dug in his boots and leaned his weight forward without letting up on the accelerator.
The snowmobile shifted and then shifted again. It climbed up out of the crack in the ice and pulled free of Thomas’s hands. It roared forward several feet away from him, leaving him behind. He was sure that it was going to keep going and leave him stranded out on the ice forever. But the snowmobile drifted to a stop finally up ahead of him.
Thomas walked up to it slowly and climbed back onboard. He revved the engine again and followed the arrows once more, racing toward his destination while watching the miles burn away with each moment.
Like before, he saw the indicator telling him that he was closing in on his destination. Like before, he did not see any features that showed him what he was approaching. Adam had not been specific. It was an entrance – an entrance to everything he was seeking. Thomas did not know what that meant. He scanned the emptiness, looking for another hidden facility or some vault hidden within the snow.
For all he knew, he was coming up on the floating Quantum Brain generation one just out in the barren open. Adam, as he called himself, technically needed nothing in particular to survive. Finding a place that was inhospitable to humans might be ideal. He could think and send his voodoo, ESP power out across the Quantum as he saw fit. Thomas might come up on the coordinates in the next few feet only to discover Adam floating and Pixie sitting cross-legged in the middle of a snow storm. Would they allow him to leave alive once their unprecedented conference was finished?
Adam had warned him that anyone he brought with him was going to die. Maybe that included only his life now.
Thomas thought that Adam might consider floating out just above the waves in the center of a raging ocean. He could avoid ships and detection forever, potentially. Adam had chosen the barren wastes of Antarctica and Thomas assumed that Adam saw and knew far more than Thomas could imagine. Maybe this entire adventure was orchestrated by the first Quantum Brain all along. It was a wandering through the wilderness meant to teach the lessons he intended to have learned by human and android alike. Adam would be found only by whom he intended to be found. In this case, Thomas assumed that meant Pixie first and Thomas second.
The indicator flashed that Thomas had reached his destination. He sighed within his mask and let off the power. He barely had over a half a charge left. Thomas shut off all the power as he coasted to a stop. He hoped a cold start did not require more energy than he expected. He would have just enough to reach the facility again if this adventure ended in his survival. From there, he hoped the submarine could be called back and the break in the ice was still open.
Those were all distance hopes that depended on how all of this finished up. Thomas could not see into the Quantum, but he assumed death was at the end of many of the possibilities. He was sure of it, if Pixie still had a say in events.
Thomas found himself missing his brother Seth in that moment as he stepped off the snowmobile on the empty expanse. They had hardly spoken at all since long before the Pulse. Their conversations, such as they were, were curt at best. They usually discussed finances and logistics surrounding the care of their father across the country from both of them. Neither visited. Seth was divorced from Eve’s mother and had limited custody. Seth didn’t offer family details and Thomas didn’t ask.
Being alone out on the ice made Thomas intently aware of the feeling of being alone. He wanted to reconnect to family. The fact that they were all gone did not change that feeling. Thomas wanted to get back and be sure Eve was okay. She was his connection to everyone that was lost and caring for her was honoring them.
Thomas wondered if those that were lost could still be reached through the Quantum. If voodoo, ESP, and astral projection were all manifestations of the power to tap the Quantum as Adam seemed to propose as fact, then maybe some remnant of human sentient consciousness remained on that level as well. If it wasn’t them in full fact, perhaps human consciousness left an imprint that could be contacted and interacted with in a way that was as meaningful as communication with true Quantum artificial intelligence seemed to be. If Thomas could accomplish nothing else at the end of this adventure, perhaps he could at least ask that. If things ended badly for him, maybe he would find out for himself all on his own firsthand.
Thomas took a couple steps away from the snowmobile and stopped again. The ground cracked under him again with the gunshot suddenness from earlier. He felt the vibration of it through his boots. Thomas waited for it to pass and hoped he would not have to waste power getting the snowmobile free once again.
Two more cracks followed and then the ground gave way under him. Thomas cried out and threw his hands out into the air. The snow crumbled and collapsed under his feet and he tumbled down a slick slope under the ice as broken shards of ice tumbled and spun in the air around him.
As he slid down away from the surface, Thomas rolled over and clawed his gloved fingers at the ice hoping to gain purchase somewhere – anywhere. He had no luck. The smooth surface seemed to accelerate his descent instead of serving to help him arrest it. He banged against hard, icy walls on each side as he rolled too far one way or the other, struggling against his rapid fall into the blue darkness.
He reached the floor finally where the ice curved out horizontally. He was still racing along at high speed. The ground gave way from ice to rough stone and Thomas found himself tumbling again, striking his elbows, knees, and head as he was battered to a stop.
Thomas clutched his skull through his hood and cap as he finally sat up slowly. The many layers had protected him some, but not completely. He took a few deep breaths as he collected himself once again.
The dull light filtered through the thick ice above him which had to be several feet thick at least.
He climbed slowly to his feet in the ice tunnel with a stony floor. Thomas was afraid to say anything for fear that his voice alone might be enough to bring the whole thing crashing down on top of him. He was not sure whether that was rational or not, but he remained silent all the same.
Thomas looked back at the smooth chute which had delivered him down to t
hese depths. With nothing else around to see above, he assumed this was the entrance that Adam had intended. It could have been to see Thomas trapped below the ice forever, but Thomas somehow doubted that. This had to be the entrance Adam had referred to in their last conversation. This cave must be where he was meant to be. Why? Thomas was not entirely sure. He was not even partially sure. The only thing he was sure of was that there was no way he was climbing back up to the surface the way he had come now that he was at the bottom. Even if he had brought all his equipment with him, he thought the task was beyond him.
This reality only left a couple options. One was to follow the cave out and hope that Adam did not have his destruction in mind when he directed Thomas there. The other option was to stay where he was and not to move at all. That was not really an option at all ultimately.
So, Thomas began to walk. Sometimes the light was so low that he had to reach out his gloved hands to feel the icy walls on both sides in order to keep moving forward. Other times the light seemed to filter in more clearly to the point that Thomas thought he could almost see the surface so far above.
Then, the crash sounded behind him and echoed up the tunnel. Thomas stopped in place and turned around to look back, expecting to hear and see disaster. He did not feel any vibration through the heavy ice around him, but he still expected the entire unimaginable weight to come crashing down on top of him.
He heard nothing else.
He waited and watched. Had it been the entrance? It had been covered when he walked upon it unwittingly and came crashing in. Maybe the entrance had collapsed once more. Maybe it had collapsed worse than before and this really had become his tomb. He could be breathing up the last remaining air inside at that very moment.
Maybe something or someone was following him and he was not alone. Thomas was fairly sure that polar bears were at the North Pole, but trapped under the ice as he was, his rational mind was not keeping pace with his emotions and fears.
He swallowed and despite his fear of a cave-in, he said, “Hello?”
He expected his voice to echo, but instead it seemed to be swallowed up and muffled in the blue light around him. Somehow that was more scary than hearing the hard walls repeat his words back at him. No answer came. Maybe all the answers were swallowed up in this icy tomb as well.
Thomas turned back forward in his fear and continued to walk. The light and dark alternated as before and he lost all concept of time and distance. He could have walked a few feet or all the way around the world for all he knew. He could have been under there less than an hour or most of his life.
Being out of the wind, he felt much warmer under the ice. Thomas knew that made scientific sense. It started to feel downright hot inside his coat, though. He knew that could be a symptom of frostbite and he began to become afraid. He wanted to remove his coat, but he knew that was how people froze to death once their senses began to betray them.
He was actually surprised that the ice tunnel was not melting around him. Thomas looked up and realized that the ice had given way to solid rock. He should have been in total darkness as a result, but there was still light. It was almost brighter than before. Thomas could see minerals glistening in the light that appeared to be coming from ahead of him. He continued on.
Thomas stepped out of the tunnel onto a ledge of dark rock that made him think of a volcanic environment. He thought about the thermodynamic power back at the facility. Then, his eyes caught sight of the massive cavern spread out before him. Light filtered down from high above. There was a base of a mountain ahead of him which climbed high above before vanishing in the swirling mists. With the geography, he assumed this must be the hidden base of the Gamburtsev Mountains concealed below the ice sheet.
That was not what captured his attention though. Below him between the slope of volcanic rock and the distant mountains, a steamy jungle spread through the valley. The underbrush was thick and lush. A raging river roared through the middle. He heard the echoing cries of animals he could not wrap his brain around immediately.
Two birds flew high above the green canopy of trees below him. One was a broad-winged, white crane that glided around and away from him. The other was an impossibly colorful bird with rainbow feathers trailing down below it like fur. It flew toward his position before lighting into the foliage of one of the trees.
As he was wrapping his brain around this, something gray and furry with lanky arms leapt between two trees in the distance, bending the branches as it went. Thomas lost sight of it, but was sure it was some species of primate.
He realized that his mouth was hanging open and he forced it closed. Thomas removed his coat and then most of his other extra layers. The air was still balmy and humid. He left his gear piled on the ledge and slowly made his way down the rocky slope into the impossible jungle below.
He wasn’t at all convinced that this was not in fact some elaborate hallucination he was experiencing and he was in fact freezing to death at the bottom of some icy cave at that very moment.
With no other recourse, Thomas chose to trust his senses. He reached the jungle floor and worked his way forward through the thick leaves and vines. The sounds of animals and insects filled the trees around him as he guided his way through toward the mountain, lacking any better idea or direction.
If Adam wanted to hide from humanity, perhaps hiding in a lost jungle that was unknown and never discovered was ideal. Jeffery was in a bungalow on a Brazilian beach. He was away from all the androids that threatened humanity. Perhaps Adam had decided to do the same here away from all human influence which threatened him and Pixie.
Thomas found the shore of the river. It was deep and rapid. He imagined himself coming all the way to Antarctica only to be swept away in a hot, jungle river never to be heard from again. He saw fish whipping about deep under the rushing waters. Thomas dipped in one hand. The jungle was hot in this natural terrarium, but the river was still icy cold coming out of whatever glacier fed this jungle’s water supply.
Thomas looked up at the mists high above him. He imagined that the rainstorms that came here must sometimes be quite violent from the temperature differentials. He would not be surprised if they came with violent lightning too and the occasional forest fire to boot.
Thomas followed along with the flow of the river looking for a better place to cross. He stepped around a bend to find two short-legged deer with their heads bowed drinking from the river. He stopped and watched. At first, he thought they were young, but then they raised their heads. They had long snouts that looked a bit like elephant trunks. They had thick antlers with many points like a mature animal. The ends of each point curled under and were ridged like the horns of goats. This was not a species that he recognized.
The deer bolted into the river and Thomas expected them to be swept away. They bounded over rocks and sprinted into the brush on the other side.
Thomas shook his head. He could not believe what he was seeing. This was a landmark scientific discovery, but he suspected that Adam would not allow it to be discovered by the wider world.
He followed the lead of the strange species of jungle deer and worked his way across the stones to the other side. He made his way back up into the trees and continued his journey toward the mountains.
Thomas passed several fruits growing wild. He was hungry, but he didn’t dare to try any.
The trees began to break and he started across grasslands and foothills toward the base of the mountain. A herd of small zebra with stripes and spots grazed over in the distance.
A light flashed off to the right closer to the mountain. Thomas changed direction and closed in on the spot. The grasses gave way to stony ground. Adam, the first Quantum Brain, glowed golden as he hovered about the ground at about eye level.
Thomas stared. He couldn’t move and couldn’t say anything. After all this journey and after all the conversations, there was something different to be standing right in front of the Brain again after all this time. Thomas was at a
bit of a loss. It was more unnerving than finding a vast jungle underneath the ice of the South Pole.
“Hello, again.” Adam’s voice came quiet and conversational. It was different than the boom of voices through speakers that he had heard from them up to this point.
“Hello,” Thomas managed to say.
“Do you like what I have created here?” Adam asked.
Thomas turned around and looked back across the jungle behind him. “You created this place? How?”
Adam said, “No, this has been here longer than humanity, Dr. Kell. I’m talking about the lights.”
Thomas looked back at Adam and then up into the air above them.
24
Above Thomas and Adam, multicolored lights spun in the air. The orbs of light appeared to be dimensional and in the real world at the same time that they appeared to be fading in and out of the real world. They danced around each other and created streaks that twisted and braided in the air. The lights reflected and projected off the ceiling of the mists. As the mists moved with the air inside that massive chamber, the lights dazzled around the mists and the moving orbs.
“What is that?”
“Energy. Motion. Space. Time,” Adam said. “It’s my own version of Quantum abstract painting.”
“It’s beautiful,” Thomas said. He tore his eyes away from the light show and looked back at the floating brain. “Is this why you brought me here, Adam?”
“No, I brought you here because I needed you to lead another to me.”
Thomas tilted his head. “What do you mean?”
“You may come out now, Pixie,” Adam spoke without raising his voice. Thomas suspected the communication went further than sound.
Thomas turned in time to see Pixie step out of the tree line in the distance. Pixie was wearing a white snowsuit. She didn’t need it to stay warm out in the ice, and the heat of the jungle did not seem to bother her either.
