by Karl Morgan
As the men stepped through the first set of doors, they were broken into twenty different lines. At the front of each line was a small metal door. When it opened, the next man would be ushered through the door which would close after him. Within a minute or so, the door would open again, and the next man would step through. “Perhaps this is the end,” Dave thought. “Maybe I’ll step into a blender and find myself consumed by Vanda like everyone else.” He smiled and thought, “So much for my destiny to found a thousand new colonies.” After several minutes, Dave and his friends were at the front of the line. When the door opened, two females dressed as nurses came out and took Dave from them. Then Dave and the women stepped into the room.
“Don’t worry, Admiral Dave,” one nurse said. “This is normal protocol.” The other nurse pulled a metal chair from the wall and set it behind him. Then they stripped his clothing and bandages and sat him on the chair. They quickly went through a small glass door and closed it. Torrents of water shot from the wall and blasted his body. Then heat lamps turned on and the water quickly evaporated from his skin. The two women came out of the side room and helped him up from his chair. “It’s just a disinfectant shower, sir,” the nurse said. They led him over to two rectangular indentations in one wall. They held his forearms up against the indentations. A bright flash of light illuminated his face, and then Dave winced with pain. They pulled him back and quickly pulled a new coverall onto him. Then he noticed that barcodes had been tattooed onto his arms. They led him out a second metal door which closed quickly. The front door opened and Margas walked in. “Remove your clothing!” shouted a metallic voice.
Dave and the nurses were in a vast room, where hundreds of robots like Nostu were stationed at desks. Each new human was led to a vacant desk and asked to sit down. “Thank you, ladies,” Binka of The Accord said to the nurses. “That will be all. I will have another help Dave to his quarters.” The nurses turned and went back to work. “Admiral, I am honored that Master Vanda would entrust your orientation to me. I am Binka of The Accord. Welcome to your Master’s home. For the record, please state your name.”
“Supreme Fleet Admiral Dave Brewster of the Milky Way Free Society,” he replied.
“I’ll just report Dave Brewster, if you don’t mind,” the brain in a jar said. “Anything you may have done in your previous existence is irrelevant now. This station is your life now. Your continued existence will depend on your ability to add value to Master Vanda and the rest of us. What special talents do you have that may serve your Master?”
“Does killing Friends of The Accord count?” Dave smiled.
“We do need comedians to maintain morale, but I don’t think your feeble attempt is up to par,” Binka sneered. “Our scan reported strong numerical and communications skills. I believe you used to be an accountant, is that correct?”
“That was a while back, but it is true,” Dave replied.
“Excellent! Now we’re getting somewhere. We don’t need money in The Accord; however, we do use a form of currency to reward our feedstock. Also, we have vast logistical requirements. Doing such work is demeaning to our Friends. Master Vanda has also requested we give you a good job that can prolong your life, so being a Logistical Support Technician seems a good fit. What do you think?”
“So, there’s no job that involves killing Friends? Too bad, that would have been my first choice,” Dave laughed.
“Do you have a death wish, Dave? Your petty attempts to intimidate us are futile and you’re becoming annoying. This interview is over. You are now a Logistical Support Technician One. You will work for a Friend new to this station. I believe you have met Nostu. He is now your boss. You will report to him tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. Given your condition, a service android will now apply new bandages and take you to your quarters,” Binka concluded as a large robot picked Dave up and threw him over his shoulder and began to walk away. “One last thing, Admiral,” Binka shouted as the robot stopped in its tracks. “You seem like a reasonable man. Look around. We control your life and your death. Do as you are told and maybe you will live a long life. Keep up the disrespect and you’ll be breakfast for me and my friends in a heartbeat.”
§
Eon cut a piece of his steak and chewed it, washing it down with a sip of red wine. This was been a wonderful day. He met with his old friend Mantarcus in the town of Tanat, only ten miles from his estate on Stit. Now he was having dinner with the beautiful young Lini. Even though he was millions of years old, her presence made him feel young again and was arousing his long-dormant desire for female companionship. He had been alone since that day when Vanda told him about his plan to build a large planetoid to enable his brain to expand more quickly. As he contemplated Lini’s face, his mind wandered back to that conversation.
“Eon, it’s the next logical step!” Vanda had argued. “For us to grow and evolve, we need more space. We can’t do that on Skee Lotho as our size will eventually impact the planet’s orbit around the sun. That’s why we must take the people with us. If anyone attempts to attack Skee Lotho, they will find an abandoned world. We will have succeeded in our ultimate goal to protect the Nan. And if they attempt to attack us, we have the power to destroy our enemies. Why can’t you see that?”
“It’s too much power for a mind to handle in my opinion,” Eon had argued. “If our brains evolve too much, we may come to see our inhabitants as nothing more than food. Then we will have destroyed everything we were supposed to protect. We will be the enemies of our friends and family. Mantarcus, you’re the surgeon and know more about physiology that either of us. What do you think?”
“I’m not really sure,” Mantarcus had said.
“You’ve always been wishy-washy, Mantarcus!” Vanda shouted. “Just say what you’re thinking!”
“On the one hand, I’d like to believe that evolution is good. Look at humanity. We started out so long ago on Non-Ti, having evolved from lesser creatures. Through our evolution, we built cities and eventually traversed the heavens, building thousands of colonies,” Mantarcus replied. “We even created technologies to reach beyond our own galaxy. That’s pretty amazing stuff.”
“That’s precisely my point!” Vanda shouted. “Look at what we’ve done when we chose to progress and moved forward. That’s what we need to do now.”
“On the other hand,” Mantarcus interrupted, “remember what was done to us as the Society of Humanity grew. We became the indentured servants of the higher races and were restricted to a single planet. Others, like the Ulu and Vol were also suppressed and made to serve, but none were treated as badly as us. It was only when we were brought to this galaxy that we were able to escape servitude and find our own planets.”
“Not to mention what that treatment has done to us personally,” Eon interrupted. “We have turned ourselves into some kind of intelligent machines in order to protect the Nan. We have lost our humanity and may become as ruthless and heartless as the Ela or Zu. I believe any further expansion will inevitably lead to our downfall. It must stop now.”
“You are both fools,” Vanda scoffed. “We have given our lives to protect our families on Skee Lotho. We owe them a higher level of protection. Have you forgotten the power of the Society of Humanity? Right now, today, they could invade Skee Lotho and subjugate us again. Your failure to join with me will be the death of our citizens.”
“That seems unlikely,” Eon argued. “We’ve lived on Skee Lotho for a long time, and by now, the Society has forgotten all about us. If that was their intention, they would have tracked us down right after our exodus and done the deed then.”
“Well, unlike you two, I would not be able to live with myself if I sat by quietly today. I am convinced we can build the planetoids we need. The Nan within our vessels can live in cities and grow crops and raise livestock as they do now. The product of their work will feed them and us. At the first sign of danger, we can attack or flee. We will go on, and our families inside our vessels will remain safe and happy.
Let me reiterate this. Any other action will lead to the deaths of our people! Remember, the sun in the sky does not live forever either. If it became a nova, everyone on the planet would be incinerated in hours. The only permanent and safe solution is mine. My robots are already constructing my planetoid. Now is the time for decision. What will each of you do?” Vanda asked.
“I am with you, Vanda,” Mantarcus replied. “I have great doubts about our futures. I have seen what humans can do to one another, and we may succumb to those same base desires. I will do everything I can to stop that from happening.”
“As will I,” Vanda replied.
“That being said, I agree that the safety of the Nan is our only goal, and your arguments make sense. I have read the ancient stories about the inhumanity of the Society. I could not live with myself either if that happened to Skee Lotho.”
“And you Eon?” Vanda asked.
“Frankly, I must say that Mantarcus surprised me,” Eon began. “Vanda, you were a robotics scientist, so your faith in machines is understandable. Mantarcus, you were a surgeon who was entrusted with saving human lives. You know about the suffering of flesh and blood people. Besides politics, I’ve always been a man of faith. I don’t think God would consider mechanical men to be an evolutionary improvement. I think you are heading down a slippery slope to an inhuman future.”
“I pray you’re wrong,” Mantarcus interrupted.
“I am pleased that you two have formed an accord of sorts,” Eon continued. “However, I don’t think I can be part of it. When you created the first orbiting robot for my brain, I know you were trying to preserve my life, and I thank you for that. Recently, I’ve begun to wonder if I am still alive, or just a physical software program for the machines around me.”
“Please reconsider, old friend,” Vanda said.
“No, my mind is made up,” Eon replied. “I will take my leave of you now and let your Accord do as it wishes. I don’t want to be a thorn in your future plans. I wish you well, dear friends, and please remember always to care for the Nan, for they are us.”
“Eon, I don’t think you’ve heard anything I’ve said,” Lini complained.
“Oh, I’m sorry, my dear,” Eon replied as he snapped out of his old memory to face the young woman across the table from him. “I was just thinking about the day I left The Accord to Mantarcus and Vanda. I’m surprised I remember it so well.”
“You must tell me the story too,” she requested. “I’d love to hear it.”
“Of course I will tell you everything, Lini, but perhaps tomorrow. I am fatigued after our wonderful day together,” he replied.
Lini rose from the table, walked over to Eon and kissed him on the forehead. “I’m tired too. Please have a good night.” She walked out of the room.
Chapter 14
Perhaps it was Lini’s company or his visit with Mantarcus, but Eon slept better than he could remember. This night, he felt like a mortal man again, living his life in peace and quiet, finally free of The Accord and his demonic memories of when he was a Friend. It was still dark when he awoke. He climbed out of bed and walked into his bathroom to relieve his bladder. Afterward, he washed his hands and looked at his image in the mirror. I look pretty good for a man who is millions of years old, he thought. He smiled, turned and left the bathroom. He froze in fear, which was an emotion he had not felt since he left The Accord. Somehow, there was another man sitting on the side of his bed. “Mantarcus, is that you?”
“No. I don’t mean to frighten you, but my name is Bandopaz Niderak,” the seated figure said. Eon walked slowly over to the door and switched the lights on. The man on his bed seemed quite old with thin, white hair and deep wrinkles on his face. “I mean you no harm, Eon. I just wanted to talk to you for a while. I have been reaching out to you for so long, yet you have ignored me, until now.”
“I don’t recall anyone trying to contact me, Bandopaz,” Eon stated. “Wouldn’t I remember that? Why would I ignore you?”
“Perhaps ignore was too strong a term. I don’t think you understood that I was calling out to you, but I was. I have been trying to talk to you since you left The Accord and became like me,” Bandopaz replied.
“How am I like you? You show up here in the middle of the night, almost scaring me to death! I know I look like an old Nan man, but believe me, the truth of me is quite different.”
“Yes I know. While this body is quite real, there is much more to me as well,” Bandopaz replied. “If you’re not going to sit here, why don’t we go to your kitchen and have a coffee or a brandy?”
“I think a brandy is called for,” Eon said and opened the door. The other man rose and walked out the door and down the hallway toward the kitchen. Eon pondered the situation. How had a man broken into his house without G17 noticing? Could this old man help Eon understand what had happened to him? With few options, he shrugged his shoulders and followed the other.
He entered the kitchen to find Bandopaz holding a snifter of brandy to his nose. He had poured a second glass for Eon and set it on the opposite side of the table. Bandopaz took a sip of his drink and swirled it around in his mouth, then swallowed. “I’ve always thought Nan brandy was the best in the universe.”
Eon sat and sipped his own glass while considering the man across the table. “Who are you and why are you here?”
“I am like you, Eon, although I was never part of The Accord. Do you remember what happened to you when you left your Friends?” the other asked.
“I traveled alone for a long time,” Eon began. “I wanted to be as far as possible from The Accord. I feared Vanda might come looking for me. I also wanted to free myself from the desires of physical life. It was only when my food supply ran low that I began to panic.”
“What did you do? Obviously, you didn’t starve to death.”
“If you say so, although I often wonder if I did. I don’t really know what happened. I fought the urge to find a planet and consume more life-forms. I became weaker by the span. I knew there was another stage of evolution and I reached out to touch something higher. For a long time, nothing happened. During one rest period, I dreamed my mind was reaching out again. But rather than touching empty space or passing asteroids, I began to feel strings of light surrounding me,” Eon explained.
“Ah, now we’re getting somewhere!” Bandopaz exclaimed.
“More and more strings arrived and joined with my mind. The strings tried to comfort me and welcome me to their presence, but that scared me. I thought I was going to die and become one of them! That was not the higher level of evolution that I had hoped to find. The strings told me to be calm and relax. They promised I would live forever. Finally, I lost consciousness. When I awoke, I felt magnificent! That feeling quickly faded when I could not figure out what I was anymore. I felt like a mind in a fog for a very long time. That only changed when my mind floated over this planet. I remembered Stit fondly and longed to breathe the air again. Suddenly, I was here, as you see me now. But I don’t know if this is really me, or if I am the fog.”
Bandopaz smiled softly, saying, “Thank you for the tale. While my journey was very different, you and I have arrived at the same destination. We have transcended the line that separates physical and spiritual reality.”
“Excuse me, but I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Eon argued. “Perhaps I should wake Lini and ask her to translate for me.”
“I’m afraid Lini will not join us tonight,” Bandopaz smiled. “This is not about her. It is about you and me, brother.”
“Brother? What do you mean by that?”
Bandopaz chuckled and took another drink of brandy. “We are the beginning of a new species, Eon. Before us, all life-forms existed in either the physical or spiritual reality. Some physical Beings can sense the other plain of existence, but the sensation is like an illusion to them. Others have even found planets like Skee Lotho or my home world that are connection points between the two realms. Our own ancestors in the Society of Huma
nity constructed giant machines that enable them to move through the spiritual realm, which they have chosen to call Universal Power. Eon, you and I are different from all of them. We exist in both realms simultaneously. Can you sense the approaching Friends of The Accord?”
“You mean Vanda and Mantarcus?”
“Who else?” Bandopaz laughed. “How could a mortal man like you do such a thing?” He rose from the table and walked over to Eon, motioning for him to stand as well. Before Eon could react, Bandopaz slapped Eon across the face with all his strength.
Eon winced in pain and shouted, “Why did you do that?”
“Listen to me. You felt that, didn’t you? The sting of the hit, the embarrassment of being slapped, the anger to get your revenge, you felt all of those things, right?”
“Yes, but what is your point?” Eon asked.
“Would the spirit of a dead man feel such a thing? Could a mortal man slap a spirit in the face, as I did?” Bandopaz argued.
“Of course not, that is ludicrous. Spirits don’t have faces. Are you saying I’m dead and alive at the same time?” Eon asked.
Bandopaz put his hand on Eon’s shoulder. “I’m sorry for striking you, brother. I assure you I will never do that again, but I had to make my point.” He walked back around the table and sat, taking another sip of brandy. “I can’t answer your question, because no one can be dead and alive simultaneously. If you would have asked if you can exist in both the physical and spiritual realms at the same time, I would have said yes. The pain you just felt in your cheek should be proof enough that you are not dead. It is your conclusion that all Beings are either dead or alive that I disagree with.”
