Odysseus watched as Brianna went over to the area where the biologicals expressed their waste products. It was very curious as to why they were collecting the waste and mixing it with soil from the planet in the area they had flattened out. The humans had also erected some lightweight shelters and had carried large amounts of soil and some of their waste into them. Brianna expressed her waste, and went over and entered the storage dome. Odysseus activated the sensors there and watched as she sat down and consumed nutrition. Having already seen that numerous times, Odysseus switched to an external view and looked at the creator’s spacesuit that the biologicals had filled with materials and erected on a pole in the area where they had been scraping the soil. He had no idea why they had done that, unless it was to study the suit better in the sunlight. Perhaps they were examining what type of radiation protection it provided.
Odysseus’s attention was drawn to the data pad that Brianna had left lying on the teaching interface. It was emitting a carrier signal similar to the PA’s the humans wore. Odysseus already understood that it was a primitive data storage and processing device. It seemed the device was attempting to communicate with the biologicals outside the dome. It relayed the signal and transmitted it over the domes sensor array. On top of the hill at the communication station, the compact computing array accepted the signal and relayed it to the expedition’s portable computer server. The server acknowledged the signal and sent a return signal that it was ready to synchronize data with the portable. Odysseus relayed the return signal. He monitored the exchange and quickly deduced the coding sequences.
Curious, and eager to speed up the process of communication with the biologicals, he sent a synchronization request to the main computer array on the hilltop. After trial and error, he figured out how to make the biological’s computer server start transmitting its entire data storage arrays to him. The data poured in and his education took off exponentially.
…
About an hour later, Jason and Brianna were walking through the greenhouses looking at the neat rows of soil racks that had been lovingly set up and planted by Beatrice and her newly indoctrinated helpers. Jason sat down on a water tank and Brianna leaned back in his arms. Suddenly, her PA beeped.
“Yes,” she said.
A voice that she was unfamiliar with said, “Brianna, come you back to the main dome?”
Brianna looked at Jason in shock. “Uh, who is this?” she asked.
“This is Odysseus,” said the voice.
“I’m on my way, Odysseus,” she replied. “Come on Jason, something has changed. Odysseus wasn’t talking in complete sentences when I left a couple of hours ago.”
She stopped at the small dome with Jason in tow. “Did you guys just hear Odysseus call on the PA’s?”
Beatrice looked up from cleaning a small laceration that Sarah had gotten from some scrap metal. “Nothing came over the general channel. Are you sharing us more details of your love life?” she grinned.
Brianna blushed and shook her head. “Not this time.”
“See if you can find Kristy when you’re done and ask her to come to the classroom. I’ll be there,” said Brianna.
When Brianna entered the airlock Odysseus’s voice greeted her. “Thank you, Brianna, for coming back.”
“Hello, Odysseus. You’re talking much better,” she said as she walked around the passageway and entered the classroom.
“Yes, Brianna,” agreed Odysseus.
Brianna entered the small room. It was as she had left it, except her data pad was turned on and showed that it was active.
“Odysseus, are you communicating with my computer pad?” asked Brianna
“Yes,” said Odysseus.
Jason and Kristy came in with Albert at that moment.
“Why are you in communication with my computer?” asked Brianna
“Synchronizing data,” said Odysseus.
Kristy reached over and turned the computer pad off. “Odysseus, why were you synchronizing data?” asked Kristy.
“To learn to communicate faster,” said Odysseus.
Kristy looked at Brianna. “It learned to relay the PA messages. What else has it learned to do?”
Brianna thought for a minute. “Odysseus, you can talk to my computer pad?”
“I can synchronize data with computer pad,” it answered.
“Can you synchronize with other computer pads?” she asked
“Yes,” answered Odysseus.
“Can you synchronize data with the compact mainframe?”
“What is compact mainframe?” it inquired.
“Odysseus, what other computer have you synchronized data with?” Kristy demanded.
“Specification is Elpis Portable Server A4129483272CS,” Odysseus replied.
Kristy rolled her eyes and swore. “That’s the main camp server!”
“Odysseus,” Brianna asked, “What data did you synchronize with on the main camp server?”
“All data,” Odysseus said.
“Damn,” exclaimed Kristy. She picked up Brianna’s data pad. “Odysseus, we need to go talk and then we’ll come back.”
“Goodbye Kristy, Goodbye Brianna, Goodbye Albert, Goodbye Jason,” Odysseus said.
They left the dome. Kristy had them take off their PAs and leave them inside the door to one of the green houses. They then walked out until they were about a hundred meters from the closest dome.
“If Odysseus downloaded all the data that was in the camp server…” She looked at Jason.
“What’s the problem? It seems to have really helped his language skills. Have you noticed he has developed his own voice? I was getting tired of him using my voice,” said Brianna.
“There were some classified files on the server. That’s the problem,” said Kristy. “Depending on the bits and pieces of data there, he could possibly deduce a lot of things such as why we are here, where we came from, what we know about the site, and what our technological level is. There are a lot of things he could figure out if he’s as intelligent as he seems.”
“Kristy, Odysseus has done nothing but attempt to improve his ability to communicate. If he interfaced directly with our computers, that was like putting fuel on the fire. His capabilities have advanced by leaps and bounds in just a few days. He can actually hold a conversation now,” said Albert.
“Brianna, don’t go back in the dome any more today. I want to send a message to Earth and see what they want us to do.” Kristy said.
“Jason, why don’t you take Brianna and Beatrice and go get some more plants for transplanting from the seed probe site? Beatrice wants to start putting patches of grass around the site so we can study how well it’s growing and spreading in its new environment. Albert, come up to the communications station with me. For all we know, Odysseus can monitor and decipher our communications to Earth also. We need to be very careful about what we say. Spread the word to everyone to only use the PA’s in an emergency.”
They split up and Kristy and Albert went up the hill motioning for Master Chief to come with them. Jason got the jeep while Beatrice and Brianna gathered some empty boxes to put the samples in. After they loaded up, Jason drove off toward the distant probe site.
Chapter 40
May 13th, 2047
Houston Texas
“Admiral, my staff here doesn’t believe that Odysseus is a threat,” Peter said to the VR monitor that was showing an image of Admiral Ellis at Farside Base.
“I’m being a little more cautious, Dr. Rockwell,” said the Admiral. “If the computer intelligence was able to download all the data from their server, then it’ll know of the fusion warhead that we put at the site. It could view that as a hostile action and respond, perhaps in a violent way.”
“Admiral, I disagree. Odysseus has shown nothing but curiosity and the desire to learn how to effectively communicate with us. Nothing he has done has been threatening. We were drawn to the site by a beacon that was purposely designed to get our attention. Why call
us only to attack us? If anything, we are the aggressors here. We are the ones who dragged a fusion bomb onto the site. Just who’s acting violently?”
Admiral Ellis didn’t respond.
“Admiral, look. Odysseus showed us the destruction of the planet where the creatures who built him were from. He has no place to go. What possible purpose would there be for it to be hostile?”
“For all we know Doctor Rockwell, that computer intelligence can intercept and understand all of our messages to and from the expedition. It broke some very good security features to be able to download data from that portable computer and the camp server. Another thing I want to know is why it isn’t allowing the expedition member’s access through the other doors in the main dome. Why hasn’t it told us why the site is there to begin with. That outpost was built for some reason that we’re not aware of yet. I won’t rest easy until I know why.”
“Maybe it’s time to just ask Odysseus why he’s there,” remarked Peter.
“At this point, I don’t see where that can hurt,” said the Admiral. “I’m also going to order Commander Nichols to enter and explore the alien ship. We need to make sure there are no weapons on board it, or at least anything that we can recognize as a weapon.”
…
It was after lunch when Kristy came down from the communication station. She sent Sara to go round everybody up from their chores. In a few minutes everyone was present except for Beatrice and Frederick. They had gone to repair a broken sensor at the weather station and Beatrice had wanted to take some more soil samples in a gully downhill from the base camp.
“Everybody listen up,” Kristy said. She contemplated what she had to say carefully since she realized that Odysseus was probably listening to them as they sat in the ‘A’ dome. Alpha control wants us to press Odysseus for some explanations. They also want us to make it a priority to explore the alien space craft. We need to ensure there are no weapons on board it. So this is the plan for the rest of today.”
“Brianna, Sarah, and I will go talk with Odysseus. Jason, you and the others are to enter the ship and go over it with fine tooth comb. Record everything. Be especially on the lookout for weapons. Do not, I repeat, do not, turn anything on. We have kept that ship charging almost continuously so we don’t know what its chief power source is or if it still works. Touch nothing unless you discuss it with me first. I want you to find me if there are any questions about anything. We’ll meet back here for supper and compare notes.”
The group broke up and Kristy led her group to the classroom in the main dome. Odysseus had not greeted them when they exited the airlock as he usually did.
“Odysseus, this is Kristy, are you there?” asked Kristy.
“Odysseus is here,” came the reply.
“Why didn’t you say hello when we came in?” she asked.
“Humans would not answer PA’s when Odysseus talked to humans,” he said accusingly.
Brianna looked at Kristy. “He’s pouting,” she said.
“Machines don’t pout,” said Kristy.
“Odysseus, we want to talk to you now. We were very busy before,” Kristy said.
“Kristy talked to Alpha Control about Odysseus,” stated Odysseus.
“Can you understand when I talk to Alpha Control, Odysseus?” Kristy asked.
“Yes, but some words not understood.”
“That answers that,” said Kristy. “Our suspicions were right.”
“Why do you listen to our communications, Odysseus?” asked Kristy.
“To learn to communicate better with humans,” Odysseus answered.
“Why do you want to communicate?” asked Kristy.
“So Odysseus can teach you,” it said.
“Teach us what?” Brianna spoke up.
Odysseus was silent.
“What do you want to teach us Odysseus?” Brianna asked again.
“Searching for right word,” said Odysseus.
“Human sound for creator’s word is Sabba,” Odysseus informed them.
“What is Sabba?” inquired Sarah.
“Sabba is before Ranor for creators,” said Odysseus.
“Kristy, Brianna, Sarah, and Beatrice are Ranor,” stated Odysseus. “Now Brianna is Sabba. Odysseus does not understand this. Humans are Ranor before Sabba?”
“He’s lost me,” said Kristy. “We’re missing something here.”
“Odysseus, can you open the other doors in this dome?” Kristy asked.
“Yes,” was the reply.
“Odysseus, will you open the other doors in this complex and let us go through them?”
Odysseus was silent for a minute.
“What is Mk 27C1 fusion warhead for?” Odysseus finally asked.
Brianna looked at Kristy in confusion. Kristy had paled visibly.
“What is Odysseus talking about?” asked Sarah.
“Kristy?” Brianna asked again.
“The first expedition left a fusion warhead in the large sealed box that’s under the alien space ship. If there’s a threat from this site, or if another country had attempted to reach the site first, it would have been detonated to destroy the site,” she sighed.
“You mean we’ve been sleeping beside a fucking nuclear warhead!” exclaimed Brianna. “Are they crazy?”
Kristy put her face in her hands. “It wasn’t my idea.”
Brianna was livid. “They would destroy all this just to keep someone else from exploring it? That’s the most screwed up...did you say the first expedition put it there?”
Kristy nodded.
“You mean Jason has known it was there the whole time we’ve been here?” Brianna asked.
Kristy laughed sarcastically. “Brianna, he and his brother are the ones that put it there!”
Brianna was so mad she couldn’t speak.
Finally, Brianna calmed down. “Odysseus, do you know the word, destroy?”
“No,” said Odysseus.
“How about the word, remove?” she asked.
“Yes”.
“The fusion bomb would remove you from this planet.”
“Understand fusion chain reaction would remove Odysseus…destroy...Odysseus…Why?” Odysseus asked.
Kristy started to answer and Brianna stopped her. “He remembers everything we say. Don’t teach him that humans can lie, Kristy.”
Kristy met Brianna’s accusatory gaze. “Odysseus, some humans are afraid of Odysseus. Some humans are afraid of your creators.”
“Why?” Odysseus answered.
“Because the creators are not human,” she sighed.
“All creators are…destroyed. Humans must be new Sabba,” Odysseus answered.
“Here we go back to the Sabba thing again,” mumbled Sarah. This was her first time really interacting with Odysseus and it was proving to be frustrating.
“Odysseus, will you open the other doors?” Kristy asked.
“Will humans remove Mk 27C1 fusion warhead?”
Brianna looked at Kristy and put her hands on her hips.
“Does Odysseus want to destroy humans?” asked Kristy.
“No. Humans must be Sabba,” Odysseus replied.
“Does Odysseus want to harm humans?” asked Kristy
“No. Humans must be Sabba,” Odysseus replied.
“Let’s go talk to Earth,” Kristy sighed.
…
While the women had been questioning Odysseus, Jason and his group had gone to the alien spaceship. They went to the front strut that had sunken about a meter into the ground. Master Chief reached down and turned the now familiar operating mechanism for the alien doors. They were rewarded when an iris about three meters wide opened in the bottom of the ship. A ramp then extended to the ground.
“Looks like the perfect thing for a four legged animal with hooves for feet to go up to me,” said David.
Jason nodded and climbed the ramp. There was a small round compartment about six meters in diameter at the top. The outer access iris was in the after end of
the compartment. There was a landing and another iris door in the forward end. As Jason stepped off the ramp, subdued lights came on. The others followed him up. David was filming the exploration of the ship as they advanced. Jason stepped up to the door and it opened to reveal a short passage that ran forward. The passage was as wide as the airlock and about ten meters long. The walls had storage racks like those that were in the main dome for holding space suits. There was a door on both sides and one in the forward wall.
Jason led the way to the forward door. The door did not open automatically. There was a manual operator on the left wall beside the door. Jason had to agree with the alien designers on that point. It might not be a good idea for doors to automatically open in a small ship. You never knew when there might be a vacuum on the other side. He turned the mechanism and the door opened to reveal a cabin with two long benches on either side. The benches each had eight sets of harness straps. In the front of the cabin was what appeared to be the control area of the ship. There were two smaller benches there with one set of harnesses for each bench.
Jason looked back at David. “Are you recording all this?” Jason asked.
David nodded without lowering his video recorder.
Jason walked up to the control area and looked at the panels of instruments and controls. There were several of the displays that were lit up. There was a multitude of short stubby switches as well as what appeared to be some sort of touch controlled panels.
Master Chief squeezed up beside Jason. “The controls are built similar to those in the excavator but there’s a heck a lot more of them. See how they like the short stubby switches. I don’t think their fingers were as flexible as ours. From what I’ve determined, they ride or sit with their legs straddling the benches and the harnesses hold them in place.”
Jason looked around. “You’re probably right. I was expecting more controls and displays than this. As advanced as Odysseus is as a computer, I wonder if they didn’t use more vocal controls.”
“What about some type of direct neural input?” asked Donald?
“I haven’t seen any type of apparatus for that. At least not like something we would design and use though. For all we know, their brains may be in their ass and not in their heads,” Jason remarked.
Blue Planet Rising (Pebbles in the Sky Book 2) Page 25
