The Colony Ship Conestoga : The Complete Series: All Eight Books

by John Thornton

  There was no response.

  “Right, Sandie has been obstructed. Hello? SB Joseph Crater, what is beneath us?”

  There was no response.

  “I wish I had a working data stick so I could record this,” Jerome said. “This is a surprise.” He pondered and thought. “Well someone wrote, ‘surprises are not at all foolish things. My pleasure is enhanced by this surprise and the inconvenience is not considerable.’ I hope Cammarry is seeing this. I wonder if that is a sea of some kind? Cammarry! I hope you know we are no longer marooned on the Conestoga.”

  The vast liquid below was broken by something jutting up and out of the taupe colored waves. He flew over some kind of solid mass which was roughly oblong shaped and bulged up and out of the fluid. He saw waves fluttering against it. It was jagged and rusty colored. Jerome watched as the runabout zipped past that island in the sea of taupe. There were a few odd things sticking up from that mound. They had yellowish stalks and burgundy colored crowns.

  “Oh there are more,” Jerome said as several other islands of rusty color showed up. They reminded Jerome of when he had dug his gloved hands through the dried up dust outside of Dome 17. These islands beneath him were like fingers or fists sticking up from the taupe sea. Each island had several of the yellow and burgundy colored growths. They were anchored down to the ground at their bases, but they waved and fluttered around. Both the islands and the things sprouting from them grew more numerous quickly and soon a shoreline of sorts passed beneath. “Winds? Waves? I wonder if that is alien plant life?”

  Along the shore there were many more of the odd things sticking up into the air. These were larger, thicker, and had blueish tints to their yellow stalks with deeper reddish brown colored crowns. They were set in dense rows and were all unevenly spaced but about the same height. The runabout was traveling too quickly for him to make out many details, but what he saw suggested a bizarre seashore and mass of jungle.

  Then in the distance, Jerome saw that he was rapidly approaching something made by humanity. Straight ahead was a part of the Conestoga. For there, rising up from a wide, gouged-out, depression was a structure of grayish blue permalloy. The ground, or whatever it was, was plowed up along a stretch where it had made planet fall. It was cylindrical shaped, lying on its long axis. About a third of its bottom was buried into the ground. A flash of blue and white flew by and Jerome smiled and yelled out. “Yes!” It was the other shuttle! Cammarry’s shuttle was circling about the place Jerome assumed was Habitat Alpha.

  The greys and blues of the permalloy were in stark contrast to the landscape of Zalia. For here, the human manufactured thing was the real alien. The red sun was behind him as the runabout flew along following the trajectory of the other shuttle. The runabout’s shadow, which was on the side of the habitat, had a reddish tint to it. Much like the sunlight coming through the green sky. Jerome looked at the habitat and saw that nothing but plowed up ground was close to the habitat. The strange things he thought of a vegetation were no closer than a half kilometer or so from the permalloy. Rocks, clods, and scorch marks scared that barren area.

  “Runabout NS-107, you will be following runabout NS-05 into Swanson 6101. The hanger bay will be circum-ventilated after landing, so make no attempt to leave the runabout until you are instructed it is safe to do so,” SB Joseph Crater stated. “Do you understand these instructions?”

  “Yes. Thank you. Is Cammarry safe?” Jerome asked.

  “The occupant of the other runabout is unchanged.”

  Human-made lights flashed on the outside of the habitat in a pattern around the perimeter of the hanger bay. Their beams of light refracted in odd ways in the green air of Zalia. The hanger bay doors folded open to reveal the interior. Flashing red lights shown inside, while white lights blinked in patterns along deck.

  Jerome saw the other runabout smoothly enter the vacant hanger bay. It slowly came to a stop, then rotated around as it settled to the deck over the stall marked with a number 1. The runabout shuttle he was in made a similar maneuver and lowered itself to the stall marked number 2. There were clangs as the docking clamps connected to the bottom of the runabout. There were at least eight other stalls, all of which were empty.

  The inside of the runabout was quiet, yet Jerome saw the large hanger’s exterior door begin to fold and slide back into place. He raised his hand up, and it felt very heavy. Moving around was a chore, but he managed to shift about in the seat looking for Cammarry’s shuttle. It was there, but he could not make out Cammarry though the canopy. When the external doors shut, the lights shifted to colors that were more familiar to Jerome as the green glow and red beams of light from the world of Zalia were blocked out. “Back to a more normal world, if I even know what normal is anymore.”

  .

  13 planet fall

  A large display screen lit up on the sidewall of the hanger bay. Above it was inscribed into the permalloy the name ‘Swanson 6101’ which also lit up.

  ‘Scrubbing air in process. Gravity manipulation engaged. Decontamination initiated.’ The display screen scrolled.

  Jerome felt the weight of his body lesson as the habitat’s mechanisms adjusted the gravity to Earth normal.

  “Cammarry? Can you hear me?”

  Jerome eagerly watched through the now totally clear permalloy canopy. He could make out Cammarry’s silhouette in the other runabout, but the distance was too great to see much.

  ‘Decontamination stage one passed. Stage two initiated. Thermal cleansing begun’ the display screen message scrolled.

  A sudden blast of heat shot throughout the hanger bay. Jerome could see the air shimmer and distort the light in the hanger bay as the thermal cleansing was vented into every part of the hanger bay. Jerome could feel no heat through the canopy or the chassis of the runabout, but he was reminded of the sterilization which always took place when an adventurer returned from the outside world and into Dome 17.

  Ten minutes later, the scroll displayed, ‘90-degree thermal cleansing completed. Third stage of decontamination initiated. Cryo-cleansing in progress.’

  Jerome wondered how long the process would take, and after fifteen minutes more, the display screen read out, ‘Negative 50 degree cryo-cleansing completed. Final stage, ultraviolet pulsation will start in five seconds.’

  The canopy snapped instantly dark gray and opaque.

  “SB Joseph Crater? Will you please tell me what is happening?” Jerome said.

  There was no response.

  A few moments later, the canopy gradually lightened and became crystal clear again. The lighting in the hanger bay was normal, and the display screen had a new message. ‘Circum-ventilation finalized. Decontamination completed.”

  The mechanical voice of SB Joseph Crater came on, “You may now leave the runabout.”

  The canopy popped open, and Jerome unhooked the restraints. He grabbed his backpack from the rear seat, slid the flight instruction manual into it, pulled out the belt with his Willie Blaster on it, and stepped quickly out.

  “Cammarry!” He called as he buckled the belt in place.

  “Jerome! How did you get here?” Cammarry was also climbing out of the runabout which had carried her to this hanger bay.

  They met in between the two shuttles and hugged long and intimately, just holding each other.

  “We need to escape or we might be marooned in this hanger bay,” Cammarry said. Looking around they saw that there was an observation deck at the far end of the hanger bay. It appeared to be the only exit, aside from the exterior doors. As they walked briskly toward it they talked.

  “The com-link is broken,” Cammarry said. “That relic of an AI, Carter the Kidnapper, locked me in.”

  “I came after you, but the connection to you and to Sandie is inhibited. It must also interfere with talking just between you and me. What did you learn? Did the AI speak to you much?”

  “It calls itself a synthetic brain….” Cammarry proceed to relate what had happened to her using
very unflattering descriptions for SB Joseph Crater. Her comments were unusually harsh.

  “My experience was similar,” Jerome replied but did not say what he thought about Cammarry’s antagonistic attitude toward the old ship’s systems. “Well, I could tell you my adventures, beginning from this morning, or from yesterday, but it is no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then. So where do we go from here?”

  “You are your idioms. But where do we go? That is a good question, but did you see this planet? It is so….” Cammarry then spoke at length about what she had seen on the way down and while her shuttle had been circling the habitat. “...but we need to continue on and find the right communication equipment and hook into that signal from Dome 17.”

  “You are absolutely right. We cannot even speak to Sandie currently and that must change.”

  The door to the observation deck opened automatically for them and closed behind as they entered. There was a work station with displays, controls and such. It was very similar to the counter in the hanger bay on the needle ship. They were lit up and showing reading of the hanger bay, and various other locations.

  “Now if only I could connect in and let Sandie explore the nonphysicality here, we could find what we need.” Jerome carefully looked over the control board.

  “You can do this Cammarry. No need for Sandie,” Shadow whispered. “You can do this.”

  Cammarry sat down on a chair and pulled it up to the control board countertop. “I can see what we can find here. These antique, shall I call them by that old word, computers, might be working. At least, well, I can see what is functioning. Here there are no plants growing on the shelves, or floor, or water dripping from the ventilation shafts.”

  “Computers? Sure we can call them that, just like this Willie Blaster is a slingshot,” Jerome said and patted the holstered weapon on his hip. “Someone once said something about personal computers being the most empowering tool ever created, tools of communication and tools of creativity.”

  “That person obviously lived long before artificial intelligence systems,” Cammarry said as she adjusted the instruments in front of her. “Old style menu or icon selections. It is a wonder this ship has lasted a hundred years, but these are the backup systems, and there are what they call synthetic brains here.

  “Like that SB Joseph Crater?” Jerome asked with a smile.

  “Hey Carter the Kidnapper? We would appreciate your help. Can we establish contact with the needle ship?” Cammarry said as she opened up several display screens.

  There was no response from the SB, which did not surprise her.

  Jerome touched the com-link on his ear. “Sandie? Sandie please respond.”

  There was no reply.

  “Cammarry? Is your com-link working?”

  She tried hers, but it too was not working. She could not contact Sandie nor even connect with Jerome who was in the same room. “No. There is still something wrong with them, but this is very interesting. I have found a deck plan for Habitat Alpha. Look, there is a Communication Center, and that is a place called Machine Maintenance.”

  “Sandie used an override code from Machine Maintenance,” Jerome stated as he sat down in another chair and watched the display screens she was accessing.

  Cammarry studied the deck plans. “We are relatively close to a place called, Reproduction and Fabrication. A subsystem here lists that as a major facility for repairs and distribution of manufactured items. May I suggest we take our com-links there? We may be able to make repairs, or at least establish some better ideas on what this Habitat Alpha is all about. It is far closer than that Communications Center.”

  “Good idea. Without being able to contact Sandie, there is no hope of finding the Dome 17 signal.” He pointed to the display. “Cammarry, that huge area in the center, is that the biological habitat?”

  “That is my assumption, it is labeled as ‘Ecosphere’ which sounds like a biological place. It is enormous.”

  Jerome smiled. “Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the landscape. So we are going to find dirt, air, fire, and water.”

  “Elemental. We are here, at this end of the habitat, two decks above what is labeled as ‘ground level’ which I assume relates to the ecosphere. The Reproduction and Fabrication place is on this same end but at the gravitational top. The Commination Center is at the far end also at the gravitational top of this place.” She paused for a bit. “Remember, this display is in scale. This place is big. It is 78.80 kilometers from one end to the other, just inside of that ecosphere, and it is 14.5 kilometers wide.”

  “That makes for a good workout to hike that far,” Jerome said. “But is there any sense in going to the Communication Center, if we cannot even connect to Sandie?”

  “That is why we first go there.” Cammarry tapped the location indicating the Reproduction and Fabrication place.

  Jerome smiled. “Right. Make the repairs, connect back with Sandie, and that will help a lot.”

  “You do not need Sandie, you have me,” Shadow said quietly to Cammarry.

  “That has not helped much so far,” Cammarry replied to Shadow.

  Thinking that Cammarry was speaking to him, Jerome was pensive. He was unsure how to respond to her comment.

  “So I have reviewed what systems are here. I have no portable way to take the information with us, except to try to memorize the important things. If Carter the Kidnapper would respond we could maybe get some direct guidance through this old place.” Cammarry looked around and then hollered, “Do you hear me Carter! You kidnapped me so explain to me what is here! Do it now!”

  She waited for a moment, while Jerome stared at her about the outburst.

  “Carter the Coward!” She then looked back to the controls. “At least the lights are normal brightness now. That dimness in the needle ship was beyond annoying. Come on and show me what I want.”

  There was no response.

  “Well then, Jerome, we need to get traveling. It looks like we are approximately five or so kilometers away from that repair place, at least on the flat. We are not quite two kilometers below the upper levels where it is located. We will descend to ground level, then pass through here,” she pointed at the graphic diagram where the ecosphere was located. “We will get to see the biological stuff and then exit out of the ecosphere there. That will mean climbing about two kilometers, but these diagrams show many elevators, lifts, and stairways. Should be easy.”

  “Okay,” Jerome said, uncertain of all he had witnessed.

  Cammarry stood up and pushed the chair roughly back into place. She then walked toward the pressure door which was an exit from the observation deck. “The diagrams showed a main causeway behind here, and we will need to find an elevator to get down to ground level. It looked like a labyrinth of corridors above us. I do not want to be marooned in some maze of hallways. So we will pass through that biological place to save time. I wonder if it will be like the orchard, or like the growth medium places with the dim, gloomy lights, and low plants.”

  “I wonder what John would say if he could see the things we have seen,” Jerome commented offhandedly.

  “I wonder if John is still alive.”

  “There is time Cammarry. You can still rescue John and the others from Dome 17,” Shadow said to her soothingly.

  Cammarry reached out to activate the door, but just before she touched it, the door slid open smoothly. The lights in the causeway snapped on, and the passage was filled with warm illumination. The walls were a dull but clean, and beige colored. Immediately in front of them, illuminated in the permalloy were directions. ‘Lavatory’ and ‘Decks 17-34B’ were next to an arrow pointing to the left. ‘Library’ and ‘Treadle Supplementary Support’ and ‘Cargo Lifts’ and ‘Decks 1-16’ had an arrow to the right. The sign glowed in a warm light blue color in the beige wall.

  “This place is sure working better than the needle ship,” Jerome happily commented. “Here we see the d
ifference between getting directions and giving direction.”

  “We will take the cargo lifts,” Cammarry said tersely. “Follow me.”

  They walked briskly away from the door to the hanger bay. Jerome looked back and saw there was a large sign over the pressure door which read, ‘Swanson 6101’ in the same blue as the directional indicators. As he watched, the lights winked out, and the causeway lighting beyond the pressure door faded out. The light around them continued on and came from glowing fixtures in the ceiling.

  “The ship seems to recognize our presence, by lighting our way,” Jerome observed. “But where are the people?”