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

by John Thornton

  The orifice snapped shut, and Sandie stated, “EA-991 is in Habitat Alpha. I will display readings from its equipment. May I use your com-link Jerome?”

  “Certainly.”

  A cone of light shot out from Jerome’s com-link and created a three-dimensional display, in about one-sixth scale, showing the apartment in Habitat Alpha from the point of view of the front of the automacube. The edge of the receiving pad was seen and the sending pad was off to the side a bit. The crowded furniture was pushed back against the walls. Scorch marks were along one wall where the seam for the door was located. The hum of the blue automacube was heard through the images.

  “EA-991 is in the same condition as it was when it left, teleportation successful. I am reading breathable atmosphere, acceptable temperature levels, and no toxic substances,” Sandie reported.

  The display shifted as EA-991 rotated around on its six drive wheels. The lights it was shining illuminated more of the apartment. The next wall came into the scene and that wall had a ragged, and gaping hole in it. The Reproduction and Fabrication facilities were dimly visible in the distance.

  “Sandie, have the automacube approach that hole in the wall,” Cammarry ordered. “It looks like the apartment is safe enough, but it is no longer hidden.”

  The blue automacube rolled ahead, and then reached the side of the hole.

  “I will have it use the end of the manipulation arm to peer out. There is a camera there which I can adjust for visualization,” Sandie said.

  The appendage on top of EA-991 folded out and over so the tip extended into the hole from the side.

  “Oh dear,” Jerome said. “That is not good.”

  “Cubie red will make you dead!” Khin cried out and shrank back away from the three dimensional display. “Even a tiny one is a threat!”

  There, as seen from the point of view of the blue automacube, was a red security automacube parked next to the conveyor belts and complex equipment of the Reproduction and Fabrication Center. There was a flashing red light on its front corner, but other than that it was just sitting quietly.

  “Will it come through this?” Khin said and pointed at the display.

  “No, that is only a picture, an image, it will not come here,” Cammarry stated. “Sandie, has it perceived the blue automacube?”

  “It is hard to say,” Sandie replied. “The lights and sounds of the teleportation system would certainly have been perceivable by the red automacube. However it shows no signs of approach.”

  “Perhaps it just sees another automacube,” Jerome suggested. “When we were there, the blues were freeing the slaves, and the reds were fighting and killing the slaves. But our enemy’s pursuit was after us. I wonder what would be the response if a human was there, rather than a machine?”

  “I can run a simulation,” Sandie stated. “The blue automacube does not have as sophisticated a projection system as your com-links, nonetheless, I can have it project some images which should convince the red automacube that humans are moving about the apartment.”

  “So a test? Do that and watch for its response?” Cammarry asked. “But when we were there before, the blues were helping the slaves, while the reds were killing them. That red machine might attack the blue one.”

  “And might give away what the teleporter function is, or at least alert the enemy that something is happening in that location. Is that wise? We still have the teleporter system intact, and that would be extremely difficult to replace. What if the blue moved away from the apartment and then did the simulation in a different location, say near the elevators, or a place like that?” Jerome bit his knuckle slightly as he pondered what was happening. “Or just bring the blue back now, but that too might tip our hand revealing the teleportation systems.”

  “Well, have the blue open a different way out of the apartment. It is located between the reproduction equipment, and, if I recall correctly, that solar mimicry station which maintains the sky tube. What was the name of that AI in there?”

  “SB Yomaris,” Sandie answered. “We may not need to open any other doors, or move EA-991. I could have the automacube directly link into the nonphysicality via an access port. I would then seek to interact with the data stick which was repaired. I have not seen its location. Contacting it will be my first directive. Secondarily, I might be able to link to one or more of the Conestoga’s synthetic brains which we worked with before. If I fail to contact them, then we can consider other options; like running a simulation or opening an additional door.”

  “It is worth a try,” Cammarry said. “Waiting will not help.”

  The three-dimensional image magnified and drew close to a section of the wall, just to the side of where it was ripped ad torn open. An access port was there. “I will need to use the automacube’s appendage to jack into the access port. That means we will lose surveillance on the red automacube while I attempt contact.”

  “Imperceptibly and stealth might make all the difference,” Jerome said through clenched teeth.

  Cammarry saw the sweat on Jerome’s brow, and the fidgeting he did as he spoke. She pondered his emotional reactions to the blue automacube’s mission.

  “Jerome knows how endangered you are here,” Shadow said. “Sandie is using his com-link, and perhaps is showing him more of the risks.”

  “I get so tired of you,” Cammarry said under her breath.

  Jerome’s eyebrows rose, and his mouth dropped. He quietly said, “I am sorry. It is my using old quotes, right?”

  “No. It is not you, it is….” Cammarry’s words caught in her throat.

  “Yes, the stress is immense. Understood,” Jerome finished for her.

  Cammarry shook her head and looked away from him and back to the view from the apartment. The displayed image shifted as the blue automacube’s arm moved and then inserted the access cable into the port. The red machine was no longer visible.

  Sandie gently sent a conscious tendril into the nonphysicality. A few brief moments passed quickly while that was searched and assessed.

  “The data stick is not responding. I was able to contact SB Yomaris, at the solar mimicry station. That synthetic brain relates that the small lattice we had repaired while in Alpha has failed. Yomaris has had no further contact with Joseph Crater, Sherman, or Bodowa, or any other synthetic brain. SB Yomaris has agreed to assist in an experiment to see the reaction of the red automacube. I will send Yomaris a signal, and it will play an audio recording of you two, Jerome and Cammarry, from a speaker set above the ruined elevators. Yomaris is confident the security automacube will interpret the voices as coming from live people, and not be able to discern that the audio voices are a recording. This will be an excellent demonstration of what response an actual human would illicit from that security automacube.”

  “Interesting idea. It is approved by me,” Jerome stated.

  “I did not seek your approval. The operation is already underway,” Sandie replied. “It is the only reasonable course of action at this juncture.”

  Jerome and Cammarry exchanged glances, but returned their focus to the transmitted display. The view from the blue automacube shifted back as the cable was retracted and the arm was repositioned slighting into the hole in the wall where the red automacube was visible again.

  Then came voices from beyond the broken-in doors of Reproduction and Fabrication. That was at the far side of the visual field. SB Yomaris was acting upon the message Sandie had ordered, and was playing recorded voices out by the ruined elevators.

  The recording was loud, and sounded entirely natural, not recorded. “So how do we address this problem?” Cammarry’s recorded voice asked.

  “I am not sure what we can do. We have very little leverage or ability to effect change,” Jerome’s recorded voice responded.

  The red automacube sprang into action. Its engine revved up. Its wheels churned rapidly. Its manipulation arm swung into attack position, and the ports of its weapons flared open. It sped away from its post and heade
d toward the voices it had perceived.

  “Wizards! How are you here, and over there as well?” Khin asked. “I know your voices, and I heard you from the other side of that window.”

  “We are still right here, Khin. Sandie just used recordings of our voices, and had them played over there,” Cammarry explained. “Just copies of our voices.”

  “Wizard tricks done by spirit-ghosts.” Khin laughed a bit. “It did trick that cubie red. It thinks it will find you two and make you dead.”

  “Yes, we know it is patroling for people,” Jerome commented.

  “Not in a friendly manner, either,” Cammarry agreed.

  Jerome studied the view that was displayed. The blue machine moved and extended its arm outward so that the camera was following the movements of the red automacube until it was no longer visible. The security automacube spun about in the hallway and rolled away.

  Jerome stroked his chin and pondered what he had seen. He then said, “We must be on guard against aggressive machines, an aggressive menace. What one person once made as a plowshare, or a cotton-gin, can progress into people making an atomic bomb. Tools can become tyrants, and that is devastating.”

  “The red automacubes are aggressive, as are those slave traders. I assume there are more than one of those red ones as well,” Cammarry stated as she tapped her foot. “I doubt we could easily get into that Reproduction and Fabrication facility and get the data sticks repaired, while it is guarded by those red automacubes.”

  Sandie the AI joined the conversation. “I believe we can benefit from leaving EA-991 at that location. I can have it jack into the nonphysicality and see if I can uncover some other ways to connect to any systems or synthetic brains, as well do covert searches for the functional data stick. If we can contact SB Bodowa, it is possible that system will be able to do remote fabrication work for us and perhaps we can clandestinely get equipment made there and shipped here via the teleporter. The idea of either or both of you traveling to Habitat Alpha now is an extreme risk.”

  “Unless we just go over there with our guns blazing and blast everything in sight,” Cammarry said with a wink to Jerome. She ran her hand across the holster on her belt. “Willie gave us these blasters for a reason.”

  Sandie’s voice was shocked. “That is a highly risky suggestion. Diplomacy might be a better option.”

  Jerome smiled at Cammarry’s suggestion. “I read somewhere that diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a club. That town in Alpha is called Wolf City, and I believe the animal called ‘doggie’ and the animal called ‘wolf’ are related. The problem I see, looking at the damage shown over there, is that the machinery of Reproduction and Fabrication might not even be functional. We will not know until we try it. The restored data stick is missing. So even if we did blast all those reds to shreds, it might be for nothing. Diplomacy might be a better option in theory, but how practical is it now? Perhaps finding another Reproduction and Fabrication facility would be easier?”

  “You mean go to a different habitat?” Cammarry asked.

  “Or searching Alpha for another one,” Jerome replied.

  “Either option is better than being bored and doing nothing waiting here in isolation. I am willing to give going to another habitat a chance. We would have to find a functional shuttle in a working hanger bay. Sandie how likely is that? Especially since the explosion earlier?”

  “I do have EA-804 checking the closest known hanger bay. I am getting some readings from it that are encouraging,” Sandie replied.

  “Then we are going there!” Cammarry exclaimed. “No more sitting around, or watching some machines doing our work. We are adventurers, and we will find what we need. I am packing up all the data sticks we have, and bringing them along.”

  “So we have our call-to-action. I have dreamed of seeing that biological habitat in Alpha again, and who knows, the next place we find will probably be even better. Every journey worth taking begins with a call-to-action and a first step.” Jerome clasped Cammarry on the shoulder. “We have a sentinel in Alpha to watch for developments there. We have our tools and weapons. We have Sandie giving us tactical information. Shall we pack up our gear so we can set off for that hanger bay?”

  Cammarry nodded eagerly and turned to get the supplies and pack up her backpack.

  “The information about the hanger bay is encouraging, but is not complete,” Sandie interjected. “I advise waiting until more is known, before setting out. There was an explosion there not long ago.”

  “I am not waiting here anymore. We need to do something, not wait for something to happen to us,” Cammarry stated with firmness in her voice as she packed up. “Proactive, not reactive.”

  “A new wizard’s quest!” Khin laughed and laughed. “I am so glad to be along with you!”

  3 Revisiting a hanger bay

  Cammarry and Jerome had their backpacks loaded, their weapons in holsters on their belts, and made sure they each had a fusion pack and the medical kit.

  “I advise you to remain at this location,” Sandie repeated through the com-links. “The repairs to the hanger bay are not completed. The full assessment of the damage from the earlier explosion has not been done.”

  “We will help with that.” Cammarry gave Jerome a huge smile as they crossed the goat room and exited the secure area they had been calling home.

  Khin followed behind them making small giggling noises. “Another quest for me with my wizard friends.” He had all his supplies in his pouches. He had collected every parcel of the food that was left over from the hasty meal.

  “Sandie, which direction is the best for getting there?” Jerome asked as the doors to the goat room shut behind them.

  “There is not really a best route,” Sandie the AI replied. “I can have you back-trace the route which EA-991 used, but it came from a somewhat different location.”

  “Sandie, please help us,” Cammarry stated. “I know you are against this, but we are doing it. We need your help.”

  “Understood,” Sandie’s voice carried reluctance. Then a wall section rotated around and exposed a hallway which neither Jerome nor Cammarry had seen before. It was covered by the same growth medium that so much of the needle ship had on its horizontal surfaces, and it had the dim lighting they recognized as typical. “This passage was uncovered shortly after you returned from the mission to Alpha. The vacuum flooded corridor was reachable from the third door ahead on your left. It is a pressure door and is now sealed by an emergency barrier. Because of the explosion, that route is not available, and repairs to it will not be happening anytime soon due to the loss of the automacubes.”

  “How do we get around it?” Jerome asked. “Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved. Just show us the way.”

  “I have conjectured a pathway, but there are two unknown areas, between here and the hanger bay. I cannot scan them via the nonphysicality. I could have EA-804 stop its survey of the hanger bay and investigate those unknown areas,” Sandie suggested.

  “We are the adventurers, and we will investigate,” Cammarry said. “I want to be the first to see it.”

  Jerome winked at Cammarry. “Besides, we need that automacube to get the hanger bay ready, and check all that out for us.”

  “Understood,” Sandie replied. “The fourth door down opens to a ladder. Take that up two decks, and you will emerge at a causeway. I will direct you from there to where the unknown area begins.”

  They found and climbed the ladder up the two decks. They had to utilize the fusion pack’s light in the shaft of the ladder, but Khin chided them for their dependence on wizard light.

  The causeway’s floor was coated with the growth medium and the pale green fungi plants. There was a small stream of water which was dribbling down from a duct high in a side wall, and flowing along the middle of the causeway paralleling its course. Khin stopped, squatted, and lifted a palm of water to ta
ke a sip. “This is good water. But the smell here reminds me of the Burning Netherworld.”

  Jerome sniffed the air, but did not notice anything other than the typical odors of the Conestoga. “It is warmer here than other places.”

  “Cammarry, Jerome? Please follow the causeway to your right. Eighty-three meters ahead is a pressure door. That is the place where the unknown and uncharted area begins,” Sandie said.

  “Your spirit-ghost does not know everything?” Khin chuckled.

  “None of us knows everything,” Jerome replied.

  “You need not know everything to take action.” Cammarry patted Khin on the shoulder. “Sometimes you must just plow ahead and do something.”