by Charles Lamb
He settled on the bottom and shut down until the safety of darkness arrived, permitting him to move to the next location. While he waited, he scanned the readouts again, excited at the riches they represented.
----*----
Sandy had settled into her quarters on Lanai, doing her best to stay unnoticed. Her occasional forays into the command center were rewarded with a sea of unfamiliar faces. Between the English transplants and the new American recruits, she was safe in her anonymity.
Every now and then, someone would offer assistance, which she politely declined. As Jacob was seen talking with her from time to time, no one questioned her right to be there. She continued to gather her data on the Chinese activities, becoming increasingly more excited at the possibilities. From everything she had seen there was an evolving army there, one that Jake could absorb.
From the data Patti’s team had gathered, the troop numbers made the SAS hesitancy pointless. The addition of this army would solve many of Jake’s problems, both on the ground and in space. Sandy just needed to see where the leaders were located, to focus on where to contact them.
She was a little confused about one thing though. Unless she was mistaken, the ALICEs were no longer fully cooperating with each other. Frequently, she would ask for one or another bit of information, only to be handed off requiring a second request.
----*----
Patti was becoming concerned about the data she was seeing on China. She had asked her analysts to log their findings separate from the data. She had several reviewing the same thing and she did not want anyone to predispose another’s analysis.
Flipping from the raw data to the analysis, she found consistency in the results, and it was bad. As she reviewed the information, she could discern the experienced analysts from the new trainees. The newer analysts tended to underestimate the risks and dangers, while the more experienced included the history and culture of the region in their analysis.
From everything she saw, there was a Chinese Warlord on the rise. The disturbing part was the number of powered vehicles and heavy weaponry they were acquiring. She needed to gather more information before going to Jake with this, so she dispatched a request for a couple of the new observation units.
Unlike the satellites they placed in permanent orbit, they had created a much smaller version of the hovercycle. Riderless, they only contained a power source, one of the small repulser motors used in the drop backpacks and an instrument cluster.
Remotely operated, they could be sent anywhere on the planet, mobile or placed in a stationary location for observations and data collecting. Patti remembered Jake calling them drones, a historical reference she was able to verify from the 21st century battlefield.
As she reviewed the Chinese military capabilities, she sighed. While she doubted they had acquired Nuclear weapons, the weapons long-term stability in question, there was a real possibility that they had Chemical, even Biological capabilities. Though it wasn’t a direct threat to anyone in the US, the additions of Australia and England had fostered a more global attitude toward their activities.
----*----
Ivan was leaving a meeting of the Circle, the governing body of their community, and heading to gather his equipment and rifle. Though he was not the Ataman or even an assistant, he was frequently asked to deal with things for the community.
Apparently, someone had seen something large, flying overhead and up into the mountains last night. It made no noise, but had disturbed the wind and snapped the top off several tall trees in its passing.
Ivan was to lead a small party up into the mountains in the direction of the old gold mines in search of the thing. He doubted they would find anything, but was at a loss to explain what had damaged the trees. He would have assumed it was a joke, but the men involved were not noted for their sense of humor.
They still had several hours of daylight left, so he hoped to make it to the trailhead before dark.
----*----
Jake had commandeered a small maintenance shop off the main hangar for his prize. Getting it out of the museum had not been as difficult as he had expected, the real challenge was stopping at just the one. While waiting for the helicopter and crew to arrive, Jake had wandered throughout the entire museum.
For a car guy like him, the desire to rescue the entire collection was overwhelming. In the end, he only took the companion 1965 Ferrari that the display contained. In addition, he left sensors on all three floors so they could monitor the facility should someone decide to attempt to desecrate it.
While ALICE made no comments on his new toys, the people helping him load the two cars gave him looks of uncertainty. With all the new and exotic items supplied in each of the ALICE facilities, no one could comprehend his desire to bring these antiques home.
“Don’t these need gas?” he heard someone ask quietly as they were strapping things down in the helicopter. With the cars loaded, he loaded his hovercycle for the trip home.
With everything safely stowed out of harm’s way, Jake hit the locker room to change and then made his way through the command center and into his office. The recovery of the Super Cobra had him in an excellent mood.
He wanted to share with Sara, but remembered she was still overseas, so he called Jessie. He was sure that her appreciation of the past would enable her to truly understand the importance of the find. He expected her to be as thrilled as he was.
She was not. While she understood the significance of saving the last of anything, the conversation quickly degraded into a discussion on recovering the great art still decaying around the world. By the time they were done, Jessie had assumed the responsibility for creating an art recovery plan. She was to present a strategy on how she was going to do it, manpower estimates, and travel and security logistics.
Both agreed she could use several of the research hangars in Alaska to store the recovered artwork. Privately, Jake cringed at the impact this represented in the already thin work force. However, he could hardly say no as he had set the trend himself.
Before signing off, Jake checked on Ryan, his son with Jessie. She assured Jake he was doing great and he promised to visit soon. Finally, she mentioned they had again detected an anomaly off the coast of Alaska, but it had faded almost as soon as it was detected. With no visual confirmation, they were at a loss to explain it.
Somewhat deflated after the discussion with Jessie, Jake dove into his status reports. He was starting to get a sense of impending disaster. Other than the slight inconvenience in LA, things had been going exceeding well.
The NeHaw had paused their aggressive activates in all treaty sectors. He knew it wouldn’t last, but it gave them time to get caught up on the losses of Klinan. That thought still gave him a pang of regret, those deaths personal to him.
Earth side, there had been no large scale attacks on any of the areas under Jake’s sponsorship. The community patrols had been more than effective in addressing and subduing raider attacks. By this point, most of California, Texas, and Washington State were under some form of protection.
There was still vast areas west of the Mississippi and north into Canada that were as wild as the day he was released from stasis. South to Mexico on the other hand had benefited to the close proximity to Nevada and Texas.
Jake didn’t count Hawaii and Alaska as the geography and weather tended to be more of a stabilizing influence than his interferences. Efforts on the east coast were escalating, but were far behind the west as they were the last to be occupied. ALICE-9 in Georgia was still not ready for full scale occupancy, her status as a newborn ALICE still impeding her ability to handle the workload.
That thought brought Jake around to the new space carrier. While insisting the ALICEs needed to make the decision, he privately wished for a mature ALICE to make the transition. The experiences in Georgia and at Klinan had more than convinced him that a newborn would take a good while to prepare for independent operations.
Paired with ALICE-3, he could e
nvision a short ramp up to partial functionality, but as ALICE-9 demonstrated, there was a long lead-time for full functionality. That was a very limiting condition, should the NeHaw come in force.
And then there was the issue of the attempted hacks ALICE had detected on the NeHaw network. This likely represented one of the liberated races exercising their newfound freedom. What the long-term consequences of that were, Jake was unwilling to consider for now. No need to create new villains when he had so many already.
----*----
Brian was reviewing the punch list provided by the work crews on the carrier. They were getting down to the final items required to make the ship, space ready. All the stasis shields and armaments had been installed, including the stasis parking pads that masked the ferrous materials in the fighters and patrol ships.
The last major item to be completed was the ALICE computers. Brian knew that each of the ALICEs were a collection of human and NeHaw technology that combined to create the unique lifeforms they all knew and loved. He was also aware that once installed, they dare not power them up unsupervised, as the lifeform was created at inception.
Brian was well aware of the debate raging on the planet below, one he was all too happy to be excluded from. He had discussed the issue with ALICE-3 on several occasions as they worked together in space, so he had a little insight on the debate. ALICE-3 had confided in Brian that she sided with the three that wished to transform, understanding the motivations.
In addition, she well appreciated the effort required to operate in space as opposed to earth. It was her offered opinion that a newborn would struggle, where a transplant would hit the ground running, so to speak. Both Brian and ALICE-3 agreed that a decision was needed soon as the ship was almost ready.
----*----
Ju stood, looking out the windows of what was once a fine residence in the city of Hong Kong. His push east had been met with very little resistance, with most of the farmers acknowledging his armored column’s passing with relief. The only resistance was in the collection of food from a few locals.
As a rule, Ju collected supplies for his troops on a limited basis, not wishing to strip the countryside as he passed. His end goal was to rule these people, and he hoped to leave as positive an impression on them as he could. As such, he had strict rules on what was allowed. Twice he had been forced to execute soldiers for rape.
That did not, however, exclude punishment for refusing to cooperate. Dead farmers grew no crops, but the loss of a wife or daughter was a strong reminder of the cost of not cooperating and sons were too valuable as workers.
Ju wasn’t so sadistic as to kill them or turn them into prostitutes. He simply absorbed them into the growing number of support staff he required to keep his men fed. If any chose the role of a comfort woman, that was of their own accord. The farmers were made well aware that their family members were alive and well. So long as they continued to cooperate, they might someday return.
The push east had a second objective beyond increasing the landmass he controlled. China had established a significant military presence prior to the British turnover in the late twentieth century. Afterward, the same bases were maintained as a stronghold on the South China Sea.
Ju had his grandfather’s knowledge on the secret locations and their inventories. He had located several on the way in and each was occupied with a selection of his forces. With the additional equipment and supplies, he would be able to expand his forces yet again.
Turning away from the windows, he returned to the table covered with maps. Yet again, he must choose a direction to point his ambition.
----*----
Ivan led the three men accompanying him up and away from the road where they had been dropped off. Each man carried a rifle, a large knife, and a small backpack with a few essentials. They expected to live off the land for the next few days, augmenting what little they brought along with them in the packs.
With the warmer weather, the game would be plentiful and the plant life in full bloom. This would allow them to travel light and move fast should the need arise. They walked mostly in silence, letting their senses guide them. So far, Ivan couldn’t say what was up, but he did have a feeling things were not as they should be.
As they traveled up the trail, walking on either side of the trail, each man scanned the countryside around them. This particular trail was actually an old dirt roadway, left long neglected. The only reason the trail still existed is it was one of the many trails used by the clan on their hunting trips into the mountains.
Ivan was just about to pass the turn off to the mines when he felt the slightest tremor beneath his feet. While volcanic and quake tremors were not uncommon in the area, this was something else. He turned and led the group down the overgrown roadway, everyone on edge.
As they stepped into the clear, he could make out the remains of several buildings, long since collapsed and gone to ruin. It wasn’t the ruins that drew their attention though, it was the large pile of freshly turned earth, spread in all directions.
The four men stepped up to the edge of a freshly dug hole, big enough around to drive a truck into. That however would be a bad decision as the hole went straight down, darkness concealing the bottom.
Looking around, he could make out two more holes identical to the one they stood beside. Ivan watched as one of the others picked up a stone and tossed it into the opening. All four listened for the telltale sound of it striking bottom. It never came.
----*----
HeBak sat in the pilot’s seat of his ship, watching the display that tracked his robotic miners’ progress as they tunneled deeper underground and directly toward the gold deposits. After dropping the three units near the access point the planet's inhabitants had used, he settled his ship at the bottom of a nearby lake.
HeBak paid absolutely no attention to the four life forms standing near the drop point. On foot and with the primitive weapons they possessed, he considered them of no more importance than the local wildlife.
Chapter 12
Sandy was getting to the point where she needed to commit to a course of action. Her alternatives were few, and at absolutely both ends of the spectrum, when it came to her personal safety. On one hand, she could move forward independently, as she had done in Australia, on her own with a minimal security back up.
The alternative was to hand everything she had compiled over to Jake and let him direct the initial contact with the Chinese. This actually made the most sense, as it was the more traditional approach when dealing with a heavily armed group. That is probably why Sandy resisted the thought.
Besides hating any reference to her potential inability to handle the situation, she honestly felt bad dumping things on an already overburdened Jake. She couldn’t envision how someone wouldn’t want to join their earth defense force. Anything they provided was made all that much better with the ALICEs.
The other hurtle she faced was, should she choose to move forward on her own, she needed help from non-ALICE resources. She was well aware that Jake had all the ALICE systems watching out for her. She knew any steps she took toward the Chinese mainland would trigger an alert that would bring Jake running.
To counter that, she had located a combat team, with all four members’ pilot trained and right out of flight school. Pulling a few strings, as she had some influence, she was able to get the Marines transferred to Lanai. Here, she had them training with the high-speed transport Jake had reconfigured, the thruster pods having been replaced with repulser motors.
The craft was one that Jake described as a corporate Jet, which really meant nothing to anyone but him. Sandy could see the sleek, sexy shape of the craft in comparison to most of the military planes and helicopters. This one appeared much more like the space fighters, sleek and fast looking.
With a few more days practice, they would be ready to take the relatively short flight from Hawaii to someplace once called Hong Kong.
----*----
Jake had jus
t finished dinner with both Kathy, Linda and the kids, in the dining room on the Quarters level. Jake was ever the proud papa and the kids were always a hit among the staff wherever they went. While there had been a few recruits with older children of late, these two were like little celebrities.
Returning alone to his quarters, he was debating on whether or not to head down to the hanger and spend a little of his private time on restoring the Super Cobra. Since acquiring both cars, he had used whatever precious free time he had on the car. Eighty years of neglect and rot had left its mark, though not nearly as bad as Jake had expected.
His biggest challenge was finding tires to replace the rotted rubber on both vehicles. The ALICE stores only carried inventory for the multitude of military equipment they served. While the tires currently on the car were still inflated, he dared not stress them with any test drives. Fortunately, he was far from that as of yet, and was in discussions with ALICE on how new tires might be manufactured.
Jumping into the shower, he had just finished drying himself when he received a panicked call from April, one of the early recruits and an excellent analyst. She had been sent from Patti’s team to Texas to assist Robert in his logistical efforts. Hitting the two way connection on his desktop, her image appeared.
“Jake, Kola is down,” She blurted as he opened the connection.
“What do you mean down?” Jake asked, confused by the reference.
“Her main systems crashed and didn’t restart as you configured them to,” She replied more slowly.
After the incident in Georgia, where the ALICE-3 computers rebooted unexpectedly. Jake had programmed the firmware and reconfigured the systems so that they would reload the crash file into memory as they restarted. While untested, it was assumed that any ALICE system crash would recover the Artificial Life upon the automatic restart.
