“Yes.”
“I know it’s risky, but we need to take a peek.” The Director and the doctor agreed.
Kane moved into the mechanical room and knelt at the hallway door, wishing he had his recon tool bag; a good micro-surveillance camera unit would really come in handy right now. Praying it wouldn’t squeak, he slowly eased the door open a crack until he got a view of the right half of the lobby.
He was alarmed at what he saw.
A line of Breakers faced the elevator door, armed with laser rifles and ready for battle. Directly in front of them were the passengers, standing side by side and forming a wall. They’re using them as shields. It made sense. Humans made the perfect defensive shield against a Meken attack. The hostages were slumped and haggard looking, and a couple of them were crying. A structural pillar blocked Kane’s far view and the hallway wall blocked his near view, but from what he could see, there were twenty passengers. He was relieved that Charly was not among them. He recognized several faces, including Sam. Kane evaluated the young copilot. He was similar to Kane’s height, a leaner build, but very fit. Kane guessed he had risen to the role as a civilian aviation student rather than through the military. He was alert and his posture indicated that he was prepared to lead and defend his passengers.
A Breaker at the back of the lobby was guarding a heavy metal door, the first of two doors leading into the suspension chamber’s master control room.
Kane caught his breath as a Breaker walked past the mechanical room door, returning from a patrol of the hallway. The Breaker went to the back of the lobby and exchanged words with the door guard. The guard entered a code and opened the door to allow the Breaker into the hallway leading to the control room. Having seen enough, Kane eased his door shut. He crept back into the elevator shaft and described what he had seen to the Director and Dr. Manassa, including the robots’ use of his fellow passengers as a human shield.
“Such behavior is diametrically opposed to our programming,” the Director said. “I regret that I was not prepared for anything like this from the Breakers.”
“I don’t get it,” the doctor said. “If their intention is to kill the colonists, why don’t they just blow up the suspension chamber?”
“They cannot. Any attempt to destroy the chamber while it is still in operation could easily set off an atomic reaction that would destroy the entire city and leave a shroud of toxic radiation covering a hundred-mile radius. This would encompass Alto Mair, the Breakers’ home city. In order to reach the colonists, the suspension fields must come to a complete stop and the residual suspension must diminish to a level that is safe for entry into the chamber.”
“How long does that take?” Kane asked.
“Two hours to shut down the suspension generators. At that point, it is safe for humans to enter the chamber, and the colonists will begin to wake soon after. Mekens cannot enter the chamber for an additional hour.”
“Why?”
“Purely biological organisms, like humans, have a greater resistance to the effects of the suspension field. The blended circuit/biologic system in a Meken is more sensitive to this field. Entering the chamber too soon would result in irreparable neural damage to a Meken.”
“So there will be an hour between when the colonists awake and when the Breakers can enter the chamber?”
“Yes.”
“Can you guess how far the Breakers may be in the suspension shutdown process?”
“I do not guess, Mr. Kane. I can provide sophisticated analytical probabilities. But to answer your question, based on their likely departure time from the cafeteria, I estimate that they are no less than eighty minutes into the suspension shutdown.”
“Then we’ve got a little more than an hour and a half to stop them from entering the chamber, right?”
“Yes.”
Kane checked his watch. “And there’s a rear door into the chamber?”
“Yes. But the only way to unlock it is from inside the master control room, which is currently occupied by Breakers.”
“Is there any way we can cut through the rear door or a wall of the chamber?”
“No. The chamber itself is an isolated box, constructed of alloys that Earth will not invent for hundreds of years. Even if we could cut through it, the chamber is also protected by a polarity shield, which has two backup energy sources. The only way into the chamber is through the master control room, and only after the correct authorization codes have been entered, deactivating the shields and releasing the chamber doors.”
It sounded like an impossible situation, which meant it was right up Kane’s alley. An idea was already forming in his mind. He had implemented risky sequences in the past, but this one topped them all; it was fraught with wildcards. Kane shared his plan.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Dr. Manassa reacted, overly loud.
“Mr. Kane,” the Director said, “your judgment to date has been very sound. But the sequences required in this plan give it a very unfavorable probability of success. Are you certain we should proceed with this course of action?”
“Kane,” the doctor added, “I can’t do the calculations, but it’s obvious that a lot of things could go wrong.”
“I agree with both of you. But, in actual execution, a plan is never linear; it can have multiple unexpected twists and turns and still result in a successful outcome. And inasmuch as there are unseen risks, there are always unseen opportunities. The missing factor in your equations is the element of surprise and human resourcefulness. This gives us a distinct advantage over the Breakers. As it stands now, the Breakers have set the rules of the game, and we don’t have a chance. We have to do something extraordinary—we have to change the rules.” He paused, then concluded, “My gut says we can do this.”
So, while Kane and a sentry worked out a Morse code message to send to the surface, the Director selected a sentry to join him. Standing in front of the sentry, he opened a panel on its upper chest and proceeded to create a new supervisor. A few minutes later, he confirmed the creation of Supervisor 4. After discoloring Super 4’s metallic finish with short laser bursts, the Director gathered oil from the mechanical room and soil scrapings from the elevator shaft to create a grimy paint, which he used to draw Breaker-like symbols on Super 4’s head, chest, and thigh. Lastly, using the doctor’s torn-off shirtsleeve, he made armbands for Super 4’s biceps. When he stepped back from his work, Super 4 looked like a Breaker.
Kane joined them and explained the plan to Super 4. “I’m sorry you have to do this alone,” he said.
“There is no other way,” the robot answered. “I fulfill my purpose through this task. I must succeed or there is no more purpose.”
“Well . . . good luck.” Funny how he felt the same concern that came whenever he sent one of his men out on a dangerous mission.
They entered the mechanical room. Super 4 cracked open the hallway door and watched, waiting for the right moment to slip into the Breaker space. It came sooner than expected. “Move back, quickly,” he said to Kane and the Director.
They pressed themselves against the back wall, presumably to avoid being seen when Super 4 left the room. But instead of leaving, Super 4 stepped back and behind the door. Then, to Kane’s horror, the door opened and a Breaker entered the mechanical room. What happened next was nothing short of amazing.
In a single, fluid motion, Super 4 shut the door, slid behind the Breaker, grabbed its head between both hands, and twisted it with a vicious wrench. The Breaker collapsed and Super 4 lowered him quietly to the floor. Then he stepped over the immobilized Breaker, opened the panel on its chest, and touched his fingertip to a connection point. Fifteen seconds later, he disconnected, opened the mechanical room door, stepped outside, and closed the door quietly behind him. Kane stood in stunned silence.
The Director knelt next to the downed Breaker and connected his fingertip to the same receptacle on the Breaker’s chest. Two minutes later, the Breaker’s chest cavity glowed brightly. Th
e robot convulsed in one great spasm and then went dark and limp.
“What did you do?” Kane asked.
“First I downloaded all of his memory, and then I overloaded his system.”
“You killed him?”
“His empathic program was extremely corrupted. He was a threat, not only to this mission but to everything we believe in.”
Kane had a new respect for the Director. But, he noticed that the Director did not rise. “What’s the matter?”
“We have been betrayed.”
9
Day 1
1900 hours
Hangar 36, Alto Raun
Soon after Kane and his team left the cafeteria for the Suspension area, Tygert’s team boarded a tram. First stop, the conservatory, after which it would take them to the outskirts of the city, if needed. As the tram moved forward, Tygert considered the Breakers’ head start. It was at least an hour; he feared they could be outside the city by now. He was not one to get discouraged, but a grey cloud was beginning to gather over his spirit.
This is crazy. I don’t have a clue what I’m doing. It was all so surreal. Everything had been happening nonstop, one roller coaster ride after another. He felt disoriented.
His thoughts turned to something familiar, his family: his wife, Melissa; his son, John Jr.; and his daughter, Lacey. Little Lacey, his jewel, had her first day of kindergarten today . . . or was it yesterday? He’d totally lost track of time. He remembered the white-and-black-striped tiger Beanie Baby in his luggage, a gift to celebrate Lacey’s first day of school. Lacey loved cats. He’d bought it because, while tucking her into bed the night before last, she had expressed some fear about starting kindergarten. He had created a story about a little tiger kitty who had to be brave when she went out on her first hunt alone. He smiled now, remembering how Melissa had disapproved of the analogy, but it had seemed to work for Lacey. Lacey had laughed as he pretended to be a little tiger snarling his way through kindergarten class. Then he kissed her good night, and she said, “I love you, Daddy.”
As was his custom when he had to leave early for work, he had slipped out of the house without waking anyone. But what had started out as a normal workday had turned into a nightmare. Melissa would be frantic with anxiety and grief knowing her husband’s plane had disappeared. His heart sank even further as he remembered that his luggage, and the Beanie Baby, was now in the belly of a giant sea serpent. A knot formed in his stomach; he wondered if he would ever see his family again.
“Captain,” Super 3 said loudly, trying to get his attention. “Captain, we have arrived.”
Tygert and his group exited the tram and stood at the edge of the canal. He closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath, feeling the moist breeze. “Does it ever rain here?”
“Not inside the city. It is an environmentally sealed system, perfectly balanced. The proper amount of moisture in the air is maintained and the crops are irrigated. It rains outside.”
“How can it be perfect without rain?”
“I’m sorry, Captain, but what does rain have to do with tracking the passengers?”
“Nothing really. I’m just trying to clear my head.”
Tygert knew that he needed to make a tactical decision. Should they follow the canal out of the city to prevent the Breakers from escaping with the hostages, or should they go deeper into the city to the central computer? Or, should they split up and try to do both?
Super 3 came to his assistance. “Due to proximity and opportunity, logic suggests a slightly higher probability that the Breakers would attempt to destroy the central computer.”
“Yeah, but they could think that we would think that, and then they would do the opposite.”
“Why would they do that?”
“Right. You guys don’t play football. Do you play any games here?” Tygert asked. Without waiting for an answer, he said, “Never mind. We’ve got your people watching the outskirts of the city, and I don’t want us to split up. Let’s check out the computer entry first. Lead the way.”
Super 3 led them cautiously; there was dense vegetation in the conservatory that could easily conceal hidden Breakers. The entry to the central computer was located behind the conservatory, and the only way to reach it was via the canal. They were just about to board a canal barge when Super 3 stopped, listening.
“What’s the matter?” Tygert asked.
“A maintenance Meken has just reported Breakers in Hangar 36, with a large group of humans.”
“They’re trying to take the hostages out of the city.”
Super 3 paused, still listening. “I believe that is correct. There are four large Breaker submersibles in the ocean waters approaching Hangar 36.”
“We’ve got to stop them from reaching that hangar. You need to form a blockade with all your available submersibles and aircraft.”
“We have already done so. The Breakers are firing on us with lasers, and we have returned fire. However, the efficacy of lasers is greatly diminished underwater, and our aircraft are of little use. Even with additional support it will be difficult to disable a larger Breaker submersible. It is only a matter of time before they overcome our smaller fleet.”
“Then it’s a race. Any word from Kane’s team?”
“The last communication is that they are attempting a covert entry into the suspension chamber area. I cannot communicate with them directly while they are underground.”
Tygert considered the possibilities. A large group of humans in the hangar didn’t necessarily mean it included all of the hostages. If the Breakers were smart, they would send most or all of their hostages out of the city and a smaller team to attack the computer.
“Super, how many ways in and out of the central computer?”
“Only one, via elevator.”
“If a Breaker team is already there, we’d be sitting ducks if we showed up in the elevator. Trying to save the computer is probably a lost cause . . . unless they have hostages with them.” Tygert paced as he thought out loud. “It also means the Breakers would have only one way to get out, unless they’re on a suicide mission, which I doubt. But, if they have hostages . . . too many ifs.” Tygert paused, wrestling with his decision. “I won’t risk leaving any passengers behind. We need to split up.”
He turned to Super 3. “I want you to take a dozen sentries and wait at the surface entry to the central computer. If the Breakers are in there and have hostages, do what you can to rescue them after they come out. You good with that?”
“If you are referring to my agreement with your plan, then, yes, I’m ‘good with that.’”
“Now, I need you to call for any available combat-capable robots to meet me at the entry to Hangar 36.”
“I am sending the instructions.”
Super 3 chose a dozen sentries, and they boarded the canal barge.
Tygert and the remainder of his team left the conservatory and boarded the tram. With the field of golden grain on their left and what looked like soybeans on the far side of the canal, the tram took them to Hangar 36. As he thought about leading an operation to rescue the hostages, Tygert was surprised at how quickly his training was coming back to him. If the Breakers embedded themselves in the hangar, it could easily become a standoff. A standoff with robots did not sound like a good thing. But a direct battle with the Breakers would put the hostages at too much risk.
They rendezvoused with a large group of Mekens already gathered in the subway tunnel, just outside a set of double doors that led into the hangar. A green-eyed builder Meken greeted Tygert.
“I am Builder 56. I am the designated spokesman for this gathering of one hundred and fourteen Mekens.”
Looking them over, Tygert saw mostly sentries and builders, but there were also a number of maintenance Mekens of assorted shapes and sizes. “Is there any way we can see what they’re doing in the hangar . . . surveillance cameras?” Tygert asked.
“No. But the maintenance Meken who discovered the Breakers is hidden in t
he rafters of the hangar and is monitoring their activity. He says the Breakers are gathered at exterior door C. The Breakers have positioned the humans around them in a semicircle. They are waiting.”
Tygert clenched his fists. “Freakin’ terrorist tactics. Can he get a head count of the Breakers and hostages?”
“There are thirty-two Breakers and seventy-seven humans. But he believes that two of the humans are dead.”
“What?!”
“He says that one of the female humans tried to run from the group when they formed the semicircle. A male ran after her and the Breakers fired on both of them. They have not moved from where they fell.”
“Damn.” Tygert paced. The situation was more fragile than he’d expected. The Director had made it very clear that the Mekens would not harm a human, but the Breakers obviously didn’t care about killing. With the humans as a shield, there was no way the Mekens would engage in a battle. He needed to separate them from the Breakers. But how to do that safely?
“I have a communication from Supervisor 3,” Builder 56 announced. “He reports there were no signs of Breaker activity at the surface entry to the central computer. As a precaution, he has stationed two sentries to monitor the area. He and the remainder of his team are now on their way to join us.”
“Good.”
“I also need to inform you that the Breaker submersibles have broken through our blockade.”
Tygert’s adrenaline jumped a level. “Then we’ve got to get in there now. I’m not gonna let them waltz out of here with our people.”
Pacing again, Tygert quickly pieced together a plan. After conferring with Builder 56, he made a command decision. He sent instructions back to Super 3 to join him at the hangar for a hostage rescue, and then he communicated his plan to the small Meken army.
They entered Hangar 36. Another massive hangar, it was filled with lane after lane of stacked cargo containers. Builder 56 took the lead navigating them to the Breaker location. When they suddenly came to the last of the cargo containers, they jolted to a halt. A hundred yards of open space was all that separated them from the Breakers.
The Last City (The Ahlemon Saga Book 1) Page 9
