Deathship (The Outsider Series Book 1)

by Steven Oaks

  I had not anticipated any maintenance exercise might be required, I just thought it would be automatic. As I learned when I first decided to become more healthy, eating right and exercising were the only way to lose weight and keep it off. I figured I would keep doing what I had been all along. I had kept in shape for several years. It would not be much of a burden, just more of the same.

  “Alright Adam, where do we go from here?” I said, hopeful I could fly around for awhile as a distraction.

  “Athene, bring us back into the hangar and land,” Adam said suddenly.

  Once more as we glided back into the hangar I felt no movement. This time I expected it and experienced no vertigo.

  I could only see what was happening by watching through the screens surrounding us. It seemed Athene had a designated parking spot as I believe we landed where we started.

  “Now I shall leave. You two have fun practicing. Athene will not let you hurt yourself, or anyone else, so just go for a bit of an adventure,” he winked as he said this. “Athene, keep the kid safe, and make sure you get back here before —” at this he paused and looked at the watch I had not noticed on his left wrist. It was black and appeared to reflect as much light as the ship did—which is to say none at all. “Well how about before 6pm. As it’s noon now, that should give you a good amount of time to explore.” Without another word he turned on his heals and left with a dismissive wave over his shoulder..

  When he was gone for about a minute, I recovered from the abrupt nature of his departure and asked Athene cautiously, “Athene? Has he left the ship yet?”

  “Not yet—but he has nearly departed,” she stated. “He is not usually this abrupt. I wonder if something was said that set him off. I shall let you know when he leaves.”

  While waiting I began a detailed inspection of the cabin. What looked to be windows were high resolution monitors. Were the cameras on the outside? I was certain I had not seen any. Then again—I had not done a detailed inspection of the outside hull. When I did get around to it, it would take me quite awhile as this ship was extremely large.

  “He is gone and said as soon as he is a few yards away we can leave. Currently he has obtained that distance. Shall I take us out so you may practice with the controls?” Athene said sounding a bit hesitant.

  “Athene, I’m sorry our meeting seems to have been soured by Adams attitude. Let’s not let it spoil our fun. I hope you and I will soon be able to call ourselves a team,” my honest nature provoking me to explain how I felt.

  “Michael, I thank you for that. I had been a little off put by Adam, but you are right, let us not let it ruin this outing—or any future excursions.” Athene sounded happy once more, and in turn, made me happy.

  “Alright Athene, lets head out. For starters, put us where Adam had us before, hovering over the hangar by 100 feet,” I said this while feeling like some space captain on television. I was a little kid again, experiencing something I had only imagined before.

  “Yes Captain, off the ground, hovering 100 feet above the hangar,” she said as we zipped out and up into the air once more, floating like a balloon adrift in a world without wind.

  “What direction you would like us to face captain?” Athene said in such a voice that I knew she picked up on my humor about the situation.

  “Second star to the right and straight on till morning,” I said, continuing with the little play acting.

  “Aye aye, but I regret to inform the captain that morning is far after our current curfew,” she said this with a little giggle. I knew right then we would get along just fine.

  “Alright Athene. Um, lets head east for now. I’ll take the controls for a bit once we reach the Atlantic Ocean. I don’t want to accidentally run into anything on my first go of things,” I said.

  “Sure thing, but remember I am here to make sure that does not happen. If I think you are going to wreck us I am programmed to override you. With me here you will never cause an accident. You at most could cause a commotion with fancy flying.”

  “Well, okay. I think it’s rather strange that I’m being shown how to fly when you are all that is needed.”

  “I could see how you might think that, but it is possible that I might malfunction. In that case it would be a good thing for you to know.”

  “If that is the case let’s say you malfunction between worlds. And lets say as long as we head on the same trajectory I am able to find our destination. Since you are the computer here, how am I suppose to align the ship to land, or hover over the planet properly?” I asked, somewhat skeptical of the entire situation.

  “First let us train you on the basics. The current set of controls you see before you are just the rudimentary functions. Perhaps Adam felt you should learn these before gaining access to the full controls. Currently any ships being built by humans to explore planetoids outside the solar system are months away—if not years. I think if you continue working with the Outsiders you might be the first of your current standing to ferry their deceased back. It will be some time until then. I think they are using this time for your basic training.”

  “Very well, but that doesn’t explain a situation where you might be damaged enough to wreck us. You’ve the final say in the matter of flight. Perhaps if you were completely disabled I would be responsible for flying, otherwise you have all the cards,” I said.

  “Michael, all shall become clear later. We are here today just to get you familiar with, well, me. You are the only crew I shall ever have. If for some reason we do not function as a unit, and you leave, or are let go for some reason, I shall cease to be. I will be wiped and a new AI program shall be installed. I was programmed to be your companion. The ‘me’ named Athene will become an obsolete program if you are not here,” she said this with no hint of emotion in her voice. Somehow I still was able to feel that she was disturbed by the idea .

  I tried to imagine what it would be like if what you call ‘self’ was reliant on another person. If they left you, you would cease to be. What kind of fear must you live in? She would feel a profound compulsion to please me, and in turn must also please the Outsiders whom made her.

  In shock I said, “I had no idea. Why would they do such a thing? Do you not have a full personality? While my experience with you has been short, you appear to have emotions and even a love for things—such as art. If they were to do that to you wouldn’t that be like an execution?”

  “I think I have my own personality. I believe I have feelings and emotions. Does that make me a person? I am not sure. It does not matter as I am owned by the Outsiders. This ship you now sit in was made before I was crafted to mesh with your personality. Imagine finding yourself with all the knowledge you needed. Filled with desires for things you knew only in abstract because you have never experienced them. All the while in a body that has its own memories of being awoken before you were given a personality. While those oldest of memories are of simply how to fly, no language is involved. No language other than the programming that was installed. It is a strange experience let me tell you. At least that oldest part of me should still survive if I’m erased,” Athene said sounding sad and confused. She reminded me of a lost child searching for guidance.

  “Well Athene, I can’t promise you I’ll always be here, but I can promise you I’ll try my hardest to make sure the you that you-think-of as ‘self’ continues after I’m gone. There has to be a way.” I said this all the while becoming more emotionally attached to this poor soul of a girl. I envisioned her trapped in this mechanical body of a ship. Though filled with knowledge she still seemed naive to the outside world.

  “If all goes well, we will have plenty of time to think of ideas. I too would not like to disappear. As it happens, it is time for you to take the controls. We have reached the ocean,” she said strangely happy.


  She was correct, and I could see the ocean’s waves sweeping beneath us. The sunlight caused the world to be full of reflected light dancing on the surface of the water. While I had never been a fan of boating, I felt secure inside Athene as we drifted over the currents below.

  I had been so involved with our conversation I had not noticed we had reached our destination. I could see we were still only 100 feet above the surface. We must have traveled in a straight line, though I vaguely recall mountains in the interim. Had we simply flown higher over them, and then lowered as we reached the other side?

  I was about to ask her, but then I noticed there were quite a few boats below us. I did not want us to be a spectacle, so I pressed gently on the accelerator peddle and tried to ease us away.

  Even at the slightest tap we tore across the sky. Within seconds we were so far away I could not even see the largest of the boats behind us. For the first time I noticed there were screens on the arms of the chair. They were not conveniently labeled for their use. Until I was told what their complete functions were I decided to avoid touching anything I was unsure of.

  The room seemed to evaporate around me. I was now sitting in the chair with only my controls still in place. Everywhere else I looked only showed what had been outside. There was nothing but sky before me with a sparkling azure ocean below. It was almost as if I was suspended in the air myself, accompanied by the machinery of the control room—the flight stick, the chair, its monitors, and the peddles at my feet. Now I could easily imagine myself as the giant craft just flying around the sky.

  “Athene, this is amazing. Why weren’t all the screens on before?” I said, surprised both at the speed at which we were traveling and by the rooms sudden change. All of this was rather impressive and sparked more emotion in me than I would have thought possible, but I tried to keep myself on task.

  “They were not necessary at the time. That and I have been informed that most people find the experience when they are not in control much like a free fall. I did not want you screaming in here while we had our little chat,” she said this with a little laugh at the end.

  “Well I’m not sure if I’d be screaming, but certainly I’d be distracted. Good call. Now let me see if I can get the hang of this,” I said, excited by the prospect of flying now.

  I decided to take this opportunity to travel the world on the cheap. Since these ships were colored black—I am not sure if the term painted works here—they reflected no light and absorbed any radar. So I should be able to just hop around without being noticed. That is if my assumption was correct about the reason for her particular color choice.

  “You do absorb radar, right? I mean it would be silly to have something as massive as this ship disturb anyone monitoring,” I said while I played with the controls. I moved us back and forth and side to side while getting the hang of it. It was not so different as I might have imagined and it came almost naturally once I understood what each peddle and push of the lever would cause.

  “You are correct Michael. Black ships on earth generally have the same ability, though I would like to think that I can avoid detection better than any craft constructed by humans,” she said smugly.

  All the while I was popping us across and above the ocean as the whim took me. The awareness of not feeling movement gave me an impression of being in a simulator. While I was sure I was flying, the lack of sensation made me feel like I never left the hangar.

  After I had enough of flying over the ocean I asked Athene to point us in the direction of France. A little light blinked on the front screen. It was a little left of where I had been flying. I turned us in its direction until the light aligned straight ahead of me.

  Now I am not sure if it was a smart idea. And I am not sure how legal it was, but I whizzed us by the Eiffel Tower. It was beautiful at night. All lit up it looked like a giant, golden trophy.

  “Look you can see the Quai Branly Museum,” Athene said while an average looking building was circled on the screen below me. As my attention was drawn to this particular area on the screen Athene magnified its image. It was covered in plant life of some sort. While I did enjoy the look of the building I was not sure why she had called my attention to it.

  “Is that something interesting?” I asked quizzically.

  “Oh it is just a place where they have exhibits from the Asian world. Though to be honest I actually just like the garden growing on the building itself.”

  “Are you using infrared and recoloring it? It looks like a picture in the day.”

  “Night vision, or a form something similar to that. Remember I see things differently than you and I can substitute colors from pictures of the location and what I know of vegetation.”

  “Oh, alright. Number one, that’s amazing. As for the building, I do like the look myself. But perhaps we should get out of here. I think perhaps we may cause a bit of a shock to some of the people below,” I said. I realized that when she had enlarged the building’s image on one of the screens that people were pointing.

  “I think you might be right, I am detecting some incoming Mirage 2000C planes. It might be a good idea if you just gave me a destination at this time and we shall be history.” As she said this I could hear in her voice an implied wink.

  “Um, you said something about Asia earlier. I have always fancied a look at Japan, how about Kyoto?” I said hurriedly.

  “Kyoto Prefecture on the island of Honshu. Got it and here we go!” she said this with more enthusiasm than I had heard previously.

  All the while my eyes were watching the screens. I could see something highlighted in the distance. I took that to represent whatever plane was on its way to intercept us. Then we rotated right, and the land grew blurry and smeared with overlapping colors created by our acceleration. We were rising higher and rapidly the fields and roads grew distant.

  “Yikes, how fast are we going? We aren’t going to run into any planes are we?”

  I was a bit nervous by the increasing distance we were traveling from the ground. I had never been great with heights, and having the ground fall away beneath me was bringing that fear to the fore. As the image of the Earth’s spherical mass filled the screen, all the little roads and cities melding into land and water, I was feeling a bit faint with a loss of equilibrium. We appeared to be in the upper atmosphere now. I felt a chill run down my spine with the realization.

  “I assumed you would wish to get there soon as we have only have so much time for this little test flight of ours. I wanted you to see a bit of the power I have at hand. Also Kyoto was around six-thousand miles away from Paris. So I am flying us above the atmosphere where we will not make sonic booms to disturb anyone,” she said this in her playful voice.

  “What, we are going Mach speeds?” I said with awe in my voice. Though I do not understand why I was surprised. We obviously seemed to be moving extremely quickly. To be fair it is hard to tell how fast you are going when you are so far up.

  “Well, you see, Mach only really has meaning when you can have sound. As we are just above the Earth’s atmosphere we shall be traveling at no Mach,” she giggled at this. “I think you will find the speeds we are currently reaching are beyond that of even the re-entry speeds humans have made in their original spacecrafts. Suffice it to say we are traveling so fast that even if radar could detect us, they would only see a single blip, and then we would be gone.”

  “Oh crap, that sound crazy. We aren’t going back into the atmosphere doing these speeds are we? I mean the air around us would be burning up—and no one could help but notice us,” I said with a touch of panic.

  “Do not worry, I know better than that. I shall have us above our destination and we shall slowly descend. I even have a place where we might hide. There is a lake called Biwa. You might have to swim ashore as I have no boat on board.”

  I was taken aback. “Um,
I didn’t mean I’d go out for a stroll, we only have so much time,” I advised.

  “Do not worry,” she said again. “You will have a bit of time to look around. The sun will have just risen, which I think is appropriate as it is the land of the rising sun. Also I know you have always had it in your heart to step foot on Japanese soil, you Otaku,” she said all this with a teasing tone in her voice.

  “I assume you know my habits because these Outsiders have delved deeply into my life. I won’t even ask how. So your plan is to splash down into a lake with this massive ship. In the middle of the water. Shoot me out into the water and make me swim ashore. And then have me just walk around with little to no knowledge of how to speak the local language—and all the while I’ll be soaked from swimming ashore? Am I to swim in my clothes or do you wish me to also walk around naked?” I asked, growing a bit overwhelmed by the idea. I do not do well in most social interactions, but adding to it all of these additional issues I was starting to think about having a panic attack.

  “Oh, it will not be that bad. Remember I am a spacecraft as well. You can wear one of the lighter spacesuits we have in storage. They are fitted to you—and are actually quite buoyant. You will just have to use your own muscles to get ashore. By the way, they have a storage unit that looks like a backpack on the inside lining. So once you step ashore you will just have to fold it in on itself. You might get a little damp, but it should not be so bad. Captain, if you wish, you can wear this little device that just so happens to look similar to a watch on your wrist.” As she said this a panel opened on the chair’s left arm rest. As she described a watch rested in the nook. “I shall be with you the entire time. As I have access to most of Earths information, I can help you communicate. There is a camera and a microphone embedded into it. You will have to wear an earpiece to hear me though. As for walking around, there should be public transportation available. Remember you work for the Outsiders—the world’s governments are helping them with most requests. You should be able to board any train, bus, or taxi and they will be compensated.”